Aaron Watson NYC

Texas Independence Day Show Feat. Aaron Watson & Jack Ingram

Aaron Watson NYC

Aaron Watson, Jack Ingram, and Ryan Beaver brought a Texas-sized show to New York City this past Friday night.  The Gramercy Theatre was the venue for this historic night for Texas country fans, celebrating Texas Independence Day with some of their favorite artists.

Jack Ingram NYC Watson

Ryan Beaver and Jack Ingram warmed up the crowd both playing their soul-filled country music, bringing the laughs and good vibes to the room. Ingram who was a co-writer on Miranda Lambert’s heartbreaking single, “Tin Man” ended his set with his meticulous version, the crowd was hushed, hung on every last word.

Switching gears, Watson took the stage for his high energy set which included songs from his two-decade-long career like “Freight Train”, “Getaway Truck” and “That’s Why God Loves Cowboys” as well as a cover of George Strait’s classic “Amarillo By Morning”.

A highlight of the night was during “That Look” when the crowd cheered as a man got down on one knee to propose, of course, she said yes then Watson invited them to the front of the stage to get a selfie.  ” Everybody get your hands up! This is their engagement party!” he yelled.

Aaron Watson NYC

 

Performing his latest single which he wrote for his wife, “Run Wild Horses” as well as closing the night with his smash hit “Outta Style” Texas was well represented in New York City and it was the perfect way to celebrate Texas Independence Day. Watson continues 2018 by touring the nation, to keep up with the singer follow him on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, and for tour dates head to his website.

In case you missed it, earlier in the day Watson joined the New York Country Swag team as we took the main stage at Opry City Stage in Times Square.  Catch the full video below.

 

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– Team NYCountry Swag

Tommy Cole

Swag Spotlight: Tommy Cole

Tommy Cole

Our next Swag Spotlight is focused on highlighting another local New York country artist, Tommy Cole.  Born and raised in Northeast Ohio, Cole explains in a recent interview that his town was a blue-collar, steel town, and although it wasn’t the nicest place in the world, it was a great place to call home.  Growing up with a vast array of musical influences, Cole listened to everything from Frank Sinatra and Dean Martin, to Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood, to 70’s rock music.  He recalls playing his very first cassette tape, which just happened to be Trisha Yearwood’s, “She’s In Love With the Boy,” and spending endless hours watching Garth Brooks VHS tapes.

When making his decision to play baseball or pursue a music career through theatre he laughs and explains, “I was an 18-year-old boy who wanted to have fun and chase girls, so of course, I decided to go play baseball.”  While playing catcher for the team, fate stepped in when Cole discovered his friend and the team’s pitcher also played the guitar.  The two quickly formed a duo, playing local gigs and bars around their college town.  Eventually, they recorded an EP, Southern Boulevard and spent the summers through school on the road.

After graduating college, Cole took the leap to move to Nashville, ready to pursue his singing career once and for all. He recorded his first solo artist EP, My Kinda Crowd and spent three years on the road up and down the east coast.

Something happened when he moved to that magical town, he realized that although he loved singing, he found a passion for learning the craft of songwriting. “I moved down there to be a singer, it was all I knew, I didn’t know how to play guitar, I didn’t know how to write a song really, I wrote some, but they were awful,” he explained  “I played out on the town on Broadway for the first two years, did nothing but play 8-12 hour sets and I had a guy come up to me and tell me I was really good, but I had to start writing songs.”

He also learned that being a great singer doesn’t always mean being the loudest or the biggest voice. “I wanted to belt and be as loud as I could be, but the real proof that you are good is not blowing it up, but being able to be real quiet in a song and have everyone hang on every word,”  he tells us, referencing some of his now favorite influences, Sean McConnell, Charlie Worsham, and David Nail.

 

Back in July of last year, Cole followed his heart to New York City and ended up falling in love with the city itself. “I’m a Northern boy at heart, I can’t help that,” he tells us “They won’t sugarcoat anything for you, they will tell you how it is and I love that.  As much as I fell in love and that’s how I ended up here, I really did fall in love with this town.”  He appreciates that the New York/New Jersey country scene is a tight-knit group of musicians and artists all working together as well as separately to achieve one common goal.
Country CHristmas
He continues to play shows on the east coast and is working now to put out new music that he has been working on and writing since his move to New York. He frequently collaborates with another one of our Swag Spotlights: Lauren Davidson.  “Just enjoy what you are doing, enjoy putting out music and people liking your music and then go from there, because especially having so many people pursuing this dream it’s not easy,” he concludes with.  Fans can follow along with Tommy Cole on his social media platforms including Instagram,  Twitter, and Facebook. 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

ACM Awards

ACM Nominees Announced: Chris Stapleton Leads, Our Favorite Rising Stars Nominated

Yesterday morning the nominations for the 53rd Annual Academy of Country Music Awards were announced by sixteen-time ACM winner Reba McEntire. The front-runner for the past several years Chris Stapleton leads the nominations with eight, while newcomers like Russell Dickerson and Carly Pearce are nominated for their very first awards in the New Male/New Female Vocalist of the Year categories.

Check out the full list of nominees below. 

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Garth Brooks
Luke Bryan
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Reba McEntire
Maren Morris
Carrie Underwood

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Jason Aldean
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban
Chris Young

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
LOCASH
Tim McGraw & Faith Hill

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
Lady Antebellum
LANCO
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion

NEW FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR
Lauren Alaina
Danielle Bradbery
Carly Pearce
Raelynn

NEW MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR 
Kane Brown
Luke Combs
Devin Dawson
Russell Dickerson
Brett Young

NEW VOCAL DUO OR GROUP OF THE YEAR 
High Valley
LANCO
LOCASH
Midland
Runaway June

ALBUM OF THE YEAR
Breaker – Little Big Town
Producer: Jay Joyce
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
California Sunrise – Jon Pardi
Producers: Bart Butler, Jon Pardi
Record Label: Capitol Records Nashville
From a Room Vol. 1 – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton
Record Label: Mercury Records
Happy Endings – Old Dominion
Producer: Shane McAnally
Record Label: RCA
Life Changes – Thomas Rhett
Producers: Julian Bunetta, Jesse Frasure, Dann Huff, Joe London, Thomas Rhett
Record Label: The Valory Music Co.

SINGLE RECORD OF THE YEAR
“Better Man” – Little Big Town
Producer: Jay Joyce

“Body Like a Back Road” – Sam Hunt
Producer: Zach Crowell

“Broken Halos” – Chris Stapleton
Producers: Dave Cobb, Chris Stapleton

Drinkin’ Problem” – Midland
Producers: Dann Huff, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

I’ll Name the Dogs” – Blake Shelton
Producer: Scott Hendricks

SONG OF THE YEAR
“Body Like a Back Road
” – Sam Hunt
Songwriters: Zach Crowell, Sam Hunt, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne

“Female” – Keith Urban
Songwriters: Ross Copperman, Nicolle Galyon, and Shane McAnally

“Tin Man” – Miranda Lambert
Songwriters: Jack Ingram, Miranda Lambert Jon Randall

“Whiskey and You” – Chris Stapleton
Songwriters: Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Stapleton

VIDEO OF THE YEAR
“Black” 
– Dierks Bentley
Director: Wes Edwards
Producer: Max A. Butler
It Ain’t My Fault” – Brothers Osborne
Director: Wes Edwards, Ryan Silver
Producer: Tiffany Davies
Legends” – Kelsea Ballerini
Director: Jeff Venable
Producer: Ben Skipworth
Marry Me” – Thomas Rhett
Director: TK McKamy
Producer: Dan Atchison
We Should Be Friends” – Miranda Lambert
Director: Trey Fanjoy
Producer: April Dace

SONGWRITER OF THE YEAR
Rhett Akins
Ashley Gorley
Hillary Lindsey
Shane McAnally
Josh Osborne

VOCAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
“Craving You” – Thomas Rhett Featuring Maren Morris
Producers: Julian Bunetta, Dann Huff, Joe London, Thomas Rhett

“Dear Hate” – Maren Morris featuring Vince Gill
Producers: Brad Hill, Maren Morris

“Funny (How Time Slips Away)” – Glen Campbell And Willie Nelson
Producer: Carl Jackson

The Fighter” – Keith Urban featuring Carrie Underwood
Producers: Busbee, Keith Urban

What Ifs” – Kane Brown Featuring Lauren Alaina
Producer: Dann Huff

McEntire who has hosted the ceremony fourteen times in the past will return to host the awards show from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, April 15, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

Scotty McCreery Idol Audition

#TBT Scotty McCreery Celebrates No. 1 Song, Remember His Idol Audition?

This week Scotty McCreery celebrates his very first number one single, “Five More Minutes” but let’s take a look back at the very first time the world was introduced to his sultry deep voice. Can you believe he was only 16 years old!  Randy Jackson said right before giving McCreery his third “yes” and his chance to head to Hollywood to compete “Dude, love you, love that you are throwback country guy, singing low like that!”

 

McCreery went on to compete and win season 10 of the popular singing competition.

Gearing up to release his brand new album later this month, “Five More Minutes” is the lead single from his third full-length record, Seasons Change.

McCreery heads to NYC to play his album release show at The Gramercy Theatre on March 19th.  For tickets and info click here. We’ll see you at the show!

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

Jake Owen New Music

[Listen] Jake Owen Releases Two New Songs “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)” & “Something To Ride To”

Jake Owen I was Jack

Just a few days after announcing his summer tour “Life’s Whatcha Make It,” with Chris Janson and Jordan Davis, Jake Owen has released two brand new songs, “I Was Jack (You Were Diane)” and “Something to Ride To”.  These singles are the first with his new record label, Big Loud Records after over a decade with RCA Nashville.

The first is an ode in every way to the classic Mellencamp song “Jack and Diane”, filled with nostalgic moments and familiar guitar riffs.

“Do you turn it up? / Do you sing along? / Every time you hear that song / Like we did then / Like we did when, / Do you close your eyes? / Does it make you laugh? / Do the memories take you back / To six-packs and a Chevy Cheyenne / Way back / When I was Jack / And you were Diane.”

It’s already apparent that this will be a great song for Owen to sing out on tour, and fans of his earlier singles like “Beachin” and “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” will fall in love with the approach to new music.

The second single released this morning, “Something to Ride To” is definitely a track you can turn up while driving around town.  Owen sings about wanting to get his mind off of heartbreak, looking for an escape from the love songs.

“Give me something to ride to and forget about life to /  the kind you want to get high too  / lay back in the night too, Yeah used to be dance songs, slow jams and romance songs / but now that she’s gone and the radios on yeah, I just want one that don’t sing about her, give me something to ride to”

If these two songs are any indication of what’s to come from Owen, fans can look forward to great songs with even better melodies. For tour dates, tickets and more info head to jakeowen.net/events.

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

Little Big Town: The Breakers Tour Sells Out Iconic Radio City Music Hall

Little Big Town - Radio City Music Hall

Photo Credit: Carl Scheffel

Little Big Town‘s The Breakers Tour kicked off a few weeks back and has made its way to the east coast. Tourmates Midland, Kacey Musgraves, and headliner Little Big Town sold out New York City’s legendary Radio City Music Hall Saturday night (Feb. 24), where fans of all ages gathered to listen to some of their favorite country music.

Kicking things off were Midland who hail from Texas and brought their traditional country flair to the big apple.  Singing songs off their debut album, On the Rocks, including “Check Cashin’ Country”, “Burn Out” and of course their debut number 1 single, “Drinkin’ Problem” the boys brought the energy to the theatre.  “This is pretty special for us to be playing at Radio City Music Hall, sometimes life will just trip you out a little bit,” Mark Wystrach, the lead singer stated in between songs. “This is really cool and we wouldn’t be here if it wasn’t for our good friends, Little Big Town.  I’m getting all emotional now so I’m just going to raise a toast to y’all.”

Next up, Kacey Musgraves took the stage wearing a blue faux fur coat under the most colorful and sparkly jumpsuit. Musgraves released new music on Friday and was excited to share her new songs with the audience.  Alternating between songs off her first album, Same Trailer Different Park including “Merry Go Round” and “Follow Your Arrow” as well as four brand new songs off her forthcoming album Golden Hour including “Slow Burn”, “High Horse” and the recent release “Space Cowboy” and “Butterflies” the crowd got to understand the true versatility of the singer-songwriter.

Right at 9 o’clock on the dot, Little Big Town’s Karen, Jimi, Kimberly, and Phillip took the famed stage, opening with their version of Elton John’s “Rocket Man”. The band played songs from their 2 decade long career, including their very first number one song “Pontoon”. Packing their set with classic songs that the audience knew every word to including “Little White Church” and “Day Drinkin” to deep album cuts from their previous albums like “Save Your Sin” and “Sober”.

Little Big Town

Photo Credit: Carl Scheffel

“We made it here! Radio City, sold out, holy freaking cow!” Karen Fairchild exclaimed. “Country fans are the greatest fans and you’ve been so so kind to us, thank you for coming tonight.”

A few highlights included “I’m With the Band” which is from their 2007 album A Place to Land, the group who has been together for neatly twenty years had old videos playing behind them from their early days together.  Proving that sticking to your guns and recording music that you love will get you a long-lasting career in this business.

The acoustics at Radio City Music Hall lent perfectly to the group’s harmonies, especially on their tribute to Glenn Campbell.  “We’ve lost a lot of heroes and icons recently, back during the CMA Awards we were honored to pay tribute to Mr. Glenn Campbell, we got to do a very special performance that night and we wanted to share that with you here tonight, this is ‘Witchita Lineman’,” Jimi Westbrook explained.

Closing the night with their second number one hit, “Girl Crush” the audience almost drowned out the band, singing every word back to them. (Video below) Their set was iconic, the mix of slower more emotional songs with absolute anthems made for an incredible night of country music.

 

 

The Breakers Tour heads to Pennsylvania this weekend and wraps up late April. Check out below for remaining tour dates.

March 2 – Reading, PA @ Santander Arena
March 3 – Washington, DC @ Anthem
March 15 – Green Bay, WI @ Resch Center
March 16 – Duluth, MN @ Amsoil Arena
March 17 – Grand Forks, ND @ Ralph Engelstad
March 22 – Grand Rapids, MI @ Van Andel Arena
March 23 – Cedar Rapids, IA @ U.S. Cellular Center
March 24 – Sioux City, IA @ Tyson Events Center
April 5 – Minneapolis, MN @ Target Center
April 6 – Milwaukee, WI @ BMO Harris Bradley Ctr
April 7 – St. Louis, MO @ Chaifetz Arena
April 19 – Greensboro, NC @ Greensboro Coliseum
April 20 – Greenville, SC @ Bon Secours Wellness Arena
April 21 – Atlanta, GA @ Infinite Energy Arena

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

Swag Spotlight: Jon Langston

Jon Langston Swag Spotlight

 

Recently it seems like there is something in the water in Georgia, country artists like Luke Bryan, Cole Swindell, and our next Swag Spotlight, Jon Langston all hail from small towns in Georgia and are making big waves in Nashville and the country music genre.  Langston was a big football guy growing up, always loving music, but focusing his sights on a football career.  When too many concussions in college forced him to hang up his pads for good, he ultimately grabbed a guitar and started writing songs.  With so much free time after stopping football, finding a new passion was just a fun hobby for the “Forever Girl” singer until YouTube changed his life.

 

 

“Forever Girl” was the very first song Langston wrote back in 2012. He remembers sitting on his porch his junior year of college, writing the whole song himself after jotting down a few ideas during class.  He posted an acoustic version of the song to YouTube and the rest is history. The song spread, people loved it, and he started to realize he might be on to something.  Playing frat parties and local bars around town, Langston got his feet wet in the entertainment industry.

“I saw that social media was the greatest tool you could have, free advertising and free marketing for me.  I was using the platforms to my advantage and I found ways to reach out to people and get my music out there,” he explains.  Although his music lived on YouTube for almost five years, when he moved to Nashville and got his publishing deal with Sony ATV he put the songs on Spotify where they have now garnered over 30 million spins.

 

Continuing his journey, writing and releasing new music to his fans, Langston is gearing up for a busy 2018 filled with festivals and gigs in markets he hasn’t played before. “We are traveling to new places we’ve never been and playing shows that fans have been begging us to get there, we are finally able to spread our wings a little and get out there,” he tells us.

On Friday (Feb. 23), Langston was signed to Universal Music Group with a record deal, presented to him by his mentor and friend, Luke Bryan.  Check out his ultimate surprised reaction in the video below.

 

 

Follow Jon Langston on his socials including Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook.

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

First Impression: New Music from Mitchell Tenpenny, Kacey Musgraves, Brandon Ray, & More

Some of our favorite artists released new music this Friday including Mitchell Tenpenny, Kacey Musgraves, Brandon Ray, The Swon Brothers, Cole Swindell and more.  Check out our playlist here and while you are at it give us a follow.

 

Kacey Musgraves Butterflies New Music

First up: Kacey Musgraves released two brand new songs from her next album, Golden Hour, which she announced will be released March 3oth.  “Space Cowboy” is a slow burn, written with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally.  The breakup tune highlights Musgraves’ delicate vocals and her ability to deliver a heartbreaking lyric.  “Butterflies” is quite the opposite from “Space Cowboy” in that it focuses on those first love feelings. As a new bride, Musgraves flits and floats through the enchanting song.

 

Mitchell Tenpenny New Music

New York Country Swag followers are no stranger to Mitchell Tenpenny who has a killer new song out today.  “Drunk Me” is from his self-titled EP and features Tenpenny’s strong gritty voice, where his desperation rings clear that remaining sober is his only option since “…drunk me can’t get over you”.  While cliched country songs are about indulging yourself in alcohol to get over an ex, Tenpenny flips that on its head, proving his versatile songwriting and deliverance is fast-tracking him to stardom.

 

Cole Swindell New Music

It’s been a little while since Cole Swindell released a new song and “Break Up in the End” is a total heart-wrencher. The song puts a twist on the sentiment that it is better to love and lost than never love at all.  The single is the first from his next album.  Written by Jon Nite, Chase McGill, and Jessie Jo Dillion,  Swindell wrote on Twitter, “This is one of those songs from the first time I heard it I knew it was special. So many people can relate to the lyrics. Even though I didn’t write it, I’m amazed the best writers in town are bringing me songs like this.”

 

Brandon Ray New Music

Brandon Ray released “Small Talkin’ today, a new single which was produced by Ross Copperman and Keith Urban. The mid-tempo groove will have you snapping your fingers or tapping your foot at your desk on this dreary Friday. The track was co-written with Jon Mabe and Jessica Mitchell, an idea Ray wrote on Instagram that he has had in his phone for months.

 

Swon Brothers New music

The Swon Brothers released a nostalgia-filled tune, reminiscent of those great 80’s tunes complete with catchy guitar riffs and questions like “what ever happened to the good old days?“. Head to their Instagram to see some classic throwback photos of the brothers, highlighting those good old days as a promo leading up to today’s release.

 

Follow us on Spotify to keep up with our favorite new tunes each Friday.

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

 

 

 

Swag Sessions: Featuring Ashley Campbell at Opry City Stage

 

Singer-songwriter Ashley Campbell, who just happens to be the daughter of famed country music star Glenn Campbell, joined us for a Swag Session Wednesday evening (Feb. 21)  at Opry City Stage.  After surprising diners down on the second floor, Campbell headed up to the private fourth floor, The Studio, to play a few songs and answer some questions for New York Country Swag.

Singing songs from her forthcoming debut album, due out in May including “Nothing Day”, “Looks Like Time” and “I Wish I Wanted”. Check out the full video below.

 

 

For more from Ashley Campbell follow her on Instagram, Twitter & Facebook!

 

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Thanks for supporting Country Music in NYC!

Click Here to learn more about NYCountry Swag
+ Follow our Country Music Adventures on Instagram, @NYCOUNTRYSWAG!

– Team NYCountry Swag

3.11.18 – NYCountry Swag Presents: Babes, Booze & Brunch


New York Country Swag Presents:
Babes, Booze & Brunch 

We’re celebrating International Women’s Day with a
Brunch Event for Women Celebrating Women!

Join us under the Empire State Building at Refinery Rooftop
while we chat, dine & celebrate females!

Enjoy Complimentary Pop-Up Style Fun like –
Braid Bar sponsored by NOMI Beauty
Nail Art Station sponsored by ART NAIL NYC
Photo Booth sponsored by In Good Company Hospitality

Plus Build-Your-Own Mimosa’s ft. Primaterra Prosecco
& Build-Your-Own Bloody Mary’s ft. 44 North Vodka

Music by DJ’s @ Work spinning everything from Martina McBride to Beyonce

+ Special Acoustic Performance by rising country star, Hannah Ellis
Opening Set by Lauren Davidson

 

Limited tickets available.
CLICK HERE to purchase your tickets!

 

This event is 21+. All tickets are nonrefundable.
*For all questions please e-mail: [email protected]