Rising country star, Russell Dickerson was amongst the multiple artists who were surprised with a CMT Award nomination yesterday (May 8.). His debut single and first #1 song, “Yours” is up for CMT Breakout Video of the Year. The nomination sparks an extra special recognition for Dickerson as the entire video was directed, filmed, produced and edited by none other than his beautiful wife, Kailey.
The now famous “$6 Video”, costing only the price of the gas used, was filmed from the back of a friends SUV, while Dickerson used a tri-pod and camera to shoot her husband walking behind the truck. When a thunderstorm erupted during the middle of shooting, nature’s beauty added it’s own special effects to the impromptu shoot.
Kailey Dickerson, who also happens to be one of our recent ‘Woman of the Month’ features, credits God for the extra touches in the video in a recent Instagram post.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/RD_Video.jpg288480Stephanie Wagnerhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngStephanie Wagner2018-05-09 13:27:542018-05-09 13:38:51Russell Dickerson’s $6 Video Up For CMT Breakout Video of the Year…
What’s Tyler Rich’s idea of ‘The Difference’ between Love & Lust… Cupcakes & Muffins… Traditional & Modern Country? Check out our full interview with the rising country star below to find out and to hear about his TODAY show debut and his choice to make “The Difference” his first single.
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“…I didn’t really care where else we went, all I knew is I wanted to end in New York City” Brett Eldredge tells his adoring fans who spent the entire concert on their feet at Hammerstein Ballroom. The last stop on The Long Way Tour just happened to be right here in our favorite city in the world. Prior to the evening show, Eldredge along with his supporting acts, Devin Dawson and Jillian Jacqueline stopped by Nash FM Hackensack Meridian Health Stage 17 to perform a few songs, which Nash FM 94.7 DJ Jesse Addy cleverly titled “The Short Way Tour”.
Photo by Nash FM 94.7 via Facebook
Jacqueline was up first, performing her single “Reasons” and “Hate Me” giving fans a sneak peek of what they would hear later on during her opening set. “Life is weird sometimes, you can’t always choose the timing of things,” she explained to the Nash DJs about getting engaged and having her song “Reasons” which is a breakup song about a previous relationship head to country radio. She ended with a brand new song that she wrote called “Tragic” about making it through tough times and not taking herself too seriously.
Photo by Nash FM 94.7 via Facebook
Devin Dawson was up next to preview his set for The Long Way Tour. Dawson sang “I Don’t Care Who Sees”, “Asking For a Friend” which just happens to be his next radio single and his breakout single, “All On Me”. “This is one of the funnest tours I’ve ever been on, I’m sad to say this is the last night of it, but we are going to leave it all out on the floor for you guys tonight,” he told the in-studio audience.
Photo by Nash FM 94.7 via Facebook
Brett Eldredge took the stage lastly, but not before running up and down the aisle high fiving all of the fans who spent their Saturday at Hackensack Meridian Health Stage 17. He answered some questions from Facebook Live, including a shout-out to his mom who was watching live as well. He took a seat on a stool and grabbed his guitar to sing an intimate acoustic version of “Mean to Me” as well as “Wanna Be That Song” before handing out a pair of coveted tickets to that night’s show to a lucky audience member.
Check out the full live show from Hackensack Meridian Health Stage 17 below…
Fast forwarding a few hours, The Long Way Tour had its final run at The Hammerstein Ballroom in midtown Manhattan. Jillian Jacqueline and Devin Dawson once again acted as the supporting artists. Jacqueline sang songs from her EP including “Bleachers”, “Hate Me” and “Reasons”. Devin Dawson then took the stage to perform songs off his debut album Dark Horse including “War Paint”, “Symptoms”, “Prison” and of course his first single “All On Me”. The audience was so loud singing back the words, Dawson was taken back and finally got emotional when the packed room of three floors was lit up with flashlights for his finale, “Dark Horse”. After watching the swaying lights dance in the darkness, Dawson said: “New York City, I’ve never cried on stage before, this is a night I will never forget”.
Eldredge who had saved most of his energy for this last night of the tour, took the sold-out room by storm, singing all of his hits, including “The Reason”, “Something I’m Good At”, “Lose My Mind” and “Don’t Ya”. Pausing to slow things down a bit, the crew brought out a full-size bed, Eldredge put on a “Bed Head Jamz” zip-up sweatshirt and had his dog Edgar on stage with him to perform a live version of the Instagram famous “Bed Head Jamz”. The audience sang along with him to “You Are My Sunshine” and then performed “Raymond” one of the first songs he had ever released which is about his grandma.
He invited back to the stage his opening acts to join him in singing Gnarls Barkley’s “Crazy” then ended the night of incredible music with “Cast Away” and “Drunk on Your Love”. The Long Way Tour closed out its Spring run with a sold-out New York City show and the three levels of fans will agree it was a night to remember.
Jillian Jacqueline, Brett Eledredge and Devin Dawson with New York Country Swag’s Christina Bosch and Stephanie Wagner. (Photo by Nash FM 94.7 via Facebook)
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“It takes a certain kind of weird to want to leave a social life to play music all day, but that’s me, just a big ol’ nerd that loves to sing,” says our next Swag Spotlight artist, Abby Anderson. She laughs as she chats with New York Country Swag about her life leading up to releasing her very first single out to the world.
Anderson, born and raised in Dallas, Texas was the second oldest of seven kids, six girls, and one boy. Growing up around music, she sang, played piano, and nurtured her creative side from an early point in life. After receiving some attention from playing piano one day, Anderson knew in her bones that she wanted to perform in front of an audience. Confidently, when she was just fifteen years old, she walked into her dad’s office and told him that she wanted to be homeschooled the rest of high school and move to Nashville. Being the supportive parent she needed, he told her to graduate a year early and move there when she was seventeen and that is exactly what she did. “My parents are awesome, they always taught us as kids, burn the ships, there’s no such thing as a plan B, you’re going to do something you better do it the best you can and you better be successful at it,” she explained.
Right upon her arrival into town she got to hustling, making connections and networking. “That is what’s so beautiful about Nashville, it’s so easy to meet not just people, but kind people who genuinely want to help you out,” she says of Music City. Focusing on songwriting and getting into rooms with the right people, Anderson was signed to Black River Entertainment, after her friends pitched her songs to their A&R team. Label head, Gordon Kerr sat her down and said he wanted to sign her, following the conversation, Anderson signed her record deal on the stage at the famed Ryman Auditorium. “I am the luckiest girl to be over there, they are my family and my team and they are brilliant,” she exclaimed.
Her debut single, which was released last month “Make Him Wait” was written with Josh Kerr and Tom Douglas. Kerr is a songwriter on Kelsea Ballerini’s smash hits “Love Me Like You Mean It” and “Dibs” and Tom Douglas is a songwriter on Miranda Lambert’s “The House That Built Me” as well as songs for Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, Lee Ann Womack and many more country artists. Their latest collaboration, Anderson’s “Make Him Wait” started out a simple song about her current crush at the time. “Josh turned around to me and said ‘Well Abby, how do you get the guys what are your moves?’ and I told him ‘I make him wait for it, I make him work for it a little bit.’ He turned around and all of the sudden he was like “Make Him Wait” this is the song,” she tells us. After the three discussed growing up what they had learned about relationships, and Anderson explained what her father taught her about her value and worth, the song was written in 45 minutes.
Anderson’s gentle vocals add such depth to the song, which takes you through courtship and eventually through the wedding day of a couple where the female realized chivalry is not dead and to expect it. It is empowering and a great reminder for women of all ages. In a time when incredible music is being made by young females in the country music world, she is excited to be a part of this generation of well-respected women. “It’s so exciting and there is great music being made every single day by all kinds of artists and I’m just lucky that mine has a shot at being heard by a bunch of people,” she tells us.
This summer, fans all over the country will get to hear her new music, playing the Breakout Stage during CMAFest as well as shows in California, Boston, and Country Jam in Wisconsin. Hitting the radio tour circuit and opening shows for LANco and Russell Dickerson, Anderson has a busy summer ahead of her. “It’s just so weird, I mean this in the most humble way, but I knew it was going to happen, in the fact that I knew I was going to be a performer, I knew I was going to get a record deal, but it was always a matter of okay but how, and okay but when? The how and when is what has me absolutely humbled, because I would never have thought this would happen this way this fast as it did, so I am very blessed.”
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‘Good Morning America’ announced its 2018 Summer Concert Series lineup and Kelsea Ballerini represents the country genre on August 3rd.
Each concert takes place on the SummerStage in New York City’s Central Park at Rumsey Playfield. The series kicks off on May 15th with Liam Payne and J Balvin.
Don’t miss a single summer concert! See the full schedule below and get full details on how to attend.
Concert Schedule
May 15 – Liam Payne and J Balvin
May 25 – Sting and Shaggy
June 1 – Halsey
June 8 – Ne-Yo
June 15 – Pitbull
June 22 – Bebe Rexha
June 29 – Florence + the Machine
July 6 – G-Eazy
July 13 – Backstreet Boys
July 20 – Camila Cabello
July 27 – Fall Out Boy
August 3 – Kelsea Ballerini
August 10-The Chainsmokers
August 17 – Leon Bridges* (*This concert will be held in GMA’s Times Square studio.)
Viewers interested in joining “GMA” in Central Park are encouraged to arrive at Rumsey Playfield via the 72nd Street entrance on Fifth Avenue at 6 a.m. when the park opens to the public.
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The ‘Today’ Show announced its 2018 Summer Citi Concert Series lineup, which includes some of our favorite country music acts playing live in New York City including Darius Rucker, Dierks Bentley, Lady Antebellum & more.
Each concert will take place outside of the NBC Today Show Studios on 49th Street & Rockefeller Plaza. The summer series will kick off May 15th with Meghan Trainor.
Don’t miss a single summer concert! See the full schedule below and get full details on how to attend.
Concert Schedule –
May 15th – Meghan Trainor
May 25th – Darius Rucker
May 28th – Troye Sivan
June 1st – Shawn Mendes
June 8th – Kelly Clarkson
June 12th – Dierks Bentley
June 15th – Christina Aguilera
June 22nd – 5 Seconds of Summer
June 25th – Dan + Shay
June 29th – Panic at the Disco
July 6th – Lady Antebellum
July 13th – Maroon 5
July 20th – Charlie Puth
July 27th – Julia Michaels
August 2nd – Keith Urban
August 10th – Jason Mraz
August 17th – Cole Swindell
*Dates for Alessia Cara and Why Don’t We to be announced.
All shows (except when noted) will be broadcast Friday mornings on the Today show. Fans looking to see the concerts in person should go to 49th Street and Rockefeller Plaza by 6am ET for the best spots. Viewing is provided on a first-come, first-served basis outside Today’s window-on-the-world studio.
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/05/today1.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-05-04 12:04:462018-05-04 12:10:17TODAY Show Reveals 2018 Citi Summer Concert Series Lineup…
Initially, the country music genre’s only all-vocal group Home Free was formed back in 2000 but were really thrust into the scene after participating and winning the 4th season of the singing competition, TheSing Off. The group which is made up of five vocalists, Austin Brown, Adam Chance, Tim Foust, Rob Lundquist and Adam Rupp are our Swag Spotlight this week, as we focus on their unique brand and their beautiful harmonies. Rob Lundquist spoke to NYCounry Swag about their tour, their sound and their niche corner of country music. “We have our own niche in this market for sure, nobody else is doing a cappella country, we get to be trailblazers in our own right, we figure out what we want to do and we can always try something else, it’s liberating,” he explains.
Although the majority of their music are covers with a twist on well-known country songs, they also dabble in writing, producing and creating their own original music. They have garnered over 215 million views on YouTube. “We try and put out two YouTube videos a month, we are not on the radio so that is our way to stay relevant and keep people engaged,” he tells us. “We were lucky enough to get with a pretty great management team, Works Entertainment and after the show is where we really started working, touring, making music videos and recording new singles all of the time and that’s really been why we’ve been able to hang around and keep growing.”
Most recently they covered Russell Dickerson’s “Yours”, and Lundquist told us that it was a no-brainer to cover that incredible love song. As far as picking which songs to cover, he lets us know that it is a democratic process, each member must love the song in order for them to create an arrangement specific for them and their sound. They mainly think about what their fans will want to hear, what they think will reach new markets as well. Their original song “Timeless” is a catchy tune with an amazing video, showing couples reenacting photos that were taken of them when they were much younger. Take a look at the touching video below.
Their Timeless Tour has hit over 30 cities over the country, including a sold-out stop at Nashville’s famed Ryman Auditorium. The quintet will also perform at CMA Fest this year on the Riverfront Stage. Then continue the summer playing with The Oak Ridge Boys. “Tour has been great, we are all over the country. People are coming out, we are playing some new markets that we haven’t played and it’s been really fun,” Lundquist tells us.
In a time in country music and music in general when the production and the instruments can sometimes overtake the lyrics of a song, Home Free has managed to push past needing that, creating their own brand using only the beautiful voices they were given. For more information and tour dates head to www.homefreemusic.com
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Big Loud Records recording artist Morgan Wallen is not only wrapping up his first headlining tour, but he is playing Stagecoach festival, releasing his debut album today and made his late night TV debut on ABC’s Jimmy Kimmel Live! last night to sing “Up Down” joined by Florida Georgia Line and “Whiskey Glasses”. Talk about an eventful weekend for the rising star who is excited to finally release this new music that he has been working on since he got to Nashville.
One thing that is undeniable about Wallen and his sound, is his accent. His first single which was released early last year, “The Way I Talk” was an important message for the rising star to be true to himself, and although If I Know Me dabbles in southern rock, r&b, and pop country vibes, his southern accent makes any song sound traditional.
Wallen spent time opening for Florida Georgia Line who collaborated with him on his breakout hit “Up Down”. The track has now garnered over 92 million spins on Spotify, just recently was certified gold and is ready to break into the top 10 on the country charts. The Tennesee native took time to chat with New York Country Swag last Fall, about recording the single and his relationship with the duo.
The album is filled with tracks that are radio ready and primed to become singles, especially “Happy Hour”, “Whiskey Glasses” and the title track “If I Know Me”. Even the slower-tempo more emotion-driven songs “Redneck Love Song”, “Little Rain” and “Chasin’ You” have a certain charm about them.
Joining Luke Bryan’s What Makes You Country tour that is hitting major stadiums all over the country this summer, Morgan Wallen is showing no signs of slowing down as his career takes off. Tickets and tour dates available at www.morganwallen.com
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https://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/04/mwcov.jpg288480Christina Boschhttps://countryswag.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/05/logo-new-cs-white.pngChristina Bosch2018-04-27 13:42:442018-05-22 14:58:21NYCS First Impression: Morgan Wallen Debut Album ‘If I Know Me’
Keith Urban has been making his mark on the country music genre for the past two decades, always finding ways to reinvent his sound while staying relevant to the changes in the business and the fluidity of music itself. In his latest release, Graffiti U certainly stays current while still highlighting Urban’s signature guitar skills as well as his ability to keep his fans engaged and singing along.
The project begins with his duet “Coming Home” written by Urban with pop star Julia Michaels, famed songwriters Nicolle Galyon and J.R Rotem. While Galyon and Urban bring their country flair, Michaels and Rotem who have thrived in the pop and r&b worlds bring a progressive feel to the song which opens with Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried”. Michaels is also a co-writer on three other songs on the project, “Way Too Long”, “Parallel Line”, and “Gemini”.
The opening track sets the tone for the rest of the album, classic country Urban vocals with hints of pop, reggae, and r&b. Furthering his crossover power, Urban cut a few outside tracks, among those”Parallel Line” which was written by Ed Sheeran, Benjamin Levin, Johnny McDaid, Julia Michaels, Amy Wadge and produced by Sheeran and “Horses” which was written by Matt Rad, MoZella, Jamie Scott who have all had major success in the pop world.
A standout on the record is when Urban goes back to his country roots for “Texas Time”. The intro has Urban fiddling with his guitar and saying “You know what we need right now, we need a song about Texas.” Another stand out is “Drop Top” which leans away from the country genre sonically and has the line “She’s going to Coachella with feathers in her hair” but features the epic pipes of Kassi Ashton on the chorus and simply put is the perfect summer, roll your windows down anthem.
Urban was most recently nominated for ACM Entertainer of the Year, Male Vocalist of the Year, Song of the Year for “Female” and won for Vocal Event of hte Year for “The Fighter” which featured Carrie Underwood. “Female” which is one of the slower songs on Graffiti U takes a stab at the #MeToo movement, empowering women.
The Graffiti U Tour is hitting 58 cities across the country and kicks off June 15th at the Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre in St. Louis, Missouri. Kelsea Ballerini is the supporting act for all tour dates. The tour stops at Barclays Center on October 27th. For all tour dates and more info head to www.keithurban.net.
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On this perfect spring day, Drew Baldridge hung out with New York Country Swag to chat about his new music and his non-profit organization W.E.R.D. Baldrige played his brand new single “Gentleman” and “Guns and Roses” live from The Refinery Rooftop before heading to Nash FM and Opry City Stage for his show tonight. Tune in to the live stream below.
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