Jake Owen and Shania Twain Team Up with USA Network For Launch of New Series “REAL COUNTRY”

USA Network announced REAL COUNTRY, a new country music showcase series featuring multi-platinum, five-time GRAMMY Award®-winning trailblazer Shania Twain, and ACM Award-winning and platinum-selling singer-songwriter Jake Owen. Premiering this fall on USA, the eight-part REAL COUNTRY will film this summer in Nashville and is produced by Wilshire Studios, with Twain, Nicolle Yaron, Stijn Bakkers and Leslie Garvin set to executive produce.

In each hour-long episode, Twain and Owen hand-select emerging solo artists, duos and groups to perform in showcases that spotlight the rich traditions, songs and themes of specific country genres. The best artists from each showcase will perform in a grand finale, for the chance to be named one of country music’s next breakout acts.

“REAL COUNTRY celebrates everything we love about country music, while providing a unique platform for emerging artists to showcase their talent,” said Heather Olander, Senior Vice President, Alternative Development and Production, USA Network. She added: “We are extremely lucky to work with both Shania and Jake. Shania is a true international icon who remains the best-selling female country artist of all time and whose music broke barriers across genres, and Jake is an ACM Award-winner who consistently dominates the country charts with some of today’s biggest hits.”

Twain shared: “It’s been an incredible year for me, releasing my new album and coming back to country music. I feel it’s time for me to add my own support in finding our greatest undiscovered talent. It’s beyond thrilling to be leading the charge with REAL COUNTRY, and I’m on a mission to find artists who will keep country music diverse and dynamic. The kind of diversity that inspired all of us.” 

Added Owen: “Country music truly seems to be the healing factor in a lot of people’s lives. I will always be grateful for music, whether I’m performing or listening, and I want to encourage up-and-coming artists to tell their stories, find their audiences and make their mark in country music with the same guidance that artists have given to me throughout my journey.”

“NBCUniversal has made a commitment to reimagine the commercial experience,” said Mark Marshall, Executive Vice President, Entertainment Advertising Sales, NBCUniversal. “REAL COUNTRY is a tremendous opportunity for advertisers to connect with the genre’s passionate fan base in an engaging and authentic way.”

Anyone interested in being invited to perform on one of REAL COUNTRY’s showcases can apply at realcountry.castingcrane.com or via email at [email protected].

Brantley Gilbert Honors “Waffle House Hero” James Shaw Jr.

For Brantley Gilbert, playing with a symphony orchestra is unusual enough. But when the CMA Awards Song of the Year nominee heard about the shooting at a Nashville Waffle House, he knew he wanted to do something to honor James Shaw Jr. — the 29-year-old man who disarmed the shooter and has already started a GoFundMe page to raise money for the victims’ families.

“When you see someone like James, who just jumped up and did what he did – and you think about the lives he saved, you realize what a special kind of guy he is,” Gilbert says. “I called my manager, Rich Egan, who heads up the I Believe In Nashville coalition, and asked if there was any way we could do something that would shine a light and remind everyone that heroes can be real life people. We came up with the idea of creating ‘I Believe in Heroism’ t-shirts that we will sell at our May 4th Nashville show and give the proceeds to James.”

Joining Gilbert at the impromptu press conference was Dashboard Confessional’s Chris Carrabba, who will also be selling the shirts at his May 11 appearance at the Ryman Auditorium. The acclaimed singer/songwriter told the assembled media, “If you can’t get to a show, visit www.IBelieveInNashville.com and you can get the shirt, or donate to the GoFundMe pages set up for James and the families of the victims.”

Gilbert spoke of wanting to give back, to recognize these men as a way to inspire others to see their own inner hero. For the hardcore rock country star from South Georgia, it is the inspiration that will help us all make the world a much a better place.

“Bad people do bad things,” he offers. “But good people can do great things. Talking to James before we got up here, he said he’s not a superhero, he’s just a regular person. But I think there has to be some hero inside, that’s where that kind of bravery comes from.”

Brantley Gilbert established himself as a voice of the hardcore, hardworking American from his debut single, the No. 1 “Country Must Be Country Wide.” With a strong commitment to rocking hard, reaching deep and pushing Nashville’s boundaries, the man lauded by Entertainment Weekly for “swaggering guitars, catchy hooks, and a DGAF attitude” and Rolling Stone.com as “a brooding, hip-hop influenced rocker” continues working to honor and support the people who dig in and make our world better.

“When it’s not about me, that’s when I’m happiest.” Gilbert says. “More than that, when it’s about somebody who was brave, and we can honor them a little, that’s when it’s really good. To me, I can’t wait to play with the Symphony, but I’m really stoked to be here today with someone like James.”

Tyler Farr Releases New Single “Love By The Moon”

Columbia Nashville Tyler Farr’s brand new single “Love By The Moon” has released and arrived on the Country radio airwaves.

The new single, “Love By The Moon,” was written by Ross Ellis Lipsey, James McNair and Chris Stevens, and produced by Sugarland’s Kristian Bush.

About the new song Farr says “Me and my wife Hannah have been married for a year and a half now, and this song is for her. We live in the country and enjoy our lives together on the farm. We laugh, work and play hard. This song is us!”

He adds “Being a country music artist, I’m away from home a lot. So, when I do get time at home, I make those days count and don’t take one for granted. We live by the sun and love by the moon. Yeah, That’s right!”

Listen to “Love By The Moon” HERE.

Jason Aldean Tops The Charts with Eighth Studio Album REARVIEW TOWN

Three-time and reigning ACM “Entertainer of the Year” Jason Aldean’s hard-charging eighth studio album REARVIEW TOWN (Broken Bow Records) has earned the No. One position on Billboard’s all-genre Top 200 Album chart. Becoming only the second Country act to score four consecutive chart-toppers in history, Aldean draws 183,000 equivalent album units in its first week of release making it the biggest Country debut of 2018.

As he “savors his ACM Entertainer of the Year hat trick” (Hits Daily Double), fans and critics rally behind REARVIEW TOWN for its “relatable premise,” (Huffington Post).

“It’s utterly serious in tone, as if enjoying weekend downtime to the fullest – in an almost nihilistic fashion – is a moral obligation, and it’s another fine example of the empathetic approach Aldean has taken toward working-class life and Middle America.” – Rolling Stone

“The record is full of the same swaggering, emotion-driven country rock that earned him a spot as one of the top live performers in the current Country landscape.” – UPROXX

“…it often feels as though Aldean is reaching for very common comforts to get his way through very specific pain. And this is, of course, Country music’s great power.” – The Atlantic

“The album is a straight-up shot of what has kept Aldean fans rocking through his previous seven studio albums – high-octane songs ready-made for his arena and stadium shows.” – PEOPLE

“Surprising fans for almost a decade after his genre-bending breakthrough smash ‘She’s Country,’ Aldean still revels in surprising fans and pushing the boundaries of Country music.” – USA Today

“Twelve years after Aldean helped recenter the genre, these sounds aren’t novel in Country music. This is Aldean’s world; he inhabits it more convincingly than most.” – Paste

Parmalee Releases Summer Six Pack Album “Party Pack”

Stoney Creek Records’ platinum-selling band, Parmalee, releases its brand new Party Pack, a summer-ready sixer of songs. Available for download everywhere, the EP is a compilation of Parmalee’s most rebel-rousing party songs, including the band’s scorching new single, “Hotdamalama,” which impacts Country radio on Monday, April 23.

In advance of its radio release, the music video for “Hotdamalama” premiered this past weekend on CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown. The video takes viewers along for rocking good time as Parmalee unwittingly lands on a tropical island. For a sneak peek, check out the behind the scenes video from the music video shoot, which debuted exclusively Taste of Country, HERE.

“Hotdamalama” marks the band’s seventh single, with the previous six all reaching Top 40 in Country radio including the Platinum-certified smash “Carolina,” which was a multi-week #1 hit.

“We had so much fun shooting this video and hope that viewers have just as much fun watching it,” said Matt Thomas of Parmalee. “That’s what the entire Party Pack is all about—having a good time, bringing people together and enjoying the moment.”

The fun-loving band handpicked each of the tracks on the Party Pack to create the perfect playlist for your next throwdown and takes listeners on a wild rollercoaster of a journey through a weekend complete with raging parties, morning mimosas, day drinkin’ and solving those morning-after mysteries (like how a car ended up in the pool). Each song in the pack was co-written by lead singer, Matt Thomas including the new brand new tracks, “Last Night” and “These Are The Good Days.”

Party Pack, produced by Parmalee, New Voice, Tommy Cecil and Brock Berryhill, is available for purchase HERE.    

TRACK LISTING:

  1. “Hotdamalama” (Matt Thomas, Tommy Cecil, Craig Wiseman)
  2. “Day Drinkin’” (Matt Thomas, Blair Daly)
  3. “Musta Had A Good Time” (Matt Thomas, Scott Thomas, Josh McSwain, Barry Knox, David Fanning)
  4. “Mimosas” (Matt Thomas, Tommy Cecil, Jared Tyler Mullins)
  5. “Last Night” (Matt Thomas, Tom Douglas)
  6. “These Are The Good Days” (Matt Thomas, Tully Kennedy, Jon Nite)  

For a list of tour dates and more information, please visit: parmalee.com/tour