Sugarland Returns With Brand New Single “Still The Same”

GRAMMY®, CMA and ACM Award-winning Country duo SUGARLAND announced their upcoming single, “Still The Same,” will be available worldwide with all digital partners on December 21. Signifying their return, the song will be released through a joint venture between Big Machine Records and UMG Nashville. The Big Machine Records’ radio promo team will introduce “Still The Same” to Country radio in 2018.
 
“We are thrilled for fans to hear our new music, especially this new single,” said Jennifer Nettles. “The title of the song is so meaningful to us as we want fans to know, we are still the same, we are still the same Sugarland they’ve known and loved”.

Kristian Bush added, “We want to finish where we left off. We always knew were going to make music again, so this has been the best of both worlds. We were able to take time to feed our personal passions, and we’re excited to come back together to create music as a band again.”

Currently back in the studio working on their new album and mapping out tour dates for 2018, Sugarland is set to perform at Dick Clark’s New Year’s Rockin’ Eve with Ryan Seacrest 2018 from New York City’s Times Square on December 31. For more information about upcoming music and tours, visit SugarlandMusic.com.

Chase Rice Makes Strong Debut During His First Ever Tour In Ireland and the UK

Nashville based country singer-songwriter Chase Rice, whose new album Lambs & Lions was released in November to much acclaim from both fans and critics, this week completed his first ever tour of the UK & Ireland, playing to sellout crowds across Glasgow, Manchester, Birmingham, London and Dublin. Audiences were treated to a rare solo acoustic performance from the star, with songs from the new album, along with picks from further back in his catalogue, including fan favorite “Carolina Can” and a version of the Florida Georgia Line hit “Cruise,” which Rice co-wrote.

In his own words: “The fans that came out to the shows sang every word to every song, including album cuts from Lambs & Lions which is only a couple weeks old. Europe and the UK have true-to-the-core country music fans, and they genuinely blew our minds. Thank you for showing up and singing with us. The band and I are already planning our next tour as that was unreal!”

Among the positive reviews already stacking up for the tour, popular country website Nashville Over Here said “if you wanted an artist to get the party started, you’d be hard pressed to find one better than Chase”; while Entertainment Focus noted “it won’t be long before he’s selling out much bigger venues here”.

Rice reassured British & Irish fans he’d be back as soon as possible, with his full band. The new album Lambs & Lions is out now on BBR/BMG, with lead single “Three Chords and The Truth” gaining traction at radio on both sides of the pond.

Luke Bryan Celebrates Album Release with No. 1 Single “Light It Up”

Luke Bryan, ‘arguably the biggest star in Nashville’ (New York Times), released his new album What Makes You Country to rave reviews last week and now celebrates his 19th No. 1 single with “Light It Up” as it hits the top spot on both the Billboard Country Airplay and Country Aircheck charts. Li


The New York Times touted, “Bryan’s omnivorous approach to country production is arguably more ambitious and musically progressive; it’s certainly more in tune with the genre’s younger listeners.” And the Associated Press shares, “Bryan’s country is playful, inclusive, flirty and good-natured on the album.”

“Light It Up,” written by Luke and Brad Tursi, is the follow up to “Fast” which tallied as Luke’s 18thcareer No. 1 single and made Billboard chart history when he became the only artist in the 27-year history of the Billboard Country Airplay chart to garner six No. 1 singles from one album.Luke began his album launch week with a performance at the 40th Annual Kennedy Center Honors gala in Washington, D.C. in honor of his good friend and idol Lionel Richie, who was among the five 2017 icons recognized for their lifetime of contributions to American culture. The show will air on Dec. 26, 9/8CT on CBS.  On Friday, Luke performed two songs from his What Makes You Country album on Good Morning America live from Opry City Stage in the heart of Times Square and sang the title track on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. Tomorrow Luke will perform “Most People Are Good” on The Ellen DeGeneres Show.

Luke made his first stop in New York City at Lennox Hill Hospital with Musicians On Call, to meet and perform for the staff and patients bedsides. Last week, Luke also performed songs from the new album for fans at events hosted by Pandora, NASH-FM and Samsung.

What Makes You Country was produced by Jeff Stevens and Jody Stevens and contains 15 songs, seven of them co-written by Luke including the title track.

Chris Young Earns 17th RIAA Certification as Hit Single “Losing Sleep” Turns Gold

“Losing Sleep,” the title track from RCA Records Nashville artist Chris Young’s chart-topping new album, has been certified GOLD by the RIAA for hitting the 500,000-unit mark of combined sales and streams.  The song marks the 32-year old Grammy nominated singer/songwriter’s 17th Gold/Platinum certification.

It’s been a banner year for Young who released his acclaimed seventh studio album, Losing Sleep, his third record in less than two years and second consecutive studio album to debut at No. 1 on Billboards Top Country Albums Chart. He achieved a career milestone when he was inducted as a member of the legendary Grand Ole Opry on October 17, 2017.

He’ll kick off the new year headlining the “Chris Young Losing Sleep 2018 World Tour” starting January 10 in Indianapolis. For tickets visit chrisyoungcountry.com.

Dierks Bentley Set To Receive CRS 2018 Artist Humanitarian Award

The Country Radio Broadcasters have announced multi-PLATINUM singer/songwriter Dierks Bentley as the recipient of the CRS 2018 Artist Humanitarian Award, presented by Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals, and Dan Halyburton, Owner of Falls Media Group, as the recipient of the CRS 2018 Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award. Both individuals will be recognized at Country Radio Seminar 2018, following the Opening Ceremonies on Monday, Feb. 5, 2018.

The CRB Artist Humanitarian Award was created in 1990 by the organization’s board to honor Country music artists who have exhibited exceptional humanitarian efforts during their career.  Past recipients of the annual award have included Zac Brown, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Carrie Underwood, Rascal Flatts, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill, Toby Keith, Brad Paisley, Brooks & Dunn, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Garth Brooks, Charlie Daniels, among others.

Award-winning entertainer Dierks Bentley has demonstrated his dedication to giving back nation-wide through many charitable initiatives and events, as he has raised over $4 million for charities through his “Miles & Music For Kids” all-star motorcycle ride and concert, including Children’s Miracle Network Hospitals across the country. Additionally, in 2013 Bentley partnered with KMLE and KAFF as they organized and hosted the Country Cares Concert in Arizona, raising more than half a million dollars for the families of the Granite Mountain Hotshots. His first-ever song written and recorded for a motion picture, “Hold The Light,” featured in Columbia Pictures and Black Label Media’s Only The Brave embodies the spirit of the true heroism behind the firefighters depicted in the film. Bentley has also put the spotlight on local Nashville non-profit organizations such as Safe Haven Family Shelter, as his raw music video for “Riser” magnified a true story and the struggles of a formerly homeless mother.

The Tom Rivers Humanitarian Award is given at the discretion of the Country Radio Broadcasters Board of Directors to recognize an individual in the Country Radio industry who has displayed a magnanimous spirit of caring and generosity in service to their community.  This award is named in honor of CRB Board member Tom Rivers, who died in 2004 at age 38 of bronchial asthma.  Rivers, known for his work at WQYK, Tampa/St. Petersburg and WUSN, Chicago, was highly regarded for his public service.

Dan Halyburton has dedicated countless hours to the Red Cross as a communication specialist. When a disaster strikes, Halyburton offers valuable communication leadership to those in need. In these chaotic circumstances, he uses his decades of expertise and his passion for helping others to provide clear, concise, reliable instructions and communication that is vital in these situations. His assistance in helping those who have been impacted by natural disasters has been crucial in these last few months for those dealing with hurricane aftermath. 

For more information, visit www.CountryRadioSeminar.com, and follow CRS on Facebook, Twitter (Hashtag #CRS2018) and Instagram.