Country music superstar and 2017 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee Alan Jackson has officially opened all four floors – including the rooftop – of AJ’s Good Time Bar, the first and only completely artist-owned establishment on Broadway in Nashville.
Filled floor-to-ceiling with items from Jackson’s own collection of career and personal memorabilia, the honky-tonk offers locals, fans and visitors an unparalleled experience, including a drink menu highlighted by “Alan’s Drink” – Jack and Water, which is Alan’s own beverage of choice.
Each of the four floors vary in “personality,” showcasing Jackson’s various interests and hobbies. “AJ’s Honky Tonk” is the first floor and prominently features live country music, while the second floor is known as the “GT Bar,” offering a sports and car-themed atmosphere, 12 big screen televisions and live, acoustic music. The “Hullbilly Bar” on the third floor is proving to be one of the venue’s biggest draws – it’s modeled after Jackson’s own Merritt Sportfish boat “Hullbilly,” seen in his “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” and “Long Way to Go” music videos. The third level’s stage features karaoke and live music, as well. The rooftop “Star Bar” caps AJ’s Good Time Bar, providing views of the historic Ryman Auditorium, Broadway, Nissan Stadium and all of downtown Music City.
“I always wanted to own a honky-tonk that plays real country music on Broadway that I could put my name on,” says Jackson. He purchased the building in August of 2016, opened the first two floors in October of 2016, and after intense renovations, opened the third floor and rooftop in May 2017.
The four-story entertainment mecca sits proudly near the corner of 4th Avenue and lower Broadway in the heart of Nashville – a stretch of road commonly called the “Honky Tonk Highway,” just like Jackson’s 2017 tour. Following the Honky Tonk Highway Tour‘s sold-out stop at the city’s Ascend Amphitheater in May, Jackson and his eight-piece band made a surprise appearance on the first floor’s “AJ’s Honky Tonk” stage … and, as sole owner and visionary behind the venue, he’s known to make appearances at AJ’s during the week and when not on the road. Jackson is also a majority owner in ACME Feed & Seed, located just blocks away at 1st Avenue and Broadway.
Kellie Pickler and husband Kyle are back with a third season of their hit CMT television series “I Love Kellie Pickler,” which premieres on Thursday, August 3 at 11 p.m., ET/PT. The docu-comedy follows the country music star and personality as she navigates her madcap relationships with friends and family, along with her adoring husband, Kyle Jacobs, her complete opposite.
The 2015 series debut marked CMT’s highest rated premiere among women 18-49 since 2008 and averaged 1.5 million weekly viewers during season two.
“This show is about laughter and love,” shares Kellie. “It’s all positive and all about our family and friends and our crazy adventures. We just want to be a bright light and make people laugh and feel good.”
On this season of “I Love Kellie Pickler,” fans can expect more adventures than ever. Kellie and Kyle aren’t shying away from new experiences, which include house hunting, presenting at the ACM Awards, new music and debut performances from Kellie and a bucket list trip to Alaska.
Season three will again feature many of the couple’s beloved family and friends including guest appearances from singer-songwriters Runaway June and Lee Brice.
Curb Records breakout star Dylan Scott has just capped a remarkable rise to the top of Country radio, as his GOLD-certified smash “My Girl” ascends to the #1 position on both Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase Country Airplay charts this week.
The first chart-topper of Scott’s young career, “My Girl” reveals the real-life story of the Louisiana native’s decade-plus long romance with his expectant wife, Blair, making the #1 achievement and fans’ embrace of the song even more meaningful.
“Growing up in Louisiana, I listened to Country radio and dreamed of someday hearing myself on the Top 40 Countdown. Not only was I fortunate enough to achieve that dream, but to reach #1 with a song that I wrote about my wife is beyond my wildest expectations,” exclaimed Scott. “I am thankful to Curb Records, Country radio, and my fans for their tremendous support.”
Co-written by Scott with Country hitmaker Josh Kerr, the track’s smoldering sensitivity and heart-thumping beat have already helped the rising artist gather a total of 100 million radio plays on Pandora and surpass 170 million on-demand streams on services such as Spotify, Apple Music, Amazon and YouTube.
Continuing the momentum, he’ll release DYLAN SCOTT DELUXE EDITION, an expanded version of his 2016 self-titled album debut with three hot-and-heavy new tracks, on August 4. Preorders for the album are available now, and Scott will celebrate the release with a special concert at New York City’s Gramercy Theatre on August 1.
Continuing her red-hot momentum, Country artist Lindsay Ell will release her eagerly-awaited debut album The Projecton August 11 via Stoney Creek Records. The 12-song collection is available for pre-order now by clicking HERE.
The Project, produced by celebrated Grammy-winner Kristian Bush (of Sugarland), follows their acclaimed collaboration on Ell’s debut EP Worth The Wait. The album features current single “Waiting On You,” which Rolling Stone Country applauds “is a showcase not only for the Canadian’s gifts as a singer but also as a guitarist.” Watch the official music video HERE.
“This new music is the best I’ve ever done,” the multi-instrumentalist shares. “I called the album The Project because that’s exactly what this whole process was. I’ve discovered who I am, what I want to say and how I want to say it. I’m so excited to finally have an album that is me, and I can’t wait for fans to hear it.”
The Project is the end result of a soul bearing creative process powered by true-to-life songwriting that inspired Ell to “find her artistic voice” (Billboard). From the funky and spirited “Champagne,” to the resilient and superbly relatable “Wildfire” to crowd-favorite “Criminal,” the album is layered with stand-outs.
Adding to the excitement, following a recent appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, Ell will make her morning TV debut on NBC’s The Today Show on Tuesday, August 8. Tune-in at 10 AM (all time zones) to watch her perform “Waiting On You.”
The Stoney Creek Records artist is currently supporting superstar Brad Paisley on his Weekend Warrior World Tour throughout the U.S. and Canada. To see all tour dates, click HERE.
THE PROJECT Track List: 1) “Waiting On You” (Lindsay Ell, Adam Hambrick, Andrew DeRoberts) 2) “Champagne” (Lindsay Ell, Walker Hayes, Fred Wilhelm) 3) “Castle” (Lindsay Ell, Abbey Cone, Josh Kerr) 4) “Good” (Lindsay Ell, Adam Hambrick, Andrew DeRoberts) 5) “Wildfire” (Lindsay Ell, Kristian Bush) 6) “Mint” (Lindsay Ell, Justin Ebach) 7) “White Noise” (Kelsea Ballerini, Josh Kear, Ross Copperman) 8) “Criminal” (Lindsay Ell, Chris Stevens, Fred Wilhelm) 9) “Just Another Girl” (Lindsay Ell, Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne) 10) “Space” (Caitlyn Smith, Heather Morgan, Maggie Chapman) 11) “Always Kiss The Girl” (Bobby Hamrick, Jarrad Kritzstein, Carly Pearce) 12) “Worth The Wait” (Lindsay Ell, Travis Meadows)
Walker Hayes returns to country radio with his latest single, “You Broke Up With Me.” Co-written by Hayes, Thomas Archer and Kylie Sackley, “You Broke Up With Me” was produced by the infamous Shane MacAnally and serves as the first release from his forthcoming new project.
In our exclusive interview with Walker Hayes, the singer/songwriter shares in-depth details about his new track, as well as his personal journey in the music industry.
The new track has two meanings for the singer/songwriter. There’s the fun side for everyone to enjoy, and also a more serious side that relates to him personally. “On the surface, it’s obviously about a guy who got dumped” Walker explains. “The girl shows up on the scene while he’s having a good time, she’s a little bit jealous that he’s doing so well, and he begins to feel a little guilty. “But then he’s like ‘no, simmer on down a notch. You broke up with me.’ It’s an empowering thing for anyone to say.”
On a more serious note, “You Broke Up With Me” is about Walker’s relationship with the music community. “Honestly, it’s kinda about my journey in Nashville” Hayes shares with us in an exclusive interview. “I’ve been there a long, long time, and I’ve felt those fair-weathered friendships come and go. That’s what it is really about.”
“I mean, that’s kind of what I sing with a smirk on my face, like, ‘hey, I’m getting another shot at this, and I think it is going to work.’ There is a lot of people coming out of the wood-work saying ‘hey, you want to hang.’ I’ve got nothing against them, we all do that, it’s natural. But hey, y ‘all broke up with me so I don’t feel guilty.”
While Walker has had some ups and downs in the industry, he has grown as an artist and songwriter throughout that time. Rather than giving up on his dream all together, he has taken his experiences, good, bad or indifferent, and put them to songs, further opening himself up and sharing personal emotions and moments with listeners. “I found over the past year and a half that my writing has changed a lot. I think the biggest thing that’s changed about it is, I go specific and I go true. I don’t want to write anything that I didn’t experience because I’m not an expert at that emotion, but I am of these recent experiences that I’ve had and I’ve noticed that is the stuff people relate to.”
“Sometimes I’m uncomfortable telling those stories about how it was hard and that I’m a recovering alcoholic, but being vocal about it therapeutic” Walker reveals. “That’s how I am about my journey in music, it’s therapeutic to just flat out tell everyone it hasn’t been easy, this isn’t just some over night thing. I didn’t just show up in Nashville knowing how to write like this, and getting these breaks. Not everybody thought I made a lot of sense when I chased this dream, and I think people love to hear that they are not alone when they chase endeavors like that.”
When Walker released “You Broke Up With Me” to country radio on June 26, he also shared a very open and intimate video depicting his journey that led up to this moment, a second chance if you will. “It started that we just wanted to write a letter of gratitude for being here because I really don’t take it for granted” Walker explains. “I am so grateful that I get to do this and take care of my family doing what I love. I wish everybody got to do that. I just wanted to kind of write a “thanks.” That video did come out really emotional. I wrote it with my wife. I really wanted to write this piece so I would read it to her and she would kind of help me. We felt it was the truth so we put it out there.”
In addition to the new single, Walker is also moving in the direction of releasing a full length studio album with producer Shane MacAnally at the helm. “I released two volumes of 8-tracks last year and now we are working on an album” Hayes tells us. “The full length album is a compilation of songs from the 8-tracks with a complete band around them, and then there will probably be 3 or 4 songs on it that fans have never heard.”
While this may not be Walker Hayes’ first time around the music block, it is important to him that fans know that he is keeping it 100% real with his music. “I think a lot of country fans are real traditional and they don’t like change, and I get it. I hope people will give my stuff a listen and understand that it’s not different just to be different, this is just who I am.”
Hayes continues, “I’m just writing the truth here. I think some of them will do really well in the country format, and I hope fans pay attention to the craft of the songwriting because that is what I take the most pride in. If I haven’t lived the story, I don’t want to sing about it.”
Walker Hayes is set to highlight his music across the nation with multiple performances lined-up, including an opening spot on Thomas Rhett’s Home Team Tour. “I’m so intrigued by how much goes in to those shows and why they’re so perfect and so good, and how he creates so many moments in his live shows that are so magical and makes it worth it for someone to sit there for 75 minutes. Plus Old Dominion and Dan + Shay will be out there and I love both of those groups.”
Currently Hayes is transitioning from solo performances with the loop to a full band. He’s ready to enjoy himself onstage and work the crowd without a guitar at times. “When you put the guitar down, you start to feel like Bruno Mars and you start to do stuff that you didn’t know you could do. The video for ‘You Broke Up With Me’ showcases a lot of that.”
“I’m excited about so many things,” Walker shares “but honestly, for a guy of where I am on the ladder, it is pretty crazy that I am able to go out with someone like Thomas Rhett who is killing it right now.”
Getting a second chance to do something that you love in life doesn’t always happen for everyone, but it has happened for Walker Hayes. There is clearly something very special about the singer/songwriter, and fate has brought him back to the industry, radio and fans so that we can all experience the art and talent that Walker Hayes delivers.
