Eric Church Premieres “Record Year” Music Video

On the heels of winning ACM Video of the Year Award for “Mr. Misunderstood” earlier this month, Eric Church has premiered his new music video for current single, “Record Year,” on Vevo earlier today with a broadcast debut on CMT’s Hot 20 Countdown this Saturday, April 30.

The music video again enlists directors John Peets and Reid Long and features teenager McKinley James who starred in the music video for “Mr. Misunderstood” and appears on the cover art of Church’s highly acclaimed album by the same name.

Also making an appearance in the 3:09 video is Church’s new uniquely designed and distinctively customized signature edition of the world famous Gibson Hummingbird acoustic guitar, aptly termed by Church as Hummingbird Dark. Church –who joins artists such as Bob Dylan, Jackson Browne, Emmylou Harris, and Pete Townshend who have also constructed their own signature guitars – is seen playing the model throughout the video shot in an abandoned schoolhouse on the outskirts of Nashville, Tenn.

“…a standout of Church’s latest album…” raved Rolling Stone rejoicing it “…makes the case for losing oneself in music to get over a break-up. Specifically, it’s the warmth of vinyl albums…” and Los Angeles Times dubbing it one of his more “deeply felt heartbreak songs.”

Church co-wrote the track, #9 on Mr. Misunderstood, with longtime banjo player and guitarist Jeff Hyde. With poignantly clever lyrics, “Record Year” is Church’s ode to a lost-love who instead of finding solace in another’s arms finds consolation in a three-foot stack of vinyl albums. Iconic albums and artists are namechecked in the song, including Stevie Wonder’s Songs In The Key of Life, Willie Nelson’s Red Headed Stranger, John Lee Hooker’s One Bourbon, One Scotch, One Beer as well as artists James Brown, Waylon Jennings, George Jones, and New Grass Revival, reflecting the diversity of influence on Church and his music.

Throughout the video, Church and his band members are seen marking time by listening to vinyl records on turntables as well as performing. In several key visuals, vinyl records are stacked horizontally to become a 3-D audio waveform reflecting the sonic intensity of the song.

Next up Church will be seen performing with his new Gibson Hummingbird Dark acoustic guitar at Stagecoach Festival on April 29 in Indio, California. He will then perform two shows at The Joint in Las Vegas at the Hard Rock Hotel and Casino on April 30 and May 1, but until then, fans can see the customized acoustic guitar here in the music video for “Record Year.”

Florida Georgia Line Release New Single and Video: “HOLY”

Still reeling from the excitement of “Confession” topping both Country radio airplay charts, history-making RIAA DIAMOND-certified Country duo Florida Georgia Line released the first single, H.O.L.Y off their highly anticipated third studio album from Big Machine Label Group today. Due out this summer, Dig Your Roots will depict an evolution in both their musical and personal journeys.

The lead track was written by hit makers busbee, Nate Cyphert and William Larsen, and produced by the award-winning Joey Moi. Moi has been at the helm for Florida Georgia Line’s entire discography to date, including their 2X PLATNIUM debut HERE’S TO THE GOOD TIMES, the highest grossing country debut of 2012.

Brian Kelley says of the single, “We really put in the time making sure this song was the strongest it could be, and we’re pushing ourselves on all levels: vocally, lyrically, melodically.” He continues, “I promise the fans, the wait was worth it.”

Tyler Hubbard adds, “As we continue to grow and mature in our lives, we really wanted our music to start reflecting those changes. ‘H.O.L.Y.’ definitely lets the fans see a deeper side to us and we’re excited about this next chapter.”

The first single’s music video, premiering today on VEVO in advance of wide release on April 30, was shot on location at The Twelve Apostles, just outside of Melbourne, Australia. The stripped down Cliffside scenes and sweeping vistas of a 25,000 year dormant volcano, matched with lyrics of love’s salvation, culminate in an astounding visual as an ode to their wives. Both Brittney Cole Kelley and Hayley Hubbard showed their support, appearing in the video and marking their second time on set with their husbands. Watch the making of the music video here.

The duo is also on the road this year for their Dig Your Roots Tour, which kicked off its first dates this past March and continues through October. Joining the guys are Kane Brown, The Cadillac Three and Cole Swindell. The tour is sponsored by Budweiser, a brand with a strong commitment to Country music.

For up to date information on Florida Georgia Line, the tour and tickets go to floridageorgialine.com or livenation.com.

Keith Urban Reveals “Wasted Time” Music Video

Today marks the release of Keith Urban’s new video “Wasted Time,” for the song that is one of the fastest rising chart singles of his career. The video marks the second from Urban’s new album RIPCORD (“John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16), which will be released on Friday, May 6th, and the third directed by John Urbano (“Cop Car” and “Somewhere In My Car”).

Of “Wasted Time” Urban says, “I worked with a lot of new people on Ripcord, and Greg (Wells) was one I’d wanted to work with for a long time.”  “He’d been writing a lot with J (James) and so the three of us spent a couple days at Greg’s studio to jam and see if we clicked. Greg had this cool chord progression and I grabbed my guitar and started singing a melody.”

“J suggested the title, and before we knew it, we were talking about growing up and all the things you do, no matter where you are in the world, and the song just took off from there.” “Wasted Time” was co-written by Greg Wells, J Hart and Urban and was co-produced by Urban and the Grammy Award winning Producer of the Year Greg Wells (Adele, Katy Perry, Pharrell Williams, etc.).

The much-anticipated eighth studio album RIPCORD, the result of Urban’s nearly 18-month musical journey, features some of the music industry’s most celebrated and influential musical collaborators from Pitbull to Nile Rodgers to Carrie Underwood and Dann Huff to Jeff Bhasker, Greg Wells and busbee.

Its release coincides with the June 2nd launch of the four-time Grammy Award winner’s “ripCORD WORLD TOUR 2016” with Brett Eldredge and special guest Maren Morris.

For more Keith Urban news and information go to www.keithurban.net.

Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles and Cam Will Open The 2016 American Country Countdown Awards

Three of country music’s leading ladies, Martina McBride, Jennifer Nettles and Cam, will kick off the 2016 AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS, airing live from the Forum in Inglewood, Calif., Sunday, May 1 (8:00-10:00 PM ET live/PT tape-delayed) on FOX. The trio will take the stage together for the first time and open the show with a performance of McBride’s No. 1 hit anthem “This One’s For the Girls.”

“I always look forward to singing this song because it resonates with so many different people of all different ages,” said Martina. “With Jennifer and Cam joining me for the first time, the song will be even more fun and I’m so happy we’ll be performing this together.”

The two-hour 2016 AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS broadcast features 14 performances including: Kelsea Ballerini, 2016 NASH Icon Award presented by Ford F-Series recipients Brooks & Dunn, Luke Bryan, Cam, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, Chris Janson, Martina McBride, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell, Carrie Underwood, and Toby Keith’s tribute to Merle Haggard, with Haggard’s longtime band the Strangers.

Presenters at the 2nd annual show include: pop music icon Paula Abdul, country newcomer Chase Bryant, Terry Crews (BROOKLYN NINE NINE), Cat Deeley (SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DANCE), country singer/songwriter Sara Evans, AMERICAN IDOL winner Trent Harmon, current two-time finalist Jana Kramer, rising country star Chris Lane, country duo Maddie & Tae, Academy Award® winner Matthew McConaughey, country singer/songwriter Scotty McCreery, 2014 NASH Icon Award recipient Reba McEntire, country superstar Jennifer Nettles, current finalist Michael Ray, up-and-coming singer/songwriter Canaan Smith, actor Luke Wilson and country music legend and actor Dwight Yoakam.

Tickets for the AMERICAN COUNTRY COUNTDOWN AWARDS at the “Fabulous” Forum are on sale now at www.ticketmaster.com.

Kip Moore Rocks Sold-Out Crowds in Europe

Known for building one of country music’s most loyal fanbases in the US, Multi-PLATINUM singer/songwriter Kip Moore looks to have emulated this fervent following in the UK and Ireland in the wake of his headlining stint across the pond this past week. Moore’s return was “eagerly anticipated” (Think Country) with the majority of shows selling out months in advance, prompting the move to bigger venues.

Fans and critics agree he “cemented that special bond between crowd and performer…daring to be different, daring to take a risk, he is able to take the crowd further than most artists can by the sheer force of his performance” (2 Country Radio).

Kicking off in Dublin on Friday (4/22), Moore set the pace with a raucous show that led to an impromptu after-show performance at the stage door for fans who weren’t ready to call it a night, followed by a sold-out crowd in Glasgow (4/23) where he again took to the historic streets of the city after his performance to keep the party going. Rowdy shows in England beckoned as Moore played to packed houses in Birmingham (4/25), Manchester (4/26) and he closed out the triumphant run with a sold-out show in London last night (4/27).

Moore will head back out on the road next month for Miranda Lambert’s Keeper Of The Flame Tour, which kicks off in St. Louis, MO on 5/13. His current single, “Running For You,” continues to climb the charts and was taken from the critically acclaimed sophomore album WILD ONES that VICE declares “sprinkles a little late-night Bonnaroo magic…that’s made to be witnessed live.” WILD ONES follows Moore’s debut album UP ALL NIGHT which was recently certified GOLD by the RIAA and spawned three No. One hit singles including GOLD certified “Beer Money,” PLATINUM certified “Hey Pretty Girl,” and the DOUBLE PLATINUM breakout hit “Somethin’ ‘Bout A Truck.”