Country Birthdays:
Ricky Skaggs is 61. Country genius. He taught himself to play the mandolin at age 3. He also plays the banjo, fiddle and guitar.
Luke Bryan is 39 today! Shake it birthday boy!
Luke Bryan Looks Back on a Week of “Heartbreak” and “Enlightenment” from His Outlaw Country Debacle
LUKE BRYAN was finally able to take a deep breath and reflect on the week of P.R. hell he went through after comparing outlaw country to “laying in the gutter, strung out on drugs.”
He said, quote, “I will never be able to vocalize how disturbing and how heartbroken you can get over a situation like that. It’s just been a testing week for me and [yet] it’s been one of the most enlightening situations I have ever dealt with.”
The enlightening part he’s talking about was when SHOOTER JENNINGSaccepted his apology, and then started a new dialogue. Quote, “When Shooter did what he did, it was as if, like I was set free from it and the page was turned.
“The fact that he and I have had multiple texts, spoke on the phone, and talked about getting together and having some coffee [to] talk about music and stuff is the neatest thing. It tells you that there’s just something to be taken out of every situation.”
Why is Jimi Westbrook Wearing an iPad Around His Neck?
LITTLE BIG TOWN singer JIMI WESTBROOK is still healing from last month’s surgery when a polyp was removed from his vocal cords. He’s under orders not to speak, so he’s using an alternative way to communicate.
Bandmate KIMBERLY SCHLAPMAN recently talked about it. She said, quote, “He has an iPad around his neck. It’s hanging around his neck with a guitar strap. He carries a little stylist around so he can write on there.”
She said he’s due to finally start talking sometime next week. That doesn’t give him much time to get his voice in shape. According to CMT, Little Big Town’s planning to return to the road for their July 31st show in Harrington, Delaware.
Thomas Rhett Describes His New Album as “A Big Ball of Yarn”
THOMAS RHETT was asked to describe his new album “Tangled Up”, which is out September 25th. I can say this, your cat’s gonna love it.
Quote, “It’s a big ball of yarn, and all of these songs are in knots, and none of them really fit together. But at the same time they’re all, cohesively, Thomas Rhett songs.”
ALAN JACKSON explains how he came up with the title of his album “Angels and Alcohol”, which is out today. He said it sounded like a good title, and that country music is about a lot of things and the title touches on some of them.
Also out today:
- “Something More Than Free“, country singer Jason Isbell.
- “Blacked Out“, country rap duo Moonshine Bandits.
LEE BRICE’s fall tour is being sponsored by Jagermeister . . . in a big way. The “Jagermeister Presents: Lee Brice” country concert series will kick off September 11th in Phoenix, Arizona and run through October 24th in Davenport, Iowa. Check out the full lineup of dates at LeeBrice.com. (Scroll down for dates.)
ASHLEY MONROE performed her song “The Blade” during a recent appearance at The Grand Ole Opry. (Video)
I’m finally on the KELSEA BALLERINI bandwagon. If you need a little boost, this acoustic version of her hit“Love Me Like You Mean It” might help.