Songs You Should Be Listening To This Month!

There's no better time to listen to country music than during the summer time, and with that being said here are 6 songs that I think you should be listening to for not only this month, but throughout the summer!

6. "Crushin'" - Bush Hawg. This is song was released last year but it has just recently come to my attention. Great up-beat country love song and is very catchy. Has a Jason Aldean type of sound to it.

5. “Broken Windshield View” – Chris Lane. This brand new single by an up and coming artist in Chris Lane was released today (6/10) and has the ability to make a major impact on the charts. It’s a great in your face party song and should see some big air play. It also helps that Chris Lane will be opening for Florida Georgia Line & Nelly on their Ballpark Summer Series Tour.

4. “This Is How We Roll (Remix)” – Florida GeorgiaLine, Luke Bryan & Jason Derulo. Here is another song that the guys of FGL have collaborated on with a major player in the hip/hop and R&B game. Jason Derulo is featured on this remix and should help propel an already hit song even further.

3. “Roller Coaster” – Luke Bryan. This will be LB’s 5^th single off of this latest album “Crash My Party”. Written by fellow friends in Cole Swindell and Michael Carter, the song is set to do big things and most likely another chart-topper for mega-star Luke Bryan.

2. “I Like The Sound of That” – Rascal Flatts. This is one of my favorite songs as of late and will be a great summer song. The song is off of Rascal Flatts latest album "Rewind"and was written by up and coming artists Dan + Shay, this song has a great track, super catchy chorus and a great story. This is a song you’ll want of repeat.

1. “Where It’s At” – Dustin Lynch. This is my pick for the song of the summer. The song catches your attention right from the start and continues until the end. This is another song with a great track, super catchy lyrics and Dustin kills it on the vocals. Be on the lookout for the music video to be released soon, which is being filmed in Nashville this week.

2014 CMA Music Festival Line-Up

Thursday:                                    Friday:

            Luke Bryan                             Jason Aldean

            Tim McGraw                           Eric Church

            Rascal Flatts                            Blake Shelton

            Dierks Bentley                         Miranda Lambert

            Brantley Gilbert                       The Band Perry

Saturday:                                    Sunday:

            Keith Urban                             Brad Paisley

            Florida Georgia Line               Hunter Hayes

            Chris Young                             Lady Antebellum

            Darius Rucker                          Thomas Rhett

            Little Big Town                         Zac Brown Band

           

No, this is not some fantasy line up for a made up country music festival… this is the line up for this years CMA Music Festival in Nashville…. CMA brings you some of the BIGGEST names in the industry to Nashville’s LP Field for a four-night event June 5^th-8^th. The shows at night are already sold out, but there are also many performances going on during the day that are free for fans to attend.

Line-Up Announcement:







Performances from 2013:

Luke Bryan

Florida Georgia Line

5 Songs You Should Be Listening To

The following are five songs that have caught my attention as of late and have taken over my speakers, so if your looking for some great new music I advice you to check em out.

5. Look At My Truck – Chase Rice (Not necessarily new, but an awesome song if you haven’t heard it before).

4. Let Me See Ya Girl – Cole Swindell

3. Sounds of Summer – Dierks Bentley

2. Are You Leaving With Him – Luke Bryan

1. What You Do To Me – Dan + Shay

Honorable mention:

Open Up A Can – Joe Nichols. With the spring time sunshine heading our way, this is a great song to listen to while the suns out. So cheers, open up a can and listen to these songs. 

ENJOY

Emerging Artist 2014 - Sam Hunt

Country music is already filled with great singers and songwriters, but here is an extremely talented artist that I believe will make a huge strides for the year of 2014. Sam Hunt is a former quarter back at the University of Alabama at Birmingham and is now making his mark in Music City in the form of writing hit songs that have been recorded by some of country music’s biggest names and now making waves as a performer himself.

When first hearing him and his sound, you wouldn’t think of it as country music. But country mega stars such as Keith Urban (Cop Car) and Kenny Chesney (Come Over) have each recorded a song by Sam Hunt, as well as Billy Currington (We Are Tonight). The dude is extremely talented and has a killer, unique sound that appeals to more than just the country music market. He reminds me a little of a Jason Mraz and Andy Grammer, with smooth vocals but also the ability to speed it up lyrically in the form of a rap (check out his song “Saturday Night”), which is why I think he has the ability to do something special as a new artist.

You can find his single “Raised on It” on iTunes, he also has a FREE Acoustic Mixtape "Between The Pines" that you can download off of his website http://www.samhunt.com I highly encourage you to download and listen. Apart from his hit songs such as “Cop Car”, “Come Over” and “We Are Tonight”, I think his next hit song is “Leave The Night On” which is extremely catchy and has a great story behind it. Sam has a large variety of songs that I think will definitely get listeners excited about. He is currently on tour and playing venues around the country with fellow artists Little Big Town, Chase Rice, David Nail and Casadee Pope. He may be a small name now, but I believe that this year of 2014 will be huge for him and expect him to be a household name in the near future.

Find Sam Hunt Here:

@SamHuntMusic

http://www.samhunt.com

https://www.facebook.com/SamHuntMusic

http://www.youtube.com/user/SamHuntOfficial

Debut Album - Cole Swindell

He has solidified himself as one of the best songwriters in country music, now the Warner Music Nashville recording artist has entered a new market with the release of his self titled debut album. Swindell set the bar high for his debut album due to all of the hits that he has had a hand in writing, but have been recorded by other artists. This record is pretty much what I expected coming from Swindell, on top of the #1 hit with “Chillin’ It”, there is a great variety of songs ranging from anthems like “Hey Ya’ll” to the slower songs such as “Swayin” and “Dozen Roses & A Six Pack”.

What this album did was portray Swindell’s ability to write catchy songs with a great story behind them. I have this album doing big things this year, and it would be hard for Cole Swindell to not blow up on the country music scene with him opening for mega star Luke Bryan on his That’s My KindaNight Tour. What I’m looking for out of Cole Swindell as he continues on in his career would be to solidify an “identity” and continue to challenge himself as a songwriter and performer. Overall, I’m impressed with this album and if you haven’t checked it out, it’s definitely worth a listen! Buy here on iTunes.

My Top 5 off the album:

5. Hey Ya'll

4. Swayin'

3. Let Me See Ya Girl

2. Hope You Get Lonely Tonight

1. Chillin' It

Also, make sure to follow Cole Swindell on his journey through twitter @coleswindell and his youtube videos "Swindell Vision", see the first episode below:

My Valentines Day Date Wish List

With it being Valentines Day and all I found it only fitting to write about the three women in country music that I would most desire to take out on a date. So if I had three roses to give out, here’s who would receive them…

#3 – Jana Kramer

This actress turned musician is extremely talented on both the big screen and behind a microphone. Her debut album was filled with great songs such as “Hope It Rains”, “Goodbye California”, “Whiskey” and also her hit “Why Ya Wanna” which made it up to #3 in the Country Music Charts. The Warner Music Nashville artist is currently working on her sophomore album and has been playing new songs at her shows such as “That’s Hot”, “Deal Breaker” and “Hey Hey Kiss Kiss”. Also, from what I’m hearing, Jana is getting ready to release her latest single called “Love”, be on the look out for that. So here’s to you Ms. Kramer!

#2 – Kacey Musgraves

 This Texas native really made a name for herself this past year, and it showed at the 2014 Grammy’s by her taking home the awards for Best Country Song in “Merry Go Round” as well as Best Country Album for “Same Trailer Different Park”. Yes, she is extremely easy on the eyes, but even easier on our hearing, just take a listen to her songs “Merry Go Round” and “Follow Your Arrow” off her major-label debut album and you will understand what I’m talking about. I just hope her arrow is pointing at me in the future, here’s a rose for you Kacey Musgraves!

#1 – Taylor Swift

Some people are going to read this and wonder, but this is a no brainer for me. Based on talent alone Taylor is second to none. Now throw in her beauty and a great personality and she finds herself where most of her songs land, at #1 in my highly anticipated 2014 Valentines Day Date Wish List… If given the opportunity I would absolutely take Ms. Swift on a date, and if it went poorly it would absolutely end up in a form of a song one way or another. But I’ll take my chances and say that any publicity is good publicity. Happy Valentines Day Taylor!

Artist Watch - The Adam Craig Band

This group crossed my path recently and the more I listen to their stuff, the more they grow on me. Adam Craig, Brian Smith, Jimi Hendrix and Ryan Jones make up the Adam Craig band. Adam and Ryan are cousins and natives of Washington State, they teamed up with another Washingtonian in Brian and then Jimi rounded out the group from South Carolina. Me being from Oregon, I always have an extra appreciation for people making an impact in country music from the Great Northwest! I would describe their sounds a rock/country/twang kinda sound, it’s extremely catchy, easy to sing along with and dance to.

 

This may be your first time hearing of the band, but they have an extremely impressive resume… they have opened for mega stars Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton as well as played their own shows across the country.

Adam as seen success on the writing front, he’s signed by Sony/ATC Music Publishing Nashville. He has written such songs as Church Pew or Barstool for Jason Aldean’s album My Kinda Party. He has also had a hand in writing the songs Red and Shake it Off, both cut my Ash Bowers. One of my favorite songs out there right now is Close Your Eyes, which was recorded by Parmalee on their debut album “Feels Like Carolina”, and a song with Adam helped co-write. These guys may not be totally mainstream, but they are definitely making an impact in the country scene. Take a listen to their songs on reverbnation as well as the songs that I mentioned above that they helped write, and if they’re in your town go check them out live!

http://www.adamcraigband.com

@AdamCraigBand

* "Nothin' Wrong" - The Adam Craig Band

* "Shake It Off" - Recorded by Ashe Bowers

"Close Your Eyes" - Record by Parmalee