Tag Archives | Adele

Album Review: “Set Love Loose” by Elise Hayes

For most of the past year, I have been hearing the name Elise Hayes mentioned around town.  Words used to describe her were always “wow”, “amazing”, “incredible artist”, ect.  So, obviously, FOCUS wanted to seek her out and hear her perform.  As it happened, last night FOCUS was at Winners just by Music Row for the “Whiskey Jam”, which has become a weekly musical event in this city known for featuring some of the best unsigned AND signed artists in town.  You never actually know WHO might take the stage at any moment.  This is a local place, not frequented by out-of-towners.  The artists know they can show up, not get hounded, be able to have a fun night out visiting with friends, and hop up on stage to play a few songs.  No pressure, just fun and there’s always a crowd of locals there to fill the room.

Anyway, back to Elise Hayes…we were invited by another artist performing that night, Andrea Young, who we’ve come to know through her fiddle playing recently with such artists as Jana Kramer.  Andrea has a new duo called Reverse Cowgirl, who are also amazing, but this is about Elise Hayes.  Unbeknownst to us, Elise was performing just before our friend, Andrea’s band.  Didn’t catch her name at first, but when she started singing, she took our immediate attention! “WOW” is right and exactly the correct way to describe her & her music.  She held our attention from the moment she took the stage until she left it.  Sadly, only 3 songs, but those songs were amazing and left us wanting to hear more! Met her just following her stage performance.  Not only does she have all the qualities it takes to make it as a star these days, but such a genuine, warm quality about her. Plus, she graduated from Berklee College.  HELLO?? Serious musical talent here!

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Adele Cleans Up, Whitney is Remembered, and Numerous Performances Rock The GRAMMYs

Lady GaGa, Miranda Lambert, and Blake Shelton at the GRAMMYsIf you watched last night’s GRAMMY Awards, two things are clear: (in case you didn’t hear) Whitney Houston is no longer with us, and Adele cleaned house. And also, there were some (and by some, I mean 382) performances in there. Oh and this image to the left? Nothing but freaking hilarious.

If you happened to catch me on Twitter (@mattwilliams27) throughout the telecast, you’d know that much of the night was worthy of a good ribbing. Most notably was Chris Brown’s useless, God-awful performance, Taylor Swift ironically coming up flat on a note during the line in her performance of Mean: “…grumbling on about how I can’t sing,” a couple collaborations that sort of fell short, and a MIA Kanye West, despite his leading in the nominations.

On the other hand, certain elements will not soon be forgotten. I don’t typically comment on fashion, but if anyone saw Rihanna on the red carpet, they were probably picking their jaw up off the ground. And although I was sick of Whitney Houston references by the time LL Cool J took the stage, the simple, understated, and beautifully powerful tribute to her by Jennifer Hudson brought the house down.

Watch Jennifer Hudson’s Whitney Houston Tribute | “I Will Always Love You”

Rihanna looking fabulous on the GRAMMY red carpet

As did the highly anticipated return of Adele, who gave her first performance after undergoing vocal chord surgery. She absolutely nailed it, and received a well-deserved standing ovation. Oh yeah, and she went six-for-six on awards, including the big three: Song and Record of the Year for Rolling in the Deep, and album of the year for “21.” Bon Iver took home Best New Artist, which surprised many people, mainly because… no one knew who they (or he?) were.

The night also featured a fun, but touching tribute to Glen Campbell, featuring the Rhinestone Cowboy himself as well as The Band Perry and Blake Shelton. Jason Aldean and Kelly Clarkson performed their hit Don’t You Wanna Stay, and although Aldean’s mic cut out at the very end, they sounded fantastic.

The big story in the country realm last night was The Civil Wars, who took home Best Country Duo/Group Performance for Barton Hollow and Best Folk Album. They also performed a segment of Barton Hollow while introducing Taylor Swift. Taylor, by the way, took home two honors, including Best Country Solo Performance and Best Country Song for Mean. Lady Antebellum came up with a (in my opinion) highly-contested win for Best Country Album for “Own The Night” over Swift’s “Speak Now,” Aldean’s “My Kinda Party,” “Chief” by Eric Church (who I wanted to see take it), “Red River Blue” by Blake Shelton, and “Here For A Good Time” by George Strait.

So all-in-all… meh. Whitney will be missed, but the timing of her death overshadowed the entire show. Adele was well deserving of her awards and her standing ovations. And I think we proved that the most talented individuals don’t need dancers, pyrotechnics, auto tune, theatrics or lip-syncing (although Katy Perry’s performance was enjoyable, and an obvious “in your face” to Russell Brand). Real talent needs a microphone and a stage, and sometimes a guitar. And for that, Nashville, we thank you.

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Nashville to Make Big Impression at 54th Annual GRAMMY Awards

The 54th Annual GRAMMY AwardsMusic’s biggest night is upon us, and Focus on the 615 wants to keep you in the loop with your favorite GRAMMY hopefuls! Kanye West, Adele and Bruno Mars may be among the most nominated, but our hometown country stars make up a notable portion of the prestigious list as well.

First-time nominees Jason Aldean and Blake Shelton each landed three nods, as did past GRAMMY-winner Taylor Swift, each competing for Best Country Album. Newcomers Thompson Square have two nominations for their hit Are You Gonna Kiss Me Or Not, and The Civil Wars also have two for best Country Duo/Group Performance and Best Folk Album. Receiving a huge honor, The Band Perry continues their incredible year with a nomination for Best New Artist.

Other notable nominations include Kenny Chesney and Grace Potter’s collaboration on You And Tequila, garnishing two nods, and the Zac Brown Band finding their way into the Visual Media category with Where The River Goes from the Footloose soundtrack. Click here to see a complete list of the GRAMMY nominations.

Nashville is well-represented in performances as well, with Aldean, Carrie Underwood, Glen Campbell, The Band Perry, Shelton, The Civil Wars and Swift all gracing the GRAMMY stage. Jason will perform his smash Don’t You Wanna Stay with Kelly Clarkson, Carrie will team up with legendary crooner Tony Bennett, and Campbell, TBP, and Blake will all be taking the stage together.  Click here to see a complete list of the GRAMMY performances.

Who are your favorites to win? What performances are you most looking forward to? Let us know!

Focus will be tweeting live throughout the performance, so be sure to follow us at @FOCUSonthe615! You can also follow contributor Matt Williams at @mattwilliams27!

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Get To Know New Contemporary Christian Artist, Dara Maclean

Dara Maclean is a new Christian artist signed to Fervent Records.  Recently, I was able to get to know a little bit more about Dara after a live performance at Warner Music’s “Pickin’ on the Patio”.

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