FOCUS on the 615
Nashville's premier entertainment blog including album, song and show reviews and exclusive artist interviews.
Performance 03-15 Dublin, Ireland/Photo credit: Ben Enos
Brad Paisley closed the C2C Festivals this weekend by playing before a packed house each night at The O2 Dublin and The O2 London. In Dublin he joined in the St. Paddy’s Day jubilation by hand painting (with a Sharpie) a green shamrock on the front of his hat and at the end of his performance gave it to lucky Irish fan. He continues his European tour this week with shows in Stavanger and Oslo, Norway, Gothenburg and Stockholm, Sweden.
This past weekend Brad Paisley took his Beat This Winter Tour presented by Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® to the sunshine state of Florida. At the Orlando stop fans were surprised when Rascal Flatts joined Paisley on stage for a rendition of Merle Haggard’s “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” and then one of their own, “Fast Cars and Freedom.” Continue Reading →
Tickets for “The 47th Annual CMA Awards” and “CMA Country Christmas” will go on sale to the public Saturday, Sept. 14 (10:00 AM/CT). Tickets can be purchased at ticketmaster.com; by calling (800) 745-3000; or in person at the Bridgestone Arena Box Office, located at 501 Broadway (corner of Fifth Avenue and Broadway, Nashville). Continue Reading →
Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® is pleased to congratulate country music mega-star Brad Paisley on the #1 Billboard Country Albums chart and #2 Billboard Top 200 Albums chart debut of WHEELHOUSE, on Arista Nashville, now available in retail and digital outlets. The wide release on April 9 coincided with Paisley’s release of the WHEELHOUSE-SPECIAL EDITION album which includes three exclusive tracks and is available at all Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® locations, crackerbarrel.com and other select online retailers.
Along with the Special Edition album, Cracker Barrel is excited to offer fans the opportunity to see Paisley live in concert on the Beat This Summer Tour Presented By Cracker Barrel Old Country Store® by visiting crackerbarrel.com/bradpaisley to enter to win a trip to a show in California. The tour will visit 29 cities in the U.S. and Canada beginning on May 9 in Maryland Heights, Missouri with more dates being added soon. For a full list of upcoming tour dates, visit bradpaisley.com/tour
Pictured (L-R): ASCAP’s Michael Martin; co-writers Kelley Lovelace, Brad Paisley & Sea Gayle Music’s Chris DuBois; ASCAP’s Mike Sistad
In the middle of a busy CRS Week, ASCAP caught up with Brad Paisley at the Nashville Convention Center to congratulate him on his 21st No. 1 as an artist and 18th as a songwriter, “Southern Comfort Zone.” Longtime Paisley co-writers Chris DuBois and Kelley Lovelace, as well as publishers Sea Gayle Music and EMI Music Publishing, were also congratulated at the whirlwind celebration, which took place before Paisley hit the stage at the Grand Ole Opry at CRS on Feb. 27. “Southern Comfort Zone” reached the top of the charts in February and is the first single from Paisley’s upcoming eighth studio album, Wheelhouse, set to be released on April 9.
Country Radio Seminar wrapped up last week to record attendance, bright new stars, and performances by the biggest names in country music. The three-day event overtook the Nashville Convention Center as thousands poured in for the annual meeting.
As a media outlet, we have the opportunity to cover the event, and interview some of the brightest up-and-coming stars in the format. We’ll be posting those interviews in the upcoming days; and we’ve also got photo and video coverage of the events, so stay tuned!
So here’s a recap of what our week looked like:
Country superstar Brad Paisley confirms that “Beat This Summer” is the next single from his forthcoming Wheelhouse album. Arriving at country radio on TODAY (Monday, February 25), this follow-up to his #1 hit, “Southern Comfort Zone,” was co-written by Paisley, Chris DuBois and Luke Laird.
Brad Paisley Confirms Track Listing And Album Art For “Wheelhouse”
“This song is about that feeling we’ve all had at some point in our lives – when you’re young, you’ve fallen in love, maybe you’re on the beach or working near the boardwalk,” explains Paisley. “You’re thinking there may never be a summer to compare.”
“Beat This Summer” was produced by Brad Paisley, as were all the songs on his 8th studio album. Fans can preorder Wheelhouse and Wheelhouse (Deluxe Version) now on Amazon at http://smarturl.it/amazonwheelhouse.
Country superstar Brad Paisley garners his 21st No. 1 single with “Southern Comfort Zone,” and today confirms the track listing for his 8th regular studio album, Wheelhouse, set for release on Arista Nashville on Tuesday, April 9.
Beginning today, fans will be able to participate in an interactive reveal of the Wheelhouse and Wheelhouse (Deluxe Version) album covers at www.bradpaisley.com.
The layered reveal experience includes a fan mosaic, hidden icons that unlock special items, an exclusive Brad Paisley making-of-the-album interview and information on how to enter a national sweepstakes.
C. F. Martin & Co. announced yesterday it is an official partner of this year’s 2012 CMA Country Music Awards, and will sponsor the first-ever backstage Artists Welcome Lounge Oct. 29-Nov. 1 at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. The lounge will be a comfortable, chic haven for all participating artists to relax, mingle with their peers, and best of all, play the beautiful Martin guitars available in the lounge during rehearsals, the red carpet and the night of the awards show.
Over one dozen Martin models from custom designs, to artist signature models, to the very successful Retro Series models that debuted earlier this year, will be available to the performers for spontaneous jam sessions in the exclusive backstage lounge. Many of the CMA Awards nominees, presenters and performers are Martin fans and brand ambassadors, including Dierks Bentley, Hunter Hayes, Willie Nelson, Vince Gill, Zac Brown and Brad Paisley.
It’s going to be a busy year for our friend Jana Kramer! With the end of an era on One Tree Hill segueing into a blossoming music career, her star is on the rise, and Focus on the 615 is going to be there to cover it the entire way. We were thrilled to catch up with Jana for an exclusive interview. Although we were both fighting off illness, we had a great conversation discussing her music, her new album and what to expect from here on out.
Matt: Yesterday, your single Why You Wanna became the most added debut single in the history of Country Aircheck. Try to describe what that’s been like for you.
Jana: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. Everyone was going “yeah, you broke the record, you broke the record!” but it hasn’t had time to hit me yet! We kind of celebrated breaking it, but the fact that the radio stations actually came through and picked up the song, and the fact that we actually did break the record is insane. I’m excited!
Matt: That’s fantastic, and now the single has been downloaded over 200,000 times!
Jana: I swear One Tree Hill has the coolest and most devoted fans ever. And on top of it, the neat thing is, people will come up to me and say “I love your song, and I didn’t know you were on a TV show!” and that to me is the biggest compliment ever; that people are actually hearing me through my music.
Matt: That’s got to boost your confidence going into a debut album, right?
Jana: Yeah, what’s giving me confidence is just the fact that people like it, and going into the studio this next week [to finish the new album] is going to be exciting.
Matt: Let’s talk about the new album: What can we expect? Is it a simple introduction to Jana Kramer? An all-encompassing repertoire of your musical influence? How would you qualify it?
Jana: It’s me to the core. Scott Hendricks, my producer, and I wanted each song to represent some part of me, and I feel that each song does exactly that. I have my sassy side, and so I have a song that’s very sassy; and then there’s the honest, heartfelt song; then there’s the song that we’ve all been through where our heart was broken… literally each song I’ve lived, I’ve felt, and that’s what I want… for people to get to know me through my music if they haven’t already met me before.
Matt: You’re obviously a country singer, what kind of stylings and country influences are embedded in your music?
Jana: It’s country. It’s not too poppy, it’s more organic sounding. To me it’s refreshing.
Matt: Now, the common saying is “you have your entire life to write your debut album.” Did that prove true for you as well? How long has this been in the making?
Jana: I’ve been into music my entire life, but I never thought I’d be here talking about a “debut album.” I started writing when I was a little girl, but I really seriously started writing when I was 18 or 19. To know that 10 years later an album would actually be a work in progress… it means a lot. It’s going to be amazing, I’m just so excited!
Matt: So, we have to talk about One Tree Hill. Your last episode aired last night. What’d you think of the show, and how’s it feel to be done?
“I was really kind of bummed out with how the exit of my character happened.”
Jana: I was really kind of bummed out with how the exit of my character [Alex Dupre] happened. We didn’t know that we were going to get picked back up, so when we did, the shooting schedule was already in the process. And I didn’t want to wait for 2012 to start my radio tour, so I kind of had to pick one or the other… So they pretty much wrote out my character, which I understand, because they couldn’t shoot around my schedule. But it would have been nice to give my character a little more of an exit. But it all worked out, and I’m happy right now.
Matt: So it’s on to the singing career.
Jana: Yes!
Matt: Can we expect any more acting in the future? Or are you in Nashville to stay?
Jana: I’m definitely in Nashville to stay. I’m totally focusing on this, but if a project comes along that doesn’t interfere with music, I’d definitely do a project here or there. It’s definitely a part of me that I don’t want to lose.
Matt: After this album drops, what’s on the radar next?
Jana: I’m going to hopefully get on a tour. It’s nothing official; we haven’t locked anything down yet, but we’re definitely trying to lock something down very very soon.
Matt: Any idea who you might be touring with?
Jana: Possibly Brad Paisley. But I’ll be doing a bunch of fair dates and shows. I’ll be on the road pretty much the full year.
Matt: Nice! And I hear your debut video comes out next month…
Jana: I know, I’m so excited!
Matt: And sometime late spring, early summer on the album?
Jana: Yes sir!
Matt: Thank you so much for talking with us today!
Jana: Cool, thank you so much!
We’d like to congratulate Jana on everything so far. We are definately looking forward to the video, the album and Jana’s continued success in country music! And stay tuned, because sometime very soon, we will have the opportunity to sit down with her on camera to capture a little more Closer Look @ Jana Kramer.
Click here for our first Closer Look @ Jana!
