Tag Archives | The Civil Wars

The Civil Wars Team With T-Bone Burnett

A Place at the TableThe Civil Wars have teamed with T Bone Burnett to work on the soundtrack for new documentary, A Place at the Table. Featuring 14 original tracks, the album is set for release Feb. 26 through Sensibility Music.

Burnett and The Civil Wars perform on the album, which includes the new single “Long Time Gone” (listen below).

From the producers of Food, Inc., A Place at the Table explores American food and hunger issues. The film will be released March 1.

The band and Burnett are offering 100 percent of the label’s net profits and producer/artist royalties to the Participant Foundation, an organization that “exists to support programs that support a sustainable and peaceful world.”

In November, The Civil Wars cancelled tour dates, citing “internal discord and irreconcilable differences of ambition.”

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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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