Sep
15
Alan Jackson photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
Twenty years after he first made waves in country music, Alan Jackson added an unexpected trophy Wednesday to what’s become a significant haul of riches. He was recognized with the ASCAP Founders Award, given by a major songwriting agency to reward a lifetime of creative work.
It’s a rare honor. Only a smattering of people have received it, and the previous winners are definitely major talents — Billy Joel, Paul McCartney, Garth Brooks, James Taylor, Smokey Robinson and Emmylou Harris, among them. Alan found out only recently that he’d be added to the Founders history.
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Aug
31
Blake Shelton photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Nashville.
When Blake Shelton determined it was time to do his first-ever concert television special, he decided to do it in a big way. So he found an indoor stadium, brought in a special guest and worked up a 90-minute blast that debuts Sept. 8 on GAC, Blake Shelton Live: It’s All About Tonight.
Blake took over Evansville’s Roberts Stadium, the biggest facility he’s headlined to date, and filled most of the set list with hits, modeling his effort after an icon who grew up in the same homestate.
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Apr
27
Garth Brooks is all smiles as he announces his new one-man show at the Wynn in Las Vegas, Nev. during a press conference on October 15, 2009. Photo courtesy of garthbrooks.com.
It’s been four months since Garth Brooks launched his series of weekend shows at the Wynn Las Vegas, allowing him to still perform in a fairly intimate setting without actually touring until his daughters are raised.
When Garth shocked country fans by retiring from the road, he shifted his gears into parenting and planned to work on screenplays. But now that he’s been singing in a semi-regular routine again, he’s also discovered that some of the old creative juices have returned, and he’s got scraps of paper with shreds of lyrics lying around the Oklahoma house he shares with his three daughters and wife Trisha Yearwood.
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Jan
19
Gretchen Wilson photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville.
With her swaggering brand of country, small town-bred Gretchen Wilson has drawn comparisons to everyone from Merle Haggard to Lynyrd Skynyrd, so it’s a little surprising that she would turn to New York pop guy Billy Joel for an explanation of her values.
For what it’s worth, Billy’s got some swagger of his own, whether “Piano Man” seems to fit with “Redneck Woman” or not. So in the end, it’s still understandable that she’d be quoting “My Life” as she explains her approach to the world.
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Dec
14
Garth Brooks is all smiles as he announces his new one-man show at the Wynn in Las Vegas, Nev. during a press conference on October 15, 2009. Photo courtesy of garthbrooks.com.
It was supposed to be the end of Garth Brooks’ self-imposed retirement from live performing. And it was.
But now his five-year deal with Wynn Las Vegas is being hailed as a new way of doing business in America’s gambling capital.
Vegas is known for its glitz and over-the-top productions. That’s not what the audience got over the weekend. Garth showed up Friday in a hoodie and jeans, according to USA Today, kicking the show off with a cover of Merle Haggard’s “Mama Tried” and spending much of his two hours on stage by taking requests. Working without a band, he logged many of his own hits, including “Friends In Low Places,” “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old)” and “The Dance.” As he often does in his solo acoustic gigs, he threw in covers of hits by such acts as George Jones, George Strait and Billy Joel. And perhaps the glitziest moment came with the introduction of a special guest — Trisha Yearwood, not much of a surprise since they live in the same house — leading to a collaboration on “Walkaway Joe.”
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