It's new departure time in videos this week for the Zac Brown Band, Miley Cyrus and Craig Morgan as the CMT New Video Evaluation Team considered this week's crop. Never fear, though, Zac's still got the stocking cap, Miley's essentially spunky as ever and Craig keeps working on his hair.
Artist: Craig Morgan
Video: "God Must Really Love Me"
Director: Eric Welch
When I think of camp, I think of campy things. Middle-of-the-night pranks, bologna sandwiches in the mess hall, catching fireflies, roasting marshmallows on a stick and singing "The Zulu King" with reckless abandon.
But this new camp is so not that kind of camp. For starters, CMT Camp Nashville gives you a country star name before you even register. Mine was Jesse Walton, then I put in a friend's name and his was John Boy Hickman. And there's no real camping involved in this camp. (You actually bunk at the boutiquey Hotel Indigo near downtown Nashville.)
As if hitting the European road wasn't enough. And as if opening for Kenny Chesney and Keith Urban wasn't enough. Now Sugarland will be jamming their own slew of shows into an already exhaustive tour schedule. It starts April 10 in Atlanta, and the workaholic twosome will be bringing Billy Currington and Jake Owen along for the ride. But that's not all. Each show will have its own unique limited edition rock poster. Kristian Bush told Entertainment Weekly that rock giants like Pearl Jam have been doing this for years and that Sugarland will "open up and learn from the playbook." He also says he and Jennifer Nettles are doing a lot of things to create fan culture. I can't wait to see one of the 33 shows, hear the music and take my special poster home.
I confess that I don't know much about jazz music, but I'll go pretty much anywhere that Mandy Barnett goes, which is why I found myself at a small concert by the Nashville Jazz Orchestra last night. Barnett was the evening's featured singer - and I have to say, she remains one of the most exquisite vocalists in Music City. I just have to shake my head sometimes and wonder why nobody else seems to notice. In this show, she dusted off jazz standards like "It Had to Be You" and "At Last" and put her own sleek spin on "Cry Me a River," a simmering torch song that most people associate with Julie London. (Not the Justin Timberlake song, folks.) That's the jazz that I probably most identify with - the stuff that can keep a drunk, lonely man company after midnight. But I digress ...
Not everyone is as thrilled as I am about the big Rascal Flatts show at Chicago's Wrigley Field. There is, in fact, a group dedicated to stopping the music. Their concerns are valid: It will be loud, it will conflict with other area summer goings-on and it violates an agreement with the community that limits the ballpark to two concerts a year. (Elton John and Billy Joel are doing two shows at Wrigley Field that same month.) But there is hope. And there are some rules that could help assuage the tempers: Alcohol sales would end at 9:30 p.m., and the band will have a music curfew of 11 p.m. Still, the community group is asking the Cubs to cancel the Rascal Flatts show altogether. Good luck with that.
"Share the Spirit"? Is that what the kids are calling it these days? Whatever "the spirit" is, I want in. Because at this year's Share the Spirit auction to raise money for the Brentwood [Tennessee] United Methodist Church youth choirs, you could win a trip to Monroe, La., which is located near Tim McGraw's hometown. And guess who's going with you? Tim McGraw. You'll hang with Tim, have a po' boy lunch and then have something to tell your grandkids. There are other items up for bidding (a pair of Reba McEntire's shoes and Carrie Underwood's "Last Name" lyrics and hundreds of others), but the chairwoman of the event admits that quite a few people bought tickets to the auction just to bid on that item. It's only $20 to get in to Saturday night's (Feb. 28) auction. But my gut tells me this little trip will go for 10 times that.
I've written many blogs about my Grandpa, my stories and memories of him, like how he reminded me of Eddy Arnold or how he once had a chance encounter with Roy Acuff. But I've never written anything about my grandmother. I suppose it's because she passed away before I had the chance to meet her. But I've always been curious about her. And since I'm getting married soon, on the first day of spring to be exact, I wanted to feel as though she was a part of the big day, but I wasn't sure how. All I knew of her were stories my mother shared like that she enjoyed baseball and loved Dean Martin. But recently, instead of me searching for her, I feel as though she found me.
By now, everyone has seen Carrie Underwood's flawless performance of Randy Travis' 1988 hit "I Told You So" on the Grand Ole Opry. But have you seen his from all those years ago?
It's very simple -- just Travis (looking a lot like Matt Damon, I might add) and his guitar. He sings the song not with a smile but with a more pensive demeanor. And so does Underwood in hers. She's not bubbly, she's not dancing, she's not all over the stage with a cordless microphone. I love that. It's like she respects the song too much to add anything unnecessary.
Most of us have always known that Mr. Boot-in-Your-Ass has a soft spot. Toby Keith's on a mission to raise money to helps kids with cancer and their families. And so far, he's doing a hell of a job. Now his Toby Keith and Friends Golf Classic in Norman, Okla. (June 12-13) is poised to bring in even more funds for Ally's House and to build some more kid-friendly environments in the oncology ward of the Children's Hospital at the OU Medical Center in Oklahoma City. Keith's motivation is personal. Ally's House was started after Keith's friend and bandmate Scott Webb lost his daughter Allison to cancer in 2003, one month short of her third birthday. This is the sixth year of the benefit, and it has already raised more than $2.3 million. But like Keith says, "It takes a lot money to pull something like this off."
Call them a rock band or call them a country band. All that matters is that they put on one hell of a show. Reckless Kelly took the stage at Nashville's Exit In last night (Feb. 25) and tore through about a 90-minute set of tunes from throughout their 10-plus years of making music. The usually mellow Wednesday night crowd was pumped up and sang and danced along with the band as soon as the first chord rang out. "1952 Vincent Black Lightning," "Wicked Twisted Road," "Wild Western Windblown Band" and songs from last year's Bulletproof album were all there. Here's their video for "Ragged as the Road," but it's just a little taste of what you'll hear at their shows. Check out their upcoming tour dates and get the full experience.
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