Michael Rivera
KHEY/El Paso PD Michael Rivera Adds Duties At KBQI/Albuquerque
iHEARTMEDIA Country KHEY/EL PASO, TX PD/afternoon driver MICHAEL RIVERA adds the same duties at sister Country station KBQI (BIG I 107-9)/ALBUQUERQUE. He succeeds BEV RAINEY, who departed KBQI in APRIL after 19 years at the station (NET NEWS ...
Bruce Logan Named OM/Brand Mgr. At Hubbard/West Palm Beach
Veteran Country programmer BRUCE LOGAN joins HUBBARD BROADCASTING Country WIRK and Classic Hits WEAT (SUNNY 107.9)/WEST PALM BEACH as OM/Brand Content Dir. LOGAN most recently was ...
Garth Brooks and Blake Shelton have teamed up for "Dive Bar," a track cleverly comparing a bar to a pool that's already drawing predictions to be the "song of the summer." It was released exclusively to Country radio today (6/18). Brooks, who co-wrote the song with Mitch Rossell and Bryan Kennedy, kicks it off by singing, "Turn that bottle up and drink it / Crank that jukebox up and Hank it / Bartender, pour another round / Here's to our best bad decisions / Situation no conditions / Oh, and memories we all need to drown." The two superstar voices blend together harmoniously on this party anthem. The addition of steel guitar, coupled with a two-steppin’ rhythm, amps up the track's Classic Country style, and the two singers were not afraid to show their Country roots in their vocal delivery. In the most recent episode of Brooks' Facebook Live series, "Inside Studio G,” he said, "Blake kept pushing for it to be more steel, more Country." He added that the song "sounds fresh, and it sounds like summer to me." Whatever the season, the song is perfectly suited for Country radio, and is sure to be a fan favorite. Dive on in, and send your playlist to the deep end of this "Dive Bar."
“I’ve got my mind made up and my high heels on,” Sheryl Crow sings in the attention-grabbing opening lines of her new single, “Prove You Wrong,” and it's off to the races from there. Nine-time Grammy Award winner Crow wrote the song, and is joined on the track by fellow badass singers Maren Morris and Stevie Nicks. Musicians Vince Gill and Joe Walsh are among the A-listers lending their instrumental skills to the first Country release from Crow’s upcoming album of collaborations, “Threads,” due out August 30th. “Prove You Wrong” simultaneously delivers summertime tempo and sass in a song about moving on easily from a failed relationship, despite the ex’s claims that, “No one's gonna hold me, no one’s gonna love me / Nothin' like the way you do.” The three women’s voices blend beautifully here, and by the time they all clap for themselves at the end of the song, the accolade feels well earned.
Trisha Yearwood is back and better than ever with a single that’s reminiscent of some of her biggest, ‘90s-era hits. In a tight package that clocks in just under three minutes, Yearwood speaks to the dreams of young girls and women everywhere as this anthem builds to a dramatic finish, where she is joined by the raised voices of a girl’s choir. “We dance and we laugh ’til we all fall down / We keep kissing boys trying to figure it out / Stretching for stars on our tiptoe hearts / Trying to get our big dreams off the ground / Like every girl in this town,” she sings in the chorus. But listeners are put on notice that they’re not hearing any ordinary female empowerment song when Yearwood belts out the clever line, “If they try to hold you down under that water / Just come up baptized baby, let it make you stronger.” Take that, glass ceiling! The song, which is getting off to a fast start at Country radio, is the first single from Yearwood’s new album, due later this year. And she revealed during CMA Fest in Nashville on June 9th that there will also be a supporting tour. Said Yearwood, “There’s something real special happening with this song … Thank you to everybody who is embracing it.”
Warner Music Nashville/WMN's Cale Dodds is radio ready with his brand new single, "I Like Where This Is Going," and we think you'll agree. The romantic single, penned by Dodds alongside producer busbee and songwriter Nicolle Galyon, treats listeners to the feelings of a fresh romance and the uncertainty that comes along with it. “‘I Like Where This Is Going' is about anticipation,” Dodds has said of the single. “It’s the feeling of suspense, like the last song at prom before the lights come up, or the moment before dropping a girl off after a first date, not knowing what’s going to happen next." Dodds shows beauty in uncertainty and brings his feelings to life in the chorus through lyrical descriptions of life's simple pleasures: "The stars ain't started to glow / But we both know that they're all coming / The cork's still stuck in the bottle / But that bottle's in your hand / The needle ain't on the vinyl yet, but I'm dropping it / 'Cause you're already starting to dance / It kinda feels like this whole night is in slow motion / I like where this is going." We see what you did there, Cale. It's more than meets the ear. The tune has already seen strong streaming success, and we can't wait to see what it does on the charts. Like Cale, we like where this is going.
Brett Young's new single may have you thinking about baseball with the song title "Catch," but the tune unfolds as more of a meet-cute type moment. The first few lines offer a subtle, romantic vibe as Young sings, "I wasn't trying to feel like this / I wasn't trying to feel nothing at all / I just came to meet my friends / And tried to drink the long week off." What starts as an ordinary night then transitions in the chorus, "But then I saw your face / Now you got me trying to / Catch your eye, catch your name / Catch a spark and start a flame / The way you're smilin', I can't help myself / Girl you got me trying to catch my breath." Young co-wrote the song with fellow hit makers Ross Copperman and Ashley Gorley. Keeping with Young's signature Pop-Country sound, the instrumental accompaniment includes a mandolin in the mix, which gives the track that extra light-hearted feel. This song will likely be a big hit with female fans. 
Anyone who feels they were shaped by their hometown, and reflects on those roots with nostalgia, will appreciate Jake Owen’s new single, “Homemade,” which taps into that sentimentality beautifully. After conjuring memories of Sunday supper, Friday night football games, George Strait mix tapes and growing up in a house where “Dad was boss, Christ was king,” Owen sings, “I'll always be the man that home made.” The breezy mid tempo perfectly suits the song’s nostalgic vibe, particularly in the chorus, which includes the lines, “Home made me love a small town / Home made me wanna settle down in a home made / For the two of us /Everything I love is homemade.” The song even takes a turn toward the spiritual in the bridge, where Owen sings, “What we got you can't get from a store / Hey, the good stuff comes from the good Lord.” Written by Bobby Pinson, Drew Parker, Jared Mullins, and Ben Goldsmith, “Homemade” is the fourth single and, likely, the next hit, off of Owen’s latest album, “Greetings From … Jake.”
Forget your preconceived notions about singing actors, this track from Kiefer Sutherland’s sophomore album, “Reckless & Me” (released in late April), proves this particular thespian is capable of so much more than saving the world in 24 hours. The singer-songwriter, who is as serious about music as he is about his current role on Netflix’s “Designated Survivor,” has played 300 shows with his band over the past couple of years. Country fans will have a chance to catch him in Nashville this week when he performs on The Grand Ole Opry (6/7) and at CMA Fest (6/8). He penned this track with his producer, Jude Cole, and Lifehouse member Jason Wade, and co-wrote five other cuts on his 10-track new album. With a gravelly vocal reminiscent of Bruce Springsteen, and an upbeat delivery, Sutherland is clearly speaking from the heart when he sings, “Living ain’t living now without the thrill of doing something you love.”
If you like a little Country in your Country music, Jon Pardi’s new single offers just the thing. With a fiddle intro kicking off its stone cold Country instrumentation, and the kind of loping delivery the singer-songwriter has come to be known for on his string of past hits, it’s easy to picture couples two-stepping around the hardwood to this one. “‘Heartache Medication' has an ’80s George Strait 'Fool Hearted Memory' feel to it, and is something people can dance to,” Pardi has said of the track. It’s the first single from his 14-song new album of the same name, due out on Friday, September, 27th. Pardi serves as both a writer (with Barry Dean and Natalie Hemby) on the song and — as with his previous two albums — a producer as well. In the hooky as heck chorus, Pardi sings, “Here I go again, I’m drinkin’ one, I’m drinkin’ two / I got my heartache medication / A strong dedication to gettin’ over you / Turnin’ me loose on that / Hardwood, jukebox, lost in neon time / My heartache medication, well it suits me fine.” Another smash hit from Pardi is sure to suit Country radio fine.
Pack your bags and turn your radio up, because Stoney Creek's Randy Houser is ready to take you on a trip like no other with his new single, "No Stone Unturned." The Country crooner uses his one-of-a-kind, vintage vocals to narrate the journey of a musician through heartbreak and self-discovery as he leaves no stone unturned in pursuit of his dreams. It's no secret this tune is self-inspired, and with the passion and grit oozing behind Houser's vocals throughout, it's also no secret the song is deeply personal. "It's about self-discovery and just the life of a traveling man, and I've always been sort of a seeker in my lifetime," Houser told the newsletter Songfacts. "I never have really known how to sit still very long." Although a seemingly simple concept, the lyrics, penned by Houser and brother-in-law Dallas Davidson, will grip you from the first line: "I made it up to Nashville, played the part / I took a broken guitar through the heart." Who could stop listening there? Houser continues in the chorus, "There ain't no grass gonna grow up under my feet / No tellin' where I might be / I can always find one hell of a time / While I'm out here lookin' for me / No stone unturned / No turn unstoned." While Houser is busy flipping those stones, by playing this song you will leave no listener unsatisfied.
Red Bandana
