Keith Urban and Kix Brooks headline a talented group of songwriters who were announced as the 2023 inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame yesterday. The other three: David Lee Murphy, Casey Beathard and Rafe Van Hoy.

Urban and Brooks are well known for their own careers, as well as being two of the most well-respected songwriters in country music. David Lee Murphy, while also scoring several hits on his own, has written hits for Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Jason Aldean and more. Beathard is a two-time BMI Songwriter of the Year, with songwriting credits on hits by Gary Allan, Billy Ray Cyrus, Trace Adkins, Kenny Chesney, and Eric Church. Van Hoy’s career includes writing hits for Mark Chestnutt, the Oak Ridge Boys, Barbara Mandrell and George Jones.

The 53rd annual Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Gala will take place at the Music City Center in Nashville on Oct. 11.

Source: TasteOfCountry

Country legend Randy Travis has been sidelined for the last ten years by a devastating stroke – and while he has recovered to some degree, it seriously impacts his ability to perform. So it’s great to hear that, despite this, we may soon hear some new Randy Travis music. During a press conference announcing “A Heroes & Friends Tribute To Randy Travis,” an all-star tribute concert coming to Huntsville, Alabama later this year, Randy was asked about the potential for getting new Randy Travis music. And according to Randy and his wife Mary, “The chances are 100%. There is a 100% chance of more Randy Travis music from the vault that has never been heard. It’s already been mixed, everything is ready to go – we’re just waiting on the announcement of it. It’s a whole other album of Randy Travis music.”

Dan + Shay have been quite open about the career crossroads where they found themselves. The hit country duo were getting little satisfaction despite their success, and a breakup of the friends and musical partners was very much on the table when they met to discuss their future. A new track called “Always Gonna Be” details the conversation that convinced them to stay together during that difficult time period.

“One of the most important things we talked about that night was our responsibility to our fans who have been with us through every high and low of the past 10 years,” the duo shared on social media. “Whether we decided to call it quits or dive headfirst into a new chapter, we felt that we owed it to our fans to make peace with the idea of Dan + Shay in our hearts,” they went on to say. “No matter the outcome, the music we created together would live on forever, and we wanted to be able to celebrate that rather than look back in vain…We left that night with a fresh perspective on our career, and a genuine closeness in our relationship.”

The result: a new album, “Bigger Houses,” coming September 15 – and a frank musical relaying of their make-or-break conversation in the upcoming “Always Gonna Be,” which drops tomorrow at midnight.

Source: TasteOfCountry

Tim McGraw‘s dream of recording as a family is meeting with some resistance. Of course, wife Faith Hill is a legendary singer in her own right, but all three of the couple’s daughters have some game when it comes to singing.

Tim and Faith have teamed up for some legendary singles – and tours. But when it comes to the three daughters, Gracie, Maggie and Audrey, teaming up with dad, there’s a certain amount of push-back. “I’d love to do a song with all five of us at some point. I talk about it all the time, and they’re like, ‘I ain’t singing with you, dad.’ They’ll sing with mom. But I’m probably not up to par with the rest of them,” the singer says. “I’m the worst singer in the family.” Fans of the country icon would beg to differ.

Source: TasteOfCountry

Tim McGraw announced Friday that his 2024 just got a lot busier. The country legend will bring what he calls the “Standing Room Only” tour (named after his upcoming album, but probably a self-fulfilling title as well) to 33 cities, with the tour kicking off March 14 in Jacksonville, Florida and extending through June 27 in Phoenix. Opening up for Tim for the entire run will be Carly Pearce.

Tim announced the tour at his pop-up Whisky A Go Go show last week, but now we have all the details. Tim also talked about what his show will have – and what it will not have. What it will not have: pyrotechnics.  “I’m not a big pyro guy. I’m scared to death. I know myself enough that I move around all over the place and sure enough I’ll be standing right over one of those things when it goes off.”

Tim also addressed the disturbing trend of people throwing objects at performers on-stage. How would he handle it? Simple: he’d duck.

“Hopefully I’m still spry, and hope I can dodge and duck and leap,” he said when asked how he’d handle something like that. While McGraw said he won’t use additional security measures on the road, he didn’t hesitate to condemn the current trend of object-throwing at concerts. “I mean, it’s absolutely crazy, and then you ruin the show for everybody else,” he said. See all the tour dates here. Also, when you go, don’t throw stuff at the performers.

Source: TasteOfCountry