I’m going to be real honest here… although I have always loved Blake Shelton, I haven’t been a fan of his past few releases. Not since “God’s Country”, at least.
Well, he just dropped a new track off of his upcoming album “For Recreational Use Only” written by Drew Parker, Graham Barham, Sam Ellis and Beau Bailey called “Stay Country or Die Tryin'”, and I’m kind of digging it:
Now, this version of Blake takes me back to the “Ole’ Red” days, which is a good thing.
I know non-Country peeps will roll their eyes at the song and title, but I get it.
I grew up in rural West Tennessee, and plan on returning to the farm as soon as my husband retires from the Army. I miss that world and that life. And I get it- if you have never lived it, you’ll most not likely not get it. But fun fact: there’s a huge world in between the major metros that lives this.
Having lived in both worlds, I’m ready to go back. This song reminds me of those I grew up with, and my husband and his family. Also, my daddy had a John Boat that came in handy when our roads would floods when the Forked Deer river overflowed. And we have the American flag flying and perhaps not a Boone Crockett deer on the wall, but there are some pretty solid 8-10 points on the wall, and a ton of turkey beards.
Don’t hate.
Blake Shelton’s new album “For Recreational Use Only” is out on May 9th.
One of the big Country Music-centric websites Theboot.com just released a list of the “Saddest Songs in Country Music”… like any list that’s not research-based, it’s totally debatable.
Let’s see what you think!
1. “Go Rest High on That Mountain” by Vince Gill
2. “Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain” by Willie Nelson
Pretty solid list, but it’s also blasphemy that “Whiskey Lullaby” by Brad Paisley and Allison Krause didn’t rate in the Top 10. Or… what about Garth Brooks “The Dance”? Or Miranda Lambert’s “Tin Man” to name a few???
One of my all-time favorite Southern Rock bands- Lynyrd Skynyrd- teamed up with Jelly Roll for a pretty solid rendition of “Tuesday’s Gone” as a part of Lynyrd Skynyrd’s upcoming album “Celebrating 50 Years-Live at The Ryman”.
Now, “Tuesday’s Gone” is one of my absolute favorite songs of all time, and this was, in my opinion, a pretty cool performance of it:
This song hits me deep in my soul every time.
One of my core memories is being 21, front row at a Skynyrd concert at Skullbone Music Park in Skullbone, TN.
June 4th, 2004.
Me and my best friend Erica singing this song at the top of our lungs in the pouring rain…
It doesn’t get better than that.
“Celebrating 50 Years- Live at the Ryman” will be available on June 27th, and I can’t wait for the rest!
Lainey Wilson- one of my favorite artists right now- dropped a new Country banger called “Bell Bottoms Up”. It’s the theme song to her new bar in downtown Nashville by the same name, it’s as fun and Country as she is!
Aw, I love it! So much fun.
I’m so happy for Lainey Wilson and all of her wildfire success these past few years.
Girlfriend has earned it.
She’s on the road and doing all kinds of fun things in 2025.
The Pop Superstar just dropped the first track off of his upcoming album “Play”, and it’s super fun and catchy.
Check out “Azizam”:
Well, that was fun! Ed said that he wanted to create a dance/party song that had Irish and Persian folk music influences, and he definitely delivered.
“Azizam” means “my dear” or “my darling” in Farsi, and I am loving the creativity and the different cultural influences that Ed put into the song.
“Azizam” is off of Ed Sheeran’s upcoming album “Play”, which will be out sometime this year, as will the official music video for “Azizam”.
One of my favorite things about Ed Sheeran is not only his incredible scope of talent, but the fact that he can pretty much do any kind of music, and you never know what he will come out with next.
Miley Cyrus just dropped the title track off of her upcoming album “Something Beautiful” today, and hot damn, it’s really, really good.
It’s very sultry, unique, and totally Miley:
Soulful and rockin’ at the same time.
I love it.
Ok, real talk: I wasn’t a Miley fan for a long time, but she has really risen above all the controversy, and has totally proven herself as a true artist and vocalist, and is now one of my favorites.
Also, how awesome does she look these days?
This song is getting me pretty jazzed for her new album “Something Beautiful”, which comes out May 16th.
I was so excited to hear this new single, and be brought back to the Eric Church of a few years back.
His new single “Hands of Time” is perfect.
Enjoy:
Here’s the full lyrics:
“Hands Of Time”
“Detroit built brakes so that they could make a Chevy slow down
And a just-right midnight sorry might turn goodbye around
Bloody Marys and aspirin will give a hangover one hell of a fight
But my remedy for handling the hands of time
Is Seger singing “Hollywood Nights”
Even the losers get lucky sometimes
A paradise by the dashboard light
And I’m just fine, I’m doing alright
We ain’t as young as we used to be
But young at heart is so easy
When you let some loud guitars and words that rhyme
Handle the hands of time
My go-to game day jersey’s always Carolina blue
When I need to find forgiveness, I find a little small town church pew, yeah
After work I like to put my elbows up on a bar
And girl, I turn to the speakers when I need to speak to this ol’ heart
And it’s “Back In Black,” “Shook Me All Night Long”
“Could You Be Loved,” “Redemption Song”
“Luckenbach,” “Home Sweet Home”
I’m “Where I Belong,” “Ain’t Nothing Wrong,” yeah
We ain’t as young as we used to be
But young at heart is so easy
When you let some loud guitars and words that rhyme
Handle the hands of time
Hands of time
Tryin’ to hang on as the song rolls
Like gravity pulls on the grains of sand
We take our licks, life takes its toll
We say thanks and we fold our hands
And it’s “Amazing Grace,” how sweet the sound (“Amazing Grace”)
Sunday morning coming down
Tuesday’s gone, green grass of home (Tuesday’s gone)
I come to the garden alone, yeah
We ain’t as young as we used to be
But until under that willow you bury me
I’m gonna turn up some loud guitars
Turn up some loud guitars
(Turn it up loud) Turn up some loud guitars
(Turn it up) Crank some loud guitars
Crank up some loud guitars (Turn it up, turn it up now)
Wanna hear some loud guitars (Turn it up, turn it up now)
I’m gonna let some loud guitars and words that rhyme
(Turn it up, turn it up now, turn it up)
Handle the hands of time”
Oh, hell yes.
That’s one of the great things about music. It can always handle the “Hands of Time”.
The song is off of his new album “Evangeline Vs. The Machine”, and you can get info, tour dates, all that good stuff at https://www.ericchurch.com/
I’ve always liked the pop star, who has a great, strong voice and catchy songs… but I didn’t realize how good her vocals actually are until just now.
She brought her “Radical Optimism” tour to Melbourne, Australia, and took a chance at covering the iconic Aussie band AC/DC’s “Highway to Hell” in concert, and it paid off I’d say:
Damn, Dua Lipa.
Yeah, I had no idea she had that in her. Mad respect!
Check out where she’ll be next at DuaLipa.com
She definitely went up a few notches for me with this performance. Well done!
I had the pleasure of checking in with Country star Josh Turner today- he’s performing at Pueblo Memorial Hall tonight, and he called into the show for a little chat.
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