Hailed as the force “leading the charge toward real country music” by Saving Country Music, ERNEST’s latest offering showcases his versatility and artistry. The collection features nine tracks co-written by the 8-time chart-topping songwriter, including a distinctive rendition of John Mayer’s ‘Slow Dancing In A Burning Room’ infused with ERNEST’s signature “country twang and twist,” as noted by American Songwriter.

From the emotionally charged ‘What Have I Got To Lose,’ a track that stands shoulder-to-shoulder with the genre’s timeless heartbreak hits (Taste of Country), to the cleverly crafted ‘Miss That Girl,’ displaying ERNEST’s unparalleled wordplay and captivating grit (CMT), this live collection vividly illustrates ERNEST’s storytelling prowess.

ERNEST & The Fellas Unplugged Tracklist:

1. ‘This Fire (Circle Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Rocky Block, Julian Bunetta, John Ryan)
2. ‘Wild Wild West (Circle Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Jacob Durrett, Rafe Tenpenny)
3. ‘What Have I Got To Lose (Circle Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Brian Kelley, Dean Dillon)
4. ‘Done At A Bar (Circle Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Josh Thompson)
5. ‘Slow Dancing In A Burning Room (Circle Sessions)’ (John Clayton Mayer)
6. ‘Feet Wanna Run (Salvage Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Chris LaCorte, Brad Warren, Brett Warren)
7. ‘Comfortable When I’m Crazy (Salvage Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Rodney Clawson)
8. ‘Songs We Used To Sing (Salvage Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Justin Ebach, Charles Kelley)
9. ‘Miss That Girl (Salvage Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Brad Clawson, Jacob Durrett)
10. ‘Unhang The Moon (Salvage Sessions)’ (Ernest Keith Smith, Grady Block, Brad Clawson, Jacob Durrett)

Fans eager for a live experience can catch ERNEST and his band, “The Fellas,” on their upcoming fall ‘This Fire Tour.’ The tour promises a dynamic set and a sound uniquely ERNEST, with support from Jake Worthington, John Morgan, and Cody Lohden. The tour kicks off in Oxford, Ohio on October 18 and concludes with back-to-back nights at Nashville’s legendary Ryman Auditorium on November 28 and 29.

This Fire Tour Dates:

• Oct. 18 – Oxford, Ohio – Brick Street Bar ^+
• Oct. 19 – Grand Rapids, Mich. – The Intersection ^+
• Oct. 20 – Rosemont, Ill. – Joe’s Live ^+
• Oct. 21 – Indianapolis, Ind. – 8 Seconds Saloon ^+
• Oct. 26 – Chattanooga, Tenn. – The Signal *^+
• Oct. 27 – Oxford, Miss. – The Lyric *^+
• Oct. 28 – Starkville, Miss. – Rick’s Café *^+
• Nov. 2 – Columbia, S.C. – The Senate *^+
• Nov. 3 – Tampa, Fla. – Dallas Bull *^+
• Nov. 4 – Fort Myers, Fla. – The Ranch *^+
• Nov. 10 – Baton Rouge, La. – Texas Club *^+
• Nov. 16 – Athens, Ga. – Georgia Theater *^+
• Nov. 18 – Greenville, S.C. – Blind Horse Saloon *^+
• Nov. 28 – Nashville, Tenn. – Ryman Auditorium *^+
• Nov. 29 – Nashville, Tenn. – Ryman Auditorium *^+

^ with Jake Worthington

• with John Morgan
• with Cody Lohden

The post Ernest & The Fellas unveil raw ‘Unplugged’ sessions: A deep dive into his ‘Flower Shops’ era appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

“Opry NextStage is a testament to the Grand Ole Opry’s longstanding reputation as a trusted curator in Country music and its commitment to nurturing and showcasing exceptional new talent, as it has done for almost a century” said Jordan Pettit, director of artist relations & programming strategy of Opry Entertainment Group. “This year’s new artist class, much like previous classes, showcases exceptional creativity across various musical styles, and we are excited to carry on the Opry tradition by introducing this exciting group of rising artists to fans.”

For the remainder of the year, the new NextStage artists will receive dedicated support through featured original content, Opry performances and support across select Opry Entertainment platforms, including the Opry, WSM Radio and Circle Network.

Since 2019, the NextStage program has introduced new talent to the country music fan base and featured artists such as Riley Green, Parker McCollum, Tenille Townes and Lainey Wilson, who all went on to earn ACM New Male and New Female Artist of the Year trophies the year following their NextStage inclusion. Other NextStage alumni include Priscilla Block, BRELAND, Callista Clark, Travis Denning, Tegan Marie, Niko Moon, Restless Road, Jameson Rodgers, Elvie Shane, Nate Smith, Morgan Wade, Hailey Whitters and Yola.

The post The Grand Ole Opry reveals it’s eight Opry NextStage artists for 2023 appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The album opens with ‘Sucker For Small Towns’, which very much sets the tone for the next hour and 20 minutes. It’s a retro, 70s-influenced track with some nice modern rock touches and a lovely sun-soaked quality, as well as being packed with details and wordplay (‘I’m a fool for a full moon’ being just one of my favourite lyrics on this record). ERNEST delivers the song effortlessly in his distinctive drawl and it feels like a great start to the album.

To take the project as two halves of a whole, on the original 10 tracks (well 11 if you count the superior acoustic version of ‘Flower Shops’) there’s a really strong narrative thread running through the whole thing. In particular the section from the weighty ‘Feet Wanna Run’, with its guitar line straight from an old Western movie and shimmering outro, through to ‘Flower Shops’ is a highlight for me. There’s a great flow between the tracks – particularly the frank, plaintive ‘Comfortable When I’m Crazy’ and the emotion and warmth of ‘Flower Shops’, which also sees ERNEST throw in some impressive vocal tricks – and I feel he captures the sense of conflict between wanting to settle down and being free absolutely perfectly, with the pull of both options evident in his wistful vocals.

Elsewhere in the first half, ‘Tennessee Queen’ showcases ERNEST’s smart songwriting brilliantly, littered with Elvis references and featuring a gorgeous romantic melody, whilst ‘Classic’ lives up to its title, highlighting his soulful side against a sultry, bluesy groove. I also loved ‘Did It With You’ with its ‘Boys of Summer’-inspired riff, as well as the knowing ‘What It’s Come To’ – a clever take on bro-country clichés – the bittersweet, reflective ‘If You Were Whiskey’ and ‘Some Other Bar’, with its mellow, pop-influenced vibe and soaring vocals. The whole album has a timeless quality that really stands out for me and I think it’s why I warmed to the record so easily – you genuinely feel like you could have listened to this in any era, but without it feeling overly nostalgic or saccharine.

Moving onto the newer tracks, already you can tell there’s a change in tone from the honky-tonk sound of ‘This Fire’. Whilst treading on themes covered earlier in the record – specifically how addiction can lead to losing good things in life and choosing the thrill of the now over future stability – the rollicking chorus, tempo switches and big vocals from ERNEST give you a devil-may-care feeling that lingers in the back half of the project. In a way it almost feels like he’s playing a character, who knows what he’s doing and doesn’t care anyway. ‘Nothin’ To Lose’ is another example of this, with its sense of ‘can’t stop won’t stop’ in the lyrics and some very impressive high notes.

That said, there’s still a place for those more relaxed, romantic numbers. The upbeat, affectionate ‘Hill’ echoes back to ‘Classic’ with its reference to a house built in 1963 – the same date as the baby blue Mustang of the earlier song. Meanwhile, the moving ‘Songs We Used To Sing’ shows off the gravelly edge and depth in ERNEST’s voice and ‘Done At A Bar’, a tale of a drunk-dialling old lover who swears they’ve changed, has a throwback feel and a singalong chorus you don’t often hear in these types of songs. I really like how ERNEST plays with these tropes throughout the album; it’s something not many artists would take the risk to do and he pulls it off very well indeed.

One standout aspect from the newer tracks is ERNEST showing off his fun, playful side midway through. The Hawaiian-sounding ‘Drunk With My Friends’ delivers some laugh-out-loud moments and a chorus that practically demands a crowd to sing along to it, before ‘Anything But Sober’ pairs a bright melody with deceptively dark, tongue-in-cheek lyrics about not being able to quit the drugs and booze. The two featured tracks are also standouts, with Dean Dillon’s voice providing a nice balance to ERNEST’s on the raw, heartstring-tugging ‘What Have I Got To Lose’, whilst ‘Heartache In My 100 Proof’ (featuring Jake Worthington) delivers an immediate, punchy groove alongside wry lyrics about being a ‘bluer shade of blue’ than the bar’s neon lights – a recurring image throughout the album. It might be a song about drowning your sorrows, but you’ll have a lot of fun doing it with these two.

ERNEST closes out the album with ‘Unhang The Moon’, a delicate, gentle song with a twist which sees him wishing he could undo the affection he showed an ex who’s moved on, before moving into recent release ‘Miss That Girl’. For me this track sums up a lot of the project, pairing a catchy singalong melody and sense of trying to brush off an old relationship through partying with sharp guitars and lyrical details that instantly place you in the song’s Silverado. It’s a really different note to end a record like this one and definitely leaves you feeling like you want to go back to the beginning already.

Overall ERNEST has followed up what was already one of the best albums of recent years with a slew of new tracks that show why he’s one of the hottest acts in Nashville right now. Balancing perfectly crafted songs that show off a wide range of styles and with quality vocals to boot, he’s absolutely leading the pack in terms of country artists marrying old and new sounds and this will only serve to further cement his position there. In fact a lot of this record gave me modern day George Strait vibes – a phrase I’m aware is thrown around a lot, but on this occasion it’s definitely warranted! If I had one criticism, it does drag slightly in the middle when listening to it as a whole piece and I’m not sure if it would have been better to release the new songs as a standalone project (though I’ll fully admit I miss the days of 15 tracks being the absolute maximum on an album). But overall, it’s a standout body of work from an artist who’s at the top of his game as a songwriter, and someone I hope we see over on this side of the pond very soon.

Track listing: 1. Sucker For Small Towns 2. Tennessee Queen 3. Classic 4. Feet Wanna Run 5. Comfortable When I’m Crazy 6. Flower Shops (featuring Morgan Wallen) 7. Did It With You 8. What It’s Come To 9. If You Were Whiskey 10. Some Other Bar 11. Flower Shops (featuring Morgan Wallen) (Acoustic) 12. This Fire 13. Wild Wild West 14. Hill 15. Burn Out 16. Nothin’ To Lose 17. Songs We Used To Sing 18. Done At A Bar 19. Drunk With My Friends 20. Anything But Sober 21. What Have I Got To Lose (featuring Dean Dillon) 22. Heartache In My 100 Proof (featuring Jake Worthington) 23. Unhang The Moon 24. Miss That Girl Record label: Big Loud Records Release date: 10th February 2023

The post ERNEST – ‘FLOWER SHOPS (THE ALBUM): Two Dozen Roses’ album review appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

ERNEST is aiming to eclipse the success of 2022 this year and the first step towards achieving that is the release of an extension to the ‘Flower Shops’ album entitled ‘Two Dozen Roses’, out on February 10th. We talked to ERNEST all about it.

Thank you for your time today, ERNEST, we do appreciate it.

No problem, thanks for having me.

Let’s start with a congratulations on the success of ‘Flower Shops’ last year. That song burned and burned for you all year. Did you know you had something special on your hands when you wrote it?

Definitely! It felt different to most of the other songs I’ve written. We had so much fun writing it and it didn’t take a lot of time either. You can never predict or guess the trajectory of a song but that one did feel very special. 

I look forward to the day, though, when it doesn’t necessarily have to be the ‘grand finale’ song because that will mean I’ve written some even better ones by then! (laughing)

You had an amazing 2022 as both a writer and as an artist. Did you have any real stand-out moments or events that really resonated with you and made lasting memories?

If I had to narrow down to just a few I’d say getting to sing ‘Flower Shops’ at Madison Square Gardens with Morgan (Wallen) – that was awesome.

Debuting at the The Grand Ole Opry was a childhood dream of mine which we achieved last year.

As a writer? This most recent number one with Jelly Roll – ‘Son of a Sinner’ – was very special. That’s three unassuming Nashville guys on that track, right there! Two of us were rappers at one point too. It’s the weirdest, coolest fairytale story you could imagine! (laughing) If you had told me when I was hanging out with Jelly Roll in high school that we would have a number one song at Country radio I just would not have taken that seriously!

I love the guy. He sings about real people going through real shit, and that there is Country music, right?

There seems to be a real developing Nashvillian mafia around town right now. Yourself, Jelly Roll, Mitchell Tenpenny are all having great success. Who else should be included in your Nashville mafia?

Oh man. Conner Smith is another one of us. On the writers side? Our guy John Byron is cool. Grady and Rocky Block, the brothers. Reece Rutherford is another cat on the scene that people need to take notice of – his dad Rivers Rutherford was a huge writer in the industry in the early 2000’s. There’s a lot of good Nashvillians bubbling and boiling right now. We’re aiming to take the town back from those Georgia boys! (laughing)

Speaking of Georgia boys, then. We’ve had Kane Brown over in the UK recently. He played both your ‘One Mississippi’ and ‘Memory’ co-writes at the shows. What was it like working with him?

Kane’s great. I love him. He’s always willing to go in whatever direction the song needs. From super-Honky Tonk to straight Rap, Pop and R&B. From a creative standpoint, that is so awesome. We wrote a few songs together down in the Florida Keys at a beautiful house on the water – that doesn’t suck either! (laughing)

Kane knows what he wants to say and he doesn’t lock himself in a corner.

Let’s talk about your forthcoming ‘Two Dozen Roses’ album release. What was your thinking behind extending the original album with another batch of songs rather than releasing a brand new product?

The brass tacks answer there is that there are more reasons beyond just me to put out a deluxe album. It’s beneficial for streaming, for consumption, whatever. I handed in an album’s worth of songs so I wouldn’t call this a deluxe album at all – it’s more of a part two.

It would make more sense if it was seen as a part two rather than just a deluxe album. 

I saw you say on Twitter that every song on the album had been a true story at some point over the past year. Is there one song on there that is the most deeply personal to you?

I think ‘The Hill’ might be. Brett Tyler brought most of that idea in and I immediately gravitated towards it and wanted to finish it. When that song was written we were living in a ranch style house that was built in the 60’s and we were thinking about turning it inside out and making it our forever home. 

Now, when the album comes out, we will be in a new house that we bought that has a little more acreage on it so that my boy has more space to ride. That song means so much more and in a slightly different way than it did to begin with. 

At the same time ‘This Fire’ also means a lot to me. I don’t know a guy in this industry who can’t relate to that song. Not even in the music industry, there isn’t a guy in the whole world who won’t relate to ‘This Fire’. We all got fire out there and the fight in life is to try and repel it as much as possible.

Funny story the day we wrote ‘This Fire’. Myself and the other writers were in the room at Julian Bunetta’s house. Me, John Ryan and Rocky Block. We didn’t have a title and Julian was like, I’m going to go online into this A.I. thing and generate a Country music title! By the way, Chatbot GPT just beat the bar exam so this thing is advanced, right?

A list of 20 songs was spit out and the second one was ‘This Fire’ and I was, like, ‘OK then boys, we’re writing that one!’ (laughing) We sat around and talked about ‘what’ the fire should be and got there pretty damn quickly to be honest. 

What was it like writing with Charles Kelly on ‘Songs We Used to Sing’?

It was awesome. Charles is great. I could listen to him sing the phone book and not get bored. We wrote two songs that day. The first one was a song called ‘Bad For Me’ that I think is a ‘Charles song’ and then I was messing around and playing a progression and we wrote ‘Songs We Used to Sing’ second, pretty quickly, and he was, like, ‘Man, this song is for you, you gotta song this.’

We each got a song that day so there was no tug of war! (laughing) I think Charles is going to come out and sing that song with me when I’m there at The Opry next.

I really like ‘Wild, Wild West’ on the new batch of songs.

I wrote that one with my best friend, Rafe Tenpenny, who I just signed to Cadillac Music. Mitchell’s brother, right? Rafe and I made some of my first music together back in 5^th and 6^th grade so when the opportunity came up to start my own publishing Rafe said he was ready to start writing for real and so we did it! 

What were your template of influences for ‘Wild, Wild West’?

If you had to guess what the template and the influences were what would you say?

Of the modern bands I can hear a lot of Midland and that West coast style on there.

You’re right about that West Coast Country! The Eagles were a huge influence to me on that song. The Band, as well, were another unspoken influence on both ‘Wild, Wild West’ and ‘This Fire’. 

When you write a song do you consider yourself stronger on lyrics or melodies or does it chop and change according to the song and the day of the week? I love the fact that ‘Miss That Girl’ sounds like the cadence of a child’s nursery rhyme. It’s so melodic.

That was very intentional on that song, for sure. The melody I was playing on the guitar that day automatically just generated the ‘red dirt, red dirt’ cadence. Needless to say it is one of my son’s favourite songs on the album! (laughing) He loves that one and ‘Unhang the Moon’. When he hears the intro to that song he says, ‘……Moon?’ He knows that one.

To answer your question about lyrics or melodies, it totally depends on the day. Somedays I got nothing to bring to the table in terms of lyrics, or it might well be somebody else’s day, right? You know, when Ashley Gorley shows up with an idea you are duty bound to let him run with it! (laughing) It depends on who you are writing with and what their ideas and strengths are. No two back-to-back days are ever the same in this town.

Is there anyone you haven’t managed to get into a room with in Nashville who you’d like to write a song with? 

Yeah! I wanna write with Shane McAnally. To grab a day with him and Josh Osborne would be so cool. I’ve written with Josh before and Shane and I have talked ideas back and forth a little. He stopped by when I was writing with Ashley Gorley one time and we sort of halfway wrote a song but I’d love to sit down with him fully and get one done.

You’ve already mentioned your new publishing company. What’s the motivation for you stepping into the business side of the industry? Why now?

I have the resources to be writing a lot more on the road now. Even my drummer, Grady, is a writer with Big Loud now. It was happening organically and having Chandler Walters out on the road with us is great. He’s writing a lot with Bailey Zimmerman right now. I found a guy called Cody Lohden on Instagram and I was like, we need to write with this guy, he’s good.

The time is now and I’m blessed to be able to use Big Loud’s resources on all of the stuff I am not good at behind the scenes, right? I’m good at the creative side of things.

Yourself, Morgan Wallen, HARDY and writers like Ben Burgess are sort of responsible for pulling Country music back into something a little more traditional right now. Do you guys talk about that and was it always an intention you had?

It would be true to say that it is not just us. Culture, as a whole, has shifted into a sort of cowboy world. Yellowstone is the new hottest playlist for any artist to get on. Alongside that you have artists like Charles Wesley Godwin and Zach Bryan doing their thing too. What you might have called Americana five years ago is now considered Country music. 

Me and Morgan, when we see ‘You Proof’ doing 10 weeks at number one? We can’t believe what we’ve managed to achieve but we never sat around a round table plotting all this out, right? We just write songs and have so much fun doing it. Listen to the HARDY album. That dude is doing exactly what he wants to do. I’m doing exactly what I want to do. We’re not trying to be anyone else and if people like that, hell yeah! 

What are the chances of us seeing you over in the UK this year? I know you’re heading out to Australia and New Zealand soon.

I think about this a lot and it could be on the plans for this year but there’s nothing confirmed right now. I’d love to come spend a couple of weeks over with you guys, even taking music out of the equation, just to see the country and have a drink with y’all.

ERNEST’s new album, ‘Flower Shops: Two Dozen Roses’ is out Friday 10th February. Pre-order or buy it right here.

The post Interview: Hit songwriter ERNEST reflects on chart success, the Nashville mafia & new album ‘Two Dozen Roses’ appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Hot Country, Spotify’s flagship country music playlist, is unveiling the roster of emerging stars who are primed to take the country music scene by storm and make their mark in the music industry this year. 

• Avery Anna, the Nashville singer-songwriter who has opened for acts like Josh Turner and Martina McBride is most known for her 2022 single “Narcissist,” and for appearing at last year’s C2C festival in London.
• Dylan Marlowe popped on the scene with his viral remake of Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License” and lately has been making waves with his catchy breakup track “Goodbye Gets Around.” He also featured on Kasey Tyndall’s new single, ‘Place for Me‘ released last Friday.
• Ella Langley, the “Country Boy’s Dream Girl” singer is known for her unique blend of country and rock. 
• ERNEST, the country artist known for his hit collaboration with Morgan Wallen, “Flower Shops,” got his start writing music for country artists including Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, and Chris Lane. We have an interview lined up with ERNEST to talk about his new, forthcoming album later in the month. 
• 49 Winchester is a Virginia-based country group known for its unique brand of tear-in-your-beer alt-country, sticky barroom floor rock-n-roll, and high-octane Appalachian folk. 
• Jackson Dean, known for his old school, gritty, lyric-driven, outlaw style of Country his hit song “Don’t Come Lookin’’” was recently featured in Paramount Network’s hit series Yellowstone. 
• Josh Ross, the Canadian singer-songwriter has topped the charts with his singles “First Taste of Gone” and “On a Different Night” and was nominated as a “Rising Star” at the 2022 Canadian Country Music Awards. 
• Megan Moroney, known for her viral hit “Tenessee Orange,” recently released her debut EP Pistol Made of Roses.
• Restless Road is a Nashville-based country music band known for their song “Take Me Home,” a collaboration with Kane Brown inspired by John Denver’s iconic track “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” and their hit single “Growing Old With You” which they performed on Season 26 of ABC’s The Bachelor.  We have an interview lined up with Restless Road during their upcoming UK tour with Kane Brown.
• Tanner Adell is bringing a fresh new vibe and sound to country music with her catchy and dance-worthy singles “Country Girl Commandments” and “Honky Tonky Heartbreak.”

The post Spotify releases its ‘Hot Country’ artists to watch for 2023 appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

On the track Ernest paints a not-so-rosy picture of a breakup in the thorny track, a classic done-her-wrong ballad arranged with timeless Country beauty. Featuring weeping steel guitar and a slow-and-sorry beat, the melancholic ode was written by Ernest with Ben Burgess and Mark Holman and produced by Joey Moi.

“’Flower Shops’ is a song that isn’t over-written or over-complicated,“ explains ERNEST. “It’s a sad song with a wink; an honest song about messing up a good thing and running out of sorrys. I wrote it with Ben Burgess and Mark Holman after being on a George Jones/sad Country song kick. I didn’t have a hard time going there because I know damn well what it’s like to run out of apologies, and though flowers aren’t ever going to fix it, it’s just about all you can do sometimes. It’s one of my favorite songs, if not my favorite song, I’ve written to date. The response on social media and from fans has been incredible, especially for being an unreleased song up until now. I’m excited for it to be out in the world and even more excited to have one of my best friends, Morgan, hop on it and sing it with me. I am a big believer in Country music remaining honest, regardless of sonics. And this is as honest as it can get.”

Ernest recently wrapped Season Three of his ‘Just Being Ernest’ podcast, which has featured Bobby Bones, John Crist, Craig Wiseman, Chris Lane and Morgan Wallen.

On 8th January, Ernest will make his debut at the Opry and then he’ll join Chris Lane’s ‘Fill Them Boots’ Tour starting on 13th January at House of Blues in Boston.

The post Ernest teams up with Morgan Wallen for new song ‘Flower Shops’ appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The two singers have recorded a 7-track collection, which will be released on 17th September 2021 via Big Loud Records/Songs & Daughters/Pigasus Records. Produced by Jake Gear, the collection features lead track ‘Islands in the Stream’, a cover of the Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers classic.

“When we were hashing through song ideas for this project, we knew we wanted to for sure do a cover. Ern brought up the idea of ‘Islands in the Stream’ and of course me, being a huge Dolly fan, was all about it,” explains Whitters. “Jacob Durrett laid the foundation for the reimagination of this song and I think he brilliantly found a way to reinvent the song in a way that can appeal to a newer, younger audience of country music listeners while still maintaining the integrity and feel of the original version. In both the visual and sound of this song, we wanted it to be bright and happy while continuing to spread a message and feeling of love and unity. I hope when listeners hear this song they can feel that.”

“I had mentioned an ‘Islands In The Stream’ cover because of the Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton comparisons we both get,” shares Ernest. “I wish Kenny Rogers were still alive so I could shake his hand, and I hope he would approve.”

The ‘Countrypolitan EP’ was inspired by classic Country duets from the likes of Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers, Tammy Wynette and George Jones, and Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty. It features six original songs written by Whitters and Ernest.

“The idea for this project came about one day as I was going down the rabbit hole listening to old country duets,” explains Whitters. “It seemed like back in the day everyone used to release collaboration records: Dolly and Kenny, Loretta and Conway, Tammy and George…. you don’t really see full length records like that anymore and I was thinking it would be fun to do a project like that in today’s modern era. I sat on the idea waiting for the right partner and the first day Ern and I wrote it just felt like a natural fit.”

“I didn’t know it at the time, but Countrypolitan means the Nashville sound,” adds ERNEST. “This is such a cool side project because I love old school music. It was fun to write with that in mind, but still with a fresh perspective. The production on this project is awesome, and the band was great. There are real strings, real fiddles. It feels like it all came together in the blink of an eye.”

The track list for ‘Countrypolitan’ is:

1. Islands In The Stream
2. Say Anything
3. String Me Along
4. One Less Whiskey
5. White Limousine 
6. Every Piece Of Me
7. Neon Silver & Jukebox Gold

The post Hailey Whitters and Ernest team up for new project Countrypolitan appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The track honours his Tennessee hometown of Nashville and the lyric video is filled with throwback vignettes and photos. ‘American Rust’ is penned by Ernest Rodney Clawson and Jordan Reynolds, and produced by Joey Moi. 

‘American Rust’ follows Ernest’s 2020 release ‘Cheers’, and comes on the heels of his fourth #1 hit as a songwriter, ‘Breaking Up Was Easy In The 90’s’ by Sam Hunt.

Previously notching credits on #1s including RIAA GOLD ‘I Love My Country'(Florida Georgia Line), RIAA PLATINUM ‘More Than My Hometown’ (Morgan Wallen) and RIAA PLATINUM ‘Big, Big Plans’ (Chris Lane), Ernest has become one of Music City’s most sought-after songwriters.

Co-writing 11 tracks on Wallen’s ‘Dangerous: The Double Album’, plus Lane’s current single ‘Fill Them Boots’, Ernest’s impact is now extending beyond Music Row with writer credits on Zayn’s ‘Tightrope’ and the collaboration with Diplo on “Bottle’s Bout Dead.” 

Currently in the star-studded second season of his “Just Being ERNEST” podcast, the hyper-creative entertainer gets behind the mic weekly to provide a platform for relaxed conversation – tied together by his signature sense of humor and eccentric personality. High-profile past guests include Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, HARDY, Lauren Alaina, Diplo and more.

The post Ernest drops lyric video for nostalgic new track ‘American Rust’ appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Adopted when he was just three weeks old, Ernest grew up in Nashville and he spent his adolescent years listening to rap music, making beats and teaching himself to play the banjo. Recalling the artists that influenced him, Ernest is keen to highlight the wide-ranging melting pot that helped him become the artist he is today.

“The first CD that changed my life was the ‘Space Jam’ soundtrack. It had everything from R Kelly to Wu Tang to young Jay-Z and Salt N Pepa. I was in the third grade taking all this in, and right about the same time I got turned on to Earl Scruggs and Lester Flatt so I got a banjo that same Christmas,’ Ernest explains. “In fourth grade it was Eminem and I got hooked on to John Mayer and Jack Johnson. Country Music was always around me, like Alan Jackson and George Strait. I’ve always listened to Etta James and Aretha Franklin, the gospel album ‘Amazing Grace’. I love soul music and songwriting from soul. Eminem I think wrote from his soul too, it’s just all different.”

Despite trying his hand at rap when he was growing up, Ernest believes he’s landed where he was supposed to with his music – in the Country genre. “Who I am now as an artist is the most myself I’ve ever gotten to be. I naturally land in a Country space when I sing and play guitar. I use my rap skill on a daily basis whether I’m writing a Country song or a rock song, it don’t matter. The skills I got from practicing rap and just consuming it so much, I’m able to use in my Country writing skills.”

A prolific writer, Ernest achieved three number ones in 2020 with Florida Georgia Line’s ‘I Love My Country’, Morgan Wallen’s ‘More Than My Hometown’ and Chris Lane’s ‘Big, Big Plans’. How does he decide which songs to keep and which ones to give away?

“That varies, because some days if I’m writing with another artist, it’s pretty set and clear that we’re writing for that person. Other days, if I just show up with a track guy and another writer, we just try to write the best song possible and if by the end of the day, it lands in some territory I would do, I’d cut and keep it. Sometimes we know who’s looking. We wrote one the other day that was pretty much just right down the middle all-day Jason Aldean.”

With the pandemic having hit everyone hard, particularly artists, Ernest found solace in achieving three number one singles. Looking back to those achievements he shares:

“It was a dream come true for sure. Growing up in Nashville, that’s the milestone. Even having a cut was a dream. My first cut was a dream come true so to have a number one and then have three, and then they all be on the back half of the craziest year of my life… God is good. I can’t explain it. It was fun being able to call my mom and tell her I got it, that’s for sure. I was like, ‘hey Mom, it’s not just a phase!’ (laughs)”

Like many artists, Ernest found himself on a rollercoaster during the pandemic, especially in terms of his ability to be creative and write new material.

“The first month or six weeks, I just retired and (my wife) Delaney and I started to garden and I was like, ‘well, this is life now’. I didn’t even try being inspired to write music. I just bought a bunch of Carhartt and started getting dirty in the yard,” he admits. “It was probably around June, I started writing again and tried doing a couple of Zooms. This is fine for interviews but writing over Zoom is just tough to catch a vibe with music. People would start coming by the house. It was weird because I’m usually writing in this room I’m in right now at Big Loud, then all of a sudden I’m writing from home. That was different because I’m used to the experience of leaving the house to go write. I started writing songs about looking at my backyard and seeing my garden. I wrote a song called ‘Simple Life’ and talked about my three dogs in the yard and the garden and all this stuff. I definitely was re-inspired about stuff I would have never written about otherwise. Now I got a baby on the way because of pandemic so I got a whole other topic of conversation to sing about.”

The pandemic did have its positives though. As well as impending fatherhood, the last year forced Ernest to think outside the box even more, as evidenced by the music video for his single ‘Sugar’, which saw him rendered in ‘Grand Theft Auto’ style animation. Talking about that creative choice, Ernest comments:

“We weren’t able to do a full production video. We had a treatment ready to go and we were gonna go to Miami and pretty much shoot that video. Then the world shut down so we had to pivot. We thought why not do it like a video game like ‘The Sims’ and ‘Grand Theft Auto’. Justin Clough pulled a team together. I love that video. I sit back and watch it as a fan. It’s sick.”

Ernest is now focusing on his current single ‘Cheers’, which was released in 2020 and has been turning plenty of heads. Offering something positive and upbeat when many of us were struggling to get through each week

“The music started happening and it just felt really good. Sometimes we just follow that thread of, ‘hey, this feels nostalgic. This feels like a good time…. feels like bonfire’. That song to me has always been Autumn in my mind. It’s a fall song. That’s how I interpret it, I know it’s different for everybody. That song smells like fall to me and all that. We just tried to drive home that nostalgic, feel good, here’s to beer, cheers. Who can’t agree with that?”

Ernest’s single ‘Cheers’ is available to download and stream now. Watch the music video for it below:

The post Interview: Ernest discusses his inspirations, his success as a songwriter and his new single ‘Cheers’ appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The track toasts the little things that make life worth living – even when life is put on hold.

‘Cheers’ was co-written by Ernest with Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line, plus Henry Agincourt Allen, Emi Dragoi and Jordan Schmidt. The swaying track is full of hand-on-your-heart gratitude, promising to never take good times for granted again.

The track is produced by Joey Moi and co-produced by King Henry and Emi Dragoi.

The music video for ‘Cheers’ is directed by Justin Clough and it spotlights Ernest leading a group of friends in a backyard toast. A bonfire glow illuminates the passage of time, while the crew commemorates the moments that are always worth celebrating – including love, babies, and an ice-cold beer.  Adding an extra shot of authenticity, the clip was filmed at Ernest’s home in Nashville, and features his wife, Delaney.  

‘Cheers’ arrives hot-on-the-heels of two #1 hits for the buzzed-about songwriter, who co-penned Morgan Wallen’s ‘More Than My Hometown’ and Florida Georgia Line’s ‘I Love My Country.’

The post Ernest rounds out 2020 with new track ‘Cheers’ appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

With many of the best-loved lines retained and mixed in with brand new songs by Phil Jacobs, Ernest (a product of All in One Theatre Company) proves to be the best of the original with a fair amount of its own inventive humour, with some delicious rhyming lyrics.

When Jack Worthing (Samuel Harris) becomes engaged to Gwendolen (Cassandra Foster) his fiancée is under the impression that she is betrothed to his invented mischievous brother Ernest.  Jack’s close friend Algernon (Linford Hydes), also masquerading as Ernest, becomes betrothed to Cecily (Ella Duncan). When the women discover their deceptions the nuptials appear to be off…

The music for Ernest is played on keyboard (set to piano), which benefits the small space since anything more, especially percussion, would drown out the actors. There are one or two catchy songs, and the segues into the musical interludes have been carefully thought through.

A standout performance is Linford Hydes as Algernon Moncrieff. Admittedly, he has the best part with all the funniest lines, and everyone prefers the rakish Algernon to the stolid Jack: but Hydes makes the most of his good fortune and combines a flair for physical comedy with an enjoyably crisp delivery of dialogue. He’s a lot of fun to watch but remains truthful to the character.

The direction (Pamela Schermann) is necessarily pacy, with a good handle on humour, and the show rattles along at terrific speed, playing (as it should) as farce. Although running to sixty minutes, the show feels even shorter thanks to the unrelenting pace and the engaging storytelling. There are some neat touches that maximise the space such as using an onstage mannequin to drape clothing and props over to aid snappy costume changes and scene transitions.

There are one or two elements that haven’t been fully thought through: the bookending scenes set contemporarily don’t feel integral to the show and the idea that modern day characters escape into Wilde’s world (as evinced in the programme notes) doesn’t come across clearly. The performances are mixed too, with a few instances where the singing voice is better than the acting; and a mixture of performance styles rather than a uniform house style. Still, some of the shakier aspects of the production will bed in as the run progresses.

A little rough around the edges perhaps, but Ernest is an uncut diamond with a great idea at the heart of it. Charming, clever and good fun, the show deserves an airing at a festival. You can catch it at the Etcetera Theatre until 8^th December.

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