Thomas Rhett, recognized as “the most reliable maker of No. 1 singles in country music” by Variety, recently earned his 21st career chart-topper with ‘Angels (Don’t Always Have Wings).’ This accomplishment inspired the surprise release of ‘Mamaw’s House,’ enriching the much-anticipated number ones collection.

Reflecting on the deep-rooted inspiration behind the track, Thomas Rhett shared, “This song describes my grandmothers and Morgan’s as well – we wanted to portray a small-town piece of paradise. Growing up, I can remember going to both of my grandmothers’ houses in South Georgia. I learned so many life lessons there about hard work, manners, and respect. This song really hits home for me, and I hope everyone feels the same.”

Morgan Wallen, equally moved by the sentimental connection, added, “I dedicate this one to not only her but to my living grandmothers as well. TR had a similar experience growing up, so I’m really glad we got to write and record this song together. Hope y’all enjoy it.”

The surprise track release comes as Thomas Rhett closed out his much-lauded HOME TEAM TOUR 23 with two sold-out shows at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. The tour, spanning 40 cities in 27 states, has electrified audiences nationwide.

Thomas Rhett’s remarkable journey, marked by 21 No. 1 singles and 15 billion streams, showcases his enduring impact on the country music scene. His latest album, ‘Where We Started’ has been hailed as a musical masterpiece, commanding the attention of fans and critics alike. You can read our review of it right here.

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‘Toes’ – Zac Brown Band

Released in 2008, ‘Toes’ is a carefree anthem that celebrates the beach lifestyle. The video showcases the band’s members enjoying a beach vacation on the stunning beaches of Mexico. The picturesque views, palm trees, and laid-back atmosphere perfectly complement the song’s lyrics, making it one of the most popular country music videos set at the beach.

‘Somewhere On A Beach’ – Dierks Bentley

In 2016, Dierks Bentley released ‘Somewhere On A Beach,’ a catchy and fun song that portrays a man getting over a breakup by heading to the beach. The video captures the essence of the song, with Bentley enjoying the sun, sand, and surf while surrounded by a beautiful group of people. The picturesque beach scenes and vibrant atmosphere create a delightful summer experience for viewers.

Knee Deep – Zac Brown Band ft. Jimmy Buffett

Zac Brown Band makes a second appearance on this list with their collaboration with Jimmy Buffett in the song ‘Knee Deep.’The video features both artists embracing the beach life, playing their guitars and singing with the backdrop of a breathtaking tropical beach. The video’s cheerful and laid-back vibe aligns perfectly with the song’s message of letting go and living in the moment.

‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night’- Jake Owen

Jake Owen’s ‘Barefoot Blue Jean Night’ released in 2011, celebrates a casual lakeside beach party with friends. The video showcases a group of young people having a blast on the beach, playing beach volleyball, enjoying bonfires, and dancing the night away. The song’s carefree lyrics and lively rhythm combined with the beach setting create an energetic and feel-good experience.

‘Vacation’ – Thomas Rhett

Possibly our favourite video on this list! We only wish we could take a vacation with Thomas and his absolutely adorable family. You’ll enjoy this bop even more after you watch the music video featuring his wife, Lauren Akins and all sorts of beach, water, boarding and sand duning shenanigans!

‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems’ – Kenny Chesney

Kenny Chesney’s ‘No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems,’ released in 2002, embraces the beach lifestyle to the fullest. The video features Chesney enjoying life by the sea, sailing, fishing, and relaxing on the beach with friends. The song’s lyrics, combined with the beach visuals, convey the desire to escape the complexities of life and embrace the simplicity of a beach paradise.

Country music has a magical way of transporting listeners to their favourite destinations, and when combined with captivating visuals of sandy beaches and ocean waves, the experience becomes even more enchanting. The above-listed country music videos set at the beach showcase the perfect marriage between music and visuals, creating a delightful escape to sunny shores for music enthusiasts. These videos encapsulate the spirit of beach life, offering viewers a brief, but blissful, getaway to some of the world’s most beautiful coastal locales.

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Set to include all 20 hits so far and current single, ‘Angels (Don’t Always Have Wings)’ as a bonus track, it’s a project tracing the path behind one of country’s most vibrant current stars. As the last 10 years have seen Thomas Rhett grow into a never-static artist at the top of his game, the vinyl celebrates Thomas Rhett’s role as one of the best all-time representations of what country music stands for – a world-class songwriter, an elite entertainer and a guy who’s down-to-earth character shows up in everything he does.

Through these 21 songs on two discs, he finally stops to acknowledge it all – to take the journey in, with the knowledge that he’s already surpassed his dreams 100 times over. The project shows that if the last 10 years have proved anything, it’s that he’s not done yet. 

“To have 20 No. Ones is beyond wild – honestly more than I ever could have imagined,” reflected Thomas Rhett. “I’m grateful to have hit this milestone, but mostly it’s just exciting to look back at this journey so far and see how these songs represent the different chapters of my life — and hopefully the Home Team feels the same way. I want to say thank you to everyone for letting me be a part of the special moments in life – it’s hard to put into words what these past 10 years mean to me. Can’t wait for another great 10!”

Listeners can expect to hear fan-favorite tracks from start to finish, illustrating Thomas Rhett’s path from starting as a new artist to his current status as one of country music’s biggest stars. From his 2012 breakout with ‘It Goes Like This,’ that journey has made Thomas Rhett the dictionary definition of the term “country singer-songwriter” – a thrilling entertainer with an equally sharp pen having written 15 of the 20 chart-toppers, making his own music and his own lane, constantly reinventing and moving the mainstream forward with each successive Number One.

Track Listing:

SIDE A
It Goes Like This
Get Me Some Of That 
Make Me Wanna 
Crash And Burn 
Die A Happy Man

SIDE B
T-Shirt 
Star Of The Show 
Craving You (featuring Maren Morris) 
Unforgettable 
Marry Me

SIDE C
Life Changes 
Sixteen 
Look What God Gave Her 
Remember You Young 
Beer Can’t Fix (featuring Jon Pardi) 
Be A Light (featuring Reba McEntire, Hillary Scott, Chris Tomlin, Keith Urban)

SIDE D
What’s Your Country Song 
Country Again
Slow Down Summer
Half Of Me (featuring Riley Green) 
Bonus Track – Angels (Don’t Always Have Wings)

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The last time we saw Thomas Rhett in the UK was on the ‘Life Changes’ tour and he’s had something of a career epiphany since then and ditched a lot of the Bruno Mars-esque production sounds and vibes, returning instead to being a much earthier, grittier artist. That change is reflected by the fact that he now has a steel guitar player out on stage with him.

If you’d have said to me five years ago that ‘Unforgettable’ (amongst many other songs) would now have a steel guitar in it I wouldn’t have believed you but this is where Thomas Rhett is in 2023.

Show opener ‘Craving You’ set the tone for the evening to come as Rhett took the stage in a Rolling Stones T Shirt and Yeti cap. The song is beefier and heavier now than it has been before and it looks (and sounds) all the better for it. Similarly, ‘Look What God Gave Her’s keyboards have been toned down in favour of the electric guitar and what a great decision that turned out to be for that and many other songs in Rhett’s set.

All the classics that you would expect to hear at a Thomas Rhett show were there and he was clearly enjoying himself and touched by the audience response. ‘Half of Me’, ‘Life Changes’, ‘Marry Me’ and ‘Slow Down Summer’ all did exactly what they have been designed to do, just with a little more oomph and muscle than they had before. ‘Vacation’ was louder, rockier and all brash confidence whilst ‘She Had Me at Heads Carolina’, a song Rhett had a hand in writing alongside Ashley Gorley, convinced the last of the people still siting down to get up and have a damn good dance. The set closer triple whammy of ‘Crash and Burn’, T Shirt’ and then ‘What’s Your Country Song’ was as good a run of three songs as I’ve ever seen at the C2C festival in ten years.

Not everything was all loud guitars, steel guitars and drums though. A lovely version of new song ‘Paradise, which Rhett explained he’d never played live before whet the appetite for songs like ‘Die a Happy Man’, ‘Angels Don’t Always Have Wings’ and the double header set closer of ‘Feeling Country’ and ‘Country Again’ showed the O2 crowd just what an authentic and skilled writer and performer Thomas Rhett is. The latter two songs were acoustically delivered and dripping in Nashville vibes which is such a big shift from where TR used to be as a live performer in the late 2010’s. ‘Country Again’ was particularly delightful as it exploded out in the second chorus and became a steel guitar-drenched plaintive anthem of hope and perseverance.

A mid-set appearance by Niall Horan prompted both he and Rhett to deliver a cracking version of Horan’s ‘Slow Hands’ song whilst the brash, yet insanely melodic and loveable ‘Crash and Burn’ and ‘T Shirt’ served to remind the O2 arena just how good Rhett’s ‘Tangled Up’ album really was. Closing with ‘What’s Your Country Song’ left Rhett relatively speechless as emotions ran high. He declared the evening to have been one of the best of his career before leaving the stage all smiles, kisses and heart symbols with his hands.

There was a lot of love in the O2 arena for Thomas Rhett tonight and he didn’t disappoint. To see him playing with so much steel guitar inserted into his live sound is a joy to see – long may it continue! Rhett is an open and honest performer who has a knack of being able to communicate with the very last person in the highest level of an arena with just his eyes, his face and his lyrics. He truly brought the party to the O2 Arena tonight and let’s hope it’s not too long before he is able to come back and do it all over again!

Set List: Craving You 2. Look What God Gave Her 3. Half of Me 4. Life Changes 5. Slow Down Summer 6. Make Me Wanna 7. Marry Me 8. Get Me Some of That / It Goes Like This 9. Vacation 10. Paradise 11. Slow Hands (with Niall Horan) 12. Beer Can’t Fix 13. Angels Don’t Always Have Wings 14. She Had Me at Heads Carolina 15. Die a Happy Man 16. Feeling Country 17. Country Again 18. Unforgettable 19. Sixteen 20. Crash and Burn 21. T Shirt 22. What’s Your Country Song Venue: O2 Arena Date: Friday 10th March

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After making his UK live debut in 2016 at C2C: Country to Country, Rhett has spent a lot of time travelling to this side of the pond for live shows. That effort has most definitely paid off as the star is headlining this year’s C2C, starting tonight in London at The O2 Arena.

In celebration of Rhett’s incredible career so far, and to mark his soon to be legendary C2C headline performances, I’ve put together a list of 10 of his singles that I simply can’t live without (and hope he includes in his set this weekend!).

‘It Goes Like This’

The song that transformed Rhett from a rising artist to a bonafide Country music star. ‘It Goes Like This’ is the third single from his debut album of the same name and it was his first to top the Country charts. A big, anthemic Country song with a little pop production, it was just a taste of things to come in the future. Honestly, it’s still a banger more than a decade on.

‘Make Me Wanna’

With ‘Make Me Wanna’, Rhett’s third number one single and the final release from ‘It Goes Like This’, fans got a taste of the genre-blending that was set to be a staple of his career. Effortlessly blending soul with Country, ‘Make Me Wanna’ is one of those irresistible songs that no matter what you’re doing when it comes on, you simply have to crank up the volume and groove away.

‘Crash and Burn’

If debut album ‘It Goes Like This’ established Rhett as a promising force in Country music, ‘Crash and Burn’ kicked off the superstar’s biggest era to date. The first single from second album ‘Tangled Up’, ‘Crash and Burn’ really pushed the boundaries of Country music and created a sound that many an artist has emulated since. Cool, breezy and hook-lade, ‘Crash and Burn’ never fails to up the energy at a live show.

‘Die a Happy Man’

The biggest song of his career so far ‘Die a Happy Man’ was the second single from ‘Tangled Up’ and it transformed Rhett into a global star. Certified 7x Platinum in the US alone, the heartfelt ballad showcases Rhett’s vocals and songwriting at their finest. Of course, it was another number one single and it propelled its parent album to multi-platinum success and turned Rhett from Country star to mainstream favourite.

‘T-Shirt’

Testament to just what a fantastic record ‘Tangled Up’ is, ‘T-Shirt’ became the third consecutive number one from it. Moving a little closer to Country with a dose of Rock in the mix, ‘T-Shirt’ is one of the hookiest songs Rhett has ever released. Pretty sure I’ve played this song about 2 million times, and I’ll be playing it another 2 million (likely just this year to be honest).

‘Life Changes’

It’s true that three songs were released, and hit number one, from Rhett’s third album ‘Life Changes’ before the title track added another number one to his tally but this song has a special place in my heart. The lyrics celebrate the rollercoaster ride of life and emphasises the importance of appreciating the twists and turns it throws at you. Life affirming this song most certainly is.

‘What’s Your Country Song’

Yes, I’ve totally skipped ‘Center Point Road’ because honestly, it’s not my go-to record from Rhett. ‘What’s Your Country Song’, yet another number one (of course), got the star’s music back on track after what I believe to be a lacklustre record. Name checking the tropes of the Country music genre, Rhett moved away from pop and back to his Country roots.

‘Country Again’

Possibly my favourite song on this list, and my favourite song that TR has ever recorded and released. While I’m a fan of pretty much everything he’s done, stripped-down Country Rhett is my preference. Reconnecting with his roots, and scoring yet another number one, the singer-songwriter delivered one of his best albums with ‘Country Again: Side A’ and I’m still (im)patiently waiting for ‘Side B’.

‘Slow Down Summer’

The only song on this list to not make number 1 (I know, I can’t believe it either), ‘Slow Down Summer’ kicked off the ‘Where We Started’ era, which blended every era of Rhett for a genre-defying set. This ANTHEM was the first single and it’s got one of those melodies you just can’t get out of your head. Believe me I’ve tried.

The post 10 Thomas Rhett songs we can’t live without appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Spoiler alert – my dance card is marked with an absolute yes to a DJ-infused two step and the collaborations are set to go stratospheric in 2023. Thanks largely to similar beats in the two genres of country and electronic dance, the collaborations aren’t as unusual as you’d think. There’s been a rapid growth in country music in the UK and Europe over the last decade. Festivals such as C2C and The Long Road- and their much sought-after after parties with Nashville-based DJ Hish – bring music fans together, striding across genres and creating new music memories. 

Here are ten epic connections between country and dance music  

KLF and Tammy Wynette

Justified And Ancient: Stand By The JAMS (1991) 

Bill Drummond and Jimmy Cauty arguably created several iconic moments in music during their five years as The KLF, The Justified Ancients of MuMu or The Jams. For country music fans it was the appearance of Tammy Wynette singing about – among other ideas – the Justifieds driving an ice cream van that is legendary.  Imagine Ms Wynette performing this song on a US stage, to the backdrop of the video?  

Faith Hill and Love to Infinity 

The Way You Love Me (2001)

As the ‘90s country revival hit fever pitch, Faith Hill was soaring the world charts with film soundtracks and pop crossovers. Manchester record producers Love to Infinity were remixing every artist in the UK charts. I prefer this version over the original.

Thomas Rhett and Jesse Frasure (DJ Telemitry)

Tangled Up 

As the country music world was seriously starting to play with RnB and rap on its own terms, Thomas Rhett was working on his second album, Tangled Up, with US dance programmer Jesse Frasure. It resulted in Platinum certified tracks such as ‘Anthem’, ‘Crash and Burn’ and ‘Vacation’. 

Easton Corbin and Lost Frequencies 

Are You With Me and One More Night (2014 and 2020) 

The breakthrough country artist of 2010 was Easton Corbin, winning awards for his number one, Platinum-certified ‘A Little More Country Than That’. A few years later he received news that the Belgian DJ Lost Frequencies had taken Corbin’s ‘Are You With Me’ to new audiences and heights. It won the top chart spot and international awards. In 2020 the pair joined forces again to release ‘One More Night’. 

Kane Brown and Marshmello 

One Thing Right (2019) 

Since bursting onto the country music charts – at the top spot – in 2016, Kane’s musical energy earned him a legion of fans across the world. In 2019 his collaboration with American EDM producer and DJ Marshmello on ‘One Thing Right’ has seen just shy of 300,000 sales so far. 

Diplo Presents Thomas Wesley Chapter 1: Snake Oil (2020) 

So Long (ft. Cam) and Dance With Me (ft. Thomas Rhett and Young Thug) 

The lockdown year also gave us dance DJ Diplo’s first desert outing with a whole album. Highlights on the album include Cam’s vocals on ‘So Long’ and returning list entry Thomas Rhett on the addictive ‘Dance With Me’. Other notable country artists on the album include Zac Brown, Morgan Wallen and Blanco Brown. 

Troye Sivan, Kacey Musgraves ft Mark Ronson

Easy (2020) 

DJ and record producer Mark Ronson is known for his top ten collaborative chart success over the last twenty years. In 2020 he featured on Australian DJ Troye Sivan’s song with country legend Kacey Musgraves, ‘Easy’. Whilst the track didn’t chart, it’s a good song to add to any country club night set list.  

Shania Twain 

Giddy Up (2023) 

Ahead of her much-anticipated 2023 album and tour, Queen of Me, ‘90s legend Shania is clearly having fun on the dance track ‘Giddy Up’, produced by British musician David Stewart (who has previously worked with Example and BTS). 

Cheat Codes and Dolly Parton 

Bets On Us (2023) 

DJ group Cheat Codes will release their Nashville Presents album at the end of January, including this nifty little track from American Hall of Famer and Nashville legend Dolly Parton, ‘Bets On Us’. Everyone needs a little dance with their sass. Expect appearances from a host of country legends when Cheat Code’s One Night in Nashville drops on 27th January.  Oh, and Dolly has a collaborative rock album on the way.

Diplo, Kodak Black and Koe Wetzel

Wasted (2023) 

Diplo returns to the list for continuing to expand the country EDM genre with ‘Wasted’ featuring Koe Wetzel, someone who’s already expanded country to include grunge. US rap artist Kodak Black completes this third dance-inspired track of the first month of 2023.   

The post 10 epic collaborations between Country music and EDM or Dance appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

As reliable as the Atlantic Ocean’s tides, country music is always there, but there are years that create undeniable waves. Like 2015.  

The annual Country 2 Country festival was thriving; Luke Bryan and Lady Antebellum (later Lady A) headlined shows in Oslo and Stockholm as well as London’s 02 arena and Dublin’s 3Arena and BBC Radio 2 broadcast live across the weekend. The two-nights would expand to three the following year and include Glasgow.  It may have helped that the Nashville TV show was addictive viewing. Every artist was insanely talented – even Florida Georgia Line – and emerging and gave us huge albums that every country fan needs to own. 

2015 was the year that gave us these top ten country albums: 

Jekyll + Hyde – Zac Brown Band (April)

Zac and the Band, who headlined C2C in 2017 and will headline in 2023, gave us over an hour of music in Jekyll + Hyde, across 16 tracks, which is a polished blend of sunshine and reflection, including ‘Beautiful Drug’, ‘Homegrown’ and ‘Castaway’.  

Traveller – Chris Stapleton (May)

Stapleton first appeared at C2C in 2016 and later headlined in 2019, largely due to this iconic album and that performance of ‘Tennessee Whiskey’. The man’s a music legend and you’re not country if you don’t stop what you’re doing as soon as you hear this soulful voice.

Pageant Material – Kacey Musgraves (June)

Every one of the 13 songs (14, if you know) on Musgraves’ second album is so perfect that it’s no surprise it was nominated for a Grammy award. The stories, co-written by Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally, take a wryly observational look at life from a dime store perspective. Go listen to this album again. Oh, and she also went from C2C support act to (controversial choice) headline in two years (2016, 2018).

Shuteye – Logan Brill (June) 

Brill returned to the UK in March 2017 for C2Cs pop-up stages and wowed audiences with her relatable heartbreak and Bonnie-Raitt inspired songs. Shuteye is full of ‘hey-it’s-okay’ understanding, delivered in a hypnotic, polished album. Can you hear those bees buzzing in their trees?

Something More Than Free – Jason Isbell (July)

No stranger to UK shores, though he’s never appeared at C2C, Isbell’s fifth studio album charted a new direction in his life and the raw lyrics – delivered in those vocals – seems to crossover between who he was and who he would become; a legendary Americana artist and father and Grammy award winner. 

Wild Ones – Kip Moore (August)

August, the holiday month, is usually a quiet time for album releases. Enter Kip Moore, who made his debut at C2C2015, both on and off stage, with that Oasis cover and that two AM queue. Wild Ones took a while to get used to, so very different from his previous Up All Night album. But the autobiographical songs, from title opener ‘WIld Ones’ via ‘I’m to Blame’ and the deluxe version trio, are his authentic self wrestling free. Heartland rock converging on a corner of Nashville, aching to travel.

Tangled Up – Thomas Rhett (September)

Rhett’s second album brought us ‘Die A Happy Man’, as well as the Stapleton co-write ‘South Side’. Rhett is cut-through with hard work and happiness and a core reason why people are buying C2C2023 arena tickets. 

Buy Me A  Boat – Chris Janson (October) 

The only artist on this list as yet to tour the UK, this debut album from a songwriter who helped bring us McGraw’s ‘Truck Yeah’, hints at the energy devoted family man Janson exudes on stage, having a good time with his buddies. 

Storyteller – Carrie Underwood (October)

Carrie stepped from the shadows of her American Idol roots with her 2012 Blown Away album and into the midday sun with follow-up album Storyteller. UK and European arenas are still ringing with her C2C2016 headline performance of ‘Renegade Runaway’, ‘Church Bells’ and ‘Dirty Laundry’.  

Untamed – Cam (December)

With the energy of Dolly’s great niece, Cam easily won over UK audiences with her crystal-clear renditions of ‘Hungover on Heatache’ ‘May Day’ and ‘Burning Down The House’.

Yet 2015 can’t really have been the peak. We were still two years away from ‘Diane’ being released, though if you saw Cam at one of her many UK shows you’d likely heard this retelling of Jolene.  

We also hadn’t heard of these lads from Maryland, Brothers Osborne. The Shires were just starting out on their successful journey and Brandy Clark was about to follow up her debut 12 Stories with Big Day In A Small Town. Clark also took the CMA Songwriters Night by surprise and ensured tickets were in-demand for 2015 and subsequent years; the upcoming three nights unofficially became four by bringing in the Thursday and a roulette of Nashville’s finest songwriters. 

Luke Bryan had musically peaked with Tailgates and Tanlines, though we didn’t yet know it.  Bro Country was far from over and we hadn’t begun to appreciate the diversity hidden within country music, with Kane Brown, Jimmie Allen, Breland and Brittney Spencer making their debut UK appearances post-2015. Even approaching a pandemic hundreds of country music memories were being made across the UK.

And the Long Road Festival was just an idea. 

What are your 2015 memories of country music? 

The post Was 2015 the ‘Peak Year’ for Country music? appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

“Working with Katy has been a really collaborative process,” said Thomas Rhett. “From tracking the song in the studio, to performing it on American Idol, to this video – her input has made this whole experience really special for me.”

Katy shared: “I loved being able to create a dreamy world for ‘Where We Started,’ going back to the Nashville singer-songwriter roots of where I started.”

Celebrating a decade of bringing country to the masses, C2C, Europe’s biggest country music festival, is back for 2023, and Thomas Rhett will be headlining!

Country to Country has established itself as the annual destination to see some of the world’s best country artists and future stars. The festival is set to bring yet another incredible line up to The O2 London, 3Arena Dublin and The OVO Hydro, Glasgow from Friday 10 to Sunday 12 March 2023. 

Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday 21^st October and are available from:

• London + Glasgow – www.axs.com/c2c / www.gigsandtours.com / www.ticketmaster.co.uk
• Dublin – www.ticketmaster.ie 
• Glasgow www.gigsinscotland.com / 08444 999 990

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As he prepares to return to the UK for the first time since the pandemic, Rhett is also releasing the music video for ‘Where We Started’ featuring Katy Perry, the title track from his latest album, later today.

I caught up with Thomas to discuss headlining C2C, talk about the way he’s built up his fanbase in the UK, and to find out how he feels about the impact he’s had on the Country music genre…

The news is out – you’re coming back to the UK in March 2023 to headline C2C. How are you feeling about that?

This is a big dream come true of mine. I’ve toured in the UK several times doing clubs and all The O2 (venues) in and around London, Dublin and Glasgow. I’ve gotten to play C2C once in 2016 and I got to open for Dwight Yoakam and Miranda Lambert, which was pretty awesome. To be coming back to headline this thing is is a big big bucket list of mine. Especially because on my night, Jordan Davis has become a good buddy and Lainey Wilson is absolutely incredible. Getting to headline alongside Lady A and Zac Brown Band is going to be such an incredible few days. I’m getting to bring my kids over there, it’ll be their first time to the UK, and my wife. We’re going to make a big spring break out of this whole trip. We’re looking forward to it big time.

Before the pandemic, you were getting into a really good groove in terms of touring here in the UK regularly. What has your experience been like as you’ve watched things build for you here?

It’s just been so fun. As a kid, I was so pulled to to the UK. I don’t know why, maybe it’s because I listened to so much Rolling Stones and Led Zeppelin growing up (that) I just wanted to see the homeland. I’ve been over there five or six times touring, and every time we’ve been we get to play something just a little bit bigger every time, and every time we come over, we end up selling them out somehow. It just still blows my mind that our music can can make it that far away from North America. Every time I see it on the calendar, it’s the one that I get the most excited about. I love landing, getting on the double decker tour bus with 16 of my band and crew guys, and just traveling all across Europe. It’s always one of my favorite times of the year. We had plans to come in 2020, but I think a lot of people had plans to do a lot of things in 2020 that got absolutely destroyed. We’re coming back in 2023, better late than never, but getting to come over there and do a festival of this stature and to be doing it on the 10 year anniversary of C2C is hands down one of the coolest things in the world. We’re getting prepared for it and getting very excited.

You’ve got the music video for ‘Where We Started’ featuring Katy Perry coming out this week. What was it like to work with Katy on that song and video?

Man, it was scary. I grew up listening to Katy, I was 14 or 15 years old, and never in a million years when I started in this career did I think that I would have a duet or a feature with Katy. The next thing you know, we’re FaceTiming each other in the studio trying to get the song right. Then the next thing you know, she’s in Nashville and we’re shooting a music video, and we’re hanging out. I think when you meet your heroes, you always hope that they’re as cool as you always thought they would be and Katy completely surpassed that. (She’s) one of the most down-to-earth, humble, talented human beings I’ve gotten to work with in my entire career. We recorded this video almost six months ago so I’m glad that it is finally coming out for the world to see. It’s been awesome to get a lot of love from her fans and for her to get a lot of love from my fans. I think it just further keeps mixing the genre and continues to grow country music in a lot of different spaces. This has been something I’ve been looking forward to for a long time and I’m glad that it’s finally on the horizon.

‘Where We Started’, the album, has been embraced by your fans and like all of your albums, it’s done extremely well commercially. With several albums under your belt, it must be getting harder to try and top what you’ve put out so far…

Yeah, man, it’s the hardest thing in the world. I would tell any artist that once you’ve had five or six number ones, now the real work begins. You spend your whole life and your whole career trying to get those first few under your belt. For me, I had a really big hit early on in my career called ‘Die a Happy Man’ and I’ve had a few since then that were big game changers. At this point in my career, six albums in, 10 years, 20 number one songs… it’s kind of like how do you continue making music that (makes) your fans be like, ‘Okay, what else does he have to say?’ This year on the road I was really nervous going into a bunch of the co-writes because I’ve covered a lot of territory. I’ve covered a lot of sounds, a lot of different fields, a lot of different vibes and I just told the writers, ‘let’s just swing for the fences this year. Let’s not do anything safe. Any vibe that we’re feeling, let’s just write it. It doesn’t have to get recorded, but let’s just write it just to say that we did’.

Since May I’ve written over 100 songs, and there’s about 40 or 50 in there that I’m really, really excited about and I feel like it’s gonna continue to keep progressing the chapters of this book, which is my career. I feel like these next couple of records we’re going to come out with, they’re going to be legit the best that I’ve been a part of. That’s the funny thing about writing, just when you think you have nothing to say you all of a sudden have a lot to say. You can’t not have a lot to say when your life keeps progressing, you keep having kids and keep living one more year of marriage, and one more year of touring and family and friendships. Life keeps changing and so does your ideas. I’m very excited about the next couple of projects we have in the works.

It was your 10 year wedding anniversary. How on earth do you manage to maintain a marriage, be a Dad and keep your career going? You’re so busy and you’re always writing or on the road, That must be quite a challenge…

Yeah, it is a challenge, man. We wrapped our North American tour on Saturday. (I had) four hours of sleep, came back to Nashville, got the kids ready to go to church, did the whole day and woke up this morning with two sick kids in the house, making lunch, getting kids out the door and then talking to you this morning. It’s so much of a balance and I think there are days where it’s like, ‘hey, everybody, today is a family day because I’ve got to give 100% to this’ and then days like today are a work day. It’s got to be a constant communication between me and my wife or else I think we’re both going to implode (laughs). I think as long as we can stick to some kind of calendar and some kind of schedule, that’s how we’ve been doing it for the last five or six years. It’s worked out well for the both of us.

You mentioned earlier about how you’ve experimented with so many different sounds in your career, and you’ve really pushed the boundaries of Country music while paving the way for new artists. Do you ever sit back and think about what a huge impact you’ve had on the genre?

Man… no (laughs) I probably should more often than I do. There are times where I look back, and I go, ‘wow, how in the world did ‘Crash and Burn’ or ‘Life Changes’ or ‘Unforgettable’ ever work on the radio? Looking back at it, I think the best thing that any artist could ever do for themselves is be 100% completely themselves. When you’re trying to chase what is working, by the time you end up putting that out that trend is already over. Go ahead and just do you from the from the get go. Be prepared for some songs not to work, but the one that does work because you were so authentically yourself, is going to end up being a big game changer for you. Sometimes I look back at my career and now I get that but in the time it was terrifying. It was like, ‘this could be a career ruiner right here’.

At the end of the day, you have to look at your heart and yourself and be like, ‘that that’s who I am. That’s what I want to say. That’s what I want it to sound like’. If people love it, then great, and if they don’t, that’s great too. I think a lot of different song choices have gotten me to where I’m at today. It’s been pretty cool to watch a bunch of artists walk up to me be like, ‘hey man, I really appreciated that you put those songs out because it really paved the way for me to be myself as well’. That’s what it’s all about, man, just being unique and saying what’s on your heart, and hopefully there’s a lot of people in the world that gravitate towards that.

My last question for you is are we going to see ‘Country Again: Side B’ in the near future?

The answer is yes. I think I was maybe a little too proactive when I said that both of these are going to come out within three months of each other. I underestimated how much I write on the road. What I thought was ‘Side B’ six months ago has completely shifted. I got on the road and wrote way too many songs that I loved. We’re going to be heading back in the studio in January and hopefully have some brand new music by the summertime. ‘Side B’ will be coming out for sure. It’s just a matter of when but I do think it’ll be a lot sooner than later.

Thomas Rhett’s album ‘Where We Started’ is available now. He will be headlining C2C: Country to Country 2023 on Friday 10th March. For more information and tickets head over to https://c2c-countrytocountry.com/.

The post Interview: Thomas Rhett talks headlining C2C 2023 and pushing the boundaries of Country music appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Thomas Rhett will be joined by Jordan Davis, Lainey Wilson, Introducing Nashville and Breland, while Lady A will be supported by label-mates Midland and rising star Matt Stell. Zac Brown Band will headline a bill that includes Old Crow Medicine Show, Mitchell Tenpenny and Lindsay Ell.

In London Breland will open C2C on the Friday night and will co-host the festival across the weekend with the legendary Bob Harris OBE who said: “I am proud to have been the main stage compere at Country to Country in London since the inaugural event in 2013. It was an exciting and history-making moment and it’s been incredible to see C2C get bigger and bigger every year since, to become the centrepiece of the Anglo/American Country calendar – the UK’s biggest Country music weekend. It’s an amazing story and I am thrilled and honoured to be hosting the artists on the main stage again in 2023. Even better, I’ll be joined in the spotlight by my friend Breland, whose career has literally gone stratospheric since the release of his first music only three years ago. I cannot wait to see the incredible performers playing at the festival this year and I am so much looking forward to reuniting with the fabulous fans who make our Country Music community so special.”

Jack Dowling, C2C Festival Director said: “Country to Country is delighted to be bringing back the finest in US talent to the UK and Ireland. In our 10^th year C2C keeps going from strength to strength.  We’d like to thank our fantastic partners AEG Presents, the CMA and BBC Radio 2 who continue to help us deliver the best event and of course, more importantly our passionate fans. Country to Country would not be what it is without you. See you all for C2C 2023!”

Chris York, C2C Festival Co-Founder and Director at SJM Concerts commented: “As founder of C2C, it is incredible to see the event moving into its 10th year. A testament to the wonderful support of all artists, managers and agents who continue to believe in the power of country outside of North America. We have to thank our amazing event partners BBC Radio 2, the CMA and lastly the fans – who continue to drive the event forward and challenge us to keep moving forward. That’s what makes doing this worthwhile.”

The C2C Spotlight Stage will also be back so watch out for news of the full line up in the coming months.

C2C 2023 will take place at The O2 Arena in London, 3 Arena in Dublin and The OVO Arena in Glasgow from Friday 10th to Sunday 12th March 2023.

Tickets go on general sale at 10am on Friday 21^st October. For more information and tickets, head over to https://c2c-countrytocountry.com/

The post Thomas Rhett, Zac Brown Band and Lady A to headline C2C: Country to Country 2023 appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

Lori McKenna on one of her first co-writing sessions
LORI MCKENNA: I have such a unique story, because I had been to Nashville one time in my whole life. I put out this record up here in the Northeast called ‘Bittertown,’ and Mary Gauthier who’s a dear friend of mine, brilliant songwriter, gave it to a publisher named Melanie Howard, who gave it to Missi Gallimore, who gave it to Faith Hill. So I had four Faith Hill cuts before I ever co-wrote a song. I know it’s crazy. I’m the luckiest person in the whole world. So when I came to Nashville, they said, “You should co-write songs.” I didn’t know how to do it, and people were like, “That’s going to really mess you up.” At this point, I was 36 years old. I had never co-written a song, and they’re like, “I don’t know. This is probably not a good idea.” But my publisher, who was Melanie Howard, was my first publisher. She’s like, “No, this is what we do here. This is what we do in this town.” My first co-write was Mark D. Sanders. Can you imagine? “I Hope You Dance,” and a million other incredible songs.
THOMAS RHETT: Right. Exactly. No pressure.
LORI MCKENNA: But he was so nice to me, and he knew I had never co-written a song. He knew that I was in this remarkable place where I already had a deal, and I already had some cuts coming up with Faith. He was just really, really nice to me. So Melanie Howard was married to Harlan Howard. She’s Harlan’s widow, and so every time when I was in Nashville, I would stay at her house. So I had never met Harlan. He passed away before I got there, but I knew I was in this historic energy was just bouncing around the rooms, and there was guitars and everywhere that he had played and written songs on.

Lori McKenna on Taylor Swift, “I Bet You Think About Me”
LORI MCKENNA: She [Taylor Swift] came up to play Gillette Stadium and a couple days before she gets here, I’m eating dinner with the kids and I get a FaceTime from a number I didn’t know. This is back 10-something years ago. And I answer it because we were like, “Who’s FaceTiming me?” And it’s Taylor like, “Hey, I’m coming to town. Would you have some time?” We’re mutual friends with Liz [Rose] and I think maybe I had met her once or twice. And, “Would you have any time to write with me before the show? And then do you want to bring the kids to the show?” And I’m like, “Yeah, sure.” Two sold-out nights at Gillette Stadium. And she showed up at my house, day of the first show with this song. She pretty much had the “I Bet You Think…”, she had the title. She had what she wanted to say. She kind of just wanted somebody to bounce stuff off of. And I’ve talked to Liz about this a couple of times, because I was like, “Am I crazy? Do I remember this right?” She didn’t write down anything. She doesn’t write anything down. She just remembers. And it’s one of those real fun co-writes where you’re just the cheerleader. You’re the coffee maker. You’ll get a sandwich if they need to eat or something, but you’re there for moral, you’re the best friend, right?
THOMAS RHETT: Right. No doubt.
LORI MCKENNA: Those songs. And I just sat there and tried to be her best friend and listen. And if there was something that I thought I could add and she just wrote this song and we sang it maybe once and I typed the lyrics and she jumped in a car, went to the show-
THOMAS RHETT: Went and played Gillette.
LORI MCKENNA: Yeah. Went and played Gillette. I mean, the kids all came, took care of us all night long. It was extraordinary.

Lori McKenna on “Humble and Kind”
LORI MCKENNA: The reason I wrote that song by myself is because I just happened to be by myself that day, but you know how sometimes they land. You don’t know where you are, and you’re driving down the road, and they just land. These little pieces of heaven. I wish I knew who said this, it may have been Guy Clark, but somebody told me that somebody famous once said, “God will give you five songs, and the rest you have to write yourself.” This was just a day that I was the lucky songwriter that happened to catch this idea. I had thought about it for a little bit, and I just sat down and I was just trying to write down all the things that my husband Gene and I wanted our kids to know. At the time my youngest was 10, my oldest was 25, and so that’s why there’s so much… You’re in this world of hold the door, say please, say thank you, wash your hands, put the toilet seat down. You don’t have boys, but put the toilet seat down.
THOMAS RHETT: I still have that conversation, and I have all girls.
LORI MCKENNA: I have four sons. So, it’s that whole thing. Well you’re repeating so much, and in between those things, all that math, you’re trying to teach some of these huge lessons about life, and God, and a higher power, and human spirit, and all these things. I wanted to make sure I had a bit of each of them in it. When I sang it in my iPhone like I always do, and then I thought about it, and I was going back to me seeing Tim [McGraw] and Faith [Hill] around their kids quite a bit when our kids are similar ages, I was like, “I wonder if Tim would like this?” I just texted it to him.

Lori McKenna on “Girl Crush”
LORI MCKENNA: “Girl Crush” was Liz Rose and Hillary Lindsey and myself. And that has a great story too, because I always stay with Liz when I go to Nashville. And our publishers put us together, the three of us together, and we decided, “Well, Lori’s staying here anyway, Hillary, why don’t you stay here too?” And we have sleepovers at Liz’s house, and we literally write songs from the minute we wake up to the minute we go to bed. And we were writing with Karen Fairchild and Kimberly Schlapman. One day at 11 o’clock they were coming over and the five of us were going to write songs. And the five of us wrote three songs that day, that afternoon. But before they got there, at 8:30 in the morning, Liz and I are sitting in the kitchen and Liz says, “Well, we get a couple hours before the girls get here. Do you want to try to write something?” And I’m looking at my titles in my phone, every songwriter has a list of titles in their phone. And I said to Liz, “I have a title, but I don’t know what it means, “Girl Crush.” I know what it means, but I don’t know what the song would be about.” And she’s like, “Man, that sounds tricky.” And I was thinking, it was tempo, which we could have a whole other conversation about this, but I can’t write those tempo… I can’t write fun songs like you can. I wish I could, but that’s a whole other conversation. But anyway, Liz and I were like, “It’s too hard. It’s too hard.” Hillary comes down and you know Hillary Lindsey quite well and Liz Rose, both of them geniuses, but Hillary comes down and I swear to God, she’s sitting on the couch holding one of Chris Stapleton’s guitars, swear to God.
THOMAS RHETT: Then something has to come from that.
LORI MCKENNA: Right. So, I just looked back at my phone and I said, “Hillary, I want to write a song called ‘Girl Crush.’” And Liz is a little irritated because we just talked about this and we decided it’s too hard. And Hillary’s saying the first four lines of that song exactly as they are.

Lori McKenna on Lady Gaga and “A Star Is Born”
LORI MCKENNA: I went to LA to write for the movie. Dave Cobb called, so that’s another one. When you call, I’m always going to answer the phone. I promise. And when Dave Cobb calls, you always answer the phone, because he always has these crazy projects that he’s working on. He calls and he’s like, “We’re going to go out to LA and write for the Star is Born project.” They’re still putting the script together and Lady Gaga will be there and we’ll just have the band there and we’ll track it all at once and all these crazy things. But we had this one magical day where it was just the four of us. It was Lady Gaga, Hillary, myself and Natalie. And Natalie was sitting, playing on this piano that the Beach Boys had cut “God Only Knows” on.
THOMAS RHETT: My gosh. You keep finding yourself with instruments in your hands that don’t belong to you.
LORI MCKENNA: I’m telling you whatever there’s a magical instrument, right? Under your fingers. This is when… Maybe this is when God appears. I don’t know.
THOMAS RHETT: Absolutely.
LORI MCKENNA: And we found that song [Always Remember Us This Way] and I sat on the floor and I typed it out and Bradley Cooper came in and Lady Gaga sang it just for a bunch of people standing around. Just sang it. I remember just how emotional that was.

Lori McKenna on “The Hill”
LORI MCKENNA: We’re on Zoom, the three of us [Emily Weisband, Jordan Reynolds, Lori]. And I was going through titles and I had a title, “The Pill.” I thought, well, it could be about a million things. And it reminded Emily of “The Hill.” She heard the rhyme. And this is again, this is something I could never have created unless I asked Emily, “Hey, what’s a phrase you and your fiance word around house a lot.” And she said, “We always, we always, we kid around with each other and say, ‘Is that really the hill you want to die on?'” And I’ve heard that term a million times too. And then sometimes it will just that title, oh The Hill, man when you… It’s just such a vision in your head where you see those words, “The Hill.” You think a million things. And then the way she saw it as well, it could be a love song. And I think that’s where we immediately just were like, “oh my God, let’s do that.” That was a great day. It was so fun to just listen. And we’re all in that boat. We’re all in these relationships where we’ve had these conversations. We’re like, “Wait a minute, what is the thing that we’re really fighting for?” Isn’t what how much-
THOMAS RHETT: What are your priorities?
LORI MCKENNA: Yeah.
THOMAS RHETT: For sure.
LORI MCKENNA: Yeah. Isn’t it how much we love each other?
THOMAS RHETT: Come on. Preach it.

The post Watch or Read as Lori McKenna Talks To Thomas Rhett About Her Career appeared first on Entertainment Focus.

The news coincides with the release of Rhett’s ‘Where We Started‘ album release at the end of last week. Fans can now listen to all of Rhett’s album starting with his debut ‘It Goes Like This’ through to ‘Where We Started’.

Speaking about the release of his catalogue in Spatial Audio, Rhett told Apple Music Country host Kelleigh Bannen:

“I listened to my first bit of music in Spatial [Audio], and all of a sudden, it’s like you’re listening to music in 3D. That’s the best way I know how to describe it. I mean, obviously, I think the new stuff is cool because I feel like every record we make is just so much more detailed and there’s so many parts that, if you’re not intently listening, you might miss something amazing that the bass player did or something amazing the piano player did, or a drum fill that the drummer did that kind of gets lost in the wash. But when I heard my catalog in Spatial [Audio], I was like, ‘Holy crap, these people can play music.’ And every time you turn your head, it stays centered somehow. You can hear guitar solos blasting in your right ear, but you hear your vocals so clear in the left, but then the guitar’s in the top right hand corner and the bass is in the lower left hand corner, and then it completely flip-flops. It is like listening to music in 3D. That’s the best way I can describe it.”

Experience Thomas Rhett’s music in Spatial Audio now exclusively on Apple Music at apple.co/thomasrhett.

The post Thomas Rhett’s catalogue is now available in Spatial Audio on Apple Music appeared first on Entertainment Focus.