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Playing at Music in the City on Jan 25!
Adam Wakefield
Basking in the benefits of his runner-up title on The Voice (Season 10), Adam Wakefield is one of a few who can brag about duets with both Blake Shelton and Alison Krauss. He was also able to debut his own song on the show, "Lonesome, Broken and Blue," which landed on Billboard's Top 100 Chart and went number one on Apple Music. Back in Music City, life is the same—he still plays every Tuesday at Soulshine Pizza with his bluegrass band, The Copperheads— and yet, totally different. "I got really lucky. When I got done with the show, I called all my favorite musicians in town," he says. Wakefield's dream team melds his jazz and songwriting background with soul and country influences to make what he calls, “Southern rock crossed with country and R&B. x93 This year promises new music, a loaded touring schedule, and that same warm, weathered voice we've grown to love. adamwakefieldmusic.com | Photo by Erika Rock Photography ×
Brent Cobb
In the Deep South, family ties do indeed run deep. Rural Georgia native Brent Cobb’s first major label album, Shine on Rainy Day, was produced by his Grammy-winning cousin, Dave Cobb, and, at his Grand Ole Opry debut following its release last fall, he was accompanied on his homesick tune “Country Bound x93 by the man who wrote it: his father. “Hell yeah, everybody cried, x93 Cobb recalls. In 2017, he’ll continue celebrating his decade-in-the-making album as he hits the road with friends, like Nikki Lane, Chris Stapleton, and Jamey Johnson. And, in February, he opens Little Big Town’s Ryman residency—marking the first time he stands on the hallowed stage. Expect more happy tears: “I’m the proudest and happiest I’ve ever been in my life, x93 Cobb says. brentcobbmusic.com | Photo by Don VanCleave ×
Charlie Worsham
Charlie Worsham's generous nature is a rare find. He drew huge crowds to Ernest Tubb’s Midnite Jamboree during CMA Fest, calling up special guests Eric Church, Brandy Clark, and Vince Gill—and, now, it’s his turn to take the spotlight. With a new album three years in the making, Worsham admits, “I was a bit of a control freak, and, then, I got on the road and sort of lost myself. In order to make this record, I had to get grounded again. x93 It was producer Frank Liddell who prodded him, saying, “People need to know where you’re from when they hear this record. x93 Worsham took it to heart. He captures the intangibles of Muscle Shoals, Stacks, and the Mississippi Delta, without mimicking the past, but expressing the beauty of its influence. Best of all, he adds, “This record got me back to that first infatuation with music. I'm in love with music again. x93 charlieworsham.com | Photo by Allister Ann ×
Cherub
Last fall, scores of Nashvillians were stopped in their tracks by sidewalk art instructing them to “BLEED GOLD, PISS EXCELLENCE. x93 The citywide stencil-bombs were the marketing handiwork of electro-indie duo Cherub—and a reminder that these cult favorites do things their own damn way. Jordan Kelley and Jason Huber, who met a decade ago at MTSU, are sailing into 2017 on the buzz of BGPE, their second offering on Columbia Records. “We haven’t been approaching this album as putting out singles; we’re just gauging the response of the crowd at our shows, x93 Huber explains. In February, the pair resumes touring the country with their frenetic, feel-good sets. “We try to evoke some sort of emotion, x93 Kelley says. “There’s too much music that feels like nothing. x93 cherublamusica.com | Photo by Joseph Llanes ×
COIN
As their hit, "Talk Too Much," mans the top spot on alternative radio, the foursome has plenty to say about their surging success. After only a week of air play, the song got the crowd at Shaky Knees musical festival to match COIN’s exuberance as they sang along to every word. The Nashville alt-pop outfit signed to Columbia Records in 2013, released a catchy self-titled album in 2015, and just wrapped their longest tour schedule, playing alongside The 1975, The Struts, and Bastille. Instead of taking time off to relax, vocalists Chase Lawrence and Joe Memmel "pushed ourselves and really worked hard" mid-tour, creating new music due out in 2017. Looking for fresh perspective on their sophomore album, the guys chose a multi-producer, -city, and -writer approach. Without "trying to over-think it this time, we are doing what comes naturally," Lawrence says. Charming fans with their new-wave influences, the band is eager for what's next and even more so to be doing it together. thisiscoin.com | Photo by Zachary Gray ×
Colter Wall
Saskatchewan-born Colter Wall made a second home in Bowling Green, Kentucky, before finding his groove in Nashville’s music community last year. His forthcoming full-length debut, recorded at historic RCA Studio A, boasts production wizardry by Dave Cobb and a spring release via Thirty Tigers—aka the Jason Isbell/Sturgill Simpson roadmap to success. (That trusty, husky baritone is all his, though.) Wall’s love of the rural Southeast that inspired his breakout EP, Imaginary Appalachia, is matched only by his appreciation for the quieter side of nonstop touring: “Meeting people on the road, making new friends, finding people that enjoy genuine storytelling and songwriting—and just being able to do the damn thing, x93 he says. colterwall.com | Photo by Melissa Stilwell Photograph ×
Jillian Jacqueline
Pennsylvania-born singer-songwriter Jillian Jacqueline says she’s been in hibernation mode for the past four years, but she certainly hasn’t been sleeping—she recorded a single with Vince Gill, released a well-received EP called Prime, and was inducted into the CMT Next Women of Country’’s Class of 2016. The newly signed Big Loud artist kicks off the new year with a twist on the genre’s standard radio tour and, come spring, the release of her first studio album. The tricky part? Narrowing down all the songs she’s written into “which ones mean the most and represent me the best, x93 she says. “It’s like picking a favorite child. x93 jillianjacqueline.com | Photo by Patrick Tracy ×
Jonny P
How do you top a year of playing classic soul music at storied venues in every corner of the country—including standout Ryman performances with Leon Bridges and Johnnyswim? If you’re Jonny P, you go multimedia. Later this year, he’ll cameo in a Kathryn Bigelow–directed film about the crime and corruption surrounding the 1967 Detroit riot. Without missing a beat, he’ll drop a four-track EP this month, as well as a full-length album midyear. Tracks, like his current single, “Good to You, x93 embody the carefree attitude of the ’60s and, he assures, are the soul music coming out of Nashville. “This is where you start, and this is where you stop, x93 he says. “I don’t want to be ‘one of;’ I want to be ‘one.’ x93 imjonnyp.com | Photo by Jessica Wardwell ×
Jordan Feliz
Jordan Feliz has been making music most of his life, but winning the 2016 Dove award for New Artist of the Year certainly helped, he says, to make him "feel like I'm exactly where I'm supposed to be." A transplant from California, his own passion for people and community made Nashville a perfect fit, literally from day one, when a stranger offered to send his demos to record labels. Once a valet working downtown, he has now, with his song, "The River," racked up more than 7 million streams on Spotify and 3 million views on YouTube—a heap of success for a song he says he, “actually didn't think people were really going to like. x93 Fast forward, and he’s headlining his first tour in January and performing in The Rock & Worship Roadshow. “I can't believe how fast everything has taken off. It's been a very humbling experience, and I'm just thankful to be a part of it, x93 he says. jordanfeliz.com | Photo by Robby Klein ×
JoSMITH
Maybe it was the plucky spirit of JoSMITH’s phone-tag skills that landed her the publishing deal with Shane McAnally’s SMACKSongs. “Before I reached out, it was two months of trepidation, x93 she says. At the time, McAnally had a string of No. 1 hits and award-circuit trophies on his mantle. By pure luck, JoSMITH came across the Music Row power player at K.T. Oslin’s comeback show at the Franklin Theatre. She had somehow saved his phone number to her address book in the years before the Grammy sweep. “I figured that, out of anyone, Shane would get what I do musically. I don’t know how I got his phone number, because we met years ago. I also wasn’t sure it was him, because it went to a generic voicemail, x93 she says. Sure enough, the instincts were spot-on. Since then, JoSMITH has bucked Music Row convention. Her output has established a unique mix: Southern girl charm over Motown-inflected grooves and universal themes for Middle America. Of course, the stylized name adds another element to the conversation. “The creative team at SMACKSongs didn’t let one tiny detail go by, x93 she says. “The name also represents a new beginning. I was growing into this confident new person, and I wanted a new name to reflect that. x93 josmithmusic.com | Photo by Weiss Eubanks ×
Liza Anne
Liza Anne is taking a day off from putting together a new record, tentatively titled Fine But Dying for 2017. Before setting off on a U.S. tour later this month, she has been engrossed in a Gilmore Girls marathon at an abode in France, where she’s been recording the album. She pauses Netflix, however, to talk about the pitfalls of being female in the male-dominated music industry. “I never wanted to be a dinner table conversation, x93 she says. “If you're 16 years old and a girl, there's a very specific path that's easy to follow for women. x93 It wasn't that long ago that Liza Anne forged her own path through airy, indie-folk vocals and slightly experimental layering effects. But, instead of staying in Nashville and churning through weekly shows, Liza Anne opted for a more worldly approach. “I'm inhabiting the space I'm supposed to pick up, x93 she says. “Nobody can take my space but me. I can't take Taylor Swift's space. I can't take Lady Gaga's space. I'm taking my own space and making it mine. x93 lizaannemusic.com | Photo by Marisa Boras ×
Luke Combs
Luke Combs’ everyman appeal has landed him in Music Row’s Artists to Watch bullpen. Simply by taking up the guitar only a few years ago, Combs unwittingly became an Appalachian bard and self-admitted “Eric Church historian. x93 He adds, “People always ask, 'How much did you practice?' The secret for me was I just enjoyed doing it. x93 The literate bro-country alternative is having a busy home stretch, with a 26-date Brantley Gilbert tour on the books and an under-wraps major label debut. “We are playing the new songs out live, x93 Combs says. “That’s my way around the waiting game. x93 Building a rapport with the audience is a hallmark of Combs’ live performances—but his real gift is literary, shoehorning, and precise turns of phrase in typical songs about beer and “old trucks. x93 For these reasons, Combs is attracting an audience beyond traditional radio demos. “As long as different people are liking [my songs], it’s fine by me, x93 he adds. lukecombs.com | Photo by CK Photo ×
Playing at Music in the City on Jan 25!
Runaway June
In 2016, female country musicians came back to the forefront after years of sitting on the sidelines while bro-country reigned supreme. Even though Runaway June’s breakout single, “Lipstick, x93 possessed a sheen of the bubblegum country-pop sound, the trio's fondness for impeccable harmonies and solid songwriting chops have made Music Row take notice. “We just focus on the music and see what songs connect with the audience, x93 singer-guitarist Jennifer Wayne says. “People haven't asked us to do anything that we're not comfortable with. I think that being women in the entertainment industry, there are certain pressures like not gaining weight. However, that's been throughout time and that's probably not going to change anytime soon, x93 lead singer Naomi Cook adds. While other commercial acts are groomed with a grueling tour schedule of live shows, Runaway June bonded in songwriting rooms around Nashville. “We hunkered down and wrote for six months. Normally, bands start off playing live. We did the opposite. We wrote a bunch of songs. I think that helped us figure out our sound and what we wanted to say and how we were going to say it, x93 Wayne says. Runaway June hopes to capitalize on 2016's successes with an opening slot for Willie Nelson this month and a debut album still in the works. The group says they are honored to be a part of the tour, but hedged when it came to the shenanigans on Nelson's infamous tour bus. “That's not for before the show. That's for after the show, x93 Wayne jokes. runawayjune.com | Photo by Jason Myers ×
Playing at Music in the City on Jan 25!
Russell Dickerson
The stars (and lightning) are all aligned for Russell Dickerson, whose video for "Yours" is now at 2 million YouTube views and climbing. It certainly didn't hurt that CMT selected him for their Artist Discovery Program, expanding the reach of what he calls, “this crazy, magical video that we could have never paid for. x93 Dickerson's innate gusto and talent are what earned him the distinction as flagship artist on Triple Tigers and helmed by industry veteran Norbert Nix, who, he says, “is fired up about everything, which is what I love about him, because I am too. x93 The record label is an amalgamation of Nashville power players: Thirty Tiger, Triple 8 Management, and Sony New York—an opportunity Dickerson doesn't take flippantly. “It's the most promising feeling of signing a deal. I couldn't have asked for a better situation, x93 he says. Positioned for a huge year, the Nashville native heads out on Thomas Rhett's Home Team Tour, alongside Kelsea Ballerini and Ryan Hurd, plus he wraps up a new record that's hinted to drop before the end of 2017. russelldickerson.net | Photo by Kailey Dickerson ×
Playing at Music in the City on Jan 25!
Ryan Follese
Ryan Follese’s slick country-pop EP is chockful of easygoing vibes and hooky melodies. That’s an easy feat for the former Hot Chelle Rae front-man and offspring of Nashville songwriters Keith and Adrienne Follese. Follese worked with his parents and sibling, Jamie, on his large-scale commercial country crossover and to hear him tell it, the EP was purely a family affair. “It’s a mutual understanding of where I’m at in life, x93 Follese says. “I come from a baseball background. My dad always reminded me that even the greatest home run hitters strike out all the time. You got to write ten songs to get a good one, x93 he adds. Follese had one good one in ‘Tonight Tonight, x93 an earworm-y slice of dance-pop, tailor-made for the Glee demographic. The fate of being pigeonholed as a radio-ready pop act was one of the perils of his success. After all, it’s easy to forget that he’s an established songwriter in his own right. However, Follese didn’t have many obstacles standing in the way of his lifelong dream of going country. “I didn’t feel any pressure, x93 he says. “I’m in a familiar head space, and I was lucky to sign with Big Machine. x93 ryanfollese.com | Photo by Joseph Llanes ×