 On Wednesday, CMT gave the music industry a wake up call when they honored the leading women in country music during their Artist of the Year special. Honorees included Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, Miranda Lambert, Lady Antebellum's Hillary Scott and the ladies of Little Big Town.
The show opened up with a spectacular performance from the Pistol Annies, followed by Maren Morris and Brandi Carlile giving their rendition of Aretha Franklin’s song “A Natural Woman.” All the honorees were awarded throughout the night, with the most memorable speech being the list from Karen Fairchild, who named over 30 female artists who are killing in in country music, including Carly Pearce, Danielle Bradbery, Abby Anderson, and Kalie Shorr. The night continued with performances by Hillary Scott with Tori Kelly, Kelsea Ballerini featuring Alison Krauss, and Little Big Town. The final performance of the night gave the audience a preview of Carrie Underwood’s Cry Pretty 360 Tour when she invited tourmates Maddie and Tae and the group Runaway June to the stage for an unbelievable compilation of songs ending with her very own track Cry Pretty. CMT claims that the show hit record number of viewers, which is a sign to all radio executives that women want to be heard on the radio. Follow CMT on YouTube to see the performances from the 2018 CMT Artist of the Year Event.
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 From the moment Katy Hurt’s parents realized they could play Patsy Cline to put her to sleep as a child, it was clear that she was bound for a career in country music. Wanting to express her personality, Katy’s upcoming EP Unfinished Business gives her audience a look into her everyday experiences.
Off the new EP, the track See Ya Later was released as a single last month. A sassy take on standing up for yourself, See Ya Later is relatable and fun to dance along to. To promote the EP, Katy is planning a radio tour across the UK and creating a music video. You can listen to Katy’s music on iTunes and Spotify or on her website at https://www.katyhurt.com/.  Canadian group El Coyote found music was more than a decision, but a need. Each member writing from a young age, allows listeners to experience the group’s growth as artists. With a wide variety of influences from Dolly Parton to George Jones and newcomers Margo Price and Kacey Musgraves, El Coyote’s music reflects a classical country sound. Michelle Tompkins explains the group’s songs as a reflection of “reality, expectations, and existing.”
Having released their debut album just this year, El Coyote is hoping to place their music in the hands of as many listeners as they can. Tracks including “Only Temporary,” which speaks to how quickly time passes and the importance of using it wisely and “By the Gate,” which compares one’s situation to another can be found on the new album. Always working on new music, El Coyote hopes to continue sharing their story with the world. You can hear their music on BandCamp here and follow El Coyote on social media at @ElCoyoteBand.  Kalie Shorr will kick off the “Road To The CMA Awards” Tour Oct. 9, performing and interacting with fans at Walmart stores across the U.S. including key cities Atlanta, Chicago and Dallas. The “Road To The CMA Awards” Tour, sponsored by Pepsi, Lay’s, Santa Margherita and Vanity Fair Napkins, will bring the excitement of the CMA Awards to Walmart stores and highlight “The 52nd Annual CMA Awards” airing live from Nashville, Nov. 14 on ABC at 8/7c.
Says Shorr, “Growing up, I would get so excited for the CMA Awards and count down the days until the big event. I couldn’t be happier to get to bring that same energy nationwide leading up to one of Country Music’s most magical nights. I’m so thankful to the CMA and Walmart for the opportunity to go out on this one-of-a-kind tour.” Shorr will be performing a one-hour acoustic set in each market featuring songs off her recent EP, Awake, as well as her breakthrough single “Fight Like A Girl.” The tour dates will also feature a meet and greet and various brand activations. In select markets, Shorr will also visit local high schools and colleges in support of the CMA Foundation’s “It Starts With M.E.” campaign to help raise awareness of the importance of music education. The “Road To The CMA Awards” Tour is being produced by shopper marketing agency RSM and Cassetty Entertainment. Watch the Tour video teaser here. “Road To The CMA Awards” Walmart Tour Dates: Oct. 9 - 4pm-6pm - Birmingham, Ala. - 209 Lakeshore Pkwy 37209 Oct. 10 - 4pm-6pm - Atlanta, Ga. - 1801 Howell Mill Rd NW 30318 Oct. 11 - 4pm-6pm - Greenville, S.C. - 6134 White Horse Rd 29611 Oct. 12 - 4pm-6pm - Charlotte, N.C. - 5825 Thunder Rd 28027 Oct. 13 - 4pm-6pm - Raleigh, N.C. - 4431 New Bern Ave. 27610 Oct. 14 - 4pm-6pm - Greensboro, N.C. - 2107 Pyramid Village Blvd 27405 Oct. 15 - 4pm-6pm - Columbus, Ohio - 3657 E Main St. 43213 Oct. 16 - 4pm-6pm - Cincinnati, Ohio - 2322 Ferguson Rd 45238 Oct. 17 - 11am-1pm - Indianapolis, Ind. - 4650 S Emerson Ave. 46203 Oct. 18 - 4pm-6pm - Louisville, Ky. - 2020 Bashford Manor Ln. 40218 Oct. 26 - 4pm-6pm - Chicago, Ill. - 3320 South Cicero Ave. 60804 Oct. 27 - 4pm-6pm - Grand Rapids, Mich. - 5859 28th St. SE 49546 Oct. 28 - 4pm-6pm - Detroit, Mich. - 7555 Telegraph Rd 48180 Oct. 29 - 4pm-6pm - Cleveland, Ohio - 3400 Steelyard Dr. 44109 Nov. 2 - 4pm-6pm - St. Louis, Mo. - 1900 Maplewood Commons Dr. 63143 Nov. 3 - 4pm-6pm - Kansas City, Mo. - 11601 E US Highway 40 64133 Nov. 4 - 4pm-6pm - Minneapolis, Minn. - 1960 Twin Lakes Pkwy 55113 Nov. 5 - 4pm-6pm - Milwaukee, Wisc. - 4140 W Greenfield Ave. 53215 Nov. 6 - 4pm-6pm - Memphis, Tenn. - 5255 Elvis Presley Blvd 38116 Nov. 7 - 4pm-6pm - New Orleans, La. - 1901 Tchoupitoulas St. 70130 Nov. 8 - 4pm-6pm - Houston, Texas - 111 Yale St. 77007 Nov. 9 - 4pm-6pm - Austin, Texas - 710 E Ben White Blvd 78704 Nov. 10 - 4pm-6pm - Dallas, Texas - 7401 Samuel Blvd 75228 Nov. 11 - 4pm-6pm - Oklahoma City, Okla. - 5401 Tinker Diagonal St. 73115 Nov. 12 - 4pm-6pm - Bentonville, Ark. - 4208 Pleasant Crossing Blvd 72758  Brooklyn Steele is a Nashville Recording Artist who has released her debut single, “Taken” on September 18, 2018. “Taken” has an undeniably hooky melody and lyric, with an interesting spin on the word. Brooklyn is influenced by other strong female artists such as Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Shania Twain and Maren Morris, but she loves adding her own personal flair to each music project.
Brooklyn was born and raised in South Florida but recently made the move to Nashville this past January. She has been working tirelessly on songwriting to continue honing in on her craft. She has been recognized as a “one to watch” artist through the Nashville Songwriters Association International - an accolade that one only earns if the hit writers reviewing one’s skill set feel there is potential to be a renowned singer/songwriter. Her goals are to continue growing as a country music artist by releasing more music and building her tour. She continues to write and perform around Nashville, Tenn. and is currently working on her upcoming EP. On Oct. 1st her music video for “Taken” premiered on VEVO where her sassy and spunky personality is revealed in a princess storyline. You can watch it here! “Taken” is now available on all streaming platforms.  You’ll want to keep an eye out for Canadian artist Kelsi Mayne, who’s empowering single Woman Waiting was released on August 8th. Co-written with Jason Blaine, Woman Waiting is about not willing to wait around forever, encouraging men to come home to their wives and girlfriends.To promote the single’s release, Kelsi plans to book a radio tour across Ontario and has been invited to perform at this year’s Canadian Sports Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony.
You can listen to Women Waiting available everywhere now and on Kelsi’s website at https://www.kelsimayne.com/.  Country artist Jaclyn Kenyon has released the official music video for her newest single, Tombstone. Directed by Jordan Davies, the Mike Krompass produced track is the second single off of her upcoming debut EP and can be found below. Influenced by Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, and Michael Jackson, as well as being excited about newer young female artists like Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini, and Carly Pearce, Jaclyn 's music conveys “a little Rock n’ Roll and a LOT Country." Always a strong performer, Jaclyn has been on the stage since the age of 12, when she was the youngest performer ever in Canada’s all-female artist showcase Honey Jam. At 15 years old Jaclyn caught the eye of world-renowned vocal coach and multi-platinum producer “Mama” Jan Smith who immediately saw her raw talent. “Jaclyn, as a writer, I believe she can write for anybody,” Mama Jan said of Jaclyn, “stylistically, she really doesn’t have a lot of limits, which is awesome.” After that Jaclyn was fortunate enough to learn more about herself as an artist with multi-platinum writers and producers in Nashville and Los Angeles where she spent time trying to find what inspires her “People have always had me try and sing different styles, whether it was Country, Rock or Pop. I’ve always gone along and tried every idea to find my voice. I’ve even had producers make me sing hard rock,” says Jaclyn recanting some of the musical adventures she went through as a teenager, “one producer kept telling me to lose my ‘country twang’ in my voice and I didn’t realize that was just a natural part of me. Jaclyn’s first single off her upcoming EP, Daddy’s Got A Shotgun, was produced by Mike Krompass and co-written with Nashville luminaries Clay Mills and Steve Diamond. In addition, Jaclyn has been writing in Nashville with Producer Mike Krompass, plus writers Robbie Nevil andRich Redmond. Jaclyn is getting ready for what’s next, “with the great fans I’ve been building, I’ll be able to play live more often than I thought” said Jaclyn "I’ll let you know when I play next. Please keep listening and sharing my music."  Once overcoming her stage fright as a child, Lauren Jaimes was a natural fit for country music. Growing up in a family of musicians, she learned how to play the guitar at the age of 11. With Kacey Musgraves and Reba McEntire as her idols, Lauren took the plunge to make her dreams a reality.
Lauren’s music is rooted in storytelling, often conveying real life events. Describing her songs as an open diary, Lauren isn’t afraid to express her thoughts and emotions. In August, Lauren released her debut EP Here to Stay. The 6 track EP, which can be found on Spotify here, showcases Lauren’s authentic sound and heartfelt stories. Already working on a full-length album, you’ll want to stay tuned for more to come from Lauren Jaimes. Follow Lauren on social media @LaurenJaimesMusic and on her website at laurenjaimesmusic.com.  Continuing the momentum of their hugely successful album Smoke and Mirrors which has amassed over 200K streams on Spotify, UK country favorites Jess and the Bandits have released the title track as their brand new single. It comes off the back of a hugely successful summer for the group, who have built upon their rapidly growing fan base with stunning performances at the likes of The Long Road, Millport Festival, Buckle & Boots and more.
“The minute I wrote this song with Ben Adams (A1) and Shelly Poole (Alisha's Attic, Red Sky July) I knew I wanted this to be the title of the new album. This was one of the first songs written for the album so I didn’t really know what the theme would be yet. This song is about feeling like you’re not living the life you should and every day you’re just putting on an act, smoke and mirrors. I also equate this to the music industry. There is a lot of that in this world. People think it’s so glamorous... and it has its moments but sometimes what you see is not always what you get.” The new single is the latest in a string of single releases from the 2017 Smoke and Mirrors album, which produced the Radio 2-playlisted track Sister as well as White Lies, which brought great support from Spotify playlists including the Very Nearly Nashville playlist. The album hit #3 on the UK Country Music Chart at release, and they followed up with a hugely successful UK tour and a show at Bob Harris’ Under The Apple Tree Warehouse event. A reminder that life isn’t always as easy as we often make out on the exterior, Smoke and Mirrors will strike a chord with listeners far and wide. We all have those “daily grind” moments, we’re all human, and Jess and the Bandits provide an honest reflection of those feelings here, not only in the music industry but in all walks of life.  Southern girl Kimberly Kelly may be small, but her voice big. Raised in Texas, Kimberly was surrounded by country music influences including her older sister who she sang backup for as a child. Getting her start in the Texas music scene, Kimberly had the chance to open for Cody Johnson and Jason Aldean before making the move to Nashville. There Kimberly began writing songs of her own and collaborating with songwriters who she felt experienced similar events.
On August 31st Kimberly released her debut EP, Don’t Blame It On Me, which says what she wanted to say. While listening to this five song EP, Kimberly hopes her fans enjoy the her music as much as she enjoyed performing it in the studio. The song Daddy’s 8-Track is the most special to Kimberly as it reminds her of her childhood riding in the back of her dad’s old truck while listening to Stevie Nicks and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Having finished a summer concert tour, Kimberly is excited to continue sharing her music with the world. You can find her debut EP Don’t Blame It On Me everywhere now and on her website at www.kimberlykellymusic.com. |
ABOUT MEI am currently a student at Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles as a marketing major. Upon realizing that I wanted to change the way people perceive country music and to help women have a voice, I began Next Women of Country in 2015 promoting new female artists and sharing their stories with the world. You can find me via Instagram @nicolemmarchesi or contact me via email at nextwomenofcountry@gmail.com ARCHIVES
September 2018
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