 It’s true Nashville won’t be disappointed about this year’s Grammy nominees. The strong showing of country artists include old favorites and new with women of country artist Maren Morris dominating the pack. Not surprisingly Morris has been nominated for awards in three categories: Best Country Solo Performance, Best Country Song (“My Church”), Best Album (HERO), and Best New Artist.  Kelsea Ballerini also finds herself nominated for Best New Artist, her first grammy nomination.  Brandy Clark, Miranda Lambert, and Carrie Underwood join Morris as nominees for Best Country Solo Performance alongside former American Idol judge Keith Urban.  While the nominees for Best Country Duo include a nice mix of old and new artists as well as pop and country collaborations such as Dierks Bentley and Elle King’s Different for Girls and Pentatonix featuring Dolly Parton in a rendition of the hit Jolene.  Loretta Lynn and Brandy Clark will also make an appearance at this year’s Grammy Awards, both nominated for Best Country Album.
As for the full list of Grammy Nominees click here.
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 Artists make their passion for music a career not because they want to write and sing songs, but to share their stories in a way people can enjoy and relate to. By performing artists are given the chance to express themselves and connect with their fans. Now with streaming services such as Spotify and Pandora, live shows are becoming an artist's only chance to make a living doing what they love. So I often ask artists what they want to happen next and their answer: “I want to share my music with as many people as I can,” so no wonder many of your favorite artists are gearing up to make 2017 the best touring year ever!
Old favorite Miranda Lambert recently announced her Highway Vagabond Tour to promote her album “The Weight of These Wings’ which kicks off on January 26th at the Ford Center in Evansville, Indiana. With special guest stars, Old Dominion and CMT Next Women of Country’s Aubrie Sellers, Miranda is excited to get back on the road claiming, “the first time you see all of the fans after being off for a while is pretty great.” This fall Kelsea Ballerini successfully completed her first tour cleverly entitled The First Time Tour. Though the rising star isn’t ready to launch yet another tour of her own, Kelsea will be joining Thomas Rhett’s on his first-ever headlining tour Home Team Tour which kicks off on February 23rd. Our 2016 EP of the Year winner, Olivia Lane, is also hoping to bring more sunshine to her fans in 2017. With a jam packed schedule, including being a featured artist on Royal Caribbean’s Country Cruise, Olivia hopes to bring her energy and new music on the road. You can find a full list of Olivia’s appearances here. Want to know if your favorite artist will be coming to a place near you? Check out their website and follow us for more women of country music news.  Born in the small farming town of Aurora, Indiana lead singer of The Skallywags, Kristine Spielmann, has always been inspired by country music’s greatest storytellers. Kristine’s childhood from the age of seven to when she graduated from Columbia College with a Bachelor's Degree in music business and vocal performance has been dedicated to her music. After realizing that music made her happy and was the only thing she never got tired of, Kristine took on music professionally claiming “I wanna prove I can do it and be successful.”
With her friends and family to support her and her idols Dolly Parton and Adele paving the way, Kristine is more than ready to take on the challenge of being an artist. A singer songwriter herself, Kristine writes about her own experiences hoping others will be able to relate to her story. On January 10th her band, The Skallywags, will be releasing their first ever album featuring a variety of songs and stories about everything from jealousy to traveling. After the release of their self-titled album, Kristine and the band are hoping for some radio time as well as the attention of a major label. Confident and determined to never give up, The Skallywags are sure to enter the country music scene with success. So make sure to check out their music avalible via YouTube and on their website at http://www.theskallywags.com/.  From our 2016 Artist of the Year Lauren Alaina to Little Big Town and Sarah Darling many artists have already announced the release dates of their upcoming albums to appear this year.
Upon the success of releasing her empowering single “Road Less Traveled,” Lauren Alaina’s highly anticipated album will be released on January 27th which features 12 new songs all written by Lauren herself. Before then on January 10th The Skallywags, lead by lead singer Kristine Spielmann, will be releasing their first ever self titled EP and their new single “Born to be an Outlaw.” In February “Home to Me” artist Sarah Darling will be releasing her new album Dream Country, which aims to inspire others to embrace being themselves. With a dreamy and romantic tone Dream Country reflects a whole new side of Sarah, who claims "there's something magical about growing up in a small town that makes you dream about the incredible and feel connected to something greater. That's why I love writing about stars.” Old favorites LeAnn rimes and Reba McEntire both plan to release their new material on February 3rd, with Little Big Town following close behind with the release of their new album Breaker on February 24th. Other artists such as Kelsea Ballerini and Shania Twain have confirmed that they’re recording new music in the hopes for a 2017 release. So make sure you’re not going to miss a second of this jam packed year and follow us via Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @nextwomenofcountry. Women are represented in music as nothing more than empty-headed, bikini-wearing man vessels who exist only to dance the night away and serve beer. Wait so who wouldn’t want to be a woman in a [country] song? Now I wish I had some heels on my two bare feet and I don’t care if I am cold in these painted on cut off jeans. I love the way this bikini top chafes, who would want to wear it all day. I see ya over there on your tailgate whistlin in. Saying hey girl, all your good for, is looking fine for my friends on the weekend, nothing more.
It doesn’t matter what plans I got I can break them. I don’t mind telling all the girls I can’t meet em.’ If you wanna call me, call me. You don’t have to worry about me. You can wake me up in the dead of the night; wreck my plans, that’s alright. This is a drop everything kind of thing. Swing on by I’ll pour you a drink. The door’s unlocked, I’ll leave on the lights. Baby you can crash my party anytime. Whatya say you pick me up after work, I’ll slide on over then we slip out to the outskirts of town to a spot nobody knows. With a blanket and a little something to knock off the edge, we park the truck and take off running. I know I don’t have to get by on my looks, but I got my shades on, top back rollin up with the music jacked, and I am not about to look back. I am on fire cause dancing got me higher than anything else I know. I feel lucky enough to climb up in your truck keep my mouth shut and ride along, like a girl in country song. |