 Author: Charles Hacker Stephanie Jacques has released a music video for her song “Because of That”, you can check it out below. Because of That was inspired by the preventable murders of black citizens in this very divided country. Just as she was judged by the color of her skin, she watches those on the news being judged, being accused, and ultimately being murdered because of their skin color. “This song conveys a real fear for the black community, where we are not judged by our values or personhoods, but singly for the color of our skin. I don’t want to be judged because of that, I don’t want to be accused because of that, and I certainly don’t want to die because of it”. Stephanie wrote the song with country artist Cassadee Pope and a portion of the proceeds from the song are going to the Color Me Country fund. 6 years ago, Stephanie’s long-time friend Mickey Guyton texted her saying that she needed to be in Nashville. “I did pop and r&b in California, but I started travelling to Nashville and writing a lot. Storytelling was allowed in Nashville. I’ve always loved it (country music) but I could now be public about it”. Growing up in the Bay Area, her immediate family was multi-ethnic: she and her older brother were raised by her grandmother after her mother died at the young age of 26. Her grandmother at the time had just adopted two children from South Korea with her third husband. In the 80s, Pleasanton, CA was very much white, and her colorful family stood out everywhere they went. “My grandparents were white, me and my brother were half black/white, and my two adopted siblings were full Korean.” Thus, the origin for much of Stephanie’s song writing stems from her unique but often challenged upbringing where race reminders were only a narrowed stare or sideways comment away. Artists like Faith Hill, Aretha Franklin and Julie Andrews are all inspirations for Jacques. “I came from a soul background singing gospel and I grew up watching the Opry with my grandmother. My music is very country soul. It's not traditional but it has all been influenced by early country music”. In addition to her own music career, Jacques is the host of the IGTV show/podcast “Jacques Talk”. The show is self-described by Stephanie as the “little show I didn’t know I needed”. Jacques reflects that “the pandemic was tough but the blessing for me was I could come out of the dark being me. I kept my profile. I didn’t want to discuss politics. We talk about how to change''. The very first episode was Jacques alone discussing what Black Lives Matter meant to her. Since the launch of the IGTV program, episodes with guests have included Mickey Guyton, Dr. Jada Watson, Cam, songwriter Laura Veltz, Holly G of the Black Opry, and journalist Marissa Moss. You can check out all of the “Jacques Talk'' episodes here. Another pandemic venture for Jacques is becoming Co-President of the Nashville Action Committee. Alongside Stephanie, singer Parker McKay and producer Alex Kline started the committee. “We wanted to create digestible content for people who wanted to get involved and make a change. It’s so hard to deal with some topics but if we create just one post a week, we can create a movement”. In addition to their own posts, the committee works closely with Hope On The Row, a charity helping out Nashville’s homeless population. You can check out the Nashville Action Committee on Instagram @nashvilleactioncommittee and Hope On The Row here. You can follow Stephanie on social media at @stephaniejacquesmusic and find more information on her website here.
0 Comments
 With the hustle and bustle of the Christmas season, breakout country sweetheart Molly Lovette just released her own version of a holiday classic "Silver Bells". This song is available on all digital streaming platforms.
Putting her own spin on this popular release which was originally composed by Jay Livingston and Ray Evans, Molly’s soothing vocals and lively take on this timeless tune evokes a combination of holiday bliss along with that heartwarming seasonal spirit everyone loves this time of year. Produced by Leland Grant (Chris Young), this is her second holiday release. “I was so excited last year for the release of Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas, that I decided I had to release another one this holiday,” says Molly. “I love all Christmas music and even though I was in the studio laying down vocals this summer when it was 90 degrees in Nashville, it was still a great way to get ready for Christmas.” Jumping off the heels of her summer release Hey Hey, Molly is wrapping up this whirlwind year on a high note with this Christmas release. She was on the road this past summer and fall performing in Nashville, Illinois, Texas and many venues in her home state of Missouri. Now with over three quarters of a million combined streams just on Spotify, numerous TV appearances, press interviews, radio placements, music videos airing on The Country Network, a Forbes feature, and so much more, she is taking the world by storm and winning the hearts of country fans everywhere. For more information on Molly Lovette, visit her website.  Breakout country music singer/songwriter, Callie Twisselman, is set to embark on a 45-date tour as part of the Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular this fall. The tour kicked off on Wednesday, November 10 in Modesto, California and will continue on throughout the holiday season until its final stop on December 30 in Enid, Oklahoma. Serving as direct support for the all-new production, Callie’s set will kick off a night of family fun, music and celebration each night.
Following up her massive cross-country tour, in March 2022, Twisselman will make her international debut at Europe's biggest country music festival, C2C: Country To Country. Taking place in London, Glasgow and Dublin, Callie will join the likes of Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs, Darius Rucker and many more on stage each night. The California native recently ventured into the family-friendly entertainment space as her original song, “Together,” was featured alongside Vanessa Hudgens, James Marsden, Sofia Carson, Johnny Orlando, among others, in the Netflix feature film My Little Pony: A New Generation and on the official soundtrack. She also released her debut EP Closure, which has amassed nearly 1 million global streams, and also features her current single “Cowboy.” Callie is represented by acclaimed artist manager Danny Nozell and Justis Mustaine of CTK Enterprises (Dolly Parton, Barry Gibb, Kenny G, KC and The Sunshine Band) and is signed to eOne for publishing via Vintern Songs and working closely with GRAMMY-award winning producer, Aaron Pearce, (Celine Dion, Brian McKnight, Lauren Alaina, Jennifer Lopez). Purchase Tickets for the Cirque Musica Holiday Spectacular HERE and keep up with Callie on her website.  Two-time GRAMMY® Award-nominated multiplatinum songwriter, producer and recent multiple CMA Award winner Kelsea Ballerini has released, "Feel Your Way Through." Available at retailers and online today. The collection is available HERE. The book is published as a Ballantine Hardcover by Ballantine—an imprint of Random House. Feel Your Way Through is already climbing the bestsellers charts and has reached Top 50 overall on Amazon, including #1 in the poetry category.
The release of "Feel Your Way Through" continues a prolific year for Kelsea. Her hit single “half of my hometown” featuring Kenny Chesney took home wins in the categories “Musical Event of the Year” and “Music Video of the Year” at the 2o21 CMA Awards. “half of my hometown” is approaching 100 million streams. The single was recently certified gold, marking the sixth RIAA gold and platinum certification off her album kelsea. Most recently, Ballerini was named as a 2021 CMT Artist of The Year. This summer, Ballerini joined the Jonas Brothers on The Remember This Tour which wrapped in Los Angeles last month. She recently teamed up with US alt-pop trio LANY for “I QUIT DRINKING.” The song has quickly amassed over 80 million streams and shot to #2 on the iTunes pop songs chart upon release. Inciting critical applause, People described the debut CMT Awards performance as “swept up in a storm of emotion” (see the performance HERE).  Author: Charles Hacker Hailey Whitters has had a wild time in the past couple years. From being named a member of 2019 CMT Next Women of Country class to ending up touring and collaborating with some of the biggest names in country music, the Iowa born singer reflects on it all. Whitters hails from Sheuyville, Iowa, a town with less than 1000 people. “Where I grew up, there was not a lot of opportunity for music. I picked up a guitar at 14 and just started playing”. In 2015, Whitters released her debut album “Black Sheep”. Whitters released her first major album in February 2020, The Dream. “The creating part was a soul filling, rewarding experience. It allowed me to rediscover my love for country music. We had no way of promoting the record live in 2020 but luckily it was received really well”. To fund the album, Whitters was working in a restaurant until she got a call she had been dreaming of. “I was waiting tables just days before touring with Maren (Morris, on the 2019 Girl: World Tour). I put my two weeks’ notice in on a Tuesday and that Friday I was wearing a sparkly dress and holding my guitar and playing Radio City Music Hall”. Whitters wants aspiring artists to know that they should “not give up in moments where It feels hard, just keep writing and playing”.
In addition to being named a member of 2019 CMT Next Women of Country class, Whitters has been named an Opry NextStage Artist 2021 and the AIMP (Association of Independent Music Publishers) Nashville Rising Artist-Writer of the Year, along with many other award nominations and wins. She has also toured with Little Big Town, Maren Morris, and Luke Combs. “It was wild being out (on the road) with Luke (Combs) and being in stadiums. if that was all it ever comes to, I took it all in”. The recording process for The Dream started in 2018, and actually finished in 2021, once Whitters put out the deluxe version of the album with some new tracks featuring massive collaborations alongside Brent Cobb, Lori McKenna and Hillary Lindsey, Jordan Davis, Little Big Town, and Trisha Yearwood. On the song with Yearwood, “How Far Can It Go?”, Whitters states “I heard the How Far Can It Go mix and reminded me of She’s in Love with the Boy”, Yearwood’s 1991 debut single. Whitters goes on to say that “I remember driving down my hometown roads listening to Trisha and now collaborating with her, this was huge for me. We reached out not knowing if we would even hear back and she said yes!”. You can check out “How Far Can It Go?” here. Whitters is currently on tour with Midland on their Last Resort tour, you can buy tickets here. Whitters does add that she is working on a new record! Check out Hailey Whitters’ website for music, merchandise, and tickets! |