NashvilleGab - Country music news and Nashville celebrity gossip

This look behind Taylor Swift's 2014 Swift-mas is amazing

No matter your feelings about Taylor and her music, this video showing a behind-the-scenes look at her FANtastic Swift-mas 2014 is amazing. 

It just begs one question ... where the heck does she find the time?

 

Lady Antebellum to host pre New Year's Eve bash...but for a good cause!

If partying the last night of 2014 with the trio that makes up one of country music's most popular is your idea of fun then you might be happy to know Lady Antebellum is headlining a New Year's Eve bash on Wednesday.

I'm sure hanging in the presence of these guys would be enough, but the icing on the cake is it's for a good cause!

Lady A is hosting a pre-New Year’s Bash dinner at the Country Music Hall of Fame on Wednesday, and...check it out...you will always get a performance from the group!

Proceeds benefit their LadyAID fund, a philanthropic effort that focuses primarily on children's hospitals in the United States and Canada.

Rumor on the street is there are still some tickets available at the $250 price so make a move if you're interested!

Follow me on Twitter for more music stuff! @AshleyAHelene

Kacey Musgraves had a whole lot of Christmas cheer

Kacey Musgraves wasn't afraid to let lose and let her Christmas cheer show when she was in the aisle of a grocery store. Which isn't all that surprising considering she doesn't really care about what others think of her. That's half the reason we love her.

But this video that her boyfriend shared on his instagram actually makes us love her more. Chhhhheck it out:

 

happy holidays folks🌲 @spaceykacey aka Rudolph

A video posted by Misa (@misathebear) on Dec 12, 2014 at 7:37pm PST

 

She totally seems like someone I could be best friends with.

Follow me on Twitter for more music stuff! @AshleyAHelene

Lorrie Morgan heading out on Christmas Tour

Lorrie Morgan will ring in the holidays with an 11-show Christmas tour to launch on December 3rd in Niagara Falls, New York and end in Nashville, TN at the City Winery. The Lorrie Morgan Enchanted Christmas Show will feature Lorrie singing her hits along with holiday classics. 

“To be able to bring the wonderful music of Christmas to audiences around the country is a dream come true,” says Lorrie Morgan. “This is my favorite time of year. I get to think about my children growing up and reminisce my life with my family. I wish all year could be Christmas time!”  

   

As a platinum selling country artist, selling over 10 million albums with eight #1 videos, known for hits such as “Something Red”, “Leave the Light On”, and her chart topping country Christmas album, “Merry Christmas From London”, Lorrie continues to be a major artist—both in concert and on record—and tickets for her Christmas tour dates are moving towards a sell-out for the holiday run.
 
Lorrie Morgan Enchanted Christmas Tour Dates:
Dec. 3-7 Niagara Falls, NY – Seneca Niagara Casino & Hotel
Dec. 12  Lawrenceburg, IN – Lawrenceburg Event Center
Dec. 13  Emporia, KS – Emporia Granada Theatre
Dec. 14  Centralia, IL – Jane Knight Auditorium
Dec. 16  Wichita, KS - Orpheum Theatre
Dec. 20  Stafford, TX – The Redneck Country Club
Dec. 22  Nashville, TN - City Winery
 
Resource artist online at: www.lorrie.com

Sara Evans to release Christmas album

Wow, this is going to be quite the year for Christmas albums. Everyone and their brother is releasing one this year it seems, which makes me happy because I love me some Christmas. 

Sara Evans is the newest country star to announce that she'll be releasing an album full of holiday cheer. According to a press release, "At Christmas" will hit stores November 17th and features 10 tracks of some of the most well-known and celebrated holiday songs including Silent Night, Oh Holy Night, and Winter Wonderland, as well as a very special rendition of “12 Days of Christmas” that features vocals from two of her daughters Olivia (12) and Audrey (10).

"At Christmas" is currently available now for pre-order exclusively through Walmart. In keeping with the holiday spirit Evans is also set to be a part of the two-hour holiday special “CMA Country Christmas” set to air December 1st at 8pm EST (check local listings) on the ABC Television Network. 

Like ghosts from my childhood, my crushes from 1981 are back and releasing a Christmas album together

The year was 1981 and I was just a wee little sprig of a girl. I got my first taste of love after I discovered two hot hillbillies in an orange car who raced their way into my tender, young heart. My mom gave up the fight and let me stay up past my 9 o'clock bedtime just so I could crush on the boys of The Dukes of Hazzard and dream of one day marrying beautiful blond-haired Bo and having beautiful blond-haired mini Bo babies.

Sigh. 

Good times. Good times. 

Well now I'm old, Bo and Luke are older than dirt (seriously, have you seen their new AutoTrader.com commercials?), I never fulfilled my Duke bridal fantasies - sad, I know - and the Duke Boys are releasing a Christmas album together.

Here's the really long press release just in case you're into nostalgic holiday offerings:

John Schneider and Tom Wopat - the original stars of “The Dukes of Hazzard” – will release a special holiday album Home for Christmas to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the iconic TV show. The recording will be available from D13 Entertainment in stores and online October 28. The pair, currently starring in a national TV advertising campaign for AutoTrader.com, have performed in concert over the years, but this marks their first full recording together. Mixing immediately recognizable Christmas standards with lesser-known holiday songs, the album combines a bright and brassy big band, lush strings, and rustic country sounds and laces it all together with humorous banter that reflects over three decades of friendship. Home for Christmas is produced by David Finck with arrangements by John Oddo, Tedd Firth and Rob Mounsey. An online preview is available for the track “Cool Yule.”

The duo will celebrate with an exclusive CD release concert at New York’s Joe’s Pub at the Public Theater on Tuesday, December 2 at 9:30 PM. This concert marks their first time performing together in the city.

Home for Christmas is a collection of swinging seasonable treats to get you ready for holiday cheer. “I think this is a fresh take on the Christmas album,” says Tom. “Jazz fans and serious musicians will appreciate what we’ve done with theses tunes. Our arranger John Oddo has a true affinity for that classic 50s and 60s sound. He really nails it. Tedd Firth is a major talent and a creative voice. And, of course, I love singing with John Schneider. The timbre of our voices match, the harmonies blend so easily. Plus, he’s a barrel of laughs.” Schneider adds, “Tom and I really bring out the best in each other. We may not sound alike when we talk, but when we sing sometimes you can’t tell us apart. In the studio, I put him first and he puts me first. If that’s not friendship, I don’t know what is.”

The record opens with a warm, crystalline duet of “Christmas Time Is Here,” followed by a smooth mid-tempo version of the beloved staple “Santa Claus is Coming to Town,” which is highlighted by a deft call-and-response vocal arrangement. Their sizzling take on “Cool Yule” – written by famed “Tonight Show” host Steve Allen and memorably introduced by Louis Armstrong – has a distinctly retro flavor. “It’s a particular favorite of mine,” says John. “It has that great Rat Pack vibe that I never get to do.”

The wistful “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” is an emotional solo turn for Wopat, crooning over a plush bed of stirring strings. “It’s such a gorgeous tune that I was inspired to do it” says Tom. “Tedd Firth’s arrangement is beautiful and evocative of another era.” John takes the spotlight in the charming “Even the Snow (Falls for You)” – one of those rare numbers that says “I love you” in a new and inventive way – by Chris Wallin, the noted Nashville songwriter who has penned #1 hits for Toby Keith, Kenny Chesney and Montgomery Gentry. The song “Johnny, It’s Cold Outside” makes for a fine bromance, a wry and funny twist on Frank Loesser’s classic. Tom muses, “It’s such a clever song and one of my favorite duets of all time.” He wrote the original alternate lyric himself.

“The Secret of Christmas” – a tender ballad gorgeously rendered by John – was written by Sammy Cahn and Jimmy Van Heusen. They were considered Frank Sinatra’s personal songwriters, even though this number was introduced by Bing Crosby. The song celebrates “not the things you do at Christmas time, but the Christmas things you do all year through.” Tom takes on “Blue Xmas” – a brooding lament by jazz iconoclast Bob Dorough that demonstrates the dark side of that most wonderful time of year, enhanced by a melancholy dissonant horn arrangement. “Bob is a really cool cat and you hear it in his songs,” says Tom. “I love how haunting our chart sounds.”

The infrequently performed “Holiday Season” – a joyous composition with an exciting rhythmic heft by Kay Thompson, the legendary doyenne of MGM’s music department – was recommended by John Oddo, who himself worked with many of the girl singers of the golden age.

Wopat and Schneider return to their country roots with a traditional take on “On a Quiet Christmas Morn,” featuring a prominent fiddle part and vocal harmonies that are pure Americana. Tom discovered the writers – Robin and Linda Williams – at New York’s Town Hall watching them perform on Garrison Keillor’s “Prairie Home Companion.” “I love story songs and this is a great one” says John. “It has fantastic words, a wonderful melody, and a very special message.” “Silver Bells” makes a soft and reverent finale to the album, with the duo’s voices delicately interweaving, laced with a twinge of twang.

“I’ve always loved Christmas music because it brings people together,” recalls John. “Everyone listens at the same time of year. It’s the great common denominator.” Home for Christmas has the relaxed tone and easy rhythm to make it an enduring holiday classic for multiple generations of music fans, with plenty of unique touches and original musical ideas to consistently satisfy and surprise. The album provides, to quote the timeless “Sleigh Ride” lyric, that “happy feeling nothing in the world can buy.”

“Home for Christmas” Track List

1. Merry Christmas (:17)

2. “Christmas Time is Here” (3:14) DUET

3. “Santa Claus is Coming to Town” (3:05) DUET

4. “Cool Yule” (3:21) DUET

5. “I’ll Be Home for Christmas” (3:34) TOM

6. “Even the Snow (Falls for You)” (3:13) JOHN

7. Love (0:13)

8. “Sleigh Ride” (3:56) DUET

9. “Christmas Waltz” (3:23)

10. “Johnny, It’s Cold Outside” (3:23) DUET

11. “The Secret of Christmas” (3:08) JOHN

12. Coal (0:05)

13. “Blue Xmas” (2:53) TOM

14. “Holiday Season” (2:48) DUET

15. Ponch & John (0:13)

16. “On a Quiet Christmas Morn” (2:55) DUET

17. “Silver Bells” (2:48) DUET

18. Egg Nog (0:11)

 

Kenny Rogers heading out on Christmas tour with Hillary Scott's mama

Kenny Rogers annual Christmas & Hits Through The Years Tour has been officially announced with 25 dates across the U.S. and Canada starting November 12 in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada.   

And as an added bonus, The Gambler is bringing along Hillary Scott's mama, Linda Davis, to help ring in the holiday season 

How cool is that?

The setlist for Kenny's 33rd Christmas & Hits tour will include holiday favorites as well as classic Kenny Rogers hits, from "The Gambler" to "Lucille" and more.  

I tell you what, there's nothing I'd like more than to start the holiday season off right by hearing Kenny Rogers sing Little Drummer Boy or Silent Night or some other amazing Christmas song. Unfortunately, he's not coming to my area, but you can check to see if he's coming to a venue near you by heading over to his website for tour dates. 

LeAnn Rimes' Christmas EP cover is quite lovely

Introducing your newly crowned Ice Queen. 

Just in time for Halloween, LeAnn Rimes is releasing a new Christmas EP called "One Christmas: Chapter 1."

The EP will feature 6 songs and is the second holiday release of LeAnn's career, the first being "What a Wonderful World" (2004). It is also the first in a set of three Christmas EPs or albums that will be released over the next couple of years - one in 2015 and the final in 2016.  

"I made a Christmas record a long time ago, and this time," Rimes says, "I decided I wanted to spread it out over three years so I didn't have to stop making Christmas music. We had so much fun making this first EP. I tried to play around with it as far as things you don't typically hear me do. A lot of the vocals sound very live, and it's just a really cool piece of music. It's very eclectic. It has a lot of soul, and it sounds really organic."

LeAnn will also be setting off on a Christmas tour this season. Her One Christmas tour dates so far are:

12/5 – Rutland, VT
12/7 – Bethlehem, PA
12/11 – Elmira, NY
12/12 – Poughkeepsie, NY
12/13 – Englewood, NJ
12/16 – Manhattan, KS
12/18 – Chicago, IL
12/19 – Manistee, MI

LeAnn's "Christmas: Chapter 1" will hit stores October 28. 

Track listing: 

1. Silent Night Holy Night
2. I Want A Hippopotamus for Christmas
3. Blue Christmas
4. Someday at Christmas
5. Hard Candy Christmas
6. Carol of the Bells

 

Alan Jackson is overrun by Christmas cheer ... opens hometown Christmas shop to get rid of some of it

Photo: Times Herald/Clay Neely

Here's a thought that I bet would never have crossed your mind in a million years unless some blogger came along and put it in your head ... how many Christmas decorations go into decorating five manions? 

I'm not sure how much Christmas crap it would take to decorate one mega mansion, let alone five, but apparently it's a lot more than you'd think ... just ask Alan Jackson, who has come up with a novel way to unload some of his unneeded holiday decorations. 

J.T. Hodges makes his acting debut tonight in 'Finding Christmas'

Update: I was told that if you missed the premiere of "Finding Christmas" it will air again on 12/21/13 at 4:00 pm EST and 12/22/13 at Noon EST. 

Romantic possibilities are plentiful when country music star J.T. Hodges makes his acting debut alongside Tricia Helfer (“Battlestar Galactica”), Mark Lutz (“Ghost Whisperer”) and Cristina Rosato (“Perfect Plan”) in the World Premiere of “Finding Christmas,” a Hallmark Channel Original Movie Sunday, December 15 (8pm ET/PT, 7C), part of the network’s celebrated “Countdown to Christmas,” TV’s top holiday destination.