Bringing the Honky Tonk to The Voice

I will be honest and say that I rarely watch any reality tv shows - well any tv for that matter.  Unless it is an interview, concert, or something music or car related.  Needless to say, finding out that a friend of mine would be featured on the NBC show "The Voice," I had to keep my eye out and watch it.  Several friends have tried out over the years, but this was the first time that someone made it to the tv portion of the blind auditions.

Craig Wayne Boyd appeared on The Voice last night to sing Travis Tritt and Marty Stuart's hit song, "The Whiskey Ain't Working Anymore."

I first met Craig Wayne Boyd back in 2009 via Jamey Johnson.  We kept in touch and I was fortunate to see him play several shows over the years.  We were also good friends with Wayne Mills who passed away last year.  One of my favorite memories was that Craig gathered Wayne Mills, David Adam Byrnes, Brian Davis, and more to do a showcase during fan fair one year.  By far one of the best times in Nashville that I've had with friends.

I had to dig back when I first did an interview article on Craig.  It's hard to believe it was back in 2011.  Here is a link to that article.   

One thing that has always stuck out is the fact that Craig Wayne Boyd has been the same humble person all of these years.  He has worked hard and I'll be happy to continue to support his music.  Be sure to check out his other music.  A personal favorite of mine has always been "Learning To Dance."

So it looks like I'll be watching The Voice as Craig Wayne Boyd teams up with Blake Shelton and hopefully put some real country music back into the scene.

Judd Films keeping busy with film projects

Lucette - Screenshot from JuddFilms

Blake Judd and JuddFilms have been keeping busy with quite a few projects.  First up, two videos premiered on CMT Pure and CMT Edge.  The first one was Canadian singer-songwriter Lucette and her video for "Bobby Reid."  The video also stars Sturgill Simpson and JD Wilkes from Th' Legendary Shack Shakers & The Dirt Daubers and an appearance from Survivor Jefra Bland.  You can pre-order her Aug. 26 release "Black Is The Color", produced by Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Rival Sons, Jamey Johnson) via iTunes.

Shooter Jennings - Screenshot from Juddfilms

The second video was the fifth independent music video Blake has directed for Shooter Jennings.  This time it is for his latest single, "Don't Wait Up (I'm Playin' Possum)." The song is the first single from Shooter Jennings' new Black Country Rock release "Don't Wait Up (For George)."  Many of Shooter Jennings videos have been shot here in Kentucky.

JuddFilms, as well as The Jukebox Romeos, and Milk Products Media worked together to produce Blackberry Smoke's latest live DVD, "Leave a Scar Live."  This is a must have for any concert fan.

Many new projects are in the works for this creative Kentucky artist.  Be sure to check out www.juddfilms.com for all of his projects, and ways you can contact him for your project needs.

Crockettsville Charity Concert & Trail Ride Celebrates Seven Years & Over $725,000 Raised

Personal note: I have attended this wonderful event here in eastern Kentucky several times.  It is a wonderful family friendly event and just an overall good time.  The Buckhorn Children and Family Services Charity are an excellent group that help our youth.  I encourage you to attend if you can. 

Over the past six years, the Crockettsville Charity Concert & Trail Ride has raised over $725,000. The majority of the funds have gone to the Buckhorn Children and Family Services Charity, a private, non-profit organization that provides residential care and treatment of troubled youths and their families on campuses in Eastern Ky. The remaining funds have been allocated to various music scholarships and used to provide instruments to schools in need. Now in its seventh year, the annual event, to be held Sept. 5-7 on Crockettsville's Abner Farm, will feature an all-star concert, with performances by charity founders Chad Warrix and David Tolliver, known as Halfway to Hazard, Chris Young, Bucky Covington and Ray Scott, with more artist announcements coming soon, and a 42-mile ATV trail ride. Storme Warren of GAC’s Headline Country and SIRIUSXM’s The Highway returns as host of the event. Additionally, on Saturday, ticket holders will be treated to exhibitions by the Monster Energy Freestyle Motocross Team and will be given access to a mud bog, food and merchandise vendors, a kids’ area, the silent auction and more. On Friday, Sept. 5, Halfway to Hazard, along with many of the artists involved with the event, will visit three Ky., schools to host a program and gift their music programs over $10,000 worth of instruments. The concert and motocross event will be held on Saturday, Sept. 6, followed by the ATV trail ride on Sunday, Sept. 7.  Tickets are available onsite for $10 per person, with all proceeds going to benefit Kentucky charities.  Camping is available for the weekend for $50 and slots are first come, first serve. Ride registration begins at 7am on Sunday.  For more info on the 2014 Crockettsville Charity Concert & Trail Ride, please visit www.Crockettsville.com or contact Josh Bleidt at 502-457-7415. For more info on Buckhorn Children & Family Services, visit www.buckhorn.org or call 800-472-3678.

Kentucky Meets Texas: Angaleena Presley and Sunny Sweeney

This week two exciting piece of album release news was released.  Even more so, both are of two female country music singers that are my favorite modern day singers to listen to.  They are east Kentucky native, Angaleena Presley, and east Texas native Sunny Sweeney.  

Sunny Sweeney is scheduled to release her third release, "Provoked," on August 5th.  Several of the songs I have heard over the years performed live.  However, one track that was originally set to be on the album but was cut is "Dirty Laundry."  Hopefully one day that song and "Unholy Trinity" will be released.  The second song is one that brought me down to tears one night while she sang it alongside Erin Enderlin and Tony Lane down at Puckett's in Franklin, TN many moons ago.  I won't say what songs, but there have been several that made me go "yep, I need to get out of my marriage and file for divorce...." and yes I got out and have been happily divorced for several years now.  

Sunny Sweeney Track Listing for Provoked includes

1. You Don't Know Your Husband (Sunny Sweeney/Angaleena Presley/Mark D. Sanders)

2. Bad Girl Phase (Brandy Clark/Jessie Jo Dillon/Shannon Wright)

3. Second Guessing (Sunny Sweeney/Natalie Hemby)

4. Carolina on the Line (Sunny Sweeney/Brett Warren/Brad Warren/Lance Miller)

5. Find Me (Sunny Sweeney/Buddy Owens/Jay Clementi)

6. Can't Let Go (Randy Weeks)

7. Front Row Seats (Sunny Sweeney/Lance Miller/Brett Warren/Brad Warren)

8. My Bed (Sunny Sweeney/Angaleena Presley/Ashley Monroe)

9. Uninvited (Sunny Sweeney/Natalie Hemby)

10. Sunday Dress (Sunny Sweeney/Monty Holmes/Buddy Owens)

11. Used Cars (Sunny Sweeney/Natalie Hemby)

12. Backhanded Compliment (Sunny Sweeney/Natalie Hemby)

13. Everybody Else Can Kiss My Ass (Sunny Sweeney/Brett Beavers/Connie Harrington)  

You will noticed that Angaleena Presley is a cowriter on a few tunes on Sunny Sweeney's album.  Well I'm happy to say that she is releasing her own album on October 14th.  It is called "American Middle Class."  Be on the lookout for fellow Kentucky natives Chris Stapleton and Patty Loveless to appear on the album.

Angaleena Presley Track Listing for American Middle Class

1. Ain't No Man (Angaleena Presley)

2. All I Ever Wanted (Angaleena Presley)

3. Grocery Store (Angaleena Presley & Lori McKenna)

4. American Middle Class (Angaleena Presley)

5. Dry County Blues (Angaleena Presley & Mark D. Sanders)

6. Pain Pills (Angaleena Presley)

7. Life of the Party (Angaleena Presley & Matraca Berg)

8. Knocked Up(Angaleena Presley & Mark D. Sanders)

9. Better Off Red (Angaleena Presley)

10. Drunk (Angaleena Presley & Sarah Siskind)

11. Blessing and a Curse (Angaleena Presley & Bob DiPiero)

12. Surrender (Angaleena Presley, Luke Laird, & Barry Dean)

I always said that Sunny Sweeney and Angaleena Presley need to go on tour sometime.  Perhaps this would be the perfect time.  It would definitely showcase what real country music is all about from a female perspective that is retrofitted back to the days of Tammy Wynette, Loretta Lynn, etc.

Way Out Here with Josh Thompson

Josh Thompson at WFKY Froggy Field Party in 2010. Photo by Jessica Blankenship

The month of May I seem to want to shut off from the world ever since 2010.  It would be the month my nephews & niece would be forced to celebrate Mother's Day without their mom.  It would be the month she should be blowing out the candles of her birthday cake.  It would be the month I should be celebrating my wedding anniversary.  However, instead of being a month of celebrations, it would be a month of memories.  Some good, some bad.  In 2010, my sister in law passed away the first of June.  I would also get a divorce.  Last May, we lost my grandma.

Not only do we have the memories, we also have the songs that keep us going.  You know of songs in your personal life that take you back or help you get through the hard times.  Two songs come to mind.  First would be The Band Perry's "If I Die Young."  I remember my sister in law being the one to tell me about the song just a week before her passing.  I remember her saying that it was a powerful song that she knows will go to #1.  In May of 2011 a year later the Band Perry would be certified Platinum for that song.

The other song would be Josh Thompson's "Way Out Here."  It was the one song that while traveling with my nephews they would sing.  It described our family.

We won't take a dime if we ain't earned it

When it comes to weight brother we pull our own

If it's our backwoods way of livin' you're concerned with

You can leave us alone

We're about John Wayne, Johnny Cash and John Deere

Way out here

In July 2010, Josh Thompson would play at the WFKY Froggy Field Party.  I was honored to be able to sit down and have a conversation with Josh.  I had interviewed him before, but this time was different.  I rarely share my personal stories of a song with a songwriter.  But this time was different and I was able to thank him for that song.  It is one of those conversations and his kind words that made me a life long fan of his music.

Friday night, Josh Thompson will be playing at 4th Street Live in Louisville and I'll definitely be there.  Next week marks 4 years since we lost my sister in law. Thankfully we have good memories, as well as good music to help us get through the hard times.

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Kentucky music legend gets highway dedication

I always love hearing good news about good folks here in Kentucky.  Bobby Mackey recently had a stretch of highway named after him.  Now that is pretty cool because not that many country music singers can say they have a highway named after them.

Click here for the link of my article.

Back in November, I got to visit Bobby Mackey's Music World, also known as the haunted honky tonk.  It has been featured on quite a few television shows over the years.  I've taken the tour myself.  Read more about that experience here.

On May 17th, Bobby Mackey's will be having a Northern Kentucky Music Legends Benefit.  It will support the Fort Thomas Museum Exhibit.  The benefit starts at 8:00 pm with Bobby Mackey and the Big Mac Band taking the stage at 10:00 pm.  Be sure to check out more information at www.bobbymackeys.com.  Support your local music scene.

Like what you read? Be sure to check me out on Facebook & Twitter.

Prayers for James Alan Shelton

A little over 10 years ago, I was a college student at Berea College working on research papers on bluegrass music.  It was then that I had my first "big time" interview with the legendary Ralph Stanley.  It was right when "O Brother Where Art Thou" movie came out and little did we all knew at the time how successful it would be.  The person that helped me set up that interview was James Alan Shelton, Ralph's guitar player.  We formed a friendship and it has always been a pleasure speaking with him over the years.  He even went out of his way to have Ralph and all of the band members personalize my cover page of one of my research papers.  It is now in a frame.  

That interview started a fire inside me to do interviews and continue doing historic research on bluegrass, Appalachian, and country music.  By the way, I made an A+ on that paper and presentation.  I also used that interview for a couple more papers that also earned me A+.

Today I found out the news that James Alan Shelton has Stage 4 Cancer.  Not only that, the doctors said that it has spread and have given him a life expectancy of 18 months to 2 years.  He will be having chemo treatments to help slow it down.  However, you can't help but wonder why do bad things happen to good people.  

James Alan Shelton and his wife, Greta, are those people that are always willing to lend a hand to others.  Now they need our help with thoughts and prayers.  The news has been a blow for those in the bluegrass music community.  Some things we don't understand the answers to the questions.  However, we can do good deeds for others while we can.

Keep James and his family in your prayers.  

Nashville News Roundup - Week Ending 4/4/2014

Be sure to tune in during the 9AM hour each Friday on WFKY and WKFC for the Nashville News Roundup.  Here are this week's stories:

ACM Awards on Sunday

Lee Brice, Tim McGraw, Brad Paisley, Darius Rucker, Rascal Flatts and Dierks Bentley with Sheryl Crow have been added to the performance lineup for Sunday's 49th Annual ACM Awards (4/6). Clay Walker, Trisha Yearwood, Guy Fieri, LL Cool J, Jewel, Olivia Munn, Nancy O'Dell and Chris O'Donnell are among presenters. The show airs live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on CBS-TV starting at 8:00 PM EST.  Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton are co-hosting the show.

Cash Up on top

More than 10 years after his death, Johnny Cash has debuted on top of the country albums chart with the Columbia/Legacy release Out Among The Stars. The collection features 12 previously unreleased songs recorded more than 30 years ago and discovered by his son John Carter Cash. Stars sold almost 54,000 copies according to Nielsen SoundScan figures, and landed at No. 3 in the all-genre chart.

Download of the Week: Maggie Rose - Looking Back Now

Awesome Possum Fact of the Week:  On this date in 1959, Whispering Bill Anderson makes his Grand Ole Opry debut at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium. And in 1988, Dwight Yoakam and Buck Owens record "Streets Of Bakersfield" at the Capitol Recording Studios in Hollywood.

Handmade With Love

During a visit to Nashville a month ago, I stopped by shop of Manuel, the clothing designer who has outfitted a lot of folks from Johnny Cash to Dwight Yoakam to Porter Wagoner to Little Jimmy Dickens and more. If you have seen the Marty Stuart Show, you've seen his designs on Marty and his Fabulous Superlatives.  Zac Brown recently wore a really cool outfit of his on the CMA Awards when he played with Dave Mathews.  Many country music artists, as well as rock artists wear his designs.

Mr. Gnome Visits Manuel

I walked in and was just in amazement with the items throughout the store.  I had an idea in mind while I traveled to Nashville.  However, I didn't know if it was feasible and what it would cost.  I saw various scarves on display, but nothing came at me.

The young girl behind the counter and I struck up a conversation.  I told her that I was looking to do a special scarf.  I heard a voice through a curtain in the background and it was the man himself, Manuel.  He and his sons were working away on their sewing machines creating all kinds of beautiful creations.

I told him and the young girl the story behind why I wanted the scarf.  My sister in law, Karin, passed away 4 years ago this June.  I wanted to have something special, unique, and one of a kind in her memory.  What he designed and handmade is beyond the beauty of my imagination.

Today, the scarf was delivered to me.  As I opened up the package, I was in utter amazement at the craftsmanship and details.

The scarf is pure black silk with a butterfly, flowers, and rhinestones.

Karin loved the color pink, especially fuchsia pink...aka "Dolly Parton Pink" as we would call it.  She would wear that particular color of lipstick too.  She also loved butterflies, so needless to say, it was fitting to have a pink butterfly on one side of the scarf.

The other side has four flowers on a vine.  One of the flowers is pink, for my niece, and the other three are blue, for my 3 nephews.

There are also rhinestones embellished on both sides of the scarf.  Then I glanced up to the label and was in shock to see my name hand sewn on the label.  It is something I will cherish forever.

Be sure to head over to Manuel's website at www.manuelcouture.com.  You will see the other designs he has done, as well as celebrities he has outfitted over the years. 

One of a kind and unique.  Live. Laugh. Love.

Talk Derby to Me

I'm beyond excited because I just got word that my best fashionista pal, Leslie, and I are approved to provide Red Carpet Coverage for the Unbridled Eve Derby Eve Gala in Louisville.  This will be our 3rd year covering the event that is held at the Galt House in Louisville, Kentucky.  There are a ton of celebrities and fun times to be had by all.

Here are a few photos from the past couple of years.

Jessica with Meredith of the tv show The Office

Jessica with Jo Dee Messina

Jessica with Bill Fichtner from Batman movies & Prison Break

Jessica with Oscar from the tv show The Office

 

Luke Bryan and his wife at Unbridled Eve

Nashville News Roundup - Week Ending 3/7/2014

Songwriter Memories

Songwriter Lorna Flowers passed away due to cancer on Wednesday.  She was successful in Europe and established her residence in Nashville in July 2004.  Lorna was a well respected friend and business woman who helped others craft their skills.  She was friends with Rivers Rutherford and Bridgett Tatum, who Froggy listeners have known over the years.

Holly Bobo Update

There has been a break in the case in regards to Whitney Duncan's cousin, Holly Bobo.  Officials in TN have arrested Zachary Rye Adams in connection to the case for murder. 

ACM Performers Announced

Nominees Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton, George Strait, Keith Urban and The Band Perry are set to perform at the 49th Annual ACM Awards April 6 in Las Vegas. Bryan and Shelton will also host the awards, which will be broadcast live on CBS-TV. Speaking of The Band Perry, check out my review of when their We Are Pioneers tour made a stop in Corbin, Kentucky at The Arena.

Restoring Tammy Wynette's Name

Today when you visit the Woodlawn Memorial Park mausoleum site where Tammy Wynette is buried, you won't find the country music star's name on it. Instead, you see the name Virginia W. Richardson. Wynette's daughter, Georgette Jones Lennon, along with her sisters are fighting to restore her name and legacy. A Facebook group, A Restoration’ – Tammy Wynette’s Name and Legacy, has been gaining popularity among country music fans as they express their concerns of restoring the name. Get the full details here.

Handpicked Download of the Week: Jackson, KY native - Sturgill Simpson - Sitting Here Without You

Awesome Possum Fact of the Week: On this date in 2009, Jamey Johnson became a fire hazard: Hollywood Hollow in Lawsonville, North Carolina, is forced by the fire marshal to disallow more than 360 paid customers when the club is 70% above maximum occupancy. Amazingly enough, Jamey went back on stage to play over 4 hours and meet with fans afterwards.  I was at that show and talk about some fun memories!

Kentucky Bucket List Extended

Special thanks to my pals, Two Chics and a Blog, for allowing me to be a guest blogger.  I did a feature post on Kentucky Bucket List extended.  Check out that post here. Be sure to bookmark their page for all kinds of handy tips!

I'm working on another bucket list of music places.  Be on the lookout for that list soon.  Some of those items are featured in my KY Bucket List post. :-)