Capitol Records Nashville’s Caylee Hammack is back – following the release of her immense debut album – with a fiery ultimatum with her new song “All or Nothing” available today here. Hammack co-wrote (Tofer Brown and Thomas Finchum) and co-produced (Dann Huff) the track that showcases her bold vocals as she serves up a take it or leave it message. The song, yet again, demonstrates Hammack’s consistent power to deliver one strong song after the other.

“‘All Or Nothing’ has been persistently burning through my pocket since we wrote it, so I’m thankful it’s out!” shared Hammack. “This song felt fitting as the introduction to my second album coming later this year. Everybody loves a good old war cry for good love sometimes.”

Hammack will head overseas next month, bringing her universal sound to C2C Festival with performances slated in London, Dublin and Glasgow. 

Hammack has previously brought her unforgettable live set to opening slots for Reba, Darius Rucker, Chris Stapleton, Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert, Trisha Yearwood, Brad Paisley, Brothers Osborne and some of country music’s biggest festivals. She will feature as part of the ‘Introducing Nashville’ set on Friday night in London.

The track follows the release of her critically acclaimed debut album, including the release of a new version of her deeply personal song “Small Town Hypocrite” with a guest vocal by Chris Stapleton. Co-written and co-produced by Hammack, NPR and Esquire singled out the track as one of their “Best Songs of 2020.” Hammack’s breakout Top 30 single “Family Tree” marked the most-added single at Country radio by a female artist in over three years. Hammack was recently featured on several tracks from Ashley McBryde’s Lindeville including “Brenda Put Your Bra On,” “Bonfire at Tina’s,” and “When Will I Be Loved.” 

The post SINGLE REVIEW: All or Nothing – Caylee Hammack appeared first on off the record.

Alan Jackson is returning to his hometown next month to headline a special concert event benefitting relief efforts in Newnan, Georgia – he’ll be joined by a multi-talented lineup led by multi-platinum entertainer Chris Young, singer-songwriter-producer Caylee Hammack, singer-songwriter Adam Wright and country artist Brian Wright, the latter two both – like Jackson – Newnan natives.

Where I Come From: Tornado Benefit Featuring Alan Jackson will take place on the 26th June at Newnan’s Coweta County Fairgrounds (275 Pine Rd., Newnan GA, 30263). Tickets for the event go on sale this Friday, May 21 at 10:00am ET at AlanJacksonBenefit.com; ticket prices start at $49.99, and pre-sale opportunities are available. Detailed information regarding the concert is also available at AlanJacksonBenefit.com.

Proceeds from Where I Come From: Tornado Benefit Featuring Alan Jackson will benefit the Coweta Community Foundation, which is managing charitable efforts to help the people of Newnan in the wake of the storm (more info below). Donations to the Foundation’s relief efforts can be made via their website.

On March 26, an EF-4 tornado – just shy of the most-powerful ranking on the National Weather Service’s scale – ripped across Newnan…the city where Jackson and his wife, Denise were born, raised, met and married. At least 70 homes were completely destroyed, many others suffered major damage, and – all told – over 1700 structures were impacted and compromised.

“After the tornadoes came through Newnan I knew that I wanted to do what I could to help my hometown. I started working on an idea to do some kind of benefit in Nashville to help those affected in Newnan, but then heard from a group of leaders in Newnan,” Jackson stated when the event was officially announced earlier this week. “I’m glad we came up with a way to bring this show to my hometown…and I’m happy to be helping the people who need it most.”

Cornerstone Building Brands is the presenting sponsor of Where I Come From: Tornado Benefit Featuring Alan Jackson. The event is driven by Southtowne Chevrolet. Additional details are available at AlanJacksonBenefit.com.

The post Alan Jackson Announces Special Benefit Concert Event appeared first on off the record.

Singer/songwriter Caylee Hammack has released a new version of her hit track Small Town Hypocrite with a guest vocal by Chris Stapleton, available here.  The track has always been a stunningly personal and intimate track, but the addition of Stapleton’s signature vocal has added a magic touch that really enhances the tone of this track. Hammack hand illustrated the single art for the special release of the track, depicting the trailer featured in the vulnerable lyrics.

“My one whim for this song was to hear Chris Stapleton accompany me on it”, shared Hammack. “Two years after I spoke this wish out loud in the studio, Chris agreed to sing the part I had written in hopes of hearing his voice on it. Life is a beautiful full circle sometimes. I am so grateful to Chris for singing on this song.”

Co-written and co-produced by Hammack, NPR and Esquire singled out Small Town Hypocrite as one of their ‘Best Songs of 2020’ and the acclaim continues to stack up.

“A song of the year.” – Stereogum 

“A devastating ballad about the guy who broke her heart that felt so intimately specific, with weary anger so finely honed, that it was hard to imagine what heights Hammack could reach on her second album.” – Rolling Stone 

“So well-written and communicated… Never fitting in, sacrificing a scholarship for love, being cheated on and realizing mistakes, it’s all here in elegantly scored music — sighing steel guitars and murmuring keys — that sports hooks, urgency and a chorus that comfortably sticks in your ear.” – NPR

“The track is a perfect wonder… The lyric is extraordinary… The vocal performance is quite moving, radiating vulnerability, heartache, bitterness and honesty. All in all, a fabulous little record.” – Music Row

“Hammack bares her soul on the deeply personal “Small Town Hypocrite,” a heartbreaking story song about trusting the wrong person.” – Billboard

“A devastating ballad from a new singer.” – Washington Post 

“Powerful.”– Paste 

“The story of the heartbreak that got her here.” – CMT

The post SINGLE REVIEW: Small Town Hypocrite ft. Chris Stapleton – Caylee Hammack appeared first on off the record.

20. Cam – The Otherside

This year, Cam made her long-awaited and majestic return to the scene with The Otherside. A pop-tinged country record with a weighty agenda, with masterfully crafted songwriting including cuts from Sam Smith and Harry Styles.

Stand-out Tracks: ‘Forgetting You When I’m Alone’ / ‘Like A Movie’

19. Maddie & Tae – The Way It Feels

One of the surprisingly highest contenders on our list of most-listened to albums of the year. Frankly, in a year of mundanity and low spirits, Maddie & Tae brought a deliciously, frothy country-pop album filled with some really mature and thoughtful songwriting.

Stand-out Tracks: ‘Drunk or Lonely’ / ‘Water In His Wineglass’

18. HARDY – A Rock

This record has surely elevated HARDY’s career to another level. Infusing heavy-hitting rock sounds and a Southern country twang, HARDY’s debut record is a stellar pointer of things to come that embraces his more personal stories.

Stand-out Tracks: ‘A ROCK’ / ‘BOYFRIEND’

17. The Secret Sisters – Saturn Returns

The Secret Sisters collaborated with Brandi Carlile on their record Saturn Returns that offers a majestic, celestial-tinged sound and thoughtfully-crafted songwriting.

Stand-out Tracks: ‘Silver’

16. Brandy Clark – Your Life is a Record

Throughout Brandy Clark’s career she has always placed strong and thoughtful songwriting at the centre of her craft. On Your Life is a Record, she takes this a step further on her deeply introspective record that looks at the entirety of a relationship – the highs and lows and heartbreak, with a poignant and gritty analysis.

Stand-out Tracks: ‘Your Life is a Record’ / ‘I’ll Be The Sad Song’

15. Hailey Whitters – The Dream

Hailey Whitters made a huge impression with her debut record The Dream that featured whimsical, intensely thoughtful songwriting with an unusual, stunning vocal tone.This is record to stand the test of time.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘All The Cool Girls’ / ‘Red, Wine & Blue’

14. Russell Dickerson – Southern Symphony

Russell Dickerson’s sophomore record offers a layer of maturity, delving a layer deeper than his debut record. The record also reveals yet more layers to his astonishing vocal – just listen to ‘Honey’ for proof.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘Southern Symphony’

13. The Chicks – Gaslighter

The Chicks returned this year with their first record in over a decade and it was worth the wait. This is perhaps the most painfully intimate and personal record we have ever heard, the harmonies as tight as ever and the songwriting transcendent.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘Tights On My Boat’ / ‘Hope It’s Something Good’

12. Brothers Osborne – Skeletons

In a year without live music, Brothers Osborne released the most bombastic and energetic record, who’s energy leaps off the vinyl grooves. It’s simply built for a live performance, showing the duo pivot and build yet again on their previous material.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘Dead Man’s Curve’ / ‘All Night’

11. Gabe Lee – Honky Tonk Hell

A quietly understated record, Lee’s album meanders with quiet conviction, filled with songwriting that paints a vivid and compelling picture and story. Lee’s vocal is gritty and bold, with stunning instrumentation and he’ll sure as hell be one to watch in the coming years.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘Imogene’

10. Carly Pearce – Carly Pearce

Carly Pearce’s self-titled record showcases her range to full effect from the more heavily pop-overlaid ‘Call Me’ to the heavy vocals on country track ‘Dashboard Jesus’ – the scope of Pearce is laid out here and it’s immense.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘I Hope You’re Happy Now’ / ‘It Won’t Always Be Like This’

9. Tenille Townes – The Lemonade Stand

Tenille Townes debut record brims with a quiet confidence and understated intensity, passion and extraordinarily slick production – this is a flawless project from start to finish. Townes is only just getting started and this record is a powerful opener.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘The Most Beautiful Things’

8. Ruthie Collins –  Cold Comfort

Ignore Ruthie Collins at your detriment – Cold Comfort is one of the most stunning, layered and complex albums we have heard in a while. Exquisite songwriting that paints a vivid and nostalgic picture, it’s phenomenally poised. 

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘Wish You Were Here’

7. Gone West – Canyons

2020 was very on brand when Gone West announced that their debut album was also going to be their only record. We were so excited about this whimsical, light-touched and joyful debut and wanted more of this California country sound.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘I’m Never Getting Over You’

6. Kip Moore – Wild World

Kip Moore’s signature gritty sound was imbued throughout this record that delved a layer deeper and darker into Moore’s psyche, revealing his fears, regrets and deepest desires in a profoundly more mature record.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘South’ 

5. Ingrid Andress – Lady Like

Andress has had an extraordinary year, with Grammy and CMA nominations under her belt, alongside a huge spotlight on her debut record Lady Like. Rightly so, having earned her stripes with huge pop cuts, Andress’ pop-country sound or as she deems it ’emo country’ puts into words the deepest parts of the human psyche and their attitude to love and loss.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘More Hearts Than Mine’ / ‘Anything But Love’

4. Brett Eldredge – Sunday Drive

Do not let 2020 slip you by without hearing Brett Eldredge’s Sunday Drive that probes into the meaning of love and life and everything in between. It’s deeply soulful and offers a signpost of where Eldredge’s new sound may go – into newly powerful and profound territory

Stand-Out Track: ‘Sunday Drive’

3. Caylee Hammack – If It Wasn’t For You

Hammack is a tour de force and her debut record showcases her extraordinary, powerful vocal that brims with personality. She lays her life and her relationship history bare on this record that is both incredibly personal and universal. This is a special piece of work.

Stand-Out Track: ‘Forged In The Fire’ / ‘Small Town Hypocrite’

2. Ashley McBryde – Never Will

McBryde had big shoes to follow following her debut record Girl Going Nowhere that was a sensation. Never Will does just that, layering her delightfully vulnerable vocal with laces of rock production. It’s clever and shrewd, creating stories upon stories, artfully weaving the entire project together seamlessly.

Stand-Out Track: ‘Voodoo Doll’

1. Chris Stapleton – Starting Over

Included on Obama’s favourite music of the year – the man has taste. Stapleton releases a flawless record once again, intricate songwriting and his signature vocal – a combination that will never get old.

Stand-Out Tracks: ‘You Should Probably Leave’

The post The 20 Best Country and Americana Albums of 2020 appeared first on off the record.

From the opening vocal on her first single ‘Family Tree,’ it was safe to say that we were addicted to Caylee Hammack’s voice and have been waiting with baited breath for the release of her first full-length record. Having spent time as a staff  writer at Universal, Hammack honed her songwriting chops and craft – the result being a debut record that is thoughtful, fiery and so unique in its sound and presentation that it could only come from an artist who truly knows her inner artistic essence.

The record opens with vintage-tinged track ‘Just Friends’ before developing into a more heavily rock-tinged ballad. The complexity of Hammack’s vocal should not be understated, riffing into an unfathomable range packed with character, from quieter moments to fire-fuelled highs. These sassy moments are what initially captivate and make Hammack instantly likeable. So ‘Redhead’ is a jewel in the record – the duet we didn’t know we had always needed with Reba. The song is as fierce as they come, as the two artists sing about raising a redhead

One of the early highlights on the record is stunning track ‘Looking for a Lighter.’ As Hammack told us in an interview last month, the track was inspired by her 23rd birthday and finding photographs of her ex in her kitchen junk drawer. The track is heartbreakingly universal about finding unwanted memories in unexpected moments. Hammack is an artist who truly knows who she is and what she wants, down to the specifics of the touches of sandpaper on the production – it is perhaps this that really demarcates her as a truly unique and special artist. Where sassy tracks like ‘Redhead’ make Hammack instantly memorable and likeable as an artist, it is these quieter moments that really showcase her tender artistry and her ability to capture the hearts and imaginations of her listeners in her thoughtful and poignant lyrics. So, ‘Forged In The Fire’ a track about creating yourself and growing up, ‘When does a phoenix learn how to fly? Do I get my wings when I stop asking why?‘ is so universal and powerful, a track about Hammack finding herself as an artist. The imagery that Hammack conjures through just a few lines is her trademark and what makes her so special as a songwriter and artist.

The record is as varied as they come – with anthemic ‘Preciatcha’ followed by empowering track ‘Sister’ that is uplifting and provides a true showcase of Hammack’s vocal talents.’When did you make yourself lonely? Thinking that you ain’t got nobody, you’ve got me.’ Hammack’s vocal soars with a more pure tone in this track in this majestic and heart wrenching track, before heading into another rock-tinged sassy track -‘Just Like You.’ ‘Imma be just like you.’ A gutsy vocal in the final part of the track gives it fire.

With Mikey Reaves as her producer, the duo have accomplished something very special – pulling a huge breadth and diversity of sound under one immensely polished and refined umbrella, seamlessly pulling together the more sensual ‘King Sized Bed,’ the bombastic ‘Family Tree’ and ‘Small Town Hypocrite’ together. ‘Family Tree’ was Hammack’s debut single and it stands the test of time as a joyous celebration of family and small town life. ‘It don’t matter cos’ the roots run deep. Ain’t nothing gonna shake our family tree.’ Whereas, ‘Small Town Hypocrite’ is the jewel in the crown of this record, an autobiographical and painfully honest depiction of Hammack’s first love and what went wrong. ‘Took all my dreams and I put them in the box, phantom pains for the wings I lost… seven years and never got the hint, ain’t that some s**t.’ The track is intensely personal and poignant and Hammack’s vocal is heartbreaking here, nearly cracking with the emotion of the single by the last verse.

Hammack’s shrewd eye for detail is clear in her choice to bring in friends Ashley McBryde and Tenille Townes on ‘Mean Something’ – two of the most unique voices in country music right now join her for this flawless track about wanting to mean something, and their passion shines through.

‘Gold’ is the most stripped back moment on the record, an interlude before the final track – ‘New Level Of Life.’ This last rounds out the record and feels like a middle finger to Hammack’s ex from small town hypocrite, and is a joyous celebration of your own successes.

Hammack has created something truly majestic with her debut record, and it is a credit to Mikey Reaves to have pulled this together. An incredibly diverse record in terms of lyrics and sonically, yet the result is packaged together seamlessly in a fiery, sassy yet heartfelt record. Take note, Hammack’s trajectory goes way beyond Nashville and 2020.

The post Caylee Hammack – If It Wasn’t For You Album Review appeared first on off the record.

Hi Caylee, it’s so good to speak to you. This is a pretty huge day with the release of your track with Alan Jackson. Are you able to wrap your head around that?

No! I’ll be honest, people have asked me how I feel about it and I’m still a little blown away that he was able to do this and that I was able to cover a song that meant so much to me, I’m such a Don Williams fan.

It’s such a special track. You have such a traditional element in your music with a modern twist and so it was nice to see the combination come together.

Thank you so much Imogen.

Though we didn’t manage to get to see you at C2C, I had the opportunity to see you at CMT Next Women of Country in November and I remember you played ‘Small Town Hypocrite’ and it hadn’t been released yet but it was one of those special moments. You had a standing ovation and everyone got chills. Can you talk a bit about that track, because obviously it’s such a personal and autobiographical track?

Oh yeah, it’s a funny story just because some people joke at me for saying so many curse words in it, but actually it’s funny because this is the song they sent to Alan Jackson to see if he’d be willing to sing with me and introduce him to me. His response was ‘I love her voice but man she says s**t a lot,’ which I thought was so funny.

Anyways, the reason that it’s as candid as it is, it was about the first heartache of my life, it is the heartbreak that kept me in my hometown for an extra year after high school that made me turn around a really great scholarship to the school of my dreams here in Nashville. It really set the beginning of my life. It was the first love of my life, when I told him I was leaving because I had this scholarship to move to Nashville, he told me he couldn’t go on without me so I stayed. I chose love instead of my dreams. Anyways, when all of that happened, a few months after the scholarship was out of reach, I found out he was running around on me. I was like ‘screw you,’ and I wandered around my hometown for about a year, trying to figure it out. If I’d already given up dreams and now love has given up on me, what the hell do I have? I tried to find a new guy thinking that would make me happy and then I got into this other relationship but realised that that didn’t make me happy either, it was just a placeholder of some sort. Finally, I was like ‘dreams have never let me down, I’ve let them down.’ I was done betting on the wrong horse, I put all of my clothes in trash bags and I drove to Nashville. I stayed in a Target parking lot, I stayed there for a few weeks, I snuck into a honky tonk.

I started my life over, but a few years later, I was a staff writer at Universal. One day I was just talking to a friend about the love of his life – the first one – and I talked about my first love and how I got a phone call from a friend about how he had moved in with a woman. I asked her where she lived and she said in a little trailer on the side of town with a couple of kids. I just thought ‘you said the reason we didn’t work was we were just so close, we were almost living together at the time, we just were moving too fast.’

The thing I also love about that track particularly is the level of detail that you go into, but the way that you are able to still make it a universal track. One of my favourite lines is still ‘phantom pains for the wings I lost’  – that lyric can relate to anyone, but then you have more specific details, do you lead with those specifics or the concepts?

Literally, I started a song yesterday, I sat down on my couch and I started the song with two writers as ‘one of the dogs is sitting…’ I love starting off with things that are happening in my life, if it’s significant to me and it meant something to me and I can express it to someone else and they connect then that’s what I love, when I can take intimate parts of my life and share them in an open way. It’s really funny that you say that line, because that seems to be the line that most women especially have connected to and written about. 

One little thing I want to tell you about that song, because I don’t get to say it too much. Seven years, that’s the only part of the song that is not true, I added the ‘years’ because there’s a saying that every seven years your body has regenerated every single cell in your body. My thought was, we were only together for about a year and a half and it just wrecked me – it’s so funny how fast I can fall in love – but the thing is, I sat there and I thought ‘in seven years, there will not be one part of me that you have touched or shaped or made, in seven years I will be a completely new person and you’ll have nothing on me.’ That’s why I put that in. So many women have messaged me about these seven year relationships that have fallen through, I always thought that was so weird that that was the part I added, seven because seven is also the number of completion, it’s a holy number and it has really stood out in my life, that’s why I put that in. It’s crazy that that’s the verse that people seem to connect to the most and I love that that was the hardest part to write of the song. It makes me happy when people connect with the thing that was most hard to put down on paper. 

I think that’s the magic, when people connect so much to something like that. Obviously the follow-up to that track was the one you collaborated on with Reba – ‘Redhead.’ What did it mean to you to record that track with her?

It was wild! It is so wild to me, even thinking back to it now that Reba McEntire and Alan Jackson have been willing to sing with me. These are two people who are so iconic in my childhood and my entire life, when I was starting to grow this love and passion for country music, so to have her on this song… It was a fluke of a situation and a manifestation that I threw out in the air one time with my manager. She was like ‘I know that you’re going to have your friends on this album like Ashley and Tenille and that’s great, but are there any big names that you haven’t met yet.’ I said I wanted Reba on ‘Redhead,’ how cool would that be to have the redhead on the song that I wrote that was inspired by my fiery red-headed cousin and I wanted to write for the fiery red-headed women in my life. Anyway, it was so cool, our managers talked one day and said ‘yeah Reba really likes her’ and my manager said ‘well, why don’t you listen to this song…’ She played ‘Redhead’ for him and he wanted to play it for Reba, they played her the song and asked if she wanted to sing on it. It is just crazy how if you put something out in the universe, even if it’s a crazy dream sometimes it can happen. That was my crazy dream on this album. 

I think there’s also something to be said for the fact that – everyone talks about women in country music and how difficult is to get on radio – women in country music are really supporting each other at the moment. We need to talk more about how the women in community are so amazing to other women.

Yeah, my thing is, I get asked all the time about how we think the industry will become better to women and I’m like ‘hire more women.’ Women are the ones, especially behind the scenes, that are making this happen for female artists and helping promote them. They are the people who hear that there is an absence of female voices. We’re like ‘where is the voice that is telling my story? Where is it?’ I’m just so grateful that you’re doing what you’re doing as well and taking an interest in female artists. 

Tenille and Ashley are two of my closest friends and we have created this friendship over the past year or two. With the whole industry being the way it is, it kind of puts this idea in your head that there can only be one big woman at a time, which is just bulls**t. There are so many slots for so many types of music, you look at the world. We do this thing together every week, us three, we get drunk and sing covers together on my backporch. I have big old chairs from Goodwill. It has been such a soul reviving therapy session for me every week to be around these women, because any time something happens and I feel defeated, I call one of them and they say ‘yeah, been there, trust me it gets better.’ I think, until we rally around each other and introduce more women to the workplace in country music and the industry in general, until all women in the industry start to bind together and create really strong unions and we’re able to get enough women hired, I don’t think we can truly change anything. We’re the ones that have the ability to change it. I don’t get how you can hear these women and not promote them.

Well it’s hard to not talk about your debut record ‘If It Wasn’t For You.’ It’s hard to believe it’s only the debut because there’s so much depth in that record and there’s so much in there. ‘Looking For A Lighter’ is one of my favourite tracks at the moment, it’s so stunning. Can you again talk about that one, because again you wrote that one with some incredible songwriters?

That first verse, I wrote for myself, I wrote it in my house on my twenty-third birthday. On my birthday, I give myself a pass. I can drink a whole bottle of liquor, I can smoke a whole pack of cigarettes, I can roll a j, I can kill a person. It’s my day. It doesn’t matter, it’s my birthday (laughs). I woke up and had this idea that God was going to birthday gift me a song idea, that’s all I wanted for my birthday was a killer idea. I sat there playing, playing, playing for a couple of hours and nothing was coming up. Eleven o’clock and I was like ‘damn, I haven’t come up with anything worthwhile.’ I’m fed up and I go to my kitchen junk drawer to get a lighter, I’m going to light something, sit on my back porch and just hang out for a while. I go to my kitchen drawer and I pull it out. I have to yank it and when I do, all this stuff comes to the front and the first thing I see is a fake ID that I realised that day that I caught up with. Anyway, I realised ‘oh god, I’ve caught up to the age I’d always pretended to be’ and there was just this weird feeling, I keep looking through that junk drawer and I find letters from the boy that ‘Small Town Hypocrite’ is written about, the one that really broke me but for some reason, sentimental me, wanted to hold onto these letters and keep them in the kitchen drawer. I find them and I pick them up, I’m bawling my eyes out, every time I try to cut loose, even in my kitchen junk drawer, you sneak up on me. I was like ‘I’ve got to stop smoking, because the only time I run into you is when I want to cut loose this way.’ I wrote that first verse and it was really about what was happening that day. I brought it into Hillary Lindsey and Gordie Sampson and I played it to them at the end of the write and Hillary said ‘I never do this, because I don’t want to be a jerk but will you please save that idea for us, so we can get back together and write it because I want to write that for you.’ I thought ‘ok that’s fine.’ That’s not a name you pass on. It was so cool to write it with her. One producer thing I want to tell you about – in the back, that’s not a steel brush on a snare, that’s actually sandpaper. In the studio, I actually sent a runner out from the studio to get sandpaper and a piece of plywood and the drummer sat there. I love making weird sounds like that, even The Beach Boys did that to create new sounds. There’s something about that song and all my music, I want to put elements of my family and my life in it and when I think about ‘Looking For A Lighter’ it’s kind of this eventual grind of learning to not run into you, whatever it is.

Mikey Reaves was the producer on the record, how did that partnership happen?

It’s funny but I sat down with my publisher when it came time to write the record and she threw out all these names in Nashville, but every time I work with a big producer, I get lost somewhere in the process. So, what I wanted to do was be a co-producer – I’ve found in my life that when I take a chance on someone who’s young and hungry, like I was, I have ten times more success than ever working on a huge, established name. My thing is, none of us have infinite ideas, so when there’s a majority of five big producers in town, who are producing all the artists, how can you really be completely different. That’s why I wanted to work with someone who was young and eager, also I would love for my debut album to be someone else’s debut album. We’re putting out our first major label album together and that just spreads the excitement.

What do you hope people do take away from this album then as listeners? 

There is an app called the ‘Pattern,’ so mine today was talking about ‘You have the ability to create a safe space for people to feel their emotions, you just have to remain true to yourself.’ I just sat there and thought, that is so weird. I’ve told people that my main goal was always to create a sonic safe space, where people can listen to the album in their kitchen. I just wanted people to be washing dishes and be looking out of the window, singing ‘Looking for a Lighter.’ It’s just been so much fun and getting to put out music that is a diary entry to myself. It’s such a beautiful gift because the songs that were hardest for me to write are the songs that people connect to the most, like ‘Forged In The Fire,’ and ‘Sister.’ Rupi Kaur has this quote ‘to be vulnerable is to be powerful.’ If I can be 100% vulnerable in my music and just put it out there, even if it’s not perfect it adds to the authenticity of it, if people feel like someone is doing that, people know you’re showing your true self. Even if I don’t meet anyone who listens to this record, I want it to feel like they are.

Follow Caylee Hammack on Instagram | Facebook | Twitter

The post In Conversation With… Caylee Hammack appeared first on off the record.

1.The Dixie Chicks rename to become The Chicks, sign new management deal and release new track ‘March March’

2. Dan + Shay and Luke Bryan move tours  to 2021

3. Caylee Hammack announces debut album ‘If It Wasn’t For You’

The record will feature Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes and Reba, alongside her debut singles ‘Family Tree,’ and ‘Small Town Hypocrite.’

4. Lindsay Ell announces sophomore album ‘Heart Theory‘ on August 14th

Release Radar

Brett Eldredge, ‘Sunday Drive’ – Is this the best Brett Eldredge track ever released? A stunning, lyrical track that Eldredge found in the archives when he was working as an intern at Universal Music Publishing. The track is rammed with soul and meaning and we can’t get enough.

Cassadee Pope, ‘Let Me Go’ – This track beckons in the new era of Pope’s music ahead of the release of her forthcoming acoustic record. The track is powerful and showcases Pope’s vocal to perfection.

Caylee Hammack ft. Reba ‘Redhead’ – The collaboration we always needed, Hammack shows why she is a star in the making in this anthemic, bombastic track that we are playing on repeat.

Eric Church, ‘Stick That In Your Country Song’ – If a song was a smokeshow, this would be it, Church blisters through this track about country music, full of pent up anger and angst. Damn, son.

Lauren Alaina ft. Trisha Yearwood, ‘Getting Good’ – A collaboration we didn’t see coming but are obsessed with, we loved this track when it was released, but having Yearwood on the track has brought it to the next level. Wow.

Lindsay Ell, ‘Want Me Back’ – Does Ell just keep getting better and better? We think so, if this blistering track is anything to go by.

Louise Parker, ‘Lie To Me’ – If this is what Parker’s new music is like, then we’re onboard. More of this please!

Tenille Townes, ‘The Lemonade Stand’ – Tenille’s debut album is here and we are utterly obsessed. Check out Georgie Thorogood’s review here.

The post Your Weekly Country Music News Roundup: 22nd June – 29th June 2020 appeared first on off the record.

Caylee Hammack is sharing more details on her forthcoming debut album If It Wasn’t For You. The star has just released a blistering new track with Reba, ‘Redhead,’ but that is not the only collaboration on the record, which also shows collaborations with Ashley McBryde and Tenille Townes. ‘Redhead’ is a fabulous track, co-written with Trent Dabbs and Natalie Hemby.

Hammack who has always had a handle on producing her music, fully co-writes and co-produces throughout the record, which features an array of other prolific songwriters, including Laura Veltz and Gordie Sampson.

Caylee Hammack’s If It Wasn’t for You Track Listing:

1. “Just Friends” (Caylee Hammack, Aaron Raitiere, Mikey Reaves)
2. “Redhead” (feat. Reba McEntire) (Trent Dabbs, Caylee Hammack, Natalie Hemby)
3. “Looking for a Lighter” (Caylee Hammack, Hillary Lindsey, Gordie Sampson)
4. “Preciatcha” (Caylee Hammack, Jordan Schmidt, Laura Veltz)
5. “Sister” (Blake Bollinger, April Geesbreght, Caylee Hammack)
6. “Just Like You” (Caylee Hammack, Blake Hubbard, Jarrod Ingram)
7. “King Size Bed” (Caylee Hammack, Thomas “Tawgs” Salter, Gordie Sampson, Troy Verges)
8. “Forged in the Fire” (Thomas Finchum, Caylee Hammack, Andy Skib)
9. “Family Tree” (Caylee Hammack, Gordie Sampson, Troy Verges)
10. “Mean Something” (feat. Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes) (Caylee Hammack, Mikey Reaves)
11. “Small Town Hypocrite” (Caylee Hammack, Jared Scott)
12. “Gold” (Caylee Hammack)
13. “New Level of Life” (Caylee Hammack, Aaron Raitiere, Connor Thuotte)

The post Caylee Hammack Shares Details On Her Forthcoming Debut Album appeared first on off the record.

Announced this week, the nominees for the 2020 ACM Awards are in. The nominees were announced Thursday morning with Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett and Producer Dann Huff each receiving five nominations. Reigning Duo of the Year Dan + Shay earned four nominations. ACM Award-winning producer busbee was posthumously nominated for two awards. Urban who has won 15 ACM Awards in his time, will host the awards for the first time this year.

Entertainer of the Year
Luke Bryan
Eric Church
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Carrie Underwood

Yet another EOTY category where women are under-represented. We hope Carrie finally wins this one and gets what she deserves after that CMA snub. Still, this category has definitely been shaken up with 4/5 of the nominees not selected in 2019, and two (Combs and Rhett have never been nominated before).

Prediction: Luke Combs

Female Artist of the Year
Kelsea Ballerini
Miranda Lambert
Maren Morris
Kacey Musgraves
Carrie Underwood

This is such a stacked category, yet there is one artist that was clearly snubbed, having won her first Grammys this year – Tanya Tucker. Still, we can’t think of any of these women we want removed from this list to give her space, so we’re going to let that one slide…

Prediction: Miranda Lambert

Male Artist of the Year
Dierks Bentley
Luke Combs
Thomas Rhett
Chris Stapleton
Keith Urban

There’s a few notable names snubbed from this list – including Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, yet this trio have been so heavily awarded in the past, it seems time to give the awards on to new nominees, still we would have loved to see Kane Brown on this list…

Prediction: Luke Combs

Duo of the Year
Brooks & Dunn
Brothers Osborne
Dan + Shay
Florida Georgia Line
Maddie and Tae

It’s been one hell of a year for all of these nominees, yet it feels like Dan & Shay have entered new territory with their latest record and collaboration with Justin Bieber.

Prediction: Dan + Shay

Group of the Year
Lady Antebellum
Little Big Town
Midland
Old Dominion
The Highwomen

We are loving the fact that The Highwomen made their way onto their list. What we’re not loving? That Runaway June didn’t. It’s been a huge year for all of the bands on this list, releasing new records, tours and babies, still there’s one group we’re putting our money behind in shaking up the country landscape…

Prediction: The Highwomen

New Female Artist of the Year
Ingrid Andress
Gabby Barrett
Lindsay Ell
Caylee Hammack
Tenille Townes

When you look at this list, it seems incredible that country radio are still not supporting women. This list is full of the future of Nashville in powerful songwriting, vocals and vision, and if we’re honest, we want them all to win.

Prediction: Caylee Hammack

New Male Artist of the Year
Jordan Davis
Russell Dickerson
Riley Green
Cody Johnson
Morgan Wallen

This is another stacked list, and another it’s hard to differentiate one name from. We’d have loved to have seen Mitchell Tenpenny make this list..

Prediction: Morgan Wallen

Album of the Year
Center Point Road – Thomas Rhett
Girl – Maren Morris
Heartache Medication – Jon Pardi
What You See Is What You Get – Luke Combs
Wildcard – Miranda Lambert

Dare we say it? We wish that Thomas Rhett’s record had been replaced by Lady Antebellum’s on this list, which feels like a notable snub to a body of work that we believed was so strong.

Prediction: Girl – Maren Morris

Single of the Year
“God’s Country” – Blake Shelton
“One Man Band” – Old Dominion
“Rainbow” – Kacey Musgraves
“Rumor” – Lee Brice
“What If I Never Get Over You” – Lady Antebellum

Luke Combs’ material feels notably absent from this list, with the huge success of songs like ‘Beer Never Broke My Heart,’ colour us shocked. Still, there was one song that really hit home this year…

Prediction: “What If I Never Get Over You” – Lady Antebellum

Song of the Year
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay feat. Justin Bieber
“Girl Goin’ Nowhere” – Ashley McBryde
“God’s Country” – Blake Shelton
“One Man Band” – Old Dominion
“Some of It” – Eric Church

Again, we’re shocked at the Luke Combs’ snubs, but there was one song that stood out at the CMAs and continues to stand out here.

Prediction: “God’s Country” – Blake Shelton

Video of the Year
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay feat. Justin Bieber
“God’s Country – Blake Shelton
“One Man Band” – Old Dominion
“Remember You Young” – Thomas Rhett
“Sugarcoat” – Little Big Town

No words, just give the video a watch…

Prediction: “Remember You Young” – Thomas Rhett

Songwriter of the Year
Ashley Gorley
Michael Hardy
Hillary Lindsey
Shane McAnally
Josh Osborne

We’re shocked that Nicole Gallyon did not make the cut for this list, and we’re waiting for the day when Josh Kerr does.

Prediction: Ashley Gorley

Music Event of the Year
“10,000 Hours” – Dan + Shay feat. Justin Bieber
“Dive Bar” – Garth Brooks feat. Blake Shelton
“Fooled Around and Fell in Love” – Miranda Lambert feat. Maren Morris, Ashley McBryde, Tenille Townes, Caylee Hammack, and Elle King
“Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus
“What Happens in a Small Town” – Brantley Gilbert feat. Lindsay Ell

It took the world by storm, so it wouldn’t seem right but to give the award to….

Prediction: “Old Town Road” – Lil Nas X feat. Billy Ray Cyrus

The 2020 ACM Awards will take place on April 4th.

The post 2020 ACM Awards Nominations: Our Thoughts, Predictions and Shocks appeared first on off the record.

1.Announcement of Destination Country’s second fan event

We’re thrilled to announce that our second fan experience event will be with none other than Willie Jones. Head on over to Destination Country to enter the competition to win a pair of tickets.

2. Gretchen Peters Announces New Record

3. Shay Mooney and wife welcome baby number 2

Shay Mooney and wife Hannah welcome second baby boy, Ames Alexander Mooney.

4. Maddie & Tae’s Taylor Dye marries songwriter Josh Kerr

Taylor Dye, of Maddie and Tae, marries Josh Kerr.

5. Tim McGraw signs again with Big Machine Records

6. Willie Nelson Announces Seventieth Studio Album First Rose of Spring

7. Frankie Ballard and wife welcome baby daughter

8. Kalie Shorr debuts new emotional video for ‘Escape’

9. Hunter Hayes sings on The Bachelor

10. Maren Morris becomes first woman with multi-week number one since 2012

2 weeks at number 1. If I can be honest, I really thought the only way this could ever happen is if I was the feature artist on a guy’s song. Sitting here seeing my name at the top of a chart at all is rare, but to break this 8 year streak just feels so unbelievable. Thank you. pic.twitter.com/lOKVovtFbj

— MAREN MORRIS (@MarenMorris) February 16, 2020

______________________________

Release Reviews in 10 Words

O&O, ‘Dancing on the Floor’ – fun, rock-tinged track that takes O&O in a new brave direction

RaeLynn, ‘Keep Up,’ – fun, sassy track from the queen of fun

Ashley McBryde, ‘First Thing I Reach For’ – emotional, yet again McBryde knocks it out of the park

Jimmie Allen & Noah Cyrus, ‘This is Us’ – Allen is headed in the right direction – stardom

Caylee Hammack, ‘Small Town Hypocrite,’ – favourite of Hammack’s tracks so far, raw, real, emotional, powerful

Adam Hambrick, ‘Midnight in Montgomery,’ – Wow. Hambrick is the king of emotional songwriting.

______________________________

Follow us on Instagram / Twitter / Facebook for the latest updates.

The post Your News Round-Up – 17th – 24th February appeared first on off the record.