Dustin Lynch

“Shhh!”

The note on the Bluebird Café’s Facebook page says it all: customers who visit the Nashville songwriters club – instrumental in the development of Garth Brooks, Faith Hill and Kathy Mattea – are expected to keep quiet and listen to the words from some of Music City’s most influential composers. Listening has an added benefit – it gives the listener a chance to learn.

That’s how singer-songwriter Dustin Lynch used the Bluebird. And he used it intensely. He rented an apartment behind the venue’s back parking lot and literally walked to the Bluebird several times a week to listen and learn about the mysterious art of creating songs from some of Nashville’s most important writers. Don Schlitz (“The Gambler”), Tony Arata (“The Dance”), Paul Overstreet (“Forever And Ever, Amen”) – all are mainstays of the Bluebird legend, and it was at their proverbial feet that he picked up key insights about the writing process. …continue reading

Deana Carter

Deana Carter managed to defy conventional expectations and unexpectedly shot to the top of the country charts upon the release of her 1996 debut, Did I Shave My Legs for This?. Carter’s success was equally unexpected considering that she didn’t quite fit into the mold of a standard female contemporary country singer. Melding the popular appeal of country music with folksy singer/songwriters like Mary Chapin Carpenter and a more retro-rock edge like Sheryl Crow, Carter racked up both positive reviews and healthy sales with Did I Shave My Legs for This?, becoming a huge success. …continue reading

Dailey & Vincent

Jamie Dailey and Darrin Vincent had all the qualifications to develop one of the most entertaining shows taking stages today, so they did. The Dailey & Vincent partnership become one of the most applauded acts in the bluegrass community only a year after forming.

Five years later, they have continued the climb to become one of the most sought after acts in the genre. An act whose star power, have led to performances and collaborations with some of the greatest talents, on some of the biggest stages, exposing their music to hundreds of new fans each week. …continue reading

America

The year 2010 marked the 40th Anniversary of perennial classic-rock favorite, America. Founding members, Gerry Beckley and Dewey Bunnell (along with former band mate Dan Peek) met in high school in London in the late 1960s and quickly harmonized their way to the top of the charts on the strength of their signature song “A Horse With No Name”. America became a global household name and paved the way with an impressive string of hits following the success of their first #1 single. Forty years later, these friends are still making music together, touring the world and thrilling audiences with their timeless sound.

America’s journey has found them exploring a wide variety of musical terrain. Their best-known tunes, which also include “I Need You,” “Ventura Highway,” “Don’t Cross The River,” “Tin Man,” “Lonely People,” and “Sister Golden Hair” were cornerstones of 1970’s Top 40 and FM rock radio. Yet beyond their impressive catalog of hits, listeners would discover there was always much more to America than surface perceptions. The combination of Gerry Beckley’s melodic pop rock and Dewey Bunnell’s use of folk-jazz elements, slinky Latin-leaning rhythms and impressionistic lyric imagery contrasted well with Dan Peek’s more traditional country-rock leanings and highly personal lyrics. …continue reading

Creedence Clearwater Revisited

Stu Cook and Doug “Cosmo” may not have intended it, but their band Creedence Clearwater Revisited has taken on a startling life of its own. The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame rhythm section (bass and drums respectively) from the legendary group Creedence Clearwater Revival launched the Creedence Clearwater Revisited project in 1995 to once again perform live Creedence Clearwater Revival hits touchstones of a generation. Though the pair initially only planned to play private parties, Creedence Clearwater Revisited now performs up to 100 shows a year and released the album “Recollection.”

“We never really had any intention of playing for the public,” says Stu. “But a friend wanted to promote a couple of concerts. We got talked into it, but didn’t know how it would go over.”

Since then, the reaction to Creedence Clearwater Revisited’s concerts has been astounding, and driven in part by a generation of kids who, as Cosmo says, “weren’t even born when the music came out.” Likewise, the release of a doublelive CD on Universal’s Hip-O Records label, which features passionate, authoritative version of 22 classic hits was the result of public demand. “It was generated by requests of the people who came to the shows,” Stu acknowledges. “Over and over they would ask, ‘do you guys have a CD?’” Creedence Clearwater Revisited’s “Recollection” has proven so popular that in 2008 the RIAA certified it Platinum. …continue reading

Chris Isaak

“I have always wanted to make this record.” – Chris Isaak

Yes, after more than a quarter of a century into his career, Chris Isaak has finally created the album he’s always wanted to make. Beyond the Sun, Isaak’s first Vanguard Records release out Oct. 18 —is truly a labor of love. As a child spinning his parents 45s in their Stockton, California home, this deeply committed artist has been obsessed with the glory days of Memphis’ Sun Studio and the visionary artists who got their starts there—including Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins and Jerry Lee Lewis—all of them discovered and nurtured by the late, great Sun Records founder Sam Phillips. Now, at long last, Isaak has acted on this lifelong obsession, magically recapturing the transformative hepcat brilliance of the classic sides cut by these greats at Sun with Phillips during the mid-’50s, while also getting down to the heart and soul of his own deeply rooted musical identity. Beyond the Sun will be available in both the 14-song standard set as well as a double album version that includes an additional 11 tracks. …continue reading