DOLLY PARTON TO RELEASE NEW ALBUM BLUE SMOKE IN THE U.S. ON MAY 13, 2014

NEW YORK, NY (February 10, 2014) – Iconic singer, songwriter, musician, actress and philanthropist Dolly Parton announces the release of her new album Blue Smoke which will be released by Sony Music Masterworks andDolly Records on May 13, 2014.  Following the album release the Blue Smoke World Tour will hit select dates in the United States, England, Ireland, Scotland, Denmark, Germany, Norway and Sweden. "On this CD I think there are all of the colors of my life in all the areas of music that you've allowed me to dabble in through the years,” says Dolly Parton.  “You will hear my old world mountain voice on songs like ‘Banks of The Ohio’ and ‘If I Had Wings’ my tender side on songs like ‘Miss You - Miss Me’ and ‘Unlikely Angel.’ My country / bluegrass side of songs like ‘Home,’ ‘Blue Smoke’ and ‘Don't Think Twice’ and my funny tongue-in-cheek side on ‘Lover du Jour.’” TRACK LISTING: Blue Smoke Unlikely Angel Don't Think Twice You Can't Make Old Friends Home Banks of the Ohio Lay Your Hands on Me Miss You-Miss Me If I Had Wings Lover du Jour From Here to the Moon and Back Try Dolly is the most honored female country performer of all time. Achieving 25 RIAA certified gold, platinum and multi-platinum awards, she has had 25 songs reach number 1 on the Billboard Country charts, a record for a female artist. She has 41 career top 10 country albums, a record for any artist, and she has 110 career charted singles over the past 40 years. All-inclusive sales of singles, albums, hits collections, paid digital downloads and compilation usage during her Hall of Fame career have reportedly topped a staggering 100 million records world-wide. She has garnered 7 Grammy Awards, 10 Country Music Association Awards, 5 Academy of Country Music Awards, 3 American Music Awards and is one of only five female artists to win the Country Music Association's Entertainer of the Year Award. Dolly was inducted as a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1999.  And the litany goes on. Dolly’s career has spanned nearly five decades and is showing no signs of slowing down.  An internationally-renowned superstar, the iconic and irrepressible Parton has contributed countless treasures to the worlds of music, film and television.  Some of her hit films have included Nine to Five, Steel Magnolias, The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas, Rhinestone, Straight Talk, andJoyful Noise.  Parton received two Oscar® nominations – one for writing the title tune to Nine to Five and the other for Travelin’ Thru from the film Transamerica. BLUE SMOKE WORLD TOUR DATES: NEW ZEALAND/AUSTRALIA  Feb 11   Australia, Melbourne - Rod Laver Arena Feb 12   Australia, Melbourne - Rod Laver Arena Feb 13   Australia, Adelaide - Entertainment Centre Feb 15   Australia, NSW, Hunter Valley - Hope Estate Feb 16   Australia, Tamworth - TRECC Feb 18   Australia, Sydney - Entertainment Centre Feb 19   Australia, Sydney - Entertainment Centre Feb 21   Australia, Brisbane - Entertainment Centre Feb 22   Australia, Brisbane - Entertainment Centre Feb 24   Australia, Cairns - Cairns Convention Center Feb 27   Australia, Perth - Perth Arena US  May 22  Tulsa, OK - Hard Rock Casino May 23  Tulsa, OK - Hard Rock Casino May 25  Cherokee, NC - Harrah’s Cherokee Casino May 27  Richmond, KY - EKU Center For The Arts -  (St. Mark’s Evening Among Friends) May 28  Knoxville, TN - University of Tennessee -  (Benefiting Dolly's Imagination Library) May 30  Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino May 31  Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino UK & EUROPE  Jun 08   England, Liverpool - Echo Arena Jun 10   Northern Ireland, Belfast - Odyssey Arena Jun 11   Ireland, Dublin - O2 Arena Jun 12   Ireland, Cork - Live At The Marquee Jun 14   England, Newcastle - Metro Radio Arena Jun 15   Scotland, Aberdeen - GE Arena Jun 17   Scotland, Glasgow - SSE Hydro Arena Jun 18   Scotland, Glasgow - SSE Hydro Arena Jun 20   England, Leeds - First Direct Arena Jun 21   England, Manchester - Phones 4U Arena Jun 22   England, Birmingham - LG Arena Jun 24   Wales, Cardiff - Motorpoint Arena Jun 25   Wales, Cardiff - Motorpoint Arena Jun 27   England, London - O2 Arena Jun 28   England, London - O2 Arena July 02   England, Nottingham - Capital FM Arena July 05   Germany, Cologne - LANXESS Arena July 06   Germany, Berlin - o2 World July 08   Denmark, Copenhagen - Forum July 09   Norway, Oslo - Spektrum July 11   Sweden, Stockholm - THE GLOBE Sony Music Masterworks comprises the Masterworks, Sony Classical, OKeh, Portrait, Masterworks Broadway and Flying Buddha imprints. For email updates and information please visit www.SonyMasterworks.com

New album for Hank Jr

Old School, New Rules is the title of the new Hank Williams, Jr. album, which is set for release on July 10th. Among the songs in the new collection is a duet with Brad Paisley ("I’m Gonna Get Drunk And Play Hank Williams") as well as a new duet with Merle Haggard ("I Think I’ll Just Sit Here and Drink.") The first single from the album (Hank's first release in several years) "That Ain’t Good," has just been sent to radio stations. You can buy the album now on pre-sale at http://www.hankjr.com/. Track Listing for "Old School, New Rules": 1. Takin’ Back The Country 2. I’m Gonna Get Drunk And Play Hank Williams (w/ Brad Paisley) 3. Three Day Trip 4. Old School 5. We Don’t Apologize for America 6. You Win Again 7. Cow Turd Blues 8. Who’s Takin’ Care of Number One 9. That Ain’t Good 10.Keep The Change 11.Stock Market Blues 12.I Think I’ll Just Stay Here And Drink (w/ Merle Haggard)

Gloriana to release new album

Gloriana, the Country music trio made up of brothers Tom and Mike Gossin, as well as Rachel Reinert, will release its second studio album, A Thousand Miles Left Behind on July 31st. The trio had a hand in writing all 11 tracks on the album. The first single released is "(Kissed You) Good Night" For more information about Gloriana, visit http://www.gloriana.com/.

Waylon Jennings' Final Recordings

An album featuring some of the final recordings from country legend Waylon Jennings is scheduled to be released September 11th. Goin’ Down Rockin’: The Last Recordings of Waylon Jennings will be filled with recordings that Waylon made during his last few years before his death in 2002, helped by his longtime accompanist, Robby Turner. Waylon wrote all but one of the 12 songs on the new album.

Tracklisting for "Goin’ Down Rockin’: The Last Recordings of Waylon Jennings":
1. Goin’ Down Rockin'
2. Belle of The Ball
3. If My Harley Was Runnin'
4. I Do Believe
5. Friends In California
6. The Ways of the World
7. Shakin' The Blues
8. Never Say Die
9. Wasting Time
10.Sad Songs & Waltzes
11.She Was no Good for Me
12.Wrong Road To Nashville

Aaron Lewis to release album

Aaron Lewis will be releasing a full length country album, The Road, on June 26th.



Lewis wrote every song on the 10 track collection, except for "Grandaddy’s Gun", which was written by Bobby Pinson, Rhett Akins, and Dallas Davidson. 

Last year, the Staind frontman released his successful solo EP, Town Line, and Gold single “Country Boy," which featured country legends George Jones & Charlie Daniels.

Track listing:
75
The Road
Endless Summer
Red, White & Blue
Lessons Learned
Forever
Grandaddy’s Gun
State Lines
Anywhere But Here
Party In Hell

Lee Brice to release new album

Lee Brice will be releasing his long-awaited second Curb Records album "Hard 2 Love" on Tuesday, April 24th. The album's first single is "A Woman Like You", and is already nearing gold certification with a track record of 450,000 digital downloads already sold. Lee co-wrote eight of the 13 tracks on the album.

Tracks include:

1. Hard To Love
2. A Woman Like You
3. That’s When You Know It’s Over
4. Parking Lot Party
5. Don't Believe Everything You Think
6. I Drive Your Truck
7. See About A Girl
8. Friends We Won’t Forget
9. Life Off My Years
10. Seven Days A Thousand Times
11. Beer
12. That Way Again
13. One More Day

Best of Hank Jr to be released

On March 27th, Curb Records will be releasing a retrospective collection of signature hits from Hank Williams, Jr. It will feature 22 of Hank Jr.’s best songs that span decades of his career.

Tracks include:
"Family Tradition"
"Whiskey Bent And Hell Bound"
"Women I've Never Had"
"Outlaw Women"
"Kaw-Liga"
"Old Habits"
"Dinosaur"
"The Blues Man"
"Texas Women"
"Dixie On My Mind"
"All My Rowdy Friends (Have Settled Down)"
"A Country Boy Can Survive"
"If Heaven Ain't A Lot Like Dixie"
"The Conversation"
"All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming Over Tonight"
"Country State Of Mind"
"Born To Boogie"
"If The South Woulda Won"
"There's A Tear In My Beer" (with Hank Williams)
"Red, White, & Pink-Slip Blues"
"Bartender Song (Sittin’ At The Bar)" (with Rehab)
"All My Rowdy Friends Are Coming For Monday Night Football"

Neal McCoy to release new album

It's been five years since his last album, but Neal McCoy has a new album, XII, being released on March 6th. On this new offering, Neal enlists the help of Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, and Brent Rowan to produce and record the album.



The first single from the album, "A-OK" featured harmony vocals from Blake and Miranda.

XII tracklist:
1. A-OK
2. Real Good Feel Good
3. Judge A Man By The Woman
4. Mouth
5. Shotgun Rider
6. That’s You
7. Crazy Women
8. Lucky Enough
9. Every Fire
10. That’s Just How She Gets
11. Borderline Crazy
12. Van Gogh

Kellie Pickler - 100 Proof

Kellie Pickler will release 100 Proof on Jan. 24. The album is her third release. It includes 11 songs, including six that Kellie co-wrote.

With 100 Proof, Kellie brings a more traditional sounding country album, with her intent to pay homage to her musical influences, such as Tammy Wynette, Dolly Parton, and Loretta Lynn.

100 Proof track listing:

1. Where’s Tammy Wynette
2. Unlock That Honky Tonk
3. Stop Cheatin’ On Me
4. Long As I Never See You Again
5. Tough
6. Turn On The Radio And Dance
7. Mother’s Day
8. Rockaway (The Rockin’ Chair Song)
9. Little House On The Highway
10. 100 Proof
11. The Letter (To Daddy)


Fans can pre-order 100 Proof now on iTunes at http://bit.ly/tHNwQz.

Kellie is also giving fans the opportunity to unlock and stream one new song a day from 100 Proof by "liking" her Facebook page.

Gene Watson - Best of the best

Gene Watson will be celebrating his 50 years of making country music with a release of "Best of the Best: 25 Greatest Hits" on February 14.

The album features re-recorded versions of his classics, such as "Love In The Hot Afternoon," "Farewell Party," "Fourteen Carat Mind," "Memories To Burn," and more.

Tim McGraw to release "Emotional Traffic"

Tim McGraw & Curb Records will be getting the new year off & running with the release of Tim's new album, Emotional Traffic, on January 24th. The album was produced by Tim's longtime producer, Byron Gallimore.

Emotional Traffic includes 12 new tracks, with "Felt Good On My Lips" as the first single released, which has already been certified digital gold. His current single from the album, "Better Than I Used To Be", has just recently been released and is now climbing the charts.

Tim collaborates with R&B pop artist Ne-Yo on "Only Human". Other highlights include "I will not fall down", a song co-written by Tim, Martina McBride and The Warren Brothers.

The track listing for Emotional Traffic:

1. Halo
2. Right Back Actha Babe
3. One Part, Two Part
4. I Will Not Fall Down
5. The One
6. Better Than I Used To Be
7. Touchdown Jesus
8. The One That Got Away
9. Felt Good On My Lips
10. Hey Now
11. Only Human
12. Die By My Own Hand

Martina McBride debuts 11th album on October 11th

Martina McBride will be releasing her 11th studio album, aptly titled, ELEVEN, on October 11th.

The album will feature some of Martina's most personal songs to date, with Martina penning 6 of the 11 tracks.

Jason Michael Carroll - Numbers

Jason Michael Carroll's new album, Numbers, is the latest in Cracker Barrel’s exclusive music program. Numbers is a compilation of songs about everyday life experiences, including his big hit "Alyssa Lies," and the title song "Numbers," which was written by Patrick Davis and Rodney Clawson.

The album debuts today exclusively at all Cracker Barrel Old Country Store locations and online at crackerbarrel.com.

Track listing for Numbers:

1. This Is For The Lonely
2. Numbers
3. Ray Of Hope
4. Meet Me In The Barn
5. Hell Or Hallelujah
6. Can I Get An Amen
7. My Favorite
8. Don't Know Why
9. Let Me
10.Stray
11.Last Word
12.Alyssa Lies

Dirt Drifters - This is my blood

Warner Bros. Records is releasing the debut album from The Dirt Drifters today. The album is titled, This Is My Blood, and is available at all digital retailers.

The Dirt Drifters, comprised of lead singer/guitarist Matt Fleener, vocalist/guitarist Ryan Fleener, vocalist/guitarist Jeff Middleton, bassist Jeremy Little and drummer Nick Diamond, wrote or co-wrote 10 of the project’s 11 tracks, and played on every song of the album. They also have legend Willie Nelson for guest vocals on "I’ll Shut Up Now."

The full track listing includes:
1. Something Better
2. Always A Reason
3. There She Goes
4. It Takes A Man
5. Hurt Somebody
6. Married Men And Motel Rooms
7. I’ll Shut Up Now (ft. Willie Nelson)
8. Name On My Shirt
9. Sun Goes Down
10. Just Got Tonight
11. This Is My Blood

Dolly Parton - Better Day

In the 44 years since her first album, Hello, I'm Dolly, was released, Dolly Parton has continued to reinvent herself to the latest generation without changing either her music or herself. With her 41st studio release, Better Day, Dolly brings more of the same countrified brightness as only she can. All of the songs are penned by Dolly, who seems to still be underrated for her songwriting skills. The greatest thing is that she's still able to incorporate the old country/bluegrass sound while making it sound mainstream enough to catch the non-country listener's ear.

While the songs are all written by Dolly, they're not all new. The first single, "Together You and I", is actually a remake of a song she had recorded with her former mentor and duet partner Porter Wagoner for their 1974 LP, Porter 'n' Dolly. This version, however, has a new tempo and has been updated to suit today's country music sound. Other tracks include "Holding Everything", which was recorded by Alabama lead singer Randy Owen; "Missing You" was originally recorded by Dolly for the film "First Dog"; and "I Just Might", "Shine Like The Sun", "Get Out", and "Let Love Grow" were all songs Dolly had written for her Tony-nominated score of "9 to 5-The Musical.

Ricky Skaggs new album

Ricky Skaggs' newest CD, Country Hits Bluegrass Style, will be released next Tuesday, July 19th. The 14-song album is a mix between Skaggs’ country and bluegrass roots.

Ricky's band, Kentucky Thunder, along with some of Ricky's original award-winning country band alumni, and special friends are part of this album as well.

Blake Shelton - Red River Blue

Blake Shelton one of the rare singers who can seamlessly go from country "party boy" to heartfelt, sweet, charming "aw shucks" guy in a heartbeat. That's quite noticeable on his latest album, "Red River Blue", as well. Blake offers up some 'charmers', like "Honey Bee", "God gave me you", "I'm sorry", and "over", in contrast with the 'having a good timers' like "ready to roll", "get some", "good ole boys", and "hey". The greatest 'charmer' on this album is the title track, a duet with wife, Miranda Lambert.

Brad Paisley's new album

Brad Paisley will release This is Country Music on Monday, May 23rd.



This is Country Music is Brad's 9th studio album. It's a 15-track collection, with 12 of those songs co-written by Brad. There are a number of great guest performances on the album, including Don Henley on "love her like she's leavin'", Blake Shelton on "Don't drink the water", Marty Stuart, Sheryl Crow & Carl Jackson on "life's railway to Heaven", Clint Eastwood on the instrumental "Eastwood", and a duet with Carrie Underwood on "remind me".

New Eric Church album to be released in late July

Eric Church's third studio album, Chief, will be released on July 26 on EMI Records. The album is produced by Jay Joyce, who also produced Church's previous two releases.

The first single release from the new album is,Homeboy.

Here is the track listing for the new album - all but track 4 are co-written by Church:
1. Creepin’
2. Drink In My Hand
3. Keep On
4. Like Jesus Does
5. Hungover & Hard Up
6. Homeboy
7. Country Music Jesus
8. Jack Daniels
9. Springsteen
10. I’m Gettin’ Stoned
11. Over When It’s Over

New album for The Judds

The mother/daughter country music duo, The Judds, have released a new album, "I Will Stand By You: The Essential Collection". The new compilation features twelve classics as well as two brand new songs: "I Will Stand By You" and "Back Home", which features Alison Krauss. The two new songs mark the first time the duo have recorded together since 2004 when Naomi joined Wynonna for the single, "Flies On The Butter", which is also featured on this album.

Along with the two new tracks, this collection features fan favorites such as "Mama He’s Crazy", "Grandpa (Tell Me 'Bout The Good Old Days)", "Turn It Loose" and the song that has become the duo's anthem, "Love Can Build A Bridge."