“When I think ’country music,’ I think of a smoky bar with a glass of whiskey, and somebody playing heartbreak songs. That, to me, is what country music is.”
Gary Allan has stayed true to that sentiment since making his mark on the country music landscape nearly 25 years ago. Coming out of California rugged and edgy, Allan built his career with songs that draw on raw emotion and cutting lyrics about real life-and that has never been more true than on his 10th studio album Ruthless.
To arrive at this rocking, swinging, loud, subtle, funny, vulnerable and sizzling suite of thirteen songs, Allan allowed himself the freedom and space to select the very best of dozens of songs cut over the past eight years. The result is a stellar album which revisits and reimagines the 90s sensibilities that firmly placed Allan on the musical map. “This is a montage of everything I have done since my last album,” says Allan. “I remain influenced by the ‘80s and ‘90s, so you can hear some of that in there. It’s what I love.”
An accomplished songwriter and self-proclaimed “lyrics guy,” Allan is also humble enough to step back and “let the best song win.” This project is the largest batch of outside songs he’s ever released on an album and those winning songs come from a wide array of country music’s most impressive writers including Hillary Lindsey, Shane McAnally, Jim Beavers, busbee, Sarah Buxton, Rodney Clawson, Nicolle Galyon, Ryan Hurd, Matt Warren, Josh Kear, and the list goes on.
Allan weaves seamlessly between the deepest human emotions, whether that’s the enduring anguish in “Till It Felt Like You” or fleeting passion in “Trouble Knows Trouble.” He offers straight forward honesty in the gritty “Unfiltered” and he is the first to admit “there are quite a few lessons I had to learn from getting my teeth kicked in,” as the headstrong narrator in “The Hard Way.”
Because Ruthless is a collection of songs pulled from the past several years of creating, recording, playing live, writing, and recording again, Allan also pushed his boundaries using multiple producers. Reuniting with his Smoke Rings In The Dark team Mark Wright and Tony Brown for some, partnering with Greg Droman on others, and sharing the reins with Jay Joyce on another. For Allan, his reasoning is clear, “I want to hear left turns. I want to make sure it evolves and pulls something new out of them and pulls something new out of me.”
However, it’s Allan’s unwavering vision and distinct sound that bring Ruthless together into one cohesive, irresistible ride. From the “rocking and dramatic” opening track “Temptation” to the slowly galloping “Slide,” and from the Jesse Winchester ode “Little Glass of Wine” to the bluesy undertoned title track, “I like the songs that make you laugh, make you cry, or piss you off,” and Allan delivers on it all.
“I want my albums to take you on a full journey,” says the seasoned entertainer, and Gary Allan’s Ruthless does just that.
Put the needle in the groove and let it roll.
Self-taught, record breaking powerhouse Tash Sultana has teamed up with funky retro-soul band Free Nationals for ‘Pretty Lady (Free Nationals Remix)’ released today via Lonely Land Records and Sony Music Entertainment Australia.
On the release, Tash says: "This is a little something that was long overdue and long awaited, some of my most respected fellow musicians and longtime friends, the Free Nationals, have remixed ‘Pretty Lady’, in true Free Nationals style. Just gonna say it, I like their version better than my own. This is all time one of the best bands in the world and I was stoked that they flipped my song with their flavour."
Jose Rios from Free Nationals adds "Tash is one of the first people we met when we started to tour in Australia, when they asked us to do a remix it really was a no brainer. When approaching this remix we stripped away the music except for the vocals, from there we re-harmonized the chords and had each free nat lay their part down to put our own feel to the track."
‘Pretty Lady’ was the first single from Tash’s sophomore album TERRA FIRMA and has amassed 40M+ global streams. The track was co-written & made by Tash with fellow ARIA winners in artist Matt Corby and producer Dann Hume (Courtney Barnett, Amy Shark) in Tash’s home studio. The trio also worked their magic on ‘Crop Circles’, ‘Beyond the Pine’ and ‘Greed’. TERRA FIRMA debuted at #1 on the Australian Album Chart, #3 on the Switzerland Album Chart and #7 on the German Album chart and is currently nominated for Best Soul/R&B Release at this year’s ARIA Awards. The album saw Tash in full flight as they recorded, engineered, performed, arranged, and produced the album themselves.
Tash Sultana, the gender fluid multi-instrumentalist, singer-songwriter, producer and engineer, has been dubbed one of the hardest working music exports in Australia. From a viral bedroom recording of ‘Jungle’ (2X ARIA Platinum) and street-stopping busking performances in Melbourne, to setting attendance records on non-stop, sold out global tours, Tash’s accolades rush in faster than there is time to count them. Some numbers that we can count on is the 1 billion global streams Tash has amassed, as well as touring over 20 countries with over 500,000 tickets sold globally. Incredibly, Tash sold out three O2 Brixton Academy London shows prior to the release of her debut album.
Earlier this year, Tash was the first Australian artist to have a custom map inside Fortnite, joining a growing global movement where music and gaming worlds collide. Based on TERRA FIRMA’s stunning cover art, originally designed by Pat Fox, the map allowed Fortnite players to explore Tash’s iconic visual world with ‘easter eggs’ and the opportunity for fans to win V-Bucks by sharing themselves inside the map.
Tash has also announced 2022 Europe tour dates, you can find more information and ticket sales at: https://www.tashsultana.com/
TOUR DATES - EUROPE
Monday 14 March, WiZink Center, Madrid, Spain
Tuesday 15 March, Coliseu dos Recreios, Lisbon, Portugal
Thursday 17 March, Sant Jordi Club, Barcelona, Spain
Saturday 19 March, Arena de Geneve, Geneva, Switzerland
Sunday 20 March, Zenith Paris – La Villette, Paris, France
Wednesday 23 March, Palladium, Cologne, Germany
Thursday 24 March, Palladium, Cologne, Germany
Friday 25 March, Olympiahalle, Munich, Germany
Sunday 27 March, Alcatraz, Milan, Italy
Friday 01 April, Annexet, Stockholm, Sweden
Saturday 02 April, Oslo Spektrum, Oslo, Norway
Sunday 03 April, K.B. Hallen, Frederiksberg, Denmark
Wednesday 06 April, Eventim Apollo, London, UK
Thursday 07 April, 02 Victoria Warehouse Manchester, Manchester, UK
Saturday 09 April, Usher Hall, Edinburgh, UK
Sunday 28 August, Budapest Park, Budapest, Hungary
Monday 29 August, Arena Open Air, Vienna, Australia
Friday 2 September, Zitadelle Spandau, Berlin, Germany
Saturday 3 September, Kulturpark Schlachtof, Wiesbaden, Germany
Wednesday 7 September, Freilichtbuhne Grober Garten Junge Garde, Dresden, Germany
St. Paul & The Broken Bones have announced a lengthy 30-date 2022 US tour to support their forthcoming album and ATO Records debut The Alien Coast, out January 28. The tour features some of the biggest headlining shows yet for the blazing Alabama 8-piece, including a performance at The Beacon Theatre in New York City on March 11. One of the great live bands to emerge over the past few years, St. Paul & The Broken Bones have toured the globe many times over, delivering a “potent live show that knocks audiences on their ass” (Esquire). Led by frontman Paul Janeway, SPATBB have opened for the Rolling Stones and shared the stage with Elton John, and their shows are perennial highlights of marquee music festivals including Coachella and Lollapalooza.
Tickets go on sale Friday morning, see below for the full itinerary.
The band has also revealed a live performance video of lead single “The Last Dance” today. The video captures one of the band’s very first live performances of the song and is brimming with their trademark energy and swagger. It was filmed in a single take at Ol Elegante studios in Birmingham, AL, the studio where they made some of their earliest recordings.
The Alien Coast is a fever dream convergence of soul and psychedelia, stoner metal and funk, and sounds unlike anything they’ve created before. It is the first SPATBB album tracked in the band’s hometown of Birmingham, AL. The arrangement allowed the octet to spend more time and tap a broader creative community than ever before, resulting in their most ambitious work to date. Janeway cites a disparate range of influences that wove their way into the writing for The Alien Coast, from Greek mythology and dystopian sci-fi, to works of art like Bartolomé Bermejo’s Saint Michael Triumphs over the Deviland 17th-century Italian sculpture, to colonial-period history books.
The full music video for "The Last Dance" debuted last month and was directed by Machete Bang Bang (Coldplay, Jeff Goldblum, Evan Rachel Wood). Says Janeway: “The juxtaposition of dancing while facing certain doom is what “Last Dance” is all about. Like dancing through a Mad Max scene. So naturally the video had to be a dance video.”
The band also recently shared the song and video for "3000 AD Mass" a raw, explosive track driven by Janeway’s vocal roar that sets the tone for the album.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones has reached incredible heights since breaking out with their first album. Their previous three albums each debuted in the Billboard 200, their legendary NPR Tiny Desk has over 7 million views and they’ve appeared on several television shows including Jimmy Kimmel Live, Austin City Limits and more. They were the first-ever musical performance on Stephen Colbert’s Late Show, were asked to do a rare encore by David Letterman and were nominated for a Daytime Emmy for their appearance on CBS Saturday Morning.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones is Paul Janeway, Jesse Phillips (bass), Browan Lollar (guitar), Kevin Leon (drums), Al Gamble (keyboards), Allen Branstetter (trumpet), Chad Fisher (trombone), and Amari Ansari (saxophone).
Pre-order The Alien Coast: https://atorecords-ffm.
St. Paul & The Broken Bones 2021-2022 tour:
December 3 – Athens, GA – Georgia Theatre
December 4 – Columbia, SC – The Senate
December 30 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
December 31 – Nashville, TN – Brooklyn Bowl Nashville
January 26 – Atlanta, GA – Criminal Records (In-store event)
January 27 – Birmingham, AL – Seasick Records (In-store event)
January 28 – Nashville, TN – Grimey’s (In-store event)
February 1 – London, United Kingdom – Electric Ballroom
February 3 – Leeds, United Kingdom – Brudenell Social Club
February 4 – Glasgow, Scotland – Old Fruitmarket
February 6 – Paris, Ile-de-France – Bataclan
February 8 – Berlin, Germany – Hole 44
February 9 – Belgium, Brussels – Le Botanique
February 10 – Amsterdam, Netherlands – Paradiso
March 2-March 6 – North Charleston, SC – Riverfront Park Performance Pavilion
Newly announced dates:
March 4 – Atlanta, GA – The Eastern *
March 5 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Wine & Food Festival
March 6 – Raleigh, NC – The Ritz *
March 8 – Washington, DC – Lincoln Theatre *
March 9 – Washington, DC – 9:30 Club *
March 11 – New York, NY – The Beacon Theatre *
March 12 – Lebanon, NH – Lebanon Opera House *
March 13 – Boston, MA – House of Blues *
March 15 – Philadelphia, PA – The Fillmore *
March 16 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE *
March 18 – Toronto, ON – Queen Elizabeth Theatre *
March 19 – Ottawa, ON – Bronson Centre *
March 20 – Detroit, MI – St. Andrews Hall *
March 22 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *
March 23 – Chicago, IL – Thalia Hall *
March 25 – Minneapolis, MN – Palace Theatre *
March 26 – St. Louis, MO – The Pageant
April 23 – Dallas, TX – The Granada Theater ^
April 24 – Austin, TX – Stubb’s ^
April 26 – Tulsa, OK – Cain’s Ballroom ^
April 28 – Denver, CO – Mission Ballroom ^
April 29 – Aspen, CO – Belly Up ^
April 30 – Salt Lake City – Commonwealth Room ^
May 3 – Seattle, WA – The Neptune ^
May 5 – Portland, OR – Crystal Ballroom ^
May 6 – San Francisco, CA/Oakland, CA – Fox Theater ^
May 7 – San Diego, CA – Humphreys Concerts By The Bay ^
May 10 – Los Angeles, CA – The Theatre at Ace Hotel ^
May 11 – Pioneertown, CA – Pappy & Harriet’s ^
May 12 – Phoenix, AR – The Van Buren ^
* with Thee Sacred Souls
^ with Danielle Ponder
Jazz Aspen Snowmass (JAS) has just announced all three headliners for 2022 Labor Day Experience including Stevie Nicks, Chris Stapleton and Leon Bridges. All three artists will be performing for the first time at JAS. Three-day early bird passes go on-sale Monday, December 20 at 10am mst. Daily schedules and opening acts for the annual event held at Snowmass Town Park will be announced at a later date.
Widely known for her work as a member of Fleetwood Mac, Stevie Nicks embarked on a successful solo career in the 1980s. With Fleetwood Mac, Nicks earned two Grammy’s including the 1977 Album of the Year for Rumours and has two recordings in the Grammy Hall of Fame: Rumours in 2003 and Fleetwood Mac in 2016. She has earned Grammy nominations for her solo work as well, including tracks such as “Edge of Seventeen” and “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” with Tom Petty. In 2019 Nicks was inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame.
Kentucky-born Chris Stapleton is a 5-time Grammy, 16-time CMA and 7-time ACM Award winner and one of the country’s most respected and beloved musicians. Following his 2015 quadruple platinum breakthrough solo debut album Traveller, Stapleton released two No. 1 albums in 2017: From A Room: Volume 1 (certified platinum) and From A Room: Volume 2 (certified gold). Stapleton’s 2020 release Starting Over recently won Album of the Year at the 56th ACM Awards and debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart.
Grammy Award-winning R&B recording artist and songwriter Leon Bridges released his third studio album Gold-Diggers Sound in July. Gold-Diggers Sound, which Leon spent over two years conceptualizing, writing and recording, features Robert Glasper, Terrace Martin and Ink. This is the third solo album from Bridges, following his Grammy Award winning sophomore album, Good Thing, in a career trajectory that saw him going from working as a dishwasher and busking on the streets of his beloved Fort Worth, TX to being signed to a major label and performing at the White House for Former President Barack Obama within a two-year span.
Early Bird general admission passes can be purchased at www.jazzaspensnowmass.org beginning at 10am mst on Monday, Dec. 20. In addition to the 3-day general admission pass JAS will also be selling the 3-Day Deck Pass which includes complimentary grille fare, private restrooms and a private bar with complimentary beer, wine and a daily cocktail. All sales are based on availability, with an increase in prices expected later this winter. For information on lodging and ticket packages please call 800-SNOWMASS.
Donor (VIP) 3-day passes are available at www.jasstore.org. Donor passes include access to the exclusive JAS VIP tent with afternoon grille fare, live cooking stations, gourmet dinner and dessert, premium open bars and a substantial tax-deduction. JAS is a 501c3 not-for-profit organization that has contributed over $8 million to music education programs since 1996.
At this time, JAS anticipates requiring all attendees of the Labor Day Experience to provide either proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID test result taken within 72 hours of arrival at the event. These requirements are subject to change based on local and state health department policies and recommendations at the time of the events.
Due to overwhelming demand, Roger Waters: This Is Not A Drill 2022 North American tour has announced more shows across the U.S. this summer. Columbus, OH at Nationwide Arena on August 10, 2022; Glendale, AZ at Gila River Arena on October 3, 2022; and Austin, TX at Moody Center on October 6, 2022. Tickets for Denver, CO at Ball Arena on September 6, 2022 are on sale now.
To purchase tickets and for additional tour information, please visit rogerwaters.com.
“This Is Not A Drill is a ground breaking new rock and roll/cinematic extravaganza, performed in the round, it is a stunning indictment of the corporate dystopia in which we all struggle to survive, and a call to action to LOVE, PROTECT and SHARE our precious and precarious planet home. The show includes a dozen great songs from PINK FLOYD’S GOLDEN ERA alongside several new ones, words and music, same writer, same heart, same soul, same man. Could be his last hurrah. Wow! My first farewell tour! Don’t miss it. Love, R.”
Roger Waters: This Is Not A Drill is promoted by AEG Presents’ Concerts West.
