Friday, September 10, 2021

 

BRELAND, LITTLE BIG TOWN, REBA McENTIRE, BRITTNEY SPENCER AND KEITH URBAN ADDED TO
LORETTA LYNN’S FRIENDS: HOMETOWN RISING
FLOOD RELIEF BENEFIT CONCERT


Artists Join Previously Announced Juggernauts
Garth Brooks & Trisha Yearwood, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs


Tune-In Monday, September 13 at 8/7c on Circle Network and Circle All Access
for Broadcast and Live Stream from the Grand Ole Opry House
Loretta Lynn’s Friends: Hometown Rising Flood Relief Benefit Concert
AdMat + Additional Graphics Available for Download 
HERE
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – Country stars BRELANDLittle Big TownReba McEntireBrittney Spencer and Keith Urban join the already impressive lineup of stars set to perform LIVE from the Grand Ole Opry House on Monday, September 13 in support of country music icon Loretta Lynn’s flood relief efforts. Previously announced performers for the Loretta Lynn’s Friends: Hometown Rising benefit, which sold out within hours of being announced, include Garth Brooks & Trisha YearwoodLuke Bryan and Luke Combs. All proceeds benefit United Way of Humphreys County.

The special event will broadcast live on Circle Network at 8/7c in addition to live streaming on Circle All Access via FacebookTwitter and YouTube. A joint venture between Opry Entertainment Group and Gray Television, Circle is available to watch on Circle and Gray TV stations, DISH Studio Channel 102, Sling TV and other TV affiliates. Click HERE to learn how to tune in.

“It’s so heartwarming to see everyone in our hometown to step up to help those in need,” shared Lynn. “I’m honored that some of my best friends in Nashville have been so eager to help, too, and I can’t wait to watch the great show they put on. I hope you’ll tune in with me!”

In addition to the concert, Lynn has partnered with Kendra Scott to garner additional support for the cause, with the jewelry company donating 50% of proceeds from the sale of their Tennessee Guitar charm throughout the month of September to United Way of Humphreys County. The charm is available for purchase at KendraScott.com or in retail locations.

“United Way of Humphreys County has been dedicated to our communities for years, and we established the Humphreys County Flood Relief Fund to get immediate and long-term needs met for all the flood victims,” added Executive Director Nioka Curtis. “We had no idea this would be one of the worst floods in our history, but our community will be whole again. It’s UWHC’s goal to help make that happen as quickly as possible with the help of our generous donors. From the rental deposits and down payments necessary for people to get re-housed, to remodeling, replacing clothing and rebuilding their lives, we want to make sure their needs are met and we will continue our fight to make that happen.”

The devastating floods rushed through rural Tennessee on Saturday, August 17 after the area received more than 15 inches of rain over a six-hour period, leading to flash flooding that took the lives of 20 people – including the Lynn family’s own longtime ranch hand Wayne Spears – and destroyed hundreds of homes. While the community has come together to support those affected, the effects of the storm will be long lasting and the efforts of the concert beneficiary, United Way of Humphreys County, will be crucial.

To donate, please click here or text TNFLOODRELIEF to 44321. For more information, visit UnitedWayHumphreys.org.

About United Way of Humphreys County
United Way of Humphreys County (UWHC) is a nonprofit organization based in Waverly, Tenn. UWHC provides funding opportunities for programs and agencies that are meeting a critical need in Humphreys County. These needs fall within focus areas – education, health, financial stability and rebuilding lives. Along with providing funding to partner agencies, UWHC also have several programs and initiatives of their own. Their goal is to make the biggest impact possible in their community by following a simple principle: “Together we can all make it.” For current events, volunteer opportunities and more information about UWHC, follow them on Facebook or visit unitedwayhumphreys.org.

About Circle Network
Circle is a media network dedicated to celebrating the country lifestyle and putting fans inside the circle of everything country. Circle offers entertainment news, documentaries, movies, archival, new and licensed programming, Grand Ole Opry performances and more. The network offers ad-supported streaming distribution with DISH, Peacock, Roku, Inc., Samsung TV Plus, Redbox, VIZIO SmartCast®, XUMO and Frndly TV, bringing its country lifestyle programming to millions more through TVs, smart phones and tablets. Named Digiday’s 2021 Best Streaming TV Platform and Pollstar’s No. 1 Livestreamer across all genres for 2020, Circle is a joint venture between Opry Entertainment Group, a subsidiary of Ryman Hospitality Properties, and Gray Television.

# # #

 

“KENNY ROGERS: ALL IN FOR THE GAMBLER,” A NEW STAR-STUDDED CONCERT SPECIAL HONORING THE LIFE AND LEGACY OF THE COUNTRY MUSIC SUPERSTAR, TO BE BROADCAST THURSDAY, SEPT. 23 ON CBS
 
Performances by Chris Stapleton, Idina Menzel, Lady A, Lionel Richie, Little Big Town and Reba McEntire, Plus a Special Duet Featuring Dolly Parton and Kenny Rogers
"Kenny Rogers: All In For The Gambler" Airs Thursday, Sept. 23 at 9/8c on CBS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – The life and legacy of country music legend Kenny Rogers is honored in a new star-studded concert special, “Kenny Rogers: All In For The Gambler,” to be broadcast Thursday, Sept. 23 (9:00-10:00 PM, ET/PT) on the CBS Television Network, and available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+. Filmed at the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville before Rogers’ untimely passing, the live concert features on-stage tributes, artists’ anecdotes and inspiring songs performed in front of the music icon himself, as he bid farewell to performing and announced his retirement.
 
Featured artists, including Chris StapletonIdina MenzelLady ALionel RichieLittle Big Town and Reba McEntire, sing some of Rogers’ greatest hits, such as “The Gambler,” “Lady,” “She Believes in Me,” “Through the Years,” “Lucille,” “We’ve Got Tonight” and more. In a special tribute, Rogers’ dear friend and longtime duet partner, global superstar Dolly Parton, takes the stage to share touching memories and anecdotes about Rogers, performing a series of songs that culminate in an emotional finale featuring Rogers himself.
 

“Kenny Rogers’ enormous impact on Country music was matched only by the love all the artists and fans showed Kenny on this incredible night. We are so thrilled to share this special with his friends, family and fans all around the world as he will remain forever in our hearts,” said Executive Producers Keith Wortman and Ken Levitan.

“Kenny Rogers: All In For The Gambler” is a production of Blackbird Presents. Keith Wortman is creator and executive producer, with Ken Levitan as an executive producer.
 
About Kenny Rogers
In a career that spanned more than six decades, Kenny Rogers left an indelible mark on the history of American music. His songs have endeared music lovers and touched the lives of millions around the world. Chart-topping hits like “The Gambler,” “Coward of the Country,” “Through the Years,” “Lady” and “Islands in the Stream” are just a handful of Kenny Rogers’ songs that continue to inspire new generations of artists and fans alike. Rogers, with 24 number-one hits, is a six-time CMA Awards winner, Country Music Hall of Famer, three-time GRAMMY® Award winner, a recipient of the Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2013 CMAs, and was voted the “Favorite Singer of All Time” in a joint poll by readers of both USA Today and People.
 
About Blackbird Presents
Blackbird Presents is an award-winning creator and producer of premium music-driven content via a range of strategies including all-star concert events, tours, festivals, broadcast specials and films. Its projects feature the biggest music stars in the world (including Dolly Parton, Bruce Springsteen, Keith Richards, George Strait, Steven Tyler, Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton, Dave Matthews, Jimmy Buffett, The Roots, Carlos Santana, Peter Gabriel, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Eric Church, Brandi Carlile, Lionel Richie, Reba McEntire, John Mayer, Kacey Musgraves, Darius Rucker, Jack Johnson, Robert Plant, The Avett Brothers, Sheryl Crow, Juanes, Van Morrison, Sturgill Simpson, Lady A, Little Big Town, Ringo Starr, Idina Menzel, Becky G, Nathaniel Rateliff, and many others), produced for a portfolio of studio and network partners including CBS, Viacom, A&E, AMC, CMT, Live Nation, AEG, Nederlander, Facebook, PBS, and more. Recent music, film, and television projects include Willie: Life & Songs Of An American Outlaw, Biography: Kenny Rogers, Imagine: John Lennon 75th Birthday Concert, Peace Through Music: A Global Event For Social Justice, Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard, The Life & Songs of Kris Kristofferson, Outlaw: Celebrating The Music of Waylon Jennings, I'll Take You There: Celebrating 75 Years of Mavis Staples, The Life and Songs of Emmylou Harris, The Musical Mojo of Dr. John: Celebrating Mac and His Music, and All My Friends: Celebrating The Songs and Voice of Gregg Allman, which earned a GRAMMY® Award nomination for Gregg Allman and Taj Mahal's awe-inspiring performance of Statesboro Blues. Blackbird Presents is also the creator and producer of The Outlaw Music Festival Tour, in partnership with Willie Nelson; The American Roots Music & Arts Festival, in partnership with Eric Church; and The Last Waltz 40 Tour in partnership with Robbie Robertson.

 

NEAL FRANCIS RELEASES LIVE VIDEO OF NEW SINGLE
"CAN'T STOP THE RAIN" - WATCH

#1 MOST ADDED AT TRIPLE A AND NON-COMM

SHOWS WITH BLACK PUMAS

COMING TO NYC ON 9/20 AT MERCURY LOUNGE AND 9/22 AT BROOKLYN BOWL

FESTIVAL APPEARANCES AT
AMERICANA FEST, SHAKY KNEES, AND OUTSIDE LANDS

NEW ALBUM, IN PLAIN SIGHT, OUT NOVEMBER 5
Photo credit: Liina Raud DOWNLOAD Hi-Res Image
“​​What do Dr. John, Leon Russell, and boogie-woogie piano have in common?
Neal Francis is the answer.”
- KCRW

Chicago singer, songwriter, and pianist Neal Francis releases a live in-studio performance video of his new single, "Can't Stop The Rain." Recorded at Shirk Studios in Chicago, the clip truly captures Francis' infectious live-show energy which started the word-of-mouth chatter that's growing louder every day. The song is from his new album, In Plain Sight, out on ATO November 5. The album was mixed by the Grammy-winning producer Dave Fridmann (The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala, MGMT) and pre-orders are available now.

WATCH "CAN'T STOP THE RAIN (LIVE)"

PRE-ORDER IN PLAIN SIGHT

After returning home from touring on the back of his 2019 debut album Changes, Francis went through a breakup and found himself living in a church, where he ended up writing a series of new songs about honesty and resilience.

“I’m owning up to all my problems within my relationships and my sobriety,” Francis says. “So much of it is about coming to the understanding that I continue to suffer because of those problems. It’s about acknowledging that and putting it out in the open in order to mitigate the suffering and try to work on it, instead of trying to hide everything.”

Francis and his bandmates recorded In Plain Sight entirely on tape - and mostly in that same church - and the resulting songs are dreamlike and reflective, anchored in the rock and soul sound that has led critics to compare him to legends like Allen Toussaint and Dr. John.
 
In Plain Sight was heralded last month with the release of the studio version of “Can’t Stop The Rain,” which features the Grammy-winning guitarist Derek Trucks. The song was premiered on KCRW's Morning Becomes Eclectic and was #1 Most Added at Triple A and Non-Comm Radio.
 
WATCH “CAN’T STOP THE RAIN” (ALBUM VERSION)
 
Neal Francis is currently on a massive U.S. tour that includes dates opening for Black Pumas, a sold-out headlining show at New York’s Mercury Lounge, and festival appearances at Americana FestShaky Knees, and Outside Lands, among others. Francis just received rave reviews for his hometown performance at Lollapalooza - “There are hints of ’70s Brit Rock (including a very visceral touch of Elton John) as well as New Orleans jazz-funk, gospel soul, and some lighthearted Randy Newman — and the amalgamation felt like a time-stamped treasure,” wrote the Chicago Sun-Times. All dates are below and tickets are available at nealfrancis.com.
 
Neal Francis
IN PLAIN SIGHT
(ATO Records)
Release Date: November 5, 2021
DOWNLOAD Hi-Res Image

Tracklist:
1. Alameda Apartments
2. Problems
3. Can’t Stop The Rain
4. D’Artagnan
5. Prometheus
6. Sentimental Garbage
7. Asleep
8. BNYLV
9. Say Your Prayers

# # #
 
NEAL FRANCIS ON TOUR
* w/ Black Pumas
 
9/9: CIVL Millennium Park Summer Music Series – Chicago, IL
9/18: Summerfest – Milwaukee, WI
9/19: Borderland Music Festival – East Aurora, NY
9/20: Mercury Lounge – New York, NY (SOLD OUT)
9/21: Johnny Brenda’s – Philadelphia, PA
9/22: Brooklyn Bowl – Brooklyn, NY
9/25: Americana Music Fest – Nashville, TN
9/30: Union Craft Brewery – Baltimore, MD
10/1: Tuck Fest – Charlotte, NC
10/2: Parks Fest – Evansville, IN
10/7: Railgarten – Memphis, TN
10/8: The Parish Room at House of Blues – New Orleans, LA
10/15: The Sylvee – Madison, WI *
10/16: 20 Monroe Live – Grand Rapids, MI *
10/20: Lincoln Theatre – Raleigh, NC
10/21: The Blind Tiger – Greensboro, NC
10/22: Purgatory at The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
10/23: Shaky Knees Festival – Atlanta, GA
10/24: The Charleston Pour House – Charleston, SC
10/27: Bourgie Nights –Wilmington, NC
10/28: The Grey Eagle – Asheville, NC
10/29: Suwannee Hulaween – Live Oak, FL
10/31: Outside Lands – San Francisco, CA
11/4: El Club – Detroit, MI
11/6: Canopy Club – Urbana, IL
11/11: Ballroom at Taft Theatre – Cincinnati, OH
11/12: Kenny’s Westside Pub – Peoria, IL
11/18: Old Rock House – St. Louis, MO
11/19: Headliners Music Hall – Louisville, KY
11/20: Hi-Fi – Indianapolis, IN
12/8: Antone’s Nightclub – Austin, TX
12/9: Antone’s Nightclub – Austin, TX
1/5: Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA
1/8: Doug Fir Lounge – Portland, OR
1/9: The Crocodile – Seattle, WA
1/12: 7th Street Entry – Minneapolis, MN
1/13: High Noon Saloon – Madison, WI
1/17-1/21: Wilco’s Sky Blue Sky – Puerto Aventuras, QR
 
UK & Europe 2022:
1/23: O2 Academy2 Islington - London, UK
1/25: Merleyn - Nijmegen, NL
1/26: Vera - Groningen, NL
1/27: Bitterzoet - Amsterdam, NL
1/28: Metropool - Hengelo, NL
1/29: TivoliVredenburg - Utrecht, NL
1/30: Bird - Rotterdam, NL
1/31: Haldern Pop Bar - Haldern, DE
2/1: Privatclub - Berlin, DE
2/2: Häkken - Hamburg, DE
2/4: New Morning - Paris, FR
2/5: L'Ouvre Boite - Beauvais, FR
2/6: De Zwerver - Leffinge, BE

# # #
 
MORE ON IN PLAIN SIGHT:
​​On his new album In Plain Sight, Neal Francis offers up a body of work both strangely enchanted and painfully self-aware, unfolding in songs sparked from Greek myths and frenzied dreams and late-night drives in the depths of summer delirium. True to its charmed complexity, the singer/songwriter/pianist’s second full-length came to life over the course of a tumultuous year spent living in a possibly haunted church in Chicago. The result: a portrait of profound upheaval and weary resilience, presented in a kaleidoscopic sound that’s endlessly absorbing.
 
The follow-up to Francis’s 2019 debut Changes—a New Orleans-R&B-leaning effort that landed on best-of-the-year lists from the likes of KCRW, KEXP, and The Current, and saw him hailed as “the reincarnation of Allen Toussaint” by BBC Radio 6—In Plain Sight was written and recorded almost entirely at the church, a now-defunct congregation called St. Peter’s UCC. Despite not identifying as religious, Francis took a music-ministry job at the church in 2017 at the suggestion of a friend. After breaking up with his longtime girlfriend while on tour in fall 2019, he returned to his hometown and found himself with no place to stay, then headed to St. Peter’s and asked to move into the parsonage. “I thought I’d only stay a few months but it turned into over a year, and I knew I had to do something to take advantage of this miraculous gift of a situation,” he says.
 
Mixed by Grammy Award-winner Dave Fridmann (HAIM, Spoon, The Flaming Lips, Tame Impala), In Plain Sight finds Francis again joining forces with Changes producer and analog obsessive Sergio Rios (a guitarist/engineer known for his work with CeeLo Green and Alicia Keys). Like its predecessor, the album spotlights Francis’s refined yet free-spirited performance on piano, an instrument he took up at the age of four. “From a very early age, I was playing late into the night in a very stream-of-consciousness kind of way,” he says, naming everything from ragtime to gospel soul to The Who among his formative influences. With a prodigy-like gift for piano, Francis sat in with a dozen different blues acts in Chicago clubs as a teenager and helmed a widely beloved instrumental funk band called The Heard before going solo. Along with earning lavish acclaim, Changes led to such triumphs as performing live on KCRW’s “Morning Becomes Eclectic,” sharing the stage with members of The Meters at the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival, and touring with such acts as Lee Fields & The Expressions and Black Pumas.
 
Recorded entirely on tape with his bandmates Kellen Boersma (guitar), Mike Starr (bass), and Collin O’Brien (drums), In Plain Sight, bears a lush and dreamlike quality, thanks in large part to Francis’s restless experimentation with a stash of analog synths lent by his friends in his early days at the church. “My sleep schedule flipped and I’d stay up all night working on songs in this very feverish way,” he says. “I just needed so badly to get completely lost in something.” In a move partly inspired by Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the HolyIn Plain Sight takes its title from a track Francis ended up scrapping from the album. “It’s a song about my breakup and the circumstances that led to me living in the church, where I’m owning up to all my problems within my relationships and my sobriety,” says Francis, whose first full-length chronicles his struggles with addiction. “It felt like the right title for this record since so much of it is about coming to the understanding that I continue to suffer because of those problems. It’s about acknowledging that and putting it out in the open in order to mitigate the suffering and try to work on it, instead of trying to hide everything.”
 
The opulent opening track to In Plain Sight, “Alameda Apartments” makes for a majestic introduction to the album’s unveiling of Francis’s inner demons. “I started writing that song maybe six years ago before I got sober,” he says. “I was going through another breakup and getting kicked out of my place, and I had a nightmare about moving into an art-deco apartment that was haunted, where the walls were all shifting around.” A prime showcase for Francis’s piano work, “Alameda Apartments” simulates that dream state in its untethered melodies, luminous grooves, and lyrics that drift from despair to detached curiosity (e.g., “It remains to be seen if the ghosts are all right”). “The craziest thing is that I’d never encountered the name ‘Alameda’ in any time in my life prior to that dream,” says Francis. “It’s bizarre that I even remembered it, especially since you don’t dream very often when you’re getting fucked up.”
 
On “Problems,” In Plain Sight eases into a brighter and breezier mood, with Francis mining inspiration from early-’70s Sly & the Family Stone and the glistening soft rock of Mirage-era Fleetwood Mac. But in stark contrast to the track’s radiant synth and rapturous harmonies, “Problems” centers on Francis’s exacting introspection. “It’s about being half-in and half-out of a relationship, and how untenable that is,” he says. “I wrote it at a time when I really couldn’t maintain a relationship because I had too many issues with myself that needed to be addressed.”
 
Graced with a smoldering slide-guitar solo from the legendary Derek Trucks, “Can’t Stop the Rain” arrives as the first unabashedly hopeful moment on In Plain Sight. “I wrote that with my buddy David Shaw, who came up with the refrain and this idea that even though life’s going to throw all this shit at you, there are still so many things to be grateful for,” says Francis. Propelled by the track’s cascading piano lines and wildly soaring vocals, that refrain takes on an unlikely anthemic power as Francis shares a bit of gently expressed encouragement: “You can’t stop the rain/It’s always coming down/It’s always gonna fall/But you’re not gonna drown.”
 
On the guitar-heavy and glorious “Prometheus,” Francis nods to the Greek myth of the Titan god who stole fire from Mount Olympus and gave it to the humans. As punishment, Prometheus spent eternity chained to a rock as an eagle visited each day to peck out his liver—which then grew back overnight, only to be eaten again the following day in a neverending cycle of torment. “That song came from the lowest ebb of quarantine when Chicago was literally on fire,” Francis says. “It came to me while I was driving around all these abandoned streets in the middle of the night, and turned into a song about facing my problems with addiction and feeling like I’m chained to this set of compulsions.” Threaded with plainspoken confession (“It’s not in my nature to try to do better”), the track features a sprawling synth arrangement informed by the many hours Francis spent playing the St. Peter’s pipe organ. “I call that section of the song ‘The Pope,’” he says. “It’s this grand, powerful entry that’s sort of sinister, and then it just drops away.”
 
By the end of his surreal and sometimes eerie experience of living at the church—“I’m convinced that the stairway leading to the choir loft where I used to practice is haunted,” he notes—Francis had found his musicality undeniably elevated. “Because I was forced into this almost monastic existence and was alone so much of the time, I could play as often and as long as I wanted,” he says. “I ended up becoming such a better pianist, a better writer, a better reader of music.” Dedicated to a woman named Lil (the de facto leader of the St. Peter’s congregation), In Plain Sight ultimately reveals the possibility of redemption and transformation even as your world falls apart.
 
“When I started the process of writing these songs, I was so emotionally out-of-sorts and really kind of hopeless that I’d be able to come up with anything,” says Francis. “But then I sat down and started working, and embraced whatever inspiration came my way. Sometimes it felt like beating my head against a wall, but I tried to trust that it would lead somewhere. The whole thing was like a weird dream—this very strange time of terrible, wonderful isolation.”
 
CONNECT WITH NEAL FRANCIS:

 CHRIS STAPLETON LEADS NOMINEES AT 55TH ANNUAL CMA AWARDS 

 

photo credit: Becky Fluke
September 9, 2021—Ten-time CMA Award winner Chris Stapleton leads nominees at the 55th Annual CMA Awards with nominations in five categoriesEntertainer of the YearMale Vocalist of the YearAlbum of the Year (Starting Over), Single of the Year (“Starting Over”) and Song of the Year (“Starting Over”), while also earning additional producer credits in both the Album of the Year and Single of the Year categories. The awards ceremony will be broadcast live on ABC from Nashville on Wednesday, November 10 at 8:00pm ET/7:00pm CT. 
The nominations add to yet another monumental year for Stapleton, who is currently in the midst of his extensive “All-American Road Show” tour. Of recent performances, the Charlotte Observer praises, “In a live setting, Chris Stapleton is a bit of a revelation, vocally and sonically, able to produce note-perfect facsimiles of the already-astounding studio versions of his Southern rock and outlaw country and bluegrass songs,” and went on to praise him as, “the soul of the show, the deliverer of raw, powerful, beautiful lyrics by way of one of the most uniquely arresting voices in country music today,” while the Austin American-Statesman asserts, “there’s probably no better touring act in country music at present.” 
Upcoming “All-American Road Show” stops include New York’s Madison Square Garden, two nights at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena and Washington State’s Gorge Amphitheatre as well as “A Concert for Kentucky”—a special performance to be held at University of Kentucky’s Kroger Field on April 23, 2022. The concert is the first ever held at UK’s Kroger Field and will feature very special guests Willie Nelson and Family, Sheryl Crow and Yola. 100% of the concert’s net proceeds will benefit Stapleton’s newly created Outlaw State of Kind Hometown Fund. Established in partnership with the Blue Grass Community Foundation, the fund will specifically support local and national organizations directly impacting Kentucky, with initial grant distributions focusing on music and arts education. Tickets are on sale now at ChrisStapleton.com. See below for complete itinerary. 
The tour further celebrates the release of Starting Over, which debuted at #1 on the Billboard Country Albums chart. Moreover, the album’s title track recently reached #1 at country radio’s Mediabase Chart, only Stapleton’s second chart-topping single as an artist following 2018’s “Broken Halos.” Released this past fall on Mercury Records Nashville (stream/purchase here), Starting Over is an album of startling prescience, featuring fourteen tracks that examine life’s simplest joys and most serious struggles. Once again produced by Grammy Award-winning producer Dave Cobb, the record won Album of the Year at the 56th ACM Awards and landed on several “Best of 2020” lists including NPR Music, Rolling StoneBillboardEsquire, Vulture, The Tennessean and The New York Times, who declares, “Chris Stapleton’s roar isn’t designed to scare you off. It’s regal, an announcement of an alpha figure asserting his primacy…on this, his fourth album, the thrill is back.” 
Recent critical acclaim for Starting Over
Chris Stapleton may have the album of the year with Starting Over
American Songwriter
“a sure-footed masterpiece…one of the year’s finest albums”—Associated Press
“Simply put, there are few recording artists in country operating at Stapleton’s level, and Starting Over keeps the bar very high.” —Billboard
“a dynamite and dynamic new album from the mighty-voiced Kentucky nativethe singer-songwriter is hitting new heights, nailing the crossroads of country, rock, gospel, and pop across 14 tracks.”—Entertainment Weekly
14 rich, intricately-wound odes to tiny admissions and big emotions”—Esquire
“mixes beautifully stark songwriting with blues, country, and rock melodies, allowing Stapleton’s sturdy, propulsive vocals to carry the show”—GQ
vividly exemplifies the complex emotional character of Stapleton’s best music. He’s burly but soft. Tough yet vulnerable. A protector of his loved ones and a man in perpetual search of shelter.”—Los Angeles Times 
“Chris is at the top of his game with this record. It sounds like a record from a great.”
NPR Music
Starting Over may be Stapleton’s best album yet…every song on the album comes as a perfectly wrapped gift to the listener”—No Depression
“Regardless of where he’s going lyrically, Stapleton brings to each successive tune a rugged assuredness and a steely resolve: There’s never any doubt that he means what he says”—Relix
The chill Nashville trailblazer feels at home in songs that echo his pop songwriting and his 
country roots.
”—Rolling Stone
“if Starting Over offers a statement of principles, it’s that Stapleton is going to make Stapleton music, equal parts country, Southern rock, raw sentimentality, and self-reflective singer-songwriter-ism.”—Slate
“It is easily one of the best records I’ve heard this year. It’s easily one of the best country records I’ve heard in a long time. And I have no doubt it’s going to be one of the best country records I’ve heard this decade once everything is said and done.”
The Needle Drop
lands precisely where country meets Southern soul: with grit, details, clarity and ache.
 —The New York Times
“the results are stunning…his most personal work yet.”—The Ringer
“expands a sonic identity and storytelling fervor that Stapleton established on his paramount debut, Traveller, and its two-part follow-up, From A Room Vol. 1 and Vol. 2.”
The Tennessean
He has [Willie] Nelson’s tender touch, but his bluesy side is much louder; his is a part-acoustic, part-stinging approach in which Nelson’s Trigger meets B.B. King’s Lucille.”Variety 
“It’s every bit the tour de force his breakthrough album was…Elegant writing and delicate musicianship combine in an album ranking among the year’s best.”—Vulture
Kentucky-born Stapleton is a 5x Grammy, 10x CMA and 9x ACM Award-winner and one of the country’s most respected and beloved musicians. Following 2015’s quintuple platinum breakthrough solo debut album Traveller, Stapleton released two #1 albums in 2017. Both From A Room: Volume 1 (certified platinum) and From A Room: Volume 2 (certified gold) take their name from legendary RCA Studio A, where they were recorded with Cobb. Released to overwhelming critical acclaim, The Tennessean praises, “Both are rich with the textures of Stapleton’s vocals that make him one of country music’s most beloved artists, classic country sounds and thoughtful articulate lyrics about love, life and pain.” He was also recently announced as the first-ever “Artist-Songwriter of the Decade” recipient by the Academy of Country Music. 
CHRIS STAPLETON’S “ALL-AMERICAN ROAD SHOW”
September 9—Milwaukee, WI—Summerfest at American Family Insurance Amphitheater§
September 16—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre+
September 17—Birmingham, AL—Oak Mountain Amphitheatre+ (SOLD OUT)
September 18—Orange Beach, AL—The Wharf Amphitheatre+ (SOLD OUT)
September 23—Bethel, NY—Bethel Woods Center for the Arts°
September 24—Burgettstown, PA—Pavilion at Star Lake°
September 25—Noblesville, IN—Ruoff Music Center*
September 30—Virginia Beach, VA—Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater%
October 1—Camden, NJ—BB&T Pavilion%
October 2—Mansfield, MA—Xfinity Center% (SOLD OUT)
October 7—Syracuse, NY—St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview^
October 8—New York, NY—Madison Square Garden+
October 9—Holmdel, NJ—PNC Bank Arts Center^
October 14—Columbia, MO—Mizzou Arena+
October 15—Lincoln, NE—Pinnacle Bank Arena+
October 16—Sioux Falls, SD—Denny Sanford PREMIER Center+ (SOLD OUT)
October 21—Cincinnati, OH—Riverbend Music Center+
October 22—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena+ (SOLD OUT)
October 23—Nashville, TN—Bridgestone Arena+ (SOLD OUT)
October 28—Lubbock, TX—United Supermarket Arena**
October 29—Albuquerque, NM—Isleta Amphitheater**
October 30—Phoenix, AZ—Ak-Chin Pavilion** (SOLD OUT)
November 4—Austin, TX—Frank Erwin Center** (SOLD OUT)
November 5—Tulsa, OK—BOK Center** (SOLD OUT)
November 6—The Woodlands, TX—Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion** (SOLD OUT)
November 13—Minneapolis, MN—U.S. Bank Stadium%%
November 18—Orlando, FL—Amway Center^
November 19—Estero, FL—Hertz Arena^ (SOLD OUT)
November 20—West Palm Beach, FL—iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre^
December 3—Memphis, TN—FedEx Forum+
December 4—Biloxi, MS—Mississippi Coast Coliseum+ (SOLD OUT)
December 5—Knoxville, TN—Thompson-Boling Arena+
April 20, 2022—Toledo, OH—Huntington Center^^
April 21, 2022—Columbus, OH—Schottenstein Center^^
April 23, 2022—Lexington, KY—A Concert for Kentucky – Kroger Field##
June 2, 2022—Nampa, ID—Ford Idaho Center Arena††
June 3, 2022—Ridgefield, WA—Sunlight Supple Amphitheater†† (SOLD OUT) 
June 4, 2022—George, WA—Gorge Amphitheater†† (SOLD OUT)
June 11, 2022—San Bernardino, CA—Glen Helen Amphitheater‡‡ 
June 16, 2022—Bakersfield, CA—Mechanics Bank Arena†† 
June 17, 2022—Wheatland, CA—Toyota Amphitheatre†† 
June 18, 2022—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre††
June 23, 2022—West Valley City, UT—Usana Amphitheater§§ 
June 24, 2022—Denver, CO—Ball Arena§§ 
June 25, 2022—Denver, CO—Ball Arena§§ 
“ALL-AMERICAN ROAD SHOW” SPECIAL GUESTS
*with special guests Yola and Kendell Marvel
^with special guests Sheryl Crow and Kendell Marvel
+with special guests The Marcus King Band and Yola
°with special guests Margo Price and Kendell Marvel 
§with special guest Sheryl Crow
%with special guests The Marcus King Band and Caylee Hammack
**with special guests Jamey Johnson and Yola
^^with special guests Margo Price and Yola
##with special guests Willie Nelson & Family, Sheryl Crow and Yola
††with special guests Margo Price and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
‡‡with special guests Dwight Yoakam and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
§§with special guests Sheryl Crow and The Dirty Knobs with Mike Campbell
%%with George Strait and Little Big Town