Jeff DeWeese
Jeff DeWeese
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Jeff DeWeese

Classic Country News Archives for 2022-03

Alan Jackson Announces "Last Call: One More For The Road" Tour

Country Music Hall of Famer Alan Jackson is embarking on his latest tour, one that’ll bring over 30 years of hits to cities across America as he hits the road for the first time since revealing a health diagnosis last fall.

 

“I’ve always admired my heroes like George Jones, Merle Haggard, Loretta Lynn and Charley Pride who just played as much as they wanted to, as long as they could,” Jackson says. “I’ve always thought I’d like to do that, and I’d like to as long as my health will allow,” he notes, adding with a smile, “I’ll try to do as much as I can, but if I’m comin’ your way, come see me….”

 

The country music icon will launch his Last Call: One More for the Road Tour – promoted by Live Nation – this summer, playing arenas through the fall (detailed listing below). The three-time CMA Entertainer of the Year will thrill audiences – visiting cities and areas he hasn’t in several years for the last time – as fans relive hits like “Chattahoochee” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere” night-after-night.

Kenny Rogers' Life Celebrated at Graveside Memorial In Atlanta

Kenny Rogers' close friends, family and band members gathered at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday (March 20th) to pay their respects to the singer who died two years ago to the day. Until then, a celebration of his life was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic. 

 

The outdoor ceremony was hosted by long time touring partners Linda Davis and Billy Dean, with over fifteen speakers paying homage to Kenny and telling personal stories about a life well lived.  The ceremony concluded with the Dr. T. Lynn

Smith and Friendsgospel choir singing “Amazing Grace” along with a pre-recorded Kenny Rogers vocal and a performance of “Will The Circle Be Unbroken,” one of the late singer's favorites.  As the guests filed out, the event concluded with an Irish sendoff by Brigadier General (Ret.) Richard McPhee.

 

At the reception that immediately followed, there was a special surprise.  A brand new lyric video for Kenny's song “Goodbye,” written by Lionel Richie, was debuted for the first time ever to the invited guests. Yesterday (Monday, March 21st), Lionel shared the video on social media writing, Two years ago this week, we lost my dear friend, @_KennyRogers. Today a beautiful lyric video has been released for a song that I wrote for Kenny, “Goodbye”, to celebrate his memory."

 

Kenny died at the age of 81 on March 20, 2020 at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia.

 

 

Reba is announcing a special CD & DVD pairing, MY CHAINS ARE GONE

Reba is announcing a special CD & DVD pairing, MY CHAINS ARE GONE, which will be available on March 25. The forthcoming releases feature Reba performing some of the most beloved hymns of all time.

The DVD offers fans a long requested recording of Reba’s 2017 first ever solo headlining show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville,TN, now being released with Gaither Music Group. Featuring special guests Trisha Yearwood, Kelly Clarkson and The Isaacs, the special combines footage from that historic night along with newly captured 2021 performances recorded at Clementine in Nashville, TN. Hosted by Gospel music legend Bill Gaither, this DVD finds Reba lending her unmistakable voice to classic hymns and newly-written songs of hope. Fans can pre-order the DVD now here.

In addition to the DVD, fans will be able to watch a special broadcast premiere of the performance on UPtv on March 25 at 8pm ET, with an encore on April 4th @ 2am ET.

On that same day, Reba will also be releasing a companion 12-track audio CD which features some of her favorite hymns, as well as special guest feature performances by Lauren Daigle, Kelly Clarkson, Trisha Yearwood and The Isaacs. MY CHAINS ARE GONE on CD is available to pre-order now here.
 

Kenny Rogers' Only Gospel Album To Be Released as Deluxe Edition

A deluxe edition of Kenny Rogers' only gospel album of his career, called The Love of God, will be released on March 25th. This marks the first time this project has ever been available on CD.  

 

Special guest artists collaborating with Kenny on The Love Of God (Deluxe Edition) include the Oak Ridge Boys, Point of Grace, The Whites, and Winfield’s Locket.   

 

The Love Of God was originally released in 2011. At the time, Kenny said, “The Love Of God is the culmination of an idea I had been thinking about for years but never had the opportunity to bring to life. It’s been a musical awakening to me. To all of the wonderful musicians, vocalists, and songwriters who lent their amazing talents to this record, I want to thank you for making it so special. It seems I have a personal relationship with every song on it. For example, ‘In The Sweet By And By’ was my mom’s favorite song. When I was a kid, as I was leaving to go to school, I remember hearing her sing along with the radio. Music is by far the best ‘memory creator’ I know, and that memory is very special to me.”  

 

FAST FACTS

Here is The Love Of God (Deluxe Edition) track listing:

1. Will The Circle Be Unbroken
2. Peace
3. I’ll Fly Away (featuring The Whites)
4. The Rock Of Your Love
5. In The Sweet By and By (featuring Winfield’s Locket)
6. He Showed Me Love
7. Grace
8. What A Friend We Have In Jesus
9. Circle of Friends (featuring Point of Grace)
10. For the Love Of God
11. The Gospel Truth (featuring The Oak Ridge Boys)
12. Amazing Grace
13. Leaning On The Everlasting Arms

Dolly Parton Invites Fans Into The 'Dollyverse' And South By Southwest

Dolly Parton is partnering with FOX Entertainment’s Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL) to launch “Dollyverse,” an audience-centric Web3 experience at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals starting next week at welcometodollyverse.com. 

 

To promote the debut of her co-authored book with James Patterson, called Run, Rose, Run, Dolly will make her first-ever appearance at SXSW on March 18th. She and James will speak about the project at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater. The event will be moderated by actress Connie Britton.

 

Following the conversation, Dolly will give a live performance featuring songs from Run, Rose, Run, along with a few of her hits.  The entire event will be streamed live for free on “Dollyverse” by Eluvio, which also will power the “Dollyverse’s” NFT sales.

 

The “Dollyverse” will release an exclusive selection of official and certified Dolly NFT collectibles, including limited-edition NFTs of the Run, Rose, Run music album and a limited series of Dolly-inspired NFT artwork, for purchase during and after SXSW. 

 

Dolly said, “There’s almost nothing more important to me than connecting with my fans.  And I’m almost always up for trying something new and different. I'd say releasing NFTs at my first ever appearance at SXSW, with James Patterson by my side, definitely counts as new and different!”

 

Run, Rose, Run is available for purchase beginning this Monday, (March 7th). That night, Dolly will co-host the ACM Awards, livestreaming exclusively on Amazon Prime beginning at 8 p.m. ET.