Straight Talk With Leann Rimes

Originally posted on CMAcloseup.com

By Kinsey Haynes

When Sirius/XM “The Highway” personality Storme Warren walked onto the CMA Close Up Stage in Fan Fair X, he came bearing jokes and stories from his experiences in the Country Music industry.

After he had spent about 10 minutes of talking about Country greats including Loretta Lynn, Dolly Parton, Conway Twitty and Tammy Wynette, LeAnn Rimes yelled from backstage, “Hey, we are ready!”

The audience erupted with applause and standing ovations as she entered, flashing a huge grin.

Warren then began his interview with the Country star, who enjoyed her first hit record, “Blue,” at age 13. “We have watched you grow up on the television. We have watched you grow up musically, in the tabloids, in the press,” Warren said.

Asked how she attained success so young and maintained her career up to this point, Rimes attributed it to being “stubborn as shit.”

“I’m a fighter and I love what I do. It’s all I know and it’s all I’ve ever wanted to do,” said Rimes. “I have this drive and have since I was young.”

Having missed out on her childhood, Rimes now lives vicariously through her two stepchildren. She enjoys planning their birthday parties and running their social calendar as well as being “super mom.”

After sharing several stories, she played the title track off her most recent album Spitfire, which she noted came out a year ago yesterday. She also discussed the reality show that she and her husband, Eddie Cibrian, will  launch July 17 on VH1, called “LeAnn and Eddie.”

“It’s a satirical look into our life. It’s fun. We don’t hold back on a lot of things and you hear our side of everything,” Rimes said. “We wanted to be at home with our kids so we did it like we were working a 9-to-5 job.

Rimes then surprised the crowd by performing her first hit single, “Blue.” As the estimated 300 onlookers sang with her, she broke into an appreciative smile.

The ultimate message Rimes wanted to convey is that she is just a normal person like everyone else.

“People in my position are normal. We go through the same stuff,” Rimes said.

She ended the interview playing the song “Gasoline and Matches.”

“I was a little girl with a big voice,” she said. “My dad always told me that one day I would have to be someone with more than that. My voice is communication.”

Will Hoge Proves His Country Cred

Originally posted on CMAcloseup.com

By Kinsey Haynes

Will Hoge proves true music can last, even in a changing industry. Not only did his newest album, Never Give In, land him a No. 1 spot on the Billboard Heatseekers chart in its first week, but the first single, “Strong,” was picked up by Chevrolet for its 2013 Silverado ad campaign.

At the Bud Light Stage early on Friday afternoon, Hoge ran out and opened with “Long Gone.” After tossing his guitar offstage to his tour manager, he strapped on another one and played “Better Off Now That You’re Gone.”

“This next song is one of mine that I recorded and was picked up by a band you may have heard of called Lady Antebellum. CMA Fest is a perfect time to have people join you onstage so,” he teased, “Lady Antebellum is not here today. But thank you very much.”

He followed with more from four of his eight studio albums, including the bluesy “Still Got You On My Mind;” a raw, emotional “When I Get My Wings;” the storyteller “Even If It Breaks Your Heart;” and the rock ‘n’ roll ballad “Bad Ol’ Days”

“I was told for years that I’d never have a song played on Country radio,” Hoge said. “I would like to thank all of y’all Country Music fans and the fine folks at Country radio for proving everybody wrong.” And then he played “Strong,” which evoked a huge crowd response.

He closed with “The Highway’s Home” from his 2007 album, Draw the Curtains. The band gathered around the microphone and sang the chorus from the Hank Williams song “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry.” The crowd was more than pleased.

As he walked offstage, Hoge addressed the crowd with a heart-warming “thank you” and a smile.

Blackhawk Marks 20 Years of Classic Country

Originally posted on CMAcloseup.com

By Kinsey Haynes

http://www.cmacloseup.com/2014/06/07/blackhawk-marks-20-years-classic-country/ CMA Music Festival provided an appropriate forum for BlackHawk to celebrate more than two decades of music and the release of a new album on July 8 – their first in 12 years.

The band, which started in 1992, played the Bud Light Stage outside of Bridgestone Arena on Friday. A diverse crowd assembled to hear them, ranging from children in strollers to middle-aged adults and senior citizens, many of whom sang together as BlackHawk played classics from its catalog.

Highlights included “Goodbye Says It All”, “Every Once In A While,” “I’m Not Strong Enough To Say No” and the newest single and album title cut, “Brothers Of The Southland.”

Ben Kadrlik, 31, from Faribault, Minnesota, has followed the band for 10 years. They play every year in Medina, an hour away from Faribault, the week before Thanksgiving. Kadrlik and his old high school friends look forward to it every year.

“BlackHawk is a timeless Country band – true Country,” he said “There is something poetic about true Country being alive today. To still have this kind of Country around is incredible.”

Artist of The Day Craig Morgan Honors Veterans

Originally posted on CMAcloseup.com

By Kinsey Haynes

Craig Morgan’s activism on behalf of United States troops is well known and admirable.

Shortly before he came onstage as Artist of the Day at the CMA Close Up Stage in Fan Fair X, an announcement was made that the two front rows were reserved for those with an active military ID and their families.

Joseph Hudak, Editor of Rolling Stone Country, introduced Morgan, who had a cast on his left arm from a recent injury.

Morgan sat down with his guitar, took off his cast and jokingly asked if anyone in attendance was not a Country Music fan. A girl named Bree was the only one. This was the first of many jokes and humorous asides that followed over the next hour.

“This song is a real sexy song. My wife doesn’t really agree but I recorded it anyway. She loves it now because it paid for her house,” Morgan said. He then played “International Harvester,” with everyone in the audience on their feet and singing along.

He followed with his No. 1 hit “What I Love About Sunday” and “This Ain’t Nothin’”

“I love Country Music,” he proclaimed at one point. “I’m not a redneck, a cowboy or a hillbilly, but I am a country boy and I’m proud of the fact that I sing Country Music. It’s what I do. But I like to sing other stuff. We are going to do a song for Bree in just a minute.”

And then, for the one non-Country lover in attendance, he covered Justin Timberlake’s “Drink You Away,” which he announced he had “made my own.”

After playing “This Ole’ Boy”, he talked about our troops and performed “If Not Me,” which evoked tears from numerous audience members. At the end, the crowd erupted into a three-minute standing ovation.

“Wake Up Lovin’ You” turned into a Beatle-esque crowd singalong with hundreds of “Na-Na-Na-Na-Na-Na” chants and handclaps to match. And then he offered his current single, “We’ll Come Back Around.”

To close out the performance, Morgan announced that he had just teamed up with the MoonPie brand in support of our troops. More than 250,000 Chocolate Double-Decker MoonPie boxes will feature Morgan’s likenesses, recap his commitment to the military and list a website where consumers can send a “thank you” to American troops serving abroad. He then handed out free MoonPies to the soldiers and their families in the two front rows.

Morgan even took a phone from a woman in the audience and FaceTimed her son, who is in the line of duty. Afterwards he took a picture with everyone in the first two rows holding their boxes of free MoonPies.

Brenda Lee Honors Fans - And Good Manners

Originally posted on CMAcloseup.com

By Kinsey Haynes

When being in the same room with Brenda Lee, expect the word “legend” to be used.

Her many hits include “I’m Sorry,” which has sold more than 15 million copies, and ”Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree,” whose sales top seven million. Lee is a member of the Opry and is the only woman inducted into both the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and the Country Music Hall of Fame. To date she has sold more than 100 million records, more than any other female artist.

At the CMA Booth in Fan Fair X on Saturday, she greeted fans of all ages, signed anything her fans put before her and expressed appreciation to those who displayed good manners.

When asked about their experience with Lee, two fans from Tennessee, Cathey Broadway, 43, of Lewisburg and her best friend, Terri Demonbreun, 43, from Springhill, have been listening to her since they were young. (When asked if their last names, identical to major street names in Nashville, were pseudonyms, Broadway sighed, “I wish they were.”)

“She is beautiful,” Broadway said. “She is an amazing person and if people don’t come to meet her, then they are missing out on a legend. This was a once in a lifetime chance and I would not miss this for the world.”

During the session, she was surrounded by some of her family and friends, including her grandchildren, who were running around the table. She took a moment to scold them and tell them the babysitter would be there soon.

Everyone in attendance was in awe over the legend they had just me. Some even admitted they had waited their entire lives for the moment.