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Aaron Lewis at The Bluestone Two Nights, BACK TO BACK!
*August 23rd, 2018 and August 24th, 2018 (SOLD OUT)
*Opening Artist: Travis Marvin
*Doors for the show will open at 7pm each night
*Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 day of show
(Ticket is only valid for admission for the date printed on the ticket)
Tickets are on-sale NOW!
PURCHASE THURSDAY, AUGUST 23rd TICKET HERE
Lewis has been performing solo acoustic shows since he was 17 and still does today. He has written and performed many songs that have never been officially released such as “Angel”, “Something Like Me”, “Bonghits for Breakfast” (originally performed with J-CAT), and “Sleeping at the Wheel”.
In July 2010, Lewis finished recording a country music EP entitled Town Line that was released March 1, 2011 on Stroudavarious Records. It features seven tracks including three versions of the first single “Country Boy” featuring George Jones, Charlie Daniels, and Chris Young, as well as the songs “Massachusetts”, “Vicious Circles”, “The Story Never Ends”, and a re-recording of “Tangled Up in You” originally from The Illusion of Progress.[5] Lewis said in a July 2011 interview that he was introduced to country music as a child by his grandfather, but his interest was recently rekindled when he toured with fellow rock turned occasional country singer Kid Rock.[6]
Lewis performing at the House of Blues in Cleveland in 2013
Lewis released his first full solo album, The Road, in November 2012. Its debut single, “Endless Summer”, has also made the country charts. Lewis wrote every song on the 10 track collection, except for “Granddaddy’s Gun” which was penned by Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins and Bobby Pinson, marking the first time Lewis has recorded outside material for an album.[7] In an interview with Broadway’s Electric Barnyard, Lewis said he recorded “Granddaddy’s Gun” as both a compliment to a friend, and because he was pressed for time.[8]
Lewis wrote songs for his second solo album whilst touring in support of The Road, often performing the unreleased material in his live sets.[9][10] The album, dubbed Sinner, was mostly recorded in a single 18 hour session, with many tracks done in one take. Aaron’s daughter Zoe also provides guest vocals on one song.[11] It was released on September 16, 2016, with the lead single, “That Ain’t Country”, released on 17 June. Country artist Willie Nelson is featured on the album’s title track as well.
Aaron Lewis will be performing at The Bluestone Two Nights, BACK TO BACK!
*August 23rd, 2018 and August 24th, 2018 (SOLD OUT)
*Opening Artist: Travis Marvin
*Doors for the show will open at 7pm each night
*Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 day of show
(Ticket is only valid for admission for the date printed on the ticket)
Tickets are on-sale Friday, May 4th at 10am
PURCHASE THURSDAY, AUGUST 23rd TICKET HERE
PURCHASE FRIDAY, AUGUST 24th TICKET HERE
SOLD OUT
Lewis has been performing solo acoustic shows since he was 17 and still does today. He has written and performed many songs that have never been officially released such as “Angel”, “Something Like Me”, “Bonghits for Breakfast” (originally performed with J-CAT), and “Sleeping at the Wheel”.
In July 2010, Lewis finished recording a country music EP entitled Town Line that was released March 1, 2011 on Stroudavarious Records. It features seven tracks including three versions of the first single “Country Boy” featuring George Jones, Charlie Daniels, and Chris Young, as well as the songs “Massachusetts”, “Vicious Circles”, “The Story Never Ends”, and a re-recording of “Tangled Up in You” originally from The Illusion of Progress.[5] Lewis said in a July 2011 interview that he was introduced to country music as a child by his grandfather, but his interest was recently rekindled when he toured with fellow rock turned occasional country singer Kid Rock.[6]
Lewis performing at the House of Blues in Cleveland in 2013
Lewis released his first full solo album, The Road, in November 2012. Its debut single, “Endless Summer”, has also made the country charts. Lewis wrote every song on the 10 track collection, except for “Granddaddy’s Gun” which was penned by Dallas Davidson, Rhett Akins and Bobby Pinson, marking the first time Lewis has recorded outside material for an album.[7] In an interview with Broadway’s Electric Barnyard, Lewis said he recorded “Granddaddy’s Gun” as both a compliment to a friend, and because he was pressed for time.[8]
Lewis wrote songs for his second solo album whilst touring in support of The Road, often performing the unreleased material in his live sets.[9][10] The album, dubbed Sinner, was mostly recorded in a single 18 hour session, with many tracks done in one take. Aaron’s daughter Zoe also provides guest vocals on one song.[11] It was released on September 16, 2016, with the lead single, “That Ain’t Country”, released on 17 June. Country artist Willie Nelson is featured on the album’s title track as well.
Muscadine Bloodline LIVE at The Bluestone on September 28th, 2018!
Opening Artist: Brandon Ray and Jordan Fletcher
*Doors for the show will open at 7PM
*Tickets are $10 in advance and $15 day of show
Tickets On-Sale NOW!
Biography
Hailing from Mobile, Alabama and based in Nashville, Tennessee, the contemporary country duo Muscadine Bloodline certainly sounds southern but they don’t necessarily seem beholden to either hometown. At times, the pair of Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton can recall the plainspoken sound of Texas Red Dirt country; sometimes they kick up a bit of Southern rock, and sometimes they have the polished songcraft synonymous with the Music City. All of this is evident on their eponymous 2017 debut EP.
The EP Muscadine Bloodline followed just a year after Muncaster and Stanton formed the group. The two singer/songwriters grew up in Mobile, but they didn’t meet until they were both actively pursuing musical careers as adults. Stanton crossed Muncaster’s path when the former was looking for an opening act and they soon started jamming, then decided to form a band. They headed to Nashville and quickly released three singles in 2016 — “Southern Boy Cure,” “Porch Swing Angel,” and “Shut Your Mouth” — before cutting the Muscadine Bloodline EP with producer Luke Laird. The EP appeared early in 2017. ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, Rovi
Corey Smith LIVE at The Bluestone on October 4th, 2018!
*Opening Artist: TBA
*Doors for the show will open at 7PM
*Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of show
Tickets On-Sale August, 3rd 2018 at 10AM!
Corey Smith, the fan-made man, has sold over 1 million concert tickets, 1.5 million digital singles and over 220,000 albums. Corey Smith has amassed an unfailingly devout fan base, not only in his native Southeast region, but all around the nation, simply by telling it the way it is. He has released 10 albums—including 2011’s Top 20 release The Broken Record. Corey Smith has written every word on every album himself and he produced 9 out of 10 of the records. In Summer 2015, Corey Smith teamed up with producer Keith Stegall (Alan Jackson, Zac Brown Band) for his album, “While the Gettin’ Is Good,” which was released on Sugar Hill Records. Smith’s concerts, which were documented on his last live record, Live in Chattanooga, regularly sell out, with audiences singing along to such fan favorites as the coming-of-age anthem “Twenty-One,” the nostalgic time warp “If I Could Do It Again” and the group hug “I Love Everyone.” Corey consistently tours, hitting around 120 dates per year and has begun releasing singles from his upcoming project, the Great Wide Underground.
Midland LIVE at The Bluestone on Saturday, November 17, 2018!
*Opening Artist: Desure
*Doors for the show will open at 7PM
*Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of show
Ticket On-Sale July 13th, 2018 at 10AM!
With all the chest-thumping going on in Nashville today, where bluster and swagger have replaced heart and soul, you half expect some of country music’s male stars to be sporting bruises. Which is what makes Midland, a trio of friends based in Dripping Springs, Texas, so undeniably refreshing. Made up of singer Mark Wystrach, lead guitarist Jess Carson and bass player Cameron Duddy, Midland is the embodiment of Seventies California country, all smooth Eagles harmonies and heart-on-your-sleeve lyrics. Their songs are intoxicating, sung with the twang of George Strait.
And it’s impossible to resist.
Now, after endearing themselves to fans with the hit radio single “Drinkin’ Problem” and a self-titled EP, Midland unveil their full-length debut, On the Rocks (Big Machine Records).
A collection of 13 tracks all written or co-written by Midland – the guys took their name from a Dwight Yoakam song – On the Rocks excels at setting a mood, transporting the listener to another place and time. It’s an album made for wide-open skies, endless deserts and wondering where the road is going to take you next.
“Drinkin’ Problem,” written with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, who produced the album with Dann Huff, reclaims the drinking song for classic country music, making it less about an endless party and more about self-medicating. “They call it a problem, I call it a solution / just sitting here with all my grand illusions,” sings Wystrach, evoking the best booze ballads of both Gary Stewart and Merle Haggard, two of the trio’s chief influences.
“Make a Little,” a rollicking ditty, is more optimistic, soaring with the brotherly harmonies of Wystrach, Duddy and Carson and a timely message: “There’s just not enough love in the world.” The rapid-fire lyrics embody the clever wordplay that is unique to country music – “we should make a little, generate a little / maybe even make the world a better place a little” – and also nod to Alabama, another country band that helped spark a revolution in the genre.
Midland hearken back to a time when an artist’s personal style – colorful suits, tailored denim and well-worn hats – dovetailed with the music. And they tip their hats to other groundbreaking artists throughout On the Rocks.
The kick-back and get-high ode “Altitude Adjustment” name-checks John Denver, the majestic “Nothin’ New Under the Neon” sounds like vintage Eddie Rabbit, and the glorious “At Least You Cried” channels Dwight Yoakam. By album’s end, the band 2 returns to the Eagles, recalling their famous intro to “Seven Bridges Road,” with the closing “Somewhere on the Wind.”
“On the Rocks is a confluence of our musical tastes and our reverence for classic country,” says Duddy, whose wife, photographer Harper Smith, shoots all of the group’s stylish photos.
“This record is truly a nod to the time period we are influenced by,” says Carson, a Pacific Northwest native, “and is an effort to bring that sound and that pageantry back to the forefront.”
“We write with a very visual storytelling approach. We paint that big picture and go to that place,” says Wystrach. “Where is this story going? Let’s paint it.”
“Electric Rodeo,” with its plaintive piano, sweeping strings and high-in-the-saddle chorus, is a prime example of the “picture” the band talks about creating. And “Check Cashin’ Country,” a solo composition by Carson, stands as the band’s true-life road diary: the tale of a country-rock band trying to find time to sleep as they hustle from gig to gig, barely making enough money to put gas in the tank. It’s the country equivalent of Seger’s “On the Road.”
Midland first came together at Duddy’s wedding in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, where the three members ended up jamming onstage at the rehearsal dinner.
“It was this serendipitous chain of events, and it was the best week ever,” says Wystrach, who, despite his hippie persona, was actually raised on an Arizona cattle ranch. “By the end, we knew the three of us had amazing chemistry.”
“Midland isn’t manufactured,” says Duddy, born in California. “We are three real friends who stumbled upon making music together.”
Whether they intended it or not, Midland are filling a void in country, with songs that run the gamut from lush Urban Cowboy anthems to loose campfire sing-alongs. Putting their own spin on a classic sound, they’re making something old relevant again.
“We are a band,” says Carson, declaratively. “That’s a big part of the spirit of what we do, that group experience and camaraderie.”
Says Wystrach, “We’ve poured our hearts and souls into writing and making these songs and are extremely proud of what we’ve been able to create.”
With On the Rocks, Midland have captured a sound decades in the making that is just right for today.
Devin Dawson will be performing LIVE at The Bluestone as part of his “Stray Off Course Tour” on
February 7th, 2019
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Jillian Jacqueline
Tickets are $15 in Advance and $20 day of show
Tickets On-Sale Friday, November 9th at 10am
PURCHASE HERE
Devin Dawson is a country singer and songwriter with a keen ear for clever turns of phrase and a knack for splitting the difference between rootsy and contemporary. A native of Orangevale, California, Dawson spent his formative years soaking in the sounds of Creedence Clearwater Revival, Alan Jackson, Marvin Gaye, and Johnny Cash. In 2012, he packed his bags and headed to Nashville, where he became ensconced in the Music City songwriting machine, penning songs for other artists. After spending a few years honing his chops, he decided to strike out on his own, and enlisted the help of producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town, Brothers Osborne). He inked a deal with Warner Music Nashville and released his debut single, “All on Me,” which reached the Top 20 on the Hot Country Songs chart. The track was included on his 2018 full-length debut, Dark Horse, which also included collaborations with songwriters Luke Laird, Josh Kerr, Seth Ennis, and others.
Love and Theft will be performing LIVE at The Bluestone on Friday, February 15th, 2019
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artists: Stevie Monce and Crawford & Power
Tickets are $15 in advance and $20 day of show
Tickets will go on-sale Friday, October 26th at 10am
PURCHASE HERE
“We wanted to show a different side and make a record that sounds like us,” Stephen Barker Liles says of Love and Theft’s boundary-pushing new album Whiskey On My Breath. “Country music has always been about honest performances and songs that mean something, and that’s the kind of record that we wanted to make.”
“We’re at a different place, in our music and in our lives, than we were when we made our earlier records, and we wanted this album to reflect that,” agrees his longstanding musical partner Eric Gunderson. “We worked harder and more passionately on this record than anything we’ve ever done. The whole experience was refreshing and inspiring for us.”
Whiskey On My Breath—the duo’s third album—marks a significant creative statement for the two singer-songwriter-guitarists, whose resume already includes a long series of career highlights. Having already established themselves as one of country’s hottest young acts with such memorable hits as the #1 country smash “Angel Eyes” and the Top 10 hit “Runaway,” and their widely acclaimed albums World Wide Open and Love and Theft, the ACM/CMA/CMT-nominated twosome take their music to the next level on Whiskey On My Breath.
LOCASH LIVE at The Bluestone on December 12th, 2019
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Drew Baldridge
Tickets are just $25 in advance and $30 day of show
Tickets on-sale Friday, August 23rd at 10am
PURCHASE HERE
Creating a sound that fuses modern Country and classic heartland rock with an edgy vocal blend, Wheelhouse Records’ LOCASH is the Country music duo made up of singer-songwriters Chris Lucas and Preston Brust; natives of Baltimore, Maryland, and Kokomo, Indiana, respectively. With two albums and eight charting singles to their credit, LOCASH broke out in 2015 with their gracious GOLD-certified hit, “I Love This Life,” followed by the flirtatious GOLD-certified #1 smash, “I Know Somebody” –their first trip to the top of the Country radio airplay charts –and 2017’s fun-loving romantic anthem “Ring on Every Finger.” All three singles were part of their album, THE FIGHTERS, which was released in the summer of 2016 to Top 15 success. In 2017, they earned their first round of awards show recognition, nominated at the ACM Awards for New Vocal Duo or Group of the Year, the CMT Music Awards for Duo Video of the Year (“I Know Somebody”), and the CMA Awards for Vocal Duo of the Year. The 2019 ACM Duo of the Year nominee released their latest album (and first with their new label BBR Music Group/BMG), Brotherson March 29, 2019 with their lead single, “Feels Like A Party” reaching Top 25. Their current single, “One Big Country Song,” is currently climbing the charts.
“Following the recent news that multi-award-winning country star Lauren Alaina is a contender on this season’s “Dancing with the Stars,” the platinum-selling singer’s That Girl Was Me Tour scheduled for this fall is shifting to a January start date. The That Girl Was Me Tour originally scheduled at The Bluestone on October 3rd 2019 is being rescheduled to February 1st 2020. ” If you have already purchased tickets, those tickets will be valid for the new date.
Lauren Alaina LIVE at The Bluestone on February 1st, 2020
Opening Artist: Filmore
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Tickets are $20
This is an All Ages Show
Tickets on-sale NOW
PURCHASE HERE
Georgia native Lauren Alaina captured America’s hearts when she competed on Season 10 of American Idol. In 2017, Lauren followed up her No. 1 debuting first album, Wildflower, with the release of the critically-acclaimed Road Less Traveled. The album landed on multiple end-of-year “Best Of” lists including Billboard, Rolling Stone and Amazon, and it became the top-streamed female country album release of the year. Praised as “full of life lessons and uplift” (PEOPLE), the collection of 12 songs all written by the young star includes Lauren’s first No. 1 hit, title track “Road Less Traveled.”
The “sassy Southerner with killer pipes” (PARADE) has shared the stage with superstars including Alan Jackson, Carrie Underwood, Luke Bryan and Martina McBride. Lauren recently joined Cole Swindell on the Reason to Drink Tour and is currently on tour with Jason Aldean for this summer’s High Noon Neon Tour.
Mitchell Tenpenny Concert at The Bluestone In Columbus, Ohio
March 5th, 2020
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Adam Doleac
Tickets are just $25 in advance and $30 dos
Tickets will go on-sale Friday, December 13th at 10am
PURCHASE HERE
“I wanted to tell a bunch of different stories on this album, but they all had to be authentic and believable to me,” says Mitchell Tenpenny. “What I was feeling at the time, where I was in my head, what’s going on in the world, it all contributed to the end product. The songs that made it were the ones I was sure that I was passionate about getting on there—what I was proud of, what I really wanted to say.”
On the heels of his Platinum-certified No. 1 single, “Drunk Me,” comes Tenpenny’s major label debut album, Telling All My Secrets. Revealing a wide range of influences and a level of assurance and confidence that comes from already having years of songwriting and touring behind him, the record marks the arrival of an artist recently singled out recently singled out as one of Pandora’s Artists to Watch in 2019, MusicRow’s Next Big Thing honorees, and The Tennessean’s Next Nashville Stars for 2019.
Tracy Lawrence will be performing LIVE at The Bluestone
Special guest Tyler Booth
November 19th, 2021
Presale $25 Day of show $30
Doors at 7 PM
If you purchased tickets for the previous show and did not receive a refund, your ticket will be good for the new date.
Tracy Lawrence
In 1994, Lawrence contributed the Top Ten hit “Renegades, Rebels and Rogues” to the soundtrack of the movie version of Maverick and also released his third album, I See It Now. “Texas Tornado” became his sixth number one hit, and three more singles — the title track, “As Any Fool Can See,” and “If the World Had a Front Porch” — all went to number two. Somewhat lost in all the success was Lawrence‘s arrest that same year on a weapons charge, but it didn’t slow his career momentum at all. He tossed off the Live and Unplugged set in 1995, which compiled acoustic tracks and concert performances with his backing band Little Elvis. In 1996, he returned with the proper follow-up album Time Marches On. The title track was a huge hit, topping the country charts, and “If You Love Me,” “Stars Over Texas,” and “Is That a Tear” all went Top Five. His hit streak continued with 1997’s The Coast Is Clear, which contained two more Top Five singles in the title track and “Better Man, Better Off.”
This ticket is a revocable license and may be taken up and admission refused upon refunding the purchase price appearing hereon and is grounds for seizure and cancellation without compensation. Holder of this ticket (“Holder”) voluntarily assumes all risks and danger incidental to the game or event for which this ticket is issued whether occurring prior to, during, or after same, including, but not limited to, contracting, and/or spreading the COVID-19 virus, and agrees that the organization, venue, presenter, agents, participants, or players are not responsible or liable for any injuries, sickness, or death resulting from such causes. Holder acknowledges that the COVID-19 pandemic remains a threat to individual and public health, COVID-19 is a highly contagious disease transmitted through human contact and respiratory droplets (including through the air and via common surfaces) and it is possible that Holder may contract COVID-19 while at the game or event for which this ticket is issued. Holder agrees by use of this ticket not to transmit or aid in transmitting any description, account, picture, or reproduction of the game or event to which this ticket is issued. Breach of the foregoing will automatically terminate this license. Holder agrees that the license comprised by this ticket may be removed and Holder may be ejected from the game or event for which this ticket is issued in the event that Holder violates any law, ordinance, or venue regulation. Holder grants permission to the organization sponsoring the game or event for which this ticket is issued to utilize Holder’s image or likeness in connection with any video or other transmission or reproduction of the event to which this ticket relates.
Top of the World Tour
LAUREN ALAINA
Presented by maurices
March 25, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
Tickets $20
Artist Biography
Lauren Alaina | Sitting Pretty on Top of the World
Ten years into her Nashville career, Lauren Alaina is in the upper echelon of country music’s most authentic voices, beloved personalities, and open hearts. She’s earned a reputation as one of the genre’s most compelling storytellers by boldly incorporating her struggles and heartache into her critically acclaimed first two albums. Lauren’s third studio collection, Sitting Pretty on Top of the World, is an artful evolution of immaculately penned, unflinching reflections of the mountains and valleys on her journey.
Sitting Pretty on Top of the World opens with the telltale sound of a needle dropping down on a record, and with that, Lauren sets the tone for some of the most captivating music of her career. Lauren was inspired to lean into the tenets of classic country music for this project and on the albums lead track, “It Was Me,” she offers a timeless country ballad filled with heartsick self-reflection. Lauren’s voice emotionally soars through the aching, introspective lyrics: “It wasn’t you I didn’t love, it was me.”
“The other person isn’t always the bad guy,” Lauren concedes. “On ‘It Was Me,’ I’m taking full ownership of being in the wrong. It was really hard to admit that I was the one at fault and to realize that I didn’t love myself enough to allow someone else to love me.” But the vulnerable “It Was Me,” co-written with Hillary Lindsey, is a song Lauren considers to be one of the best she’s ever written.
Lauren takes pride in the exposed transparency of her songwriting on this project, and though most writing sessions took place via Zoom, Lauren was crafting verses and choruses alongside the likes of award-winning songwriters including Liz Rose, Lori McKenna, Hillary Lindsey, Emily Weisband, David Garcia, Jordan Reynolds, Ben Johnson and Kennedi Lykken. She co-wrote 14 of the album’s 15 songs, much of it inspired from recent life experiences including two impactful break-ups, the loss of her stepfather, and like much of the world, Lauren struggled with despondency as she adapted to life in the pandemic.
The album’s title track “On Top of the World” delves into the dark reality behind polished facades. Writing the song with Jordan Reynolds and Sasha Sloan after the pandemic forced her to stay home for the first time in a decade, Lauren, in a heightened emotional state, revealed how she felt enveloped in loneliness and sadness.
“I’ve been on the road and touring for 10 years and having that taken away so suddenly felt like an abrupt stop to everything I’ve been working for, and that was a really scary thing for me,” she says, “but the whole world stopped for everybody, and I needed to find new ways to connect with people.”
Lauren applies that same honest vulnerability throughout the album from the harrowing ballad “What Do You Think Of?” featuring Danish Pop Star Lukas Graham, to the pensive flow of “I’m Not Sad Anymore,” to the beautiful simplicity of “Good Ole Boy” with its scaled back production that truly allows Lauren’s vocals to shine.
“This whole thing [album] is about loving yourself and being brave and being strong,” Lauren says. “I was faced with all these trials, and I hope people feel themselves in these songs. I think we all live the same stories with different characters. And maybe people realize new beginnings can be good.”
“Getting Good,” a duet with Trisha Yearwood, is the only song Lauren didn’t write on the album. Penned by Weisband, the song is a poignant truth-telling about choosing to be happy. Drawn to the concept, Lauren says, “Life is all about perspective, and you sometimes you have to shift your perspective.”
Lauren punctuates the lovelorn with the playful yet forthright “When the Party’s Over” and with the propulsive yet nostalgic “Run.” She also teamed up with Emily Weisband and the album’s producer Paul DiGiovanni to write the lighthearted, here-for-the-fun, rebound tune, “Getting Over Him,” featuring country star Jon Pardi. Lauren rounds out the album with the beautifully hopeful “Change My Mind,” which she co-wrote with Seth Ennis and Cameron Bedell.
Then with the familiar crackle of a vinyl record nearing its end, the album comes to a close. A journey from start to finish. Lauren explores life in these unique times and Sitting Pretty on Top of the World is the salve and the soundtrack for anyone traversing their own personal quest for hope and new beginnings.
Dillon Carmichael
March 31, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
About Dillon Carmichael:
FOR DILLON CARMICHAEL, THE LAST THREE YEARS HAVE BEEN A WHIRLWIND, TO SAY THE LEAST.
Since unleashing his critically acclaimed 2018 debut, Hell On An Angel, he’s toured with everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Trace Adkins to Dwight Yoakam and Justin Moore, written a song for Travis Tritt’s latest album, racked up millions of streams on Spotify, gone viral on TikTok, and even gotten engaged. And while you might have expected the cancellation of a year’s worth of tour dates to finally slow him down, Carmichael instead used his pandemic downtime to head right back into the studio and record Hot Beer, a brand new collection of high-energy, feel-good country.
“I felt like my catalog could use a little more fun in it,” says Carmichael. “After putting out a record as heavy as Hell On An Angel, I wanted to make something faster, something looser, something that’d leave you with a smile on your face.”
Recorded with producers Jon Pardi and Ryan Gore, Dan Huff, and Phil O’Donnell, Hot Beer is all sly humor and raw heart, with tongue-in-cheek lyrics and double entendres lurking around every corner. Carmichael’s rich, velvety baritone is still very much front and center here, but there’s a newfound playfulness to his delivery that manages to offer up a knowing wink even as it breaks your heart. It’s a delicate tightrope for any artist to walk, but if Hot Beer proves anything, it’s that Dillon Carmichael is a songwriter who knows how to take his fun seriously.
“Whether I’m singing a tear jerker or a party tune, the only thing that really matters to me is that it’s a great song,” Carmichael says. “And great songs are honest songs.”
Growing up in the small town of Burgin, KY, Carmichael inherited his passion for honest music through familial osmosis: his father and uncles performed in a Southern Gospel Quartet, his mother sang all over the eastern part of the state, and her brothers (John Michael and Eddie Montgomery) both enjoyed massive chart success. As a kid, Carmichael fell in love with country legends like Waylon Jennings and Vern Gosdin alongside the rock and roll he heard on the radio, and by the time he hit his teens, he was writing his own songs and performing live.
“I didn’t at any point consciously decide I was going to be a musician,” says Carmichael. “It just happened naturally. I found a kind of truth in country music that I couldn’t get anywhere else.”
After finishing high school, Carmichael relocated to Nashville, where he earned a publishing deal at the tender age of 18. It was his first taste of life outside of rural Kentucky, and the discovery of a whole city full of like-minded artists whose lives revolved around making music thrilled him. Buoyed by his early success, Carmichael began collaborating all over town with some of most revered writers in the business, but no Nashville resident had a bigger influence on him than producer Dave Cobb, whose stewardship helped guide Hell On An Angel from a dream to a reality.
“Dave just immediately understood my vision,” says Carmichael. “He helped me zero in on my truth.”
Merging a sonically progressive palette with a tasteful reverence for the past, Hell On An Angel was at once old school and modern, traditional and contemporary, timeless and timely. The New York Times compared Carmichael to Randy Travis and said his voice “moves with the heft and certainty of a tractor-trailer,” while NPR praised his “deep holler,” and Parade raved that “Carmichael defines pure country.” He landed on Artist To Watch lists from Billboard, Rolling Stone, Taste of Country, Pandora, and more, reached #2 at country radio’s Most Added chart with his debut single, “Dancing Away With My Heart,” and electrified festival crowds from Seven Peaks to Faster Horses.
“One of the things I learned getting to play big festivals and arenas and theaters was that it doesn’t matter if there’s 200 people or 20,000 people in the audience,” says Carmichael. “They’re there to hear country music and have a good time. It’s that simple.”
And so Carmichael began plotting his follow-up to Hell On Angel with those good times in mind. Reaching back to the lighthearted 90s country that had always held a special place in his heart, he began cutting a series of lively, uptempo, sometimes hilarious tunes full of mischief and innuendo. Lead single “Hot Beer,” written by Carmichael’s good friend HARDY, rattles off a list of everything the singer would rather do than get back together with his cheating ex (“I’d rather drink a hot beer / Build a fire in the pouring rain / Burn all of my fishing gear / Then set sail in a hurricane”), while the anthemic “Big Truck,” written with David Lee Murphy and Jessi Alexander, questions the true source of his partner’s affection, and the bawdy “Sawin’ Logs” spins a tale of two lovers on very different pages.
“Phil sent me that song last year and it was our summer jam,” says Carmichael. “We rocked out to it all the time, and I posted an acoustic version to TikTok just for fun one day. It ended up getting millions and millions of views and everyone started singing along to it at my shows, so I knew I had to record it.”
Not everything on Hot Beer is quite so irreverent, though. The sweetly sincere “Since You’ve Been In It” celebrates the kind of love that makes everything better; the bittersweet “Somewhere She Ain’t” reckons with the ghosts of a lost love that just won’t fade away; and the grateful “Lucky Man” takes stock of the little things that add up to a beautiful life.
“My uncle Eddie originally recorded ‘Lucky Man’ with Troy Gentry back in 2006,” says Carmichael, “and I thought putting my own spin on it would be a nice nod to my family legacy, as well as a tribute to Troy, who passed away in 2017. I’ve loved that song ever since I heard them sing it for the first time, and I’m honored be able to share my version of it.”
With live music returning and his calendar filling up once more, Dillon Carmichael is indeed a lucky man. And with Hot Beer, it’s clear he’s ready to dive back into the whirlwind and have some serious fun.
COVID-19:
The Bluestone does not require COVID Vaccinations to enter our venue. We follow all local guidelines and cleaning procedures. The current Columbus “Mask Mandate” for an indoor event does not apply to anyone who is “ACTIVELY EATING OR DRINKING.” We kindly ask that you enter the building with a mask on. You can keep it on or remove it as long as you are actively EATING OR DRINKING! This will be a full capacity show, and it is an “ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK EVENT.”
Whitey Morgan and the 78’s
with Alex Williams
April 10, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
About Whitey Morgan:
In a career spanning 15 years, Morgan has released five studio albums and a live recording from his hometown of Flint, Michigan. Additionally, he has toured relentlessly averaging over 125 shows annually. Rolling Stone has described him as a “Waylon Jennings acolyte.. modern day outlaw [with a] hard hitting blue-collar brand of music” while NPR Music hailed, “Staying close to the sound and subject matter of classic outlaw artists like Waylon Jennings, Merle Haggard and David Allan Coe, Morgan is poised to lead this hand-worn brand of country to the next generation.” His most recent LP, Sonic Ranch (2015), was released to critical acclaim and praised by Detroit Free Press as, “a bold well-crafted album that doesn’t forsake the gritty undercurrent running through Morgan’s stuff.”
Whitey Morgan and the 78’s anticipated new album, self-produced by Morgan, was recorded in the Neve Room at famed Sonic Ranch Studios in Tornillo, Texas. Featured on the record are collaborations with acclaimed songwriters Travis Meadows and Ward Davis plus a cover of ZZ Top’s “Just Got Paid.” Alongside Morgan, the 78’s consist of Brett Robinson (pedal steel guitar), Joey Spina (guitar), Alex Lyon (bass) and Eric Savage (drums).
Of the recording, Morgan shares, “It’s not like my vision happened overnight. I’ve been chipping away at it forever. It’s slowly evolving and it’s going in a little bit different direction. It’s not so straightforward anymore. This record definitely has a wider path, it’s broader, but it still sounds like a Whitey Morgan record.” With grandparents from Tennessee and Kentucky and hometown roots in Flint, Michigan, Morgan’s family geography has factored into his approach to music.
Ian Munsick
with Ryan Charles
May 13, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
ABOUT IAN MUNSICK
Breathing fresh Rocky Mountain air into the Nashville music scene, Ian Munsick is pioneering a new brand of country. The Wyoming-born singer / songwriter’s upbringing was a mix of working the ranch and working crowds. Under the tutelage of their fiddle-playing father, Munsick and his two older brothers grew up playing everything from bluegrass to The Beatles. Incorporating elements across genres, he has now begun to establish himself as a progressive artist with an old soul. Captivated by traditional lyrical truth and the modern soundscape, Munsick followed his ear to Music City.
In 2017 he released a self-titled EP, winning iHeartRadio’s Rocky Mountain Song of the Year for the rootsy “Horses Are Faster” and becoming the only artist who simultaneously qualified two tracks as finalists in the NSAI/CMT songwriting competition. Since then, Munsick has signed a major label record deal with Warner Music Nashville, earned more than 100 million global streams and been named one of Spotify’s inaugural Hot Country Artists to Watch. His debut album Coyote Cry features his mile-high tenor underscoring self-penned songs that conjure equal parts epic adventure and down-to-earth wisdom. The record marks the dawn of western pop-laced country, pulling a thread straight from Chris LeDoux through Post Malone. Munsick hit the road in the fall alongside labelmate Cody Johnson and his own sold-out, headlining dates. He wrapped the year with his Grand Ole Opry debut and is starting 2022 strong as a MusicRow Next Big Thing artist. Fans are finding that with Ian Munsick, western country is reborn.
About Ryan Charles
Western rapper Ryan Charles hails from the valley of Buffalo, WY. Similar to his hometown, once referred to as the most lawless town in America, Charles brings a style all his own — meshing the cowboy lifestyle with flow of 2000’s rap. A natural-born entertainer, Charles quickly became one of the most skilled freestyle rappers on the school bus, eventually making the move to Seattle, WA to pursue his music career more seriously. As an artist, Charles has released a few singles, including the jiggy buckaroo bop “Gettin’ Western” in 2020 and most recently, “Old Dirt Fancy” in 2021. Known for his signature fashion sense, light hearted twang and high-energy live shows, Charles continues to work on new music in Nashville, TN.
Paul Cauthen
May 19, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
Want to get a bead on Paul Cauthen?
Good freakin’ luck — especially on his third album, COUNTRY COMING DOWN.
Suffice to say that the singer, songwriter and proud son of Tyler, Texas — steward of a rich, resonant, bass-leaning tenor dubbed Big Velvet — covers a lot of ground and embodies a lot of characters. He’ll tell you right off the bat that he’s “Country As Fuck,” throwing down a wad of “Fuck You Money” and heading into the night to “Cut a Rug.” His “Country Clubbin'” has as much to do with swinging as his swing. But a song or two later dude’s vowing to be loving his wife “Till the Day I Die” and, in COUNTRY COMING DOWN’s title track, dreams of living in “a cabin in the country, far away from the city lights” where “life is slow and easy.”
The fact that all of that exists within the same guy, who’s full of good humor, sharp wit and a heart as big as his home state is what makes Cauthen someone who’s easy, and exciting, to spend 10 songs with.
“Y’know, you got your bangers and you got your ballads,” Cauthen acknowledges. “You got your meaningful songs where you’re opening up more of your vulnerable side, and then you’re putting on a fucking show — all in one album. And it’s all honest, I’ll tell ya that. Everything on there is something I’ve felt or thought before.”
COUNTRY COMING DOWN has been in motion awhile, actually. The title track, one of several co-writes with good Nashville pal Aaron Raitiere, has been around since before Cauthen’s dark sophomore album ROOM 41. Its sense of campfire calm and “damn near off the map” idyll set a bar, for both music and lifestyle, that Cauthen aspired to, while the rest of the new album, recorded at Modern Electric Sound Recorders in Dallas with regular collaborators Beau Bedford (Texas Gentlemen) and Jason Burt (Medicine Man Revival), shows that Cauthen was able to get there without losing any of the playful “hot dog holly golly dagnabit” good-time spirit that rolls off his tongue like a tumbleweed in the west Texas panhandle.
As he promises in “Country As Fuck,” “I ain’t gotta sell my soul. If I want it then I grab it.”
“I’m having fun,” Cauthen says. “I’ve finally figured it out. I’m more settled and comfortable. I know I’m good at making records and great at entertaining. That’s my gift more than anything, to be able to get up there and deliver these songs to people.”
That gift is part of Cauthen’s DNA, of course, from a family deeply steeped in music. Texan on both sides, his paternal grandfather went to school with Hank Williams while his maternal grandpa, who worked with Buddy Holly and the Crickets during his youth, introduced Cauthen to singing. His grandmother taught him to play piano, while his grandfather and great uncle were the song leader and preacher, respectively, of the local Christian Church of Christ.
“Yeah, I had no choice, really” Cauthen says now. “(Music) is what I call my birddog trait; You don’t have to tell a birddog to jump in the river and grab the duck and bring it back to you. And you don’t have to tell me to get up on stage and perform. That’s what I’m supposed to do. My family enjoyed watching me perform when I was a kid; I would get up in front of everybody at Christmas with my guitar and play ‘Jackson’ with my grandmother. I learned my trade, y’know?”
Cauthen pursued that trade into young adulthood, showcasing at Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos and forming the duo Sons of Fathers, whose early albums were produced by Lloyd Maines. After the group ran its course, Cauthen set off on his own in 2016, recording MY GOSPEL partly in Muscle Shoals, AL.; The album made Rolling Stone’s list of Top 40 Country Records that year. 2018’s HAVE MERCY EP began his association with Bedford and featured contributions by other members of the Texas Gentlemen, and also led to Cauthen’s Grand Ole Opry debut as a solo artist on June 22, 2018.
The critically acclaimed ROOM 41, meanwhile, chronicled and exorcised a rough period in Cauthen’s life, marked by a romantic breakup, substance abuse, depression and anxiety issues. “My growing years were like going to college,” Cauthen confesses. “I just got screwed so many times by so many different people on this whole freakin’ journey. I had this void I was trying to fill in my heart, with booze or any type of, just, abuse. I made every stupid mistake you can make in the business, and in life, in order to learn ’em all.
“I don’t feel that hurt anymore. I’ve changed.”
Marriage helped, he says. So did cleaning house and restructuring the business operation that surrounded him. That allowed Cauthen to plunge into COUNTRY COMING DOWN with a lighter heart and wicked humor — one that allowed him to find the profound meaning in a “schmoozie bougie brouhaha.”
If you want to know what that sounds like, tuck into the album’s sonic array, an austere, sinewy attack that puts Cauthen’s vocals dead center in the ride. “We’ve really unleashed Big Velvet in this situation, which I love,” he says. Nowhere is that more true than “Country As Fuck,” with a taut groove and loping gait tailor made for a 21st century honky tonk. Cauthen, Bedford and Burt play with that template throughout COUNTRY COMING DOWN, punctuating “Caught Me At a Good Time” with a sharp guitar solo, “High Heels” with a tasteful Wurlitzer break and the satiristic “Country Clubbin'” with a disco beat and chorus of female backing vocals.
But just when you buy in — and happily convert — to Cauthen’s brand of unapologetic hedonism, the soul comes out. “Till The Day I Die” smoothes his raw heart with the promise of true and lasting love, while the stock-taking “Roll On Over” takes a wistful look in his rearview mirror. And “Country Coming Down” realizes a dream of calm — although not exclusive of the next sojourn with “Champagne & a Limo.”
I’m always on a quest, sonically,” Cauthen explains. “I was wanting to go at this just serving the song, more, ‘What does this call for?’ rather than worrying about genre or sonic palette or any certain sound. I had a lot of these songs brewing for a long time, and we just let them grow on their own.”
His muse fully engaged, Cauthen is looking towards doing more of that in the future, with a few conceptual ideas up his sleeve about what he might do next. No matter what direction he takes, however, he won’t be abandoning that cabin in the hills or the “Country Clubbin'” life; Cauthen will just be adding more to the mix he’s stirred together.
“It’s just about looking at yourself in the mirror and knowing that what you’ve done to this day has been in good standing, with good morals and a good compass in life, driven the right way,” he says. “Legacy is all we have — that, and try to be a good person as well. If you get all that together, then you can do whatever the fuck you want and it’ll be alright.”
Matt Stell
w/ George Birge
November 17, 2022 8 PM
Doors Open 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
About Matt Stell:
THE COUNTRY MUSIC INDUSTRY HAS LONG BEEN FILLED WITH ITS SHARE OF CHARACTERS. FROM WILLIE TO HANK AND DOLLY TO WAYLON, EVERY LEGEND STARTS OUT AS JUST ANOTHER ARTIST THAT DOESN’T FIT EASILY INTO SOME PREDETERMINED BOX. AND AS HARD AS COUNTRY MUSIC MAY TRY TO FIT MATT STELL INTO ONE OF THOSE TRIED AND TRUE BOXES, IT’S DARN NEAR IMPOSSIBLE.
Heck, he’s 6’7.
But more so than the massive physique that helped Stell become a collegiate basketball standout, the Platinum certified singer has proven via the songs he sings and the shows he puts on that he is far too powerful of an artist to ever fit into some sort of singular category. In fact, to describe Stell in a few words would be a complete disservice to the man he is and the artist he looks to become as he releases his new EP Better Than That on October 16.
“If you cut a groove too deep, it’s hard to get out of it,” he remarks with a chuckle. “I’ve never wanted to be some one-dimensional artist, and with this new EP, I think I’m determined to show that there is much more to me than just a guy who can sing a love song.”
Indeed, the Arkansas native comes from a long line of self proclaimed badasses. He can spin a romantic verse as easy as he can rock out an anthem. He can overanalyze a word as easily as he can let the melody ride a lyrical wave. And yes, he gets as much enjoyment out of discovering a hook in the writing room as he does hooking a fish.
“When you step out into that river and the salmon are still swimming upstream like they have for thousands of years, it’s a real cathartic, therapeutic thing for me,” he says of a recent fishing trip to Alaska. “It’s a great reset.”
In everything he does, it’s evident that Stell is reflective and adventurous and funny and pretty damn smart. And if he’s being totally honest with himself, he’s never been one to love a love song.
Yep, you heard that right.
Granted, it was in fact a love song that catapulted Stell to country music success in 2019 via his massive hit “Prayed for You,” a life-changer of a song that spent two weeks at the number one spot. As the only debut single to top Billboard’s Country Airplay chart in 2019, and one of NSAI’s “10 Songs We Wish We’d Written,” the hit has gone on to rack up some impressive stats with over 270 million streams, his first RIAA Platinum certification and more than 20 million views of its official music video to date.
But there’s a catch.
“If the only thing you’ve heard is ‘Prayed for You,’ you would have a different idea of who I really am,” Stell explains. “Knowing that you are making music that means something to people is the ultimate compliment, but there is so much more to me.”
A few more of the many facets of Stell are currently on display via his current top 10 and rising single “Everywhere But On,” a song that Stell calls ‘autobiographical’ in the way that it tells the story of a man trying to escape the memories of a long lost love.
“Having two songs on the radio is an incredible thing, but what’s even more incredible is finding your own voice and your own identity,” he says.
Stell showcased a whole bunch of identities in another Better Than That EP standout – “If I Was a Bar.” At a time when some of his fellow artists were perfectly content in simply sitting down with their guitar and playing their songs during the pandemic that Stell lovingly refers to as a ‘damn biological hurricane,’ Stell and his rather relentless work ethic turned out a music video that had him playing thirteen different roles in the span of a 3-plus minute song.
“I threw every stitch of clothing I have ever owned into my truck for that video shoot,” laughs Stell of the somewhat restrictive project. “Sometimes creativity benefits from constraints.”
Yet, there were few constraints on Stell’s songwriting during the creation of the new Better Than That EP, which was co-produced by Stell alongside Ash Bowers. Via songs co-written by Stell such as “I Love You Too,” “Chase It Down” and the title track “Better Than That,” the listener can still hear Stell’s distinctive way of wrapping a lyric around a memory and the twist he can put on a phrase.
“Songwriting is a craft that can get better the more time you put into it,” remarks Stell, as he laments to himself about how much he hates clichés.
But for the first time in his still evolving career, Stell relied on outside writers on three of the eight tracks of the Better Than That EP in an effort to fill in the blanks of the overall project.
One of those cuts is “Sadie,” a melodic brain-buster of a song that offers ‘a sparse lyric but one in which every word means something.’ Another outside cut is “Look At Me Now,” perhaps one of the most earth-shattering love songs in recent memory. Yes, the guy who says love songs aren’t his thing just might make history with yet another love song.
But before Stell looks too far into the future, he finds his soul planted deeply in the present. He is praying for the day he can plug his amp back in and jump on the bus with his band and play these new songs for a live crowd.
This new chapter in his journey leaves Stell with a whole bunch more ammunition in the writing room and a unique vantage point to view the characters in his songs…and the character he might ultimately turn out to be.
Kolby Cooper
February 9, 2023 at 8 PM
Doors Open 7 PM
The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
About
KOLBY COOPER
Kolby Cooper lost his childhood and found his voice.
Cooper was 14 when cancer took his dad, and he channeled that painful loss into songwriting. He was 18 with the responsibility of a wife and baby on his shoulders when he used his high school graduation money to record an EP. And now, barely old enough to buy a round for the band, Cooper is pouring his signature blend of scorching break-up anthems and gut-wrenchingly relatable songs into a new record for BBR Music Group.
Far from the typical music industry inroads, Cooper has been riding the fast track from a small Texas town driven by necessity and inspired by his fathers working-class principles.
“Losing my dad and then becoming a dad made me think, “This just can’t be a fun thing. I mean, it’s fun – but it has to be a job too,” Cooper said with candor. “I have to work my ass off. I’m not Just trying to pay rent.”
In three short years, Cooper has accomplished what has eluded seasoned Nashville insiders amassing more than 110 million Spotify streams and playing numerous, sold-out show around the country, with thousands of fans singing along to his searing, wry lyries.
Drawn to his unrestrained, fresh sound, Cooper is earning early praise for his rough-hewn velvet vocals, layered over wailing electric guitar, and a buoyant Texas bottom-end. His new record is Country with clear influences from his Lonestar State roots. ‘The result “is authentic to me,” said the humble outlier. “I m older and understanding more about myself, and the music, and what I want to say. This is exactly what I set out to sound like.
At 22, he is coming into his own as a master storyteller and an angry advocate for the heartsick as he writes each of his songs from the deeply personal “Boy from Anderson County,” an autobiographical look at how love can propel a boy into becoming a better man, to “Good For You,” a sneering, steel-guitar slice of resentment, and the dreaded “its not you, it’s me pathos of
“Excuses, which was inspired by his guitar player’s sudden breakup.
Cooper is refreshingly kind and happy for someone who can readily tap into rage and angst. He embodies and moves confidently between contradictions from the defiant to the forlorn.
“People ask me, ‘Why do you write these breakup songs? You must have a bad past with exes.” he said laughing. “Ive been dating my wife since we were seniors in high school. I write from the perspective of what I see – a lot of tough relationships in a small town that I witnessed firsthand.
Winter Werkout
February 17-18, 2023
The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
Grateful Shred Industries, Relix and PHILM Present
Grateful Shred
February 28, 2023 at 7 PM
Doors Open 7 PM
The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
buy tickets
About
Grateful Shred / Bio 2023
After a meteoric rise from obscurity to a national touring band, Los Angeles-based Grateful Shred has made the most of its time in the spotlight. The lineup, featuring Dan Horne and Austin McCutchen alongside keyboardist Adam MacDougall woke the Grateful Dead cosmos with a unique laid-back harmony driven sound. The band literally went from playing the Shakedown Street vendor area prior to Dead and Company shows to touring the United States.
The moment that sent the band’s popularity soaring is the “Busted at the Bowl” video, a YouTube video that features Shred members starting an impromptu set in the parking lot of the Hollywood Bowl before a Dead and Company show in 2017. They don’t get too far before drawing so much attention that the police shut them down. Instantly creating Shred-cred, this was a bit of good fortune that doesn’t get past McCutchen. “We’ve been dealt some pretty good cards,” he states. “It’s been cool to roll with it and push forward and continually make stuff happen. Things have gone our way. Even that video happened magically. It was put together at the last minute, and boom!”
The thing is, Grateful Shred manage to channel that elusive Dead vibe: wide-open guitar tones, effortless three-part vocal harmonies, choogling beats, and yes, plenty of tripped out, Shredded solos. The look, the sound, the atmosphere. It’s uncanny. Far from being a historical re-enactment, Grateful Shred’s laissez faire vibe infuses the band with a gentle spirit, warmth, and (dare we say it) authenticity. From their killer merch game to their eminently watchable
YouTube channel, they’re clearly having a rad time and spreading the love. Strangely enough, in a world overflowing with wax museum nostalgia and Deadly sentimentalism, we need the Shred, now more than ever.
Grateful Shred is: Austine Beede, Dan Horne, Alex Koford, Zeph Ohora, Adam MacDougall, Austin McCutchen, John Lee Shannon
