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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.
Mitchell Tenpenny LIVE at The Bluestone on Friday, December 21st, 2018
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Ross Ellis
Tickets are $21 in advance
THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT
Every ticket for this show includes a physical CD of Mitchell Tenpenny’s forthcoming album, Telling All My Secrets. You will receive an email with instructions on how to redeem this offer approximately 7 days after your ticket purchase.
PURCHASE HERE
Mitchell Tenpenny is an industry insider/outlier. Someone who has a local’s appreciation for the origins of Nashville and keen focus on what happens outside of Music City.
The rugged individualist operates with complete confidence and comfort in the space between contradictory themes. He is a creative thinker with a keen business sense. He is fiercely competitive, but is equally vocal proponent for his industry colleagues. He finds inspiration in music as diverse as Michael Jackson and the Oak Ridge Boys.
And none of that seems the least bit unusual or out of whack to the Nashville native with an industry pedigree (his grandmother was industry legend Donna Hilley who shaped the musical landscape of country music as CEO of Sony/ATV Music Publishing). He lives his life and his budding musical career on both ends of the spectrum.
He’s authentic thanks in large part to Tenpenny’s fearless skill as a songwriter, which includes a Top 5 hit for Granger Smith, “If the Boot Fits,” and time spent opening for a variety of influential artists including Smith, Dustin Lynch (Ride of Die Tour), Maren Morris (Renegade Revival Run), Jake Owen, Brett Young, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Dustin Lynch, Gary Allan, and others.
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.
Cody Johnson will be performing LIVE at The Bluestone on March 1st, 2019
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Randall King
Tickets are $20 in advance
THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT
PURCHASE HERE
It’s Cody Johnson’s time.
After landing two releases in the Top 10 of Billboard’s country albums chart on his own CoJo label and selling 74,000 tickets for a single show, to earn recognition as the only unsigned artist in history to sell out NRG Stadium at RodeoHouston, one of Texas’ most-sought-after talents finally agreed to sign with a major label. Warner Music Nashville won a Music Row sweepstakes and enticed Johnson – who’d turned down several majors before – to join the team and take a shot at turning a concert success story into one with multimedia, national hit-making cred.
Johnson’s passionate, rowdy concerts have already drawn comparisons to Garth Brooks, and the music from his previous albums – inspired by ‘90s country foundations, but built for the 21st century – has made him a familiar presence on Texas and Oklahoma red-dirt radio.
Johnson’s introductory Warner project, Ain’t Nothin’ to It, ups the ante. After writing the bulk of his previous material, he put out word in Nashville that he was open to songs from other sources, and the results were astonishing. A-list writers – including Chris Stapleton, Radney Foster and Brothers Osborne guitarist John Osborne – came to the table with songs that suited Johnson’s life and disposition. Music fans who are just now coming to the table will get a quick understanding of Johnson, from the rowdy troublemaker in the swampy “Doubt Me Now” to the devoted family man in the title track to the self-penned ex-bull rider in “Dear Rodeo” to the devoted Christian in “His Name Is Jesus.”
Drake White will return to The Bluestone on March 21st, 2019
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Jordan Brooker
Tickets are $20 in advance
THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT!
PURCHASE HERE
Drake White at The Bluestone
To listen to Drake White’s music is to fully experience the soul and rhythm of his upbringing in the Appalachian foothills of Northeastern Alabama. The undeniable sound of his soulful voice has whipped concert audiences across the country into a frenzy as Drake and his band, The Big Fire, raise the roof and summon spirits to life onstage. It’s equal parts Baptist tent revival and amped-up southern rock festival. As you watch Drake crank the energy level up higher and higher throughout the night, you feel as if you’d walked in on a live gospel album backed up by all-stars from The Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Of course those acts hit musical pay dirt recording in Muscle Shoals, Alabama in the late ‘60s and ‘70s, a little over two hours west of Drake’s tiny hometown of Hokes Bluff.
The same fire that drives Drake to pour his entire being in to those performances also demands that he continue exploring and refining that country soul sound, which the world first heard on his debut album, 2016’s SPARK (Big Machine Label Group). In the spirit of propelling his music forward, Drake teamed up with a crew of Nashville’s most creative musicians in an effort to, as he says, “Bridge that gap between Nashville and Muscle Shoals.” It’s in the crossroads of those two musical worlds that you’ll find Drake White’s new five-song EP, PIECES (BMLG Records) . The new project is helmed by hit producer busbee, best known in country circles for his work with Maren Morris and Keith Urban.
David Nail will be performing live at The Bluestone on Friday, June 28th, 2019
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Hudson Moore
Tickets are just $20 in advance and $25 Day of Show
Tickets will go on-sale Friday, March 8th at 10am
PURCHASE HERE
David Nail at The Bluestone
David Nail has spent a decade leaving his unique mark on modern country music. He reaches a new creative peak with 2018’s Only This and Nothing More, a record that matches his longtime melodic chops with atmospheric rock & roll guitars, lush keyboards, drum loops, and rule-breaking arrangements. Billed not as a solo album, but as a project by David Nail and the Well Ravens, Only This and Nothing More finds its frontman leaving behind the familiar comfort of his longtime record label and, instead, uncovering new ground with help from two longtime partners; multi-instrumentalist Andrew Petroff and producer Jason Hall. Inspired not only by his country roots, but also the guitar-heavy stomp of Oasis, the reverb-heavy wash of Ryan Adams, the rhythmic punch of the Black Keys, and the anthemic swell of Kings of Leon, Nail and the Well Ravens co-wrote a collection of songs that placed a contemporary spin on older sounds. The result is David Nail’s most sonically adventurous work to date, as well as his first release as an independent artist. He’s a country crooner one moment, an indie rocker the next, and a diversely compelling frontman throughout. Most importantly, he’s an artist following his muse, making music without rules or regulations.
Jameson Rodgers LIVE at The Bluestone on Friday, September 20th, 2019
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Ray Fulcher
Tickets are $10 each
Jameson Rodgers Live at The Bluestone
Raised in Batesville, Mississippi, singer-songwriter Jameson Rodgers brings together electrified rock & roll and Country songwriting on his new self-titled EP, released in January of 2018, with songs featured on Spotify’s New Boots and Wild Country playlists as well as Sirius XM’s On The Horizon. In 2018, Rodgers also received the AIMP Nashville Rising Artist-Writer of the Year nomination for the third annual AIMP (Association of Independent Music Publishers) Nashville Awards. The former college baseball player, who landed a publishing deal with Combustion Music in 2014, scored his first songwriting cuts with Florida Georgia Lines “Wish You Were On It” and “Talk You Out Of It” in addition to co-writing Chris Lane’s new single “I Don’t Know About You.” His debut EP, released in 2016, features the streaming hit “Midnight Daydream.” In addition to opening shows for Sam Hunt and Old Dominion, Rodgers has been selling out clubs throughout the south and Midwest this year. He is currently on the Luke Combs Beer Never Broke My Heart Tour that kicked off in January.
Aaron Lewis LIVE at The Bluestone on Thursday, October 17th, 2019 and Friday, October 18th, 2019
Each performance is sold separately
Doors for the show will open at 7pm each night
Opening Artist: Ben Danaher
Tickets are $35 in advance and $40 day of show
Tickets on-sale for Both Dates: Friday, August 16th at 10am
PURCHASE HERE
Aaron Lewis Live at The Bluestone October 17th
Known for his outspokenness, impassioned live show and Outlaw Country tunes, Aaron Lewis is back with a new album STATE I’M IN (The Valory Music Co.). Lewis wrote six of the 10 tracks, which also features cuts by acclaimed songwriters Dan Tyminski and the late Keith Whitley, among others. Produced by Buddy Cannon, pre-order for STATE I’M IN begins February 1, while the title track and “The Bottom” is out at all digital partners and for all album pre-orders ahead of the April 12 release. STATE I’M IN is the follow-up to SINNER, which went No. 1 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums, Top 200 Albums, and Top Digital Albums Charts upon release chart and blasts through today’s Country music doldrums like a shot of 100-proof whiskey, with the singer making zero compromises with either himself or the restrictions of a format that seems to have abandoned its rougher tendencies in favor of pop and ‘70s rock inclinations largely lacking in grit. “I’d like to think that SINNER is a newer take on classic, traditional Outlaw Country, Waylon and Merle and Willie, and Hank Jr. and Johnny Cash and all that stuff,” says Lewis. “That was the music I heard as a kid, and that’s the Country music that permeated my soul and stuck with me my whole life.” Lewis, who fronted the wildly-successful Rock group Staind, has sold 13 million albums worldwide and four consecutive top three debuts on Billboard’s Top 200, including the single “It’s Been Awhile,” which remains the most-played rock song of the decade. Lewis is currently headlining the STATE I’M IN TOUR: ACOUSTIC SONGS + STORIES which is a different take on his usual performances with an unplugged approach. It will run parallel with his full band live show for STATE I’M IN TOUR that spotlights his outlaw Country roots. Fans will receive a physical copy of the new album (available April 12) when they purchase a pair of tickets to the tour on participating dates. Lewis will be on the road throughout 2019.
Lanco Live at The Bluestone
THIS SHOW IS SOLD OUT!
LANCO will be performing live at The Bluestone on Saturday, February 15th, 2020
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Opening Artist: Tyler Rich
Tickets on-sale Friday, November 1st at 10am
PURCHASE HERE
Country-rock band LANCO — which stands for Lancaster & Company — were formed in 2013 by namesake and frontman Brandon Lancaster. Hailing from Georgia, Tennessee, and Kentucky, the quintet members included drummer Tripp Howell, guitarist Eric Steedly, keyboardist Jared Hampton, and bassist Chandler Baldwin. Crafting feel-good country anthems tinged with classic rock and blues edges, LANCOgot their start after a chance meeting between Lancaster and producer Jay Joyce (Eric Church, Little Big Town) at a Keith Urban concert. Joyce signed LANCO to his publishing company and produced their eponymous debut EP. The band signed with Sony Music Nashville imprint Arista Nashville in late 2015. Their second EP, Extended Play, was released in early 2016. It contained three of the same songs as their debut, exchanging “High” for newer track and lead single “Long Live Tonight,” a pop-infused country song with a Kings of Leonundercurrent. In 2017, their song “Greatest Love Story” was also featured as the theme for the Netflix series The Ranch, and this placement helped break the band, with the single reaching Billboard’s Hot Country Songs Top Ten. Hallelujah Nights, the band’s long-awaited full-length debut, appeared in January 2018. They returned the following year with the single “Rival.”
Maddie and Tae LIVE in Concert at The Bluestone on April 16th, 2020
Opening Artist:
Doors for the show will open at 7pm
Tickets are $15 in Advance and $20 Day of show
Tickets on-sale Friday, January 17th at 10am
PURCAHSE HERE
Maddie & Tae first broke out in 2013 with their PLATINUM-selling “Girl In A Country Song,” and the full-length that followed made good on the single’s glinting promise. Released in 2015, the whip smart Start Here cast a side-eyed glance at the high school cafeteria crowd—then just teens, it was a world they still knew well—and burned with the desire to break out, move out, and set the world on fire.
Joe Nichols Live in concert
Tickets ONLY $25
July 15th, 2021
Joe Nichols live in Columbus, Ohio
Joe Nichols has been a mainstay of country music for two decades, bridging the gap between the genre’s old-school roots and contemporary era. Joe Nichols a 21st-century traditionalist — an artist who’s both timely and timeless, racking up a half-dozen Number 1 singles and ten Top 10 hits with a sound that honors his heroes. From his first radio smash, 2002’s “The Impossible,” to 2021’s Home Run,” Nichols has proudly done things his own way, blurring the boundaries between country music’s past and present along the way.
It’s an approach that has earned Joe Nichols multi-platinum success, three Grammy nominations, a CMA award, an ACM trophy, and — perhaps most importantly — the support of his idols. Joe Nichols still remembers the day he received a letter from Buck Owens, who passed away the same week his message arrived in Joe Nichols’ mailbox.
The two had previously crossed paths in Bakersfield, California, where Owens complimented Nichols on his classic sound… and gave him some good-natured teasing about the length of his hair.
The Bluestone welcomes
Ryan Hurd
Tour De Pelago
The Bluestone 583 East Broad Street
Columbus, Ohio
Thursday, January 13, 2022, at 7 PM
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ryan-hurd-tour-de-pelago-tickets-191798854537
Arista Nashville singer-songwriter Ryan Hurd has garnered more than 698 million career streams worldwide and caught the attention of entertainment tastemakers including Esquire, GQ, Maxim, American Songwriter, Billboard, People, NBC’s “TODAY,” “CBS This Morning” and more. With co-pen credits on some of country music’s biggest hits by Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan, the Kalamazoo native continues his hit-producing path with “Chasing After You,” his first official duet with wife Maren Morris, which became country radio’s most-added song its impact week in March. Currently Top 15 and ascending airplay charts, “Chasing After You” has already amassed over 150 million U.S. on-demand streams. Hurd and Morris performed their “smoldering new duet” (Rolling Stone) for the first time on national television on the “56th ACM Awards” on CBS. “Chasing After You” follows his 2020 EOM EP featuring “Every Other Memory,” dubbed one of the “Best Songs of April 2020” by TIME. His Platinum-certified Top 20 single, “To A T,” went No. 1 on SiriusXM The Highway’s Hot 30 Countdown.
Granger Smith
Acoustic Performance
January 22, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
Granger Smith
www.GrangerSmith.com
www.EarlDibblesJr.com
www.facebook.com/GrangerSmith
www.facebook.com/EarlDibblesJr
www.twitter.com/GrangerSmith
www.twitter.com/EarlDibblesJr
https://www.youtube.com/user/GrangerSmithMusic
https://www.instagram.com/grangersmith/
https://www.instagram.com/earldibblesjr/
Artist Biography
Over the course of his groundbreaking career, Granger Smith has amassed a massive and rabid audience now known as “Yee Yee Nation” built through heavy touring and grassroots fan engagement. He now has a social media following exceeding eight and half million along with more than one billion online video views. Signed to BBR Music Group’s Wheelhouse Records, Smith broke onto the national scene with Remington, an album that garnered him the No. 1 smash “Backroad Song.” Smith was also awarded a BMI Country Award for writing, producing, publishing and performing “Backroad Song” and followed it with the Top Five hit, “If The Boot Fits.” “Backroad Song” was one of the Top 10 Most Played Country singles of 2016 according to Mediabase and has been certified RIAA PLATINUM. His album When The Good Guys Win spawned the hit “Happens Like That” that has been certified RIAA GOLD. Not only has Granger stacked major accolades as an artist, but he also released his first-ever book If You’re City, If You’re Country, which immediately hit No. 1 on Amazon best-selling lists. Known as an artist but also for his alter ego, Earl Dibbles Jr., his family’s YouTube series “The Smiths” and his iconic outdoor apparel company, Yee Yee Apparel, Smith is a jack of all trades. Additionally, Granger and his wife Amber Smith started The River Kelly Fund to bring awareness and invest in children in need, arts and education, wildlife preservation, military, veteran and first responder assistance, donor affiliations, and many more organizations in honor of their son River Kelly Smith. Taking all of these experiences and channeling them into good, Smith released his 10th studio album called Country Things, which ultimately showcases the man, the father, the performer and bona fide artist Smith has become.
ASHLEY MCBRYDE – THIS TOWN TALKS TOUR
with Ashland Craft
February 10th, 2022, 7 PM
The Bluestone
583 East Broad Street,
Columbus, Ohio
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/ashley-mcbryde-this-town-talks-tour-tickets-197840505277
Ashley McBryde is a vocalist and songwriter with a touch of rock & roll swagger, a honky tonk heart, and a lyrical voice that puts a modern-day spin on classic country themes. Debuting in 2006 with a self-title album, she worked hard for over a decade before gaining awards for New Female Vocalist and New Artist of the Year during 2019-2020 from the major country academies. McBryde also earned multiple Grammy nominations around her 2018 album Girl Going Nowhere. Her co-written “One Night Standards” became a country Top 40 hit in 2019, serving to introduce her 2020 LP Never Will.
Easton Corbin
February 25, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
Bio:
Easton Corbin exudes country. His distinctive baritone has been gracing airwaves for the past decade as his chart topping debut single “A Little More Country Than That” established Corbin as a mainstay on the country charts. Billboard’s 2010 Top New Country Artist would go on to garner another No. 1 hit with the feel-good “Roll With It” as well as seven top 10 singles, further distinguishing himself from other male vocalists as a tried-and-true country traditionalist who weaves timeless story songs together while tipping his hat to the classic country artists who have come before him.
“That’s what I love and that’s what I do,” he says of his passion for traditional country music. “For me, it’s about keeping one foot in the traditional and one foot in the modern and marrying those two. I’m a country singer: That’s one of the things that I take pride in. I try to hone that craft and try to represent that.”
Though 2020 marked the 10th anniversary of “A Little More Country Than That” achieving No. 1 status, Corbin showed no signs of slowing down. With the release of his infectious single “Turn Up,” he launched a year of new releases, including tune “Didn’t Miss A Beat,” which he performed on NBC’s TODAY Show. November brought Corbin’s highly anticipated EP of the same title, which included a “wide array” of songs like “Old Lovers Don’t Make Good Friends” and “Back to Me.” He also partnered with past collaborator and global EDM star Lost Frequencies for new release “One More Night’.
As he continues on with this new chapter as an independent artist, Corbin says “A Little More Country Than That” still reflects who he is as an artist and where he sees his career going.
“That’s really how I grew up,” he says of his career-defining song. “‘A Little More Country Than That’ radiates with me and my band as well because that really is who I am. That’s where I came from, that’s what I am. It’s just as important now as it was then, because that’s the one that started it all for me. That’s definitely a staple of an Easton Corbin show. I think it also defines my audience and who they are.”
The Florida native was surrounded by music as a child. A Merle Haggard or Hank Williams record was always being spun at his grandparents’ house and a guitar was often lying around begging to be played. “My earliest memories are of me as a kid with a guitar, singing and playing along with the radio,” Corbin recalls. “I knew from an early age I wanted to be a country singer.”
After a decade in the spotlight, Corbin is more confident than ever. “I know what I want to say and what I don’t want to say, and I know what I would say and what I wouldn’t say,” he explains. “I think the new music highlights the fact that we’ve been honing these songs and trying to cut the best songs and writing the best songs we can. I think the Didn’t Miss A Beat project is a great representation of that.”
In the meantime, country fans can turn up a little Easton Corbin.
Jon Langston
March 3, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
Bio: Jon Langston grew up in Loganville, GA, listening to music by his heroes Alan Jackson and the Eagles. He played football, eventually earning a Division 1 college football scholarship. Jon always thought football would a part of his life, but after his sixth concussion left him blind for fifteen minutes, his football career ended abruptly. So, he picked up his guitar which he hadn’t touched since the eighth grade and re-taught himself how to play. Playing open mic nights and working on his songwriting eventually lead to the 2013 release of self-penned, “Forever Girl,” the first song he ever wrote. That release kicked off his music career which has culminated in sold out shows across the country and over 500 million career streams. Jon opened for Luke Bryan on his Farm Tour in 2017, which was a full circle moment having attended as a spectator of the Farm Tour only a few years before in Athens, GA. He was invited to perform on the tour again in 2018 and joined Luke in support of his Sunset Repeat Tour in 2019. Jon signed a publishing deal with Sony ATV, management with KP Entertainment, and is the first artist signed under Luke Bryan’s new Label 32 Bridge Entertainment with EMI Records Nashville. Jon released his highly-anticipated EP, Now You Know, featuring six original songs all written by Jon. Jon’s debut major label single, “When It Comes To Loving You” reached No. 1 on the all-genre iTunes Chart and his single “Now You Know reached the Top 30 on the radio charts. Jon released a pair of new songs, “Happy Ever After” and “Try Missing You,” both of which highlight Langston’s songwriting and his classic country influences.
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.”
Jimmie Allen
Down Home Tour
presented by 92.3 WCOL
w/ special guest Neon Union
March 11, 2022 at 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
JIMMIE ALLEN
Official Website: https://www.jimmieallenmusic.com/ [jimmieallenmusic.com]
Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/jimmieallenmusic
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/jimmieallen/ @JimmieAllen
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jimmieallen/ @jimmieallen
Official YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/jimmieallen
NEON UNION
Official Website: https://www.neonunionmusic.com/ [neonunionmusic.com]
Official Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/Neon-Union-Music-108322624961837
Official Twitter: https://twitter.com/neonunionmusic @neonunionmusic
Official Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/neonunionmusic/@neonunionmusic
Artist Biography
For multi-platinum selling, trailblazing Country star and current GRAMMY Award nominee Jimmie Allen, a simple phrase sums up his view on life and music: Never give up.
A native of Southern Delaware – the “slower, lower” part of the state, he explains – Allen has carried that mantra with him through good times and bad, whether than meant living in his car or receiving his first ACM nomination for New Male Artist of the Year in 2019, a CMA Awards nomination for New Artist of the Year in 2020, subsequently winning the ACM Award for New Male Artist of the Year – the first Black artist to win that category since its inception, and a win with which he hopes “open[s] some doors for more Black artists to have success in country and more Black artists to feel comfortable enough to do country if that’s what they want to do” – as well as the CMA New Artist of the Year Award in 2021. GRAMMY.com has hailed Allen as one of “5 Black Artists Rewriting Country Music.” His current nomination for Best New Artist at the 64th Annual GRAMMY Awards in 2022 is his first ever GRAMMY nomination; he is also the only Country nominee in an all-genre category.
With the 2018 release of his debut album Mercury Lane – named in tribute to the street he grew up on and the origin of his incredible journey – on BBR Music Group’s Stoney Creek Records, a lifetime of never giving up brought him full circle.
“I didn’t quit, I never will,” he says. “Stuff ain’t easy, and you shouldn’t quit either. There’s a big difference between busting your ass and sitting on it.”
For Allen, musical dreams and a love of true-to-themselves artists like Alan Jackson, Aaron Tippin, Montgomery Gentry, and Jason Aldean brought him all the way to Nashville and beyond, –from traveling around the world to places like Japan, Germany and the UK; to performing a tribute at the Kennedy Center Honors for Garth Brooks, the national anthem at the Indy 500, returning to American Idol as a mentor after being cut from the same competition a decade ago, and other once-in-a-lifetime moments.
But it was actually a nightmare which turned this promising singer into the artist he is today. After a series of bad breaks Allen was forced to live in his car, too proud to ask for a bail out. For months he worked multiple jobs and finally saved enough for an apartment, but hit then another snag – country music wasn’t ready for him.
“People were just trying to help,” he says now. “But they wanted me to change my sound and told me I had to lose my boots. The turning point came when I stopped listening, and finally let my music be a natural reflection of who I am.”
Since then Allen has been following his own compass, and it’s leading somewhere special. In 2017, he caught his big break and signed a record deal with BBR Music Group/Stoney Creek Records and a team who embraced his individuality.
“I don’t regret the hard times,” he explains about his trials. “I think each thing you do adds a layer, whether it’s a layer of toughness, perseverance, motivation, or just a layer of wisdom. At the end of the day you come back to what you know, and what’s embedded in you.”
What’s embedded in Allen is a powerful, soulful sense of groove – “If my body don’t move in the first four seconds, it ain’t for me,” he says – a love of deep messages and a knack for razor-sharp hooks.
Those driving forces formed the bedrock of Mercury Lane – a cutting-edge mix of country, rock, R&B, and pop, produced by Ash Bowers and Eric Torres, that received critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone raving that it “challenges the narrowly defined model of what constitutes a next big thing in country music” and The New York Times hailing it one of 2018’s strongest, calling it a “conventional country album, filled with songs about the small details.”
With Mercury Lane, Allen made history as the first Black artist to launch a career with two consecutive No. 1 hits on country radio, with “Best Shot” claiming the No. 1 spot for three weeks and his second single “Make Me Want To” hitting the top spot in March 2020.Allen’s hard-earned dreams are finally becoming reality, but he shows no signs of limiting himself.
He followed up the success of Mercury Lane with his July 2020 collaboration project, Bettie James, that has amassed171+ million streams and has further established Allen as Country’s next superstar. The star-studded seven-track project combined his deep love of family and genre-spanning taste in music. Named in honor of Allen’s late grandmother, Bettie Snead, who passed away in 2014 and his late father, James Allen, who passed away in 2019, Allen hand selected artist that touched the life of Allen, his grandmother and father in some way, allowing their legacies to weave seamlessly throughout Bettie James. The wide array of hitmakers include Brad Paisley, Charley Pride, Darius Rucker, Mickey Guyton, Nelly, Noah Cyrus, The Oak Ridge Boys, Rita Wilson, Tauren Wells and Tim McGraw.
“My dad and grandmom were two completely different people, but both played a huge part in my life,” Allen says of the motivation for the project. “Since they died, I have been wanting to leave trails of their legacies throughout my music.”
The result is a musical composition of love, heartbreak, perseverance, hope and faith. Jimmie’s current single “Freedom Was A Highway” pairs Allen with his friend and Country music superstar Paisley for a breezy, windows down track that joins Allen’s distinctively breezy grooves with a Paisley signature guitar solo.
Bettie James received a slew of critical acclaim for not only the music, but the historic nature of various collaborations, and the project’s subsequent place in country music history. NPR calls the project an “announcement of [Allen’s] arrival” and a “huge step for country” while Billboard hails it “a powerful statement from a developing voice.” The EP appeared on several “Best of 2020” lists including Billboard, Rolling Stone and Sounds Like Nashville.
Rolling Stone describes “Why Things Happen” – which brings together three generations of Black country artists in Allen, Darius Rucker and Charley Pride – as “part polemic, part proclamation, and part prayer… opening up space for the artists to bear witness.”
Reflecting on Allen’s wide-ranging musical sensibilities, Music Row notes of the project: “While some artists still in the early sunrise of their careers, with a handful of hits to their credit, would be focused solely on extending their chart successes, it’s clear that Allen’s goals for his music are loftier than mere chart hits and No. 1 parties—he’s striving for music that testifies to his full spectrum of creative abilities.”
Allen, who has an incredible knack for connecting with people of all backgrounds and interests, enjoyed collaborating with other artists so much while making his monumentally successful predecessor that he didn’t want to stop – so instead, in trademark Allen fashion, he kept going. The result: Bettie James Gold Edition. Released June 25, 2021, the 16-track album doubles down on Allen’s expansive love for music across genres, with nine brand new collaborations with Babyface, Breland, Keith Urban, LANCO, Lathan Warlick, Lindsay Ell, Little Big Town, LOCASH, Monica, Neon Union, Pitbull, teamwork. and Vikina.
As Hits Daily Double notes, for Allen, “it’s about being grounded in the genre’s traditions and protecting the roots as much as it’s about creating a future for country music that’s more expansive and inclusive.”
“When it comes to music I love, I don’t really get wrapped up in boundaries or genres. After we finished Bettie James, I was like man, there’s so much music out there that I love, so many artists that I love, and I just wasn’t done making collaborations,” Allen says of the impetus for Bettie James Gold Edition; a sentiment that Billboard echoes, applauding that the album “broadens country’s borders.”
Beyond the music, Allen has also established Bettie James Fest in their honor. Consistently vocal about his deep reverence for his family, hometown, and home state, the inaugural sold out event took place August 7, 2021 in Allen’s hometown of Milton, DE.
Allen is currently featured in The Country Music Hall of Fame® and Museum’s annual American Currents: State of the Music exhibit with his friend and fellow country artist Darius Rucker. The exhibit’s Unbroken Circle illustrates the connection between country music’s past and present by pairing artists with those who have influenced them or share musical perspectives. The exhibit runs through February 2022.
Additionally, he is a member of the 2021 Artists Committee for the 44th Kennedy Center Honors.
Much like his approach to music, Allen’s other creative pursuits know no boundaries.
Allen’s debut picture book, My Voice Is a Trumpet, was published July 13, 2021 with Flamingo Books, an imprint of Penguin Young Readers. Illustrated by veteran illustrator Cathy Ann Johnson, the book is a powerful story about speaking up for what you believe in,
at any age. The book has received a starred review from School Library Journal, who hails that “the rhythm and flow of words perfectly match the art while advising readers to choose love and use their voices in a powerful song.”
“It’s very important to me that kids learn at a young age that they have a voice, and that it is powerful. It is up to us as adults to teach them to use their voice to encourage and show love,” Allen says of his first ever book. “Being a father of two kids, I try to encourage them to be themselves and love everyone around them. I’m hoping this book inspires at least one child and they always remember their voice is a trumpet.”
Allen also serves as Executive Music Producer for Netflix’s series Titletown High, which premiered globally on August 27. His song “Big In A Small Town” is the theme song for the series, which follows a Georgia town where football rules and winning is paramount, a champion high school team tackles rivalries, romance and real life as they work toward the ultimate goal: a state title. Full of high stakes sports action and relatable teenage drama, Titletown High delivers a complex portrait of the most unique football culture in America.
He most recently competed for the coveted mirrorball trophy as a contestant on Dancing With The Stars’ landmark 30thseason on ABC in the fall of 2021, reaching the quarterfinals with his pro partner Emma Slater.
As Allen’s rising star power shows no signs of slowing down, he remains unapologetically himself and proof of what can happen when you never give up.
For more information on Allen, visit www.jimmieallenmusic.com or follow him on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook.
LANCO
March 24, 2022 7 PM
at The Bluestone
Columbus, Ohio
Bio:
Multi-Platinum selling band LANCO continues to forge new territory after the roots-frontier explorers and live-performance junkies broke out with the 2x Platinum multi-week No. One hit “Greatest Love Story.” Creating a heartland rocker for a new generation, the band followed up with the Billboard Country Albums chart topper HALLELUJAH NIGHTS, marking the first Country group to earn a No. One debut in a decade. Additionally LANCO garnered another PLATINUM certified hit with “Born To Love You”, before the launch of their new anthemic HONKY-TONK HIPPIES EP, which was self-produced by the band, with each track penned by at least two members. The group traveled to the iconic Fame Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL to record the new music, absorbing its heart-pounding and soul-shaking influence. Now set to release five new tracks fit perfectly for the road. New music from the ACM “New Group of the Year” follows multiple nominations from the CMT, CMA, ACM, AMA and iHeartAwards, while Lancaster became the first member of a group to win NSAI’s “Songwriter/Artist of the Year” award. As LANCO continues to “bring the full-band sound back to Country” (Newsday) the five-man band will build off their deep-rooted connection with fans on their headlining HONY-TONK HIPPIES TOUR.
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.”
