Your Country 102.7 WXBM: May 2011

Monday, May 30, 2011

Time for a Throwdown!!

We've seen quite a few great concerts roll through the Gulf Coast so far this year, and there are still plenty more on the calendar. The next big show will be the Willie Nelson Country Throwdown, June 5th at the Wharf. The tour features Willie, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice and several other great acts. Jamey Johnson recently said that he is really looking forward to this tour because he'll be out on the road with one of his heroes, Willie Nelson, and some of his best buds. Jamey said that before anyone had a record deal, he, Randy & Lee used to play the same clubs & bars in Nashville and even went hunting together, so they're all close friends. Willie's son Lukas Nelson and his band The Promise of Real will be on the Throwdown tour. Willie recently announced that ALL acts on the tour will donate their performance fees from the June 5th show at the Wharf to tornado victims in Alabama. Be sure to get tickets at ticketmaster before it sells out!!

Eddie Montgomery recently had a bout with prostate cancer. He was diagnosed around Thanksgiving and had successful surgery to remove the cancer in December. To help get the word out about prostate cancer, Montgomery Gentry will be performing a concert after the June 19th Braves/Rangers game at Turner Field in Atlanta. Early detection is the key, and Troy & Eddie want to get the word out about getting regular screenings. Family & friends of prostate cancer survivors can get discounted tickets starting at just $14. For more ticket info, click on the following link: http://atlanta.braves.mlb.com/schedule/promotions.jsp?c_id=atl Eddie said that he found out about his cancer not by a screeing, but by accident. His son fell off an ATV and had to see a doctor. While they were there, Eddie told the doctor that his hip had been bothering him so the doctor offered to take a quick x-ray. After the doctor looked at the results, he pulled Eddie aside and said "'I don't know about your hip, but you need to go to a prostate doctor immediately, because I see a shadow there". Funny how things work out sometimes. Eddie has been cancer free since January

Luke Bryan will team up with the Doobie Brothers for another installment of CMT's "Crossroads". Luke says he has always been a big fan of the Doobie's and is looking forward to hitting the stage with them. Look for their episode of Crossroads to premiere June 24th at 9pm on CMT. Luke will also be a performer on the CMT Music Award show. Also performing: Toby Keith, Lady Antebellum, Jason Aldean, Sugarland, Zac Brown Band, Keith Urban and Big & Rich will perform together for the first time in over three years! This award show is fan-voted, so be sure to cast your vote today at: http://www.cmt.com/cmt-music-awards/video-of-the-year/ The show will be hosted by Kid Rock, June 8th on CMT.

Congrats to everyone who cracked the code and won Butler Bucks from Butler U-Pull-It and WXBM! We have a fun new way for you to win money coming very soon! We'll fill you in on the details before you know it. Have a great week & thanks for listning to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!

(** = new listing)

Upcoming CD's
June 7th
Ronnie Dunn - "Ronnie Dunn"
Randy Travis - "Anniversary Celebration"
June 21st
Justin Moore - "Outlaws Like Me"
July 12th
Blake Shelton - "Red River Blue"
Chris Young - "Neon"
July 26th
Eric Church - "Chief"
Ashton Shepherd - "Where Country Grows"
August
Dierks Bentley - "Diamonds"
August 23rd

Martina McBride - (Teenage Daughters)

TBD

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Terri Clark (expected this summer or fall)

Tim McGraw (Emotional Traffic)
Rodney Atkins (Take A Back Road)
Josh Turner

Upcoming Concerts
June 5th
Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice and Craig Campbell - Wharf in Orange Beach
June 16th
Keith Urban and Jake Owen - Mississippi Coast Colisseum in Biloxi

July 14th

Jason Aldean, Chris Young and Thompson Square - Wharf in Orange Beach

July 23rd

Miranda Lambert and Gary Allan - Wharf in Orange Beach
August 12th
Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson - IP in Biloxi
September 2nd
Clint Black - IP in Biloxi
September 7th
Trace Adkins - IP in Biloxi

Monday, May 23, 2011

Taylor to the rescue!

Taylor Swift helped raise a TON of money for tornado victims over the weekend with her "Speak Now....Help Now" concert. Taylor is getting ready for the U.S. leg of her "Speak Now World Tour" and she decided to sell tickets for her final dress rehearsal Saturday night in Nashville. Taylor fans paid $50 per ticket and raised over $750,000 for the tornado victims! Taylor will be performing in Atlanta in June, and in New Orleans in October. As of right now, that's as close as she's going to get to the Pensacola area. We'll let you know if that changes.

Blake Shelton's new CD is set for release on July 12th and Blake announced that the title for that project will be "Red River Blue". Blake has also had a success run as a coach on the NBC show "The Voice" which has just been picked up for a second season! It looks like The Voice will be bringing all the coaches back next season as well.

Kid Rock will be hosting the 2011 CMT Music Awards again this year. The fans pick the winners for this show, so if you haven't already voted, do it right now: http://www.cmt.com/cmt-music-awards/video-of-the-year/ Look for performances by Jason Aldean, Keith Urban, Lady Antebellum, Sugarland and many more, June 8th on CMT

Look for a couple country stars on TV this week too. Brad Paisley will be on Good Morning America, Letterman and Hannity on Tuesday, May 24th followed by an appearance on The View the next morning. And Sara Evans will perform on ABC's Dancing With The Stars on Tuesday the 24th.

That's about it for this week. Thanks for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM! Keep on trying to win Butler Bucks every weekday at 7:35, 10:35, 1:35 and 3:35. And from all of us at WXBM, thank you to our military men & women during military appreciation month, and all year long. Thank you for serving our country.

(** = new listing)

Upcoming CD's

May 23rd
Brad Paisley - "This Is Country Music"
June 7th
Ronnie Dunn - "Ronnie Dunn"
Randy Travis - "Anniversary Celebration"
June 21st
Justin Moore - "Outlaws Like Me"
July 12th
**Blake Shelton - "Red River Blue"
**Chris Young - "Neon"
July 26th
**Eric Church - "Chief"
Ashton Shepherd - "Where Country Grows"
August
Dierks Bentley - "Diamonds"
August 23rd

**Martina McBride - (Teenage Daughters)

TBD

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Terri Clark (expected this summer or fall)

Tim McGraw (Emotional Traffic)
Rodney Atkins (Take A Back Road)
Josh Turner

July 14th

Jason Aldean, Chris Young and Thompson Square - Wharf in Orange Beach

July 23rd

**Miranda Lambert and Gary Allan - Wharf in Orange Beach
August 12th
**Big & Rich and Gretchen Wilson - IP in Biloxi
September 2nd
**Clint Black - IP in Biloxi
September 7th
**Trace Adkins - IP in Biloxi

Wednesday, May 18, 2011

"This Is Country Music"

Just got a copy of Brad Paisley's new CD "This Is Country Music", and it's good. Really good!! If you like the sound of a fiddle & steel guitar, you'll probably like this album. I'll try to highlight a few of the songs without giving too much away, so if you don't want me to spoil it for you, you'd better look away.

Here's the track listing:
1. This Is Country Music
2. Old Alabama
3. A Man Don't Have To Die
4. Camouflage
5. Remind Me (with Carrie Underwood)
6. Working On A Tan
7. Love Her Like She's Leavin' (with Don Henley)
8. One Of Those Lives
9. Toothbrush
10. Be The Lake
11. Eastwood
12. New Favorite Memory
13. Don't Drink The Water (with Blake Shelton)
14. I Do Now
15. Life's Railway To Heaven (with Marty Stuart, Sheryl Crow and Carl Jackson)

I won't go through every single track, just the ones that really jumped out at me.

"A Man Don't Have To Die"
This is one of my favorites. The character in the song is telling his preacher that he'd rather hear about Heaven & how to get there instead of hearing about hell, because "....there's enough hell to go 'round down here". A man don't have to die to go to hell.

"Camouflage"
A funny light hearted song about all that is good about camo, featuring a couple good "git-er-done's" from Larry the Cable Guy.

"Remind Me" with Carrie Underwood
I read today that Brad hopes that this will be the next single off the album. In this song, Brad and Carrie are a couple that has been together for a long time and their relationship has lost its spark. They are telling each other to "remind me" of how it used to be.

"Love Her Like She's Leaving" with Don Henley
This is probably my favorite song on the CD. At his wedding reception, a groom gets marriage advice from a man who has been married for a long time. He tells the groom to do the little things like leave love notes on the fridge, send flowers & gifts for no reason and that will keep the lawyers away. "Love her like she's leavin', and I guarantee she'll stay". Great song.

"Toothbrush"
When I saw the title for this song, I couldn't begin to guess what it was about. I like it because it's a very stripped down, acoustic style song. Brad sings about how love starts with a simple first date and grows into something much bigger. Parents will love it.

"Don't Drink The Water" with Blake Shelton
Fun song about a man who wakes up alone in his house and decides he needs to get out of town. So, he calls his travel agent who books a trip to Cozumel and offers up some advice, "don't drink the water". In response, the man says "anything I drink better have a kick and a burn....I ain't goin' to Mexico to drink the water"

"I Do Now"
This one is told from someone who looked at people whose lives are in ruin and couldn't figure out how they got to be that way, but after he makes some bad choices of his own, he figures it out.

"Life's Railway To Heaven" with Sheryl Crow, Carl Jackson & Marty Stuart
Straight-up bluegrass.

I like this album because it sounds like country music. From the lyrics to the fiddle & steel, it sounds like country music. The songs are well written both lyrically and musically. Now days, pushing the boundaries of country music is the thing to do (I have blogged about it in the past), but Brad has always stayed home. He's a good enough singer, songwriter and musician that he doesn't need to stray from the genre to sell records and be popular. He couldn't have found a more appropriate title for this record. This is country music. Look for it in stores this Monday the 23rd.

Sunday, May 15, 2011

Country rap....are you ok with it?

Ok, I'll admit it now. I'm getting old. I just don't get country-rap. A couple weeks ago we asked our facebook friends (www.facebook.com/1027wxbm) "What's your favorite new song on WXBM?". The song that got the most votes was Jason Aldean's "Dirt Road Anthem". If you haven't heard the song, he raps (or rhymes) the verse and sings the chorus of the song. The lyrics to the song are really good, but I can't say I'm a fan of the delivery. I'm a fan of Jason, and I really look forward to seeing him in concert and hearing She's Country, Hicktown, Johnny Cash, The Truth and Amarillo Sky. As an artist, Jason is red-hot right now. For years now, Kenny Chesney has been the people's champ, but he better start looking over his shoulder. Jason has a great live show and he's had a string of big songs. Four of his last six singles went to #1 and the other two peaked at #2. He is really pushing the boundaries of the genre with this song, and I think he'll pull it off and have another hit song. I just hope it's not a trend for country artists. Maybe in five years country and rap will blend together the same way we have seen country and southern rock come together, and everyone will be doing it. Instead of covering songs from the Eagles and Lynyrd Skynyrd, we'll have Brad Paisley doing a country-rap cover of "Baby Got Back" and maybe Trace Adkins will cover "Rump Shaker". Can you imagine? It's interesting to look back and see the way country music has evolved over the last 25-30 years. For the most part, the changes are subtle....until now. Pretty safe to say that us old timers aren't ready to hear country artists busting rhymes any time soon.

Kenny Chesney will play the Wharf this Saturday, May 21st, and WXBM has your chance to win free tickets ALL WEEK! Marty will announce the Kenny "song of the day" at 7:20, and he'll post it on our facebook page at 9:20am each day this week. Be the 35th caller when you hear it & you'll win tickets from WXBM! In other Kenny news, he has announced that he, his band and his management team will all donate their fees from their May 25th show in Tuscaloosa to www.GiveTuscaloosa.com

Trisha Yearwood has a new daytime cooking show lined up this fall on the Food Network. She says the show will focus on recipes from her two previous cookbooks. Look for her new show in September, and look for a brand new cookbook from Trisha later on this year as well. We'll keep you posted.

Brad Paisley's new CD "This Is Country Music" is set for release Monday, May 23rd. He has booked a bunch of TV appearances to promote his new disc. Look for Brad on Good Morning America, The Late Show with David Letterman and Hannity on May 24th, and The View on the 25th. Brad will also be part of the Cars 2 soundtrack. The soundtrack comes out June 14th and the movie will hit theaters June 24th.

Got a few new CD's on the list below. Have a great week and thanks for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!

(** = new listing)

Upcoming CD's

**Martina McBride - (Teenage Daughters)

TBD

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Terri Clark (expected this summer or fall)

Tim McGraw (Emotional Traffic)
Rodney Atkins (Take A Back Road)
Josh Turner

Upcoming Concerts
May 20th
Kris Kristofferson - IP in Biloxi

May 21st

Kenny Chesney, Billy Currington and Uncle Kracker - Wharf in Orange Beach
Travis Tritt - Wind Creek in Atmore
June 5th
Willie Nelson, Jamey Johnson, Randy Houser, Lee Brice and Craig Campbell - Wharf in Orange Beach
June 16th
Keith Urban and Jake Owen - Mississippi Coast Colisseum in Biloxi

July 14th

Jason Aldean, Chris Young and Thompson Square - Wharf in Orange Beach

July 23rd

Monday, May 9, 2011

We've seen a TON of support for the tornado victims in Alabama over the last couple weeks. Even though the story is not front page news anymore, they still need a lot of help. There are still some businesses collecting donations and filling supply trucks. For a list of places that have been helping, click this link: http://wxbmnewsandnoteswithryanandrew.blogspot.com/2011/05/tornado-relief-efforts.html I would really encourage you to call before you load up and go. Just make sure those places are still accepting donations, and again, be very careful who you give cash to. Stay with they folks you know, like Red Cross, Salvation Army etc.

Some pretty cool stuff in the news this past week too. Look for Kenny Chesney, Blake Shelton and Zac Brown Band on NBC's "Today" show. They will start their summer concert series later this month, and you can see Kenny performing on June 17th, Blake will be on July 8th and ZBB on August 12th.

Kix Brooks says that unlike his former Duo partner, Ronnie Dunn, he's in no big hurry to release a solo CD. Kix says he's working on some acting gigs including a new movie called "Thrift Store Cowboy" where he has an acting role and sings. His CD is about half done and he has no time-table for its release.

CMT will air a 90 minute concert special this Thursday featuring Hank Jr, Tim McGraw, Lady Antebellum, Keith Urban, Alabama and Sara Evans. The show is a benefit concert for the American Red Cross to provide aid for the storm victims in Alabama. The concert will start at 8pm this Thursday on CMT.

If you missed Lady Antebellum singing their new song "Just A Kiss" on American Idol, or if you want to hear it again, click on this link:
http://www.theboot.com/2011/05/03/lady-antebellum-just-a-kiss/
Lady A says they will finish up their new album between tour dates this summer.

Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson has signed on to portray country music hall of famer Charley Pride in a new movie about Charley's life. Filming will begin later this year.

Got a couple new concerts and CD release dates listed below. Thanks for listening to Your Country 102.7 WXBM!! Have a great week.

(** = new listing)

Upcoming CD's

May 24th
Brad Paisley - "This Is Country Music"
June 7th
Ronnie Dunn - "Ronnie Dunn"
Randy Travis - "Anniversary Celebration"
June 21st
Justin Moore - "Outlaws Like Me"
July 12th
**Blake Shelton - (title tbd)
**Chris Young - "Neon"
July 26th
**Eric Church - "Chief"
Ashton Shepherd - "Where Country Grows"
August
Dierks Bentley - "Diamonds"
August 23rd

**Martina McBride - (Teenage Daughters)

TBD

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Terri Clark (expected this summer or fall)

Tim McGraw (Emotional Traffic)
Rodney Atkins (Take A Back Road)
Josh Turner

Upcoming Concerts
May 14th
Ronnie Dunn - Hard Rock in Biloxi
May 20th
Kris Kristofferson - IP in Biloxi

May 21st

July 14th

Jason Aldean, Chris Young and Thompson Square - Wharf in Orange Beach

July 23rd

Monday, May 2, 2011

Tornado relief efforts

Over the last few days we have seen a bunch of local businesses and organizations step up and start collecting relief supplies for the storm victims in Alabama. We are getting information about supply drives every day, and I'll do my best to keep this page updated with info on where you can donate and what items are being collected. It probably wouldn't hurt to call ahead before you go to drop off your donations just to make sure they are still accepting supplies and will be open when you plan to drop your donation.

Butler U-Pull-It

Butler U-Pull-It, Butler Auto Sales and Butler Recycling will be accepting donations of bottled water, baby supplies, non-perishable food items and pet food & supplies.

Pen Air Federal Credit Union

Pen Air will be collecting donations of bottled water, baby wipes and first aid kits at their Gulf Coast branches. For more information, click on the following link: http://penairfcu.blogspot.com/2011/04/pen-air-now-tornado-relief-drop-off.html

Pace Area Chamber of Commerce

The Pace Chamber will be collecting: Bottled water, sports drinks, snacks, power bars, non perishable food items, blankets, coolers, diapers and baby wipes, baby food, formula, personal toiletries (toothpaste, toothbrushes) Ziploc bags, tarps, trash bags, hand sanitizers, work gloves, bug spray, batters and flashlights, pet food, cleaning supplies, clothing, gas cards.
Teddy Bears for the children! They will be accepting donations from 9a-4p Monday - Thursday for as long as supplies are coming in. For more information, contact Nikki at 994-9633.

My Father's Vineyard

Collecting non-perishable food items, bottled water, diapers, formula and personal hygiene items at 8130 Pensacola Blvd. They ask that you please call ahead to make someone will be there to accept your donation before you go there. 332-5740

Beulah Freewill Baptist Church

Heard they are accepting donations to take to Tuscaloosa. Call or stop by the church for more info: 7561 Mobile Hwy. 944-0408

C&C Hauling Company
C & C Hauling Company, 2222 Hwy. 95A North, Cantonment, Fl. (850) 968-1515 will be accepting donations for the Tornado Victims......Diapers (all sizes), wipes, water , gatorade, canned food items, paper towels , toilet paper , plastic eating utensils, laundry detergent , all sizes kids & adults socks and underwear (... must be new in package) , & boxes for collecting personal items. Hours are 8am till 5pm Mon thru Fri. When they get a truck loaded , they will deliver to Alabama.

Arrington's Home Furnishings
Call ahead about what donations are being accepted before you go: 850-939-1876

Papa's Pizza in Foley
Accepting donations of non-perishable food items, baby supplies and water for delivery in two weeks. 321B South McKenzie in Foley

Wolf Bay Lodge
Wolf Bay Lodge will be accepting donations at their locations in Foley - 20801 Miflin Rd and in Orange Beach - 26619 Perdido Beach Blvd from 10a-9p. They are colleting the same items as listed above, but will not be accepting cash donations.

Frisco City Volunteer Fire Department
They will be loading an 18 wheeler trailer to send to north Alabama for tornado victims.. The trailer will be located at the Frisco City Vol Fire Dept. They'll start loading at 6pm May 2nd, and will be pulling out Friday evening or Sat morning.

Mobile SPCA
The Mobile SPCA will be making a trip to Tuscaloosa on Thursday, May 5th, and they're looking for the following items: At the shelter they need 4 sets of lights on stands. In the field they need wire pop up crates, pet taxis, collars, leashes, and bowls. People still have their pets with them but they have no way to contain them or even put a collar and leash on them. Cash donations will also be accepted. For more info call Janine Woods at 251-633-3531.

Another great way to help out is with a cash donation to the American Red Cross, Salvation Army or Alabama Governor's Relief fund: http://www.severealabama.gov/ I would be very careful with who you give cash to. Make sure it's a major organization like the ones listed above. Unfortunately there are people who are out to make a quick buck at the expense of those who really need it.

Thank you for your help.

What a week.....

It has been quite a week. It started with the sadness and destruction of the severe weather in Mississippi, Alabama and Georgia, and ended with the death of the #1 terrorist in the world. All I have to say about Bin Laden is that the world is a better place without him. As far as the storms, I'll post some more information on how to help the victims a sec.

In the news this week......you've probably heard Blake Shelton is part of the hit show "The Voice" on NBC. Look for a 2-hour special to air tomorrow (May 3rd) as auditions continue. Reba will also be part of the show to assist Blake and the other judges. Blake also announced that due to the success of his new song "Honey Bee" his record label has bumped the release date for his new CD up to July 12th. No title for that project yet. Randy Travis is releasing a new CD exclusively through Cracker Barrel today with proceeds from album sales going to the Wounded Warrior Project. Learn more at their website: http://woundedwarriorproject.org/ Randy is also releasing a CD of duets next month. He will be singing some of his hit songs with guests like Alan Jackson, Kenny Chesney, Brad Paisley, Josh Turner and many more.

We have heard from so many generous people who want to help the storm victims to the north of us. There are several things you can do. The Red Cross (http://american.redcross.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ntld_mainand) and most all emergency response organizations always say that cash is the best way to help out, whether it's a little or a lot. It all adds up. That way they can get specific items that they need and won't get overstocked on one or more donated items. We are also encouraging people to donate to the Alabama Governors Relief Fund: http://www.severealabama.gov/ There are several other businesses, organizations and churches gathering supplies and filling relief trucks. Pen Air Federal Credit Union will be accepting bottled water, baby wipes and things like that at their Gulf Coast branches. http://penairfcu.blogspot.com/2011/04/pen-air-now-tornado-relief-drop-off.html Hit that link for more info. Also hearing of quite a few churches that are collecting supplies. It's great to see so many people jump at the chance to help people that they have never met.

Had a big concert announcement this week too! Miranda Lambert & Gary Allan will play the Wharf in Orange Beach on July 23rd, and you can win FREE tickets all week long on WXBM! Tune in for details on how to win 'em before you can buy 'em. Tickets will go on sale this Friday, May 6th through all Ticketmaster locations and will range in price from $29.75 - $53.75 (plus service fees) and the floor area of the Wharf will be general admission seating.

(** = new listing)

Upcoming CD's

May 24th
Brad Paisley - "This Is Country Music"
June 7th
Ronnie Dunn - "Ronnie Dunn"
Randy Travis - "Anniversary Celebration"
June 21st
Justin Moore - "Outlaws Like Me"
July 12th
**Blake Shelton - (title tbd)
July 23rd
**Eric Church - "Chief"
Ashton Shepherd - "Where Country Grows"
August
Dierks Bentley - "Diamonds"
August 23rd

**Martina McBride - (Teenage Daughters)

TBD

Sunny Sweeney (From A Table Away)

Lady Antebellum

Chris Young (Neon)
Terri Clark (expected this summer or fall)

Tim McGraw (Emotional Traffic)
Rodney Atkins

CD's Now Available
Jane Dear Girls - "Jane Dear Girls"

Thompson Square - "Thompson Square"

Joe Nichols - "Greatest Hits"

Sara Evans - "Stronger"

Josh Kelly - "Georgia Clay"

Craig Campbell - "Family Man"

Alison Krauss - "Paper Airplane"

Upcoming Concerts
May 14th
Ronnie Dunn - Hard Rock in Biloxi
May 20th
Kris Kristofferson - IP in Biloxi

May 21st

July 14th

Jason Aldean, Chris Young and Thompson Square - Wharf in Orange Beach

July 23rd