Emily’s Pick: Top 3 Favorite Country Christmas Songs & Albums

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It’s that time of year when everyone just wants to enjoy the holiday season by gathering around a fire, drinking some hot chocolate, and listening to their favorite holiday songs or albums.

The holidays mean something different to everyone, and I know every person has their own favorite holiday music (or lack of it), but, I’m definitely in the group of people I described in the first paragraph. So, I thought this is the perfect opportunity to make a list of MY top favorite Christmas songs and albums.  Continue reading →

A Songwriter’s Perspective – Bobby Tomberlin Releases “Out of Road”

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Bobby Tomberlin is a renowned songwriter, who has racked up plenty of credits in his career, including Grammy®, CMA and ACM nominations. But now, the Nashville hitmaker has released his own album project, featuring many of the songs already made famous by some of Country Music’s greatest legends.

This new album, Out of Road, gives music fans the chance to hear the true insights and emotions directly from the songwriter, who has allowed a truly diverse collection of artists to interpret his songs, including Willie Nelson, Barbra Streisand, Blake Shelton, Faith Hill, and Kenny Rogers.

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Exclusive Interview with Katie Richardson from Lainey Lou’s Embroidery

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Crafts are enjoying a renewed popularity thanks to online stores, groups, and tutorials. Crafters, now more than ever, have an unlimited amount of resources to help them create their own personalized and customized trinkets, clothes, and accessories.

A favorite craft and pastime among country music fans has always been embroidery. In fact, it’s difficult to find a home decorated in a “country style” without spotting several embroidered items in and around the house. The CMBeat’s founder, Emily Ann Wells, recently got to speak with Katie Richardson, who took a favorite hobby and passion and turned it into her own personalized embroidery business online called Lainey Lou’s Embroidery. Continue reading →

Thoughts On The 50th CMA Awards

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It was one of country music’s biggest and most historic nights, when the lights came down inside the Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee and stars were everywhere for the 50th Annual Country Music Association Awards.

The show started off with a wonderful look back over the the CMA’s 50 year history, with a tribute to Merle Haggard from Vince Gill & Merle’s son, Ben Haggard. Brad Paisley joined in with Roy Clark to perform Buck Owens’ I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail!. Carrie Underwood honored the immortal Tammy Wynette with a performance of Stand By Your Man, and Charley Pride sang his classic song, Kiss An Angel Good Morning.

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Keith Urban’s Most Recent Single – Timeless and Classic

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Country singer, Keith Urban is primarily known for his upbeat, hard-driving contemporary style. His latest single, Blue Ain’t Your Color, from his current album, RipCord, released this past September,  is a clear departure from that sound and style his fans know and love.

Urban is no stranger to the occasional romantic or heartbreak song, but Blue Ain’t Your Color is beautifully written in a classic, waltz-style, which is a welcomed relief in a country market that’s becoming saturated with similar sounding music, production, and lyrics.

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Little Big Town Covers A Dolly Parton Classic

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If you are a fan of both classic and contemporary country music, and love a good marriage between a modern country artist and a vintage country tune, you’ll definitely want to check this out!

When Little Big Town recently played at the Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, Tennessee, they performed a beautiful acoustic arrangement of Dolly Parton’s legendary song, Jolene. An audible hush fell over the live audience as they listened to the breathtaking interpretation. Continue reading →

Exclusive Interview with “Chasing Your Dream Radio” Founder, Tom Kelly

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As music fans become more and more frustrated with the format of traditional radio and the limited playlists they feature, the popularity of independent online streaming stations is growing at a fast pace. These “internet radio” or “app-based” stations are helping independent artists reach more markets and fans. And anyone wanting to dip their toes in the world of broadcasting can now do so  – all they need is an internet connection, a microphone, and a passion for music. One such broadcaster is Tom Kelly, the Creator/Founder of Chasing Your Dream Radio. Emily Ann Wells, Editor/Founder of The CMBeat recently got to speak with Tom to learn a little bit more about the his station.

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“Just the facts, ma’am” – Recap from our first Fun Fact Friday

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Joe Friday, from the iconic TV show, Dragnet, would have been very pleased with our newest feature, which launched this past Friday on our Facebook and Twitter social media pages, called Fun Fact Friday. We fully complied with his famous catch-phrase and posted “Just the facts, ma’am“.

If you missed the posts as they went live, you can see all the facts right here in the following recap:

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