Give us a minute, and we’ll give you five things you need to know in country music. It’s your new fix for all the latest headlines in one place. Here’s what you need to know for Friday (May 3):
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Toby Keith Releases “That’s Country Bro”
Keith namechecks several famous country singers in his latest single, “That’s Country Bro.” Keith co-wrote the song with Bobby Pinson and the two co-produced the song with Reid Shippen and executive producer Arturo Buenohora. Can you recognize all the names?
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Old Dominion’s Soul-baring “Some People Do”
Frontman Matt Ramsey delivers a high falsetto over sweeping string arrangements and piano in the band’s new single “Some People Do.” “We pushed ourselves to be more raw and vulnerable with our songwriting on this album,” Ramsey says in a release. “It’s a side of us we haven’t shown as blatantly on our other projects. ‘Some People Do’ is very emotional and personal. Quite honestly, it’s a little scary to put out into the world. But in the end, part of our job as songwriters is to tell the truth, even if it’s hard to go there.” The band’s Make It Sweet tour continues tonight (May 3) in Nashville.
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Joy Williams Releases Front Porch
Williams is back with her fifth solo album, Front Porch, which was produced by The Milk Carton Kids’ Kenneth Pattengale and engineered by Sam Phillips Recording’s Matt Ross-Spang. Williams recorded the 12-song collection in Nashville while she was pregnant with her second child. “There is an energy that is very creative in having a baby,” Williams says in a release. “It gives a sense of urgency on top of all the creative energy. Cellularly, your body is experiencing something really different. Everything you are feeling is elevated. And you have a time-stamped sense of urgency.”
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Alan Jackson’s Career Gets a Documentary
Alan Jackson: Small Town Southern Man is a new AXS-TV documentary that chronicles Jackson’s life from his upbringing in Georgia to his 2017 induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame. The special premieres Tuesday (May 7).
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Brett Eldredge and Jon Pardi’s Cheers from Oz
Let’s pause to reflect on how awesome friendship is, especially when it’s between Eldredge and Pardi. In a new Instagram post, Eldredge reflected on his time on tour in Australia with Pardi saying, “I remember sitting on my brothers back porch drinking a beer with [Pardi] back when we both just started kickin’ our boots around Nashville. No one knew us, but we hoped one day a lot of people would know our music. Now, 10 years later, we are poppin’ champagne on the other side of the world.”