Music
About Hank Williams Jr.:
Hank Williams Jr.'s extremely impressive resume has spawned 70 million albums sold worldwide, six PLATINUM albums, 20 GOLD albums, 13 No. 1 albums and 10 No. 1 singles. Marking 52 years since his first album in 1964, Hank Jr. released IT’S ABOUT TIME (Nash Icon Records) in 2016. In addition to the history-making “Are You Ready for the Country,” the project included new tunes such as “Dress Like an Icon,” “Just Call Me Hank,” “It’s About Time,” and “The Party’s On” as well as re-recorded versions of classics “Mental Revenge” and “Born to Boogie” with Brantley Gilbert, Justin Moore and Brad Paisley on guitar. The album debuted at No. 2 on Top Country Albums, the highest he had reached on the chart since the release of LONE WOLF in 1990. IT’S ABOUT TIME marked Hank's 37th album in his five-decade career.
Since then the country music icon has continued to add accolades to an already extremely impressive resume. Hank Jr. has undoubtedly staked his place in music history and garnered industry recognition as an ACM Entertainer of the Year, CMA Entertainer of the Year and BMI Icon, in addition to notching a GRAMMY win and an induction into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. The crown jewel on his running list of career accomplishments came in late 2021, as he proudly carried on the family tradition with a pandemic-delayed induction to Nashville’s Country Music Hall of Fame. As a touring artist, Hank Jr. was a pioneer in bringing arena rock production values to country music and today generation after generation continues to show up to see one of the most dynamic live performers ever to take the stage.
About Lynyrd Skynyrd:
As Lynyrd Skynyrd celebrates the 50th anniversary of the band’s critically acclaimed debut album ‘Pronounced 'Lĕh-'nérd 'Skin-'nérd,’ they resonate as deeply with their multi-generational fan base today as when they first emerged out of Jacksonville, Florida in 1973. Few ensembles have had the deep impact in creating a lifestyle as Skynyrd has. The band travels forward with a primary mission of celebrating a legacy that honors all whom have had a resonating contribution to the lives of hundreds of millions of fans globally. Former members Ronnie Van Zant, Gary Rossington, Allen Collins, Steve Gaines, Ed King, Billy Powell, Bob Burns, and Leon Wilkeson alongside others will forever remain significant contributors to this indelible repertoire and the band’s colorful history. Today, Lynyrd Skynyrd rocks on with a current line-up featuring Johnny Van Zant, Rickey Medlocke, Damon Johnson, Mark “Sparky” Matejka, Michael Cartellone, Keith Christopher, Peter Keys, Carol Chase and Stacy Michelle.
The rock and roll powerhouse continually tours, and as Van Zant shares, “It’s about the legacy of Lynyrd Skynyrd, and what it stands for, what the fans are all about. There’s nothing like getting out there playing a great show with Skynyrd and seeing people love this music.”
With a catalog of over 60 albums, billions of streams, tens of millions of records sold, and the recent introduction of Hell House whiskey, Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Lynyrd Skynyrd remain a cultural icon that appeal to all generations.
About Brantley Gilbert:
With back-to-back Platinum albums and a grassroots following millions strong, Brantley Gilbert’s music has been shared, covered and adopted as the soundtrack to Saturday night and Sunday morning by audiences around the world. The Georgia native who started as the defiant life-of-the-party can still go ‘til sunrise, but he’s also emerged as something far greater: the leader of a massive tribe of hard-working, fun-loving believers for whom electric guitar-shredding, rapping, and twang can go hand-in-hand-in-hand.
They call themselves the BG Nation, and when the BG Nation watches Gilbert on a stage, they don’t just see a star. They see themselves. Seven No. 1 hits punctuate his career: RIAA 7x Platinum-certified “Bottoms Up,” 2x Platinum “Country Must Be Country Wide,” 2x Platinum “You Don’t Know Her Like I Do,” 2x Platinum “One Hell of An Amen,” Platinum-certified collaboration with Lindsay Ell “What Happens In A Small Town,” and two chart-toppers as a songwriter with CMA Song of the Year nominee “Dirt Road Anthem” and “My Kinda Party.”
Gilbert’s landmark record Just As I Am clinched the 2014 American Music Award for Favorite Country Album. Earning praise from the New York Times, NPR, American Songwriter, and more, Gilbert has mined a rich vein of conflict between the party and the pew on all of his albums. Instead of toiling in limbo, unable to enjoy good times for fear of Judgment Day, Gilbert fully lives––rowdy friend, man of faith, devoted husband, smitten new father––just as he is. So Help Me God (Deluxe Edition) is available now via The Valory Music Co. and features chart-climbing single “Heaven By Then” with Blake Shelton featuring Vince Gill. Gilbert will join Nickelback this summer for the Get Rollin’ Tour, featuring 35+ dates across North America.
For additional information, visit BrantleyGilbert.com or follow him on Instagram, TikTok and Twitter @BrantleyGilbert and Facebook.com/BrantleyGilbertMusic.
About Oliver Anthony:
Country singer-songwriter Oliver Anthony made music history this year by becoming the first artist in history to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard charts without previously having a song on the charts. He is also the first living male songwriter to chart 13 songs simultaneously in Billboard’s Top 50 Digital Song Sales.
A musical poet of the people, Anthony became an overnight national sensation with the release of “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which has been dubbed the nation’s “blue-collar anthem.” But it resonates powerfully with Americans from all walks of life around the world.
The song has been streamed more than 77 million times on YouTube and more than 115 million across streaming platforms. Five of his other songs have made iTunes’ Top 10, with “I’ve Got to Get Sober” reaching No. 3. “Ain’t Got a Dollar” claimed the No. 1 spot on Spotify’s Viral 50 list and No. 2 on ITunes.
Anthony is quickly changing the way musical artists release music and engage with their fans. He speaks directly to his fans through videos shot in his truck or surrounded by his dogs whenever the mood strikes. He doesn’t rely on others to tell his story or interpret his intentions.
Earning comparisons to Bob Dylan, he is a truly authentic artist who speaks the truth for those who don’t have a platform to reveal their struggles.
His passionate voice, featuring a unique and emotional rasp shaped by his personal battles, captures the despair of those living without hope, especially those who live in small-town or rural America. His songs address the nation’s wealth gap, suicide rate, high taxes, and imbalance and abuse of power. Variety says, “It almost seems as if Oliver Anthony hadn’t come along, someone would have had to invent him.”
“Rich Men North of Richmond” has been embraced by people on both sides of the political aisles. For instance, “Rich Men North of Richmond” was recently played at the beginning of the first Republican presidential debate, which was ironic given that some of the people onstage were the same people Anthony addressed in the song.
“‘Rich Men North of Richmond’ touches on my time in Western North Carolina working in the factory. It talks about some people that live north of Richmond, Virginia, who I’m sure you’re very aware of, who make life a little more difficult than it should be,” he said.
Of course, he knows of which he writes and sings. Anthony, 31, lives off the grid in a camper in Farmville, Va., with his wife and two children (with another one on the way in November). He’s been public about overcoming addiction and depression.
He dropped out of school at age 17 and later earned a G.E.D. before working industrial jobs in Virginia and North Carolina. He was unable to work for about six months in 2013 after an accident at a North Carolina paper mill fractured his skull. More recently, he worked in outside sales in manufacturing before his music career exploded.
“I found an outlet in this music,” adding that he “started getting messages from people saying how much the music was helping them with their struggles in their lives.”
About Taylor Austin Dye:
Taylor Austin Dye is an up and coming country singer/songwriter based in Nashville, TN; originally hailing from the hollers and hills of eastern Kentucky. Her brand of in-your-face music comes straight from her rowdy country roots. Her "Ride or Dye's" describe her songs as "badass," "confident," and "real." See tour dates and more at tayloraustindye.com.
