Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 22, 2016

New music from any artist is exciting, but new music from Martina McBride is a whole new level of exciting!  Known for having one of the best voices in the business and a string of hit songs, Martina announced last month that her new album, Reckless will be available on April 29th.  The title track off the album, her first new single to country radio in almost five years, is taking our song of the week honors this week.  Martina says,“This song is about gratitude for that kind of unconditional love.  It’s a universal sentiment. It’s a love song, but not one where everything’s perfect. The lyric is a little darker and vulnerable.”  Give it a listen below.

Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 21, 2016

Blake Shelton has a lot going on these days!  With his next album, If I’m Honest, set to drop May 20th, and his gig being a coach on the hit television show, The Voice, Blake also announced earlier this week that he’ll be heading out on tour this fall, including two shows at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul.  The country star also released a gospel song titled “Savior’s Shadow” off his upcoming album last week and has another new song featured in the soon to be released Angry Birds movie!  While we’re extremely excited to hear more new music from the native Okie, we will never stop loving one of his very first hit songs, “Austin” so we had to feature it as our TBT song this week.  Check out a young, long haired Blake Shelton in the video here and feel free to place your guesses as to how many couples got back together after listening to this sweet song about giving love a second chance in the comments section.  See below for stops on Blake’s fall tour and check out his website for ticket details.

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Concert Information - 2016

Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 19, 2016

After the recent passing of the amazing Mr. Merle Haggard, we’ve heard many different bands cover his songs to pay tribute lately, and of course we hear many songs covered by certain bands at every show.  This however, is something extremely unique, and will feature MANY of very talented local musicians from some of the best bands in and around Minnesota. Continue reading

Concert Information - 2016

Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 19, 2016

Lost Highway is set to take the stage live at The Cabooze in Minneapolis, MN on Saturday April 30th!  Joining Lost Highway for what’s sure to make for a great event, is Ricochet’s very own Heath Wright!  Heath will be performing an acoustic set, including fan favorites like Daddy’s Money, What Do I Know, Love is Stronger Than Pride, Blink of an Eye, and many more!  Local favorites Dirt Road Dixie featuring American Idol contestant Cindy Jo will also be a part of the show!  This unique combination does not happen very often, so without a doubt this is a show you won’t want to miss! Continue reading

Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 15, 2016

Back in April of 2008 a day dedicated to celebrating vinyl records and the record stores that carried them officially began. This Saturday, April 16th, Record Store Day will be taking place for it’s 9th year, and it’s still going strong having grown to include participating stores on every continent except Antarctica according to the official Record Store Day website. The original idea came from a group of record store owners and employees back in 2007 as a way to celebrate the unique record store culture and bring awareness to the nearly 1400 independently owned record stores across the United States. The event has grown wildly since its conception and has attracted the attention of music greats such as Jack White, Dave Grohl, and this year Metallica to pass around the title of “Record Store Day Ambassador” while many other artists get in on the action by participating in other local store events. In addition to having exciting limited edition and exclusive releases and box sets, the full list of which can be found here, many of Minnesota’s own unique record stores are hosting some awesome all day events on Saturday. To further encourage you to get out and experience Record Store Day for yourself, we’ve put together a list of what will be going on around the Minneapolis area.

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Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 14, 2016

Ever felt like packing up a VW bus and touring the country just looking for adventure?  Well Jake Owen is allowing you to live out that dream by watching the just released music video for his new song, “American Country Love Song.”  Jake told People magazine that, “The song is about feeling young and free.  I’ve done videos before where there’s a bunch of people standing around putting makeup on me, and I don’t think of that as being free.”  So instead of doing that, Jake bought himself a restored 1966 Volkswagen bus and hit the road back in February traveling from Nashville to Key West, FL.  Give yourself some feel good vibes and permission to day dream about your big dreams by checking out the video below.

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Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 14, 2016

The times they are a changing!  Progress and change definitely aren’t bad things (I mean the internet and being able to stream hours of music basically anywhere is pretty great), but sometimes when looking back on the past it does seem like some things were a little better back then.  The Judds highlight some of those things in their 1985 hit, “Grandpa (Tell Me Bout The Good Old Days)”.  The song is definitely a classic with the power to make us all look back fondly on the past and appreciate the simpler times which is necessary every now and then.

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Album Releases - 2016

Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 10, 2016

Margo Price doesn’t pretend to be anything other than herself on her new LP, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, hard times, bad decisions, and all. In fact it was going through one of those hard times that made the album what it is. Margo, who’s signed to Jack White’s Third Man Records, says on her website that going through the heartache of losing her son left her more than a little lost, but it was that experience that brought, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter to life. “Coming through that, I thought, ‘I’m just going to write music that I want to hear.’ It was a big turning point.” With it’s refreshingly honest lyrics and a sound that is closer to that of classic country icons like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn, than today’s more modern sound, Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, is already making history. It debuted at number 10 on Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart selling 4,000 copies in it’s first week, marking the first time in the chart’s history (since 1964) that a solo female artist has debuted her first charted title in the top 10 without any past singles on the Hot Country Songs rankings (according to a Billboard article from April 5th). Margo also made her Saturday Night Live debut this past weekend bringing some classic country soul to the New York City stage. If you’re not familiar with Margo or her music yet, we’re here to help with our list of 5 reasons we’re loving Margo and her new album.

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Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 10, 2016

The 2016 American Country Countdown Awards have announced finalists and performers for the show, which is set to air live from the Forum in Los Angeles on Sunday, May 1^st. The awards show is based on Kix Brook’s American Country Countdown radio show, the longest running radio countdown show having aired for 43 years. We’ve got your list of the finalists and performers below so you can start getting excited to watch with us on May 1^st.

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Misc - 2016

By minnesotacountry / April 8, 2016

Break ups are never fun, but take it from Billy Currington in his new song “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To” and remember that it’ll get easier.  The song written by Currington, Cary Barlowe, and Shy Carter is the follow up to “Drinking Town With A Football” off his Summer Forever album and details the emotional rollercoaster that we often end up on after a relationship ends.  So whether your heart has recently been drug through the Alabama dirt or you just appreciate a good break up song check out “It Don’t Hurt Like It Used To.”