Miranda Lambert moving to RCA Nashville
Country music star Miranda Lambert, who lives in Tishomingo, is shifting labels from Columbia Nashville to RCA Nashville as part of a restructuring at Sony Music Nashville, according to Country Aircheck.
Singer-songwriter Josh Thompson, who released his 2010 debut album “Way Out Here” on Columbia Nashville, also is moving to RCA Nashville.
Lambert’s all-girl trio the Pistol Annies – which includes Angaleena Presley and Ashley Monroe – released last week their debut album “Hell on Heels” on Columbia Nashville. Lambert’s upcoming solo album, “Four the Record,” is due out Nov. 1.
The Texas native will be featured on a special edition of “Dateline” airing at 9 tonight on NBC. For more information on tonight’s interview between Lambert and Hoda Kotb, click here.
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Miranda Lambert to be featured tonight on a special “Dateline”
In a special “Dateline” airing at 9 tonight on NBC, Hoda Kotb interviews Grammy Award-winning country music star Miranda Lambert, who lives in Tishomingo.
The two-part interview includes Lambert’s husband and fellow country music star Blake Shelton, star of NBC’s hit reality TV show “The Voice.” Kotb dishes with Lambert from the Cannery Ballroom in Nashville, Tenn., about life on the road, falling in love with Shelton and her new band, The Pistol Annies.
Fellow Annies Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley then join Lambert as they talk about their debut album “Hell on Heels,” which dropped last week; forming the band; and collaborating together on songwriting. To read my column on the Annies and their debut album, featuring interviews with Lambert and Presley, click here.
Lambert tells Kotb in the interview, “I said I wanted to build an empire. So I started a girl band. Yeah. People think I’m crazy. They’re going, you did what? It’s just– it’s three artists, three artists. We’re all alike in the fact that we sing about empowering women and real life.”
The Texas native and Oklahoma transplant also fielded questions from Kotb about how she first became attracted to Shelton, an Ada native she first met while performing “You’re the Reason God Made Oklahoma” with him on a TV special.
Click here to read a couple of excerpts from tonight’s “Dateline” interview.
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Monday Catchy Quote No. 179
A catchy quote from a movie, TV show or other source to brighten the beginning of your week:
Dennis: Listen, strange women lyin’ in ponds distributin’ swords is no basis for a system of government. Supreme executive power derives from a mandate from the masses, not from some farcical aquatic ceremony.
-Click here to learn the source.
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What to do in Oklahoma on Aug. 29, 2011: Roll with the Riverboat Gamblers, Off With Their Heads and Dead To Me at The Conservatory
Riverboat Gamblers
Today’s featured event:
Hear the Riverboat Gamblers, Off With Their Heads and Dead To Me at 7 tonight at The Conservatory, 8911 N Western. The bands are on a three-way headlining tour and will be changing the order every night. The show also will feature Over Stars And Gutters. For more information, go to www.conservatoryokc.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
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What to do in Oklahoma on Aug. 28, 2011: Listen to The Milk Carton Kids at the Blue Door
Today’s featured event:
Catch Los Angeles-based duo The Milk Carton Kids in their first Oklahoma City show at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley. Information: 524-0738 or www.bluedoorokc.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
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Concert review: The Great Divide reunion show at Stillwater’s Tumbleweed
The Great Divide now
STILLWATER – The Great Divide was “Alive and Well” and rocking the crowd Friday night at the Tumbleweed Dance Hall & Concert Arena.
The seminal red dirt band took thousands of its frenzied fans on a musical jaunt down “Yesterday Road,” with the reunited group reclaiming the College Days Festival it started more than a decade ago at the Tumbleweed.
But the two-hour show was more than just a tuneful nostalgia trip, though plenty of The Great Divide’s devotees shared shouted remembrances with their fellow concert-goers between songs.
“Tonight is about reconciliation,” said drummer J.J. Lester, who has worked for three years as college pastor at Countryside Church in Stillwater.
“When we came up with this, we had no idea it would mean so much to everyone,” he added. “I’m not an emotional man, but I’ve cried a lot this last few weeks so thank you from the bottom of my heart.”
The country-rock quartet – J.J. Lester, his brother, rhythm guitarist Scotte Lester, bassist Kelley Green and singer/songwriter/guitarist Mike McClure – exchanged plenty of smiles, hugs and jokes and thanked the crowd often throughout the show. After the band’s bitter breakup – McClure left the group in 2003, and the others called it quits two years later – seeing The Great Divide bridge their differences was heartwarming for fans.
Along with the hotly anticipated reunion show, the College Days lineup Friday featured an array of red dirt talents The Great Divide has influenced: Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Stoney LaRue, No Justice and Turnpike Troubadours.
Between the lingering heat wave and sizzling lineup, the enthusiastic crowd was plenty warmed up when The Great Divide took the stage with its raucous and familiar “Without You.” The audience quickly raised its collective voice to back the band on favorites like “Round That Bend” and “Billy Covington,” and the group soon showed off its playful sense of humor.
“Kelley reminded me this week that we’ve been broken up longer than most bands have been together,” McClure cracked before launching into the apropos lyrics of “Break in the Storm,” prompting couples to sway or spin through the crowd. “Thank y’all for still listening to our music, man.”
The Great Divide back in the day
The jaunty “Dragon’s Heart” got fans stomping their feet, the twangy “Out of Here Tonight” had them toasting the band with their beer cups, and the mournful ballad “But I Do” prompted them to belt along with McClure.
“This is strange. We haven’t played in front of anybody in so long, much less this many people,” the frontman said. “It’s good for us to be playing here tonight. Sometimes you just gotta let old crap go. It’s time for new crap.”
While he and J.J. Lester have indicated they would like to make new music, the fans were more than content with the old songs at Friday night’s show. The rowdy “Pour Me a Vacation” prompted many to wail along ecstatically and stretch out their hands like they were volunteering for the next flight out.
“This is gonna suck,” the self-deprecating McClure joked as he ripped into the guitar solo of the band’s biggest mainstream hit. But he seemed satisfied with the final result, finishing with “There you go.”
While the singer/musician and his Mike McClure Band have toured vigorously the past few years, they don’t play many The Great Divide songs. Green and the Lester brothers have pursued careers outside music, so the reunion marked the first time in awhile for them to perform the tunes live. The band members frequently made light of The Great Divide’s long absence from the stage; after the audience cheered loudly for the country-blues cautionary tale “If You Want It That Much,” Green joked that the group would be selling cassettes after the show.
Their good humor came in handy when, not surprisingly, they ran into a few technical difficulties during their first show in more than eight years. For instance, Green’s bass stopped working while rocking through “Rather Have Nothin’,” an early Great Divide tune that was cut by another Stillwater music legend: Garth Brooks.
“Kelley’s bass isn’t working, so let’s all stare at him for awhile,” McClure joked and then began ad-libbing. “We’re making a live DVD, so we later get to relive this moment in the comfort of your own home.”
When technicians were finally able to get Green’s groove back, the frontman grinned and exclaimed, “Love that bass.”
Cameras swooped over, through and around the crowd and stage throughout the show, which was filmed for a live CD and DVD as well as a documentary. And the concert included plenty of highlights worth recording for posterity.
Fans couldn’t help dancing when Scotte Lester took over on vocals for the “Milk Cow Blues” or singing along as the band covered Van Morrison’s gorgeous anthem “Into the Mystic.”
For the lovely ballad “Wildflower,” J.J. Lester left to drum set and took up a tambourine, but before he joined McClure at the front of the stage, he paused to hug many of the family and friends crowded in the wings. “Who could blame him?” McClure said.
The percussionist then pounded a mini-kit through the spirited gospel “Rearview Mirror” before settling again behind his drum set.
The quartet memorialized Bob Childers, the late, great “godfather of red dirt music,” with the fun favorite “Wile E. Coyote.”
“He wrote a lot of great songs, and of course, we chose to do one of the goofy ones,” McClure quipped.
But the highlight of the night came as The Great Divide paid tribute to red dirt icon Tom Skinner, with Scotte Lester and McClure trading verses on his lively ode to days gone by, “Used to Be.” Fans were literally dancing with joy when Skinner joined the band onstage to croon a verse and show off some of his own dance moves. Scotte Lester gallantly took up his brother’s tambourine and loaned Skinner his guitar for the jam.
“It’s been a long time since I’ve seen Tom Skinner dance like that,” McClure said. “When young folks like Boland and Stoney and myself came to town, he’s who we looked up too.”
The quartet finished the main part of its set with the soulful “Remain,” the wistful “Never Could,” the holy-rolling “Mr. Devil,” another thank you and one last quip.
“This has been truly a trip, and thanks for coming along with us on it,” McClure said, adding the reunited group wants to play more shows. “Thanks for still caring.”
“I’ll learn the songs before the next show,” Green joked.
The crowd immediately began chatting and screaming for an encore, and the band quickly obliged. Fans thrilled at singing along to a trio of the quartet’s signature songs: the bluesy ballad “Nowhere Woman,” the nostalgic festival theme “College Days” and the uplifting anthem “Floods.”
College Days 2011 is closing tonight with a headlining set by Texas country standout Pat Green. But The Great Divide’s reunion will be nearly impossible act to top for those who dig red dirt and authentic country-rock music.
“You guys have no idea what it’s like to be standing up here right now,” Scotte Lester told the crowd.
Maybe not. But standing in that crowd hearing The Great Divide was as awesome as fans like me could have hoped.
See the set list for The Great Divide reunion show after the break.
Video: “The Pioneer Woman” premiering this morning on Food Network
Check out the trailer for the new Food Network series “The Pioneer Woman,” premiering at 10:30 a.m. today and featuring award-winning Oklahoma blogger and best-selling cookbook author Ree Drummond.
Shot on location at her family’s picturesque Oklahoma ranch, “The Pioneer Woman” will serve up a slice of frontier life along with the “accidental country girl’s” step-by-step recipes for creating wholesome, hearty family meals and elegant menus for entertaining.
“Ree’s easy-going humor and down-to-earth approach to food and life have won her millions of devoted fans online,” said Bob Tuschman, General Manager and Senior Vice President, Programming and Production for Food Network, in a news release. “In her new series, she’ll welcome us onto the ranch and into her home to share her secrets for turning simple variations on traditional American fare into memorable mealtimes for family and friends.”
Over the past five years, the Bartlesville native has chronicled her life as a city-gal-turned-rancher’s-wife on her phenomenally popular food and lifestyle blog, also called “The Pioneer Woman,” With her new Food Network series, Drummond will invite viewers home to her family’s ranch near Pawhuska, and they can watch and learn as she flips Lemon Blueberry Pancakes for son Todd’s birthday breakfast, achieves a Perfect Pot Roast for Sunday family dinner, and serves up Fig, Prosciutto and Arugula Pizza and Sangria for ladies night in. In between culinary conquests, Ree takes time to wrangle horses, compete in a shooting contest with her husband Ladd (AKA “The Marlboro Man”), have fun with her four adorable kids and try to keep Charlie the basset hound out of trouble.
Drummond is a writer, photographer, ranch wife and mother of four. Her blog, ThePioneerWoman.com, attracts more than 20 million page views per month and was named Weblog of the Year at the 2011, 2010, and 2009 Bloggie Awards. Drummond is also the author of the No. 1 best-selling cookbook “The Pioneer Woman Cooks: Recipes from an Accidental Country Girl” and the 2011 memoir “Black Heels to Tractor Wheels—A Love Story,” which debuted at No. 2 on The New York Times Best Seller list for nonfiction hardcover. Ree’s children’s picture book, “Charlie the Ranch Dog,” which chronicles the adventures of her much-beloved basset hound, also premiered at No. 1 on the New York Times Best Seller list. Drummond has appeared on numerous national talk shows including “GMA,” “Today,” “The View” and “Fox & Friends.”
For more information, videos and recipes go to www.foodnetwork.com/pioneerwoman and checkout Ree’s blog at http://thepioneerwoman.com.
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What to do in Oklahoma on Aug. 27, 2011: Hear Colourmusic, The Pretty Black Chains, Dead Sea Choir and more at Norman’s Dustbowl Arts Market
Colourmusic
Today’s featured event:
NORMAN — See the wares of local artists and crafters and hear live music from Oklahoma bands Colourmusic, The Pretty Black Chains, Dead Sea Choir and more at the Dustbowl Arts Market starting at 11 a.m. Saturday on Buchanan Street on Campus Corner. Information: 447-5929 or www.dustbowlartsmarket.com.
For more events, go to www.wimgo.com.
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Carrie Underwood to perform with Tony Bennett at L.A. fundraising show
Carrie Underwood (AP file)
Checotah native Carrie Underwood will sing with Tony Bennett at a fundraising concert at the Staples Center in Los Angeles on Sept. 24, reports CMT.com.
Diana Krall, John Mayer and Stevie Wonder also are set to perform at the event. Presented by AARP, the concert will raise money for Drive to End Hunger, with a focus on older Americans.
Bennett, who turned 85 earlier this month, will release the new album “Tony Bennett: Duets II” on Sept. 20. He sings “It Had to Be You” with Underwood on the album, and they also will perform the song on the season premiere of the CBS drama “Blue Bloods,” airing at 9 p.m. Sept. 23.
“Duets II” also features Bennett’s collaborations with Mayer, Michael Buble, Lady Gaga, Aretha Franklin, Faith Hill, Andrea Bocelli and more.
Click here to listen to a preview of Underwood and Bennett crooning “It Had to Be You.”
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Best Bets for Aug. 26-28, 2011: Check out Brantley Gilbert, The Milk Carton Kids, Dustbowl Arts Market and more
Brantley Gilbert
Here are my top 5 events happening around the Oklahoma City metro area this weekend, and a modified version appears in Friday’s Weekend Look section of The Oklahoman. For more events taking place around the state, go to www.wimgo.com.
1. Catch Los Angeles-based duo The Milk Carton Kids in their first Oklahoma City show at 8 p.m. Sunday at the Blue Door, 2805 N McKinley. Information: 524-0738 or www.bluedoorokc.com.
2. NORMAN — See the wares of local artists and crafters and hear live music from Oklahoma bands Colourmusic, The Pretty Black Chains, Dead Sea Choir and more at the Dustbowl Arts Market starting at 11 a.m. Saturday on Buchanan Street on Campus Corner. Information: 447-5929 or www.dustbowlartsmarket.com.
3. Hear Oklahoma City-based rockers Hinder, along with Papa Roach, Buckcherry, Puddle of Mudd, P.O.D., Red, Crossfade and Drive A, today at KATTfest at the Zoo Amphitheatre, 2101 NE 50. Gates open at 1:30 p.m. today; to read The Oklahoman Entertainment Editor Gene Triplett’s interview with members of Hinder and Puddle of Mudd, click here. Or listen to Maze featuring Frankie Beverly with special guest Fantasia at 7:30 p.m. Saturday at the Zoo Amp. Information: 364-3700 or www.zooamp.com.
4. NORMAN — See up-and-coming country star Brantley Gilbert in concert at 8 p.m. Friday at Riverwind Casino, 1544 W State Highway 9. Information: 322-6464 or www.riverwind.com.
5. EDMOND — Hear Tony-nominated actress/singer Jodi Benson , best known as the voice of Disney’s “The Little Mermaid” and “Toy Story’s” Barbie, perform with the Young Voices of Edmond at 7:30 p.m. Friday and Saturday at the University of Central Oklahoma’s Mitchell Hall Theater. The concert will kick off UCO’s Broadway Tonight series. Information: 974-3375.
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