Connected with Kelly

Darius Rucker has been on the country music scene since 2008, but he has never lived in Nashville, until now. He called South Carolina home for most of his life.  Now Darius is loving life in Music City and is taking full advantage of being so close to Broadway. He says he goes down to the honky tonks to hang, hear live music, and even make song requests! Darius also lets us in on new music and shares his new motto for life.

Tracy Lawrence has been in country music for 30 years.  He was signed to a record deal just seven months after coming to Nashville, but after being mugged and shot four times, he almost didn't get his chance to see his music released.  

There are several names in Nashville that rise to the top when you are talking about power players.  Laura Hutfless is always a part of that list.

He is the "Dark Horse" in country music.  Devin Dawson is a prolific songwriter and artist ("God's Country" for Blake Shelton, "One Beer" with Hardy and Lauren Alaina).  But how did he get his start in the music industry? It started with a 1999 Chevy Silverado and a mashup of Taylor Swift songs.

You may not know his name but I am CERTAIN you are familiar with at least one of Shy Carter's songs.... "Someday" - Rob Thomas "Stuck Like Glue"- Sugarland  "It Don't Hurt Like it Used To" - Billy Currington "Speak to a Girl" -  Tim McGraw and Faith Hill "Heaven"  and "Good As You"  - Kane Brown and the massive hit  "One Call Away"  with Charlie Puth.  Shy has been making music for years, but now he is front and center as the  artist. Signed to Warner Nashville, Carter just released "Good Love" and has more music on the way. So why would an uber-successful songwriter want to be an artist?   We find out in this episode of Connected with Kelly!

What sounds fun to you? Really fun?  That's one of the questions Annie F. Downs started asking on her podcast nearly 7 years ago.  Now she has a brand new book that goes by the same name as her podcast "That Sounds Fun!"  This is the 8th book for Annie. We dive into why we all are chasing our fun, why we should all be amateurs at something, and why hobbies are so important. So let's have some FUN with Annie F. Downs!

Lindsay Ell.  You may know here as the female guitar phenom.  Or as the Canadian Country Singer / Songwriter.  Or maybe as the artist who covered John Mayer's Continuum album front to back. Or maybe you've found Lindsay because of the stories she shared this past year.  She opened up about being a survivor of sexual abuse when she was younger. No matter how you've discovered Lindsay Ell, chances are you have fallen in love with her.  She is an incredible artist, songwriter and musician.  And she has a new love in her life!  She tells us all about it in this episode of Connected with Kelly.  

Old Dominion is one of the hottest bands in country music.  There is no question. They've won group of the year at the ACM Awards, and CMA Awards and now they are nominated for two Grammy Awards for the song "Some People Do".  We had a chat with lead singer, Matthew Ramsey and found out that song means much more to him than just another nomination - he tells us how that song changed his life. It's an incredibly candid discussion with Matthew about what it means to live the lyrics of a song you helped write.

If you've heard it you will sing it all day long.  "The Wine, The Beer, The Whiskeyyyyy...."  So how did such a catchy song spill into 2020? What was happening in the room that day when it was written? We got the story on the song AND the TikTok video that almost injured Phillip Sweet's wife while he was shooting it.  Get connected with four of our favorite people - Little Big Town.

Russell Dickerson had an amazing 2020. There aren't many people who can claim that. He had a baby, released an album and scored two #1 hits. Pretty great, right? We talked about how life with his son Remington has changed who he is and how he listens to his songs.  And find out which song off of Southern Symphony puts Remy to sleep - plus what he is most excited about in 2021!