Raised On It

Katrina Burgoyne is a country music artist originally from Australia who moved to Nashville a few years ago to chase her country music dreams. She chats about growing up there, where her love of country music came from, making the move to Nashville, overcoming the obstacles that were in her way, and of course her music including the fun, up-tempo "25 Cents in the Ashtray."

This week, we chat with rising artist Brysen O'Neil about his love for a variety of music from Journey to John Mayer and Kenny Chesney to Eric Church. Brysen grew up in Georgia which he talks about including the moment when he realized he could sing and music was going to be a focal point. He also chats about becoming friends with Clay Walker, and releasing his own music in 2020.

Aaron and Emily each share their 10 Favorite albums of 2020 as well as some of the EPs that caught their attention. There are a few albums that made both lists but the biggest shock of the episode is which albums were #1....or rather, which one wasn't.

Aimee Mayo has written some of the biggest songs in country music: Lonestar's "Amazed", Tim McGraw's "My Best Friend", Tim and Faith's duet "Let's Make Love", and other top songs from artists like Kenny Chesney, Sara Evans, and Martina McBride. She recently released her memoir "Talking to the Sky", which is accurately described as "A memoir about living your best life in a shit-show. Ultimately a story of faith over fear and survival of a dream."

Aaron talks with Aimee about why she wrote the book, the difference between writing a book vs. a song, the stories she almost didn't include in the book, how she was able to persevere to get to where she is now, and everything else in-between.

"Talking to the Sky" can be found on Amazon or on the book's website TalkingToTheSky.com.

Jillian Cardarelli is a country music artist in Nashville who Rolling Stone named one of 10 New Country Artists You Need to Know. She talks about growing up in Massachusetts, when she knew music was her passion and what she loves most about being an artist. We discuss her most recent release "Strong" which she co-wrote with Charles Esten who also sings on the song. Jillian gives us the powerful backstory about how her mom's battle with cancer inspired her to create "Strong."

Garth Brooks is arguably the greatest country music entertainer in history. He owned the 90s in country music and brought country music to a new level, including world-wide popularity. With such an icon, it's fun to chat about what his best songs are and that's what we attempt to in this episode. Aaron and Emily are joined by Aaron's college buddy Jacob Westendorf as the three debate and discuss what they think are Garth's Top 10 songs. Spoiler alert: There's not a consensus list.

On this week's episode, we talk with songwriter and country artist Raihanna Estrada. Her latest release "June" grabbed our attention with its fun and happy message while invoking feelings of nostalgia. Raihanna talks about what went into the making of "June", growing up in California, deciding to pursue music, her passion for travel, and making the move to Nashville to chase her dreams as a songwriter and country artist.

On this week's episode, Aaron and Emily catch up to chat about the Phil Vassar drive-in concert they went to, what they liked about it, and how they feel about attending concerts like that if that's the only way concerts take place in the short-term. Aaron then shares his idea for putting on country music award shows this fall, even in COVID times. Lastly, Aaron and Emily chat about which new songs they're currently listening to at the moment.

What happens when you take four solo artists and put them together to form a group? A sisterhood and another outlet for them to make music. On this week's episode of Raised On It, we chat with the ladies from The Highway Women. Featuring Kristen Kay, Drew Haley, Bailey James, and Heather Harper, they talk about how the group was formed, what they've learned from being in a group, and the things they love most about making music together.

Country artist and songwriter Carlton Anderson joins us on this week's episode. He talks about growing up in Texas, making the move to Nashville, and what it was like landing a publishing and record deal. Carlton also recently released an acoustic EP "Yours" and talks about what went in to the making of that project and what the rest of this year and 2021 have in store.