Category: Entertainment

Music Spotlight: Kelli Belles

Bethany Bowman
Kelli Belles

Rising country artist Kelli Belles, known by her stage moniker Belles, is hitting the road this fall on her highly anticipated Trust Issues Tour. The tour kicked off on October 11th in Nashville, Tennessee, at The Basement and marked the beginning of a series of performances that will span the country, including stops in Houston, Los Angeles, New York City, and more.

Belles comes from a musical family. Her grandmother, Geraldine A. “Jeri” Rizzuto, was a renowned jazz singer who performed in Chicago and throughout the Midwest. She also had a stint with the well-known Paul Moorhead Orchestra.

Read More

Volleyball Team Risks Forfeiting a Championship to Stand for the ‘Future of Women’s Sports’

The Daily Signal
Nevada Wolf Pack

The women of the University of Nevada at Reno volleyball team plan to defy their school by refusing to compete against a team with a biological male player.

“We are risking our main goal, which is a Mountain West championship,” University of Nevada women’s volleyball team captain and outside hitter Sia Liilii told The Daily Signal. “A team is a group that bands together to reach a common goal, and that is the purpose of our spot-on the team. No one wants to lose and put that at risk, but this is bigger than wins and losses.”

“It is the future of women’s sports,” she explained.

Read More

Music Spotlight: Emmy Moyen

Bethany Bowman

When independent artist Emmy Moyen contacted me, I was unfamiliar with the name, but I was intrigued when I heard her music. She had just the right balance of sweetness and sass, and I wanted to learn more.

Moyen was born in Kentucky but raised in Starkville, Mississippi. Many from her Kentucky family have a background in bluegrass music, which has always been a part of her life.

Read More

Music Spotlight: Cali Tucker

Bethany Bowman
Cali Tucker

When I saw the music video for Cali Tucker’s “Country Couture,” it was evident that she was a natural-born entertainer. My assumptions were correct. Cali Tucker is LaCosta Tucker’s daughter and Tanya Tucker’s niece.

She recalls growing up backstage and touring on the bus. She explained, “At the end of the show, they’d invite us to come out on stage and wave at the crowd. That’s what really hooked me- the energy. It was the life, the happiness, the joy. It was very intoxicating at a young age.”

Read More

Music Spotlight: Sarah Hardwig

Bethany Bowman
Sarah Hardwig

Sarah Hardwig is not unlike many of the females I interview. She moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University and study songwriting and music business.

And she sings at local venues when she can. Her voice is strong and clear, and she credits Patsy Cline and Carrie Underwood as singing inspirations. However, the difference is that Hardwig is blind, which has been the case for her entire life.

Read More

Music Spotlight: Paulina Jane

Bethany Bowman
Pauline Jayne

Paulina Jayne is one of the most joyful artists I have ever met or interviewed. While I have featured her briefly while covering CRS, I have never done a full Spotlight article on her.

I knew she was working on new music, and when I learned the song “If I Knew Me Then” was about to be released, I knew it was the perfect time to feature the singer/songwriter.

Read More

Chase Rice Releases ‘Go Down Singin’

Bethany Bowman
Chase Rice

I featured Chase Rice in 2018 when he celebrated achieving number-one status with his blockbuster hit, “Eyes On You.” Early on, Chase Rice was a fixture in the bro-country scene with other megahits like “Ready Set Roll,” “Ride,” “Lonely If You Are,” and “Gonna Wanna Tonight,” to name a few.

But something shifted in the artist recently, who splits his time between Montana and Nashville when, in 2023, he released I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell. Even by the retro picture of his hero, his dad, Daniel (Danny) Rice, on the album cover, you knew this record would be different. For anyone anticipating the usual new country vibe, boy, were they in for a surprise. With unexpected songs like “Bench Seat” and “Key West & Colorado,” Billboard Magazine called it “one of 2023’s most unexpected artistic pivots” across all genres last year.

Read More