Category: Entertainment

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

Music Spotlight: Kassi Ashton

Bethany Bowman

I have wanted to interview country singer/songwriter Kassi Ashton for over six years. When I first heard her singing “California, Missouri” on Sirius XM in 2018, her music was so unique that it made her more memorable than most rising artists. Then, when I saw her open at the Budweiser Showcase and later open for Keith Urban, I knew Ashton was one to watch.

Ashton is from the tiny town of California, Missouri. By age five, she split her time performing and doing the pageant circuit with her mother while riding dirt bikes and shooting muzzleloaders with her father.

Read More

Music Spotlight: Andrea Vasquez

Bethany Bowman
Andrea Vasquez

Since country music isn’t about a place or demographic but about a mindset, I try to portray a wide range of what country music is and encompasses.

Someone who has been on my radar for a few years is a petite singer/songwriter with powerhouse vocals and an unstoppable attitude that combines to make the complete package known as Andrea Vasquez. The Cali native has blended her love of modern country and Latin-American roots to create a refreshing sound within the genre, with her newest song, “Solo,” out this week.

Read More

Exclusive: Madelyn Rose Releases New EP, ‘Cowboys’

Bethany Bowman
Madelyn Rose

At just 17 years old, the teen country sensation has released her second EP, Cowboys, a collection of three significant songs that cements her insightful music on the country music landscape. This follows her first EP, Teenage Heartbreak which was released at age 16.

I wanted to know how one so young got into singing and songwriting at such an early age. She said, “My parents bought me this old Casio keyboard at a garage sale when I was three or four, not the nicest thing, just something to get me into a hobby.”

Read More

Music Spotlight: Bree Jaxson

Bethany Bowman
Bree Jaxson

In the past, I have interviewed many veterans who got into music full-time after they left the service. But I have never featured an active-duty military member.

Meet Bree Jaxson, which is a stage name, currently deployed overseas as a Captain for Cyberspace Operations in the U.S. Air National Guard. She is also an accomplished country music singer and songwriter.

Read More