Tag: Southern Rock

Preston James Releases Debut EP

Bethany Bowman
Preston James

Preston James was the second person I ever interviewed for my Music Spotlight column. I saw him open for the iconic Tim Akers and The Smoking Section when he was just 15 years old at 3rd and Lindsley. I interviewed him when he was 16 years old and then featured him again when Preston James’ Band opened for Brian Seltzer in December of 2017.

My writing “hobby” has become a job, and I have interviewed over 500 artists. James is 24 years old, and I had no idea it had been seven years since I had followed up with him. We had to catch up before I could talk about his music.

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Music Spotlight: Bettin’ On The Mule

Bethany Bowman
Bettin on the Mule

Anyone who follows my blog knows I like a good hometown rockin’ country band. When I first heard Bettin’ On the Mule (BOTM) from Rockmart, Georgia, I instantly loved their energy.

The “Hometown Rock” pioneers consist of Jacob Wilson on lead vocals, bass, and rhythm guitar, who also serves as the band’s lead songwriter, new member Phil Beavers on lead guitar and backing vocals, Rick Norris on drums and backing vocals, and Shannon “Beef” Wilson on bass and backing vocals for the band.

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American Idol’s Taylor Hicks to Perform ‘Night Moves’ at the Franklin Theatre

Bethany Bowman

As I learned last year in my original interview, Season 5 American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks is a diverse entertainer. Besides being a soulful singer and songwriter, the artist is an actor and restaurateur. A few weeks after our last interview, Taylor Hicks was asked to make his Grand Ole Opry debut, a milestone desired by many Southern singers.

He made his debut on June 18, 2023. Hicks said, “As long as I’ve been doing this, being able to grace the Opry Stage was something that I will never forget. It’s a big deal. I’ve had a lot of great invitations, and this was definitely up there for sure.”

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