In case you missed it...
Shania Twain and Hilary Lindsey were among the artists inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Shania was inducted in the contemporary songwriter-artist category, and via a video acceptance speech hailed songwriting as her “saving grace.” The Isaacs honored Shania with a performance of “Forever and Always” and “You’re Still The One.” Meanwhile Hillary was inducted in the contemporary songwriter category. In her speech she thanked her “Love Junkies” co-writers, Lori McKenna and Liz Rose saying, “I love y’all for more reasons than I can count.” She also gave a shout out to her fellow songwriters, noting, “You are the ones who make up the pulse of this town,” adding, “and I am beyond lucky to be part of it.” Carrie Underwood and Keith Urban paid tribute to her together performing the hits she wrote for them, including “Jesus Takes The Wheel” and “Blue Ain’t Your Color.” Other inductees this year included Gary Nicholson, in the contemporary songwriters category; Steve Wariner, in the veteran songwriter-artist category; David Malloy, in the veteran songwriter category and Chips Moman, inducted under the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame’s new legacy category. Artists paying tribute to them include Rhett Akins, who performed Malloy’s Eddie Rabbitt hit “Drivin’ My Life Away,” Vince Gill honored Nicholson with a performance of “One More Last Chance,” with Delbert McClinton, Shawn Camp and Michael Rhodes, and Garth Brooks paid tribute to Wariner with “Holes in the Floor of Heaven.”
Thomas Rhett recently dropped a four-song holiday EP, and it may not sound the way some people would expect it to coming from him. “It was so fun to tap into just a different lane besides what we normally do,” Thomas shares. “And in this go around, specifically for these four songs, I wanted to kinda go with the big band approach.” Thomas admits recording the tunes were “challenging,” sharing, “it kinda changed my brain to think differently, and gave me a way deeper appreciation for all the classic singers.” He adds that it was “a really, really fun project to make, and somethin’ that I would love to do again.” And if you think releasing a Christmas EP before Thanksgiving is a bit early, that’s simply not the case at Thomas’ home. He notes, "The moment that Thanksgiving is done, well actually in my house, the moment Halloween is done we are listening to Christmas music only.”