The Music Universe Podcast

Acclaimed musical duo Bowen * Young has released their debut album, Us via Snakefarm/Pias, a London extension of Universal Music Group. The duo, consisting of husband and wife Claire Bowen (TV's  Nashville) and Brandon Robert Young, draws inspiration from their personal experiences and musical influences and effortlessly blend elements of folk, Americana, and country to create a sound that is...

BBR Music Group/Wheelhouse Records singer/songwriter Elvie Shane delivers his most daring work yet with his sophomore album Damascus , available now. Full of unflinching honesty rooted in compassionate clarity, Shane takes pieces of each character he’s met on his path, melding them into one beautifully woven work. The road to Damascus isn't a journey one takes lightly, yet the album tells the...

Last month, legendary icon Tony Orlando played his final sold-out show in Las Vegas this week after 51 years as a Las Vegas headliner and now at the renowned South Point Casino. In 1973, the crooner began topping the bill in Las Vegas at the famed Riviera Hotel showroom and soon after began headlining the esteemed and historic Las Vegas Hilton. During his early explosive period performing in the e...

(EDITOR’S NOTE: In this episode, we mention Toto will perform with Journey for 44 dates this year. That number is 30 with 14 headlining dates of their own). Next week, Toto launches its third consecutive tour with Journey with 30 appearances throughout the United States and Canada through the spring with an additional 14 headlining performances planned. A tour of Europe follows this summer with ad...

For four decades, Mark Miller has been the frontman of multi-platinum and multi-award-winning group Sawyer Brown and a trailblazer in country music. Now, he’s pulling back the curtain on his storied career with his new memoir The Boys And Me: My Life in the Country Music Supergroup Sawyer Brown , due February 6th via Forefront Books. From the early days of honing their craft in small-town venues t...

Marking a new pinnacle in a lifetime of creative achievement, multi-talented entertainer Charles Esten will release his highly anticipated independent debut album, Love Ain’t Pretty , on January 26th. A diverse and richly textured full-length project more than ten years in the making, Love Ain't Pretty began taking shape when Esten first arrived in Music City to play Deacon Claybourne on ABC/C...

On June 4, 2022, Steve Vai began a world tour that has now staged 194 performances in 51 countries across the globe. Some of these markets he had never appeared in prior, amongst which are Ho Chi Minh City (Vietnam), Kaohsiung (Taiwan), Zallak (Bahrain), Bangalore and Kolkata (India), Mumbai, Macedonia, Ecuador, Costa Rica, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, alongside six new markets in China (Foshan, Xi...

We are back from an extended break with an action-packed episode featuring interviews with Riley Green and Garth Brooks. This edition of The Music Universe Podcast originates from Brooks' new Friends in Low Places Bar & Honky-Tonk in the historic area of Nashville's Lower Broadway, recorded ahead of the Thanksgiving holiday and the soft opening of the new multi-level venue. Before we t...

In August, platinum-selling, iconic country/rock band Sister Hazel released " Coconut Trees ." The track was written by the band's guitarist Andrew Copeland and the late Kyle Jacobs , and was produced by Ben Jackson. The c’est la vie track is a unique blend of sounds meant to be listened to with "a little sun and rum on ice with an ocean breeze," no distractions. "The...

The Music Universe Podcast gets our wiggle on! The Wiggles recently returned to North America for their first tour of the region since 2019. The Ready, Steady, Wiggle! Tour is a high-energy celebration of music, dancing, and endless fun, leaving children (and adults) inspired, enthralled, and eager for more. It is named after the Netflix series that has got countless children and families through...

Black Stone Cherry will release its eighth studio album, Screamin’ At The Sky , on September 29th via Mascot Records. The release will be available on white solid vinyl, a limited edition deluxe vinyl box set, an HMV exclusive limited edition blue vinyl, standard CD and digital formats. The deluxe box set has sold out. Screamin’ At The Sky features all-new material written collaboratively while on...

Equipped with an adventurous and fiery attitude, former Runaway June lead singer and chief songwriter Naomi Cooke Johnson returns with a pavement-pounding anthem, "Livin' Ain't Killed Me Yet." Semi-autobiographical, the song is a musical adrenaline rush celebrating living life to the fullest. Co-written by Cooke Johnson alongside Phil Bentley and producer Dan Muckala, “Livin’ Ain...

Garth Brooks has used the same studio musicians for all of his albums from 1989 to the present. This group of seven players is known as The G-Men and has worked with the country superstar for 35 years and counting, curating the "Garth Sound" that changed country music. Drummer Milton Sledge, bassist Mike Chapman, keyboardist Bobby Wood, rhythm guitarist Mark Casstevens, lead guitarist Ch...

Dreamcatcher Artists’ rising country music star Mitch Rossell captivated audiences and judges alike on NBC's America's Got Talent , leaving an indelible mark. With an incredible performance that showcased his talent, passion, and undeniable stage presence, Rossell's journey on the hit reality show garnered praise from judges, fans, and even his fellow contestants. Throughout his time o...

August 18th marks Ricochet's first new album in over a decade with Ricochet Then And Now... The Hits & More . The project celebrates the 90s country band's 30th anniversary of the band's formation in 1993 with newly recorded renditions of six of their classic hits along with eight new songs. The group is best known for their chart-topping, gold-selling single, "Daddy's Mon...

Kent Blazy is an American country music songwriter who was inducted into the class of 2020 Nashville Songwriter Hall of Fame during the Golden Anniversary plus one during the special 50th And 51st Gala. The Kentucky native has written several singles with Garth Brooks, and penned tracks recorded by by Gary Morris, Diamond Rio, Patty Loveless, Chris Young, and an upcoming song by Reba. Blazy has a...

Instead of receiving gifts in celebration of his 87th birthday in May, iconic singer Engelbert Humperdinck gifted fans his new album, All About Love via OK! Good Records. A collection of eye-opening reinterpretations of classic love songs, reworkings of some of his own classics, and duets with two of the most-celebrated Mexican singers vocalists today (“Mexico’s Sweetheart” Angelica Maria and Gram...

Danielle Bradbery has come a long way since kickstarting her career and becoming the youngest artist ever to win NBC's Emmy-winning competition series The Voice at 16-years-old in 2013. Spending the past decade growing into her artistry, the Texas native has honed her skills and defined her sound while pouring her heart into lyric – earning award nominations, touring across the globe and colla...

Earlier this year, NBC premiered America’s Got Talent: All-Stars , a new extension of the powerhouse hit series featuring winners, finalists, fan favorites and viral sensations from previous seasons of America’s Got Talent and Got Talent franchises around the world. America's Got Talent season two winner Terry Fator and Romania's Got Talent winner Ana-Maria Mărgean are singing ventriloqui...

Multi-instrumentalist and Platinum-selling artist Hunter Hayes is an embodiment of the type of musician that embraces change and strives to rewrite the rules. After debuting on the scene with a Platinum-certified album, Hayes has charted his own path, moving from his country roots into the genre-bending world that he was destined for. On his latest album, Red Sky , the singer-songwriter is executi...

Mötley Crüe frontman Vince Neil is staying busy with his band and judging the AXS TV competition show Banded . The 90 minutes season finale of the groundbreaking show airs tonight (Sat, July 1st), and redefines the traditional “build-a-band” concept that showcases exceptional up-and-coming artists who can play, write, and sing their own music. The series features a roster of legendary mentors and...

Earlier this month, CMA Fest marked its 50th anniversary in Nashville with four straight days celebrating record-breaking milestones and more. The golden anniversary of the legendary festival delivered everything country music fans could want as an estimated more than 90,000 fans attended the festivities in Downtown Nashville each day, cementing a new attendance record for the largest and longest-...

Emerging with a sharp signature style and an unrivaled live presence proven one gig at a time, Platinum-certified rising Texas-based country rock band Pecos & The Rooftops release their major label self-titled debut album today (Fri, June 23rd) via Warner Records. The hard workin’, hard rockin’ sextet’s anxiously awaited full-length features " The Last Thing I Remember " and " 5...

Country music pioneer Colt Ford has released Must Be The Country , his new 24 track collection featuring collaborations with Tracy Lawrence, Brantley Gilbert, Sam Grow, Tracy Byrd, and more. The project was released on his own Average Joes Entertainment and marks his first full length project in three years. The album took shape while battling eye cancer and recovering from an intensive surgery to...

3 Doors Down and Finger Eleven are two of the biggest rock bands to have emerged out of the 90s. Both bands are hitting the road this summer on their own respective tours, but we spoke with 3 Doors Down guitarist Chris Henderson and Finger Eleven's Scott Anderson about their careers, including the latter's first-ever collection of hits and vinyl . Formed in 1996, Grammy Award-nominated mul...