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Home , Aubrie Sellers, Break on Me, Charles Kelley, Clare Bowen, Cut to Impress, Jason Sellers

The EXCLUSIVE Charles MUSIC Kelley On His Upcoming ISSUE Solo 25 Artists to Watch in 2016 + FIVE FITNESS CHAMPS IN THEIR OWN WORDS

GET AWAY BONEFISHING IN THE BAHAMAS

GO INSIDE A MUSIC MOGUL’S MANSION

January 2016 nashvillelifestyles.com

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FROM INDIE VIXENS TO INDUSTRY VETS AND TO FUNKY ROCK, THESE 25 LOCAL ACTS ARE POISED TO TACKLE 2016’S MUSIC SCENE HEAD-ON. DOWNLOAD THEIR SINGLES, SPIN THEIR VINYL, CATCH THEM LIVE—WHATEVER YOU DO, LISTEN UP.

BY ALISON ABBEY, VALERIE HAMMOND, KATY LINDENMUTH, MARISSA R. MOSS, AND GAYLE THOMPSON

Look for the play button indicating each of our Music in the City 2016 performers, and find all the details

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1. Judah & the Lion Judah Akers, Brian Macdonald, Nate Zuercher, and Spencer Cross recorded their upcoming sophomore album in just two weeks—a whirlwind fitting of their frenetic live shows. On next month’s Folk Hop N Roll, the rock-folk quartet adds a layer of old-school hip-hop, à la Run-DMC and the Beastie Boys, to their banjo-friendly groove. Judah & Co. also embark on their first headlining tour next month and vow to bring that energy to audiences across the U.S. “The truth is we love to have fun,” says Akers. “We do go through stu” too, but at the end of the day we’re pretty happy and love getting to do what we do every day.”

2. “EVERYONE I’VE MET HAS BEEN HUMBLE AND She’s written tunes for and SUPPORTIVE Tim McGraw, but Maren Morris is about OF THEIR to make her own noise. The on-the-verge star released a stellar self-titled EP last fall COLLEAGUES— and drops her debut full-length later this IT’S BEEN A year. Between touring dates with Charles GREAT LESSON IN Kelley, the Texas native is enjoying life in NOT HAVING TO her new home. “The first week I moved BE A JERK TO here, I went to The Basement to see a BE GOOD.” ’ round and was blown away at the level of talent this town presented,” —Maren Morris she recalls. “Everyone I’ve met has been humble and supportive of their colleagues—it’s been a great lesson in not having to be a jerk to be good.”

3. His debut album, Bronco, has only been out for six months, but Canaan Smith already has a slam-dunk: His first single, “Love You Like That,” reached number one and went gold. Last year also brought the fan favorite’s inaugural headlining tour. “It’s a whole di”erent ballgame when you get to bring out your own smoke, lights, and sound,” he says. “The biggest rush is when the crowd sings the last chorus of ‘Love You Like That’ by themselves—the volume always overwhelms me.” This month, Smith hits the road with Brantley Gilbert. SULLY SULLIVAN, LEANNMUELLER, SULLIVAN, SULLY JIM WRIGHT

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01.16 NL_49-64.indd 62 12/14/15 9:56 PM 4. Aubrie Sellers could easily rest on her musical pedigree, but the daughter of country queen and has instead gained industry cred by lending her vocals to tracks by and . This month, the songbird releases her debut album, Music City Blues; she wrote or cowrote all 14 tracks and sought inspiration from her hometown. “I am influenced by bluegrass, country, rock, blues, and so many other types of music,” Sellers says. “You can see any of those in on any given night, which is pretty awesome.”

5. The debut album from Brothers Osborne, this month’s Pawn Shop, is a reflection of the Maryland-born siblings’ life experiences—before earning a Grammy nod, they spent years as struggling artists. “If you’re a musician, more than likely you’ve been on both sides of a pawn shop,” says TJ Osborne. “Having to pawn a guitar, the thing you love and need in order to pursue music, is a sobering experience. We’ve been there.” Adds John: “Pawn Shop consists of 11 songs that are held together by what we do as a band. We try to be honest and do things a little di”erently, but from our own perspective.”

“PAWN SHOP CONSISTS OF 11 SONGS THAT ARE 6. HELD TOGETHER BY WHAT WE Ryan Beaver DO AS A BAND. From his brooding looks to his deep, sultry drawl, WE TRY TO BE Texas-bred Ryan Beaver is country to his core. HONEST AND DO After earning his marketing degree at Texas THINGS A LITTLE State, he turned his lifelong love of music—he DIFFERENTLY, grew up playing drums, , and guitar—into a pair of album releases in 2008 and 2011. Now BUT FROM he’s gearing up to share his cathartic third, Rx. OUR OWN Though he’s a Texan at heart, Beaver has fully PERSPECTIVE.” embraced his newer surroundings. “It’s a great —John Osborne time to be a Nashvillian,” he says. “I love the music community’s closeness and [the] inspiration that drives it. There is a support system that exists for musicians like no place else in the world.” ALLISTER ANN, SUPPLIED, JIM WRIGHT

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7. Singer-songwriter Kelsea Ballerini’s debut album, The First Time, took radio airwaves by storm in 2015 thanks to the number one smash “Love Me Like You Mean It” and its follow-up, “Dibs.” In addition to being toasted by tastemakers from Billboard to CMT, Ballerini was invited into an elite group— Taylor Swift’s squad—and cameo’ed at her fellow blonde songbird’s sold-out Bridgestone show in October. And though it doesn’t look like Kelsea will get much of a breather in 2016, she loves her time in Nashville. “Having lived here for eight years, it’s becoming home,” says the Knoxville native. “I’m constantly falling more in love with the lifestyle here.”

#MITC16

8. After releasing the country-leaning in 2013 and the bro-country-endorsing “Girl in Your Truck Song” a year later, Maggie Rose says she’s finally embracing everything that Nashville has to o”er. The breakthrough armed her with the courage “I AM NOT A COUNTRY ARTIST. I AM to make music that caters to no specific genre, NOT A POP ARTIST. I AM A NASHVILLE which she’ll cram into her next e”ort, a soon-to-be- ARTIST. I NEED TO BLUR THE LINES released EP. “I am not a country artist. I am not a pop artist. I am a Nashville artist,” she says. “I need to AND BE DYNAMIC, AND I FEEL THAT I blur the lines and be dynamic, and I feel that I have HAVE FINALLY ALLOWED MYSELF TO finally allowed myself to do that with this EP.” DO THAT WITH THIS EP.” 9. — Maggie Rose Farro Since splitting from Paramore in 2010, indie pop-rocker Josh Farro has reinvented himself as a one-man act. “I knew exactly what I wanted in my mind and the only person that could really pull it o” was me—it was my passion, my idea, my vision,” says the longtime local musician. Most of his first album, next month’s Walkways, was recorded in mid-2014, although a last-minute stroke of songwriting genius produced “Cli”s,” its anthemic lead single. “You grow so much in two years as a writer and musician, so I’m chomping at the bit to get this out,” he says. COURTESY OF ICONIC ENTERTAINMENT, DUSTY BARKER, O’DONOHUE DAVID

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01.16 NL_49-64.indd 64 12/16/15 12:16 PM 10. The known details of Keith Urban’s eighth studio album are sparse: It’s called Ripcord, it’ll be out in 2016…and that’s about it. But the Aussie isn’t being cagey— even he isn’t sure what direction his new set of tunes will take. “It isn’t easy to put it into one category,” he says. “I found myself recording a lot of songs, and I’ve got to try and let them all make sense to what will constitute a record.” Urban has already released two well-received singles from Ripcord, “John Cougar, John Deere, John 3:16” and “Break on Me.”

11. Morgan Myles Growing up in rural Pennsylvania, Morgan Myles was inspired by what she calls music’s big belters. “, Shania Twain, Susan Tedeschi, Janis Joplin—back in the day, we had so many,” she says. Relocating to Nashville allowed her to tap into her own powerhouse pipes, and the industry is now catching on: Last fall, CMT premiered the video for her gauzy single “Whiskey Dreaming,” and this month the Belmont grad unveils her debut EP, Miss Morgan Myles. Its title reflects her blend of country sweetheart and soul diva—and is also an homage to the two small children she nannies when she’s not in the studio or on stage.

12. EZA With a million streams on , Belmont alum Ellery Bonham has electro-pop tunes that are as equally buzzy as her moniker. EZA (pronounced EH-zah) intensifies the growing hum of Nashville-based electronic music using vocal loops and synthesizers along with her keen sense of lyric. Energized by the challenge of what she calls “developing what you’ve already done while still holding onto that ‘thing’ that you do best,” Bonham is busy planning her 2016 national tour, writing for a new project, and releasing a single in the spring. #MITC16 SUPPLIED, JEREMY MIKAELA RYAN, HAMILTON

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13. Smooth Hound Smith With gigs at last year’s Bonnaroo and Live on the Green festivals, California natives Zack Smith and Caitlin Doyle are settling into their adopted state just fine. To make it o°cial, the rising rootsy two-piece named their latest full-length, out January 15, Sweet Tennessee Honey. “This is such a Nashville album, from the players to the recording,” notes Smith. (Two songs on the LP, which features guests like and Sarah Jarosz, were recorded in the couple’s living room.) Immediately after the launch, Smooth Hound Smith zips o” on a national tour that includes a pit stop at their first-ever SXSW.

14. Brooke Waggoner Singer-songwriter Brooke Waggoner may not be a household name—yet—but even the casual music fan has heard her delicate piano-pop on shows like Grey’s Anatomy and Pretty Little Liars. The Louisiana native came to Nashville a decade ago and has since fallen in with some talented locals, including Jack White. This month, she’ll release her fifth album, Sweven. “I’m excited about the new driving forces with my work,” she says. “My husband and son, a clear picture of where I fit into the musical landscape, [and] a revelation that a life of creative expression is not about building assets but about o”ering a service to people.”

15. The Shadowboxers Some things come better in threes, and The Shadowboxers draw a knockout punch to the third power: three-part vocals (from Scott Schwartz, Matt Lipkins, and Adam Ho”man), three influences (soul, pop, and funk), and a third album, due this year. After a residency at The Basement East that included—yep—three themed shows and special guests from Reba to Clare Bowen, they head into the studio with a renewed focus. “We have spent the last year writing a ton of new material, incorporating much more soul and funk music into our sound,” says Ho”man. Three cheers for that. KELLIE DIRKS HEIDI ROSS, ANDREW THOMAS LEE

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01.16 NL_49-64.indd 66 12/16/15 12:16 PM 16. ELEL Since winning 2014’s Road to Bonnaroo competition with their kinetic, layered sound, ELEL has whipped up a frenzy of anticipation for their debut LP. The seven-piece, fronted by Ben Elkins, will finally release Geode on the prestigious Mom + Pop label early this year. Mixing diverse elements like two drummers, synth beats, classical guitar, and complex vocals, it makes for a unique, super-modern point of view. “Our songs are full of energy, but it’s been important to me to keep some tenderness in the recordings,” says Elkins. “I like music that has some restraint—it actually seems more powerful to me.” 17. Drake White

#MITC16 After teasing fans with a live EP last fall, Drake White is anxious to release his first full-length album in 2016. The record, White says, is a product of his Alabama upbringing and current Nashville residency. “I grew up in northeast Alabama, where the Appalachian mountains are in the top half of the state, and I think a lot of the way my music sounds has to do with that,” he explains. “But being in Nashville, being around great writers and musicians, and being part of such a creative group of folks has definitely influenced my sound. I’d had to have been dead to not soak that in.”

“THIS RECORD HAS A FOUND- ATION THAT 18. ISN’T FEAR BASED. IT’S A Erin McCarley LIFTOFF OF Since parting ways with Universal, pop songstress SORTS, INTO Erin McCarley has been releasing music entirely on ANOTHER her own—including the singles “I Can Be Somebody” SUIT OF SKIN, and “Out of the Fog”—from a new record due early HOPING TO this year. Both songs explore a thrilling, contemporary PULL PEOPLE landscape, mixing her pristine vocals with beats fit for both dancing and deep thought. Instead of piling up UP WITH ME.” managers and producers, she’s been working with a tight — Erin McCarley circle of friends to push genre boundaries—and her own imagination. “This record has a foundation that isn’t fear based,” says McCarley. “It’s a lifto” of sorts, into another suit of skin, hoping to pull people up with me.” REBECCA ADLER, MCCLISTER/JENSEN DAVID FAIRLIGHT HUBBARD SUTTA,

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19. Ron Pope Georgia-born Ron Pope found mainstream success in 2009 with the ballad “A Drop in the Ocean.” Five years later, he ditched the plaintive solo act for a blues-inspired six-person band that came together in what he calls a “happy accident”: He’d assembled his dream team of musicians for a tour and whisked them away to isolation in his home state; the plan was simply to rehearse, but the guys meshed so well that they began writing and recording. “Everyone was so inspired that we naturally fell into being a band,” Pope says. An ode to classic Southern music, Ron Pope + the Nighthawks’ self-titled debut album drops on January 8.

20. The Railers The Railers hail from Missouri, Arizona, and Indiana but now proudly call Music City home. The country-tinged foursome—that’s brothers Jordan and Jonathan Lawson, Jonathan’s wife Cassandra Lawson, and Tyler Oban—has spent the past decade collectively honing their craft and will finally release their highly anticipated freshman album early this year. “We have been involved in the Nashville music community since coming here as bright-eyed students in 2003,” says Cassandra Lawson. “Back then, there was no way of knowing we would be lucky enough to get to make music with such a truly creative and diverse class of peers.” #MITC16

21. “MY ALBUM STARTS OFF Cam WITH THE SOUND OF The title of newcomer Cam’s debut LP, THE BUGS SINGIN’ ON Untamed, couldn’t be more appropriate. After A WARM TENNESSEE making a splash with her frisky single “My SUMMER NIGHT. IT’S A Mistake,” the California transplant is taking her haunting summer scorcher, “Burning House,” BONFIRE PARTY IN THE all the way to next month’s Grammys—it’s up WOODS, IN OUR OWN for Best Solo Country Performance. And the WORLD, WITH OUR rest of the record, which dropped in December, OWN RULES—BEING is just as eclectic. “My album starts o” with the OURSELVES AND BEING sound of the bugs singin’ on a warm Tennessee FREE.” —Cam summer night,” Cam says. “It’s a bonfire party in the woods, in our own world, with our own rules—being ourselves and being free.” SHERVIN LAINEZ/ERIC RYAN ANDERSON, JACK GUY, NINELLE EFREMOVA NINELLE GUY, JACK ANDERSON, RYAN LAINEZ/ERIC SHERVIN

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01.16 NL_49-64.indd 68 12/16/15 12:16 PM 22. Lauren Daigle Soulful CCM artist Lauren Daigle is steering her breakout 2015—which included a number one album on Billboard’s Christian chart and three Dove Awards—toward something even bigger. This spring, the free-spirited Louisiana “NOT ONLY ARE native looks forward to being the THE PEOPLE sole female on the Winter Jam CONNECTING, tour alongside established acts like BUT NOW THE Matthew West and Crowder. But the real highlights of her swelling INDUSTRY IS career, she says, are the “story after WELCOMING story after story, heart after heart ME IN. IT WAS after heart” of listeners engaging HUGE FOR ME with her music. “Not only are the TO SEE THAT people connecting, but now the THEIR SUPPORT industry is welcoming me in,” she adds. “It was huge for me to see IS SO GENUINE.” that their support is so genuine.” —Lauren Daigle STEVE TAYLOR STEVE

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23. “I WANT TO MAKE MUSIC THAT IS Angel Snow MEANINGFUL There’s no shortage of acoustic-driven folk music AND SHARES in Music City, but the Georgia-born, East Nashville– IMPORTANT, OFTEN residing Angel Snow stands out for the ethereal web she weaves with her moody plucks, keen songcraft, OVERLOOKED and finely scu”ed, velvety vocals. For her third MESSAGES. MY album, due in February, the singer continues to bend GREATEST HOPE her progressive sound around stirring and honest IS THAT MY MUSIC lyrics, taking her music to a more experimental place EVOKES EMOTION while retaining a human connection. “I want to make AND MAKES YOU music that is meaningful and shares important, often overlooked messages,” says Snow, who’s written for FEEL SOMETHING.” . “My greatest hope is that my music —Angel Snow evokes emotion and makes you feel something.”

24. Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes At this point, Daniel Ellsworth & the Great Lakes are basically a local institution, consistently serving up rambunctious melodies and raucous live shows. So Nashville’s appetite for fresh DE&TGL music is rather insatiable—who doesn’t want to see a band wearing animal masks and busting a groove, as they do in their video for “Always/Never”? “It’s a high-energy, feel-good track about a persistent young gentleman determined to chase down unrequited love,” explains Ellsworth. “It also might accidentally be about a stalker, though—your choice.” Luckily, we won’t have to stalk the quartet for new tunes: Their latest EP, Bemidji, drops on March 11.

25. Levi Hummon We’re calling it: Rising Big Machine artist Levi Hummon, who is signed to the label’s Valory imprint, is going to explode in 2016. Last year saw him opening for country stars like Sam Hunt and teaming up with red-hot writer-producer Jimmy Robbins—the two have “nailed it creatively,” he reports. Early this year, he’ll release his first-ever single, “Life’s for Livin’,” which he wrote with Robbins and Matt Jenkins. “I come from an organic country storytelling background,” he explains, “so it has those elements but also the pop elements that Jimmy brings to the table.” That storytelling background, by the way, includes his Grammy- #MITC16 winning father, songwriter Marcus Hummon. FAIRLIGHT HUBBARD, JOSEPH BETH MATHEWS, LLANES

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