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Funny, I don't think I've ever read one short story and got more out of it than this single piece on MSN.
So it appears that the MSN piece sort of broke the news that the JaneDear Girls had broken up a few months ago, but then it also said that at the same time Lee Ann Womack parted ways with her record label (something I was aware of), MCA Nashville, Ashton Shepherd was also let go from the same label (something I hadn't heard).
Seems someone was cleaning house.
From the MSN article:
• Lee Ann Womack (right) is parting ways with her longtime record label, MCA Nashville, according to CountryWeekly.com. At MCA, and sister label Decca before that, Womack notched seven top 10 hits between 1997 and 2005 the most successful of which, “I Hope You Dance,” spent five weeks at No. 1 in the summer of 2000.
“[I’m] so appreciative to the wonderful MCA staff for giving me their all from my first days at Decca, through ‘I Hope You Dance,’ [and] the awards for ‘I May Hate Myself In The Morning’ and ‘There’s More Where That Came From,’” Womack said in a statement obtained by CountryWeekly.com. “I am excited to see what comes next for so many people I think of as my friends, and am eager to see what life after ‘leaving home’ is like.”
• It also appears that Ashton Shepherd is off the artist roster of MCA Nashville after two albums, 2008’s “Sounds So Good” and last year’s “Where Country Grows.” She is looking for songs for a new album, to be produced by Mike McGuire, drummer for the country band Shenandoah. The label home for the project is listed in industry pitch sheet RowFax as “to be announced.”
Who else thinks Lee Ann and Ashton should team up and create the next big thing in girl groups?
Awww, a big congratulations to Ashton Shepherd who gave birth to a bouncing baby girl today, Friday, September 9, in Demopolis, Alabama.
Little Raden Delilah Cunningham joins the family with big brother James, 5, mommy Ashton, and daddy Roland. She weighed in at 7 lbs 7 oz and measured a respectable 19 ½ inches.
In true Ashton fashion, the proud Mom says via press release, “she’s perty!”
On Twitter Ashton added: Hey fans friends and family BABY RADEN IS HERE!!!! :-) im hurting pretty bad but im so happy. She is beautiful! God is truly great!
Night 2 at LP Field kicked off with Ashton Shepherd looking so cute sporting a baby bump. She is expecting her second child in a few months. She sang her current single, “Look It Up” and her new album is due in stores on July 12.
Dierks Bentley was up next with a short set, including, “Feel That Fire,” “What Was I Thinkin’” “Up on the Ridge” and closing with “Sideways.”
Lady Antebellum entertained the crowd with “Our Kind of Love,” “American Honey,” and “I Run To You” along with new single, “Just a Kiss.” Fans got a special treat when they debuted a new song called “Own the Night,” which is the title of their new album due in stores on August 13.
The set ended with “Need You Now.” After the song, Charles asked the crowd to sing the chorus back. I wonder what it feels like to have 60,000 fans singing your lyrics back to you. I am sure it is a pretty special feeling, and Lady Antebellum thanked the crowd for giving them the life of their dreams.
Next up, SHANIA TWAIN introduced Sugarland. First, she told the crowd, “it’s fantastic to be here” and she spoke about how much she missed the fans, and it was “good to be back under the same roof”…even though we were in an uncovered stadium, I got the point ;) She introduced Jennifer and Kristian by saying “I admire them so much!”
Sugarland opened with “Stuck Like Glue” followed by “All I Wanna Do,” which was the perfect summer song to prompt the crowd to start throwing around beach balls. Next up was their current single, “Tonight,” which showcases Jennifer’s powerful voice, followed by “Everyday America” with a fun remix before the bridge that included Ceelo’s “Forget You,” Britney’s “Hit Me Baby One More Time,” Dolly’s “9 to 5” and Beyonce’s “Bootylicious.” The crowd LOVED the remix, who wouldn’t? It is SO much fun!
Sugarland ended with “Find the Beat Again” with Music City Mystique, a drumline group. They actually did the performance twice for TV reasons. So, I can pretty much guarantee that will be the Sugarland song for the ABC special.
Side note: I've been trying to get a nonblurry photo of Sugarland doing this for about five years now. I am SO happy one finally came out clear!
Speaking of the ABC special, it is always interesting to see which performances and artists they highlight on the special, because not all of the performers make the cut. Lady Antebellum filmed a short segment for the beginning of the show during Friday night’s concert. Dave said we will see performances from Jason, Blake, Sugarland, Miranda and Brad. More artists will make the cut, but those will definitely be on there. Rascal Flatts will also make the cut, because Thursday night Indy 500 winner, Dan Wheldon, filmed a segment introducing Rascal Flatts, saying they have liking cars in common. Big Machine is also a sponsor of Dan Wheldon’s car, which is your fun fact for the day if you didn’t know that already.
Keith Urban was up next with “Put You in a Song,” “You’re Gonna Fly,” “Without You,” and “Long Hot Summer.” He sounded hoarse when he spoke, but his singing voice sounded mighty fine, as usual. Keith Urban had a surprise up his sleeve for the crowd when he brought Jake Owen on stage. Jake is joining him on the Get Closer tour, which kicks off tomorrow in Biloxi, MS. Jake and Keith sang Jake’s song, “Don’t Think I Can’t Love You.” Jake said it meant a lot to him have had Keith invite him out to sing one of his songs during his short set on the big stage at CMA Fest. I think those two are going to have a lot of fun on the road this summer, and I hope Jake takes some tips from award-winning Urban. Keith closed his set by walking out into the crowd and going up into the middle of the lower bowl surrounded by fans and singing, “Somebody Like You.” I am sure the security guards were going nuts trying to control people from getting their hands on Keith.
Clay Walker played an acoustic set in between Keith and Reba. I've missed him, and I am so happy he got to play on the big stage because it was one of the highlights of the night. He sang, "She Won't Be Loney Long" and "Fall" followed by "If I Could Make a Living Out of Loving You," which made the whole stadium go wild and sing along! Walker told the crowd, "God bless you! God bless the CMA Music Fest."
Reba closed night 2 of CMA Fest with a short set including, “Why Haven’t I Heard From You,” “Consider Me Gone,” “Life Out There” “Love Gets a Hold of You,” which she also sang twice, which makes me think that will be on the ABC special. She had a frog in her throat during one of the chorus’ and you couldn’t understand the lyrics. You can hear the little frog around the 38 second mark in the video below. Frog or not, Reba can SING! She closed her set with “Turn on the Radio,” fireworks fired off and country music fans ended their night with another set of great performances.
Overall it was a fabulous night of music from all artists, but Sugarland stole the show in my opinion, but hey I am biased because they are my favorite!
The girls over at CMIL sure do get to go to a lot of great concerts. As always, I'm completely jealous. They also give a great review and have great pictures of the concerts they visit.
Last night one of them got to head over and check out the Sugarland, Ashton Shepherd, and Kellie Pickler concert so head on over and check out what they had to say here.
Every once in a while I get these silly little girl crushes. My last girl crush was on Kate whatshername, Goldie Hawn's daughter. Well I've transferred my totally straight girl-crush affections over to Ashton Shepherd.
Anyway, you can check out Ashton's latest vlog here.
Well stars really are just like regular folk. They like the simple things in life. They like to return home to home cooked meals and their own bed. They like being with their family and just chilling. They like to hone in on a prey animal and kill it.
My husband would be really appreciative of this story. Ashton Shepherd is an up and comer who I really like. She's on tour right now with Sugarland and Kellie Pickler and living every singer's dream. To look at her you'd think she'd want to hang out in the salon and have her nails done, but in fact she'd rather be down home in Leroy, Alabama, population 360, hanging with her family. Ashton tells The Daily Times:
"We live in a secluded area with our kinfolk right by us; we've got croplands and fields; and we like to go fishing and hunting. I'm just a normal person, and I always feel like such a normal person. I don't really feel like a star."
"It's all very surreal. When I'm on the road, I get homesick. I'm a very big homebody. I enjoy touring, and I love my fans and love being out here, but I really love being home. I've got about a month off around December, and I can't wait for that time -- to be home for that length of time, to go hunting, to be with my family."
Rifles and dead animals, true country family bonding time. It's no wonder I really like Ashton, she'd fit right in at my household.
Sugarland, Kellie Pickler, and Ashton Shepherd made an appearance at Oklahoma State University’s Orange Peel last night, October 3.
You can read a full account of it here. It sounds like it was a fun time all around. You can also see full-size versions of these and more pictures here. It's the only place so far I've been able to find any pictures.
Hmm, imagine that. Who knew the French liked 'em some country music.
The FACM (French Association of Country Music) has announced the winners of their 6th annual Country Music Awards and Ashton Shepherd won the award for "best new talent."
The ceremony took place near Lyon. Next year, the academy hopes to have one or more American artist(s) performing during the ceremony.
Congrats to Ashton. First the French, next the world!
