WELCOME TO THE PONY

CHRIS LANE
with special guests
MASON RAMSEY
and
GABBY BARRETT

ABOUT CHRIS LANE:

True artists don’t just arrive on the scene fully formed, they have to find themselves. Even with a few hits in the bag, the search takes time, and it might be a few laps around the sun before things get dialed in – but when that happens it’s like a switch is flipped.

Heading into his second album for Big Loud Records, aptly titled Laps Around the Sun, that quest for self discovery was heavy on Chris Lane’s mind. Two whirlwind years of chart toppers and jam-packed shows had gone by for the breakout country talent, but the North Carolina native still felt restless. He found himself looking back to his early days, and back to the reasons he fell in love with music in the first place.

“I had a moment where I played a show with Kenny Chesney,” the lifelong country fan explains. “It was a festival right on the beach, and I watched him do his thing and I watched the crowd, and there was just something special about that night. I hadn’t seen him in a long time, and the way people connected to what he was doing … I had one of those moments like ‘Man, I really want my music to do that.'”

With Girl Problems, the 2016 album that launched Lane as one of Nashville’s most exciting new artists, the singer-songwriter got a taste of that connection. Its red hot romantic edge led to back-to-back, Gold-certified singles (“Fix” and “For Her”) and the first Country Radio #1 of his career, propelling the set to a Top 10 debut and sending Lane on tour with superstars like Florida Georgia Line, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill – all while helping him rack up 400 million digital streams worldwide, network TV appearances, and more.

But with Laps Around the Sun, this rising star had a bigger, bolder picture in mind, aiming for tunes “everybody can love, and everybody can feel.”

“There’s a certain vibe to this album,” Lane says, describing the serene confidence behind his new brand of modern country. Romance is still a big part of the equation, but now his stories dig deeper – somehow feeling both personal and universal at the same time. And instead of being lit by streetlights and neon, each song basks in the golden rays of a summer afternoon. “It’s a change for me this time around,” Lane says. “But this is what I truly love.”

Produced once again by studio ace Joey Moi (FGL), Laps Around the Sun feels more organic, building off the sandy arrangements of artists like Chesney and Billy Currington with an added touch of new school cool. Lane and Moi recorded with a live band for the first time, fleshed out melodies on guitars rather than computer screens, and eased Lane’s vocal into its timeless natural register.

Fourteen tracks written by hitmakers like Rhett Akins, Ashley Gorley, Hillary Lindsey and The Warren Brothers made the cut – and in an important lesson learned while Lane put his “laps” in on tour, they were all chosen based on meaning and personal connection, not purely on energy or feel.

The album’s first single, “Take Back Home Girl” (featuring Tori Kelly) marks Lane’s coming of age. It builds on the sultry swagger of Girl Problems, but he and the Grammy-nominee aren’t singing about a steamy downtown hookup. Instead, the track reveals who Lane really is – a true country boy with deeply rooted family values – becoming Lane’s third Gold-certified single in a row.

The patient “I Don’t Know About You” charts a similar course – a hard-crushing, swollen-hearts anthem sure to inspire stadium wide sing alongs – while “Number One” takes a soulful look at regret, and “Without You” adds Danielle Bradbery for some sun-kissed romantic harmony.

On “Drunk People,” Lane’s good-natured sense of humor shines bright. The grinning mid-tempo is just smooth enough to not aggravate a hangover headache, but edgy enough to admit that drunk people do dumb things … like get back together. “That song is me to a ‘T,'” Lane says with a laugh. “Every time I have one to many tequila drinks, I think I’ve gotta FaceTime every girlfriend I’ve ever had.”

He throws some sunny shade on “New Phone, Who’s This,” a sly, smile-inducing strutter. And likewise, “Fishin'” feels as fun and refreshing as a secret honey hole on a hot day. Country to the core, its lyrics recall the innocence of young love – and the nostalgia of the genre’s most iconic hits. “I feel like it’s a great little summer song,” Lane says. “And for some reason, it lives in that same place that ‘Mayberry’ by Rascal Flatts does for me.”

Meanwhile, “Hero” reveals the man Lane has always been, and the artist he’s become. A slow, heartfelt ballad with an openly religious theme of personal conviction, Lane says he knew recording it could be risky, “but at the same time, there has never been a song that is more true to me.”

“I really prayed that I would get the song,” he explains. “And I don’t know if it will ever be a single or anything like that, but it speaks to my heart.”

Still, Lane named the album Laps Around the Sun for a reason, and the title track reflects how he feels about his journey to the here and now. Supremely relaxed, soulful, and full of mature optimism, it describes a hand-in-hand adventure which could be about Lane and the girl of his dreams … or it could be about Lane and country fans. Either way, he promises to keep on moving forward, together.

“Don’t you know we’ll never be done / Taking laps around the sun,” goes the chorus.

“I’ve learned a lot,” Lane admits. “With my first record, I was trying to figure out exactly what kind of sound I wanted to have, and now I know. I know what I truly love and what kind of artist I want to be. My goal was to make sure anyone who hears this album finds a song they can relate to. I hope I accomplished that.”

ABOUT MASON RAMSEY:

Skyrocketing to fame with an oversized voice, a huge love of classic country and enormous personality to match, 11-year-old Mason Ramsey is the biggest little star in country music today.

An internet sensation who’s captured the hearts of million of fans, Ramsey was discovered in 2018 when a foot-tapping video of the youngster yodeling in a Walmart located in Harrisburg, Illinois, went viral. Since then he’s charmed on national television and dazzled the trendiest music festivals, become the youngest Country artist to sign with a major record label in a generation, stood tall on the Grand Ole Opry stage and released an acclaimed debut single, “Famous” – but his journey is only just getting started.

Living the vast majority of his 11 years in the tiny, tight-knit community Golconda, Illinois, Ramsey was raised by his grandparents from the age of three weeks old. Describing their home as a time capsule of sorts (with no internet connection but an extensive stack of classic records), Ramsey’s grandfather would occasionally host huge karaoke barbecues which the whole town would attend, and by the age of three Ramsey was right in the middle of it.

“Literally before he was doing sentences and phrases, he was picking up on singing,” recalls Daysha Broadway, his older cousin. “Mason is a very old soul when it comes to music – and his temperament and personality.”

Influenced strongly by icons like Hank Williams Sr., Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly, and Randy Travis, but also by new-school Country and Pop stars including Blake Shelton, Keith Urban, and Ed Sheeran, Ramsey made his first public appearance at the Kentucky Opry just two weeks after he turned four. Wowing the crowd with a dynamic vocal presence that’s impossible to ignore, he went on to sing with Country star Josh Turner that same year, opened a show for Gene Watson at age five, and took the stage with the legendary Kenny Rogers at seven.

But Ramsey’s big heart often shines brighter than the spotlight pointing his way. He loves entertaining the residents of local nursing homes, and since the nearest city is about an hour away from his home, his family would make a day of those trips. They’d stop by Walmart after his performance, and usually the gifted vocalist – who has never taken a lesson – would still be in a singing mood.

That’s what happened the day his viral video was filmed. Still dressed in his crisp white shirt, red bow tie and boots, Ramsey was singing aloud when a woman recognized his voice from two aisles over. She stopped and asked to film while he continued singing Williams Sr.’s iconic “Lovesick Blues,” and the rest, as they say, is history. Barely 30 days later, Ramsey was a bona fide pop-culture phenomenon, his Walmart video gathering views in the tens of millions.

Daytime TV star Ellen DeGeneres was one of the first to fall for the pint-sized crooner. Smiling, gregarious and sharp as a tack, Ramsey appeared on her show and sparkled under the big-city lights, unexpectedly setting his career in motion.

DeGeneres presented the singer with an offer to debut at the world-renowned Grand Ole Opry – Ramsey’s all-time dream. Walmart also chipped in a college scholarship and a globally-streamed concert. Within weeks he was touted as a high point of Southern California’s Coachella festival (where he shared the stage with DJ Whethan), and he backed that up the following weekend by being superstar duo Florida Georgia Line’s special guest at the Stagecoach festival.

“If someone was ever born to do this, it was Mason,” shares Broadway. “Whether it’s a nursing home show or a giant festival, he says, ‘It’s just a whole different world that makes me feel really good.'”

As his story continues to unfold, those good feelings are likely to spread. Now signed to Atlantic Records and Big Loud Records as the youngest major label Country artist since Billy Gillman, Ramsey’s debut single, “Famous,” is out now.

A heartwarming, aspirational anthem which speaks to his quick rise to stardom – but also finds him promising to forever stay a big-hearted country boy – the track was written by hitmaking tunesmiths Tyler Hubbard (of Florida Georgia Line), Corey Crowder, Sarah Buxton and Canaan Smith, and was produced by studio aces Joey Moi (Florida Georgia Line, Jake Owen) and Crowder (Chris Young).

Mixing Ramsey’s crystal-clear, all-natural vocals with the classic sonics he loves so much – plus a few modern touches – “Famous” bridges the gap between fans of traditional and contemporary country … and it’s just a hint of what’s to come for the first breakout star of 2018.

Light of Day 2019: Cover Me

Light of Day 2019: Asbury Angels

Light of Day 2019: Kids Rock

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at The Stone Pony on Thursday, January 24, 2019 and Friday, January 25, 2019

Tickets: $22.50 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $27.50 at the door

Limited number of two-day passes: $40

“We pour every ounce of ourselves into every note when we perform live,” says Pigeons Playing Ping Pong singer/guitarist Greg Ormont. “When we’re recording in the studio, we try to maintain that euphoria while finding a way to pack it into a tight, focused vessel. Each song becomes like a spring-loaded can of worms: there’s all this energy boxed up in a neat little package, and then when you come see us live, the cap comes off and the contents fly out in every direction like fireworks.”

Pigeons Playing Ping Pong at The Stone Pony on Thursday, January 24, 2019 and Friday, January 25, 2019

Tickets: $22.50 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $27.50 at the door

Limited number of two-day passes: $40

“We pour every ounce of ourselves into every note when we perform live,” says Pigeons Playing Ping Pong singer/guitarist Greg Ormont. “When we’re recording in the studio, we try to maintain that euphoria while finding a way to pack it into a tight, focused vessel. Each song becomes like a spring-loaded can of worms: there’s all this energy boxed up in a neat little package, and then when you come see us live, the cap comes off and the contents fly out in every direction like fireworks.”

MORGAN WALLEN

with special guest HARDY

Tickets: $20 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $25 at the door

You can’t step up as one of country’s most exciting new stars without knowing exactly what you’re about. Lucky for Big Loud Records breakout artist Morgan Wallen, that quality runs in his blood.

With his debut album, IF I KNOW ME, the hit maker behind “Up Down” (ft. Florida Georgia Line) and “The Way I Talk” lays his cards out on the table: Work hard. Love hard. Party down. Respect the past and make your own future. … Know yourself.

“I’ve never been the type of person who’s good at getting my feelings out, so for me music is a way to do that,” Wallen explains. “I just hope people get to know me and see my true colors.”

Still only 24 years old, those colors have already started to show. Working with a vocal blend which marks the spot where interstate blacktop changes over to gravelly, Smoky Mountain backroads, Wallen’s a rock and hip-hop loving country boy with a sound straight out of the modern South.

He mixes boondock bangers, amped-up anthems and sensitive, shade-tree poetry like a one-man playlist. He’s a fireball onstage, thrilling stadium crowds with superstars like Florida Georgia Line and Luke Bryan and headlining his own 2018 Up Down Tour. He’s a chart-topping songwriter with his name on tracks like Jason Aldean’s “You Make It Easy,” a Grand Ole Opry performer and an artist on the fast track with over 100 million Spotify streams, earning the respect of legends like Bill Anderson and country’s new generation at the same time.

Born and raised in the tiny, two-stoplight town of Sneedville, Tennessee, Wallen began singing in his father’s church at 3 years old and was writing songs by 18, melding a variety of influences right from the start. Sneedville is the home of bluegrass icon Jimmy Martin and Wallen went to the same high school as Kenny Chesney. But while his mother loved Christian music and he was into rap, his dad was a hard rocker all the way – laying the foundation for his son’s own fearless creative identity.

“It’s not something you would expect – a Southern Baptist preacher who loves Bad Company – but I think that’s part of what makes him genuine,” Wallen explains. “He wasn’t the kind of preacher who was throwing judgment toward anybody. He just found a way that helped him and he wanted to help other people, and if he liked a little rock-and-roll, then so be it. I looked up to it all.”

That willingness to break the mold peppers IF I KNOW ME, filled with equal parts confident charm and heartfelt vulnerability. Wallen co-wrote 6 of the album’s 14 tracks, working with established country hit makers like Craig Wiseman and Jessi Alexander, up and comers like Michael Hardy and crossover-rap tunesmiths like Ernest K. and Ryan Vojtesak (Kanye West, Young Thug, Post Malone).

Produced by studio ace Joey Moi – who also helped FGL, Jake Owen and Nickelback develop their bold sonic presence – Morgan didn’t bother trying to classify his work by genre. Instead he focused on feel, with swagger and sensitivity, heartbreak and desire all taking their place.

“Like a lot of people my age, I didn’t necessarily grow up listening to country music … I grew up living it,” he says. “The songs I wrote came from the heart, and I don’t really pay attention to what’s going on outside of what I’m doing. I just try to stick to what I know and what I love.”

With the album’s slow-burning title track, what Wallen knows and loves comes into view. Anchored by a tight, Top 40 club beat and a gotta-have-you theme, the song is all rhythm and quick hitting come-ons as Wallen looks to start a romance that lasts longer than just one night.

“It’s perfect for my first album,” Wallen says. “Like, ‘If I know me, then here’s what you get.’”

His anthemic 2016 breakout, “The Way I Talk,” takes a drawling look at putting your money where your mouth is, while “Up Down” – the irresistible thumper that features Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line – feels like typical Friday in Wallen’s mountain-valley hometown. Climbing up country radio, SiriusXM and digital streaming charts alike, it’s full of distorted twang, pounding drums, sly vocals and references to “Holdin’ it down here in ‘B.F.E.’”

“Some people have asked me, ‘What’s B.F.E.?’ And if you don’t know, you just don’t know,” Wallen says with a laugh. “I love a good time, I love to drink a little bit, I love being with my friends and I love fishing. Life is hard enough already, so if you can find a song that takes you away from that for three or four minutes, it’s a blessing.”

“Had Me at Halftime” scores with a heartfelt Hail Mary, “If I Ever Get You Back” updates the feel-good spirit of ‘90s country, and “Redneck Love Song” grooves with a blue-collar promise of everlasting love.

Meanwhile, “Happy Hour” toasts a relationship that was doomed from the start, mixing on-the-rocks lyrics and melodies into a potent, pure-country anthem. “Chasin’ You” smolders with the residual heat of a top-shelf bourbon, and “Whiskey Glasses” fuses sludgy guitars to a concept that’s basically a low-down, broken-hearted play on the idea behind beer goggles.

But with its booming beat, swampy guitars and sideways lyrics all about the country-boy good life – plus a nod to Nitty Gritty Dirt Band’s archetypal country-rocker, “Fishin’ in the Dark” – “Whatcha Know About That” lies at the album’s thematic heart. It’s a place where being true to yourself is more important than playing by someone else’s rules. And that’s something Wallen knows all about.

“The song pays homage to the past, but I’m damn near rapping in part of it,” he explains, honored that the Grammy-winning Dirt Band – envelope pushing game changers in their own right – gave the track their support. “That’s one thing I love about country music right now. You get to express yourself and do what you want, and I think that’s why country is bigger now than it ever has been.”

Melvin Seals & JGB

$20adv / $25dos

Jams On The Sand brings you Winter Jams:   Melvin Seals has been a powerful presence in the music industry for over 30 years with a long-established reputation as a performer, recording artist and producer. Melvin is most revered for his powerful, high-spirited, Hammond B-3 organ, and keyboards in the Jerry Garcia Band. Melvin spun his B-3 magic with the Jerry Garcia Band for 18 years and in doing so helped pioneer and define what has now become “JamBand Music”. From blues to funk to rock to jazz, Melvin Seals serves up a tasty mix with a little R&B and gospel thrown in to spice things up.

The Interrupters

with Masked Intruder and Ratboy

Tickets: $24 in advance (plus applicable surcharges), $26 at the door

The third album from L.A. ska-punk band The Interrupters, Fight the Good Fight gets its title from a piece of graffiti spray-painted outside the studio where they made their debut. “It’s a phrase that’s followed us around for years, and it kind of embodies the message of this album,” says guitarist Kevin Bivona, whose bandmates include singer Aimee Interrupter, bassist Justin Bivona, and drummer Jesse Bivona. Aimee adds: “There’s a lot of darkness in the world right now, but we’re trying to drive that out by making our music the light. We’re fighting through everything with a smile on our faces.”The follow-up to their 2015 album Say It Out Loud, Fight the Good Fight finds The Interrupters delivering their two-tone-inspired, powerfully melodic, punk-fueled sound with more vitality than ever before. Working with Rancid frontman and Grammy Award-winning producer Tim Armstrong (who’s now produced all their albums) and Grammy Award-winning mixer Tom Lord-Alge, Aimee and the Bivona brothers channeled that raw energy in part by recording almost entirely to tape. “There’s a certain feeling you get from that process that you can’t really get digitally,” says Kevin. “There’s no overthinking anything—everyone’s got to be fully present and committed. It was definitely high-pressure, but also really fun.”True to the album’s theme of persevering through hard times, Fight the Good Fight opens with “Title Holder”—a fast-paced anthem that celebrates the notion of “taking all the bad things you’ve overcome and turning them into a beautiful part of your character,” according to Kevin. On “She’s Kerosene,” The Interrupters slip into a more intense but still-triumphant mood as Aimee reflects on breaking free from narcissistic abuse (“I really hope when people listen to that song, it helps them feel empowered to leave a toxic relationship,” she says). Aimee also brings her fearlessly honest storytelling to “Gave You Everything,” an aching but glorious, no-regrets ballad she describes as “a true story, and a story as old as time.”One of the most exhilarating tracks on Fight the Good Fight, “Got Each Other” offers a message of street-punk unity and features vocals from all four members of Rancid (including Armstrong, bassist Matt Freeman, guitarist Lars Frederiksen, and drummer Branden Steineckert). “It was always in the cards for all the guys to be on that song, but we were getting nearer and nearer to deadline, and a few of the verses were still empty,” Kevin recalls. “We ended up having Jesse and Justin drive up to the Bay Area in our tour van with a mini studio in the back, record Matt and Lars, and then drive back down again. It was like the third act of Goodfellas, where the clock was totally working against us, but somehow we made it happen.” In another moment of collaboration, the brash and bouncy “Broken World” was built from a riff and melody passed on by Billie Joe Armstrong while The Interrupters were on tour with Green Day. “Billie Joe played us that riff and melody and told us, ‘If you guys wanna take that and make a song out of it, go for it,’” Kevin remembers. “I think it’s the first ska song he’s ever been a part of, which is a cool thing for us.”
Formed in 2011, The Interrupters got together soon after the Bivona brothers’ former band appeared on bills with Aimee during a 2009 tour. With their self-titled debut arriving in 2014, the band soon shared stages with bands like Rancid, Blink 182 & Bad Religion. In support of Say It Out Loud, they toured all around the world headlining their own shows as well as supporting Green Day in Europe, Australia and South America.Proving their irrepressibility as a live act, the Say It Out Loud run included a Salt Lake City date where Kevin broke his arm after falling off the stage, then immediately duct-taped his fractured limb and completed the set. As they gear up for the release of Fight the Good Fight, The Interrupters hope the album provides some solace to anyone feeling disillusioned. “Music’s gotten me through the toughest times in my life, so now my mission is to give back what I’ve been given—to help other people know that if they feel defeated or not good enough, they’re not alone,” says Aimee. And with appearances at festivals like Punk In Drublic and Warped Tour planned for spring and summer, the band’s especially thrilled to achieve an up-close connection with their audience. “The only time we’re not worrying about what’s going on in the world is when we’re onstage,” says Kevin. “It’s this beautiful escape where it’s just us and the crowd, and everyone’s dancing and having a good time, and hopefully we can all forget about our problems for a while.”