Chris Vetrano
From a young age Chris Vetrano was raised as a connoisseur of music, incorporating every sound, note and beat deep into his life. It was clear to everyone that knew him that Chris' destiny was and would always be somewhere in the music industry. When Chris is not working with artists and lifestyle brands or planning high-profile events, he spends his time sharing his favorite new music, food and lifestyle discoveries on his successful blog and web series, Listen! It's Vetrano, which has been recognized by some of music's top performers, including Justin Timberlake, Matt Morris, Neon Trees and Cassadee Pope.
-
Q&A: Asher Monroe
You may recognize his face and name from his days fronting Johnny Wright‘s boyband V Factory or from his starring role in the 2009 reboot of Fame. Asher Monroe has a long list of accomplished roles and history in music, and considering he’s only 26, that is quite an achievement. On the heels of the release of his second EP, On My Way: Part 2, which came out last month, V for Vetrano sat down with the actor/ singer to talk music, working with Chris Brown and “fame.” Chris Vetrano: You independently released the follow up to your first EP, On My Way: Part 1 recently. Why did you decide to release the two…
-
2015 Grammy Recap
It’s the Super Bowl of the music industry. Music’s biggest night. Cassadee and I gathered at her new Nashville condo downtown in our version of red carpet looks — a step above onesie pajamas — to watch the biggest names in music take the red carpet, perform their hits and accept their prizes at the 2015 Grammy Awards. We laughed, we cried, we ate pizza. Wait, scratch the first two: we mostly just ate pizza. And now that I’ve recovered from my pizza-induced coma of Grammy reflection, I’m ready to break it all down in my annual Grammy recap for those of you who may have missed the big show. The Carpet…
-
Review: Fifth Harmony ‘Reflection’
They’re the only real success story from FOX’s attempt at Simon Cowell‘s UK hit series X Factor. Fifth Harmony who placed third during the reality competition have been burning up the charts this winter with their latest single — the 80’s inspired “Sledgehammer.” It wasn’t an easy start for the manufactured girl group though. Ally, Normani, Lauren, Dinah-Jane and Camila, put together to form a female counterpart to Cowell’s One Direction, released an EP, Better Together, in the fall of 2013 that failed to gain much attention at mainstream radio and the group seemed unable to capitalize on their X Factor exposure. Late last year, the girls reemerged with a…
-
Video Premiere: Five Knives “Sugar”
It’s no secret that Nashville based electronic punk rockers Five Knives won me over with their unique and fresh sound in a blossoming EDM (electronic dance music) market. Led by fiery frontwoman Anna M’Queen along with Nathan Barlowe, Zach Hall and Shane Wise, the band are preparing the release of their new — and first full-length — album later in the year. M’Queen and her male bandmates released the new single “Sugar” earlier this year, which also debuted a more polished look for the 4-piece band and a mainstream, pop-influenced sound. One that landed the band in the Top 5 on the Billboard chart with its freshman single. This week, the MTV Artist To Watch, premiered the video for the girl-power…
-
Carrie Underwood Delivers “Little Toy Guns”
Carrie Underwood debuted a special delivery to her fans this morning. No, it wasn’t her first son (with husband and Nashville Predator’s Mike Fisher), which is due this Spring. Instead Underwood posted the emotional new video for her new single “Little Toy Guns” on her Facebook page with a special message for fans, seen below. In the clip, the mom-to-be is featured in a forest while a child’s fantasizes herself as a mystical hero set out to save her parents from the fighting that she overhears in the beginning of the video. Directed by PR Brown and written by Underwood, Chris DeStefano and Hillary Lindsey, the new single joins a compilation of the…
-
Take 5: Hailey Steele
We all love to know what inspires our favorite stars and we want to know what – or who– is behind our favorite lyrics. But why so serious all the time? Take 5 was a regular feature on my music blog Tragic Kingdom that shed some light on the questions that you really want to know, but might never ask. To kickstart the feature on Listen! It’s Vetrano, Nashville’s new darling Hailey Steele. In November, Chris sat down with the singer on the release of her debut EP to talk life in Nashville, her time on ‘The Voice’ and getting drunk with Christina Aguilera. As if that wasn’t fun enough, let’s Take 5 with Hailey Steele.…
-
For The Taking: Elenowen
It was a first on NBC’s smash competition series The Voice. Four celebrity coaches sat with their backs turned to hopefuls, listening to and hand-picking voices they thought could take their teams to the end of the season. But when Nashville’s husband and wife duo, Josh and Nicole Johnson, took the stage the judges were shocked to hear two voices expertly harmonizing their selected song. It was Blake Shelton who added the duo, known as Elenowen, to his inaugural team in the show’s first season. Since then, Elenowen have released their debut full length album Pulling Back the Veil, toured the country, signed two record deals, had a baby and then considered trading their perfectly matched…
-
Saint Anejo Brunch
At one time the brunch options in Nashville were very limited. And of the ones offered, they were usually overcrowded and not worth the wait. I mean, I can make some mean scrambled eggs. However, in the last year most of the Music City hot-spots have added a Sunday (and sometimes Saturday) brunch menu to accompany their offerings. So it was no surprise that M Street Entertainment, the restaurant group who also operates a handful of successful establishments in town, are launching a new brunch menu at Saint Anejo — the group’s least successful — this weekend. Saint Anejo launched in 2013 with a promising menu that included their take on a…
-
Kelly Clarkson Shares Her Heartbeat
One day you’re hot and the next your not. That’s the story so often with musicians in today’s industry, who constantly have to fight to find relevance on radio’s fickle playlists. Though nothing has been farther from reality for Kelly Clarkson, who began delivering her anthemic pop hits over a decade ago after winning the first season of American Idol. Following her wildly successful Stronger record in 2011, the singer took some well-deserved time off to marry Brandon Blackstock, son of her manager Narvel and manager to Blake Shelton, and give birth to her daughter River Rose. During the time off though, Kelly released a Greatest Hits compilation which included new singles…
-
Foreign Jizz
The last days of 2014. I worked most of it on my Best & Worst list before heading to Historic Franklin in Tennessee to have lunch with Joe at Merridee’s Breadbasket to sample their fresh-baked menu. After work, I met Amanda for dinner and a drink (or four) at our favorite dive in East Nashville, 3 Crow. We love that place! I haven’t seen her since before the holidays and, of course, forgot the plate of cookies I made for her. So, I suppose I’ll be forced to continue to nosh on them into the new year. It’s always great to see Amanda and catch up on work, personal and…
-
Are You Listening?
Well hello there. For those who don’t know me, I’m Chris Vetrano (or V for Vetrano to some of my friends and followers). You might be here because you have been a longtime reader of my music blog Tragic Kingdom, or perhaps you stumbled upon Listen! It’s Vetrano for the first time. Either way, thank you for coming. Can I get you a drink? You know I’m sipping one, so you might as well. I’m excited to launch what I’ve been building for the past year, since the launch of my YouTube series of the same name. After more than 10 years of sharing my thoughts and sometimes annoyingly honest opinions on music, I am expanding…
