Now that jokes and pranks have subsided, it’s time to introduce you to Tragic Kingdom’s featured artist for April.  It’s not often that you stumble upon music that is so compelling and rich in content it moves you to action.  However, when I first heard The CO, made up of Collin Brace, Troy Akers, and Nate Fleming, I was reminded of why I love this industry.  The trio, who are joined by Will Harrison and Phil Snowden when they hit the stage, are a Nashville based band setting out to break the mold of the city’s stereotypical sound. In January of last year, the band released their debut self-titled album…

With only a week remaining until the reigning Princess of Pop, Britney Spears, drops her seventh studio album, you can already hear the music industry’s most well-oiled machines greasing up to embark on the next era in the entertainer’s career. It doesn’t seem long ago that those keyboard power chords of “Baby One More Time” first impacted our stereo. Yet with so much personal turmoil and public scrutiny it’s hard to remember some of the professional highlights from the seasoned star, who’s closing in on 20 years in the industry. One thing that is not hard to forget however, is the formula. Each of the last six Spears albums delivered…

Happy St. Patrick’s day! Today is a special day for Tragic Kingdom and not just because I have a special place in my heart for anything green.  As you know, I designed Tragic Kingdom with the intent to expose exceptional new talent and create a place to discuss the industry’s biggest stars. Our latest artist featured, Michael Shoup, was excited to take part in a new project, I’m calling Tragic Kingdom Presents, that joins our featured new talent with those more well-recognized, but still tragically adored. This week also marks the 25th anniversary for the SXSW Music & Media Conference in Austin, Texas.  As you might remember, it last year…

Tragic Kingdom recently had the opportunity to stop by a studio session with our latest featured songwriter, John Edwards, to preview a few of the newest songs in his catalog.  On February 16, Edwards along with Rich Redmond, Kurt Allison, and Tully Kennedy spent the day at Sound Stage Studios in Nashville laying down the tracks.  The songs, which included “Bad”, “Our Summer of ’69”, “Stays In Vegas”, and “Your Best Move”, sounded great and with ‘the boys’ adding their hit-making spin, these soon-to-be classics should be burning up the airwaves in no time. Check out this video preview of the tracks, which also gives you a glimpse at what a day…

When it came time to pick Tragic Kingdom’s featured artist for March it was a tough decision.  With my latest move to Nashville, country music has become so relevant (as you’ve clearly witnessed by the blog’s recent country takeover), but I wanted to do something special this month.  I wanted to prove to the readers that Nashville is more than hillbilly rockers and twangy crooners. Despite the hicktown stereotypes, it wasn’t hard to find a variety of talents spanning all genres, many of whom will be featured in the coming months.  When I first moved to town, I stopped by a writer’s round at a local venue near my new…

Academy of Country Music‘s nominee for Entertainer of the Year, Jason Aldean, is busy making the talk-rounds in LA this week.  Earlier today, his stop by The Ellen Show aired, where he performed his newest monster hit “Don’t You Wanna Stay” with his vocal companion Kelly Clarkson.  The performance was incredible per usual: Jason delivered, ‘the boys’ (Rich Redmond, Kurt Allison, and Tully Kennedy) rocked it, and Kelly’s vocals were flawless.  But it was backstage where Clarkson spilled some exciting news.  Check out this web exclusive video of two of Tragic Kingdom’s featured artists behind-the-scenes after their performance. And if you unforgivably missed the performance, Tragic Kingdom has your back.  Enjoy!…

Over the last few years, the band Train has delivered some delicious, radio-friendly ear candy (cue “Hey Soul Sister”), but when I saw the boys perform with Martina McBride at the CMT Crossroads event here in Nashville, I was blown away by Pat Monahan‘s very real talent.  This morning, when I woke up to discover that Lady Gaga‘s new single “Born This Way” is really just an updated version of Madonna‘s “Express Yourself”, I found this little treat in my inbox.  It seems Tragic Kingdom isn’t the only mega-Neon Trees fan.  Train covered the band’s hit, number-one single “Animal” with a very cool acoustic performance that is already making its way around the…

If your a follower of music, it’s no surprise why Tragic Kingdom is featuring the husband-and-wife duo, Shawna and Keifer Thompson of Thompson Square.  The two singers met at a singing competition, where they had immediate romantic chemistry, after moving to Nashville separately to pursue solo careers.  And although the chemistry didn’t initially lead them to share the stage, eventually the pair found it making sense.  When a mutual friend – who had once tried to pursuade them against forming a duo – saw the pair perform at local Nashville club, he was blown away be their energy and cutting-edge style. It became obvious that their on-stage chemistry could be just as…

When I moved to Nashville from Denver last fall, I knew things wouldn’t be easy.  Meeting new people, integrating into a new environment, and learning my way around a new city were the exciting challenges that I was ready to take on. In the next couple of weeks, I am going to shift focus from music for a minute here and there to introduce you to some of the exciting findings from my journey. While proving to be worth it, the journey to Nashville has been a rough road. When I started going through the catalog of Tragic Kingdom’s first featured songwriter, John Edwards, I couldn’t help but connect with…

Since moving to Nashville late last year, I have learned one thing: Nashville is full of true talent.  It’s not just the songbirds who spit out twangy vocals, this town has musicians (some of the best in the world), engineers, publishers, and songwriters.  As a new feature to Tragic Kingdom in 2011, the Songwriter Spotlight will give songwriters a chance to get much needed, and well deserved, attention.  First up, is by far one of the most sincere storytellers in town, John Edwards. Born in the hills of Lenior, North Carolina, songwriter John Edwards was destined for success. At the age of three, his mother moved John and his brothers…