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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…
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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.…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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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…
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Best & Worst of 2014
Another great year has come and gone. I don’t know about you, but 2014 was a great year for V for Vetrano. I spent most of it working in the music industry, managing artist’s unrealistic expectations, enjoying Nashville’s growing city and fighting to find the balance between professional and personal. Both done quite successfully, in my opinion. I learned a lot about myself this year, which led to the rebranding of my music blog Tragic Kingdom to Listen! It’s Vetrano, officially launching in the new year. But before I take you too far forward, I have to look back at the year of 2014. I’ve compiled my picks for the best & worst…
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Holiday Drink: White Harvest Punch
It was the night before Christmas and all through the house, not a creature was stirring… except a couple drunk kids hopped up on the holiday punch. I hosted a small dinner with my friends last weekend before we all parted for our respective holiday plans. Joe Feys made his infamous short ribs with a cauliflower mash that will appear on Listen! It’s Vetrano soon, but when Cassadee Pope brought her favorite holiday drink I knew I had to share it with my ‘Listen!’ readers. So, after I consumed the rest of the bowl of delicious goodness and then cured my epic hangover, I bring you the White Harvest Punch recipe that…
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Nashville Gift Guide
If you’re anything like me, you’re probably rushing around for those last minute gift ideas for your significant other, co-workers, friends and/or family. I spend eleven and a half months scratching my head thinking of what to get the people closest to me for the holly, jolly time of year and then, in the final hours before Santa’s impending arrival, get stuck creatively and land on those little pieces of plastic: the dreaded gift card. So, in an effort to be more creative and support local businesses, I’ve compiled some great Nashville-based brands that make perfect holiday gifts and tell your loved one that you’ve done more than pursued the…
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Feys Lift: No Tree? No Problem!
Ok so you’re probably going, “is this a Noxema commercial or what?”… but it’s actually my new column for Listen! It’s Vetrano, which you will have the pleasure of reading (or skipping) for the months… years… millennia to come. So since we’re gonna be here together for a while, let’s get introductions out of the way. My name is Joe and I love design. I hope you do too, or at least will let me help – or force- you to every couple of weeks. I love a challenge. Speaking of challenges, that brings me to my first topic: the Holidays (insert “ahhhhhs” or “ ughhhhhs” here). About a week…
