Paul Costa – Drinkin’ Hours

Multi award winning country singer/songwriter Paul Costa returns with new single ‘Drinkin’ Hours’.

With a mantle full of awards and many chart hits to his credit, Paul Costa has no desire to slow down, kicking off 2022 with the release of his new single ‘Drinkin’ Hours’. Set for release on Friday 25th February, this catchy track is bound to make you want to let your hair down, relax and have a drink with great company.

‘Drinkin’ Hours’ is the ultimate upbeat feel good song made for Paul Costa’s rich vocal range and masterful delivery. “Cause there’s no working during drinkin’ hours, leave it all at the door”. This rhythmic and very catchy tune has hit written all over it and will have you singing along with good friends in no time! The track was written by Bobby Tomberlin (Blake Shelton, Dolly Parton, Faith Hill), Wil Nance (George Strait, Brad Paisley, Joe Nichols) and Dan Alley.

Success is no stranger to Paul. In January 2018, during Tamworth Country Music Festival, Paul was inducted into the Country Music Hands of Fame, highlighting his successful music career. His album ‘Whisper In The Crowd’ was also named Album of the Year at the People’s Choice Awards – an award voted by fans. In addition, Paul was named a finalist for Male Artist of the Year at the prestigious CMC Music Awards.

Paul’s fifth studio album, ‘Whisper In The Crowd’, debuted at #3 on the Australian ARIA Country Album Chart. The album saw Paul in full flight both vocally and musically, showcasing a bold new sound for this world-class artist.

Always the consummate showman, Paul has built a reputation of being one of the most energetic live performers in Australian country music. He has performed at major events both locally and internationally and has had the honour of performing for our troops in East Timor in 2008 and The Middle East (Iraq) in 2019. He’s also a proud ambassador for Mission Australia and the Canberra Police and Citizens Youth Club.

In perfect timing with this release, Paul will be performing at Country By The Murray at Murray Bridge in South Australia on 26th March, alongside artists such as Lee Kernaghan, Amber Lawrence, Casey Barnes, Andrew Swift, and Jayne Denham.

One thing is certain, Paul is having far too much fun taking his brand of music to his loyal fans around the country.

Darius Rucker – Same Beer Different Problem

Following No. 1 radio hit “Beers And Sunshine” and recent single “My Masterpiece,” three-time GRAMMY winner Darius Rucker continues to share new music as he crafts a forthcoming solo album with “Same Beer Different Problem” available everywhere now.

Written by the multi-Platinum star together with Tofer Brown, Sarah Buxton and Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi, the Ross Copperman-produced track offers a lighthearted take on the chaos of today’s world:

You got your cars without drivers, traffic’s getting worse

We’re racin’ off to space, just to get away from Earth

3G, 4G, 5G, getting even further from the OG

Granny’s eatin’ gummies, Mama’s online

All I know for sure is we’ve all lost our minds

A little bit funny, a lotta bit strange

But at the end of the day

It’s the same beer, different problem

“The line ‘a little bit funny, a lotta bit strange’ really sums up the message of this song and all of the things that make you shake your head these days,” reflects Rucker. “We had so much fun as songwriters coming up with all of those examples and putting a lighthearted spin on the craziness of the world.”

In addition to actively working on a new album, his first solo project since 2017’s critically acclaimed When Was the Last Time, Rucker also recently announced a summer run of U.S. and Canada tour dates, continuing the Darius Rucker Live tour that began earlier this year as a theater tour visiting iconic venues across the country.

The man celebrated by Billboard as “one of the most distinctive voices of country’s modern era” also recently announced the 13th annual “Darius And Friends” benefit concert set for June 6 in support of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, which will unofficially kick off the week of CMA Fest – where Rucker will also headline Nissan Stadium on June 9 – as well as his the inaugural year of his personally curated Riverfront Revival music festival in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. this October.

About Darius Rucker

Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who have sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Diamond-certified debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the Top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four No. 1 albums on the Billboard Country chart, including RIAA Platinum-certified Learn to Live and True Believers, plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits. Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his 9x Platinum version of Old Crow Medicine Show’s “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. He co-hosted the 54th annual CMA Awards in 2020 and topped the charts at Country radio once again with “Beers And Sunshine” in 2021. Follow up single “My Masterpiece” is available everywhere now as Rucker puts the finishing touches on a forthcoming album.

As a lifelong philanthropist, Rucker co-chaired the capital campaign that generated $150 million to help build the new MUSC Shawn Jenkins Children’s Hospital in his hometown of Charleston, S.C. and has also raised millions of dollars for St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital through his annual Darius & Friends benefit concert and golf tournament. Rucker has also advocated for over 200 charitable causes supporting public education and junior golf programs in South Carolina through the Hootie & the Blowfish Foundation and serves as a National Chair for the National Museum of African American Music in Nashville, Tenn.

SHANE NICHOLSON – HIGH HORSE

Hot off the back of his domination at this year’s Golden Guitar Awards, Shane Nicholson releases his single ‘High Horse’ taken from his critically acclaimed Album Living In Colour.

Shane was the top winner at the Golden Guitar awards, taking home four awards from his five nominations. Nicholson’s 9th studio album Living in Colour saw him take out Alt Country Album of the Year and the highly coveted Toyota Album of the Year. His track And You Will Have Your Way was crowned APRA AMCOS Song of the Year and Apple Music Single of the Year, with Nicholson also taking to the stage to perform his award-winning song.

The final version of ‘High Horse’ released on ‘Living In Colour’ was actually the second version of the song Shane wrote. “The initial version was a completely different chord progression, different melody, same lyrics. It sounded like a completely different song, more of a Dawes thing, in a minor key, moody and melancholic. I had Josh Schuberth play drums on them and send them to me. It was all great and nearly finished and then I had a thought one night, when I played it back: it was too moody, I want to put a whole new angle on it instead of being the somber, minor sound I’d made it. So I scrapped all of the instruments, bar the drums and the vocals, and wrote all new chords to the song and recorded it all again in one night. And that’s what’s on the record. I made it a bit of a deceptively happy song. I enjoy doing that. I’ve made a reasonable career out of doing it.”

Shane continues touring ‘Living In Colour,’ upcoming show dates below.

2022 TOYOTA ALBUM OF THE YEAR

LIVING IN COLOUR: Shane Nicholson | Producer: Shane Nicholson

Alt Country Album of the Year: LIVING IN COLOUR

Shane Nicholson | Producer: Shane Nicholson

APRA AMCOS Song of the Year: AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR WAY

Shane Nicholson | Songwriter: Shane Nicholson

Apple Music Single of the Year: AND YOU WILL HAVE YOUR WAY

Shane Nicholson

ABOUT SHANE NICHOLSON

Nicolson’s storied career started in the late 1990s with his first Brisbane based band Pretty Violet Stain. With a solo career launch in 2002 with the release of ‘It’s a Movie’, he’s since followed up with nine albums, including 2015 ARIA Award winning ‘Hell Breaks Loose’ and 2 x ARIA Award winning albums with Kasey Chambers – the platinum selling, ARIA No.1 album ‘Rattlin’ Bones’ and ‘Wreck and Ruin’. With 15 x CMAA Golden Guitar awards under his belt including 2021 APRA Song of the Year for ‘The High Price of Surviving’, Nicolson has also been recognised internationally with 2 nominations for USA Americana Music Association awards. As a seasoned producer, Nicholson has been busy working with Alex Lloyd, Tori Forsyth, Beccy Cole, Michael Waugh and Camille Trail.

Nicholson is a rare talent who has bridged the gap between Alt-country and the mainstream. He crafts his songs seamlessly and can wrap up difficult subject matters with music of uplifting beauty and charm. Nicholson has a charismatic talent for writing striking songs that pay tribute to the unpredictability of human experience.