Jimmy Bowen & Friends Rounds Up Country Recording Artists Aplenty for Fifth Season of Rutherford-Recorded TV Series June 27–30

Keith Anderson

As the CMA Music Festival’s much-adoed summertime (meteorologically speaking) celebratory week of converging upon Nashville comes to a close, another fine musical assortment is swooping in to pick up the slack. Fresh off the heels of taping its fourth season in January, the Murfreesboro-made Jimmy Bowen & Friends is back and friendlier than ever in June as the month’s end brings a comfortable collection of aligning stars.

You’ll find a who’s who of been-there-sang-thats taking the stage for TV tapings at Ridenour Rehearsal Studios’s “The Alley” performance space. Most of them have also shared this year’s CMA Fest roster in some form.

Season 5 of Jimmy Bowen & Friends features artists including Tyler Reese Tritt (daughter of the “Travis” one), Ty Herndon, John Berry, Texas stalwart singer-songwriter Radney Foster (whose name carries cuts from Collin Raye, Sara Evans, Tanya Tucker with T. Graham Brown, and Keith Urban, to name a few), Keith Anderson and more.

Jimmy Bowen (left); Ty Herndon

Author (of aptly-titled I Wrote That One, Too . . . A Life in Songwriting from Willie to Whitney), conductor, producer, New York Songwriter’s Hall of Fame member and songwriter extraordinaire Steve Dorff is also on the bill. Dorff’s songs (iconic TV themes, George Strait’s “I Cross My Heart” and numerous big box-office movie scores among them) have charted throughout five different decades.

Speaking of starting new chapters and charting new waters, hit recording artist Ty Herndon has an upbeat hope-filled co-written tune at radio right now titled “Till You Get There,” one of the tracks on his forthcoming album JACOB (named for the Old Testament figure), scheduled for release on July 15. The multi-award winner co-wrote all but two of the album’s 11 tracks, including the captivating plaintiveness of “God or the Gun.”

“My new album has been more than a year in the making, and it’s my most personal and revealing to date. It’s about the power we all have to change our endings. The last two years have been a journey like none other for me, and I’m looking forward to sharing some new truths with listeners and reminding them that we have it within us to turn our greatest challenges into our greatest triumphs,” said Herndon.

John Berry; photo by Moments By Moser Photography

Also taking a Biblical cue, fellow CMA Fest favorite Grammy award-winning country hitmaker John Berry took to cherry-picking songs from the classic gospel side for his newest project Find My Joy. You’ll find it on the Gaither Music Group label.

Bowen Bonus – Meet the Nashvillains
Another name on this season’s Jimmy Bowen & Friends list is the Nashvillains. Their jestful, citified band moniker is somewhat of a misnomer, considering the amount of do-gooding that these so-called “villains” have collectively contributed to the music scene. Described as “edgy, country and rock-infused,” members Brett Boyett, Scott Lindsey and Troy Johnson have among them written and produced music for feature films, television shows, and artists Drake Bell (of Drake & Josh), The Dixie Chicks, Keith Urban, Cassadee Pope, James Taylor, Lauren Alaina, Kevin Costner and more. They recorded a special Christmas song and video speaking out against substance abuse. With “Christmas in a Bottle” they drew attention to several crisis hotlines such as the Veterans Crisis Line, the TN Department of Mental Health & Substance Abuse Services, and the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline. With that in mind, maybe a nickname more akin to Nashvigilantes would be more appropriate.

The Nashvillains; photo by Annie Noelker

Then again, the Music City-ans recently debuted a video for the heavy, swampy “Chickasaw Bayou,” a dark-storied setting surrounded by criminal activity. So maybe it’s a toss-up.

Written entirely by the group and produced by Boyett, the Nashvillains debuted Tumbling Down in March. The nine-track concept album tells a story of a man trying to rebuild his life after living through the consequences of bad decisions and takes listeners on a unique journey described as “dark and cinematic.” Having recently performed a record release party at The Basement (some video of the event is available to watch on their Facebook page), Nashvillains’s management confirms they are thrilled about taping for the show and will be performing songs from Tumbling Down.

Steve Dorff actually produced their song “Who Don’t.” Though not on Down, it is available for download and there is a video (filmed in Franklin). Steve has a cameo in the video and the song was co-written by his late son Andrew (there is a dedication to Andrew at the end) along with Brad Tursi of Old Dominion and Corey Crowder. Rapper Big Smo is also featured in the video.

So take a free seat with friends in the musical chairs and beat the heat at a nice, cool and comfortable venue. Jimmy Bowen & Friends Season 5 tapings take place Monday, June 27, through Thursday, June 30, at The Alley event space inside Ridenour Rehearsal Studios. While free to attend, space is limited. Ridenour is located at 1203 Park Ave. in Murfreesboro. Reach them at 615-956-7413. To reserve tickets contact Cheri Cranford at cheri@splashpublicity.com.

The completed 22-minute shows airs and streams on numerous networks including Heartland TV, The Family Channel, The Country Network and others. For more information on how to watch, visit jimmybowen.com; episodes are also available at youtube.com/jimmybowenmusic.

Jimmy Bowen & Friends Season 5 taping schedule:

Monday, June 27
5:30 p.m. – Keith Anderson
7 p.m. – Darin & Brooke Aldridge
8:30 p.m. – John Berry

Tuesday, June 28th
5:30 p.m. – Danny Wells
7 p.m. – Buddy Jewell
8:30 p.m. – Tyler Reese Tritt