Song Premiere: JONATHA BROOKE “PUT THE GUN DOWN” Jonatha Brooke premieres “Put the Gun Down”—the first song from her first studio album in eight years: Midnight. Hallelujah. Out October 21 In the 11 new tracks of this new album, Jonatha Brooke brilliantly balances the soulfulness of her songs with rock, pop and jazz inflections, while maintaining though-provoking lyrics. Midnight. Hallelujah. was primarily recorded at Sweetwater Studios in... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Artist:  BRENT MOYER Song: “Tennessee Tears”   Songwriters: Brent Moyer & Bernie Nelson Video Editor: Jim Jensen Videographer: David Swift Grip: Cindy Nicholson Recording features: Ottar Johansen, Tore Andersen, Joe Sun   BRENT MOYER Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David Known as the Global Cowboy, Brent Moyer loves exploring the broad... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Musician:  CRAIG CAMPBELL Music Video: “Outskirts of Heaven” CRAIG CAMPBELL Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David Craig Campbell has had five consecutive charting hits and has sold a million downloads. “Keep Them Kisses Comin’” (written by Dallas Davidson and Ben Hayslip) is his biggest hit so far—reaching No. 7 on the Mediabase Country chart... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Musician:  RYAN SHUPE Video: “We Rode On”   RYAN SHUPE Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David   Ryan Shupe will be touring the country to promote his eighth album, the independently released We Rode On—a fusion of rock themes with an acoustic bluegrass influence. A Utah-based, fifth generation fiddler, as well as an accomplished mandolin... 

MUSIC & SPORTS—OLYMPICS WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Olympic Gold Medalist:  STEVE LEWIS Video: “400 Meters—1988 Olympics Gold”     STEVE LEWIS Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David   Music and sports have always been connected. The Olympics is the world stage spotlight for athletes, and music continues to be a driving force for an athlete’s preparation—and for their final... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW   Musician:  JANET ROBIN Music Video: “View From Above” JANET ROBIN Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David   How did the idea of “View from Above” come to you? I was feeling a little depressed at the time I wrote it, and instead of doing something negative—I put it into a song, trying to lift myself up and look at things from a positive... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Artist:  ROBBY HECHT Song: “Soon I Was Sleeping” Duet with Rose Cousins Directed by Ryan Newman ROBBY HECHT Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David How did the idea of “Soon I Was Sleeping” come to you? I actually wrote this song over the course of about six years. I had the “put that bottle of whiskey right where she used to kiss me” hook for... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Featured Artist:  JACK TEMPCHIN Song:  “NOTHING WITH YOU” Jack Tempchin Live / Photo by Chuck Philyaw Writers:  Jack Tempchin, Kim Richey, Joel Piper, Robert Stein Video:  Josh Knoff   JACK TEMPCHIN Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David   How did the idea of “Nothing with You” come to you?  I wrote this song at Michele Clark’s Songwriter... 

VIDEO FEATURE & WEB-EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW Songwriter:  MARK CAWLEY Song: “My Angel is Here” Songwriters: Mark Cawley, Billy Lawrie, Lulu (Marie Lawrie)   MARK CAWLEY Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David How did the idea of “My Angel is Here” come to you? This song is so unusual in so many ways. I wrote it with Lulu (yep, that “To Sir with Love” Lulu) and her brother Billy Lawrie.... 

SUPERTRAMP’S CARL VERHEYEN – MUSIC DOCUMENTARY FEATURE Musician:  CARL VERHEYEN Music Documentary:  Grand Designs http://www.sweetwater.com/events/2016/grand-designs-album/ Carl Verheyen is known for his work as the guitarist of the English rock band Supertramp. With over a dozen solo albums, he continues to be a strong session musician. His credits include Christina Aguilera, the Bee Gees, Cher, Kilauea, Tiffany, Rick Braun, Richard Elliott,... 

VIDEO FEATURE & INTERVIEW Artist:  MONICA LIONHEART Song:  “Sure Fire”   MONICA LIONHEART Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David     How did the idea of “Sure Fire” come to you?   “Sure Fire” is a story about hindsight. In this case, it’s highlighted regrets inside the mind of a person arguing with him/herself. When writing it, a particularly close friend of mine was... 

VIDEO FEATURE & INTERVIEW Artist:  ERIC TINGSTAD Song:  “MISSISSIPPI” ERIC TINGSTAD Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David Eric Tingstad is a songwriter, composer, record producer and phenomenal fingerstyle guitarist. His 1985 debut, The Gift, with woodwinds player Nancy Rumbel has gone on to sell over half a million copies. A multi-album contract with independent new-age music label Narada... 

VIDEO FEATURE OF THE DAY Artist:  LAUREN DAIGLE Song:  “How Can It Be” Lauren Daigle is the fastest selling new artist in Contemporary Christian music in the past decade. Her debut album reached #1 on the iTunes Christian Gospel Top Albums Chart with more than 270,000 album sales and 730,000 track sales. She has almost 50 million YouTube and Vevo views, with about 200,000 subscribers. “How Can It Be” alone has had more than 14 million... 

VIDEO FEATURE OF THE DAY Artist: BILLY CROCKETT Song: “21 Times” Website: BillyCrockett.com Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David How did the idea of “21 Times” come to you? Awareness of our finiteness dawns on us eventually. I had read Paul Bowles’ novel, The Sheltering Sky, in which two travelers begin to understand that opportunities for experience, and for reconciliation, are numbered.... 

©Noah Schutz EMMETT SKYY Song: “Love Leads to Nothing” Website: EmmettSkyy.com Web-Exclusive Interview with M Music & Musicians magazine publisher, Merlin David   How did the idea of “Love Leads to Nothing” come to you? It came from feeling you’ve invested so much love and energy into a relationship, and it falls by the wayside. But even though that relationship ended, you still feel something. It’s coming to terms with yourself—and... 

VIDEO FEATURE OF THE DAY Artist: TOM PRASADA-RAO Song: “Sleeping Beauty” Website: TomPrasadaRao.com How did the idea of “Sleeping Beauty” come to you? I wrote this song for my ex mother-in-law. She found the love of her life later in life, and she transformed from someone who stayed in her bathrobe all day, to someone who closed down the VFW hall every night. It was a beautiful sight to see. But soon after they got married, they got the call...