DAVID NAIL will be performing LIVE at The Bluestone

on Friday, November 17th, 2017

Doors for the show will open at 7pm

Opening Artist: Jimmie Allen

Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of show

Tickets will go on-sale Friday, August 18th at 10am

PURCHASE HERE

RESERVED LOFT TABLE SEATING

RESERVED TABLE PURCHASE DOES NOT INCLUDE ADMISSION TICKETS TO THE SHOW.  

Admission tickets must be purchased separately.

• Loft Lower Tier: $250 (seats four people-no exceptions)
• Prime view of stage!
• Includes first bucket of Miller or Coors Light
• Server
• Exclusive Private Bar access

• Loft Upper Tier: $200 (seats four people-no exceptions)
• Includes first bucket of Miller or Coors Light
•  Server
• Private Bar Access
• May be Obstruction in View

*All Reserved tables located in the loft area

ALL SALES ARE FINAL

ABOUT

During the making of his fourth MCA Nashville album, David Nail underwent a transformation – and so did his music. Fighter is the most vulnerable, personal record the Missouri native has ever made, and it signals the beginning of a new phase in his career.”

“Six months ago, people would ask me about the record and I would jokingly say ‘It’s my love-making record,’” Nail explains. “But what it meant to me then and what it means to me now are completely different. … Having been a father for about five months, it definitely changes the dynamic of things.”

Following the birth of he and wife Catherine’s long-hoped-for children (twins born in December 2015), the singer-songwriter found his world turned upside down. The mark he wanted to leave and things he wanted to say had changed, and despite an early version of Fighter being already finished, he decided to record four new songs, completely changing the project’s tone.

In short, Nail decided to get real in a way he never would have allowed himself before. Already known for powerful, emotionally-charged vocals, he took the same approach to choosing Fighter’s 11 tracks (seven of which were written or co-written by Nail himself), celebrating life’s victories but also exposing the knock-downs he’s endured – and it wasn’t always flattering.

“[I was] like, ‘Am I ready to sing this? Am I ready to tell this story?” Nail says. “[But] they come from a genuine place that you can kind of say, ‘Okay, I’ve said that. I’m at peace with that.’ I think that’s what this record is.”

Writing and singing in courageous personal detail, Nail confronted some of his deepest troubles, revealing the clarity he’s achieved about his hometown, the true struggle depression caused in his marriage, the answered-prayer of his children’s birth and the things he never told his own father.

Meanwhile, producer Frank Liddell (who also guided Nail’s first three albums, I’m About to Come Alive, The Sound of a Million Dreams and I’m a Fire) made sure Fighter’s musical tone was just as authentic, backing Nail’s volcanic vocals with a melting pot of Mississippi-delta sounds — a mix of classic-country balladry and sweaty Memphis soul, with touches of in-the-moment modernity sprinkled throughout.

“I grew up listening to all this music that my father listened to,” says Nail. “A lot of it was classic, huge songs and artists from the ‘60s and ‘70s – and even the ‘80s – so I think there’s always part of me that just falls toward that type of sound, rather than fighting it and trying to say ‘Whoa! No-no-no, we need to stay 2016.”

Big-name collaborations abound, with Nail inviting Vince Gill, Brothers Osborne, Lori McKenna and Logan Brill to help tell his story, as well as Bear and Bo Rinehart of NEEDTOBREATE.

“When I’m making a record I selfishly want to push my buttons so I try to approach it as my swan song, it could be the last piece of music I make. I want to fulfill some life goals in the process and one of my biggest influences in the word is Vince Gill so I’m thankful he said yes”

Brothers Osborne kick the project off in star-crossed revelry on “Good at Tonight,” McKenna joins “Home” to quietly uncover Nail’s love/hate relationship with his hometown, Gill adds stunning harmony vocals to the country-soul “I Won’t Let You Go” – a promise to David’s wife Catherine – and the Rineharts help close the album in tender admiration with “Old Man’s Symphony,” an overdue thank-you note to Nail’s dad.

Along the way, he toasts to the passion of youth in the upbeat hit “Night’s On Fire,” pledges romantic relief in the raw Chris Stapleton co-write “Ease Your Pain,” delivers a desperate double entendre in the indie-rocking “Lie With Me” and crafts a loving, rock-a-bye origin story for his new family in “Babies” – an instant classic.

Then there’s the project’s title track, “Fighter,” a heartfelt ‘80s-country throwback ripped from Nail’s real life that holds his wife up as an unshakable supporter – even when he was at his worst.

“’Fighter’ is about as honest as I’ve ever been in a song,” Nail admits. “I mean, when you’re quoting your wife saying things that are not pleasant [about you], you know it was our story. … But it also, I think, tells the story of me.”

Nail and Catherine have had to fight their whole lives, he explains – for his career, for their marriage, to battle back inner demons and to conceive their beautiful kids – but their ultimate success in those battles has led them to a better place. And it also gave the album a mission.

Fighter is more than a bookmark in Nail’s life and career – it’s a period on the final sentence of a difficult chapter. Penned during dark times that have given way to a new sunrise, these are some of the most meaningful and personal songs he’s ever recorded. And now that they exist for all to hear, he can finally move on.

“I feel like I’ve told the main aspects of my career, and my life, up to this point,” he explains. “So I really think whatever we do in the future, we’ll be able to start just completely fresh. It’ll be a new story, a new part of my life.”

-Chris Parton

David Nail will perform live at The Bluestone on Friday, July 20th, 2018!

*Opening Artist: Alan Carl

*Doors will OPEN at 7PM

*Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of show

Tickets On-Sale June, 8th 2018 at 10AM!

Biography

A country artist with an agile voice, a gift for songwriting, and a passionate performing style, David Nail was born in Kennett, Missouri on May 18, 1979. Music was a major part of the Nail household — his father was a high school band director proficient on a number of instruments, and his mother sang in the church choir. His parents had an extensive and eclectic record collection, but country music wasn’t on Nail’s radar until he was 14 and attended a school talent show. One of the entrants sang a version of Travis Tritt’s “Anymore,” and Nail was so taken with the song he immediately asked his folks to buy him a copy of Tritt’s recording. In high school, Nail sang in the school’s choir, appeared in local talent shows, and began writing songs, but he was also a fine baseball player with a .385 batting average, and he was accepted at Aquinas College on a sports scholarship. However, a shoulder injury ended his baseball career during his first college season, and Nail returned home to sort out his options. He resumed his education at Arkansas State University, but when he was 20, he spent a few days in Nashville and was inspired to take another shot at a career in music. He moved to Music City, concentrated on his songwriting, and was playing a few songs at a party when, as luck would have it, he was heard by the daughter of record producer Keith Stegall. She told her father that Nail was a talent worth hearing, and before long the singer and songwriter was signed to a contract with Mercury Records.

In 2002, Nail released his first single, “Memphis,” but while the tune made it onto the Country Singles charts, Mercury opted not to release the album he recorded for them, and he was soon without a record deal. After a few years of coaching baseball, Nail took another shot at Nashville, and once again found a champion in the form of a record producer, this time Frank Liddell. Liddell helped Nail score a new deal with MCA Nashville, and in 2008, Nail’s first MCA single, “I’m About to Come Alive,” was released. It fared slightly better than “Memphis,” but it was his next release that changed the game for Nail. Released in February 2009, “Red Light” peaked at number seven on the country singles charts and earned Nail a gold record. The success of the single led to Nail cutting an album for MCA, and this time, 2009’s I’m About to Come Alive was deemed worthy of release, rising to number 19 on the country album charts. In February 2011, Nail released “Let It Rain,” which became his first tune to become a number one country single; the album The Sound of a Million Dreams followed several months later, and reached the Top Ten of the Country Albums chart. 2012 saw the release of a three-song EP, 1979, which included a cover of Adele’s “Someone Like You.” 2013 brought Nail another massive hit single, “Whatever She’s Got,” which earned him a platinum sales award. It was the first single released from Nail’s third MCA album, 2014’s I’m a Fire, which reached number three on the country album listings.

In July 2015, Nail dropped a new single, “Nights on Fire,” which was intended to be a preview of his upcoming album. However, Nail opted to postpone the release of the LP as he added new songs to the sequence. He released a stopgap EP, Uncovered, in May 2016, which featured interpretations of songs by Elvis Presley, Phil Collins, Adele, and the Weeknd, as well as a new version of his own “Looking for a Good Time.” In July 2016, Nail finally brought out Fighter, an ambitious and personal work in which he sang of issues in his own life for the first time, including his battle with depression, his relationship with his father, and the struggles he and his wife went through to have a baby. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

Dillon Carmichael

March 31, 2022 7 PM

at The Bluestone

Columbus, Ohio

About Dillon Carmichael:

FOR DILLON CARMICHAEL, THE LAST THREE YEARS HAVE BEEN A WHIRLWIND, TO SAY THE LEAST.

Since unleashing his critically acclaimed 2018 debut, Hell On An Angel, he’s toured with everyone from Lynyrd Skynyrd and Trace Adkins to Dwight Yoakam and Justin Moore, written a song for Travis Tritt’s latest album, racked up millions of streams on Spotify, gone viral on TikTok, and even gotten engaged. And while you might have expected the cancellation of a year’s worth of tour dates to finally slow him down, Carmichael instead used his pandemic downtime to head right back into the studio and record Hot Beer, a brand new collection of high-energy, feel-good country.

“I felt like my catalog could use a little more fun in it,” says Carmichael. “After putting out a record as heavy as Hell On An Angel, I wanted to make something faster, something looser, something that’d leave you with a smile on your face.”

Recorded with producers Jon Pardi and Ryan Gore, Dan Huff, and Phil O’Donnell, Hot Beer is all sly humor and raw heart, with tongue-in-cheek lyrics and double entendres lurking around every corner. Carmichael’s rich, velvety baritone is still very much front and center here, but there’s a newfound playfulness to his delivery that manages to offer up a knowing wink even as it breaks your heart. It’s a delicate tightrope for any artist to walk, but if Hot Beer proves anything, it’s that Dillon Carmichael is a songwriter who knows how to take his fun seriously.

“Whether I’m singing a tear jerker or a party tune, the only thing that really matters to me is that it’s a great song,” Carmichael says. “And great songs are honest songs.”

Growing up in the small town of Burgin, KY, Carmichael inherited his passion for honest music through familial osmosis: his father and uncles performed in a Southern Gospel Quartet, his mother sang all over the eastern part of the state, and her brothers (John Michael and Eddie Montgomery) both enjoyed massive chart success. As a kid, Carmichael fell in love with country legends like Waylon Jennings and Vern Gosdin alongside the rock and roll he heard on the radio, and by the time he hit his teens, he was writing his own songs and performing live.

“I didn’t at any point consciously decide I was going to be a musician,” says Carmichael. “It just happened naturally. I found a kind of truth in country music that I couldn’t get anywhere else.”

After finishing high school, Carmichael relocated to Nashville, where he earned a publishing deal at the tender age of 18. It was his first taste of life outside of rural Kentucky, and the discovery of a whole city full of like-minded artists whose lives revolved around making music thrilled him. Buoyed by his early success, Carmichael began collaborating all over town with some of most revered writers in the business, but no Nashville resident had a bigger influence on him than producer Dave Cobb, whose stewardship helped guide Hell On An Angel from a dream to a reality.

“Dave just immediately understood my vision,” says Carmichael. “He helped me zero in on my truth.”

Merging a sonically progressive palette with a tasteful reverence for the past, Hell On An Angel was at once old school and modern, traditional and contemporary, timeless and timely. The New York Times compared Carmichael to Randy Travis and said his voice “moves with the heft and certainty of a tractor-trailer,” while NPR praised his “deep holler,” and Parade raved that “Carmichael defines pure country.” He landed on Artist To Watch lists from Billboard, Rolling Stone, Taste of Country, Pandora, and more, reached #2 at country radio’s Most Added chart with his debut single, “Dancing Away With My Heart,” and electrified festival crowds from Seven Peaks to Faster Horses.

“One of the things I learned getting to play big festivals and arenas and theaters was that it doesn’t matter if there’s 200 people or 20,000 people in the audience,” says Carmichael. “They’re there to hear country music and have a good time. It’s that simple.”

And so Carmichael began plotting his follow-up to Hell On Angel with those good times in mind. Reaching back to the lighthearted 90s country that had always held a special place in his heart, he began cutting a series of lively, uptempo, sometimes hilarious tunes full of mischief and innuendo. Lead single “Hot Beer,” written by Carmichael’s good friend HARDY, rattles off a list of everything the singer would rather do than get back together with his cheating ex (“I’d rather drink a hot beer / Build a fire in the pouring rain / Burn all of my fishing gear / Then set sail in a hurricane”), while the anthemic “Big Truck,” written with David Lee Murphy and Jessi Alexander, questions the true source of his partner’s affection, and the bawdy “Sawin’ Logs” spins a tale of two lovers on very different pages.

“Phil sent me that song last year and it was our summer jam,” says Carmichael. “We rocked out to it all the time, and I posted an acoustic version to TikTok just for fun one day. It ended up getting millions and millions of views and everyone started singing along to it at my shows, so I knew I had to record it.”

Not everything on Hot Beer is quite so irreverent, though. The sweetly sincere “Since You’ve Been In It” celebrates the kind of love that makes everything better; the bittersweet “Somewhere She Ain’t” reckons with the ghosts of a lost love that just won’t fade away; and the grateful “Lucky Man” takes stock of the little things that add up to a beautiful life.

“My uncle Eddie originally recorded ‘Lucky Man’ with Troy Gentry back in 2006,” says Carmichael, “and I thought putting my own spin on it would be a nice nod to my family legacy, as well as a tribute to Troy, who passed away in 2017. I’ve loved that song ever since I heard them sing it for the first time, and I’m honored be able to share my version of it.”

With live music returning and his calendar filling up once more, Dillon Carmichael is indeed a lucky man. And with Hot Beer, it’s clear he’s ready to dive back into the whirlwind and have some serious fun.

COVID-19:

The Bluestone does not require COVID Vaccinations to enter our venue. We follow all local guidelines and cleaning procedures. The current Columbus “Mask Mandate” for an indoor event does not apply to anyone who is “ACTIVELY EATING OR DRINKING.” We kindly ask that you enter the building with a mask on. You can keep it on or remove it as long as you are actively EATING OR DRINKING! This will be a full capacity show, and it is an “ENTER AT YOUR OWN RISK EVENT.”