Not just an artist, not just a songwriter, Ernest is a full fledged music industry executive. Two years after launching Ern’s Cadillac Music, the Nashville star is spreading his business wings once again. While Cadillac Music is a publishing venture which seeks to bridge the gap for upcoming songwriters, giving them a chance to get in the room with some Nashville bigs while providing them room to continually grow and hone their craft, this new venture is a full-on record label. Teaming up with Big Loud, he announced today he had started his own label, Deville Records. Gotta respect the consistent Cadillac-themed branding. View this post on Instagram A post shared by ERNEST (@ernest) The first three artist signed are Chandler Walters, Rhys Rutherford, and Cody Lohden, who are also signed to Cadillac Music. In a press release, Ernest said: “We’re going to build this thing wide and on concrete. Artist development. Write the songs and do it the old-school way. Make the videos, see the vision, help the vision come to life.” Big Loud CEO added: “We have been in business with Ernest for almost a decade. What started with Ern as a young prolific songwriter-artist in Big Loud’s publishing hallways has evolved into much more. Our partnerships in ERN’s Cadillac Music have gone so well, and his desire to create Deville Records alongside of it made sense. Ernest developed in an independent and cultural environment like the one he desires to create. He and I have talked about this day for years and all the unique ways we could help break the next wave of prolific artists. Kudos to Rhys, Cody and Chandler for buying into this vision and supporting this unique rollout style with our upcoming Deville project.” In addition to this announcement, a debut EP is coming May 9th. Cadillac Sessions will feature two new songs and one cover with Ernest, Walters, Rutherford, and Lohden on each track, along with some “superstar guests” and we have a strong idea who that could be. Remember when Ernest and Snoop Dogg were spotted filming a music video on Broadway? I’ll let your mind take it from there… View this post on Instagram A post shared by ERNEST (@ernest) Really excited for Ernest and all his endeavors. He’s a great guy who continues to make real country music right in the heart of Nashville, which has been better recently but has a long way to go in its recovery from the snap tracks and heavy bass lines of the past decade and a half. Here’s a teaser of “Gettin’ Gone” with Snoop Dogg, which Ern posted on social media last month: View this post on Instagram A post shared by ERNEST (@ernest) Ernest last release was a solo version of “Would If I Could” (originally released with Lainey Wilson) which came in October of last year. While I’ll always be partial to Locals Only (especially “Sugar”), his 26-track NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE album was a game-changer for him. It reinforced that he was sticking to a true country sound while also trying some things out. Wishing all the best to Ernest as he continues to literally build his own path in country music. New artists would be well served by taking the journey with him. The post Ernest Unveils His Own Label, Deville Records, A Joint-Venture With Big Loud first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

It’s her signature look, and it’s beautiful. In interview with WDD this week, Dolly Parton talked about her new line with Khloé Kardashian’s Good American Denim company, as well as her own personal style and how she’s used it to her advantage over the years throughout her illustrious career. Of course, she’s known for her platinum hair and striking makeup, making for a very “overdone” look that I personally love, though as the famous story goes, Dolly modeled it after the “town tramp” where she grew up in east Tennessee: “They called this lady ‘trash’ because she wore too much makeup, big hair, red nails, high heels, short skirts and all of that, but when I was little, that impressed me. And then the Frederick’s, I used to look at that, and I would just see those lounge outfits, those beautiful robes, gowns… I just thought they weren’t even real people.” She coined the phrase “It costs a lot of money to look this cheap,” one that I myself use quite often and love, and Dolly told the site that she always “wanted” to look cheap and “trashy.” Adding that she loves the “artificial” look, Dolly has really never wavered from that signature style and look, so it’s obviously very authentic to who she is: “I want to look cheap. That’s my look. I want to look a little bit, you know, trashy. I don’t mean it in a bad way. I just like that kind of almost artificial look. I like the overdone. I like the bleached hair. I do have some really beautiful clothes, but you would never know how much they cost, because the expensive ones look the same on me as the cheap ones for the most part.” It’s hard to imagine Dolly without all the hair and makeup, and she says she takes the time to do it every day, even if she doesn’t have business obligations or appearances to make, though she will wear more “comfortable” clothes around the house: “I usually put on my makeup, and I fix my hair every, every day, and then I’ll wear very comfortable clothes. I’m going to put on pullover shirts and a pair of jeans, and if I think somebody’s coming, then I can put on a pair of earrings or a little string silver necklace.” So the queen of country does dress casually sometimes… who knew. In fact, Dolly calls them her “flop clothes” and she loves them just as much as her sparkly, glittery outfits: “I have what I call flop clothes.” I’d love to see what Dolly’s definition of “flop clothes” would be… because I’ve also heard that she sleeps in her makeup, and that’s just something I cannot get behind, and just another example of what sets her apart from us merely mortal women. But early on in her career, Dolly received pushback from the “powers that be,” if you will, telling her that she needed to change her look in order to appeal to a wider audience… clearly they couldn’t have been more wrong. Dolly’s advice for young women, though, is to stand up for yourself and say to hell with them: “It doesn’t matter what anybody else says. If your mama doesn’t like the way you dress, especially if you’re a 30-year-old girl, a woman, if somebody doesn’t like the way you look.…Well, say, ‘To hell with you. This is me. I’m the one who has to wear this. You’re not wearing it.'” Amen to that, Dolly… and she’s always practiced what she preaches, because her grandfather, who was a preacher, believed that Satan had possessed Dolly after he saw her bleached hair, and hated that she wore so much makeup. Her mom wholeheartedly agreed, asking God why she was being tested when her daughter moved to Nashville and started teasing her hair to high Heaven and painting her nails the brightest shade of red she could possibly find: “The first time my Mama saw me all done up with blonde bleached hair all piled up, and my lips, cheeks and nails as red as I could get them, she screamed to the Lord, ‘Why are you testing me this way?’ And she told me the devil must have made me do it.” Of course, Dolly, who has never been one to shy away from owning exactly who she is, set her momma straight: ‘Heck no,’ I told Mama. ‘Let’s give credit where it’s due: I did this all myself.’” I wanna be Dolly Parton when I grow up… even as she ages, she stays true to who she is and what she loves, and that is always a recipe for timeless beauty. “Backwoods Barbie” The post “I Want To Look A Little Bit Trashy” — Dolly Parton Says She Still Loves Her Signature Look & Would Never Change It For Anyone first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Probably not a surprise to some of the crowd who doesn’t think Morgan is country anyway… Morgan Wallen has been making headlines all week for his awkward “get me to God’s country” exit from Saturday Night Live and his appearance on Theo Von’s This Past Weekend. From jokes about his Zyn addiction, to reflecting on the infamous “chair incident” at Eric Church’s Nashville bar, the reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year didn’t hold much back in his hour-long chat with Theo Von.  Theo is one of the funniest podcast hosts in the game-so when two knuckleheads are in a room together-there’s no telling what will be said, and you know it will be good. But one of the more surprising and under the radar moments came when Theo briefly brought up a fan favorite and quickly rising country artist Zach Top. Theo was complimenting Zach’s voice: “Zach Top’s voice is really amazing” Morgan’s response? Not exactly what was asked…or what you’re expecting from one of the top names in country music… “I don’t listen to country music a whole lot. I think I’ve always kinda been that way. I know who Zach Top is, and I do agree he’s very solid.” And that was that. The man who has headlined every major country festival and broken streaming records across the genre, admitted he doesn’t really listen to country music and has always been that way.  And while he did give our man Zach Top props as “very solid”, the comments have stirred up debate in TikTok comment sections where fans are comparing the two artists: “​​Zach Top is wayyyyyyy better than morgan” “We can tell he doesn’t listen to country music” “Zach Top is real country music” “Well this explains a lot lol” “Yeah, so Morgan is actually threatened by Zach… seeing as he actually makes country music” “Zach top is bar none of the best countries artists on the planet right now. pure country” “In other words “Zach top clears me by miles”” “Is Morgan Wallen a poser? He doesn’t like country music but he sings country music? He just lost a lot of fans” “Yeah, he can actually sing. Doesn’t need a computer to sound good.” Brutal. And of course, this isn’t the first time since Morgan has been victim of the “is it country or not?” debate that we hear a lot these days. He’s made a name for himself by blending hip-hop and trap influences with his songwriting, being what he’s known for when people think of his music.  On the podcast, Morgan mentioned that when talking about his upcoming album I’m the Problem, which drops May 16th, and he revealed that he is taking a step back from the trap beats that were all over his last few projects: “My last album I had plenty of trap beats and stuff like that. This time I was like, ‘Hey man, let’s tone that back a little bit.’ I’m tired of it. I’m tired of hearing it. So if I’m tired of it, they’re probably tired of hearing it.” So that’s actually good news for fans who haven’t completely abandoned him since he released what he was calling country music. But when you pair that with Morgan saying he doesn’t even really listen to country music? Not a good look for you Morgan. You can watch the full episode here: The post Morgan Wallen Says He Doesn’t Listen To Country Music Very Much: “Kinda Always Been That Way” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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