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Sunday, 9 May, 2010 2:45 PM
Steel Magnolia
to perform at the 28th Annual Downtown Hoedown on Saturday, May
15
Photo
credit: blogs.tampabay.com
New
country duo Steel Magnolia
DETROIT
-- When
you hear the name Steel Magnolia, you may be thinking of
the 1989 movie with Sally Field, Dolly Parton and Shirley MacLaine.
But no, Steel Magnolia is a new duo hitting the country music scene.
It is made up to Meghan Linsey and her boyfriend Joshua Scott Jones.
The duo won season two of the television talent show Can You
Duet. Their prize was a record deal with Big Machine Records
in Nashville. Steel Magnolia will open up for Uncle Kracker at the
Downtown Hoedown on Saturday, May 15 at 8:45 p.m.
There is
an interesting story as to how the duo got its name Steel Magnolia.
"Everybody asks us that, we were actually playing together
for quite a while without a name," Linsey said. "We were
on our way to a gig one night and I threw it out there and it stuck.
There's not a great story behind it."
"We
threw it out there and said, we're Steel Magnolia," Jones added.
"I said, We'll change it later."
The duo
won the second season of the television talent show Can You
Duet on CMT.
"It
felt exhilarating, like biting into a peppermint patty or skiing
down a mountain," Jones responded. "It was awesome, it
gave us a lot of experience for TV. It prepared us for what was
to come with the other upcoming TV stuff that we've done. Just playing
big shows and being under pressure."
"Definitely
a great platform to bring our music to the fans," Linsey added.
"It was awesome."
What's the
story behind your current single "Keep On Lovin' You"?
"Well,
it came down to the final two contestants on Can You Duet
and for the sake of TV and time, the winner had to pick a single,"
Jones replied. "A&R from the record label, Big Machine,
had a hand in judging the competition. A&R from Big Machine
brought us a group of songs. We listened to them and narrowed them
down to three or four songs. We went back in the next day and as
soon as we played 'Keep On Lovin' You,' its kind of like everyone
looked at each other like that's the one."
The new
country duo released a self-titled EP record on Feb. 23, 2010.
"It's
five songs, we actually sang a couple of them on the show, Can
You Duet, that we wrote called 'The Edge of Goodbye' and 'Ooh
La La,'" Linsey said. "Then, obviously, the single, 'Keep
On Lovin' You' is on there as well. We've got a couple of covers.
We covered a Dwight Yoakam song called 'Fast as You' and 'I Need
You,' actually we did on the show as well, a Faith and Tim song.
It's just a compilation of all that. It's pretty cool."
Steel Magnolia
was nominated for two awards at the Academy of Country Music Awards
in April and is currently nominated for two CMT Music Awards.
"Last
year, we watched the CMT Awards from the bleachers from the nosebleeds,"
Jones said. "As an artist or a performer, you get anxious.
I kind of equate it to having to sit out at recess watching all
the other kids play at kickball out on the field. You want to be
out there, but you don't get chance to do it. It's hard to watch.
Now, we're going to be a part of it. It's just great, a dream come
true. Our dreams are literally coming true within the last year."
The new
country duo made their debut on the Grand Ole Opry last October
in Nashville.
"It's
amazing, I think if you're in country music, that's the highlight
of your career," Linsey responded. "Walking through the
halls, it's just a feeling that you get and being on the stage is
amazing. There's been a lot of flooding here in the last couple
of days in Nashville. I saw a picture yesterday on Twitter and the
Grand Ole Opry is completely flooded with water. Looking back on
that now is amazing that we got to do that, have that opportunity."
Steel Magnolia
will open for Uncle Kracker at the Downtown Hoedown in Detroit on
Saturday, May 15.
"Yes,
we are and we cannot wait," Jones replied. "It's probably
going to be the biggest show we've ever played. It's going to be
huge. We're just trying to decide what we want to play. We were
wondering if Kid Rock was going to make an appearance with Uncle
Kracker. I think that will have some part in what songs we choose.
We want to play tribute to Detroit because the city has so much
great music that's influenced us in so many ways. Everything from
Motown to Kid Rock to Bob Seger, White Stripes, all the great rock
and roll music from there."
Can you
give me a preview of your upcoming Hoedown performance?
"We're
trying to pick something that will get the crowd fired up,"
Jones added. "I think we're probably going to get 30 minutes
to go out there and rock as hard as we can. We know it's going to
be a crowd that's ready for some good entertainment. We're just
going to put on the best high energy show that we possibly can and
take the fans for a journey."
Will you
guys be introducing some new songs at the Hoedown?
"Yeah,
we've actually got some new songs that will be on our record,"
Linsey said. "Our record will be out in September. The next
few weeks we're heading out on the Brad Paisley tour on May 21.
We're just trying to get it all together. Yeah, we'll definitely
do some new stuff. The new single too. We're going to play that
as well."
How does
it feel to join Brad Paisley on his upcoming H2O tour?
"It
feels like putting on a nice warm pair of socks that you just got
out of the dryer," Jones joked.
"We've
always been big Brad Paisley fans and we have a lot of respect for
Brad," Linsey added. "I've just heard nothing but great
things from him. We're starting our first tour, we couldn't ask
for anything more."
Since you
guys are a newer act, where would you like to be in the next five
or 10 years?
"We
just take it day by day and we hope to be around in the next five,
10 years," Jones said. "It's a dream come true. We just
put our heads down, take it week by week, day by day. We just try
to rise to every occasion and every show that's put in front of
us. We thank God for that opportunity."
Look
for Steel Magnolia to perform on the upper stage at the 2010 Downtown
Hoedown on Saturday, May 15 at 8:45 p.m.
For
more information, visit bigmachinerecords.com/steelmagnolia
or visit their MySpace
page.
Photo
credit: img.timeinc.net
Steel
Magnolia will perform at the Downtown Hoedown this year.
COMPLETE
COVERAGE OF THE 2010 DOWNTOWN HOEDOWN
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