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The Big Wake Up With Don Chase and Sarah

The Big Wake Up With Don Chase and Sarah

The Big Wake Up With Don Chase and Sarah

Kick Butt Tip: ‘There’s Real Hope and Joy on the Other Side’

Author Don Chase
Nate Smith performs in London, England. (Photo by Joe Maher/Getty Images For Bauer Media )

Today’s Kick Butt Tip comes from Country music newcomer Nate Smith.  Recently, Nate told Billboard magazine that he wants his music to inspire people to not give up.  Nate says “the message in the music is realistic and raw, yet hopeful.  It’s about pointing out life’s challenges, but also how there’s a light at the end of the tunnel.  There’s real hope and joy on the other side.”

If you’re into country music, no doubt you probably know the name Nate Smith.  Nate hails from Paradise, California and is best known for a couple of great songs that play on The BIG 957. The tunes are “Whiskey On You” and “World On Fire.”  For many of us, we learned about Nate way back in 2020.  Thanks to the TikTok platform, Nate performed a song called “Wildfire” that went viral.

In Nate’s Kick Butt Tip of the Day above, he mentions the words “not give up.”  Nate knows a little something about not giving up after losing everything in a fire that tore through his California hometown in 2018.  Nate says he was thankful that his family survived the fire, but he felt lost after losing everything.  Nate says the only thing he had to turn to was his music and he did.

I’m willing to bet that at age 13, when Nate was learning to play guitar, he had no idea that one day he might be a big Country star.  While learning to play, he says he often listened to a variety of singing and musical styles.  Nate said his eclectic playlist included everyone from The King of Rock n Roll Elvis Presley to Bob Seger to the King of Pop Michael Jackson to Nirvana to Garth Brooks.  Those styles helped shape Nate’s sound that we enjoy today.

One other quick story if you have time.  Nate first went to Music City Nashville, Tennessee in his early twenties.  Sadly, things didn’t work out so he went back to home to Paradise. California.  It as just not the right time.  But shortly after the 2018 fire, he returned to Music City and found success.  Like Nate Smith says, “never give up.”

– Don Chase’s Kick Butt Tip of the Day is a daily motivational feature designed to give you the inspiration you need to power through your day. Check out all the Kick Butt Tips here.

Don Chase is living out his dreams, anchoring The Big Wake-Up with Don Chase & Sarah weekday mornings on KML. With over 35 years with Beasley Media, Don believes that the best is yet to come. The unofficial Mayor of Fayetteville radio, Don Chase writes about Fayetteville and North Carolina news, as well as entertaining perspectives on music, culture and more.

Jelly Roll: 5 Songs You Need To Know From 'Whitsitt Chapel'

As Jelly Roll celebrates his 39th birthday today (12/4), we celebrate him and the album that brought him to country superstardom, Whitsitt Chapel.

As a journalist who has lived for many years in Antioch, Jelly’s hometown and a suburb of Nashville, when I saw the album cover and his tribute to Whitsitt Chapel, it looked pretty familiar to me. The family and I drive by it often on our way to Percy Priest Lake and the recreation area. If my husband wasn’t a teacher in another county in Tennessee wanting his kids to go where he teaches, both of my children would have attended Antioch High School just like Jelly did.

When the album was released in June of this year (2023), Jelly Roll described it as “Real music for real people with real problems.” He added that the project was “about growth and gratitude happening in my life.” The album and his music struck a nerve with listeners, who quicky made it one of the most successful album releases in country music in 2023.

Jelly has been a top award nominee and often a winner. Last month (November), he won his first CMA Award for New Artist of the Year.

Just a couple of days after winning the New Artist award and performing twice at the CMA Awards in Nashville, Jelly Roll learned that he is a three-time GRAMMY nominee for the 66th Annual GRAMMY Awards, which will air on February 4, 2024, on CBS.

Jelly posted a video on his Instagram; in the clip, he is openly weeping and wiping tears away. He says, shot on his phone at his Nashville area home, “I’m not sure if I’m gonna post this or not because I’m so emotional, but the greatest honor an artist can ever hear is that they’ve been nominated for a GRAMMY. I got to hear that this morning.”

He paused for a moment to get even more emotional before saying, “I haven’t cried like this since my daddy died. I tried to make this video seven times, ya’ll.”

We gathered five songs from the Whitsitt Chapel album that we believe stand out the most and everyone should know.

RELATED: Jelly Roll’s Wife Debunks Story She’s Jealous Of Lainey Wilson

  • "The Lost"

    An album cut that Jelly co-wrote with Miranda Lambert. In January, Lambert posted to Instagram that she made a new songwriting friend, Jelly Roll. By the looks of it, the two had a great time writing songs. Miranda posted a couple of photos to her Instagram, one with her, Jelly Roll, and a songwriter named Telenitry. She wrote, “Made a new friend this week! Jesse was right when he said we go together like biscuits and gravy! Loved writing a tune with @jellyroll615 and @telemitry.” See that post here.

  • "Halfway to Hell"

    While this song has not been released as a single to country radio, it’s well-known by fans and got a massive response when Jelly performed it at his “Backroads Baptism Tour.” The song kicks off the album, starting with a clip of a church preacher preaching, “Just save you because he gave his only begotten son.” As the music starts, the preacher continues to preach; Jelly begins the song with the lyrics, “I’m a county jail revival / I’m a bottle and a Bible / I’m a rolling stone disciple / With a cross across my face.”

  • "Save Me" (with Lainey Wilson)

    Little did Jelly know when he recorded this song with his friend Lainey Wilson that the collaboration would be nominated for a GRAMMY in the Best Country Duo/Group Performance. The song was also recently nominated for Musical Event at the 2023 CMA Awards. In early December 2023, the song hit the top of the country music charts. They also performed the song at the ACM Awards in May of 2023.

  • "Need a Favor"

    The first number-one country song from this project, but his second number one country song overall. The first number one was “Son Of A Sinner,” which was his first country single release before he released Whitsett Chapel. The powerful and relatable lyrics include, “I only talk to God when I need a favor / And I only pray when I ain’t got a prayer / So who the hell am I, who the hell am I to expect a savior, oh / If I only talk to God when I need a favor? / But, God, I need a favor,”

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