93.1 WPOC's Acoustic Christmas concert will on December 4 at Rams Head Live featuring Chris Lane, Morgan Evans, Morgan Wade, Breland & Gillian Smith!
Chris Lane
Chris Lane’s star continues to rise with over 1.2 BILLION on-demand streams and three #1 hits - PLATINUM “Big, Big Plans,” 2X PLATINUM “I Don’t Know About You,” and PLATINUM “Fix.” Stacking his milestones with a pair of all-star collaborations, Lane teamed up with LA-based artist/producer Gryffin on the infectious track “Hold You Tonight” after his smash 2X PLATINUM single “Take Back Home Girl” with Tori Kelly. Lane has been spotlighted in PEOPLE’s 2019 Sexiest Man Alive issue, scored nominations at the iHeartRadio Music Awards, ACM Awards and Radio Disney Music Awards, plus appeared on TODAY, The Bachelor, The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Late Night with Seth Meyers and CONAN. Lane has shared the bill with A-list acts including Florida Georgia Line, Kane Brown, Brad Paisley, and Dan + Shay, and is set to headline his FILL THEM BOOTS TOUR. Now kicking off his next chapter with brand-new single, “Fill Them Boots,” Lane has also dropped “Summer Job Money,” “That’s What Mamas Are For,” and is featured on Dustin Lynch's "Tequila On A Boat.” The Kernersville, NC-native married Lauren Bushnell in 2019, after popping the question with “Big, Big Plans.” The pair recently welcomed their son – Dutton Walker Lane – and the first-time dad opened up about the anticipation of parenthood in his new track “Ain’t Even Met You Yet,” out now.
Morgan Evans
When Morgan Evans sings about throwing yourself into love “like your heart ain’t ever been broke” in his U.S. debut single “Kiss Somebody,” they’re not just words from an inventive day in a songwriting session. They’re straight out of his increasingly remarkable life. Evans has met every tough decision in his life and career head on, emerging more driven and optimistic as a result. No decision was tougher than letting go of everything he knew in his Australian homeland to live halfway across the world in Nashville in order to chase a dream – without his family, without the friendships he’d built, without any concrete guarantees about what might, or might not, be around the corner.
“That was a big deal,” Evans says about making the move to the U.S. “It was daunting at times. I really did feel like I had to let go of everything. But that’s what people do when they dive into love, whatever it is they love.”
His birthplace demanded he develop both patience and a strong work ethic to follow his dreams. If you want to become a country singer, it’s practically a requirement that you move to Nashville. It’s challenging to do that if you’re from Texas or Georgia. It‘s a monstrous undertaking trying to navigate the immigration system from the other side of the Pacific Ocean.
The inspiration led to a creative rebirth for Evans. Collaborating with hit Nashville writers took his songwriting craft to new heights daily, but he soon realized it wasn’t just about being ‘better.’ To write the songs that would land him a record deal and define himself as an artist, Evans had to tap into something deeper, more personal.
“I spent a lot of time writing what I thought other people wanted to hear,” Evans says. “Now I know I need to write about what I feel, what I can’t express by just talking. Being truly honest in a song can be confronting, but when I get that feeling, like I’m saying something so real it’s uncomfortable, it usually means I’m onto something worthwhile. That’s when I’m writing the songs only I can write.”
Evans comes by music honestly. He grew up in Newcastle, a beach town two hours north of Sydney, built around the BHP steel plant in another era, and around coal today. His parents listened incessantly to music with a blue-collar tint reflecting the values of their town. Garth Brooks, The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, and Led Zeppelin were in high rotation. His mother encouraged Evans and his two siblings to pursue music as a hobby, and Morgan ended up playing piano at home and baritone horn – an instrument that resembles a small tuba – in his school’s band. At age 13, a classic motive led him to pick up the guitar.
“I wanted to start a band so I could meet girls,” he says with a chuckle. “But then when I got a guitar, I couldn’t stop playing it. As soon as I learned four chords, the first thing I did was write a song. I didn’t even know that was something you had to learn how to do. I just did it. It was a natural thing that I didn’t really think about at the time.”
Evans' raw talent and undeniable on-stage charisma led to some big early opportunities while still in Australia, opening for Taylor Swift on her first tour there and for Alan Jackson’s 2011 arena shows. Touring with country’s biggest stars motivated Morgan to take regular trips to Nashville, stoking the fires of his Music City dreams even as he released his first full album in Australia through the Warner Music branch.
“It’s been a long journey,” he concedes, “but without it, I wouldn’t be as ready as I feel now. I couldn’t have written these songs and I wouldn’t be as sure about who I am. The other thing is, I appreciate everything more now. I appreciate every single day that I get to wake up and do what I’ve always dreamed of doing.”
Morgan Wade
With a commanding voice -- raspy and earthy, yet bearing bruises and scars that convey vulnerability -- Morgan Wade cut a striking figure when she emerged with her debut album Reckless in 2021. Pitched partway between Americana and arena rock -- a distance she navigated with collaborator Sadler Vaden, the guitarist in Jason Isbell's 400 Unit--Wade blended her influences in a distinctive, emotionally candid way.
A native of the small Appalachian town of Floyd, Virginia, Morgan Wade was drawn to music as a child. She wrote songs in secret, never attempting a public performance until she was 19, after she suffered a breakup during her freshman year at Roanoke's Jefferson College of Health Sciences in 2013. Assembling a band via Craigslist, Wade cut her teeth performing in Virginia, eventually getting sober by the time she led her supporting group the Stepbrothers through the Puppets with My Heart album in 2018. Not long afterward, she received a lucky break. Wade played her hometown FloydFest in 2018, joining a roster that included Jason Isbell & the 400 Unit. There, she met Isbell's guitar tech, who gave one of her CDs to Sadler Vaden, the guitarist in the 400 Unit. The pair started a collaboration, adding Paul Ebersold as co-producer, and worked on material for an album. The single "The Night" appeared in 2019, followed by "Don't Cry" in 2020, with the full-length debut Reckless appearing on Thirty Tigers early in 2021. (Source: Stephen Thomas Erlewine / All Music)
Breland
With the arrival of his PLATINUM-certified debut single “My Truck,” singer/songwriter/producer Breland emerged as a bold new force on today’s music landscape. Originally from New Jersey, BRELAND moved to Atlanta after graduating from Georgetown University, kicking off his songwriting career by scoring cuts with artists like YK Osiris and Ann Marie. Soon after releasing “My Truck” in late 2019, he saw the Hip-Hop and Country hybrid hit #1 on Spotify’s Global Viral 50, with a remix featuring Country hitmaker Sam Hunt landing on best-of-the-year lists from NPR and The New York Times. The song’s success paved the way for his signing to Bad Realm Records/Atlantic Records, leading to collaborations with heavy-hitters from the Country, Pop, and Hip-Hop worlds (including Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, Nelly, Blanco Brown, Lauren Alaina, and Chase Rice). BRELAND’s 2021 single “Cross Country” further reveals his passion for transcending boundaries, continuing his mission of breaking down genre barriers in Country music. The Nashville-based artist made his national TV debut with “Cross Country” on The Kelly Clarkson Show, where she surprised him with a PLATINUM plaque for “My Truck.” Now at work on the follow-up to his 2020 self-titled debut EP, he enlisted superstar Keith Urban for the dynamic collaboration “Throw It Back.” Adding to his list of buzzy collaborations, he is currently featured on Dierks Bentley’s single with HARDY, “Beers On Me.” BRELAND has been praised by Rolling Stone as “1,000 percent the whole package,” featured on Billboard’s “Emerging Artists Spotlight,” and earned acclaim from Genius, Paper, USA TODAY, and more
Gillian Smith
Gillian Smith is a South Central Pennsylvania native who grew up with music all around her. She began singing lessons at the young age of 8 and has been training ever since. While her music background is classically trained and in theatre work, Gillian found a new love for country music in 2019 and has made this her path for the future. While Gillian is heavily influenced by Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert, Marren Morris and Gabby Barrett you can hear her love of the classics, such as, Dolly, Reba, and Faith Hill in her soulful, soaring vocals.
Gillian is currently studying Music Business at Salisbury University while continuing to play shows between her hometown in Pa and Nashville. Her debut single dropped in July of 2021, titled Guess You Couldn't, which tells the somewhat humorous story of a past relationship while showcasing her vocal talents. Gillian will be doing a double single release on Black Friday, November 26th with two very opposite perspective songs she can't for you to hear! You can expect her EP to drop shortly after late Winter 2022.
Expect to be amazed the more you hear from this talented country beauty.