The country music legend releases 20th studio album with a week of performances in Nashville
NASHVILLE, Tenn. – After 12 months in the making, yesterday (Oct. 28) marked the day that four-time GRAMMY and CMA Award winner Steve Wariner released his 12-track, family-inspired album, All Over The Map, viaSelecTone Records. The critically acclaimed artist celebrated the release of his varied album with performances throughout the week at some of Nashville’s most iconic events.
“I’m really excited. I’m as excited now with this record coming out as any I’ve ever done,” said Wariner. “This album, All Over the Map is just that. It’s very diverse in styles and genres of music. I think it exposes what I do and who I am more than any project I’ve done.”
“If you’re loving Steve’s version of ‘Behind Closed Doors’,” shares Rare Country, “the Indiana native is releasing a new album, All Over the Map,on Oct. 28. Steve co-wrote 10 of the 12 tracks on the new project, including ‘When I Still Mattered to You,’ a collaboration with the late Merle Haggard, and another duet with son Ryan, who is demonstrating the same guitar prowess as his dad, a C.G.P — Certified Guitar Player — a titled bestowed personally by the late great Chet Atkins.”
Wariner, who wrote 10 of the album’s songs including five instrumentals, integrated smooth collaborations on the milestone record with close musical friends and fellow country music legends Ricky Skaggs, who Wariner won his first GRAMMY with in 1992, Musicians’ Hall of Fame and Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Duane Eddy, GRAMMY-Award winner Eric Johnson, and more. Consequentially, All Over The Map, has evolved into a remarkable tribute to the Grand Ole Opry member’s influences, both living and deceased, in addition to a celebration of his lineage. In addition to producing the album, Wariner plays guitar, upright bass, drums and both pedal and lap steel, as well as singing on seven of the songs.
To celebrate the release of Wariner’s 20th album, Wariner surprised nearly 7,000 folks at Garth Brooks’ show at Ascend Amphitheater, performing “Longneck Bottle” with Brooks on Monday, Oct. 24. Later in the show, fellow surprise guest, Kelly Clarkson “raved about previous guest, Steve Wariner, saying how much she loved his song ‘The Weekend’” (Fox News)and with the help of Brooks, convinced Wariner to perform the No.1 smash hit, with Clarkson singing background vocals.
On Wednesday night, Wariner honored the late Jerry Reed at the 2016 Musicians Hall of Fame induction ceremony. The “peerless guitar picker” (The Tennessean) performed several of Reed’s hits and shared humorous anecdotes with the evening’s attendees. Last night, Wariner performed the national anthem at Nissan Stadium, where the Tennessean Titan’s beat the Jacksonville Jaguars 36 to 22, as part of the Country Music Association’s 50th anniversary celebration.
Also in celebration of the Country Music Association’s 50th anniversary, Wariner partnered with #ForeverCountry for their video cover series, performing his own rendition of “Behind Closed Doors” by Charlie Rich.
“Wariner’s expressive tenor provides the vocal warmth necessary to take on this classic,” notes Wide Open Country. “Yet it’s his tasteful trademark finger-style playing on perhaps his best instrument, acoustic guitar, that steals the show here. The combination enables this dual-threat vet’s rendition to become a welcome addition to the ‘Behind Closed Doors’ canon.”
In his storied career, Wariner has achieved 14 No. 1 songs and more than 30 Top 10 hits, including such classics as “Holes in the Floor of Heaven,” “Life’s Highway,” “The Weekend,” “I’m Already Taken,” “I Got Dreams,” “Small Town Girl,” “Two Teardrops,” “Some Fools Never Learn,” “Lynda” and more. An award-winning songwriter, Wariner has also composed hit songs for Clint Black (“Nothin’ But the Taillights”), Garth Brooks (“Longneck Bottle”), Bryan White (“One Small Miracle”) and Keith Urban (“Where the Blacktop Ends”), as well as artists such as Country Music Hall of Fame members Alabama, Kenny Rogers, The Statler Brothers, Conway Twitty and Don Williams; pop music icon Peter Tork (of The Monkees); R&B singer Ruben Studdard; bluegrass music’s Del McCoury Band and many more. Wariner is a member of the Kentucky Music Hall of Fame. For more information, visit www.SteveWariner.com.