Texarkana Entertainment Blog

… for an upcoming story and he sounds pretty happy these days. His album “Never Going Back” is about to be released on April 28 (on Time Life)  and he’s playing some dates in Branson, Mo., at the Oak Ridge Boys Theatre. He’ll be promoting the album in the upcoming weeks, and he called it a blessing to be have these opportunities now at this stage in his career. He doesn’t have an exact date but said he’s shooting for sometime in August for his Collinfest show in De Queen. He recorded the new album in Muscle Shoals, Ala., where the musicians have a laid back vibe in what they play, he said. Down below he talks about “Mid Life Chrysler”in a promo video. Look for a story soon on the Gazette’s Accent page. 

- Aaron Brand

If you’d like to hear the new Collin Raye song “She’s With Me” and help kids who have extraordinary medical expenses to meet, you can do so through a $5 donation to Operation Kids. Make the donation (at http://operationkids.org/collinraye) and you’re entitled to a free download of that Raye song. The song is from Raye’s new album, “Never Going Back,” set to be released April 28 on Time Life. 

- Aaron Brand

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The Texarkana-area’s country music big names are working hard to get some new material out these days.

Collin Raye will release “Never Going Back” April 28 on Time Life. Raye also plans to head out on tour when the album is released. Promo material states the album mixes rock and country with the “laid back rock and folk of mid-seventies Southern California.” It sounds like a more stripped-down and no-frills kind of music for Raye, formerly of De Queen, Ark. On the album, he sings “Without You” with Susan Ashton, a Grammy nominee. “Before this, I’d never done an album where I’ve wanted to immediately go out and perform the whole thing,” said Raye in a statement. 

Tracy Lawrence, who grew up in Foreman, Ark., will release his gospel album “The Rock” in June on his label Rocky Comfort Records. But before that, he’ll put out the first single, “Up to Him.” It will go out to country music and Christian radio stations on March 24 and is already available digitally. “In the current political climate and in consideration of the overall mood of our country, ‘Up To Him’ is hopeful, positive and looks toward a brighter future,” Lawrence said in the statement. 

- Aaron Brand

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