FRANKIE BALLARD'S HIGHLY ANTICIPATED EL RIO ARRIVES THIS FRIDAY, JUNE 10
Performances set for CMA Music Festival, Live with Kelly and Today
NASHVILLE, TN (June 8, 2016) – It's been one helluva ride to get here, from Nashville to El Paso and back again, but Frankie Ballard's new Warner Bros. Records/Warner Music Nashville album El Rio is finally only days away from release. With growing anticipation, Ballard is especially excited to hear fans' reactions to some of the new music that no one has heard.
Ballard has been playing new songs like “It All Started with a Beer” and “Cigarette” from his third LP live, but not every song has made it into the set. “Good as Gold,” co-written by Mando Saenz and Justin Bogart, is a track he's especially proud of that fans haven't had a chance to listen to yet.
“’Good as Gold’ is the heart of this record,” Ballard said. “Everybody asks, ‘What’s your favorite song?’ I can’t pick my favorite, but doggone it ‘Good as Gold’ is really close to the top. The spirit of this song, the courage in this song is what made me fall in love with it the first time I ever heard it. It’s about telling a girl everything you need to tell her all in one moment and not holding anything back. The courage in that inspired me and I hope it inspires other people. It’s one of the songs that I’m most excited to see what people think of it, on social media or at shows, or wherever I can talk to people about this album. I’m dying to get feedback. So go listen to the song if you haven’t and tell me what you think.”
Love and lust play a huge role in El Rio, alternating between tender tracks like “Good as Gold” and “It All Started with a Beer” to more experiential songs like “Cigarette” and “LA Woman,” another new song Ballard is excited to unveil.
“This is one that I love to play for people because it’s a rockin’ song,” Ballard said. “Every woman I think has a little bit of an LA side and I think every man has a side of him that wants an LA woman.”
Fans will get their chance to tell Ballard what they think as he celebrates the release of El Rio over the next two weeks. He’ll hold his album release party with fans in Nashville on Thursday, the first night of the CMA Music Festival. He’ll then open the festival’s nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium on Friday with a rendition of the National Anthem on his electric guitar a la Jimi Hendrix.
Then on Monday, June 13, he will visit Live! with Kelly before making a return visit to Today on Tuesday, June 14.
El Rio, called his “strongest musical statement yet” by Entertainment Weekly, is available for pre-order. Those who do will receive five immediate downloads of the songs included in Ballard’s El Rio Video Series: “It All Started with a Beer” (video), “El Camino” (video), “Cigarette” (video) and “Sweet Time” (video) and “LA Woman.”
Watch a six-minute documentary entitled “Journey ToSonic Ranch: The Making Of El Rio” that chronicles the record-making process as Ballard, his bandmates and producer Marshall Altman immersed themselves in creating the album.
Fans can hear new music from El Rio all summer as Ballard plays select festivals and solo dates. The rising star also will make his return overseas this October with dates in England, Scotland, Germany, Holland and Ireland.
Visit www.FrankieBallard.com for tickets to upcoming shows and more information about new music, and follow @FrankieBallard on Twitter.
El Rio Track Listing
1. El Camino (Lee Thomas Miller, Chris Stapleton)
2. Cigarette (Kip Moore, Chris Stapleton, Jaren Johnston)
3. Waste Some Of Mine (Jimmy Yeary, Craig Wiseman)
4. Little Bit Of Both (Ben Hayslip, Chris Janson, Craig Wiseman)
5. L.A. Woman (Frankie Ballard, Brad Warren, Brett Warren)
6. It All Started With A Beer (Jaren Johnston, Neil Mason, Jeremy Stover)
7. Sweet Time (Frankie Ballard, Jaren Johnston, Jon Nite)
8. Good As Gold (Mando Saenz, Justin Bogart)
9. Southern Side (Monty Criswell, Rick Huckaby)
10. You’ll Accomp’ny Me (Bob Seger)
11. You Could’ve Loved Me (Dustin Christensen, Chris Gelbuda)
