Blake Shelton releases ‘I’ll Name The Dogs’

It’s been a year and a half since superstar Blake Shelton released new music but the wait is over! The insanely catchy “I’ll Name The Dogs,” is out today (Fri, Sept 8th) digitally.

“‘I’ll Name The Dogs’ is a bit of a throw-back song for me,” says Shelton. “It’s traditional country with fiddle and steel and I’ve got Jimmy Olander from Diamond Rio playing the guitar solo. It brings the sound back a little more traditional for a minute, which I felt like needed to happen musically for me.”

The chart-topping entertainer kicks off a busy September with a performance of the brand new song on Sunday (Sept 10th) at the Canadian Country Music Awards. The show will broadcast at 8 pm (8:30 pm NT) that night on CBC, live from the SaskTel Centre in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan.

Shelton will follow the CCMA performance next week by co-hosting Hand in Hand: A Benefit for Hurricane Harvey Relief. The hour-long telethon special will be based in Los Angeles with stages in New York and Nashville, also featuring a special performance by country music icon and Texas native George Strait from his San Antonio benefit concert. Hand in Hand will air live on ABC, CBS, CMT, FOX and NBC on Tuesday, September 12th at 8 pm ET and will replay on the west coast at 8 pm PT. The show will also be available internationally via live stream on Facebook and Twitter starting at 8 pm ET during the first broadcast.

“It’s traditional country with fiddle and steel and I’ve got Jimmy Olander from Diamond Rio playing the guitar solo.”

The end of the month brings with it the grand opening of Ole Red Tishomingo, a restaurant, live music venue and retail space in Tishomingo, Oklahoma. The themed entertainment venue was inspired by Shelton’s “Ol’ Red,” one of the superstar’s earliest career-defining songs. Shelton will celebrate the event with an Opry-style performance and block party on Saturday, September 30th.

Ole Red Tishomingo will open its doors with the party flowing into the streets as an outdoor stage plays host to performances by RaeLynn and Opry members Jeannie Seely, John Conlee, and Ronnie Milsap. Shelton will co-host the show with 650 AM WSM’s Bill Cody. The free “Blake & Friends” concert will begin at 7 pm CT and will be live streamed on Ole Red’s Facebook page.

In the midst of a busy month, the 2017 Billboard Music Awards Top Country Artist is also currently preparing for his 13th season as a coach on NBC’s The Voice. Shelton recently notched his 24th No. 1 single with “Every Time I Hear That Song” reaching the top of the airplay charts in July. If I’m Honest spawned two additional smash hits and was the best-selling album in U.S. the week of release, ending 2016 as the best-selling country release of the year.

Buddy Iahn
Buddy Iahn

Buddy Iahn founded The Music Universe when he decided to juxtapose his love of web design and music. As a lifelong drummer, he decided to take a hiatus from playing music to report it. The website began as a fun project in 2013 to one of the top independent news sites. Email: info@themusicuniverse.com