Many times, a country singer will have some success with a hit song or two and then that success will begin to fizzle. Often when that happens an artist will try to relaunch themselves by changing their image, changing their record label and management or by joining other artists to create a group or duo.
This is the case with Brian McComas. McComas started his career in 2001 with Mercury Records. When his first two singles did not perform, he moved to Lyric Street Records. He struck gold with his next song, “99.9% Sure, I’ve Been Here Before”, a top ten country hit. Unfortunately, his next two singles did not chart, and he was released from that record label. He made another effort in 2016 and although the project was critically acclaimed, it was not a success on the radio.
With so much talent and desire, McComas is back again in 2020. This time he is the lead vocalist for a country band called the Desert City Ramblers.
In normal times when a country music artist is ready to release their first single, they will begin by doing what is called a “radio tour”, visiting as many country radio stations as they can. During the Covid-19 pandemic artists are doing it differently. McComas contacted WCTY with a unique way to introduce the band. They would support locally owned restaurants and allow WCTY to give away gift certificates to listeners. All the winners would get a take-out order of their choosing and they would be invited to a private zoom concert with the Desert City Ramblers.
That concert will be taking place Friday at noon with Brian McComas and his band performing from his home in Nashville. Fans will get to ask questions and be among the first to hear his new music.
Tonight, a female group that many WCTY listeners are familiar with will be doing a Facebook takeover on the WCTY Jimmy and Shelly Facebook page. Southern Halo was in Eastern Connecticut just last year and performed for a group of 200 listeners who were hoping to win a cruise to the Bahamas.
At that time, the group was made up of three sisters: Nata, Tinka and Hannah. This time around, younger sister Hannah has decided to pursue academic goals and Southern Halo is now a duo.
Their first album in 2015 was produced by Jeff Cook of the super group Alabama and garnered two top 40 singles, so the girls do have something to prove. Their current single is called “Something in the Water” and was released to radio just last week.
Check out their living room performance tonight at 7pm on the WCTY Jimmy and Shelly Facebook page.
