Century Drive Wrapped Their Debut at CMA Fest Promoting Their Single “Wild Hearts, Wild Highways”
The Week Included Heartwarming Experiences at Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s Seacrest Studios, at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, and The Gibson Give’s Free Guitars 4 Kids
Century Drive, a breakout country-rock group that has been spotlighted by CMT and The Country Network, made their debut appearance at Nashville’s CMA Fest as they celebrated the release of their latest single Wild Hearts, Wild Highways. With a schedule filled with meet and greets, performances, charity appearances and even some studio time, CMA Fest proved to be a benchmark for this band as they expand their ever-growing fan base.
“We shook hands. We kissed babies. We rocked and then we rolled. CMA Fest 2023 was a total blast,” says Corey Parnell, Century Drive lead vocalist and guitarist. “Thanks to our Nashville friends and fans (old and new) for coming out to support us. We’re already stoked for 2024!”
Their CMA Fest week kicked off on Wednesday, June 7 when they made a return appearance and performance for the Ryan Seacrest Foundation’s Seacrest Studios at Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt. During the pandemic, they had virtually shared music and played games with the patients, but this time they got to be in person for a Q&A and live performance with the children and their families. In additon to their own music, the crowd favorite was an impromtu snippet of Peaches from “The Super Mario Bros. Movie.”
“Probably the highlight for me was visiting some amazing kids at the Seacrest Studios at the Vanderbilt Children’s Hospital,” says Lonnie Chapin, Century Drive bassist. “A bunch of kids were in the studio with us and asked some amazing questions and to watch them light up when we played Wild Hearts, Wild Highways was a feeling I’ll never forget! They blessed us more than we blessed them.”
Photo Credit: PLA Media
On the official CMA Fest 50 launch day, Thursday, June 8, Century Drive joined fans onsite for a meet and greet session inside Fan Fair X at the Nashville Universe booth. In addition to country fans, they connected with media, CMA Fest team members and fellow artists like Russell Dickerson, Tayler Holder, and Jillian Cardarelli.
“To experience a packed CMA fest like we did was simply incredible,” says Chad Chapin, Century Drive drummer. “We got to meet and spend time with some of our amazing fans. To meet and hang out on that personal level is what it’s all about for us. There is nothing quite like the CMA Fest.”
The following day, on Friday, June 9, Century Drive took to the stage at NashHouse Southern Spoon and Saloon to share new music with their fans.
On Saturday, June 10, guitarist and vocalist Casey Parnell joined the reigning American Idol Winner Iam Tongi and Ron Artis II on site for Gibson Gives’ Free Guitars 4 Kids event at the Gibson Garage.
“Playing guitar has changed my life,” says Casey. “To give away 200 guitars, with these other artists, to these kids, was a huge gift. Hopefully, these kids will go farther in music than we ever do.”
Century Drive is currently promoting their summer single Wild Hearts, Wild Highways. The self-penned smash has been spotlighted on the Academy of Country Music’s and Apple Music Country’s Ty Bentli’s Daily playlists. Their music video will premiere on The Country Network in July – air dates and times will be revealed on their socials soon.
Fans can stream or download the track engineered and mixed by the Emmy award winning Tim Craven HERE.
About Century Drive
Century Drive is a four-piece country-rock band made up of two sets of brothers hailing from Bend, Oregon. Corey and Casey Parnell and Chad and Lonnie Chapin are all sons of preachers that are using their ingrained devotion and conviction to write, record, and release their own lane of Pacific Northwest, pavement-pounding country rock.
Their storytelling and brotherly harmonies are celebrated among some of Nashville’s hottest songwriters, including 17-time number one writer Brian White who said, “The first time I stepped in the room to write with Century Drive I knew something special was happening. The energy and vibe were simply contagious. Unbelievable musicians, great singers, and songs set the bar high. I’m a huge fan.”
The Parnells approached the Chapins to write songs in the early days of the pandemic, and their whiskey-fueled all-nighters have resulted in a catalog of songs that punch through as they blaze their own trail in the Country genre.
After teasing their audience with a string of singles, the group debuted their sound on an EP in 2022 titled Staring at Stars. That project landed a spotlight on CMT and The Country Network in addition to profiles in MusicRow Magazine, AntiMusic, The Digital Journal, The Country Note, Country in the UK, The Bend Bulletin, News Break, Broadway World, Center Stage Magazine, and more. The title track was also featured on the official Academy of Country Music’s New Music Friday Playlist alongside Jason Aldean, Reba McEntire, Maren Morris, Jake Owen, Thomas Rhett, Carrie Underwood, Keith Urban, and Chris Young.
Before banding together for this group, they garnered success across a variety of genres and built a brotherhood friendship spanning more than two decades. Lonnie is the band’s Grammy and Dove award-winning bassist and Gospel Music Hall Of Fame alum as a member of the Christian rock band Petra. He also co-wrote the #1 hit song If I Had To Die For Someone for Petra before becoming a founding member of the Grammy-nominated band Tait with his brother Chad. Chad is a Grammy-nominated drummer, Dove award winner,12-time BMI Music award winner, and recipient of the legendary BMI “Song Of The Year” award for his song To Ever Live Without Me. Lead vocalist and country songwriter Corey Parnell has shared stages with noteworthy artists Kris Kristofferson, Trace Adkins, and Lindsay Ell, and has co-written songs for Steve Fee and Shannon Bex of Danity Kane. His brother and lead guitarist Casey has recorded, written, and produced for Shannon Bex of MTV’s super group Danity Kane and Thunderstorm Artis of NBC’s The Voice.
This year, Century Drive will be releasing new singles as they continue to build audiences of fans across the globe.
Connect with Century Drive:
Website: centurydriveband.com
Facebook: @centurydriveband
Instagram: @centurydrive_band
Twitter: @Centurydrive
TikTok: @Centurydrive
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Spotify
Apple Music
