Lonestar Announce New EP, Release "You Make Loving Fun" Rendition
LONESTAR
RELEASE IMPASSIONED RENDITION OF FLEETWOOD MAC’S
“YOU MAKE LOVING FUN”
WITH OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO
MICK FLEETWOOD GIVES HIS ENDORSEMENT OF THEIR TAKE ON THE CLASSIC SONG
ANNOUNCE NEW FIVE-SONG EP
ICONIC, VOL. 1
SLATED FOR RELEASE SPRING 2024
Above: “You Make Loving Fun” Single Artwork
Credit: TapeSlate Productions
L-R: Dean Sams, Drew Womack, Michael Britt, Keech Rainwater
“Lonestar is still going strong…”
– Pam Windsor, Forbes, March 28, 2023
NASHVILLE, TN (March 1, 2024) — Lonestar, the highly acclaimed and multi-award-winning country group, release their impassioned rendition of “You Make Loving Fun,” the notable Fleetwood Mac hit, today. The song is paired with a vibrant music video — produced and directed by TapeSlate Productions — and a glowing endorsement from Mick Fleetwood who says, “Always a compliment to hear…our songs! Christine will be smiling!”
In addition, the band have officially announced that their new EP, Iconic, Vol. 1, will be released late spring of this year (exact date TBA). The five-song collection is the band’s thoughtful homage to some of the industry’s legendary female vocalists.
“You Make Loving Fun” arrived with early praise from Taste of Country who raved, “Lonestar offer up stellar Fleetwood Mac cover,” while American Songwriter spotlighted the single saying, “Lonestar pumped it up and added their own country-rock flair which turned it into a completely different vibe.” Adding: “Where Christine McVie’s performance is subdued and soft, the band’s new version is loud, fun, and celebratory...overall, ‘You Make Loving Fun’ is already a great song, but Lonestar injected it with their infectious energy and made it their own. It’s an homage to the original, while also being unique enough to create a completely different listening experience.”
When recording another band’s iconic song, there is always that delicate balance between giving fans what they love about a song yet offering them something new. With “You Make Loving Fun,” Lonestar successfully walks that musical tightrope.
Stream “You Make Loving Fun” HERE.
Watch / share the official music video below.
“We changed the arrangement to make it more of a country song,” vocalist Drew Womack says about Lonestar’s approach to the Fleetwood Mac song, which was written and sung by the late Christine McVie. Adding: “it flows really nicely as a country rock song.”
“There were certain parts where we were like, ‘Alright we have to stay true to this section of the song because people will expect that,’” keyboardist Dean Sams admits. “So, there were certain parts that we tried to remain true to the original, but always keeping in mind we’re Lonestar and if we were going to do it exactly like the original artist, would there really be a point in doing it?”
Sams adds: “‘You Make Loving Fun’ is such an iconic song from an iconic band and Christine McVie, she wrote the thing and obviously sang it as well. With her passing, I feel like this put even more pressure on us to make this song great. I just love our version of it! It doesn’t have all that keyboard stuff that’s going on from the original, it’s very Lonestar-ified, if that’s even a word. It sounds really cool, but still sounds modern and like Lonestar.”
The inspiration for Iconic, Vol. 1. came during soundcheck when Womack sang Cyndi Lauper’s “Time After Time.” “I’ve always loved that song and the fact that he just pulled it out, we were like, ‘Dude, you can sing anything!’ He has no limitations as a vocalist,” guitarist Michael Britt enthuses. “Then somebody just said, ‘hey, why don’t we do an EP of female artist songs?’ Somebody suggested everybody just pick their favorite and we’d go from there. It was so organic.”
ICONIC, VOL. 1 TRACKLISTING:
“Rolling in the Deep” (originally by Adele)
“Try” (originally by Pink)
“Time After Time” (originally by Cindy Lauper)
“Here Comes the Rain Again” (originally by Eurythmics)
“You Make Loving Fun” (originally by Fleetwood Mac)
Lonestar is no stranger to chart-topping hits. Over the course of their 30 plus years together, the award-winning band has scored 10 No. 1 singles, including “Amazed,” — spending eight weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Country Chart, becoming a huge crossover hit, climbing to No. 1 on Billboard Hot 100 — and “I’m Already There,” which held steady at the top for six weeks. Michael Britt (Guitar), Keech Rainwater (Drums), Dean Sams (Keyboard) and Drew Womack (Vocals) definitely know a thing or two about delivering impactful songs. In fact, they took fans down memory lane in 2023 by re-recording their No. 1 hits on the album TEN to 1.
“As a band, we are riding high,” Sams concludes. “We’ve had the two biggest touring years of our career. It feels new again and the fans have just given us a rebirth. We are more energized. We are better players and singers. Our show is by far the best show we’ve put out on the road and I’m really excited for the folks that are coming to see us in 2024.” Click here to stay up to date with all of Lonestar’s tour dates and festival appearances.
LONESTAR ONLINE:
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ABOUT LONESTAR:
Having celebrated their 30th anniversary in 2022, the ACM, CMA and Billboard award-winning group Lonestar is composed of Dean Sams, Michael Britt, Keech Rainwater and Drew Womack. Lonestar has amassed RIAA-certified sales in excess of ten million albums since their national launch in 1995 and achieved ten #1 country hits including “No News,” “Come Crying To Me,” “I’m Already There,” “What About Now,” and their crossover smash “Amazed” (which was also #1 on the Billboard Hot 100, the first record since 1983’s “Islands in the Stream,” to top both charts). The band’s awards include 1996 ACM “Top New Vocal Group,” 1999 ACM “Single of The Year” for “Amazed” (the song also won “Song of the Year”), 2001 CMA “Vocal Group of the Year” and 2002 ACM “Top Vocal Group.”
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