So, it’s National Bagel Day!!!!…and if you can’t celebrate by eating your favourite today, there will be another National Day February 7th. I don’t know why there are two days, for Bagels, but I will not be a complainer!

I am wearing a new tee, Lyd purchased for me,. It is a turntable schematic, put together step by step.

I can’t name my fav. vinyl recording as there are too many.
Among my favourites , The Eagles, Greatest Hits, when listening, you will know every single word to the tunes. It’s no wonder, the record has become the number one best seller this past year.

I may head back to the new Clergue Park Skating Trail , while the weather is mild, as this will all change with temperature down to a ‘rude’ -17, with the wind chill -25 overnight!

A very cold weekend is in store for us, with a high temp of -22 by Sunday!

Here is some of the country stories I covered on the show today.

Dustin Lynch tells Billboard magazine that his new music wasn’t going to be more of the ‘same.’ “I had so much creative freedom on this album. I didn’t want to turn in an album that was just more of the same. I’ve had success in the past, and I could have just re-purposed what we had done before, but sonically, it’s out there and different.”

Luke Bryan tells Fox News that Elvis Presley has had a big influence on his career. “No matter whether I’m on tour or I’m at a big football stadium, I try to go out there with the same mentality. I try to perform my shows like Elvis is watching and try to do the best I can night in and night out and have a big ol’ performance.”

Kane Brown tells the NY Post that he may have the most diverse concerts in country music. “Everybody’s coming to my shows just because everybody feels like they can fit in. I have people of all colors, all races, people who are in same-sex relationships. And you know what, that’s just what the world should be.”

Midland’s Mark Wystrach tells Entertainment Focus that country music has an identity crisis. “When you create something, you hope it’s going to be well-received, but the most important thing is when you create something that you believe in it. It’s not always the case, I feel like, with a lot of artists. Sometimes I feel like there’s been a lot of music that’s disposable and it’s written under the guise of a gimmick, and I think the artist is trying to reach a certain demographic or make money. I think that the quality of music in country has really been suffering, to be honest with you. I think there is a little bit of that mentality.”

Chris Stapleton tells Vulture magazine that he is NOT a country music outsider. “Do I feel like what I’m doing or maybe some other guys are doing, we’re outliers of the establishment? I can’t speak to what other guys feel about it, but it’s just music, man. Whatever list you want to go through with mainstream country artists, I’ve probably written songs for or toured with them. Now does what I do sound different than what some people are doing in ‘mainstream’ country? Yeah, some of it does … that’s just artistry and those are the things people hopefully gravitate towards for any of us. Some semblance of uniqueness. I really get tired of people wanting to make something larger of it, like there’s some grand battle going on. There’s not.”

Scotty McCreery tells The Daily Press that he has matured a lot since his “American Idol” days. “I got started so young, and it was natural for the first album to sound the way it did. But my music is going to grow up with me. I can tell you this: It’s tough for me to look back at those old ‘Idol’ videos. I see all these quirky things I would do, and I just go, ‘Oh my God, what were you doing up there?’ I’ve grown a good amount since then as a performer.”