Blake Shelton‘s Back To The Honky Tonk Tour included a stop in Austin, Texas, so it only seemed appropriate that Shelton would perform “Austin,” his debut single, and first No. 1 hit. Shelton shared a clip of his performance on social media.
“Austin,” which also was certified multi-platinum, was released in 2001. The song, written by Kristi Manna and David Kent, is from Shelton’s eponymous freshman record.
When in Austin… #backtothehonkytonk pic.twitter.com/7xyoBlkuYP
— Blake Shelton (@blakeshelton) March 2, 2024
Shelton is back at radio with “Purple Irises,” a duet with his wife, Gwen Stefani. The song is likely part of Stefani’s next project.
“We love this song so much,” Shelton said when the song was released. “It’s a song Gwen wrote with a couple of friends of hers, and I fell in love with it the first time I heard it. She knew there was something different about it and asked me to come in and sing with her. My longtime producer, Scott Hendricks, produced it, and Gwen’s been wanting to work with him for a long time now, and it’s turned into this really cool and different song that can live anywhere.”
“Purple Irises” was no doubt inspired by Stefani’s time on Shelton’s Oklahoma ranch, where she has discovered her love of gardening.
“’Purple Irises’ is a song that comes from the idea that when you plant something you are planting hope and watching love grow,” Stefani says. “Weathering all the different seasons of growth. We are in this together, we planted the seeds together and we are growing together.”
Shelton’s Back to the Honky Tonk Tour wraps up on March 29, one day before his star-studded All for the Hall concert, featuring Vince Gill, Ronnie Dunn, Wade Hayes, Kristin Chenoweth, The Swon Brothers and more. Proceeds from the event, held at Oklahoma’s BOK Center, will benefit the Country Music Hall of Fame.
“I can’t think of a better place than Oklahoma for the next All for the Hall show,” Shelton said when the event was first announced. “Oklahoma and country music are synonymous, and members of the Country Music Hall of Fame include some of our most iconic stars, from Ronnie Dunn to Garth, Reba and Vince Gill, to name a few. I’m thrilled to be hosting this show in my home state!”
Shelton is also busy with his Ole Red franchise, which just opened its sixth location in Las Vegas.
“I’ve seen this phase of the process enough times to know that I can picture it now and there’s similarities to all the Ole Reds, and there’s some similarities to… Nashville with the balcony that looks down on the stage and the bar placement and all that stuff,” Shelton told People, when the massive property — the largest of all of his Ole Red locations — was being built..
“But it’s also just so much bigger,” he added. “I mean, this is a giant, and so I don’t know that I would say I’m emotional, but it is overwhelming, and it’s hard for me to take it all in right now and just accept that this is really happening and we’re almost to the finish line.”
Tickets for the All for the Hall concert are available now at Ticketmaster. Find all of the remaining dates on Shelton’s Back To The Honky Tonk Tour, which includes Dustin Lynch and Emily Ann Roberts, at BlakeShelton.com.
