DAVE'S DIARY - 29 APRIL 2019 - TIM MCGRAW FEATURE
TIM MCGRAW AFL GRAND FINAL ENTRÉE – NO BUNNIES OR CHICKENS
“Gravity is a fragile thing/ all of the work that you left in your roads/ all of the dreams and that all/ now you can finally see them/ they meet you at your destination/ now that you have made it so far.” - Gravity - Lori McKenna-Tim McGraw.
 |
Singing Louisiana born actor and pilot Tim McGraw has a simple answer for the AFL Grand Final music headliner.
McGraw, 51, will be in Australia on his third Australian tour during Grand Final week in September and declared he is available.
“I would love to do that, I have been to a semi-final in Melbourne ,” McGraw told Nu Country TV about a previous visit.
Tim was filmed wearing a Collingwood Magpies football jumper as guest of Collingwood president-multi-media personality Eddie McGuire.
“I think they played the Saints. The energy was fantastic. There were 80,000 people there. Put my name up, that would be great.”
Eddie might also recruit Tim for the coin toss after his recent Sydney snafu or as rabbit and terrine taster at the Essendon and Collingwood President's finals dinner.
It would seem $4.50 meat pies are a safer delicacy in the MCG inner and outer sanctums than entrees at the $725 a head day luncheons where booze was over-shadowed by the post-game dessert boos by the Bombers fans for Collingwood ANZAC medal winner and captain Scott Pendlebury.
Those boos were even louder than those spewed by Collingwood and Hawthorn philistines for born again Christian Geelong champion Gary Ablett Jr as he was resurrected and left younger hawks and magpies in his early season slipstream before and on Easter Monday.
Meanwhile back to McGraw who is eminently better qualified and tastier than previous headliner Meatloaf and other rock acts.
Tim played the father of Michael Oher, an offensive lineman drafted by Baltimore Ravens in the National Football League, in ward winning 2009 movie The Blind Side with Sandra Bullock cast as Oher's mother.
McGraw headlined a free outdoor concert on April 26 as part of the 2019 NFL Draft at the Draft Main Stage in downtown Nashville.
Gospel music great Ce-Ce Winans sang the National Anthem to kick off the NFL Draft on April 25.
More than 20 Nashville acts performed during three days of music on the Draft Main Stage and NFL Draft Experience presented by Oikos Triple Zero , a free admission football festival held outside Nissan Stadium.
McGraw serves on the Nashville Local Organizing Committee for the Nashville Draft , and integrated free live music to the Nashville Draft .
TIM KEEPS HIS EYES ON THE BALL AND SHACK
“Ain't it the sinner/ who gets all the grace sometimes/ ain't it the saint who picks up the pieces left behind/ yeah, and it's human to hurt the one/ you hurt the one you love the most/ and you can't find the sun.” - Keep Your Eyes On Me -Tim McGraw-Faith Hill-Shane McAnally-Lori McKenna.
 |
His support acts include Novocastrian Morgan Evans Tennessean singing spouse Kelsea Ballerini and Texan band Midland who recruited actor Dennis Quaid as its free-wheeling protagonist womaniser whose misdeeds ultimately catch up to him in the most colorful way possible for their latest video clip Mr Lonely.
“I'm a big fan of Kelsea, she's an incredible talent,” revealed McGraw.
“The records she is making are spot on. I have worked with Midland a couple of times - they did several tours with us.”
Drake White and The Big Fire , The McClymonts , Travis Collins, Andrew Swift, Judah Kelly, Reverie Lane , Sinead Burgess, Kaylee Bell and Jody Direen have been added to those shows.
Alabama native White is returning here for his second Australian tour after releasing his debut album Spark and touring with singing actor Willie Nelson, who turned 86 on April 29, singing pilot Dierks Bentley, Little Big Town , Zac Brown Band, Eric Church and Toby Keith.
McGraw has also been active as a songwriter on the eve of his tour.
Tim received fast response from Massachusetts mother of five Lori McKenna when he sent a song idea to the singer who shared two Grammys with him for his hit Humble & Kind .
They wrote Gravity for the Free Solo documentary and a duet with his singing spouse-actress Faith Hill on Keep Your Eyes On Me for 2017 movie The Shack starring British born Australian actor Sam Worthington and Octavia Spencer.
Free Solo is a National Geographic documentary about free soloist climber Alex Honnold as he prepared to climb the face of the 3,000-ft El Capitan in Yosemite National Park without a rope.
“It was the second movie thing we wrote,” explained McGraw after he collaborated with McKenna, Faith and Shane McAnally on Keep Your Eyes On Me for The Shack.
“Lori, Shane and I wrote the end credits song for The Shack as well. The day after I got a call and they asked me if I would like to write a song for Free Solo . I didn't have any knowledge of free climbing. When I got the draft of the movie I was inspired by Alex and his journey. He was so smart and intelligent, so driven and so focused, and so brave to do the thing that he does. It so inspired me and reminded me about life in general - the peaks and valleys we go through, that we try to achieve. It was tying the story together and expanding it out to life in general. I'm afraid of heights but it's funny I'm a pilot but when I'm flying I feel a lot better.”