Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich and their band of musical brothers, the MuzikMafia, sweep the nation in an adventurous new original series, MuzikMafia TV premiering Saturday, Jan. 15 at 10:00-11:00 PM, ET/PT* on CMT. Viewers can catch a ride with the diverse and eclectic musical posse as it travels coast-to-coast headlining its first stadium tour. The real-life adventure of MuzikMafia TV is peppered with musical performances and celebrity guests including Tim McGraw, Usher, Willie Nelson, Keith Urban, Heart, DMC, Kanye West and others. 
MuzikMafia TV goes into the seldom seen backstage world, from load-out to encores to the glitz and glamour of awards shows, as the vulnerabilities of artistic personalities erupt. In addition to heavy hitters Gretchen Wilson and Big & Rich, the MuzikMafia’s cast of characters includes Cowboy Troy, a “cowboy rapper” from Dallas; Two Foot Fred who leads the pack onstage; songwriters James Otto and Jon Nicholson; visual artist Rachel Kice whose rhythmic strokes on canvas salute the music; blues guitar wizard Dean Hall, son of country legend Tom T. Hall; and others. As Big & Rich’s “Big” Kenny Alphin puts it, the tour is “music without prejudice,” no holds barred.
Big Kenny says the now famous artist alliance had a humble beginning. “It was just a way for us to help each other out and try to do our own thing and even though each of us was, and is, a little bit different, that’s what makes it all great. And now what’s so beautiful is, years later after starting this thing — Musically Artistic Friends In Alliance (MAFIA) — we’re actually able to go out and tour together.”
The MuzikMafia TV adventure begins as the convoy pulls out of Nashville and travels cross-country. Discover how road life shifts the intimate dynamics of the group. Big Kenny is in intense pain from a car accident; Otto works out to prepare for his upcoming solo launch; and the group rides Harleys in Mexico to unwind.
In keeping with the Muzik Mafia’s pledge of musical diversity, The New York Times said the MuzikMafia tour “paid tribute to rednecks and rappers, divas and down-home types, piety and partying.” The Washington Post calls the MuzikMafia “a tight-knit collection of maverick talents intent on giving Nashville a swift kick in the gitalong. Think Willie Nelson’s ruckus-raising Outlaws for the 70s — then add a dwarf.”
MuzikMafia TV launches Saturday, Jan. 15 at 10:00 ET/PT* with a one-hour episode that delves into the unique personalities and unusual history of the movement, as well as incredible barroom acoustic covers of Big and Rich’s “Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy” and Gretchen Wilson’s chilling rendition of Heart’s classic “Straight On.” CMT takes you behind the scenes on Wilson’s tour bus for an all-access party as the group unwinds after their first show. The excitement is hampered when mixed reviews from the New York press start rolling in, and tension mounts as the MuzikMafia argue over how to improve the show before the next gig.
source: CMT
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