Country
First Country: Zach Bryan, Zac Brown Band, Cody Johnson, LeAnn Rimes & More
First Country is a compilation of the best new country songs, videos & albums that dropped this week. Zach Bryan, “Summertime Blues“ [embedded content] Just months after topping the Billboard Country Albums chart with his whopping 34-track album American Heartbreak in May, this prolific, country and Americana-synthesizing artist returns with the nine-track EP Summertime Blues. The slow-burning, demo-like title track makes great use of Bryan’s craggy, weathered voice and the song finds the singer-songwriter staring into a summer sunset, musing that he has no one to share it with as the summer months stretch long before him. This year, Bryan has had successful sets at Stagecoach Country Music Festival and at its newly-minted, more Americana-leaning cousin, Palomino Festival. Meanwhile, h...
How to Get Tickets to Reba McEntire’s 2022 Tour
Reba McEntire is headed out on tour this fall for the live “Reba: Live In Concert” experience and tickets are sure to fly with 17 dates spread across the United States. In a statement announcing the tour, McEntire shared her excitement, saying: “I can’t wait to see everyone out on the road again this fall. We had so much fun in the spring and I’m ready to get back out there with my buddy Terri Clark!” Get tickets here, and read on for more details including pre-sale dates. What Is Reba McEntire’s Next Tour? “Reba: Live in Concert” takes the beloved country star and actor on a whole new set of cities following her spring 2022 trek that fulfilled her rescheduled 2020 tour. The new circuit kicks off in Lafayette, Louisiana on October 13th, then hits Fort Worth, Texas and Oklahoma City before ...
Morgan Wallen’s ‘Wasted on You’ Ties for His Longest Reign on Country Airplay Chart
Morgan Wallen matches his longest command on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, as “Wasted on You” leads the list (dated July 16) for a third week. The song ties “Whiskey Glasses,” his second of six No. 1s on the ranking, which ruled for three weeks starting in June 2019. His other No. 1s led for a week each. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “Wasted” drew 28.3 million in audience (up less than 1%) in the week ending July 10, according to Luminate. Meanwhile, 18 songs have landed their first weeks atop Country Airplay so far in 2022, and “Wasted” marks just the second to dominate for as many as three weeks. It equals the No. 1 run of Jason Aldean’s “Trouble With a Heartbreak,” starting on the chart dated May 28. [embedded content] “Wasted...
Willie Nelson Adds More Dates to Outlaw Music Festival Tour 2022
Wille Nelson is taking his Outlaw Music Festival Tour to even wider pastures. Today, the Red-Headed Stranger has announced that he’s expanding the 2022 iteration of his concert tour through October, featuring headlining performances from himself as well as appearances from The Avett Brothers, Black Pumas, and more. The newly-added Outlaw dates will go down October 14th, 15th, and 16th in Mountain View, Wheatland, and Irvine, California, respectively. In addition to the previously mentioned artists, each of the three evenings will include performances from Larkin Poe and Particle Kid. This brings Nelson’s annual US trek to 22 dates total, with the initial batch of shows announced back in March. Those dates will begin in June, with performances from Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Nathaniel R...
Brandi Carlile Taps Maren Morris, Sara Bareilles, Wynonna for Girls Just Wanna Weekend Festival 2023
Brandi Carlile’s Girls Just Wanna Weekend festival will return to the Hard Rock Hotel in Riviera Maya, Mexico next year. Set for January 9th through 13th, 2023, the fourth installment of the women-fronted destination concert will feature Maren Morris, Sara Bareilles, Wynonna Judd, and more. Lucius, Yola, Allison Russell, Joy Oladokun, Ruby Amanfu, Natalie Hemby, Brandy Clark, and Brittney Spencer round off the Girls Just Wanna Weekend lineup. Carlile will, of course, headline the event. Guests will have the choice of staying at either the Hard Rock Hotel or the adults-only Barceló Maya Riviera Resort for the all-inclusive destination festival. Packages offer guests such perks as unlimited drinks and access to spas and fitness centers, while those who choose to stay at the Barceló Maya Rivi...
Reba McEntire Announces 2022 Tour Dates
Reba McEntire has mapped out a string of Fall 2022 tour dates. Taking the country star across 17 cities, it will take place in October and November with Canadian singer Terri Clark serving as the opener. The trek kicks off on October 13th in Lafayette, Louisiana, with subsequent dates in Nashville, St. Louis, Austin, Memphis, and Kansas City before winding down in Wichita, Kansas on November 19th. See the full itinerary below. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 15th at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster. A pre-sale will precede the public on-sale on Thursday, Jul 14th (use code ELECTRIC). Advertisement Related Video McEntire last released the gospel album My Chains Are Gone this past March. She recently joined the cast for Season 3 of David E. Kelley’s crime drama Big Sky as Sun...
Reba McEntire Announces 2022 Tour Dates
Reba McEntire has mapped out a string of Fall 2022 tour dates. Taking the country star across 17 cities, it will take place in October and November with Canadian singer Terri Clark serving as the opener. The trek kicks off on October 13th in Lafayette, Louisiana, with subsequent dates in Nashville, St. Louis, Austin, Memphis, and Kansas City before winding down in Wichita, Kansas on November 19th. See the full itinerary below. Tickets go on sale Friday, July 15th at 10:00 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster. A pre-sale will precede the public on-sale on Thursday, Jul 14th (use code ELECTRIC). Advertisement Related Video McEntire last released the gospel album My Chains Are Gone this past March. She recently joined the cast for Season 3 of David E. Kelley’s crime drama Big Sky as Sun...
Chart Rewind: In 1987, George Strait’s ‘Texas’ Was No. 1 in the U.S.A.
On July 11, 1987, George Strait‘s “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. The song was written by husband-and-wife team Sanger D. and Lyndia J. Shafer (fun fact, given the song’s storyline: she was his fourth bride) and Jimmy Bowen produced it. “Texas” was released as the second of three Hot Country Songs No. 1s from Strait’s album Ocean Front Property, in between the title track and “Am I Blue.” It became Strait’s 11th of his record 44 leaders, which span from “Fool Hearted Memory” in 1982 through “River of Love” in 2009. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, which launched in 1990, Strait became the first artist to tally 100 entries with the 2019 debut of “The Weigh...
Chart Rewind: In 1987, George Strait’s ‘Texas’ Was No. 1 in the U.S.A.
On July 11, 1987, George Strait‘s “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” hit No. 1 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. The song was written by husband-and-wife team Sanger D. and Lyndia J. Shafer (fun fact, given the song’s storyline: she was his fourth bride) and Jimmy Bowen produced it. “Texas” was released as the second of three Hot Country Songs No. 1s from Strait’s album Ocean Front Property, in between the title track and “Am I Blue.” It became Strait’s 11th of his record 44 leaders, which span from “Fool Hearted Memory” in 1982 through “River of Love” in 2009. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, which launched in 1990, Strait became the first artist to tally 100 entries with the 2019 debut of “The Weigh...
Lindsay Ell Trolls Fox & Friends by Speaking About Women’s Rights: Watch
Country pop singer Lindsay Ell performed at Fox & Friends’ All-American Summer Concert Series on Friday, and in a pre-show interview, the artist dove into a talking point not normally championed on the conservative network: women’s rights. In an all-around awkward conversation, Ell was chatting with Fox & Friends hosts Brian Kilmeade, Steve Doocy, and Rachel Campos-Duffy when Campos-Duffy first asked the Canadian singer about Shania Twain, a country pop trailblazer and fellow Canuck (The irony of inviting a Canadian singer to an “All-American” concert series is not lost on us). After Ell praised Twain’s ability to be “feminine and sexy and strong at the same time,” Campos-Duffy, grasping at straws in an attempt to be transphobic, went on to reference Twain’s hit “Man! I Feel Like a...
How Can Country Music Better Support Black Artists & Fans?
Banning Confederate flags at country music concerts, dedicating nights to Black performers at Nashville’s Lower Broadway bars and instating a basic monthly stipend for Black artists in Nashville — these are some of the Black Music Action Coalition’s suggestions to better support Black talent in the primarily white country music community. While country music festivals including Stagecoach and CMA Fest have specifically banned the use of Confederate flags at their festivals, BMAC urges other country music festivals and events to follow suit. “It’s important that we understand that these symbols that country music has affiliated itself with, they are racist in origin and in current practice,” says BMAC board member Naima Cochrane, who has been a contributing writer to Billboard. “It’s not OK...
Garth Brooks Says ‘The Anthology Part II’ Is Coming This Year
Garth Brooks will release the second installment of his anthology book and CD series later this year. During an episode of Brooks’ Facebook Live series Inside Studio G on June 27, he revealed that The Anthology II: The Next Five Years will likely release by November. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “We got the green light. We’re ready,” the country star told listeners during the livestream. “This thing is almost 300 pages with almost 280 something photographs in it, which is crazy.” The book and CD set will include six CDs that will feature previously unreleased songs, including a duet version he and wife/fellow artist Trisha Yearwood recorded of Bob Dylan’s “To Make You Feel My Love.” “Miss Yearwood started this conversation with us ab...
