Country
Jazz Fest: Willie Nelson Cancels Set Due to COVID-19 Case in Band, Zac Brown Band Steps In
The Zac Brown Band will replace country legend Willie Nelson on the closing day of the New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival. Nelson canceled his Sunday (May 8) performance and postponed other shows after a positive case of the coronavirus in his band. The 89-year-old musician was slated to close the Gentilly Stage — the same stage where his son, Lukas Nelson, is performing earlier in the day with his band the Promise of the Real. The Zac Brown Band is a country band from Atlanta that’s best known for hits like “Chicken Fried,” “Highway 20 Ride,” “Knee Deep” and “Goodbye in Her Eyes.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Melissa Etheridge also canceled her scheduled performance after members of her crew tested positive for COVID-19. Mavis Staples...
Ashley Judd Honors Mother Naomi Judd in Mother’s Day Essay
Humanitarian, actor and writer Ashley Judd is honoring her late mother, Country Music Hall of Fame member and half of the country music duo The Judds, Naomi Judd, who died Saturday at age 76. Ashley penned an essay for USA Today about spending her first Mother’s Day without her mother, and about “making motherhood safe and healthy.” The actor is also a global goodwill ambassador for the United Nations Population Fund, dedicated to advancing sexual and reproductive health agency, as well as to ending gender-based violence. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news In the piece, Judd called her mother Naomi “a legend,” adding, “She was an artist and a storyteller, but she had to fight like hell to overcome the hand she was dealt, to earn her place in histo...
Zach Bryan & Luke Combs Make Inroads for Country on the Billboard Global 200
The May 7-dated Billboard Global 200 chart includes 21 debuts from a range of artists spanning genres and continents, including Argentine producers, South Korean pop singers and German rappers. Two of the new titles are from American country acts, as Zach Bryan‘s “Something in the Orange” and Luke Combs‘ “Tomorrow Me” arrive at Nos. 107 and 150, respectively. Bryan and Combs bring the latest of just 10 country hits to appear on the Global 200 so far this year. Both songs fall short of the Billboard Global Excl. U.S. chart, which is on trend for their genre as no country artist has yet appeared on the Excl. U.S. tally in 2022. “Orange” and “Tomorrow” yielded 9.6 million and 7.6 million global streams, respectively, in the week ending April 28, according to Luminate. For “Orange,” 92% of tho...
Kane Brown to Launch International Tour, Including Australia & New Zealand Shows: See the Dates
Kane Brown will launch his upcoming international tour, the Drunk or Dreaming Tour, on Sept. 17 in Melbourne, Australia. The tour, which will include shows in Australia, New Zealand, Canada, the UK and Europe, will also mark the first time Brown has toured Australia and New Zealand. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Blanco Brown, Chris Lane, Jessie James Decker and Restless Road will be opening select dates on the 23-show tour, which includes stops in Sydney, Auckland, Ottawa, London, Amsterdam, Munich, Toronto, and more. The tour stretches into 2023, wrapping with a show in Stockholm on Jan. 31, 2023. Pre-sale tickets go on-sale on Tuesday, May 10 at 10 a.m. local time for all Canada and UK/EU dates, while Australia and New Zealand ticke...
Dolly Parton on Rock Hall Induction: “I Guess I’m a Rock Star Now”
Dolly Parton made headlines when she bowed out of the running for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, claiming she didn’t feel she had earned the nomination. But when the Rock Hall stood its ground, officially inducting Parton into the 2022 class alongside Eminem, Duran Duran, Eurythmics, Carly Simon, Lionel Richie, and Pat Benatar, the beloved artist accepted her fate, proclaiming, “I guess I’m a rock star now.” “I feel honored that all the people that voted for me did,” Parton told Billboard. “I never meant to cause trouble or stir up any controversy. It was just always my belief — and I think millions of other people out there too — always thought the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame was just set up for the greatest people in the rock ‘n’ roll business, and I just didn’t feel like I really measur...
Tim Heidecker Unveils New Song “Punch in the Gut”: Stream
Tim Heidecker is back with “Punch in the Gut,” a new single from his forthcoming album, High School. Listen to the twangy track below. High School unsurprisingly chronicles the trials and tribulations of adolescence, and “Punch in the Gut” takes us back to the type of schoolyard fight scene you’d see in a network sitcom — with an unfortunate twist. “This one started while thinking about how Warren Zevon might approach a high school parking lot, high noon style showdown,” Heidecker explained in a statement. “But as I worked it, I recalled an incident where a friend of mine was visiting my school and was falsely accused of stealing. He was Black and it felt like profiling to me.” Heidecker describes the incident over chiming, back-and-forth guitars, singing about his friend’s doome...
Fans of Garth Brooks Cause Small Earthquake During LSU Concert
Since his version of “Callin’ Baton Rouge” doubles at LSU’s unofficial anthem, Garth Brooks must have expected his performance of the country standard at Tiger Stadium would get fans shaking in their boots. But even he couldn’t have predicted it would cause a literal earthquake captured by the school’s seismograph. Around 9:30 p.m. on Saturday night, Brooks teased the crowd of more than 100,000 by saying, “I have to ask you, Baton Rouge? Is it time?” Once the opening strains of the fiddle hit, the crowd proceeded to lose their shit while singing in unison, clapping their hands, and stomping their feet. In the process, they registered a small earthquake on a seismograph set up in anticipation of the performance. “The noise level in the stadium was insane!” wrote one attendee on Faceboo...
Austin’s Moody Center Arena, The ‘Best Building in NCAA History,’ Opens With George Strait and Willie Nelson
“I’ll never forget that,” said George Strait after singing “Pancho and Lefty” with fellow Texan and country music icon Willie Nelson on Friday night (April 29), a rare collaboration coordinated to celebrate the grand opening of Austin’s new Moody Center arena — a venue that the Oak View Group, Live Nation and the University of Texas, who partnered to create it, are hoping will be similarly unforgettable. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The arena, situated on the southeastern corner of Texas’ main campus, technically opened April 20 with a John Mayer concert, and hosted several acts (including Bon Jovi and Justin Bieber) prior to last Friday. But the official grand opening came with last weekend’s sold-out two-night celebration — with Nelson, St...
The Judds Inducted Into Country Music Hall of Fame a Day After Naomi Judd’s Death
The Judds and Ray Charles joined the Country Music Hall of Fame on Sunday (May 1) in a ceremony filled with tears, music and laughter, just a day after Naomi Judd died unexpectedly. The loss of Naomi Judd altered the normally celebratory ceremony, but the music played on, as the genre’s singers and musicians mourned Naomi Judd while also celebrating the four inductees: The Judds, Ray Charles, Eddie Bayers and Pete Drake. Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Vince Gill and many more performed their hit songs. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Naomi and Wynonna Judd were among the most popular duos of the 1980s, scoring 14 No. 1 hits during their nearly three-decade career. On the eve of her induction, the family said in a statement to The Associated Pre...
Naomi Judd Remembered at Emotional Country Music Hall of Fame Ceremony: ‘My Mama Loved You so Much’
Coming one day after Naomi Judd’s tragic death, the May 1 Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony confronted difficult emotions to usher in the Judds as one of four new members. Wynonna Judd, making her acceptance speech with sister Ashley Judd beside her, recalled kissing her mother and former singing partner’s forehead at 2:20 p.m. on April 30, then looked toward the future. “Though my heart’s broken,” she pledged, “I will continue to sing.” Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Ashley, rising above the family’s personal grief, congratulated the night’s other inductees – Ray Charles (“so iconic and archetypal”), steel guitarist Pete Drake and drummer Eddie Bayers – then addressed the dozen or so existing Hall of Fame members who attended the ...
Carrie Underwood Brings Out Axl Rose to Perform Guns N’ Roses Classics at Stagecoach 2022
Carrie Underwood headlined Stagecoach on Saturday night and surprised the crowd with none other than Guns N’ Roses frontman Axl Rose. In between hits like “Jesus, Take the Wheel” and “Cowboy Casanova,” the American Idol winner trotted out the rock star by launching into the band’s classic 1987 single “Sweet Child O’ Mine.” “Welcome to the greatest night of my life,” she said after running through the song’s first verse and chorus solo. “Give it up for Axl Rose!” The duo also performed “Paradise City” during the set, singing, “Take me down to the paradise city/ Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty/ Oh, won’t you please take me home/ Take me down to the paradise city/ Where the grass is green and the girls are pretty/ Take me home.” Both songs were released as singles off the ha...
How to Get Tickets to Luke Combs’ 2022 Tour Dates
Country music superstar Luke Combs has announced the “Middle of Somewhere Tour.” Taking place this fall, the tour will see Combs play shows in cities like Green Bay, Charleston, Louisville, and more. What’s more, tickets to Combs’ upcoming tour will be priced at pre-pandemic levels. “I know that the price of everything has been going up these last couple years and there’s nothing I can do about that, but the one thing I could do is set the price of my tickets,” Combs says. “So, what I wanted to do was keep the ticket prices the same as they were before the pandemic. I really really hope you guys will come out and check us out. Can’t wait to see you on the road!” Get tickets here, and read on for more details including pre-sale dates. What Is Luke Combs’ Next Tour? Advertisement Related Vid...
