Country
Brooks & Dunn Are Rebooting For Their First Arena Tour in Over a Decade
Brooks & Dunn will return to arenas for the first time in over a decade with their Live Nation-produced Reboot 2022 Tour, which will launch in Evansville, Ind., on May 5. The trek builds on the duo’s 2021 amphitheater tour, and will wrap June 25 in Detroit. The trek will include a stop at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on June 18, as well as stops in San Antonio; Grand Rapids, Mich.; Savannah, Ga.; and more. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Openers for the tour will include King Calaway, Dillon Carmichael, Tenille Townes, Morgan Wade, Tyler Braden, Gabby Barrett, Jordan Davis, Riley Green, Walker Hayes, Jon Pardi and more. Two of these artists will take on the supporting slots at each tour date. “Last year we fired up the buses and ‘let it roll’ again,” shared Kix Brooks in a ...
Breland Joins Warner Music Nashville Roster
Warner Music Nashville has teamed with Atlantic Records and Bad Realm Records to bring singer-songwriter Breland to the WMN roster. Breland is in the top 15 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart with his feature on Dierks Bentley’s single “Beers on Me” with HARDY, and will debut his new song “Praise The Lord” at the 57th annual ACM Awards on March 7. Breland is the second country artist to be recognized as part of Amazon Music’s Breakthrough Artist program. He’s on the road opening shows for Russell Dickerson. He becomes the latest in a long line of acts that pop divisions are partnering with their Nashville counterparts to work and vice versa. WMN and Warner Records’ pop division already work together on Gabby Barrett and Dan + Shay to garner pop airplay on certain releases. Universal Musi...
Ernest to Release ‘Flower Shops (The Album)’ in March: ‘I Wanted This Album to Be Bulletproof’ (Exclusive)
In 2020, Big Loud artist-writer Ernest (full name: Ernest Keith Smith) was a writer on five Top 10 songs, including chart-toppers for Morgan Wallen (“More Than My Hometown”) and Chris Lane (“Big, Big Plans”). Last year, Ernest co-wrote “Breaking Up Was Easy in the ‘90s” another chart-topper for Sam Hunt. Ernest also contributed to 11 songs on Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album, which became the best-selling album of 2021. Explore Explore Ernest See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news This year, Ernest is breaking through for his own artistry, with a top 20 hit of his own on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with the breakup-and-makeup anthem “Flower Shops,” featuring Wallen. On March 11, Ernest follow this success with the release of Flower Sho...
Morgan Wallen Returns to No. 1 on Country Airplay Chart With ‘Sand in My Boots’
Morgan Wallen‘s “Sand in My Boots” reaches the summit of Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart dated Feb. 26. In the tracking week ending Feb. 20, the song, released on Republic/Big Loud Records, increased by 4% to 24.9 million in audience, according to MRC Data. “I always felt this song was extremely special, timeless even,” Wallen tells Billboard of the ballad, which Ashley Gorley, HARDY and Josh Osborne co-wrote. “None of this would be possible without the incredible team that works behind the scenes. I’m blessed to work with great writers, producers, musicians and my Big Loud family. Thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who continues to believe in this music we are so blessed to create.” The 28-year-old Wallen, from Sneedville, Tenn., achieves his fifth Country Airplay leader....
Sam Hunt’s Pregnant Wife Hannah Lee Fowler Files for Divorce, Citing Adultery: Report
Sam Hunt‘s pregnant wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, has reportedly filed for divorce after five years of marriage. Fowler alleges that the country music star, 37, is “guilty of inappropriate marital conduct” and “guilty of adultery,” according to court documents obtained by TMZ. Prior to the report, it was not publicly known that Hunt and Fowler, who married in April 2017, were expecting a child together. The legal docs, filed in Tennessee, reportedly reveal that Fowler is pregnant and due in May. Explore Explore Sam Hunt See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Billboard has reached out to Hunt’s representatives for comment. Fowler is asking for alimony, child support and primary custody of their forthcoming child, according to TMZ. “The husband is guilty of such cru...
How Taylor Swift Inspired Priscilla Block to Quit Her Job and Pursue Music
An unexpected run-in with Taylor Swift made a huge impact on Priscilla Block‘s life. The rising country singer behind “My Bar” was just about ready to leave Nashville when she had a chance meeting with Swift — while she was actually wearing a Taylor Swift T-shirt. “I’m about a year into town and just crumbling, day by day, and I call my sister one day and I was like, ‘Hey, I have no clue what I’m doing out here.’ It was just the whole ‘If you come home, you didn’t fail. It’s OK,’” Block, whose debut album Welcome to the Block Party just arrived, recalled on an episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show last week. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news She continued, “And that day, Taylor Swift was driving by. I was leaving work, and I was wear...
Chris Stapleton Adds to 2022 “All American Road Show” Tour
Chris Stapleton has extended his long-running North American headlining tour, “All-American Road Show,” with dozens of new dates through 2022. While the trek kicks off on March 17th at the Houston Rodeo, the 25 added shows include stops throughout June, July, August, and October in cities like Los Angeles, San Diego, Cleveland, Detroit, Tampa and New Orleans. Stapleton’s “All-American Road Show” will also feature a long list of special guests throughout its run, including appearances by Willie Nelson, Yola, Margo Price, Sheryl Crow, Elle King, The Highwomen, Mavis Staples, George Strait, and more. Tickets for the latest round of shows go on sale next Friday, Feb. 25th, at 10 a.m. local time, with various pre-sales for the country star’s fan club in the days before. Book your seat here...
Kelly Clarkson Gets Her ‘Boogie’ on for This Brooks & Dunn Cover: Watch
Kelly Clarkson invites you to get down, turn around and go to town in her new cover of Brooks & Dunn’s “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.” Reconnecting with her country roots Friday (Feb. 18), the Texas-born artist showed off her twang in the newest installment of “Kellyoke,” The Kelly Clarkson Show‘s hit cover series. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news As usual, The Voice coach was accompanied by her band Y’all, who went the full nine yards with lots of honky-tonk piano and pedal steel guitar, played by an aptly cowboy-hatted musician. “Boot Scootin’ Boogie,” while written by Ronnie Dunn, was originally released by Asleep at the Wheel in 1990. Brooks & Dunn picked it up soon after, and their version spent four weeks atop the Billboard Hot Countr...
Willie Nelson Cancels Indoor Concerts Over COVID-19 Precautions
If you want to catch Willie Nelson on tour this year, you might have to do it outside: The outlaw country legend has canceled a handful of his indoor headlining concerts this spring out of an abundance of caution regarding COVID-19. “We are canceling our indoor headline shows until the COVID situation improves, as the safety of the audience and Willie and his touring personnel are of the utmost importance,” Nelson’s representative said in a statement. “When we are able, we will look to make up shows when possible.” According to his publicist (via Billboard), all of Nelson’s March shows have been canceled except for his Luck Reunion show on March 17th, which he holds each year at his own ranch outside of Austin, Texas. Nelson is thankfully vaccinated, but considering he’s nearing his 89th b...
Miranda Lambert’s MuttNation Foundation Gifts $20K to Animal Shelters
Miranda Lambert is spreading the love this week in honor of Valentine’s Day. The “If I Was a Cowboy” singer’s MuttNation Foundation is helping out 20 pet rescue shelters across the country, in states including California, Maine, Missouri, Tennessee, Texas, Wisconsin and more. The foundation will give a $1,000 grant to each shelter. MuttNation also launched an interactive “Mutt Match” quiz to help match people who want to help pets who have a harder time getting adopted, including larger dogs, special-needs dogs and senior dogs. Explore See latest videos, charts and news Lambert began volunteering at animal shelters when she was a teenager and has five rescue dogs, along with numerous cats, rabbits and horses. “Shelter pets – especially the ones that are hardest to get adopted – and the peo...
Luke Bryan Soars Over Crowd, Sips Margaritas & Delivers Hits at Electrifying Las Vegas Residency Debut
Luke Bryan knows how to make a memorable exit. The country music star closed the sold-out opening night of his new Las Vegas residency by soaring 45 feet in the air on a catwalk at Resorts World Theatre. The stunning final moments of the 100-minute performance on Friday night (Feb. 11) brought Bryan eye-to-eye with the 5,000-person crowd as he ascended the levels of the AEG/Concerts West venue. The singer appeared to be feeling the good vibes — and in a particularly cheeky moment, he allowed an audience member to as well, with a butt grab — before throwing on a sequin-adorned jacket and making an ascent to the top levels of the theater. Explore Explore Luke Bryan See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Heavy on the booty shaking for which he is known, Bryan li...
Backstreet Boys’ Nick Carter Talks Bonding With Jimmie Allen Over Fatherhood While Making ‘Easy’
Musical collaborations have dominated Billboard’s country music charts over the past year. Now, singer-songwriter and Backstreet Boys member Nick Carter is throwing his hat in the ring with “Easy,” his own pop-country collaboration alongside country hitmaker and reigning CMA new artist of the year winner Jimmie Allen. Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news “I grew up listening to all kinds of music, including country music,” Carter tells Billboard. “With the direction it’s heading, and how it’s crossing borders and boundaries, Jimmie was one person who I was listening to and I love his music.” Last year, Carter was in Las Vegas working on the track with producer Vic “BillboardKiller” Martin, when Carter mentioned that he was a fan of Allen’s music and...
