Country
Sturgill Simpson Cancels Remaining Tour Dates Due to Vocal Cord Injury
Bad news for those planning to catch Sturgill Simpson on tour this year: The country musician has cancelled all his upcoming shows, saying he hemorrhaged his vocal cords and is unable to sing for the time being. “Turns out I did in fact unfortunately hemorrhage /rupture my vocal chords after all,” Simpson wrote on Instagram, alongside a gnarly-looking photo of the diagnosis. “I am currently getting the best treatment available and should fully recover but its gonna be a long hot minute before I can return to stage.” Simpson was in the middle of touring in support of his most recent album, including residencies at both New York City’s Webster Hall and Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. “I just wanted to turn this thing back on for about 15 seconds to say Im sorry to everyone that had tickets to ...
Man of Steel: Will Paul Franklin’s 30th CMA Nomination Translate To His First Win?
“I gave up on winning,” he says candidly. But there’s no malice or self-pity in his response. At age 67, he’s still a first-call studio musician, playing on such recent hits as Thomas Rhett’s “Country Again,” Kane Brown’s “Homesick,” Brett Young’s “Catch” and Justin Moore’s “Why We Drink.” When Franklin listens to country radio, he rarely goes an hour without hearing himself, and that confirmation of his daily successes in the studio trenches outstrips the once-a-year status as an also-ran. “Everybody that gets nominated wants to win, of course,” he says. “But I can’t believe at my age that I’m still being nominated. That’s flattering.” Franklin’s absence from the winner’s circle may have something to ...
Chart Rewind: In 1991, Garth Brooks Lassoed History With ‘Ropin’ the Wind’
After moving 300,000 in its first week, Ropin’ the Wind has sold 9.6 million to date. Remarkably, Brooks, then 29, achieved these feats without the benefit of pop crossover airplay. Rather, it was his electric live concerts and a string of modern country classics from his first two albums, Garth Brooks and No Fences, that helped rocket his third album to a No. 1 launch and propel country radio to new ratings highs in the early ’90s. Ropin’ the Wind, which yielded five Hot Country Songs top 10 singles, including the No. 1s “Shameless” (written by Billy Joel), “What She’s Doing Now” and “The River,” became the first of nine No. 1 albums that Brooks has landed on the Billboard 200. With 73.2 million albums sold in the U.S. since 1991...
Jana Kramer on Working with Richard Marx and Her Upcoming Lifetime Holiday Movie
Listen via Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Google Podcasts | Stitcher | Pocket Casts | Radio Public | RSS Jana Kramer sits down with Kyle Meredith to talk about her latest single, “Voices,” and her new Lifetime Original Holiday Movie, The Holiday Fix Up. The singer/actress discusses her newest track’s spotlight on self-esteem and mental health, and how she finds herself in a transitional state of self-improvement. That all comes as the media and tabloids amplify her every move, especially her recent divorce. Advertisement Related Video Kramer also emphasizes the importance of her work/life balance while raising two children, how they’ve influenced her music, and having more control as an independent artist while she readies w...
14 Things That Changed (or Didn’t) at Farm Aid 2021
Here are 14 things that changed — or didn’t — at Farm Aid 2021. Neil Young bowed out Citing his concerns with “the COVID pandemic surging,” Neil Young announced Aug. 18 that he would not join his fellow Farm Aid board members — Nelson, John Mellencamp, Dave Matthews and Margo Price — at this year’s show, after playing every Farm Aid since it launched in 1985. “I don’t want to let anybody down, but still can’t shake the feeling that it might not be safe for everyone,” Young said in a statement. “While I respect Willie, John and Dave’s decisions to stick with it and play, I am not of the same mind. It is a tough call.” He added: “We will be back. There is much work to do together.” Proof of vaccination or COVID tests were required Farm Aid in mid-August announced...
Ashley McBryde Recovering After Horseback Riding Accident That Left Her With a Concussion and Unable to Walk ‘Without Assistance’
“A few of us went to ride horses on a ranch in Montana before the scheduled show on Wednesday,” McBryde wrote in a note posted to her Facebook page and her Instagram Stories. “I’m not an inexperienced horseman by any means, I grew up riding a fair amount. The horses we were on are ridden a lot and cared for each day. Very good horses.” She continued, “The older mare I was riding was determined to go faster than the pack. Eventually I swapped onto a younger mare named Jenny. We got along famously. We crossed a suspended bridge without any problems. We stayed with the others. We crossed a river that was chest deep to her with no problems. Even up the embankment with no unexpected jumps. On our last little journey back to their barn, something spooked her. ...
Camila Cabello, Billie Eilish & More Urge Entertainment Execs to Demand Congressional Action on Climate Change
The artists have joined forces with the NRDC Action Fund in an effort to urge the CEOs to use their voices and call on Congress to pass the most ambitious climate change plan in U.S. history this fall, President Biden’s Build Back Better agenda. In a statement, Cabello — who initiated the effort along with the NRDC — said, “Climate change is threatening our communities and future — the time to act is now to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Entertainment companies have the opportunity to show leadership and push Congress to enact bold action on climate. This is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to protect our communities, create a just transition away from fossil fuels, and create millions of new jobs.” Read the full text of the letter here. Other...
Five Burning Questions: Walker Hayes’ ‘Fancy Like’ Hits Top 5 on Hot 100
1. Completing a climb to the Hot 100’s top 5 is rare for any new single these days, let alone a country one. What’s been the key to Walker Hayes being able to grow this song into one of the year’s biggest crossover hits? Katie Atkinson: Any time you can get someone to accidentally listen to your song, you’ve won. Between the song’s TikTok omnipresence and its too-good-to-be-true (for Walker and the restaurant chain) placement in Applebee’s commercials, this song is basically inescapable. And with pop culture as splintered as it is these days, there aren’t a whole lot of ways to get this many people to listen to your song without specifically seeking it out. So… Applebee’s ads are the new radio, basically. Jason Lipshutz: He stumble...
Morgan Wallen Has Only Donated a Portion of the $500,000 Promised to Black-Led Organizations: Report
Morgan Wallen addressed his use of the N-word during a July sitdown with Good Morning America, in which the country singer also claimed he and his team donated $500,000 to Black organizations. According to a new Rolling Stone report attempting to trace the donations, it appears the money hasn’t materialized with any organizations besides the Black Music Action Coalition (BMAC), which Wallen specifically mentioned by name in the interview. Calling the $500,000 number “exceptionally misleading,” BMAC told Rolling Stone that they received $165,000 from Wallen in April, which was used to make grants for Black musicians through a COVID-19 emergency relief fund. However, the organization said it was “disappointed that Morgan has not used his platform to support any anti-racism end...
Nashville Labels Turn to Pop Partners as Streaming Changes the Game
This kind of arrangement is growing more common to the point that every big Nashville label now works with a pop counterpart. Sony Music Nashville has teamed with RCA Records to promote several acts including Tenille Townes and Kane Brown, who has released songs with several acts on RCA’s pop roster, including Khalid and H.E.R. At first, Brown’s deals were renegotiated per song, but as it became clearer that the country star would continue to delve into pop, SMN and RCA now have a “broader partnership” for the “Be Like That” singer, says SMN executive vp/COO Ken Robold. “Basically it was [RCA Records COO John] Fleckenstein and I coming up with what we thought was a fair deal.” While he wouldn’t give specific percentages, Robold says RCA is “incenti...
Reba McEntire Rescued After Staircase Collapse
Firefighters helped country legend Reba McEntire out of the window of a historical Oklahoma building after a staircase collapsed between the second and third floors, sending one person to the hospital with minor injuries. On Wednesday, the 66-year-old tweeted that, “While my team and I were in Atoka, OK yesterday checking out an old historical building, a staircase collapsed. Thankfully, no one was seriously injured. We were safely evacuated from the building thanks to the quick response from the Atoka fire and police departments.” A total of seven people were rescued out of the over 100-year-old building. Coby Scherrill, who alongside McEntire was scoping out the structure for a future project, told local Fox News affiliate KXII that, “We were just touring the building and ...
Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs & Ethan Hulse Among 2021 Nashville Songwriter Awards Winners
Numerous songwriters also shared the stories behind the compositions that were honored as part of the “10 Songs I Wish I Had Written” awards, which are voted on by NSAI’s professional songwriter members to honor the work of their peers. Songs eligible for the honor must have at least one Nashville-based writer and had to have charted within the top 20 of a Billboard airplay chart within the Christian, country, mainstream top 40 and/or rock genres within the eligibility period. The highest-voted song is honored as NSAI song of the year. See below for a list of songs honored as the “10 Songs I Wish I Had Written”: “7 Summers” – Written by: Shane McAnally, Josh Osborne, Morgan Wallen“Ain’t Always The Cowboy” – Written by: Brandon Kinney, Josh Thompson“Chasin...
