Country
10 Artists Who Changed Their Names Mid-Career
“What’s in a name?” Shakespeare wrote. “That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet.” Juliet was imagining a simpler life after rechristening her Romeo, but the principle would also apply if that rose were already trademarked, or the flower had a racist past, or that particular perfume reminded you of a life you’re ready to leave behind. Artists change their names for lots of reasons, but it is almost always a result of pressure — whether that be internal or external. If there’s one thing these moments of transformation have in common, it’s that they represent a pivot point for the musician — a dividing line, after which they will never be exactly the same. In that spirit of renewal, we’ve assembled a list of 10 artists who decided that another name would smell much sw...
Garth Brooks Sets Two Ryman Auditorium Shows for November
“What would be fun would be to somehow do a residency in Vegas and in Nashville, because they got great places to play here. Now, I’m not going to drop the ball as tomorrow’s a pretty big announcement,” Brooks teased. Later in the episode, he offered even more details, saying, “It would be crazy if it were for Thanksgiving of this year…I mean, can you imagine? Whew, that would be just so quick,” before adding, “I fear I said too much.” Brooks previously held a residency at the Encore at Wynn Las Vegas from 2009-2014, during which he performed nearly 200 acoustic shows. The news of the upcoming Ryman concert follows Brooks’ recent cancellation of several stadium shows due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Over the past year, Brooks...
Carly Pearce Reveals Winners for 2021 CMA Broadcast Awards
The nominees for broadcast personality of the year were evaluated based on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and biographical information; while nominees for radio station of the year were evaluated based on aircheck, ratings, community involvement and format leadership. Market size was based on population as determined by Nielsen. Here’s the full list of winners. CMA broadcast personality of the year Weekly national: Country Countdown USA, Lon Helton – Westwood OneDaily national: CMT After Midnite, Cody Alan – Premiere NetworksMajor Market: Double-L, Lois Lewis – KNIX, Phoenix, Ariz.Large Market: Ridder, Scott and Shannen, “Ridder” Shaun Ridderbush, Scott Dolphin, and Shannen Oesterreich – WMIL, Milwaukee-Racine, Wis.Medium market: Mo & St...
Ryan Hurd ‘Never Expected’ Maren Morris Duet ‘Chasing After You’ to Become a Hot 100 Hit
On Friday (Oct. 15), Hurd celebrates another career first with the release of his full-length debut album, Pelago, out via Arista Nashville. The album is a major milestone for the Michigan native, who initially moved to Nashville to be a songwriter instead of an artist. Hurd is signed with House of 42 for management (which also manages Morris), WME for booking and Big Machine Music for publishing. While studying sociology at Belmont University, Hurd focused on bettering his songcraft, and later found success writing for other artists, including two No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits for Luke Bryan, “Sunburn, Sunset, Repeat,” and “Waves.” Hurd also penned “Last Turn Home” for Tim McGraw, “You Look Good” and “What If I Never G...
Mickey Guyton, Kane Brown, Kelsea Ballerini, Randy Travis Get Inspirational at ‘CMT Artists of the Year’
The show featured a heartfelt mix of music and stories of hope, as the artists shared (via video segments) how they weathered the pandemic and made the most of being off the road. Honoree Combs started off the evening with a rendition of “Forever After All,” followed by Lady A’s Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood, who took the stage to welcome viewers. Meanwhile, Eric Church feted Combs via a video tribute, saying, “By any definition, his music has made him a bonafide superstar.” “Everybody in this room pushes me to be better,” Combs said in accepting his CMT artist of the year honor, before addressing fellow honoree Travis. “Randy, I watched you play in this building a few years ago and was blown away. To be in the same room with you and the same place and have jus...
Kacey Musgraves’ star-crossed Barred from Grammys Country Album Category
Country music’s ongoing identity crisis and the Recording Academy’s unceasing incompetence have joined together for one head-scratching decision. As Billboard reports, two-time Best Country Album Grammy winner Kacey Musgraves won’t be going for a threepeat in 2022, as her new studio set, star-crossed, has been declared ineligible for the country music categories. Musgraves has previously taken home top honors in the category for 2014’s Same Trailer, Different Park and 2018’s Golden Hour, which also won Album of the Year. On paper, star-crossed looks like a strong contender. It debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard Top Country Albums chart, and six singles have placed on the Hot Country Songs chart: “justified,” “simple times,” “breadwinner,” star-crossed...
Tim McGraw Jumps Off Stage and Confronts Hecklers After Forgetting Lyrics, Getting Booed: Watch
“Just to See You Smile” reigned atop the country charts for 42 weeks between 1997 and 1998, and Tim McGraw has performed it hundreds of times. It’s one of the 54-year-old’s signature songs, but on Saturday night at the Nugget Event Center in Reno, Nevada, McGraw forgot about half the words. Footage obtained by TMZ reveals the pause-filled performance, as well as scattered booing. McGraw responded by jumping into the crowd to confront some of the jeering fans. “Why are you doing that?” McGraw demands in one of the videos. The response is inaudible, but McGraw quickly says, “Then leave!” to laughs and applause. Later, McGraw explained to the audience that he was struggling with exhaustion. “I don’t know how many of y’all know this, but we’re shooting a film, [Yellowstone prequel] 1...
Alan Jackson Puts Songs & Memories Center Stage at Nashville Concert: 5 Standout Moments
And that’s just what he did, from the opening number of “Gone Country” and straight through the night. During the nostalgic “Drive (For Daddy Gene),” men across the arena had raised hands and held up beers in solidarity by the time the entertainer even reached the first chorus, singing, “I was king of the ocean/ When daddy let me drive.” Couples hugged and swayed along for the sweetly romantic “Remember When,” and instantly went into party mode during such classics as “I Don’t Even Know Your Name,” “Country Boy” and “It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.” As “a singer of simple songs,” Jackson’s voice was as warm and limber as ever, the perfect vehicle for putting across his relatable tales of love, loss and life. Pa...
Eric Church Sets 2 Solo Shows After Bandmates Test Positive for COVID-19
Church launched the aptly named tour Sept. 17 at Lexington, Ky.’s Rupp Arena. The tour is slated to run through May 20, 2022, culminating with a show at New York’s Madison Square Garden. Church’s Gather Again Tour has been a joyous reunion for the artist and his fans alike, marking his return to the road after the pandemic forced the postponement of both Church’s Heart & Soul triple album and his 2020 tour. It also marks the first time Church has used an in-the-round stage for his tour. For a Billboard cover story earlier this year, Church received his COVID-19 vaccination during his Billboard photo shoot. “It became very clear to me that the only way to really get back to normal is through vaccinations,” he told Billboard at the time. “You’ve got to get needles...
Gary LeVox Opens Up About the End of Rascal Flatts: ‘I Wasn’t Happy That Joe Don Quit’
“It kind of came out of nowhere,” LeVox said. “It was like, ‘Let me try to wrap my head around this.’ And then I certainly wasn’t okay with the pandemic, which canceled everything. I hate the way that it ended. I hate that we didn’t get to do this farewell tour. I can’t stand the fact that it just feels there’s no closure with something that we’ve been so blessed with. That will always be in my heart.” As the group’s 2020 tour dates were already on hold due to the pandemic, the group disbanded quietly, with LeVox pursuing a solo career and releasing the recent Christian album One on One. Meanwhile, DeMarcus released a tribute to his late father with “Music Man,” and also runs the CCM label Red Street Record...
Dolly Parton and Businesses Raise $700K For Tennessee Flood Relief
Dolly Parton and her Smoky Mountain businesses have raised $700,000 to help residents impacted by the catastrophic flooding in Middle Tennessee. According to a Wednesday (Oct. 6) news release, Parton chose United Way of Humphreys County to receive and distribute the donation at the suggestion of her friend and fellow country music legend Loretta Lynn. A foreman at Lynn’s ranch was among those who died in the flood. Parton says she was compelled to help out after the support the Smokies received following the 2016 Sevier County wildfires. “After the Sevier County wildfires in 2016, Loretta was one of the first who reached out to offer anything she could,” Parton said in a statement. “It meant so much to me that Loretta — and so many folks — were ready to give in any way they could. This was...
Kacey Musgraves Becomes First Artist to Perform Naked on SNL
This past weekend, Kacey Musgraves served as the musical guest for Saturday Night Live’s Season 47 premiere. For her first performance of the evening, she played “justified” armed with an acoustic guitar and nothing else. It turns out she wasn’t just faking being nude, as many actors do to abide by FCC regulations, but rather she was completely naked and strategically positioned her body to get away with it — making her the first artist to ever do so on SNL. First of all, it’s important to clarify that Musgraves wasn’t ditching her outfit for no reason to promote Star-Crossed. While she was fully clothed for her rendition of “camera roll” on SNL, she opted to strip down for “justified” as a reference to the infamous Forrest Gump scene in which Jenny (played by Robin Wright) takes the stage...
