Country
George Strait, Garth Brooks, Darius Rucker & More Honor Charley Pride on CMT Special Tonight
The docu-special, which was filmed at Nashville’s Ascend Amphitheater, will include Pride’s wife Rozene, as well as artists Jimmie Allen, Reba McEntire, Darius Rucker, Luke Combs, Mickey Guyton, George Strait, Wynonna, Ronnie Milsap, Reyna Roberts, Gladys Knight, Garth Brooks and more. In addition to artists performing their favorite Pride hits, the special also includes rare interview segments with Pride, as well as mementos from his country music career and his early work as a Negro League Baseball pitcher. Baseball legend Nolan Ryan is also featured on the special. During the broadcast, Guyton performs Pride’s 1971 hit “I’m Just Me,” while Allen performs 1969’s “All I Have to Offer You (Is Me).” “If I was to talk about Charley‘s musical legacy that he left behind, I would th...
Dan + Shay’s ‘Good Things’ Debuts in Top 10 on Billboard 200 & Top Country Albums Charts
The new set arrives with multiple hit singles, as “Glad You Exist” led the Country Airplay chart dated Aug. 21, marking the duo’s eighth No. 1; it spends a second week at its No. 2 high on the multi-metric Hot Country Songs chart. Newest single “Steal My Love” debuts at No. 26 on Hot Country Songs and ranks at No. 42 on Country Airplay with 1.9 million in radio-reach. The LP also includes Dan + Shay’s Justin Bieber collab “10,000 Hours,” which ruled Hot Country Songs for 21 weeks (or a still-impressive 3,528 hours) beginning in October 2019 and topped Country Airplay for two weeks starting in January 2020, and “I Should Probably Go to Bed,” which reached Nos. 4 and 2 on the respective rankings this January. ‘CHASING’ L...
AmericanaFest Requiring Proof of Vaccination or Negative COVID Test for Attendance
AmericanaFest has revealed updated health and safety guidelines for this year’s festival, which is slated for Sept. 22-25 at several venues in Nashville. According to the new protocols, all festival attendees are required to show proof of full vaccination or a negative COVID-19 test for entry to any of the festival’s events, including concerts and panels. Proof of full vaccination must show a final dose at least 14 days prior to Sept. 22, while a negative COVID-19 test must be within 72 hours to enter any of the official AmericanaFest-produced events. Masks are encouraged for indoor events, regardless of vaccination status. “The safety of our community including attendees, artists, speakers, partners, volunteers and staff for AmericanaFest 2021 and the Americana Honors & Awards is our ...
Loretta Lynn ‘Heartbroken’ After Ranch Foreman Wayne Spears Dies in Middle Tennessee Flood
Lynn herself is “completely safe and healthy,” Lynn’s granddaughter and fellow musician Tayla Lynn said on social media. The official Facebook account for Loretta Lynn’s Ranch also shared a video of flood damage to the property, noting that the main road to the ranch was washed away. The ranch’s amenities include a full-service RV park, more than 300 power and water campsites, 18 cabins and numerous activities such as hiking, fishing, volleyball, campfire shows and more. The New York Times reports at least 22 people have been killed, with 50 others missing, in Middle Tennessee after flash floods ravaged the area over the weekend. Humphreys County has a population of around 18,500. According to the National Weather Service, nearby McEwen, Tenn. (also located in Humphreys County), reco...
Kacey Musgraves Drops New Song, Announces Upcoming Album & Film ‘Star-Crossed’
Kacey Musgraves announced on Monday (Aug. 23), that she will release her upcoming studio album, Star-Crossed, on Sept. 10 via Interscope/UMG Nashville. She also dropped the project’s title track. For the new project, Musgraves reunited with Ian Fitchuk and Tashian, her collaborators on the Grammy-winning 2018 project Golden Hour. A press release for Star-Crossed describes the album as being “structured as a modern-day tragedy in three acts,” one that relates “an extremely personal journey of heartache and healing.” The 15-song album marks the first since Musgraves’ divorce from fellow musician Ruston Kelly. The couple wed in 2017 and announced their split in July 2020. In the title track, which was also released Monday, Musgraves includes the lines, “Signed the papers yesterday/ You ...
R.I.P. Don Everly, One-Half of The Everly Brothers Dies at 84
Don Everly, one-half of influential musical duo The Everly Brothers along with his brother Phil, died Saturday (August 22nd) at the age of 84. “Don lived by what he felt in his heart,” a representative said in a statement. “Don expressed his appreciation for the ability to live his dreams … with his soulmate and wife, Adela, and sharing the music that made him an Everly Brother.” A cause of death was not specified. The Everly Brothers arrived onto the scene in the late 1950s, performing rockabilly and rock ‘n’ roll songs in close harmonies that would influence bands for years to come. Throughout their career, they had over two dozen Top 40 hits, including “Cathy’s Clown,” “Wake Up Little Susie,” “All I Have to Do is Dream,” and “Bye Bye Love.” With 35 Top 100 singles, they’re second to onl...
Keith Urban, Jason Isbell, Travis Tritt & Others Mourn Death of Country Music Legend Tom T. Hall
Nicknamed “The Storyteller,” Hall — who was inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2019 — was renowned for his songs’ rich narratives, vivid descriptions and homespun observations. “My second concert (at the age of 5 !!) was Tom T. Hall,” Urban added on Twitter. “What a gifted literary musical artist he was. Peace be with all of his friends, family, and admirers today. Thank you Mr. Hall.” Tritt paid tribute to Hall, tweeting, “RIP to Tom T. Hall. One of the greatest story telling songwriters ever! I used to pick and sing with him every year at Earl Scruggs’s home.” Luke Bryan also showed his appreciation for Hall. “Literally one of the finest song writers to ever live,” the singer wrote on Instagram. “Truly the most ...
Kelsea Ballerini Covers Taylor Swift’s ‘Teardrops on My Guitar’ on Jonas Brothers Tour: Watch
In fan-filmed videos from the show, Ballerini seemed delighted to return to the stage as tours begin to resume, with safety precautions, amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Following CDC guidance and Nevada state requirements, events at the Park Theater on the grounds of the Park MGM require masks for all attendees, regardless of vaccination status. “Is this anyone else’s first show back?” Ballerini asked the crowd. “Well how about this: How about I promise for the next 15 minutes I will give you 110% of everything have if you’ll do it back for me?” The week before the first show, a masked up and ready Ballerini tweeted, “I’m thankful to be back at it.” Before the concert began on Friday, she posted a series of rehearsal photos on Instagram, wr...
Kacey Musgraves ‘Sets the Scene’ for New Song With Some Heartbreaking Lyrics
The words described the heartache of a relationship that’s ended, perhaps alluding to her own divorce from Ruston Kelly. Put together, her posts read: “Let me set the scene/ Two lovers ripped right at the seams/ They woke up from the perfect dream/ And then the darkness came/ I signed the papers yesterday/ You came and took your things away/ Moved out of the home we made/ And gave you back your name/ What have we done? / Did we fly too high?/ Just to get burned by the sun?/ No one’s to blame/ ‘Cause we called all the angels to save us/ But I guess they got lost…” Comments ranged from sad faces to announcements about being “all in” and “ready” for the new tune. “They see me as this starry-eyed, rose-colored glasses kinda girl...
Yola Belts Out “Diamond Studded Shoes” on Kimmel: Watch
Yola has one of the best voices in modern country right now, in part because of the undeniable soul she brings to the genre. Last night, she got to reintroduce her show-stopping voice on Jimmy Kimmel Live! with a rousing rendition of “Diamond Studded Shoes.” Watch a replay of her performance below. For the occasion, Yola broke out the Stand For Myself track in a cozy room back home in Nashville, Tennessee. What starts out with the warm vibe of a local band at a bar quickly turns into a powerhouse country-pop song worth dancing along to. Yola shows off her voice with subdued verses and effortless trills, but it’s her massive belted notes towards the end that steal the show. All told, it’s a goosebump-raising live version of “Diamond Studded Shoes” that further drives home the song’s an...
Tom T. Hall, ‘Storyteller’ Country Singer & Songwriter, Dies at 85
“Few could tell a story like Tom T. Hall,” Country Music Association CEO Sarah Trahern said in a statement following his death. “As a singer, songwriter and instrumentalist, he was one of those triple threat artists who continued to make an impact on the next generation. I’ll always remember growing up listening to Tom T.’s music with my father, who was a huge bluegrass and Country fan.” Hall was inducted into the Grand Ole Opry in 1971, the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 1978, the Kentucky Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002, and the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2008. He received the poet’s award from the Academy of Country Music in 2010. “Tom T. Hall’s masterworks vary in plot, tone, and tempo, but they are bound by his ceaseless and unyielding empathy for th...
Travis Tritt Quotes MLK in Explaining Why Vaccine Mandates are Discriminatory
With each passing day, more and more artists and promoters are asking for proof of vaccination as a requirement to attend in-person events. In response to this growing trend, the multi-platinum country musician Travis Tritt felt compelled “to make a statement” against such mandates, likening them to a form of discrimination. “In light of recently announced policies and mandates from some entertainment companies, promoters and local municipalities which would discriminate against specific concert attendees who are not vaccinated, I feel compelled to make a statement,” Tritt said. “I have always been a huge defender of basic human rights and liberty for all. No government, employer or private entity should ever be allowed to infringe on those rights and liberties. I’m also very much against ...
