Music

Singer-songwriter Kate Vargas‘ new song “Church of the Misdirection” is a warning: You’d be wise to view the world with skeptical eyes — after all, she sings, there’s “three steps to gaining believers: disarm, deceive and attract.” “Church of the Misdirection” — premiering exclusively on The Boot — was, Vargas explains, inspired loosely by Ma

Kid Rock angrily called a group of fans using their cell phones to record his concert “f–king f—ots” and gestured to his crotch in an onstage rant that was captured on camera. TMZ revealed video of the country-rock rapper using the homophobic slur — an incident that happened on Saturday night (June 5) at a bar

Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists. (Check out last week’s best songs.) Joey Cape, “It Could Be

Curtis Grimes celebrates lifelong friends in his single “Friends,” and his brand-new music video for the song captures those special relationships. The new clip is premiering exclusively on The Boot; press play below to watch. Grimes and director Paul Galvan “wanted to capture the elements of what makes something feel like home and that make us

Miranda Lambert strolled into her Nashville bar and restaurant on Sunday night (June 6) and found singer Jon Pardi there, ready to dance. The pair two-stepped on the balcony to George Strait‘s “Check Yes or No” while dozens of fans watched from below, most with cell phones pointed upward to capture the moment. Pardi definitely led

Country icon and everyone’s favorite rum connoisseur Kenny Chesney has spent half his life in the music industry. As an up-and-coming singer-songwriter, Chesney begin his career in 1993, at just 25 years old. But now, with two-plus decades in the business behind him, Chesney has recorded more than a dozen studio albums (many which have been certified

Flatland Cavalry gear up for the July 2nd release of their new album Welcome to Countryland with a string of just announced tour dates. The Texas country-roots band’s headlining Welcome to Countryland Tour kicks off this weekend and runs through September and includes a few shows supporting Luke Combs. Along with the confirmed tour, Flatland

Rising country star Brit Taylor‘s new single “At Least There’s No Babies” wraps up her debut album, Real Me. Released on Friday (June 4), the brand-new song is one of three on forthcoming deluxe edition of the project, due out next month. “The album Real Me told my story, and it wasn’t always easy to share

Though the true identity of the man behind the famous fringed masks is a secret, his talent is not. And now, Orville Peck has the co-sign from pop star Lady Gaga to prove it. For the 10th anniversary edition of Gaga’s 2011 album Born This Way, she enlisted the help of various artists to put new spins

On June 5, 1993, Toby Keith earned his first No. 1 song on the Hot Country Songs Billboard chart, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” Keith wrote the song himself; it was his debut single. Co-produced by Nelson Larkin and Harold Shedd — the pair that also co-produced all of Keith’s self-titled 1993 debut album – “Should’ve Been

Breland and Keith Urban have teamed up for the new collaboration “Throw It Back,” a club-ready mix of guitar twang and propulsive hip-hop beats. This song follows the pair’s Big Beat-indebted collaboration “Out the Cage,” which appeared on Urban’s album The Speed of Now Part 1. Built around a banjo and guitar riff that bears

Early in their career, the Wandering Hearts formed a friendship with Marty Stuart; in fact, it was the singer-songwriter who first invited the UK-based trio to come to the United States, after they opened for him on a 2017 UK tour. Stuart liked what he heard, and he wasted no time pitching the group a song. “Back

John Mayer has just released a new single, and the track features guest vocals from Maren Morris. “Last Train Home” is the first single from Mayer’s upcoming album, Sob Rock. The singer-songwriter and guitarist dropped the new track on Friday (June 4), featuring the Grammy-winning country and pop singer on background vocals. The song draws

Eighteen years ago today, on June 5, 2003, Dwight Yoakam was honored for his extraordinary music and acting careers with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Yoakam first moved to Los Angeles, Calif., in the late 1970s, as much for the musical influences of artists such as Clarence White, the Byrds and Gram Parsons as

Lady Gaga has released the second cover song from Born This Way the Tenth Anniversary with Orville Peck’s reinvention of the title track as “Born This Way (The Country Road Version).” The new release follows Big Freedia’s update of “Judas” and is one of six Born This Way tracks to be covered as part of

Kalie Shorr has just released a stellar new cover of a Chicks classic, and it’s a must-hear for any fan of the classic country trio, as well as country’s next generation. Shorr has re-recorded the Chicks’ “Cowboy, Take Me Away,” which gave them a No. 1 hit when they released it as the second single

Brad Paisley began playing the guitar at the young age of eight, taught by his maternal grandfather. When he was 10, he performed at church in his first live performance. Even though Paisley grew up in a small town in West Virginia and was known for his growing musical talent, no one could have predicted his superstardom

When Breland and Keith Urban met for the first time at Urban’s Nashville-area home — bright and early one Friday morning, as Urban recalls – the country superstar asked the rising star to share what had been inspiring him lately, and what he’d been working on. The demo of a chorus that Breland played for Urban — an early version

Dillon Carmichael faces the wrath of an unhinged ex in the “Hot Beer” video, released on Thursday. The song is the title track from the Kentucky native’s latest EP, which came out May 14th via Riser House Records. In keeping with the song’s sardonic kiss-off to an ex who, as Carmichael sings, “cheated and you

The Flatlanders – Joe Ely, Jimmie Dale Gilmore and Butch Hancock — add a bit of Texas twang to a 50-plus-year-old Bob Dylan song with their cover of “She Belongs to Me.” The brand-new recording is premiering exclusively via The Boot; press play below to listen. Dylan originally released “She Belongs to Me” in 1965, on his Bringing

Country music seems to have nearly forgotten one-time megastar Bobbie Gentry, who rose to mainstream fame in 1967 with pop crossover hit “Ode to Billy Joe,” and just as suddenly vanished in the early ’80s. However, Gentry’s most devoted fans have never forgotten the singer. Neither have the host of country stars who count her

Jameson Rodgers, a Batesville, Miss., native, packed his bags and headed to Nashville in 2010. Armed with a few songs — and, if he’s being honest, some self-doubt — he set up shop in Music City and never looked back. Rodgers persevered, and he discovered that songwriting was just the outlet he needed to express himself. For

Johnny Paycheck would have turned 83 this past Monday. In 1977, he scored three consecutive Top 10 country songs, including his biggest hit, the No. 1 “Take This Job and Shove It.” But while Paycheck, who died at age 64 in 2003, is synonymous with the song about sticking it to — and flipping off

Drew Green‘s new “The Rest of Our Lives” music video will make you want to get lost in the country with the one you love. Readers can press play below to watch the performance, premiering exclusively via The Boot. It’s a simple concept: Green stands in the middle of a grassy clearing, the camera circling

Vince Gill gave a performance at the Grand Ole Opry in late May, taking the opportunity to try out a new song live. Called “March On, March On,” Gill’s new song is a poignant ballad inspired by the Black Lives Matter movement and the ongoing fight for racial justice. For his performance, Gill performed alone,

Though Chris Stapleton has only been widely known as a solo superstar for a few years, he’s been working in music for nearly two decades. Throughout that time, he’s collaborated with countless artists as a songwriter and more than a few as a performer in his own right, bringing a soulful, gritty and downright beautiful sound to traditional

Robert Earl Keen will spend most of the summer headlining his Feelin’ Good Again Tour 2021. The Texas singer-songwriter announced dates for the trek, which was named for a song from his 1998 album Walking Distance. Most of Keen’s June and July dates will have him touring around the Lone Star State, with stops including

Matt Jordan knows he, as the metaphor goes, outkicked his coverage. The artist’s new song “Better Men” reflects on life’s little mysteries — including how he wound up married to the amazing woman he gets to call his wife. “Better men than me are waking up in half-made beds / And they’ll fall asleep alone