Music

Cody Johnson wasn’t receptive to “I Always Wanted To” the first time he heard it. “Why would you even play me that?” he asked his production team, almost offended. The acoustic ballad from the new Human the Double Album comes at the mid-point of an ambitious project that’s dynamic in all the right ways. Outlaw songs dance

Reba McEntire takes a look back at some of her biggest songs on the new box set Revived Remixed Revisited, which was released Friday. Much more than a typical greatest-hits set, the three-disc collection offers 30 new versions of the singer’s best-known songs including “Fancy,” “Why Haven’t I Heard from You,” and “Does He Love

Amanda Shires‘ “Gone for Christmas” is a wish-filled holiday kiss-off. It’s the first song from a full-length Christmas album from the singer and songwriter, arriving in mid-November. Slinky piano — somewhat a la “You’re a Mean One, Mr. Grinch,” if we’re looking for festive comparisons — stomps and ragged fiddle set the tone for “Gone for Christmas,”

In 2010, Jo Dee Messina released an EP trilogy, the Unmistakable series. Unmistakable: Inspiration, the final of the three projects, includes a particularly personal song, “That’s God.” Messina was in the midst of some personal struggles when she and bandmate Brent Rader co-wrote “That’s God.” She’d been inspired and reminded of the presence of a higher

Five-time Entertainer of the Year Luke Bryan’s new song ”Up” hinges on the power of a single word. Through different uses of the word “up” — from waking “up” to growing “up” to looking “up” toward the heavens — the track takes a nostalgic look back at a rural childhood, and expresses Bryan’s enduring faith. “It talks about

Fortunately, Jimmy Fallon knows his way around a guitar. The Tonight Show host stepped in to play rhythm during Chris Stapleton’s Tuesday night appearance on Fallon’s talk show after the country singer’s usual guitarist — his producer Dave Cobb — bowed out with an earache. Fallon told his audience that Stapleton had texted him the

“This was my favorite thing in 2019,” Jason Isbell said, greeting his band’s first audience of ShoalsFest 2021. “I was so looking forward to doing it last year. I know you had to jump through some hoops, but I’m glad you’re here and we’re here to have a good time.” Addressing a polarizing topic in

Lainey Wilson has gotten a chuckle out of most of the responses to her chart-topping song “Things a Man Oughta Know.” It’s really wild, she says, what some women think their man oughta know. “One girl was like, ‘I think a man should know all the Disney princesses,'” Wilson tells Taste of Country Nights‘ Evan and

Rising country star Brittney Spencer takes lead on a soulful new cover of Gladys Knight & the Pips’ “Midnight Train to Georgia,” which will appear on Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit‘s upcoming album, Georgia Blue. The song, which also features backing vocals from John Paul White, is the second release from Isbell’s upcoming covers album, which is due out on

“God was a word I had spoken but I hardly knew,”  Katie Pruitt sings in “Normal,” a track off her 2020 debut album Expectations. Raised Catholic, the singer-songwriter peppered her record with specific references to a Catholic school childhood (which she navigated as a closeted gay girl) and broad allusions to faith in general. Now,

Country star and veteran The Voice coach Blake Shelton filled out his Season 21 roster of hopefuls during Tuesday night’s (Oct. 4) set of blind auditions. The eight-time champion, who calls his team the G.O.A.T (“greatest of all time”), turned his chair for rock singer Tommy Edwards. The 27-year-old from Montana performed in the middle of the

It’s easier to decide the best country singer from some states than it is others. There are just too many from Kentucky and Arkansas to decide quickly, and there are too few from South Dakota and Idaho to make it much of a competition. It’s likely that some states have never even been represented on the Top

It’s been a banner year for Justin Moore. From dropping his sixth studio album, Straight Outta the Country, in April to notching his 10th No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with his hit single “We Didn’t Have Much,” the singer has emerged from an era of shutdowns and cancellations busier than ever. Now back on

In mid-August, Nashville’s Big Loud Records issued an email through PlayMPE, the digital promotion platform that supplies radio and media tastemakers with new singles. “For Immediate Airplay,” read the subject line. The artist and song for which airplay was requested: Morgan Wallen’s “Sand in My Boots.” So far, country radio has indicated that it’s happy

Long before the Marvel Cinematic Universe wowed movie viewers of all ages, the cowboys of the silver screen’s musical selections and moral compasses filled a role in popular culture similar to that of today’s superheroes. For examples, see the singing cowboy films of the 1930s and ‘40s. Nowadays, Western films and television series rely on moral

Sam Hunt is embracing the power of Virtual Reality (VR) headsets and blissful nostalgia in the music video for his new single, “23.” The clip features three exhausted individuals winding down after a long day. They appear caught up in a life devoid of the spark of youth and young love, but this changes when each

Not everyone can be the total package, and in their newest duet, “Huntin’ Land,” Dustin Lynch and Riley Green describe a relationship with a girl who’s downright incompatible with them in just about every way. However, there’s one important thing about this relationship that’ll keep the two singers invested — at least until hunting season

John Prine dove headlong into country music stylings in “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You,” a fiddle-driven track on his 1972 album Diamonds in the Rough. Tyler Childers covers the song for an upcoming Prine tribute record, maintaining the vibe (and fiddle) of the original but adding some tinkling barroom piano

Kacey Musgraves helped open Saturday Night Live‘s 47th season on Saturday night (Oct. 2). The singer-songwriter performed two songs, both from her recently released album Star-Crossed, during the sketch comedy TV show’s season premiere, but it was her first performance of the night that was particularly daring. During her song “Justified,” Musgraves appeared to be onstage completely naked.

Eagles fans couldn’t believe it when the long-feuding group announced they were reuniting for a tour in 1994. The reunion was a smash success, but unfortunately for some fans, it got cut short when the band was forced to cancel some of the later dates. On Oct. 3, 1994 —27 years ago today — the Eagles announced

Eddie Montgomery‘s powerful new song, “My Son,” has served as a catharsis for some of the old pain that the singer’s been carrying around for “a long time,” and he believes it happened that way for a reason. The Montgomery Gentry singer has seen what seems like more than one man’s fair share of tragedy.

Kacey Musgraves performed songs off her new album Star-Crossed on the 47th season premiere of Saturday Night Live. Musgraves played a stripped-down version of “Justified” as her first number, seated on a stool and strumming a guitar that obscured any clothes she may have been wearing — creating the illusion that she was naked, a

The Chris Young on the cover of his self-titled debut album is hardly recognizable to fans who know his newer work. The singer was a brand-new face on the national country music scene, and only 21 years old, when he released his self-titled debut album on Oct. 3, 2006 — 15 years ago today. Born and raised

Patty Loveless is one of the stars of the neo-traditional country movement with her honky-tonk and bluegrass-infused music. She’s recorded 14 studio albums and released memorable No. 1 hits such as “Chains,” “Blame It on Your Heart” and “Lonely Too Long.” But before all of her success, Loveless was a brand-new artist releasing her debut, self-titled

Pistol Annies announced their first Christmas album, Hell of a Holiday, on Thursday (Sept. 30), and they didn’t make fans wait long to hear the first song from the project. The country trio released “Snow Globe” on Friday (Oct. 1), previewing the collection with a jolly love song. The dazzling, festive tune opens with euphoric

Billy Strings, the 28-year-old guitar phenom, was named Entertainer of the Year at the International Bluegrass Music Association awards show Thursday evening in Raleigh, North Carolina. Strings’ win represents a sea change in bluegrass, a genre that has traditionally been reluctant to change and obstinate about awarding artists who take a progressive approach to string

Elvis Presley wasn’t swayed by discouragement, and it’s a good thing. The singer made his first — and last — Grand Ole Opry appearance on this day (Oct. 2) in 1954 … and it didn’t go as well as he had hoped. Presley performed on the Opry’s famous stage in the very early part of his

Reba McEntire’s For My Broken Heart was, indeed, a salve. At the time of its release, on Oct. 1, 1991 — 30 years ago today — the singer was mourning the deaths of most of her band in a plane crash that happened just over six months prior. The 10 songs on For My Broken Heart, McEntire shared in

Tyler Childers honors John Prine with a cover of the barroom-ready deep cut “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You.” Released Friday (Oct. 1), the song comes from a forthcoming tribute album in honor of the late folk legend. “Yes I Guess They Oughta Name a Drink After You” originally appeared on Prine’s second studio album,