Music

You may be shocked, because they look so darn young, but … Shawna and Keifer Thompson of country duo Thompson Square have been married for more than 20 years. That’s right: two full decades and then some, since May 15, 1999. For some couples, autonomous careers are a good thing. But for the duo, that

Twenty-four years ago today (May 15, 1997) was a significant day for the family of Bill Monroe: It was on that date that the bluegrass founder was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, less than one year after his death. Monroe credited his uncle, Pendleton Vandiver, with fostering his love of the

Kelsea Ballerini takes it back to her hometown, literally, for her “Half of My Hometown” music video. The scenes are shot at her high school, in streets near her childhood home, and all over her growing up stompin’ grounds. The story is set with a young Ballerini packing up a moving truck to leave her hometown. You can see

Before “country music outlaw” became just another outfit for would-be badasses to try on, Johnny Cash made it a job description. But among the seven arrests he accrued during his most tumultuous years, from the late 1950s to 1967, none was quite like the time he was arrested in Starkville, Mississippi while picking flowers on

Keifer and Shawna Thompson of award-winning country duo Thompson Square are a match made in country music heaven. She hails from Chatom, Ala., and he from Miami, Okla. They met at a singing competition after they separately moved to Nashville, but they didn’t instantly become a duo; instead, it was love first, singing second. “We came

Before he died in January, Steel Woods co-founder and guitarist Jason “Rowdy” Cope signed off on the track sequencing for the band’s new album, All of Your Stones. The record, the quartet’s third, would begin with “Out of the Blue” and end with its title track. “I didn’t realize how kind of perfect the sequencing is,” admits

Rising folk singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun co-wrote her new song “Bigger Man” with Maren Morris — and enlisted the country star to sing with her on it. The pair dropped the track on Friday morning (May 14). Joining Oladokun and Morris as co-writers on “Bigger Man” are Laura Veltz and Jimmy Robbins. Morris, Robbins and Veltz recently

The Moon River Music Festival will return to Coolidge Park in Chattanooga, Tennessee, for two days of music this fall. Leading the lineup for the September 11th to 12th event are artists including Wilco, Lord Huron, and Old Crow Medicine Show. Organized by Drew Holcomb (who will also perform with his band the Neighbors), the

On Sunday (May 16), Luke Bryan will get up from his American Idol judges’ chair and stand on the stage to share with the audience the fifth single from his Born Here Live Here Die Here (Deluxe Edition) album. That extended project was released in April 2021 and has already produced four consecutive No. 1 singles. “Waves,” the song

Thomas Rhett‘s “Heaven Down Here” — from his 2020 album Country Things, Side A – covers new ground for the artist. The song is the first time he’s written about a dear friend who died as Rhett’s career was just getting started. Before Rhett and his wife Lauren got married in 2012, their friend Hunter — who grew

Summer Dean isn’t sugar-coating it: The only reason the protagonist of her new song “You’re Lucky She’s Lonely” is getting anywhere with the woman who’s caught his eye is because she’s heartbroken and lovesick. “Just make your move / You’ve got nothin’ to prove / You’re lucky she’s blue,” the born-and-raised Texan sings in the first

After being forced to take a year off due to the Covid-19 pandemic, MerleFest will return in Fall 2021. The annual eclectic musical fest will take place September 16th to 19th in Wilkesboro, North Carolina, with a first round of performers that includes Melissa Etheridge, Mavis Staples, and LeAnn Rimes. Held over the course of

A video showing a pre-teen Caleb Kennedy sitting next to someone in a hood similar to those worn by Ku Klux Klan members has surfaced. As a result, the now-16-year-old American Idol contestant has exited the show. The country singer from South Carolina was a favorite heading into the Top 5 episode on Sunday (May 16). Now, only

There are dozens and dozens of versions of the gospel classic “I’ll Fly Away,” but Randall King‘s rendition offers a different look at Albert E. Brumley’s 1929 hymn than country fans are used to. What is often a more uptempo, bluegrass-tinged song becomes a slowed-down, twangy reflection. It’s not necessarily any less hopeful than the more

Meghan Patrick offers a love ballad with a twist in her latest release, “Mama Prayed For,” a song that recognizes that she might not necessarily be the kind of girl a mom might hope her son will choose as his partner. Between a tough attitude, a few vices and a hard-edged and hard-to-get-to-know personality, Patrick says she’s hardly a

Rodney Crowell will drop a new album called Triage via his own RC1 label and Thirty Tigers on July 23rd. The first single, “Something Has to Change,” is out now. An urgent mid-tempo tune with particularly pointed lyrics, “Something Has to Change” addresses inequality and discord, conditions that influenced the rest of the writing on

Kelly Clarkson treated fans to a twangy Reba McEntire cover during the “Kellyoke” segment of her most recent episode of The Kelly Clarkson Show. Clarkson delved into McEntire’s catalogue from the 1980s, performing “How Blue,” which was the first single off of McEntire’s 1984 album, My Kind of Country. The song was a hit upon its release, marking

Caitlyn Smith has lived in Nashville for about a decade now, and she’s seen the city change plenty — but she’s different now, too. After the singer-songwriter found herself considering the weight of all of this change during a drive around the city, she and co-writers Ben West and Stephen Wilson turned the idea in

Brooke Eden is done hiding her real-life love story. Her new “Got No Choice” music video stars the singer and her girlfriend, Hilary Hoover, showing the pair enjoying a carefree day on the water. “Two months ago, you had me hooked at ‘hello’,” Eden sings, confessing that the connection she felt was immediate. That was

Kip Moore joins the many country artists going back on tour this fall. The Georgia native announced dates for his headlining How High Tour on Monday and released a video for his song “Good Life.” The How High Tour begins October 14th at the Riviera Theater in Chicago and currently has 20 dates, including stops

Back in the Blind Auditions of The Voice‘s Season 20, contestant Kenzie Wheeler earned a four-chair turn with a country-as-all-get-out cover of Keith Whitley‘s “Don’t Close Your Eyes.” Kelly Clarkson to use her block button to keep Wheeler from making the obvious country choice – Blake Shelton – as his coach. Wheeler ultimately claimed a spot on Team Kelly, though Shelton’s

Just because you don’t hear any songs from The Marfa Tapes on the radio doesn’t mean you never will. Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall and Jack Ingram‘s sparse production on the 15 acoustic tracks makes them a strange fit for airplay as is, but the country hitmaker says she plans to amplify those songs soon. Talking to

Chase Likens‘ debut single is a twangy reminder that the cure for what ails you is to go get lost in the country. Readers can press play below to hear “Rub a Little Dirt on It,” premiering exclusively on The Boot. Written by Roger Springer, Carson Chamberlain and Wade Kirby, and produced by Kevin Beamish, “Rub a

Amythyst Kiah delivered a potent version of “Black Myself” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! on Friday night. The lead single off her upcoming label debut, Wary + Strange, is a newly arranged rock rendition of the song Kiah first wrote for the supergroup Our Native Daughters’ 2019 debut, Songs of Our Native Daughters. The song would go

The cast of NBC sketch show Saturday Night Live dedicated their most recent cold open to celebrating Mother’s Day on Saturday night (May 8), with cast members such as Kate McKinnon and Aidy Bryant appearing alongside their moms at the top of the show. Those clips were backed by an emotional performance from musical guest Miley Cyrus,

The Associated Press’ wire story for Keith Whitley‘s May 9, 1989, death includes a telling quote about his creative process. “The whole deal with my music has been the emotional quality,” Whitley said in 1988. “Songs I do have to strike an emotional chord the first time I sing them. It’s not so uncommon for

Alan Jackson stays country with “I Can Be That Something,” his new song. The country legend offers the type of classic country heartbreak song that one would hear pouring out of an old fashioned jukebox in a honky-tonk. The song finds Jackson setting himself up as a shoulder to cry on for a heartbroken woman whose lover left

Cassadee Pope draws on her pop-punk roots in the guitar-driven new song “What the Stars See,” a collaboration with Lindsay Ell and Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild. It is Pope’s first new release since the 2020 EP Rise and Shine. Penned by Pope with Jake Rose and Lindsey Rimes, “What the Stars See” comes with

Dierks Bentley has much bigger touring plans in store for 2021 than a handful of dive bar dates in May. The 2021 Beers on Me Tour will begin on Aug. 13 and take the “Gone” singer through early fall. Parker McCollum and Riley Green will join Bentley on tour, with Mitchell Tenpenny filling in a few times during a 22-show