Music

After nearly two decades of co-hosts, the CMA Awards are putting its 2021 show in the hands of a single artist: Luke Bryan will host the November 10th awards live from Nashville. Bryan takes over for last year’s emcee duo of Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker. “Being asked to host the CMA Awards was definitely

Luke Bryan will host the 2021 CMA Awards, and he’ll do it alone. The two-time CMA Entertainer of the Year winner has been named successor to Reba McEntire and Darius Rucker. It’s the first time since 2003 that the show will have just one host. The 2021 CMA Awards will air on ABC on Nov. 10. Bryan

One of the most prolific and beloved artists in country music, Alan Jackson has been delighting fans and critics alike for over 30 years. With 17 studio albums, 10 greatest hits records and even two Christmas cuts, Jackson is one of the best-selling artists of the past few decades, selling over 40 million albums throughout his career.

Chris Stapleton joins forces with iconic guitarist Carlos Santana for a groovy new track, “Joy.” Written and recorded as a part of Santana’s upcoming album, Blessings and Miracles, out Friday (Oct. 15), “Joy” finds the pair trying to free themselves from the heaviness of the modern world. “Rattling the chains untangled / I see me from a different angle / Now I

Mickey Guyton was honored at the 2021 CMT Artists of the Year event on Wednesday night, an accolade that celebrated the singer’s breakout year with singles such as “Black Like Me” and the debut album Remember Her Name. Guyton also gave one of the event’s standpoint performances, singing the title track from Remember Her Name

With her eclectic style and signature red lips, South Carolina native Nikki Lane is hard to miss. But it’s really her unapologetic blend of outlaw country, Americana, blues and rock that has captured listeners’ attention and made them hungry for more. Her voice isn’t sweet as silk and smooth as honey — it’s gritty and fiery and

Oct. 17, 1990, was undoubtedly one of the most difficult days for the Judds, and especially for Naomi Judd. It was on that date that Judd made the surprise announcement that she was retiring from the award-winning duo she had formed with her daughter Wynonna Judd, and from music entirely, because of her diagnosis of Hepatitis

Hayden Haddock didn’t write his new song, “Wind It Down,” but he knew it was a winner when it mentally took him to his favorite college dive bar. “As soon as I heard it, I thought of all the times me and my buddies end up grabbing a pitcher of beer at the old dive bar,

Miranda Lambert dials up the Wild West imagery in a brand new song. “If I Was a Cowboy” is peppered with references to wanted posters, tumbleweeds, and six-guns, and is the country singer’s first solo single since “Settling Down,” off the Wildcard album. “If I was a cowboy, I’d be wild and free / rolling

Forty-nine years ago today, on Oct. 16, 1972, Loretta Lynn became the first woman to win Entertainer of the Year at the CMA Awards. Lynn had just released her 18th studio album, Here I Am Again, when she won Entertainer of the Year. She had already notched 25 Top 10 singles, including the No. 1 hits

Thirty-four years ago today, on Oct. 16, 1987, Anne Murray made history in country music. It was on that date that Murray’s Greatest Hits album, released in 1980, earned triple-platinum status. Murray’s sales achievement signified sales in excess of 3 million units. It also made her the first female country artist to achieve that sales record. Capitol Records

‘Easy On Me’, is an emotional piano ballad, released at midnight, offering fans the first glimpse of Adele’s new album entitled 30. That will be her follow-up to massively successful albums 19, 21 and 25. Easy On Me sees Adele explaining her decision to walk away from her marriage in 2019, while asking her son

Miranda Lambert is longing for life in the wild West in her new single, “If I Was a Cowboy.” The country star offered a teaser of the song on Friday (Oct. 8), also revealing that the full track will be out on Oct. 15. “If I was a cowboy, I’d be wild and free /

Tom Morello recruited a slew of A-list guests for his new solo album The Atlas Underground, from Bruce Springsteen and Eddie Vedder to Mike Posner and Bring Me the Horizon. He also tapped into the country music world, enlisting Chris Stapleton for the track “The War Inside.” Both the song and the LP are out

“I always say that baseball was my first love and that music was my first passion,” says Conner Smith. The 21-year-old singer, who now finds himself in the musical big leagues thanks to some uncanny timing, played in the Little League World Series at the age of 12. Smith signed his contract with Big Machine Label

On Oct. 15, 1973, Dolly Parton released her now-classic song “Jolene.” The No. 1 song (as of February of 1974) wasn’t her first to reach the country charts’ highest peak, but it did help launch one of her most successful years to date, as she followed up “Jolene” with two more chart-toppers: “I Will Always Love You” and “Love

October 14, 2021 FEATURED, Music News After A 7 Year Hiatus UK Boyband The Wanted Are Back With A New Single ‘Rule The World’ Fans of popular UK boyband The Wanted are in hysterics today, as the group dropped their first single in 7 years called ‘Rule The World’. The new single was written by

Onoleigh‘s vision became a reality for her “Make It Hurt” music video. The singer-songwriter’s new clip is premiering exclusively via The Boot; press play below to watch. The video finds Onoleigh and her band on a rooftop in downtown Nashville, performing the song, in which the singer asks for a clean — but not painless — break

Kacey Musgraves is a six-time Grammy winner, including two Best Country Album wins, for Same Trailer Different Park and Golden Hour (which also won overall Album of the Year in 2019). The Texas native is apparently a little sore at the news that her latest album, Star-Crossed, won’t be considered eligible for this year’s country

Chris Stapleton, one of 2021’s CMT Artists of the Year, opted to ask one of his own favorite acts, Boyz II Men, to perform in his honor during Wednesday night’s (Oct. 13) event. He made a good call. “I don’t think that’s Chris Stapleton’s “Cold” anymore — that’s Boyz II Men’s “Cold,”” Stapleton said from stage

Cody Johnson experienced a life-changing emergency this year that totally shifted his perspective. He was with his wife and his management team on a private plane headed to a NASCAR event when the pilot said, “We’re going down.” “I said, ‘You mean we’re taking it down,'” Johnson recalls. “He said, ‘No, you need to prepare yourself. We’re going

Chris Jones is at the end of his rope in “Everybody’s Got a Line,” his new song with his band the Night Drivers. It’s premiering exclusively on The Boot; press play below to listen. To The Boot, Jones calls the song “a moody sort of number that ended up with an almost acoustic ’70s Waylon Jennings

Chris Stapleton and Jimmy Fallon don thick sweaters and innocuous chinos to sing about Father of the Bride, Something’s Gotta Give, and It’s Complicated in a musical homage to the films of Nancy Meyers. The country singer and late-night host debuted their spoof on Tuesday night’s episode of The Tonight Show. “When I need a

In 1984, Stevie Wonder scored his 10th R&B No. 1 single with “I Just Called to Say I Love You.” More than 35 years later, the Bellamy Brothers are putting their own spin on the song for a new covers album. Written, produced and performed by Wonder, “I Just Called to Say I Love You”

Harper Grae is happily married, but that doesn’t mean she’s wiped her past from her brain. In her single “I Think About You,” the singer admits that, yes, her exes still cross her mind — but, as she both sings in the chorus and explains to The Boot, that doesn’t mean she wants them back. Grae co-wrote “I

October 11, 2021 FEATURED, Music News Tom Walker And Masked Wolf Team Up For The Single ‘Something Beautiful’ Credit: Blair Brown Tom Walker today releases his first new music in two years with ‘Something Beautiful’, a rousing, heartfelt collaboration with chart-busting Australian rapper Masked Wolf – listen here. Acoustic driven and flanked by a huge

Chase Rice tried to make the most out of the abundance of free time he found himself with during the COVID-19 pandemic. As he filled his time with writing, the singer says he went down a path of self-reflection and evaluation that, in turn, delivered him to a more vulnerable place then he’s used to. These

Eric Church performed a pair of solo concerts this weekend in Pennsylvania after members of his band tested positive for Covid-19. The country singer Cam joined him onstage in Pittsburgh on Friday night and surprised fans again on Saturday in Philadelphia. Morgan Wallen was a special guest at Church’s Philly show too. Earlier this year,

Jimmie Allen came ready for Disney Night during week four of Dancing With the Stars, which was a night full of fun, nostalgic costumes and honor to the Disney classics. Allen and his partner, Emma Slater, commemorated the evening by dancing the Paso Doble to “I’ll Make a Man Out of You” on Monday night (Oct.