Music

The 56th ACM Awards have announced a series of early winners ahead of Sunday’s live broadcast. Carly Pearce and Lee Brice won Music Event of the Year for their collaboration “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” while Kane Brown’s “Worldwide Beautiful” was named Video of the Year. Last week, winners in the New Artist categories were

Elle King is set to open the 2021 ACM Awards on Sunday night (April 18) by performing alongside Miranda Lambert on their new collaboration, “Drunk (and I Don’t Wanna Go Home).” In an interview prior to the show, King admits the big moment makes her “super nervous” — but in a good way. The appearance marks King’s

Eighteen years ago today, on April 18, 2003, Dierks Bentley made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, fulfilling a dream he had held since childhood. The singer performed his then-newly released single, “What Was I Thinkin’,” from his eponymous freshman album, which was released the following August. “I just want to add my name to

Tracy Lawrence is a man who’s been there and and stayed awhile during his new heartbreak song, “Lonely 101.” A lyric video finds the country veteran giving some hard-to-hear advice. Over a traditional arrangement (co-produced by Julian King), Lawrence says that, yeah, the pain is bad now, but it’s going to get worse. The same

Ahead of Sunday’s Academy of Country Music Awards, Ashley McBryde visited The Late Show Friday to perform “Sparrow” from her album Never Will, released a year ago this month in April 2020. As Stephen Colbert noted in his introduction of McBryde — who virtually performed from the stage at Nashville’s Basement East venue — the

Lee Brice had planned to sing his hit collaboration with Carly Pearce, “I Hope You’re Happy Now,” during the 2020 CMA Awards, but due to contracting COVID-19, he had to pull out at the last minute. The singer is now getting his second shot at this performance, this time at the 56th ACM Awards. “I’m

Fifteen years ago today (April 17, 2006) was an exhausting day for Jo Dee Messina. It was on that date that the singer ran the Boston Marathon, in five hours and 47 minutes; her time was about an hour longer than she had anticipated because she injured her knee about halfway through the course. “I don’t

Elle King is ready to make her home in country music, she says — in part because the awards shows are just so dang fun. King’s solo music leans rootsy, but she’s yet to release a country radio single on her own. Still, she’s a 2020 ACM Awards winner (“Fooled Around and Fell in Love” with

Ed Sheeran has been titling his albums with mathematical signs since his 2011 debut, +, and artists across genres have used question marks, exclamation points, and even parentheses as album titles over the years. Enter Eric Church, who’s taking a page out of the punctuation book for at least part of his new three-record set, Heart

After Jimmie Allen learned he’d won ACM New Male Artist of the Year, there were so many people he wanted to tell. But the number he dialed was his late father’s old number. “My dumb self picked up the phone to call my dad,” a gregarious Allen reveals to Taste of Country Nights with a slight

Brothers Osborne‘s “Younger Me” looks back with gratitude. Childhood wasn’t always easy — but, as TJ Osborne sings, “those trips around the sun / I needed every one.” Osborne co-wrote “Younger Me” with his brother and duo partner John and songwriter and artist Kendell Marvel after seeing the response to his decision to publicly come out

Chris Stapleton turned 43 on Thursday (April 15), but it was his fans who got the gifts, courtesy of his wife. Morgane Stapleton opened up the country superstar’s old photo albums and shared her findings in honor of his big day. Baby-faced Chris ready for a day of hunting? Check. Teenage Chris in a suit?

Eric Church hasn’t been shy about asking country music fans to schedule their Covid vaccinations. As he recently said in the Rolling Stone Interview: Special Edition, it’s the fastest way for live concerts to resume. “I would encourage anyone who can, to get the vaccine,” he says. “It’s common sense to me. The fastest way

“Bright Side Girl” isn’t likely to steal press around Eric Church‘s new Heart & Soul album, but in many ways, it’s the signature song from the new triple album. The tender acoustic ballad from Soul isn’t the best song of the 24, nor is it the most original. Church and his songwriting team are rarely

Classically trained folk singer-songwriter Zack Joseph finds his center in a long-distance relationship in his new song “Keeping Me Sane.” It’s premiering exclusively via The Boot; press play below to listen. “All that’s keeping me sane / Is the hope that you’re thinking about my name,” Joseph professes in each chorus. He’s separated from his love, “so

A series of digital billboards showing messages of support for country singer Morgan Wallen appeared throughout downtown Nashville this week. In February, Wallen was seen on video using a racial slur, a scandal that elicited a swift rebuke from the country music community. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Mmichelle (@countrymusic_street_team) “His

When 2021 ACM Awards nominees were announced in late February, Ashley McBryde was on her way home from a writing retreat and unable to watch the announcement live. It was one of her Album of the Year competitors, actually, who let her know about her nomination. “I got a text from John Osborne,” McBryde shares. “Of

Loretta Lynn first entered the world of country music in 1960 with the release of her debut single, “I’m a Honky Tonk Girl.” Sixty-plus years later, the singer is still going strong, releasing new music and continuing to perform for her fans. Country fans have been watching the “Coal Miner’s Daughter” for the last six decades, from

Find Thomas Rhett struggling with his work/home balance during his new song, “Country Again.” The title track from his upcoming album represents the tone and theme of many of the 11 songs. Is it representative of the sound? Longtime fans of Rhett’s are familiar with this internal dialogue set to music. He writes and records songs as uniquely personal as anyone who

Morgan Wallen has posted a letter thanking his fans for their support since the release of his album Dangerous and also announcing his intention not to tour during summer 2021. Despite Wallen being removed from country radio after he was caught using a racial slur on camera, Dangerous spent 10 weeks at Number One —

Morgan Wallen says he’s been working on himself, and he’ll need to keep working on himself. He’s not going to play any live shows this summer, he says. Specifically referring to tour dates with Luke Bryan and scheduled festival dates, Wallen says he’s bowing out. “But it’s important to me personally, if you can, still go

What would “Whiskey Lullaby” have sounded like if Dierks Bentley was the one to record it instead of Brad Paisley and Alison Krauss? Or what if Blake Shelton had been the one who made “The House That Built Me” famous instead of Miranda Lambert? Neither scenario is a far-fetched idea — both almost happened! Sometimes, a

Morgan Wade is longing to know more about her love in her new “Wilder Days” music video. Throughout the clip, the couple’s present-day relationship runs in parallel with his past. In the “Wilder Days” video, Wade and her guy (played by Josh Jakub) are all gussied up for a date; he’s even got a shiny, well-maintained convertible. Wade,

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.) Gary Louris, “Almost Home” The

Billboards calling Morgan Wallen his fans’ choice as Entertainer of the Year have popped up around Nashville. The mystery of who paid for them runs deep. The Boot and Taste of Country confirmed the locations of three billboards, each with two Wallen-focused graphics in rotation, at various, highly trafficked intersections near downtown Nashville. One billboard design reads “Support that boy from

Despite a varied catalog featuring quite a few twangy odes to the past, some old souls dismiss Garth Brooks as a pop act. To shut down such limiting notions about Brooks, look no further than his debut album. The now-32-year-old Garth Brooks album — released on April 12, 1989 — honors tradition while pushing ‘80s country’s

Alex Miller has officially released the song that set him on his American Idol path. “I’m Over You So Get Over Me” is the traditional country swinger he auditioned with, and appropriately, it’s his first bow as a professional recording artist. Miller says he wrote “I’m Over You So Get Over Me” about an ex-girlfriend. The

Taylor Swift released her re-recorded Fearless (Taylor’s Version) on Friday, a 2021 update of the 2008 album. Comprising 27 tracks, the new LP features six “From the Vault” recordings, including the Keith Urban duet “That’s When.” An introspective retelling of a romance at the brink, the song opens with Swift singing the first verse and

Dogs rank up there with trains and mothers on the list of lyrical cliches in country music, so there’s no surprise that ol’ hound dogs dominate the handful of country songs about beloved family pets. Examples of dogs-focused country songs include breakthrough hits by such historic heavyweights as Hank Williams and Elvis Presley, with the

Twenty-nine years ago today (April 11, 1992) was a bittersweet day for Wynonna Judd. It was on that date that she earned her first No. 1 hit as a solo artist, with her debut single, “She Is His Only Need.” By the time “She Is His Only Need” hit the airwaves, Judd had already had plenty