Music

Texas singer-songwriter Mike Ryan is fighting off heartbreak — with alcohol, naturally — in his new single “Can Down.” As he releases the brand-new song on Friday (April 9), he’s sharing an acoustic performance exclusively with The Boot’s readers. Ryan co-wrote “Can Down” with Brent Anderson, Smith Ahnquist and Will Weatherly. The song’s protagonist is utterly broken

Rising country-pop singer Morgan Wade performed three tracks from her debut album Reckless as part of CBS This Morning’s latest “Saturday Sessions.” The Virginia native played her standout “Wilder Days,” “Last Cigarette” and “Don’t Cry” for the performance, with Wade joined by a backing band that included Sadler Vaden, the producer of Reckless and a

Each year, April 10 is recognized as National Siblings Day. The holiday was created by a woman named Claudia Evart, who lost her siblings, Lisette and Alan, early in life in two different incidents. Though it’s not an official holiday — it’s not a federally recognized holiday, like Mother’s Day and Father’s Day — it’s a good

Chances are good that 26 years ago today (April 10, 1995), George Strait had no idea how significant his plans for the day would become. It was on that date that Strait recorded “Check Yes or No” and “I Know She Still Loves Me,” both for his 1995 compilation album Strait Out of the Box. Strait

Tim McGraw‘s new song “God Moves the Pen” celebrates the power of words — specifically, the ones that declare our love for each other. The midtempo track announces the country star’s Here on Earth Ultimate Edition, due out on April 16. A steady drumbeat and twangy guitar back McGraw throughout the simple “God Moves the Pen.”

Jennifer Nettles’ voice, outsized and dramatic, has always been suited for the stage. In 2015, she starred in Chicago on Broadway as Roxie Hart. Now the eclectic vocalist — and one-half of the country duo Sugarland — will release an album full of her versions of Broadway songs. Always Like New arrives June 25th on Concord

Ricky Skaggs finally has his high school diploma, five decades after he left school early to launch his career. In June of 2020, Skaggs was awarded an honorary diploma from his alma mater, Lawrence County High School in Louisa, Ky., during the school’s virtual graduation ceremony, according to a press announcement on Friday (April 9). Skaggs

Tracy Lawrence missed the energy. He missed the camaraderie. Heck, the country music legend just missed his friends before he stepped back onto a real stage earlier this year, for his first full-band show in months. It’s going to be a while longer before he can play to all his friends in bars, honky-tonks and arenas

Dillon Carmichael exhibits both personality and poise with his new single “Hot Beer,” staying faithful to some of traditional country’s most beloved tropes while also making way for his own individuality and sense of humor as a performer. It’s a light-hearted zinger of a breakup song, as Carmichael reflects on all the things he’d rather

Morgan Wade has released the official music video for “Wilder Days,” the lead single from her debut solo album Reckless. The clip sees Wade covering up her tattoos with a buttoned-up alter ego, accompanying her boyfriend (played by Josh Jakub) on an awkward date to Nashville cocktail bar Rosemary. Following the narrative of the song,

Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires are part of a special new space in Nashville’s Nissan Stadium. The singer-songwriter couple recently helped establish a room for fans with sensory sensitivities at the football stadium. The Tennessee Titans, Nashville’s NFL team, unveiled the Isbell-Shires KultureCity Sensory Room at their home stadium on Tuesday (April 6). Isbell and Shires helped

Fancy Hagood‘s debut album, Southern Curiosity, is due out on Friday (April 9), but the singer-songwriter has already lived multiple musical lives to get to this point in his career. Hagood, whose given name is Jake, is an Arkansas native who grew up singing in church and taught himself to play piano as a teenager. But as

A list of Luke Combs‘ best songs would be a list of lists, including “Forever After All,” his latest single. The love ballad finds him contrasting things that are long-lasting, but finite (a good truck, guitar strings, young love) with his love for the woman in his life. It’s easy to take for granted Combs’ sincerity

Zac Brown will assemble his full Zac Brown Band for the group’s first livestream concert. Set for Saturday, May 8th, the eclectic country music band will perform at Southern Ground Studio in Nashville and touch on songs from throughout their career. A press release says fans can expect the group’s “greatest hits from the past

Dolly Parton is mourning the death of someone who played a key role in helping her launch her career in music. The country legend turned to Facebook on Wednesday (April 7) to reveal the death of her uncle, Bill Owens, writing, “I wouldn’t be here if he hadn’t been there.” “I knew my heart would

In country music, the cowboy archetype has long produced great songwriting. That’s partly because the idea of the cowboy is more complex than you might think. Some cowboys are rugged and a little dangerous, which adds mystery and intrigue to their portrayal. Others are stoic and strong, which means they’re dependable, but not necessarily the

Timmy Brown is ready to give a relationship another try in his new song “Nothing to See Here;” unfortunately for him, his ex has already moved on. Press play below to hear the track, co-written by none other than country star Chris Young and premiering exclusively on The Boot. Young co-wrote “Nothing to See Here” with Joshua Gleave and Johnny

Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson have joined the growing cast of Martin Scorsese’s upcoming Killers of the Flower Moon, Osage News reports. No release date has been announced for the Apple Original Film, an adaptation of David Grann’s nonfiction book about a string of murders in Oklahoma’s Osage Nation. Set in the 1920s, the story

Brian Kelley isn’t waiting long to put out his first solo music. The Florida Georgia Line member revealed on Tuesday (April 6) that his debut solo EP, BK’s Wave Pack, is due out on April 13 — in just one week. BK’s Wave Pack contains four songs, all with a beach theme and all co-written and co-produced by

When Taylor Swift released Fearless, her sophomore album, on Nov. 11, 2008, she was an 18-year-old rising with a platinum-certified debut album and five Billboard 100 Top 40 singles to her name. Fearless, though, would put her on an even faster track to superstardom. “Fearless was an album full of magic and curiosity, the bliss and devastation of youth,” Swift

Kelsea Ballerini‘s coming home song is as easy of a collaboration as you’ll ever find in country music. “Half of My Hometown” with Kenny Chesney finds the Knoxville natives longing for the streets and hills that raised them. This fourth single from Kelsea is a vocal contrast to the album’s two hits. The playfulness of “Hole in

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.) Nate Barnes, “You Ain’t Pretty”

Ariana Grande may be one of the biggest superstars in the world, but Blake Shelton isn’t intimidated about her joining The Voice. While serving as a surprise guest co-host with Hoda Kotb on Today on Wednesday (March 31), Shelton remarked that he’s actually looking forward to the “7 Rings” singer sitting two chairs down from him as a coach during

Fifty years ago today, on April 3, 1971, Loretta Lynn and Conway Twitty‘s “After the Fire Is Gone” claimed the top spot on the charts. The song is the first single that Lynn and Twitty released as a duo; it comes from their debut album, We Only Make Believe. Written by IE White, “After the Fire Is

Alan Jackson is gearing up to release an ambitious new album, and he’s teasing fans with three new songs in advance. The country icon dropped three new songs by surprise at midnight on Friday morning (April 2): “Things That Matter,” “Way Down in My Whiskey” and the title song of the new album, “Where Have

Rosanne Cash’s tackles America’s disgraceful history of lynchings in her searing new song “The Killing Fields.” “The blood that runs on cypress trees/cannot be washed away,” Cash sings over a sparse arrangement provided by her musical partner and husband John Leventhal. “By mothers’ tears and gasoline/and secrets un-betrayed.” “A few years of my own personal

Music fans and artists alike are rallying around Exit/In, a beloved club in Nashville that was recently sold to a developer and could now be forced to close for good. Club owners Chris and Telisha Cobb have launched a GoFundMe to help raise money to hopefully purchase the property back from AJ Capital Partners, with whom it is

Thirty-six years ago today (April 4, 1985) was an historic day for the Judds: It was on that date that the mother-and-daughter duo, made up of Naomi and Wynonna Judd, earned their first gold album, signifying sales of 500,000 units, with Why Not Me. Why Not Me was the Judds’ first full-length album; they had

Alan Jackson laments the passing of traditional country music in “Where Have You Gone,” the title song of his upcoming album. Jackson reiterates his position as country music’s most important traditionalist with the song, which mourns the death of old-school country while simultaneously breathing new life into it. Jackson is the sole writer on “Where

“It’s been way too long since you slipped away/I just can’t forget, I can’t pretend it’s OK,” Alan Jackson sings in his new song “Where Have You Gone.” It could easily be about the lover who left him, but he quickly lays bare the subject of his lament: country music itself. “Soft steel guitar, oh