Music

Willie Nelson gathers his real-life family and the Family Band for a new album of cover songs and Nelson classics. Titled The Willie Nelson Family, the LP features the country music stalwart’s interpretations of George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” and Kris Kristofferson’s “Why Me,” along with updated takes on “Family Bible” and “Heaven and

In her Artist of the Year acceptance speech at Tuesday night’s (Sept. 22) 2021 Americana Honors & Awards, Brandi Carlile praised her peers and friends — Allison Russell, Yola and Joy Oladokun among them — for, during a difficult year, creating “music that has moved me, elevated me beyond where I thought I could go.” “To be Artist

Mark Wystrach’s most celebrated movie role to date didn’t come without a little sacrifice and anxiety. The Midland lead singer tells Taste of Country that he tried to cancel his audition for the Gary Paxton part in The Eyes of Tammy Faye, and things only got worse from there. With some (more than gentle) coaxing from

September 22, 2021 Music Spotlight: Tate McRae [embedded content] Tate Rosner McRae was born July 1, 2003. At the age of thirteen, she gained recognition as the first Canadian finalist on the reality TV show So You Think You Can Dance. In 2019 Tate McRae caught the attention of RCA Records after her original song

Thomas Csorba and his wife Alex are one of the countless couples to have their wedding plans postponed, altered or otherwise affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. But his new song, “Crystal Eyes” — premiering exclusively on The Boot — only recalls the beauty and ethereal feeling of the big day. “When I listen back to this song, I

Lil Nas X celebrated the release of his debut album Montero by re-inventing Dolly Parton’s signature song “Jolene” during a recent performance for BBC Radio One’s Live Lounge. Singing in a deep baritone over a sparse rock arrangement, Lil Nas X delivered an intense, gender-flipping rendition of Parton’s 1973 hit about a woman with “flaming locks

Ariana Grande has landed a country/Americana act for her team on Season 21 of The Voice. The pop superstar and actor signed on to coach Jim and Sasha Allen on Tuesday night (Sept. 21) after they auditioned with John Denver’s classic song “Leaving on a Jet Plane.” The father-son duo have an interesting back story.

Breland‘s debut song, “My Truck,” came about after a long day in the studio. He was writing with friends when the lyrics and melody came to him, so he immediately recorded a demo — and he always knew the song wasn’t meant for anybody else. His instincts were right: The country-meets-trap song spoke to the hearts

Danny Paisley’s “Date With an Angel” music video tells a love story through the ages. The bluegrass musician is premiering the new clip exclusively with The Boot; press play below to watch. Both Paisley and his son Ryan star in the “Date With an Angel” video. The clip sweetly shows the passage of time in

Breland wasn’t even a year old when Deana Carter released “Strawberry Wine,” her 1996 ballad about the passing of teenage innocence beneath a “hot July moon.” But the country whiz kid who broke out with the viral “My Truck” regards Carter’s song as a touchstone of his introduction to country music. “It really beautifully describes

Mickey Guyton and Darius Rucker are among the all-star list of artists who contributed to Metallica’s recently released The Metallica Blacklist, an expansive project celebrating the metal band’s influence. Both country artists offered covers of “Nothing Else Matters,” each putting their own spin on the song. Guyton’s “Nothing Else Matters” beautifully showcases the lower register of her voice

In spite of the genre’s growth over the past decade, many people have a tough time describing what Americana music actually is. Most can agree on one thing, however: The genre prizes eclecticism. Still, throughout the 2010s, some critiqued Americana music’s elevation of straight white men with acoustic guitars. For example, in 2018, after winning

Barely three days after Dave Brown toasted the 15th anniversary of his Nashville rock venue the Basement with a celebratory concert on February 29th, 2020, the club owner was awoken by a phone call that tragedy had struck at the Basement East, his other venue, across the Cumberland River. A tornado had touched down in

Alan Jackson‘s oldest daughter, Mattie Jackson Selecman, is opening up about the tragic death of her husband of just 11 months in a new book. In Lemons on Friday, Selecman shares how her faith helped her through the grieving process that followed his untimely death. Ben Selecman died on Sept. 12, 2018, after suffering a

Country singer Morgan Evans often gushes about his love for his wife, fellow artist Kelsea Ballerini. But there are other things Evans really loves, too — like his firepit. “I had COVID in March, and it was awful for about a week, but then during that second week when I had to be quarantined, I decided that I was

Chris Stapleton performed three songs off his 2020 album Starting Over for CBS This Morning’ latest Saturday Sessions. Joined by his band including his wife Morgane, Stapleton showcased “Arkansas,” “When I’m With You” and the title track from his latest LP, which arrived in November 2020 amid the Covid-19 pandemic. The country star embarked on

Erin Enderlin and Terri Clark are queens of the barroom in their new song “If There Weren’t So Many Damn Songs.” In the spirit of classics such as Waylon Jennings’ “The Wurlitzer Prize (I Don’t Want to Get Over You),” the song is a fiddle-and-steel-heavy weeper that makes feeling bad sound oh so good. “If there weren’t so many songs about

Trisha Yearwood scored one of the biggest hits of her career with “Walkaway Joe,” but in a new interview, she reveals that another country artist came close to cutting the song before she could. “’Walkaway Joe’ was one of those songs that the Judds actually had on hold,” Yearwood tells I Miss…90s Country Radio With

Trisha Yearwood songs are unlike any others in country music. She has carved out a successful and unique niche for herself by finding some of the highest-quality songs in the genre, then recording them in arrangements that bring them to life in a way that is sonically different from any other artist in the commercial country

“I shouldn’t have come here in the first place, cause folks in here don’t like my kind,” Charley Crockett sings in “Music City USA,” the title track of his new album. The video for the song underscores the cynicism of those lyrics and follows the throwback country singer as he makes his way — anonymously

Mickey Guyton‘s “Love My Hair” offers a message of self-acceptance while putting forth a narrative that’s underrepresented in country music: the specific perspective of Black women. The singer recently released the song ahead of the arrival of her debut album, Remember Her Name. Guyton begins “Love My Hair” by describing an experience many Black women struggle with

Sept. 18 might be a day that Willie Nelson would just as soon forget. It was on that date in 2006 that the singer was arrested for possession of marijuana and narcotic mushrooms while on the road in Louisiana. The incident began with a commercial vehicle inspection of Nelson’s tour bus: “When the door was opened and

Beloved by fans of everything from country music to down-home cooking, Trisha Yearwood has been a cultural icon for well over two decades. Born on Sept. 19, 1964, to Gwendolyn and Jack Howard Yearwood, Patricia Lynn Yearwood spent her earliest years in Monticello, Ga., performing in elementary school musicals and church choir groups. Although Yearwood possessed an innate musical

September 17, 2021 FEATURED, Music News G-Eazy and Demi Lovato Search For Solace On The Single ‘Breakdown’ G-Eazy and Demi Lovato brings us a brand new single called ‘Breakdown’ exploring a story both artists have been familiar with. The song appears on the rapper’s upcoming fourth studio album, These Things Happen Too, which arrives on September 24th.

CMT’s Artists of the Year awards show will be back this fall in its usual form after hitting pause in 2020 to recognize pandemic frontline workers in healthcare, military, and education with the “CMT Honors Our Heroes” special. The 2021 CMT Artists of the Year ceremonies, set to air live from Nashville, recognize the successes

When budding country artist Laci Kaye Booth traded her small town of Livingstone, Texas, for the bright lights of the American Idol stage in 2019, it pushed the normally introverted aspiring star out of her comfort zone. Her shy personality was in complete opposition to what the singing show is about — a hurdle she had

Garth Brooks, Trisha Yearwood, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs and more came together on Sept. 13 for a monumental benefit concert that raised money for middle Tennesseans in need. Loretta Lynn shares that her Hometown Rising concert was a huge success, pulling in more than $900,000 and counting. The tally sits at $933,000, Lynn revealed on Thursday (Sept. 16). The United Way