Music

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

Taylor Swift has revealed the complete track listing for her upcoming re-recorded version of her classic album, Fearless. According to a social media post on Saturday (April 3), Fearless (Taylor’s Version) will feature a total of 27 tracks, including collaborations with Maren Morris and Keith Urban. The news comes one day after Swift posted a

Seventeen years ago today (April 3, 2004) was a big day for both Kenny Chesney and Uncle Kracker: It was on that date that their duet “When the Sun Goes Down” soared to the top of the charts. “When the Sun Goes Down” was the title track of Chesney’s seventh studio album, and for the country

Rory Feek and Trisha Yearwood join forces on “Met Him in a Motel Room,” a song about redemption. It’s one of two that Feek wrote for his his upcoming album, Gentle Man, and was previously recorded solo by Yearwood for her 2014 album PrizeFighter: Hit After Hit.  The duet finds the pain-inflicted pair longing to fill the deep void in their

Miranda Lambert has released a short and sweet solo acoustic rendition of her latest single “Settling Down,” which originally appeared on the 2019 album Wildcard. Written by Lambert with her regular collaborators Natalie Hemby and Luke Dick, “Settling Down” is a study in contrasts. Lambert’s narrator seemingly sits at a crossroads and considers the decision

Amy Grant was moved to tears by husband Vince Gill‘s Grammy-winning song, “When My Amy Prays.” “I’ve never said this, but it’s the thing that kind of puts a lump in my throat,” the Christian-pop singer began emotionally while speaking to Entertainment Tonight. “Faith has always been easy to me. For years I’ve asked Vince,

As access to COVID-19 vaccination grows, the Brothers Osborne were able to have a particularly sweet reunion recently: They got to hug their mom, Trish, for the first time since the onset of the pandemic. “She’s fully vaccinated and passed her grace period or whatever you need after that. So it’s been nice,” TJ Osborne recounts

Canaan Smith wanted Brent Cobb on his new album come hell or high water — or, perhaps more appropriately, come snow or ice. The pair’s new collaboration, “Catch Me If You Can” — premiering exclusively on The Boot — is a full-throttle shot of energy that they just barely completed in time. Smith had never met Cobb personally when

Morgan Wade may not be performing live music if it weren’t for Craigslist. The Floyd, Virginia, native was in her freshman year of college and having second thoughts about breaking up with her boyfriend, a mandolin and harmonica player, when she decided to woo him back — or, some might say, troll him — by

Rosanne Cash‘s new song “The Killing Fields” grapples with a dark part of southern United States history: lynchings. The singer-songwriter wrote the song, she shares, during the summer of 2020. “A few years of my own personal reckoning with painful issues of race, racism, privilege, reconciliation and individual responsibility led up to the moment in

Restless Road‘s “Took One Look at Her Momma” celebrates the women we love, and perhaps more importantly, the people who made them that way. The rising country trio of Zach Beeken, Garrett Nichols and Colton Pack — Kane Brown‘s first signees to his 1021 Entertainment record label — sing of a love with “a heart of gold” and who

Maddie & Tae have been kissing off country music’s stereotypes of women ever since releasing their 2014 answer to bro-country cliches, “Girl in a Country Song.” Now, the duo continue to offer a sharply written female perspective, this time from the point of view of a newlywed introducing her spouse to all aspects of her personality, even

To mark the release of her upcoming memoir Broken Horses, singer-songwriter Brandi Carlile will be taking part in a series of conversations with everyone from Dolly Parton to Leslie Jordan as part of a virtual book tour. Other conversations will feature former White House photographer Pete Souza, authors Glennon Doyle and Tara Westover, and radio

Luke Bryan has an update for fans after he suffered a gruesome accident with a fish hook while fishing on Tuesday (March 30). The country superstar seems surprisingly upbeat and unaffected after embedding two prongs of a fishing lure deep into his hand. Bryan first shared his jaw-dropping injury via Instagram on Tuesday, showing one hook jabbed

A performer since his junior year of high school, Poyen, Ark., native Justin Moore moved to Music City in 2002. He signed to the Valory Music Co., an imprint of Big Machine Label Group, in 2008, and released his first-ever radio single, “Back That Thing Up,” that year. After sharing an EP, You Asked for It, Moore

Bluegrass band the Grascals put their spin on “Traveling the Highway Home,” a song that dates back seven decades, in a new recording, premiering exclusively on The Boot. Press play below to listen. The Bailes Brothers, a sibling quartet from the early days of country music, wrote “Traveling the Highway Home,” which West Virginia Music Hall

Luke Combs fans can thank one of their own for a brand-new song from the country star. In reply to a tweet from a recently married fan, Combs wrote and shared “We Still Drink Beer,” a new tune, on Monday afternoon (March 29). On Monday morning, a Combs fan named Billy McKee tweeted out a

Sean Douglas, the genre-hopping songwriter behind hits including Thomas Rhett‘s smash “Die a Happy Man,” has purchased a historic compound in California. Pictures show a beautiful residence that’s an impressive mix of history and luxury. Built in 1925, the songwriter’s new four-bedroom, four-and-a-half-bathroom, 2,939-square-feet home was designed by renowned architect Carleton Winslow, according to Dirt.com.

Shenandoah have selected “Then a Girl Walks In” as the newest single from their 2020 collaborations album, Every Road, which finds the ’90s mainstay act teaming with a group of nine duet partners from today’s country A-list. “Then a Girl Walks In” — a team effort with Blake Shelton — is an ode to one of country music’s most

Blake Shelton has announced his first full-length studio record in nearly four years. The Oklahoma native will release Body Language on May 21st. The album is the follow-up to Shelton’s 2017 long-player Texoma Shore. Body Language — a Conway Twitty-esque title if ever there were one — spans 12 tracks, including Shelton’s current single “Minimum

Thomas Rhett has written several hit songs for other artists since releasing his debut single in 2012. A little-known song about young love and youthful indiscretion led to his major break, however. With “What’s Your Country Song,” Rhett has 17 No. 1 singles, including the generational love song “Die a Happy Man” and the genre-bending “Make

Dean Dillon is perhaps best known for co-writing more than 70 songs recorded by George Strait. However — as if that career-defining feat isn’t enough — Dillon’s discography also includes solo recordings dating back to the ‘70s, a stint as an entertainer at Opryland, a creatively enriching run as Gary Stewart’s duet partner and a catalog

Eric Church is a “Break It Kind of Guy” in the final instant-grat track off his upcoming album series, Heart & Soul. The funk-infused song opens with an ear-catching guitar lick as Church beckons, “Somebody turn it up.” Throughout the song, the Chief is a rule-breaking rejector of routine who keeps his gun loaded and spikes his coffee

Mando Saenz titled his first album in eight years All My Shame. But the veteran Nashville songwriter who’s had his songs recorded by Miranda Lambert, Midland, and Lee Ann Womack has nothing to regret. Despite the heaviness of the record’s title, Saenz isn’t repenting for past sins. Instead, he’s celebrating the empowerment that comes with