Music

Eleven years ago today (Sept. 13, 2009) might be a day that Taylor Swift would just as soon forget. What started out as a joyous occasion, with Swift giving a heartfelt acceptance speech after winning Best Female Video at the MTV Video Music Awards, turned into an awkward moment, when she was interrupted by hip-hop artist Kanye

It may sound obvious, but Orville Peck doesn’t particularly go for casual dress. The masked entertainer tends to complement his signature facial fringe with bright colors and rhinestones, nods to a bygone era of country music when the entertainers lived large and wore the clothes to prove it. “That’s what I grew up loving,” Peck

Songwriter Luke Laird (Eric Church, Sam Hunt, Miranda Lambert) is relying on his own voice for songs from his new Music Row album. Tracks such as “Good Friends” find an easy groove between pop and traditional country. That’s not to say the song shoots straight down the middle, though. Steel guitar cries across the intro and

Twenty-six years ago today, on Sept. 12, 1994, George Jones had a birthday to remember, even if it wasn’t the way he had hoped: It was on that date that the singer had triple bypass surgery at Nashville’s Baptist Hospital, where he remained hospitalized for one week. Jones was rushed to the hospital the night

Seventeen years ago today, country music lost one of its most beloved stars: Johnny Cash. The legendary singer died on Sept. 12, 2003, of complications from diabetes; he was 71. Cash began his historic career in 1955 with his first single, “Hey Porter.” He went on to record more than 100 albums and release over 150

Gillian Welch has shared two more songs from her upcoming collection of previously unheard material, Boots No 2: the Lost Songs, Vol. 2: “Beautiful Boy” and “I Just Want You to Know.” “Beautiful Boy” is a sweet but devastating song in which Welch captures the anxiety and unease that often accompanies a newfound love —

Sadler Vaden‘s “Best Days” is both a prayer and a belief, the singer-songwriter says. Readers can hear the recently released track above. “I wrote “Best Days” during one of my worst days. Nothing was going right, and it was in the midst of the George Floyd protests,” Vaden shares of the new song. “I started

Carrie Underwood is singing the Sunday Night Football theme for an eighth season in 2020, and she says she’s grateful to still be part of the team — especially this year. “We all want to make each year feel special and unique,” Underwood says in a video that gives fans a behind-the-scenes peek at the making

Sixteen years ago today, on Sept. 11, 2004, Terri Clark was undoubtedly doing plenty of celebrating. It was on that date that her single “Girls Lie Too,” from her Greatest Hits 1994-2004 album, soared to the top of the charts, becoming her second single to take the No. 1 slot in the United States. The

“Everything I do is a temporary fix,” Maggie Rose laments in her new song “20/20,” written and recorded in the early days of the quarantine. Beginning as a gentle solo piano ballad, “20/20” transitions into a full-band swoon, with the Nashville soul singer finding a glimmer of hope in a really bad year. “I’ve seen

Singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey suits up – hazmat suits up, that is — for a visit to Nashville’s Lower Broadway in his new “Things Could Get Much Worse” music video. Press play above to watch. After shutting down for much of the spring early on in the novel coronavirus pandemic, the reopening of honky-tonks on Broadway in

In 1968, the ACM Awards honored Glen Campbell and his record Gentle on My Mind with the very first Album of the Year award. Since that day, 50-plus years ago, Album of the Year has remained one of the most coveted titles awarded at the ACMs. While Campbell won the award for a second year in a row (alongside

A global pandemic forcing you to empty your tour calendar and stay off the road for the summer months and then some isn’t all bad, Keith Urban has discovered. The country superstar and his family recently made a temporary move to their home country of Australia during the novel coronavirus pandemic, and while their reasons for

Singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey braves downtown Nashville in a hazmat suit in the riotous new video for “Things Could Get Much Worse.” The song appears on Ivey’s upcoming album Waiting Out the Storm, which was produced by Ivey’s collaborator and wife, Margo Price. Directed by Houston Mathews, the clip was shot in a single afternoon on

Singer-songwriter Thomas Csorba focuses on injustice in the United States in his new song “Crooked Kind of Free.” The song is premiering exclusively on The Boot; press play below to listen. Csorba was inspired to write this new song “that tries to come to terms with the brokenness in this country,” he explains to The Boot,

Louisiana native Laine Hardy is no stranger to drawing musical inspiration from his hometown. Ever since his American Idol victory in 2019, the singer’s dropped a number of poignant, nostalgia-fueled odes to small-town familiarity, including “Ground I Grew Up On” and “Let There Be Country.” “Tiny Town” continues in that vein, with a lonesome twist: In the song, Hardy

Dierks Bentley‘s Instagram dispatches from the novel coronavirus pandemic have grown sparser as the months have worn on: a snap from a recent mountain-biking adventure here, a nostalgic-for-live music shot there, an occasional promotional post for his daughters’ radio show or the Hot Country Knights. He’s been quarantining with his family in Colorado, and honestly, scrolling through

In an effort to help Nashville’s independent music venues survive the pandemic, the city’s Convention & Visitors Corporation and the Music Venue Alliance have partnered to launch the virtual concert series Music City Bandwidth. The series will host 30 performances in September and October, with artists including Andrew Combs, Devon Gilfillian, and Kalie Shorr set

Texas singer-songwriter Garrett Owen stares down the inevitable — death — in his new song “Bleedin’ Through My Shoes.” The track is premiering exclusively on The Boot; press play below to listen. Owen began writing this song after his Aunt Katy was diagnosed with terminal cancer; sadly, she only lived a few more weeks after receiving

Vince Gill fits right in as a member of the Eagles, as he demonstrates on a new track that the iconic group has released. Gill takes over lead vocals for the 1975 classic “Lyin’ Eyes,” which the Eagles have shared in advance of the release of their new live album, Live From the Forum MMXVIII.  Gill’s

With a voice as eclectic and elegant as her personality, Olivia Lunny is well on her way to becoming the next breakthrough Canadian artist/songwriter. Olivia’s been preparing for this moment since she released her self-titled EP in early 2018 that garnered her a Western Canadian Music Award nomination for “Pop Artist of the Year”. That

Country stars live glamorous lives — stylists, tour buses, catering, sold-out shows and television appearances — but it hasn’t always been glitz and glory for your favorite artists. In fact, many had to work jobs that were downright awful, greasy and smelly before they got to where they are today. Faith Hill served up burgers and fries at

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. Brit Taylor, “Back in the Fire” Brit Taylor goes full Bobbie Gentry

Country music is a soundtrack to the blue-collar worker’s life, from hammers to haylofts. The stories of farmers, cowboys, miners and more have been told in the lyrics of country songs throughout generations. From Merle Haggard‘s “Workin’ Man Blues” to some “Shiftwork” with Kenny Chesney and George Strait, we won’t judge you if you want

Forty-one years ago today (Sept. 7, 1979) was a big day for Waylon Jennings: It was on that date that the singer’s Greatest Hits album was certified platinum. Jennings’ Greatest Hits record contains several of the country icon’s chart-topping hits, including “I’ve Always Been Crazy” and “Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love).” The disc also includes

Ty Dolla $ign – “Ego Death (feat. Kanye West, FKA Twigs and Skrillex)”: “Ego Death” is a song by American artist Ty Dolla Sign. It was released as the lead single from his upcoming third studio album Dream House. It features guest appearances by fellow rapper Kanye West, British singer FKA Twigs, and American record producer Skrillex, along with

Carly Pearce said she was asking herself, “What would Patty Loveless do?” while writing her new song “Next Girl” with Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne. It’s clearly not just a talking point. The compact, just-shy-of-three-minutes single instantly evokes the bluegrass flavor of Loveless as well as her Nineties radio hits. The production is lean, highlighting

Hardy‘s basement looks like a pretty sweet spot to relax. Camouflage wallpaper covers the walls, and Christmas lights line the ceiling’s perimeter. “Call Me Old Fashioned” reads a print featuring the drink of the same name; another, a photograph turned into a cartoon, shows the singer and songwriter flipping off the camera. “It’s my bar,

Eight years ago today (Sept. 6, 2012), Vince Gill achieved yet another career accolade. It was on that date that the Grand Ole Opry member received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “I loved my years in southern California,” Gill said during the ceremony. “They were probably the most important years I ever spent, because

Sheryl Crow has announced a pair of virtual at-home concerts, titled “Songs From the Big Green Barn.” The shows will take place at — you guessed it — Crow’s Big Green Barn in Nashville, and will consist of an “Outside” performance on Friday, September 18th, at 9 p.m. ET, and an “Inside” show on Saturday,