Month: September 2021

Dierks Bentley and Parker McCollum are among the many country artists who are showing their support for a new Nashville coffee shop, Bitty & Beau’s, that employs people who have disabilities. 

The coffee shop was started by husband and wife team Ben and Amy Wright, whose two youngest children, Bitty and Beau, have Down syndrome. The first location opened in 2016 in North Carolina and has since expanded to multiple states, hiring workers who have intellectual and developmental disabilities. 

As the franchise prepares to open a new location in Music City, Dierks, Parker, Travis Denning and Lauren Alaina sent a video to the staff offering words of encouragement. 

“It’s more than a cup of coffee. Showing the world what’s possible. I’m so excited,” Dierks shares.

“It’s an amazing new spot, and the coffee’s awesome,” Travis adds. 

“I love your cause, I love your coffee, and I can’t wait to get a cup,” Lauren raves. Josh Turner and Gary Allan. also offered encouragement.

“We can’t wait to open our doors in Music City and keep showing the world that people with disabilities are not broken,” Amy declares in the video.

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The audience at the Grand Ole Opry got a special surprise on Monday when Keith Urban‘s wife, actress Nicole Kidman, joined him onstage during the Loretta Lynn’s Friends: Hometown Rising event.

Keith was one of the many performers at the star-studded benefit concert, which aimed to raise money for the many people affected by the devastating flooding in Middle Tennessee in August. Loretta Lynn‘s ranch is in Humphreys County, where there were 20 reported casualties and hundreds of homes destroyed.

After performing hits “Blue Ain’t Your Color” and “Wasted Time,” Keith revealed that he was going to be donating a signed guitar to be auctioned off for the cause — but he wasn’t alone in the effort.  

“This is the Volunteer state. So I want to do my bit and sign this guitar,” he said, beckoning friend and “Out the Cage” collaborator Breland to also sign it.

“I think it needs one more signature. If I could just get my wife to put her autograph on this too,” Keith declared. The Academy Award-winning actress then made her way to the stage to sign the instrument as cheers erupted from the crowd.

“I’ve never been on the stage at the Opry. Wow!” Nicole exclaimed.

Luke Combs, Luke Bryan, Garth Brooks and Trisha Yearwood were among Loretta’s many other famous friends who performed at the event.

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Maren Morris proves that “The Bones” are still solid, as the hit song receives new certification. 

The crossover smash has been certified four-times Platinum by the RIAA for sales of four million units. “The Bones” made history when it spent 19 consecutive weeks at the top of the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in 2020, designating Maren as the first solo female artist to have a multi-week #1 hit on country radio since 2012. It also charted inside the top 15 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. 

Featured on her critically acclaimed sophomore album, Girl, “The Bones” was named Single of the Year and Song of the Year at the 2020 CMA Awards and Song of the Year at the 2021 Academy of Country Music Awards. 

Maren’s current single, “To Hell and Back,” is currently ascending into the top 30 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

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Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde are teaming up over heartbreak in their new song, “Never Wanted to be That Girl.” 

On Tuesday, the duet partners shared a teaser of the song that finds them as women done wrong by a cheating man.

The song leans into pain and confusion as they come to terms with the fact that they’re the other woman, albeit unintentionally, reflected through such lyrics as “thought this kind of lonely only happens to somebody else,” and “thought I knew who I was, but it’s getting hard to tell.”

“This is the story of how a bad man happened to two good women,” Carly describes, calling Ashley her “incredibly talented friend.”

“You won’t want to miss this story,” adds Ashley.

The singers co-wrote the track with Shane McAnally. 

“Never Wanted to be That Girl” drops in full at midnight and is featured on Carly’s upcoming album, 29: Written in Stone. 

Additionally, Carly will make her solo late-night TV debut with a performance of her current single, “Next Girl,” on Jimmy Kimmel Live! Wednesday night, airing at 11:35 p.m. ET on ABC.

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Kenny Chesney continues to fuel his passion for football in the upcoming film, More Than a Voice.

As part of the long-running sports documentary series SEC Storied, More Than a Voice spotlights famous SEC broadcasters including John Ward, the sportscaster at University of Tennessee that the country superstar grew up idolizing in his native Knoxville.  

“Within the SEC, I think everyone has that voice,” Kenny shares in the trailer for the 90-minute film that he also executive-produced. 

“It was important for me to be a part of this film because John Ward was such a big part of my life growing up and loving sports in east Tennessee. With his voice and his words, he painted a picture of Tennessee football that captured my imagination and the imaginations of so many,” Kenny explains in a statement. “Meeting him was one of the highlights of my life — and I'm thrilled to be a small part of this film that sheds light on his genius and so many of the other voices who have made the Southeastern Conference really special.”

More Than a Voice premieres on September 26 at 7 p.m. ET on the SEC Network.

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Cole Swindell‘s mother, Betty Carol Rainey, has passed away. 

The singer announced the news on his Instagram Stories on Monday night, posting a photo from the sky in an airplane as he was flying back to his home state of Georgia.

“Took this on the flight home to Georgia this afternoon. Lost my sweet Mom today. I know she’s up there. Gonna miss her so much. Love y’all,” Cole writes alongside the photo, which shows the sun shining through the clouds.

He did not provide specific details on her passing.  

Betty Rainey’s death comes eight years after Cole’s father, William Keith Swindell, passed away suddenly at the age of 65. He served as the inspiration for Cole’s hit 2015 single, “You Should Be Here.”

Cole is currently opening for Thomas Rhett on the Center Point Road Tour.

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Garth Brooks is prepared to dive into the deep end of a “Dive Bar.”

On the Monday-night edition of Inside Studio G, Garth announced that he’s resuming the Dive Bar Tour on October 11 in Oklahoma City, returning to his native state for a show at the Diamond Ballroom.

Per the Dive Bar Tour tradition, tickets are only available through country radio. All ticket holders must present a COVID-19 vaccination card or a negative COVID-19 test result to attend. 

This is the first announcement of a string of shows through the rest of the year, with Garth also sharing that he plans to record a dive bar show for a live album, hinting that “Two of a Kind (Workin' On a Full House)” and new single “That’s What Cowboys Do” are part of the set list.

“Our stuff is made for dive bars,” he asserts. 

The superstar says that it’s unlikely he’ll perform in stadiums for the remainder of the year. Garth had performed a handful of Stadium Tour dates this summer, but decided to put the tour on pause in light of the national surge of COVID-19 cases from the Delta variant.

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