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Go Country 105

Nashville notes

Ahead of the spring release of his next album, Georgia, Jason Aldean has shared another new song off the record. It’s called “Rock and Roll Cowboy.”

Kassi Ashton, an up-and-comer who’s opened for the likes of Maren Morris, has sent her first single to country radio. The song is called “Dates in Pickup Trucks.”

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Go Country 105

Chris Lane thought he never wanted to be a dad — until he met his now-wife, Lauren

These days, Chris Lane is a doting dad to a seven-month-old baby boy, Dutton, but the singer admits that earlier in his life, he didn’t plan on ever becoming a husband and father.

“I never wanted kids. I honestly never wanted to get married. None of that,” Chris tells ET Online.

But meeting Lauren Bushnell — a former contestant on The Bachelor — changed all that, he goes on to say. After the couple got pregnant, as fatherhood became more of a reality for Chris, he became more and more grateful that he’d had a change of heart about family life.

“Actually, the day [Dutton] was born…I cried my eyes out, because I felt like I was praying, ‘Lord, thank you so much for not listening to me for all those years that I said I never wanted that,'” the singer continues. “I wouldn’t have known what I was missing out on and it’s truly the best thing in the world.”

Chris has drawn inspiration from his love for Lauren for several of his songs, including “Big, Big Plans,” which he wrote for his proposal. He’ll revisit their love story once again in a new single set to drop in a couple of weeks.

He tells ET Online that the song, called “Howdy,” is a wordplay-filled look back at Lauren’s previous relationships, including her high-profile engagement to Bachelor personality Ben Higgins, and how the couple’s failed relationships ultimately led them to each other.

 

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Go Country 105

Cole Swindell shows his softer side on a new love ballad, “I'm Gonna Let Her”

Cole Swindell is celebrating Valentine's Day a little early with the release of a romantic new song, “I'm Gonna Let Her.”

Packed with wistful steel guitar and lovelorn lyrics, “I'm Gonna Let Her” comes off of Cole's next album, Stereotype. He announced the project earlier this week; it's his fourth studio album to date.

“I'm so proud of this album and excited for everyone to hear what we have been working on,” the singer explains. “I've always had a best song wins' attitude when recording an album and I hope that every song we recorded for Stereotype makes you feel something.”

Cole also announced the full track list for the 13-song collection, which includes his current top-twenty hit, a duet with Lainey Wilson called “Never Say Never.”

Cole's also gearing up for his Down to the Bar Tour, and as he shared more details about the album, he revealed that the tour takes its name from one of Stereotype's tracks. “Down to the Bar” is a duet with rising star Hardy.

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Go Country 105

Maren Morris offers a little “Background Music,” teases her next new song

Maren Morris will continue her new album rollout next week when she releases another track, “Background Music.”

It's the fifth track on her upcoming new album, Humble Quest, according to a track list that Maren previously shared with fans. Humble Quest arrives in full March 25, and fans have already heard the lead single off the project, “Circles Around This Town.”

In her tease for “Background Music,” Maren posted a photo of herself staring out a window. It isn't clear if the shot is an outtake from the album cover artwork, a still from an unreleased music video, or something different.

“Not everybody gets to leave a souvenir…” she wrote in the caption of her post.

On TikTok, Maren shared even more “Background Music” earlier this week, posting the full chorus of the dreamy, mid-tempo song. “Is a full chorus a leak?” she wrote alongside the clip.

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Go Country 105

Kane Brown adds another leg to his Blessed & Free Tour, with new openers Walker Hayes & RaeLynn

Kane Brown's not ready to call it quits on his Blessed & Free Tour quite yet. The run, which was originally scheduled to wrap this month, will return this spring for eight more shows.

Kicking off May 7 with a stop in Chattanooga, the tour will take Kane across a number of stadiums and arenas. Kane's got a new batch of opening acts, too. Chase Rice is staying on from the last leg of the tour, but new supporting acts Walker Hayes and RaeLynn have signed on to join the Blessed & Free Tour.

During the first leg of the tour, Jordan Davis was direct support for Kane, and Restless Road also joined the trek.

To be the first to pick up tickets for the spring dates on the Blessed & Free Tour, head over to Kane’s website now to register for the pre-sale.

 

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Go Country 105

Dustin Lynch is in “party mode” with a 2022 headlining tour

Dustin Lynch returns to the stage for a headlining tour next month, called his Party Mode Tour. He announced the details on Friday, also hinting that he'll have some new songs to play by the time the trek kicks off.

“We're starting summer early and throwing DOWN on the Party Mode Tour,” Dustin says. “Get ready for new songs, a new show and even more energy! I can't wait to party with y'all!”

Before the tour starts on March 17, Dustin will release his fifth studio album, Blue in the Sky. That project arrives February 11. That album rollout started with a bang, as he earned a six-week number-one song with its lead single, “Thinking Bout You,” which is a duet with MacKenzie Porter.

The same day the album comes out, tickets for the tour go on sale. Newcomer Sean Stemaly will be joining Dustin for the bulk of the shows. For dates and details, head over to the star's website.

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News Daypop

NYC Mayor Eric Adams meets with President Biden to address surge in gun violence

President Biden joined New York City Mayor Eric Adams on Thursday to discuss violent crime and rising gun violence in the city since the start of the pandemic, along with U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland and New York Gov. Kathy Hochul.

Mayor Adams, a former police officer, ran a ‘tough on crime’ platform in his campaign for mayor.  Adams said on Thursday: “We’re going to stop gun trafficking from coming into our city, get illegal guns off the streets, and lock up those who carry them.”

The President said he is focused on combatting gun violence with a plan laid out by The White House, which includes additional funding to “put more cops on the beat,” more “investment in violence prevention and intervention” and more “help from the federal government to try to stop illegal gun traffickers.”  Said Biden: “The answer is not to defund the police, it’s to give you the tools the training the funding to be partners, to be protectors.” 

Adams has pointed to an influx of guns into cities as a catalyst to rising crime, especially after two NYPD officers were killed by a suspect with a stolen gun.  Last month Adams also introduced a “Blueprint to End Gun Violence,” which includes plans to revive a plainclothes anti-gun unit in the NYPD that was disbanded in 2020 and calls for more restrictive bail laws and an option to charge teenagers as adults in some gun cases.

Editorial credit: lev radin / Shutterstock.com

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News Daypop

Severe, widespread winter storm disrupts travel, knocks out power

A severe winter storm caused major disruptions on Thursday, cancelling thousands of flights and knocking out power to customers in Tennessee and Texas. By Thursday afternoon, at least 5,800 flights were canceled, according to FlightAware.  In addition, nearly 124,000 customers were without power in Tennessee, while approximately 60,000 had lost power in Texas.

The National Weather Service warned that widespread heavy snow and freezing rain could produce flash floods across portions of the south The weather service said the storm is impacting parts of the country, from North Texas to New York,  and is forecast to continue well into Friday.

Cities in Illinois and Michigan had a foot of snow in the storm’s first wave; and parts of Indiana expected up to 18 inches of snow. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott warned of treacherous roads and possible power outages, saying: “Either ice on power lines … could cause a power line to go down, or it could be ice on trees that causes a tree to fall on power lines.”  Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear declared a weather state of emergency, closing state office buildings and issuing an executive order to protect Kentucky residents from price gouging during the emergency.

Editorial credit: Marouanesitti / Shutterstock.com

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Go Country 105

Thomas Rhett lived the story of “Slow Down Summer”: “I love the sentiment of the song”

The concept for Thomas Rhett‘s latest single, “Slow Down Summer,” came from a place of honesty. 

Thomas and his team of co-writers, including dad Rhett Akins, were on a retreat in Montana in October, splitting their time between fly-fishing and writing, when they noticed that the leaves were changing as summer faded to fall.  

“Someone said, ‘I wish summer would slow down.’ As a songwriter, you hear words like that and you’re like, ‘Maybe we should try to write that,'” Thomas recollects. “We related it to an emotion that I think a lot of us have been through, of getting out of high school or college dating somebody when you got three months to maybe solidify this relationship or it’s not gonna work.” 

It’s a story that Thomas has truly lived, referencing a time when he and a former girlfriend parted ways at the end of summer as they both went off to different colleges. The country superstar compares the track to his previous heartbreaking hit, “Marry Me,” wherein the lead character watches the love of his life marry someone else.

“I hadn’t put a song like that out in a long time that had that tension of love in it, really since ‘Marry Me’ a couple of records ago,” he notes. “I just love the sentiment of the song, I love the arrangement, the production, and I feel like the music video really helped describe what that emotion was. I thought it was a really neat first single to this next record, and it’s been really cool seeing the reaction of it as well.” 

“Slow Down Summer” is the lead single off Thomas’ new album, Where We Started, set for release on April 1.

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Country Daypop

Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley announces 2022 solo tour

Florida Georgia Line’s Brian Kelley has announced his first-ever solo tour, the Made by the Water Tour, will launch this April, featuring special guests The Boat Boys. Said Kelley: “Y’all, I am beyond excited to announce my own tour. Releasing my first album has been nothing short of a dream come true, and I can’t wait to bring these songs, along with some beach vibes, to the stage!”

The 11-date tour, inspired by Kelley’s debut album, Sunshine State of Mind, will kick-off in his home state on April 21st at the Daytona Beach Bandshell in Daytona Beach, FL, with stops in South Carolina, North Carolina, Louisiana, and more, before wrapping up on May 19th at The Hall in Little Rock, AR.

Tickets to all dates are on sale to the general public this Friday, February 4th at 10 am local time via officialbriankelley.com.

Editorial credit: Debby Wong / Shutterstock.com