Month: March 2022

Thomas Rhett has been nonstop writing since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, and fans will soon get to hear what he’s been working on. 

The singer estimates that he wrote nearly 300 songs over the past two years and couldn’t wait to share them, inspiring him to release his new album, Where We Started.  

“I couldn’t handle sitting back and watching 190 songs have to wait for four years to come out, so that is the reason that there is so much music coming out,” he explains of releasing Where We Started in between Country Again: Side A and Side B. “It’s not just because I’m just trying to put content out, it’s because these songs deserve a chance to be heard. Three albums in a year and a half, there’s a lot. But I’m here for it and I’m excited about it.” 

Fans may have noticed that the singer’s sense of humor has been shining through more on socials, whether planking while signing copies of his album, to attempting to draw a neck tattoo of his wife Lauren on the cover of a vinyl copy of the album. 

“I feel like I’m at a point where it’s like OK to be self-deprecating because my kids self-deprecate me all day long,” he jokes, adding that he’s a longtime fan of The Office and dry humor. “I got tired of the ‘hey, what’s up, y’all? I’m Thomas Rhett. My record comes out tomorrow. Y’all should get a copy.’ I wanted to make it more interesting than that. [My videographer and I] literally sat in a room with cameras and improvised for three hours and picked our favorite bits.” 

Where We Started drops on Friday. 

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Kelsea Ballerini was honored with the Yellow Rose of Inspiration Award at the 8th anniversary celebration of Song Suffragettes, an all-female singer-songwriter collective, at the Listening Room Cafe in Nashville. 

Brett Young will headline the 2022 concert series at The Amp at Dant Crossing just outside of Louisville, KY on June 24. Other artists performing at the venue throughout the year include Lee Brice, Cole Swindell and Justin Moore.

Brantley Gilbert will perform “America the Beautiful” at WrestleMania 38 on April 2 at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas. 

Elle King, who sings with Miranda Lambert on “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” has recorded a cover of Joe Cocker‘s “Feelin’ Alright” for the new animated film, The Bad Guys. 

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Maren Morris says the COVID-19 pandemic helped shape her perspective on her place in country music. 

In an interview with Pitchfork, Maren reveals that she was “relieved” her RSVP: The Tour got cancelled due to the pandemic in 2020 and 2021. She says the forced downtime allowed her to put life, and how she creates, into perspective. 

“That perpetual growing insecurity of knowing my place in country music,” she replies in response to what she’s stopped worrying about since the onset of the pandemic. “Even though I've been successful over the years, I still feel like this middle child in a lot of ways. I'm not really new anymore-I'm established. I'm not country enough for the super-country folks, and I'm too country for the pop folks. But I was forced to stop for two years and think about, like, ‘who gives a f**?'” 

Maren says the challenging experience of the pandemic also taught her to not take herself “so seriously,” a mindset that influenced her new album, ?Humble Quest. 

“That's why this album is titled the way it is. All my plans, all the things that I mapped out-even my pregnancy-it's just so idiotic to think that I could snap back in two months and go tour again,” she continues. “I realized I'm not in control. It sounds cliché but I've taken stock of the things I actually care about. Motherhood sharpened a lot of that for me. Not having a crowd every night sharpened that for me.” 

Maren will return to the road when the Humble Quest Tour launches in June. 

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Brad Paisley is going on a World Tour. 

The “This Is Country Music” singer will traverse across the globe for six months, making stops in the U.S., Canada, Europe and Australia, marking his first tour in that country. 

The trek begins on May 27 at Mohegan Sun Arena in Connecticut, and the singer will spend the month of July across the pond performing at the 3Arena in Dublin, Ireland, the SSE Hydro in Glasgow, Scotland and more. He returns to the U.S. in August before jetting off to Australia and New Zealand where he’ll conclude the tour in Auckland, N.Z. on October 8. 

Brad is bringing a team of opening acts with him that includes Scotty McCreery, Tenille Townes, Morgan Evans, Tracy Lawrence and Caylee Hammack. A portion of the proceeds from ticket sales will go toward Brad and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley’s nonprofit, The Store, a free referral-based grocery store in Nashville. 

Tickets go on sale April 1 and April 8 at 10 a.m. local time. Visit Brad’s website for a full list of dates. 

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CoverGirl has found its new face in Kelsea Ballerini. 

The country star has been tapped as the beauty brand’s newest ambassador. The multi-year partnership includes a soon-to-be-announced CoverGirl spring collection. The singer made the announcement by sharing a video of herself singing the brand’s famous tagline over a gentle, acoustic melody. 

“Being a @covergirl has been on my bucket list since I was a little girl. They’ve always felt approachable to me through every age, phase of life, or occasion. From playing with makeup in middle school to getting ready for some of the biggest stages I’ve been lucky enough to perform on,” Kelsea professes on Instagram. “It’s a full circle moment and I’m so happy to officially join the CG family.” 

Meanwhile, CoverGirl posted a note to Kelsea that reads, “Welcome to the Family!!! Glad we could help you [check] this off your bucket list!!” The brand added that the singer shares in their values of cruelty-free products and has a “passion for accessibility, inclusivity and individuality.” 

Alongside being a CoverGirl, Kelsea is also on the brink of releasing new music. She and Kenny Chesney recently topped the charts with her latest single, “Half of My Hometown.”

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Jimmie Allen experienced a full-circle moment during a recent tour stop. 

Jimmie brought his headlining Down Home Tour to Universal Studios Florida, and it conjured up a special memory. In a lengthy Instagram post, the singer shares that in 2013, he attended a Matchbox Twenty show as a fan at that very same venue, five years before he signed his record deal in Nashville. Sitting in the audience, he experienced a strange phenomenon he remembers to this day. 

“There was something special about that night. I was in audience but moments through the show it felt like I was on stage looking into the face of the crowd through the eyes of matchbox20,” the country singer details. “9 years later my band and I are standing on the same stage hoping to bring joy to the crowd at @universalorlando the same way MB20 did for me and the fellow fans that night in 2013.”

Jimmie accompanied the post with a video of him performing his breakthrough hit, “Best Shot,” saying the concert was “beyond magical.”

The singer continues on the Down Home Tour through May 13 where it wraps in Norfolk, VA.

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