Month: June 2022

After kicking off his Party Mode Tour early this year, Dustin Lynch's onstage party is still going strong. He recently announced a fall leg for the trek, which will last until early October.

With a jam-packed set of hits and a high-energy, interactive approach to live performance, Dustin is capturing the attention of the crowd like a pro — but technically, this year marks his first headlining tour.

“It's about time. I will say that,” Dustin tells ABC Audio regarding his new headliner status. “We've been waiting on the right time. We actually, I think, were there, and then COVID hit. So it's been a two-year wait to get back to this point. And now we're really ready.”

Of course, the Party Mode Tour takes its name from Dustin's song “Party Mode,” off his new Blue in the Sky album. The music video features a series of cameos from a colorful cast of Dustin's pals. That's actually a fairly accurate reflection of what the singer's real life looks like when he goes into “party mode,” he reveals.

“I'm a happy drunk, so I'm probably going to have a cocktail, maybe two,” he says, “… and my group of pirates and hillbillies that I hang out with. We're a good time.”

In fact, Dustin says his group of friends is so good at having fun that they typically pick up some new friends when they go out together.

“I feel like we're a very magnetic group,” he continues. “It seems like our crew starts out with a certain number and we end up with about double that at the after-party. So something's going right.”

Tickets for the new dates on Dustin's Party Mode Tour are on sale now.

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Hank Williams Jr.'s new album, Rich White Honky Tonk Blues, arrives Friday. The record was produced by Dan Auerbach.

Shy Carter just released a new track called “Hard (Live on the Grand.)” The singer is making his Grand Ole Opry debut next Saturday, June 25.

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Blake Shelton's Hollywood celebrity status will be cemented next year, when he receives his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

The country superstar — who is also a coach on The Voice — is an honoree in the Recording category, along with Marc Anthony, Lenny Kravitz, the Jonas Brothers and many more.

The 2023 honorees by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce are receiving their stars under one of four categories: Recording, Television, Motion Pictures and Live Theatre/Live Performance. Artists in the 2023 class include Ludacris, Mindy Kaling, Ellen Pompeo and John Waters.

The new honorees will officially receive their star at some point during 2023. Dates have not yet been set for the star ceremonies.

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After years of being a country star, Faith Hill is no stranger to being a performer, but the singer says that acting as a different character on the set of 1883 posed a different, exciting kind of challenge.

“Having the opportunity to play a character other than myself was nice,” she tells actor Courteney Cox for Variety's “Actors on Actors” series. “It was really rewarding.”

An extra perk for Faith was being able to act alongside her country superstar husband, Tim McGraw, who played the character of James Dutton — her on-screen husband — on the show.

“And to be able to do it with Tim was remarkable. And we've been married for 24 years. We've done everything together,” Faith continues, explaining that though both of them had acted in the past, co-starring was new. “This was the first thing we had never done together.”

Still, even after all these years on stage, Faith says that performing still feels fresh. “I love performing, and it does come naturally to me three songs in,” she admits. “I stand near my band most of the time, and I'm constantly having to be reminded, Oh yeah, the audience is that way!'”

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Jimmie Allen is commemorating Juneteenth tonight with a hosting spot celebrating the holiday, and Black Music Month, with performances from an all-genre array of stars.

Called Sound of Freedom — A Juneteenth Celebration, the special is part of ABC News' Soul of a Nation series. The event will feature performances from Patti LaBelle, Marvin Sapp and Jon Batiste, plus conversations with Ciara, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who will address the importance of ownership in music with ABC News' Janai Norman.

Another segment will feature correspondent Rachel Scott, putting a spotlight on some of the “all-Black production teams behind major artists and groups.”

The special will air on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The following day, it will be available to stream on Hulu. It’s the third year in a row that the network has produced the special, but according to co-executive producer Catherine McKenzie, it is one of the most important specials to date.

“From gospel and country to jazz, rock and today's pop hits, every genre of American music is influenced by the Black Diaspora and our stories of survival, joy, pain and resilience,” McKenzie says in a press release. “We're looking forward to taking viewers on this musical journey in one of our most significant specials yet.”

Co-executive producer Quiana Burns adds that it’s “a must-watch for all viewers.”

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Luke Combs' highly-anticipated new album, Growin' Up, is coming out next week, but before it does, he's got one more new song to share with fans off the track list.

“The Kind of Love We Make” is a mid-tempo love song about carving out some time alone with a special someone — and watching the sparks fly as a result. The song's music video, also out today, puts a literal spin on blazing passion: It follows a young firefighter and paramedic who find passion when they come together to extinguish a house fire.

Luke's new song will be his next single following a record-setting 13 consecutive number-one hits that include “Doin' This,” his lead single from Growin' Up. The singer co-wrote “The Kind of Love We Make” with a group of frequent collaborators — Jamie Davis and Dan and Reid Isbell — and he speculates that the easy songwriting process might be due to a shared life experience between the co-writers.

“It ended up being one of those songs that wrote itself,” he recounts. “Dan, Reid and I are all having kids within a month of each other, so maybe this song had something to do with that.”

Luke and his wife, Nicole, are expecting their first child — a boy — any day now. Nicole has shared that her due date is in June.

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