Month: June 2022

In case you missed it, Carrie Underwood was on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon Tuesday night to perform her new song “Pink Champagne.”

Speaking of Carrie, she's one of the artists lining up to celebrate Barbara Mandrell on her 50th anniversary of being a Grand Ole Opry member. The country legend will be feted with a 50th anniversary celebration on July 30.

Before his “The Kind of Love We Make” song and video officially come out Friday, Luke Combs shared a special poster for the release on his social channels. It features the front page of a fictional small-town newspaper, offering some hints about the subject matter of the music video, as well as the lyrics to the song.

Brian Kelley is set to release a new song on July 1. Called “American Spirit,” it'll be a patriotic musical celebration, just in time for Independence Day.

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Dolly Parton's famous for her generous spirit, especially when it comes to protecting children, and she made another huge contribution this week in support of kids facing illness.

The country superstar has donated $1 million to pediatric infectious disease research at Nashville's Vanderbilt University Medical Center (VUMC). Her donation will support the fight against diseases such as COVID-19 as well as prevent and understand antibiotic resistance and diagnose and treat infections in children who are fighting cancer.

“I love children,” Dolly says in a statement. “No child should ever have to suffer, and I'm willing to do my part to try and keep as many of them as I can as healthy and safe as possible.”

In 2020, Dolly donated $1 million to VUMC to help develop the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine. She has also made major contributions to the Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital at Vanderbilt’s Pediatric Cancer Program.

Dolly's donations in support of children's causes also extend to education: She established her Imagination Library as a way to promote literacy, gifting a free book each month to children under five years old.

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Chris Stapleton is the latest artist to get his own exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame.

Called Chris Stapleton: Since 1978, the exhibit will open on July 1 and run through May 14, 2023. Museum-goers will be able to revisit Chris' biography and song catalog, starting from his childhood in rural eastern Kentucky and chronicling his move toward songwriting and eventually, country music stardom.

The exhibit will feature a number of outfits, instruments, trophies and other personal effects from over the course of Chris' storied career. Among those artifacts will be his 1966 Gibson Trini Lopez Standard electric guitar, which he used to record his song “Traveller.”

Fans can also check out Chris' Waffle House Golden Waffle Award, which recognizes his status as the most-played artist on Waffle House jukeboxes in 2019, plus a LEGO model of the singer and his band, which was used to create the animated, LEGO-themed video for his song, “Second One to Know.”

Chris' Hall of Fame exhibit is presented by Ram Trucks; the singer is a longtime partner with the brand.

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Kane Brown might be focusing on his country roots for his next album, but when it comes to collabs and features with other artists, nothing's off the table.

Case in point: The singer has been announced as one of EDM star Steve Aoki's duet partners for his next project, HiROQUEST. Kane is part of an all-star, all-genre list of collaborators, also including Taking Back Sunday, Mod Sun, PnB Rock, Georgia Ku and more.

Kane's feature comes on track five of the 16-song collection. Called “Move On,” the song also boasts a contribution from self-appointed “Cowboy DJ Rikstar,” Ricky Retro.

On his Instagram stories, Kane recently shared a video of himself recording a song that features rap-style vocals and an EDM-inspired beat; it's not clear whether it's a clip of “Move On” or whether Kane's teasing another new project.

Meanwhile, fans who prefer Kane's country side have plenty to be excited about, too: Not only is he working on an album that he says will be a full track list of country songs, but he also recently released his honky-tonkin' new country banger, “Like I Love Country Music.”

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Jon Pardi's highly-anticipated fourth studio album is officially on its way. The singer announced today that the project, called Mr. Saturday Night, is coming out on September 2.

“A lot of time was spent living with the songs on this record,” says Jon, whose last release was 2019’s Heartache Medication. “There is more life experience on Mr. Saturday Night than any album I've released before.”

Jon's current single, “Last Night Lonely,” will be on the new album plus the recently-released “Fill Er Up” and the as-yet-unreleased title track. In total, there will be 14 songs on the track list.

“I chose Mr. Saturday Night' as the title track because it's special to me,” the singer continues. “I've been hanging onto it for three years and can't wait for people to hear it, and the rest of these songs.”

As he gears up for release day, Jon's new single is already heating up: It's in the top fifteen on the country radio chart. The singer will also hit the road next month for his Ain't Always the Cowboy Tour, which launches in mid-July.

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Garth Brooks announced his final 2022 North American Stadium Tour stop on Wednesday: He'll conclude the run in Houston, Texas.

The show, which is set for August, will take place at the city's NRG Stadium. It's the first time Garth has ever played that venue, and the first time in seven years that he's played in Houston.

Though it's the last Stadium Tour show he'll play in the U.S., it's not the end of the tour by any means. Garth has already set five September dates for Dublin's Croke Park, all of which have sold out. Before that happens, Garth has big plans for the summer: His Stadium Tour will take him to cities across the U.S., including a show in Buffalo, New York and back-to-back Charlotte dates in July.

Tickets for Garth's Houston show go on sale July 24 at 10 a.m. CT, and though the stadium seats over 70,000, fans should still hurry to snap up their tickets. Since it launched, the Stadium Tour has been breaking sales records left and right.

As always with Garth's Stadium Tour shows, the concerts will feature in-the-round seating, and ticket purchase assumes COVID-19 risk. The ticket price for Houston is $98.95 per seat.

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Lainey Wilson has a special relationship with ?Yellowstone. After featuring several of her songs in the revered show, including her #1 hit “Things a Man Oughta Know,” creator Taylor Sheridan has now written a part for her in the upcoming season. 

In addition to being grateful to the popular series for introducing her music to a new audience, Lainey also connects with Yellowstone on a deeper level, as it aligns with the beliefs her parents instilled in her growing up in rural Louisiana. 

“Yellowstone‘s been real good to me. They’ve put three of my songs in the show so far and really introduced my music to a crowd of people who might not listen to radio or stream music, so it’s been very helpful for me and my career,” she says. “It is crazy how what the show stands for, it really does align with the way that I grew up and the way that I was raised and the things that my parents taught me, the importance of family and believing in things wholeheartedly.” 

The Baskin, Louisiana, native will continue to grow her role with the show, as she will make her acting debut in season 5. She’s become “dear friends” with Sheridan over the years, and when he called in February to offer her a part created specifically for her, it was an opportunity she couldn’t refuse. 

“I’ve been acting a fool my whole life, so let’s see what happens,” Lainey jokes. “I’ve been taking a few acting lessons and I’m really enjoying it. I love stepping outside of my comfort zone and doing things that are a little scary, and this is a little scary, but it’s going to be great.” 

Yellowstone season 5 premieres on November 13 on Paramount+. 

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