Month: June 2022

After two years of pandemic cancellations, Maren Morris officially launched her 2022 Humble Quest tour in Raleigh, North Carolina, Thursday night.

After the kickoff show on the tour, she posted a string of photos and video on social media, showcasing the crowd, the set list and a dress made out of shimmering green discs. “Get that coin,” Maren wrote, alongside a snapshot of her modeling the outfit by her trailer.

In one particularly powerful moment during her show, Maren brought her longtime bassist and backing vocalist Annie Clements up to the front of the stage. The two shared a microphone as they sang “Hummingbird,” a song that Maren wrote for her son, Hayes, on the day she found out she was pregnant.

The song choice was especially poignant because Maren and Annie were actually pregnant at the same time: Hayes was born in March 2020, while Annie's daughter Noura was born that June.

Back when both artists were pregnant, Maren shared her thoughts on the importance of creating work spaces where women didn't have to choose between starting families and furthering their careers.

“I never wanted my people to have to choose. I think it's a great conversation to have if you're an artist that employs women,” she said. “So let's shred for 90 minutes and then go rock these babes to sleep on the bus with a glass of wine.”

It may be a couple years later than planned, but those dreams are finally becoming a reality: Hayes is on tour with her this year.

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Zac Brown Band's The Comeback album is coming back in deluxe form: They just announced that the new deluxe edition will be out this fall and will feature a host of guest spots from their fellow country stars.

One of those collaborations is with Blake Shelton, who is appearing on a new version of “Out in the Middle,” ZBB's current single. The duet version of the song will be out June 22, ahead of the deluxe album's release day.

“The Comeback is the best album we've ever made, and to rerecord a few tracks with some musical legends was such an honor,” the group says in a statement. “Blake Shelton is a country music powerhouse and sharing Out in the Middle' with him, a song that represents our Southern roots and country pride, is absolutely unreal.”

“I've always been a big fan of Zac as an artist and especially as a songwriter,” Blake adds. “This song in particular really resonated with me. It reminds me of where I was raised and where I come from — out in the middle!”

Preorders for the deluxe version of The Comeback start July 15.

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Carrie Underwood's new album, Denim & Rhinestones, showcases her love of all kinds of genres — including rock.

It's no secret that Carrie's always been a big rock fan. She's shared the stage with legends like Axl Rose and Joan Jett, and she embraces her rock side once again with her new song “Poor Everybody Else.”

“I feel like at this point, all my fans know I have a huge love of rock music,” Carrie says in a new interview with Kelleigh Bannen for Today's Country Radio With Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music Country.

Carrie's rock fandom dates back to her childhood, when she learned it from her older sisters. “They controlled the radio when I was 5 years old,” she notes. She also remembers being a “dance monkey” who performed on command for her teenage sisters.

“They thought it was funny for me to sing, like, Smokin' in the Boys' Room' [by Mötley Crue] as a 3-year-old, so I did,” she remembers. As the baby of the family, Carrie used to accompany her teenage sisters everywhere.

“And I was entertainment. I was dance monkey,” she continues. “I was dance monkey for their friends.”

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Carrie Underwood's finally putting out a record that she describes as a “sing-into-your-hairbrush” album: Denim & Rhinestones.

The track list takes cues from all different genres and is full of fun. Whether it's the high drama of “She Don't Know” and “Ghost Story,” a retro banger like “Crazy Angels” or the 80s vibes of the title track, Denim & Rhinestones delivers a good time from start to finish, and that's intentional.

“That's what I wanted to do from the beginning, when, you know, we had nothing — a complete blank piece of paper,” Carrie says. “And that's what my co-producer, David Garcia, asked: What do you wanna do?' And I said, I wanna have fun. I wanna have fun.'”

It's been a while since Carrie truly got to let loose on an album. Her last two projects had fallen more on the serious side: She put out her Christmas album, My Gift, followed by her gospel project, My Savior.

“And I just felt like that, coupled with the past couple of years of not being able to tour and do all that stuff we normally do — I was like, I am looking forward to going out on the road. I need happiness in life,'” the singer continues. “I just felt like I wanted to have fun and be positive and be happy.”

Carrie will keep the party going this fall when she heads out on The Denim & Rhinestones Tour, which kicks off in mid-October and features direct support from Jimmie Allen.

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