Month: September 2022

After the death of Queen Elizabeth II was announced on Thursday, Maren Morris shared a tribute performance on social media, performing her at-home rendition of Patty Griffin's “Up to the Mountain.”

In case you missed it, Lauren Alaina headlined the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum's 10th annual Nightfall at the Hall event on Wednesday. The event was an exclusive performance for Troubadour members, made up of a community of young leaders between the ages of 21 and 45. 

Sam Williams, grandson of Hank Williams, just released a visual for his song “Ragdoll.” He's releasing a deluxe version of his Glasshouse Children album in October.

Tyler Rich just announced more dates on his Thinkin' We're in Love Tour, which will now run from September to mid-December.

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The lineup for Luke Bryan's 2023 Crash My Playa festival has been released, featuring A-List country headliners and a couple of surprises.

Chris Stapleton and Cole Swindell will each headline one of the festival's four days, with Luke helming the other two. Chris and Cole are returning acts for Crash My Playa, as the all-inclusive concert vacation returns to Mexico for its eighth year.

Luke is also bringing his fellow American Idol judge Lionel Richie along for the ride this year: Lionel's making his Crash My Playa debut, performing as a special guest alongside the country superstar.

Dustin Lynch also gets a spotlight in the lineup: He'll once again lead an epic pool party at the festival. Dustin's Crash My Playa pool parties have become so popular over the years that, in 2021, the singer brought a version of the fun to Las Vegas with his Pool Situation event.

Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce and Brian Kelley are also on the bill, as are Dylan Scott and Chase Rice. More artists will be added to the Crash My Playa lineup in the weeks ahead.

The 2023 Crash My Playa festival will take place January 12-22 at the Moon Palace Cancún in Riviera Cancún, Mexico. All-inclusive event packages go on sale to the public starting September 13 at 1 p.m. ET.

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As release day nears for Kelsea Ballerini's upcoming album, Subject to Change, she's dropping a few more hints about the project.

The singer answered a handful of fan questions about her new musical chapter on Instagram Stories this week, and in one slide, she teased a big collaboration that will feature not one but two guest artists. In response to a question about whether there will be a duet on the record, Kelsea shared a screenshot of a text exchange between herself and one of the collaborators on the song.

“Finishing up my record and have a song that I wanted to turn into a sassbomb female moment and just have to ask you if you would be a part of it,” reads Kelsea's text to a recipient whose name is strategically blocked off.

“It's country as s***,” she continues before telling the unnamed collaborator that another artist is already in the mix, so “it would be a little trio.”

While neither artist is identified in the tease, there is a clue in the mystery guest's response to Kelsea: After she agrees to the duet, she replies with an emoji of a woman with blonde hair.

Subject to Change comes out September 23.

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Kane Brown teams up with fellow country superstar Blake Shelton for the title track on his upcoming Different Man album, and in a new interview with Billboard, the singer says he got the idea to ask Blake to feature on the song while in his car on the way to work out.

“I was driving to the gym — that's where I really have time to think and listen,” Kane explains.

“I wanted one more feature on the album, and Blake was the first person I thought of,” he goes on to say. “The song just reminded me of the God's Country' kind of Blake Shelton, so I felt like it made sense.”

“Different Man” is one of two duets on the album; the other is “Thank God”  featuring his singer's wife, Katelyn. Fans have long been requesting a husband-and-wife feature from Kane, especially since Katelyn is a talented vocalist. Before they met, she pursued a career in R&B and pop.

“She's always singing around the house and her voice is beautiful,” the singer says, adding that they'd been looking for a duet to perform together and one of the writers at his publishing company, Verse 2, finally pitched this song to them.

“…And it was supposed to be a solo song. We changed it to a duet and she fell in love with this song,” Kane continues. “Personally, I think it is the biggest song off the record.”

Different Man arrives on Friday.

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As she gears up to launch a trek called The Judds: The Final Tour, Wynonna Judd is firming up the lineup and adding superstar Kelsea Ballerini to the bill.

Kelsea joins an all-star group of previously announced, female and female-fronted outfits, including Ashley McBryde, Little Big Town, Faith Hill, Brandi Carlile and Trisha Yearwood. Those acts will split the dates while original opener Martina McBride will play all the shows.

The Judds: The Final Tour was first announced as the farewell tour for Wynonna and her mother, Naomi Judd, who make up legendary country music duo The Judds. But after Naomi's death on April 30, Wynonna had to reconfigure those plans.

Now, as she looks ahead to opening night on September 30, Wynonna says she can't wait to honor the music of The Judds and share the stage with a roster of superstar women across the country genre.

“It's hard to believe that in just 3 weeks, we'll be stepping onstage for our first show in Grand Rapids,” she reflects. “I continue to find myself both grateful and humbled by the unwavering support from my fellow artists, music community and, of course, the fans.”

She adds, “I am looking so forward to celebrating The Judds' music one final time. It will be a bittersweet experience, and one that I will never forget.”

Tickets to the 11-date tour are on sale now.

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Luke Combs is taking his show on the road — internationally.

The country superstar just announced a massive world tour for 2023, which will hit three continents and 16 different countries. First up is a stateside leg, which kicks off March 25 in Arlington, Texas.

For his U.S. shows, Luke will play stadiums in marquee cities like Nashville and his hometown of Charlotte, North Carolina. Riley Green, Lainey Wilson, Flatland Cavalry and Brent Cobb will all be special guests for the domestic shows.

Next up, Luke's heading abroad. Following a couple of shows in Canada, he'll head for New Zealand, Australia, Scandinavia and Europe. Finally, in October 2023, Luke will close the tour down with a run in Ireland, Scotland and England. Joining him in Australia and New Zealand will be Cody Johnson and Lane Pittman.

Tickets for both the U.S. and international dates go on sale September 16. As always, Luke's Bootleggers fan club will have access to a special pre-sale beginning September 14 for U.S. fans and September 12 for those abroad.

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When Lainey Wilson found out she'd earned six nominations at the 2022 CMA Awards — making her the most-nominated artist in the mix — she immediately wanted to share the news with her parents.

That's because her mom and dad have been supporting her career since the very beginning. Lainey caught up with ABC Audio the day the announcements rolled in and said she'd already talked to her mom but not her dad, who is in the hospital as he continues to recover from a serious illness.

“I'm waiting for him to wake up and he is going to be my next call,” Lainey said. For her dad, her country music stardom is personal.

“This dream was actually my daddy's dream years ago, when he was a little boy. He used to roll a picnic table out to the side of the highway and pretend he was Glen Campbell, and play his guitar for the cars passing by,” she continued.

Fans have gotten to know Lainey's close relationship with her dad over the past weeks, when she took some time off the road in order to support him during his medical emergency. Now, she hopes that her exciting CMA Awards news will give his healing an extra boost.

“I'm hoping that this will give him an extra step and he'll be like, Okay, I got to get well now,'” Lainey said of her awards recognition.

She goes on to say that her father has “definitely turned the corner,” though he's still recovering after a scary month for the whole family.

“My daddy really is the backbone of my family,” she said, “and he keeps it together for all of us, and right now we're having to keep it together for him. So it's definitely been rough.”

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