Chris Stapleton recently teamed up with singer-songwriter Joy Oladokun for a collaboration called “Sweet Symphony.” The music video is available to watch now.
Billy Ray Cyrus and his partner, Firerose, have a new collaboration coming out next month called “Time.” The song will be featured in an upcoming holiday film called Christmas in Paradise, which stars Billy opposite actors Kelsey Grammer and Elizabeth Hurley.
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When Lainey Wilson walks the red carpet at the 2022 CMA Awards next month, she'll have a very special plus-one on her arm: her dad, Brian.
“He is out [of the hospital],” Lainey explained during a recent interview with Kelleigh Bannen on Apple Music's Today's Country Radio. “He's going to walk the red carpet with me.”
Lainey and her father have always been close, but after he experienced a difficult summer of health setbacks and a two-month hospital stay, it's even more meaningful for the rising star to get to experience the moment with her dad by her side.
The singer has kept fans in the loop about her dad's health journey and asked for their prayers, especially when she had to cancel a couple of shows earlier this year to be with family.
Now, she says, his recovery is still underway.
“It's incredible. He was in the hospital for two months,” she details. “He was in a rehab facility for three and a half weeks, and then he just had his 60th birthday. He's still got a long way to go, but he's here. He had nine surgeries in a month and a half…He had a stroke on top of all that. But he is a tough son of a gun.”
Lainey's no slouch herself: The breakout star is the most-nominated artist at the 2022 CMA Awards with six nods. She's also scheduled to perform with Hardy at the show; they just released a duet called “Wait in the Truck.”
The 2022 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville on ABC on November 9.
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Luke Combs got some major love when the nominations were announced for the 2022 People's Choice Awards this week.
Not only was the singer nominated in the Country Artist category, but he also earned three all-genre nods. He's up for Male Artist of 2022 alongside acts like Bad Bunny and Harry Styles, plus his Middle of Somewhere Tour earned him a nomination for Concert Tour of 2022 — a category in which he's going head-to-head against Billie Eilish, Ed Sheeran and Lady Gaga among others.
Luke's also in the running for Album of 2022, thanks to his newest project, Growin' Up. Competition in that category is fierce, too: Other nominees include Beyoncé's Renaissance, Lizzo's Special and Taylor Swift's just-released Midnights.
As a contender in the Country Artist field, Luke is one of eight A-List nominees. The other artists in the category are Carrie Underwood, Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Morgan Wallen, Thomas Rhett, Kane Brown and Kelsea Ballerini.
The 2022 People's Choice Awards will take place December 6 at 9 p.m. ET. It's airing on NBC and E!, and actor Kenan Thompson will host the show.
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George Strait and Chris Stapleton announced a six-date string of stadium shows for 2023 earlier this week — but it turns out, they're going to make it seven.
The two acts are adding a second date at Nashville's Nissan Stadium, due to fan demand. The new date will be on Friday, July 28, one day before the originally scheduled July 29 show. Little Big Town will open the show, along with all the other 2023 stadium dates that George and Chris have previously announced.
The King of Country's last official tour took place in 2012, and since then, he's performed occasional one-off shows and headlined a Las Vegas residency. But when he made the initial announcement for his new dates earlier this week, he told Billboard that teaming up with Chris and Little Big Town just felt like a natural fit for 2023.
“It just felt right. I had the opportunity to work with Chris and Little Big Town and everything just kind of fell in place for next year,” George explained. “I don't do that many shows anymore, so if we can do a stadium where we can play for more people, that works for me.”
Tickets to all dates go on sale Friday, November 4 at 10 am local time.
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Alan Jackson is getting a special honor at the 2022 CMA Awards complete with a cast of A-List artists who are set to deliver a tribute.
The living legend will receive the 2022 CMA Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award at this year's ceremony, in recognition of his national and international prominence over his decades-long career.
He'll accept the award in person at the show, and he'll be there to watch a number of stars perform in tribute to his musical legacy. Dierks Bentley, Carrie Underwood, Jon Pardi and Lainey Wilson will be on hand to do the honors.
Alan is a 16-time CMA Award winner. He's earned three Entertainer of the Year trophies over the years, winning the night's biggest honor most recently in 2003.
As the organization's newest Willie Nelson Lifetime Achievement Award recipient, he's in good company. Loretta Lynn, Charley Pride and Dolly Parton are just three of the legendary acts who have won the award in past years, and its namesake — Willie Nelson — has won it, too.
The 2022 CMA Awards will air live from Nashville on November 9 on ABC.
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Keith Urban is making CMA Awards day a little bit extra-special this year.
The country superstar revealed on Thursday that he's planning a performance on Good Morning America that morning, which is November 9. He'll perform outside Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena — which is where the CMAs are set to be held — with a set that will air on GMA.
The best part? It's a completely free show. If you want to watch Keith play, you need to request your tickets ahead of time, and show up for the performance at 5:00 a.m. local time.
Keith has a long history with the CMAs: He's a 13-time award recipient at the awards show, and he won his first trophy back in 2001. He even won the night's highest honor, Entertainer of the Year, twice: Once in 2005, and once in 2018.
The CMA Awards will air live from Bridgestone Arena on ABC on November 9. Luke Bryan is co-hosting the show with NFL legend Peyton Manning.
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Three men face up to 20 years in prison after they were convicted in Jackson County Circuit Court on Wednesday morning in the 2020 plot to kidnap Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer. Whitmer, a Democrat running for reelection on Nov. 8, was never physically harmed.
After three weeks of testimony, Joe Morrison, his father-in-law Pete Musico, and Paul Bellar were found guilty of providing “material support” for a terrorist act as members of a paramilitary group, the Wolverine Watchmen. They said the men trained Adam Fox and Barry Croft, who were both convicted in a federal trial in August for being ringleaders in the Whitmer kidnapping plot, and were part of 14 arrested in early October 2020 on state and federal charges linked to an alleged plot to kid nap Whitmer from her summer home in Elk Rapids, Mich. According to court testimony, the men had planned to try her for treason and kill her. Undercover agents and informants were inside Fox’s group for months, with the scheme finally broken up with 14 arrests in October 2020.
Morrison, 28, Musico, 44, and Bellar, 24, were also convicted of a gun crime and membership in a gang. Prosecutors said the Wolverine Watchmen was a criminal enterprise. Morrison, who recently tested positive for COVID-19, and Musico watched the verdict by video away from the courtroom. Jackson County Circuit Judge Thomas Wilson ordered all three to jail while they await sentencing scheduled for Dec. 15.
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On Wednesday, a Wisconsin man was convicted six counts of first-degree intentional homicide among other charges, after he plowed his SUV through a Christmas parade in downtown Waukesha. A criminal complaint stated that Brooks drove his vehicle into the parade on November 21, 2021, despite police warnings to stop and officers opening fire on him. Six people, including an 8-year-old boy, were killed and more than 40 others were injured.
The 40-year-old Brooks initially pleaded not guilty by reason of mental disease, which could have resulted in him being sentenced to a mental institution rather than prison. He withdrew that plea in September, however, dismissing his public defenders and choosing to represent himself in the ensuing murder trial, which began Oct. 3. The trial concluded Wednesday after a Waukesha County jury deliberated for less than three hours before issuing the guilty verdict. Brooks Jr. was found guilty on all 76 charges, which included six counts of first-degree intentional homicide, 61 counts of reckless endangerment, six counts of hit-and-run causing death, and two counts of federal bail jumping and one count of battery.
The erratic trial found Brooks often shouting at the judge, stripping off his shirt, and being removed multiple times from the courtroom over his outbursts. As the verdict was read, Brooks held his head down and remained silent. Waukesha County Judge Jennifer Dorow said after the verdict that there would be a hearing Monday to discuss setting a sentencing date. Brooks faces a mandatory life sentence on each homicide count.
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Lainey Wilson's highly-anticipated new album, Bell Bottom Country, arrives on Friday following a breakout couple of years for the rising star.
So, what does “bell bottom country” mean, anyway? It's “country with a flair,” Lainey jokes to ABC Audio.
In all seriousness, the singer's rise to fame is far from an overnight success: Lainey's been grinding in Nashville for over a decade. She says that her stardom is the result of a long process of self-discovery and brand-building.
“I feel like I've learned a lot about myself as a singer, songwriter and really, a person,” she details. “…I'm showing you who I am unapologetically.”
Now, Lainey hopes her new album will inspire listeners to be themselves. “Lean into whatever it is that makes you you, and different — whether it's where you're from, how you were raised, the way you look, the way you talk — lean into it,” she advises.
“Be you — I mean, everyone else is taken,” Lainey goes on to say. “That's what this record stands for, and that's what I've learned about myself over the past few years.”
In Lainey's case, being herself is paying off in spades. She's the most-nominated artist at the upcoming 2022 CMA Awards, with an impressive six nominations, and she's also teaming up with Hardy for a performance of their duet, “Wait in the Truck,” at the awards show.
To watch Lainey at the 2022 CMAs, tune into ABC on November 9. The show, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will air live from Nashville.
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Ahead of the release of his 10th studio album, Life Anthem, Dierks Bentley is sharing the music video for his new song, “Gold.”
Shot as a tribute to the countryside of Tennessee, the video for Gold celebrates everyday life, from yard sales to playing frisbee with your dog, acknowledging the simple treasures of Nashville. Says Dierks “‘Gold’ is an optimistic reality check. I think we all wrestle with trying to get through the rocky parts of life and on to the next thing, but there are lots of special moments to cherish even in the middle of the tough stuff.” Take a look at the video for “Gold” – here.
Bentley’s forthcoming album, Life Anthem, is set to drop in early 2023 and will follow his 2019 release, The Mountain. Fans can also catch Bentley with Luke Bryan, Jon Pardi, and Cody Johnson, at the Country Thunder Festival in Arizona in the spring of 2023.
To buy/stream “Gold” head here.
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