Month: May 2023

Kip Moore‘s highly anticipated fifth studio album, Damn Love, is out now.

Preceded by 2020’s Wild World, Kip says this new record is, in some ways, shaped by the pandemic. While no song directly chronicles that period, the emotions and intentions behind crafting the 13-song project were a result of a change in perspective.

“The past few years have definitely affected my writing for this particular record. I didn't write about the pandemic specifically, but the pandemic definitely shifted perspectives in the way that you look at certain things,” shares Kip.

“And even something like love, you know the title ‘Damn Love’ encompasses so many things. It encompasses the complexities of what that word means, the heartache of it, the power of it, the trying to understand it and figure it out, the need for it, the need for companionship,” he explains. “And I think that the last few years shifted your outlook on things and what you hold dear to you.”

Kip’s brand new single, “Damn Love,” is on country radio now.

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Gordon Lightfoot, the Canadian singer-songwriter whose hits “Sundown” and “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald” helped to define folk rock, died Monday evening at Sunnybrook Hospital in Toronto of natural causes, his publicist Victoria Lord confirmed to ABC News. He was 84.

Lightfoot’s rise to fame began in the mid-1960s with folk classics such as “Early Morning Rain” and “For Loving Me.” His first U.S. hit came in 1970 with “If You Could Read My Mind,” which made it to #12 on the Billboard charts. He followed that up with 1974’s “Sundown” — his only song to reach #1 in both Canada and the U.S. — as well as the top 10 “Carefree Highway” that same year. In 1976, he reached #2 with “The Wreck of the Edmund Fitzgerald.”

He served as an inspiration for other Canadian songwriters, including Neil Young and Joni Mitchell. Another admirer was Bob Dylan, who appeared at the 1986 Juno Awards — Canada’s equivalent of the Grammys — to induct Lightfoot into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.

Lightfoot dealt with several health issues throughout his career. Facial paralysis from Bell's palsy sidelined him in the early 70s, while alcohol abuse led him to quit drinking in 1982. That same year, he experienced an abdominal aortic aneurysm and spent six weeks in a coma. Lightfoot went on to recover and release his final studio album, 2004’s Harmony, recorded before he fell ill.

In 2023, Lightfoot canceled a string of concert dates for unspecified health reasons.

Fellow Canadian singer-songwriter Bryan Adams mourned Lightfoot on Twitter, writing, “Once in a blue moon you get to work and hang out with one of the people you admired when you were growing up. I was lucky enough to say Gordon was my friend and I’m gutted to know he’s gone.”

“The world is a lesser place without him,” he continued. “I know I speak for all Canadians when I say: thank you for the songs Gordon Lightfoot. Bless your sweet songwriting heart, RIP dear friend.”

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Chayce Beckham has dropped a powerful new song, “Till The Day I Die,” which he penned with Andy Albert, Jordan Minton and Mark Trussell. Watch Chayce share the personal backstory of the song on Instagram.

Kylie Morgan has released her breezy and empowering new song, “Sugar Daddy.” The track arrives as her debut single, “If He Wanted To He Would,” continues to rise up the country charts.

Up-and-comer Alyssa Micaela‘s long-awaited debut album, The Hard Way, is out now. Of her record, Alyssa shares, “It took me three years to make, and although we did it ‘the hard way,’ we did it the right way, and I'm ready for the world to hear it.” Watch the album trailer on YouTube and sample the project with its anthemic title track.

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Planning to visit Nashville soon? Then be sure to check out the Grand Ole Opry’s newly unveiled Famous Friends exhibit. 

Open now at the Acuff House inside the Opry House, the exhibit spotlights various iconic non-country singers, celebrities and public figures who have stepped into and performed on the hallowed Opry stage.

The on-display items, costumes and keepsakes come from a variety of personalities and musicians, including Ray Charles, Leslie Jordan, Tony Bennett, Andy Griffith, Steve Martin and Jack White.

To view the Famous Friends exhibit, simply purchase an Opry House Daytime Backstage Tour ticket at opry.com.

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Kane Brown‘s got a couple more dates on his Drunk or Dreaming Tour that’ll stretch into the summer. But after that, the country hitmaker’s planning on taking some time off from music to focus on both family and his newfound passion of acting.

“We’re taking a couple of months off coming up,” Kane told ET recently. “I don’t know what I’m going to do. But you know, whatever’s there, I’m going to try and pursue it.”

“[I’m] just gonna, you know, take time into looking into acting,” he adds. “We just bought a Florida home, so we’re gonna go down. The girls went to the beach for the first time, they loved it. So we’re gonna go down there, hang out with them and make some memories.”

Kane recently made his acting debut on CBS’ Fire Country. His latest single, “Bury Me In Georgia,” is approaching the top 30 on the country charts.

To see Kane’s full tour schedule and to get tickets, visit his website.

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