Author: abookbinder

Luke Bryan ?resumes his Vegas residency at Resorts World Wednesday night, with more shows coming Friday and Saturday. If you can’t make it this time, never fear: he’s back March 22. 

The Academy of Country Music is reporting the passing of songwriter Pat Bunch, who was nominated for Single of the Year in 1987 for the Restless Heart hit “I’ll Still Be Loving You.” 

Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives will put out their first new album in six years, Altitude, on May 19. You can check out the visualizer video for “Country Star” now.

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Lainey Wilson, HARDY, Tanya Tucker, ERNEST and Charlie Worsham are included in the latest round of artists added to the tribute to actor/comedian Leslie Jordan later this month at the Opry House.

They join an already-stellar list of the Tennessee native’s friends: Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, Ashley McBryde, Jelly Roll and rocker Eddie Vedder, as well as his Hollywood pals Jim Parsons, Mayim Bialik, Cheyenne Jackson, Max Greenfield and Margaret Cho.

You can find out more about Reportin’ for Duty: A Tribute to Leslie Jordan, which takes place February 19 in Nashville, online. 

The 67-year-old passed away last October after a car crash in Hollywood. A January report from the LA County coroner revealed he died of sudden cardiac dysfunction due to arteriosclerotic cardiovascular disease and not from the accident.

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Three days after the Grammys, Cody Johnson‘s still soaking in the love. 

“‘Til You Can’t,” which was written by Matt Rogers and Ben Stennis and recorded, of course, by Cody, was named Best Country Song at Sunday’s ceremony in Los Angeles. 

“Congrats to Matt Rogers & Ben Stennis for writing such an incredible song,” Cody shared on his socials on Wednesday. “Thank you to the recording academy & the voters. Shout out to Country Radio, all streaming platforms, and #COJONation for making ‘Til You Can't’ what it is,” he went on, adding #LongLiveRealCountryMusic. 

It’s been quite a run for the song about making the most of every moment. It won Single and Music Video of the Year at November’s CMAs, as well as Male Video at the CMT Music Awards. It became Cody’s first country #1 in March 2022.

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If you can’t get enough Dolly, the record subscription service Vinyl Me, Please is looking for you. 

For the first time ever, VMP is rolling out a yearlong plan to deliver a different Dolly Parton album every month. 

Vinyl Me, Parton features titles that were originally available as records back in the day, namely: My Tennessee Mountain Home, Just Because I’m a Woman, 9 to 5 and Odd Jobs, Hello, I’m Dolly, Jolene and New Harvest…First Gathering.

It also expands the Dolly vinyl universe with titles that were rarely, if ever, issued as an LP: Little Sparrow, Blue Smoke, Backwoods Barbie, Halos & Horns, Better Day and Those Were the Days. 

“I love listening to records, and to know that fans around the world are discovering music on vinyl is wonderful,” Dolly says. “I am really happy to see some of my favorite albums that have been out of print on vinyl or were never pressed on vinyl be made available. What's old is new again!”

All the records have been remastered on 180g colored vinyl, with Vinyl Me, Parton set to start in April. 

You can get all the details at VinylMePlease.com.

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You can think of Darius Rucker as the evangelist, and he’s bringing his revival to his beloved hometown of Charleston for the second year in a row. 

The first tickets are on sale now for Darius’ Riverfront Revival, which will take place October 7 and 8 at Riverfront Park in North Charleston, South Carolina. 

“Charleston's hometown spirit was on full display last year and showed us what a local music festival meant to this community,” Darius says. “We know 2023 is going to be an even greater experience for fans and we can't wait to see you there!”

The only catch to buying your tickets this early is that you don’t know the lineup yet, though the event promises the “best of country and rock, including eagerly anticipated new music from Rucker himself.” Darius’ new record, Carolyn’s Boy, named for his late mother, is due sometime this year.

You can find out more at RiverfrontRevival.com.

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Carrie Underwood‘s riding high after conquering Hotlanta.

“Just when I think the crowds on the #DenimAndRhinestonesTour can't get any better, we play Atlanta!” she shared on her socials Wednesday morning. “What a wonderful treat it was to be with you all and get ROWDY on a Tuesday night @statefarmarena !!! Thank you, thank you, thank you!!!”

The “Hate My Heart” hitmaker also included quite a few shots of her most show-stopping moments: playing drums and guitar, drinking wine onstage and floating high above the crowd on the circular apparatus she calls the molecule. 

Carrie’s currently on the second leg of her Denim & Rhinestones tour with Jimmie Allen, having already played for capacity crowds in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville.

Wednesday night the tour rolls on to Charlotte, North Carolina. 

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For Walker Hayes, his wife, Laney, and their six kids, staying up late is just part of livin’ that “Y’all Life,” y’all.

“My family, man, we have the most random schedule,” he tells ABC Audio. “I’ve never met another family like us. But my wife and kids and I, we don’t go to bed till 2 or 3.”

“I mean, we accomplish so much at night,” he continues. “You know, we’ll watch a show or something together, but we’ll spend some time together, you know, reading and stuff like that. And we’ll sing at night. We’ll play games and stuff. We have so much quality time.”

So what time does the Hayes family usually arise?

“I usually am out of bed by 9:00, 9:30,” Walker reveals during an early-morning interview. “But my kids, man, I’m the only one up for the next few hours.”  

Of course, Walker’s unusual schedule is helped by the fact that his kids have always been homeschooled and are most often on the road with him. 

Walker next hits the road March 2 when he plays the Plant City, Florida, Strawberry Festival. 

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Carrie Underwood launched the first week of the second leg of her Denim & Rhinestones Tour by playing to packed houses in Miami, Tampa and Jacksonville, Florida. 

If you missed Griffen Palmer making his national television debut Monday on ABC’s The Bachelor, you can check out his performance of “Second Guessing” online.

“Beers on Me” hitmaker BRELAND will host his second annual benefit for Nashville’s Oasis Center April 4 at the Ryman. Nate Smith, Ingrid Andress, Rascal Flatt‘s Gary LeVox and Danielle Bradbery are just some of the stars who are on the bill to help the youth development agency. 

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Both Tyler Hubbard and Elle King scored big debuts this week on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums tally.

The Florida Georgia Line frontman lands at #8 with his first solo album, moving 15,000 units in his first week. The self-titled record contains both his first #1, “5 Foot 9,” and his current hit, “Dancin’ in the Country.” 

Elle debuts at #11 with her first full-length country record, Come Get Your Wife, which boasts both the chart-topping “Drunk (And I Don’t Want to Go Home)” with Miranda Lambert and the follow-up single, “Worth a Shot,” with Dierks Bentley. Elle clocked in at 13,000 units total. 

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Keith Urban topped the charts with 2016’s “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” and now he’s in the top 15 with “Brown Eyes Baby.” And it looks like the Aussie superstar may be connecting the dots between the two songs with his new music video.

“I can take the BLUE out of your Brown Eyes Baby…,” Keith says in the post about the video, which debuts Wednesday.

In the accompanying clip, a woman watches the “Blue” video in her bedroom. She then mutes the TV and puts a cassette of “Brown Eyes Baby” in a boom box. 

The cassette looks exactly like the single’s artwork, which Keith has previously revealed he designed because he wasn’t particularly taken with any of the options he’d been offered.

You can check out the “Brown Eyes Baby” video Wednesday at 12 p.m. ET when it debuts exclusively on Facebook.

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