Category: Go Country 105

Thomas Rhett is looking ahead to his upcoming Bring the Bar to You Tour with Parker McCollum and Conner Smith for many reasons. One of those reasons is that he won’t be going on the road only as a performer, but also as a mentee. 

The superstar is bringing newcomer Conner as one of his opening acts. The Nashville native went viral on TikTok with “I Hate Alabama” earlier this year, and recently made his chart debut with his new single, “Learn From It.” 

“I love him. I see so much of myself in him,” Thomas says. “I think because we both started in this career at 21 years old, and he’s young now, I’m getting older, and it’s fun to get to watch somebody develop their sound and develop their songwriting. Getting to watch him come into his own has been really cool.” 

Additionally, the tour will be somewhat of a family affair, as Dos Primos, the tequila company Thomas owns with his cousin, Jeff Worn, serves as the official sponsor. 

“It seemed very fitting,” the singer says of the partnership. “We get to bring the energy, we get to bring the party to your town, and get to do it with Conner Smith and Parker McCollum. Just really looking forward to it.” 

The tour begins on June 17 in Gilford, NH and concludes on October 15 in Dayton, Ohio.

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In an apparent attempt to prove that he can work in every musical genre, pop superstar Ed Sheeranmade a surprise appearance Sunday night at a Luke Combs show in London. 

Luke was performing at London’s O2 Arena as part of the Country 2 Country Festival, and Ed showed up to join him on a version of his song “Dive,” which appears on Ed’s album ÷ (Divide). While it wasn’t a single, the track’s a fan favorite and Luke often covers it in concert.

“Boys, I don’t know how we follow that,” laughed Luke after Ed walked off stage.

It seems Luke had the time of his life performing at the three-day festival that takes place across Europe, sharing photos from the stage as he performs in front of massive crowds. This marks the first year of the country music-themed festival since 2019. It was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Brothers Osborne have added several new dates to their We’re Not for Everyone Tour. Presale tickets are available tomorrow at 10 a.m. ET. 

The historic Ernest Tubb Record Shop in Nashville, which has been open for 71 years, will be closing this spring. The shop posted on social media that it will be sold. 

Pepsi Gulf Coast Jam will now offer a discount ticket for college students at $139. The four-day festival takes place in Panama City Beach, FL June 2-5. Florida Georgia Line, Brooks & Dunn and Old Dominion are among the headlining acts. 

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The first round of guest artists appearing in the upcoming country music musical May We All has been unveiled. 

Co-produced by Florida Georgia Line‘s Brian Kelley, May We All tells the story of Jenna Coates, a singer from the fictional town of Harmony, Tennessee, with dreams to make it big in Nashville. But along the way, she faces a series of setbacks that send her back to her small hometown, where she rediscovers who she is.

The score includes generations of country music, with songs by Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert,Chris Stapleton, Dolly Parton and many more. 

May We All will premiere at Tennessee Performing Arts Center in June, with several of Brian’s fellow country artists slated to fill the rotating cast role of Bailey Stone throughout the month, with each guest star performing as the character on their respective date. 

“One Big Country Song” hitmakers LoCash will open the show as Bailey on June 7, with Breland taking over the role on June 8. Lainey Wilson will perform on June 14, with Lindsay Ell filling the role on June 22. 

Danielle Bradbery, Jamie O’Neal and former American Idol contestants Trent Harmon and Caleb Lee Hutchinson are among the other artists who will take part in the production.

May We All will run at the Tennessee Performing Arts Center in Nashville from June 7 to July 17.

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Luke Combs may have new music coming soon. 

In his response to a fan inquiring about his new album on Twitter, Luke provided insight into at where he’s at in the process, hinting that fans may have it sooner rather than later. 

“How are those final touches on LC3 coming along, @lukecombs?” the fan questioned. 

“We're right at the finish line on ’em,” Luke replied. “I'm real proud of these tunes. Can't wait for y'all to hear ’em.” 

The hitmaker is currently working on the follow up to his wildly successful 2019 sophomore album, What You See Is What You Get, which was named Album of the Year at the 2020 CMA Awards and ACM Awards. 

Luke’s current single, “Doin’ This,” is the first track released off his upcoming third studio album. It’s climbing its way through the top 20 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart.

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Carrie Underwood has a big announcement coming on Friday. 

The country superstar kicked off the week with a five-second teaser video posted on socials that displays the words “Coming Friday March 18” written in bold white lettering against a black backdrop with stars glittering in the background, as a voice whispers words and sounds over a haunting melody. Carrie captions the clip with the raised eyes emoji. 

“Oh my goodness, I can’t wait to hear this! It sounds so cool and different – we can always trust you to raise the bar and break the mold!” one fan praised in the comments, while another wrote, “Sounds beautiful and ethereal!” 

Last week during the ACM Awards, Carrie hinted that she had something in the works that would be unveiled “soon.” She followed up the comment with a photo on Instagram that shows her recording in the studio. “So, I did a thing.” she captioned the picture.

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Dolly Parton is taking herself out of the running for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. 

“Even though I am extremely flattered and grateful to be nominated for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, I don’t feel that I have earned that right,” the music legend wrote Monday on Instagram. “I really do not want votes to be split because of me, so I must respectfully bow out,” she declared.

However, the country icon doesn’t rule out being nominated again in the future. She goes on to say that releasing a rock album has been a dream of hers and that the nomination has “inspired” her to potentially record one “at some point in the future.”

“I do hope that the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame will understand and be willing to consider me again – if I’m ever worthy,” she continues. “I wish all of the nominees good luck and thank you again for the compliment. Rock on!” 

It was announced in February that Dolly was nominated for induction into the 2022 Rock & Roll Hall of Fame class alongside Carly Simon, Dionne Warwick, Lionel Richie, Eminem and others. 

Dolly’s been a member of the Country Music Hall of Fame since 1999, and has also been inducted into the Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Grammy Hall of Fame and the Gospel Music Hall of Fame.

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Parker McCollum had the best weekend ever. 

On Saturday, he headlined the Houston Rodeo for the first time for an audience of 73,000 people while celebrating his current single, “To Be Loved By You,” hitting #1 on the country charts. This marks his second consecutive #1 single, following “Pretty Heart.” Both are featured on his debut studio album, Gold Chain Cowboy. 

In a video recapping his Houston Rodeo performance, the Texas native tells the massive crowd, “we just found out today that this song is the #1 song in country music,” as fans cheer from the stands. 

The clip also shows the singer, who grew up in Conroe, Texas, receiving a 90th anniversary buckle. “If you grow up playing music in Texas, Houston Rodeo has to be on your bucket list,” Parker professes, calling the experience “the coolest thing that I’ve ever done. …Only thing that ever mattered to me was playing the Houston Rodeo. Thank you Houston for making my dreams come true.”

Parker has a series of solo tour dates scheduled before hopping on Thomas Rhett‘s Bring the Bar to You Tour this summer.

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Ashley McBryde's third album is finished, and next Tuesday, she says she's going in to listen to mixes.

This time around, the singer says, she pushed the envelope on just about every level. All the elements fans know and love her for are still there, but she and longtime producer Jay Joyce dialed up the energy in every aspect of the music.

Recalling her approach to the new material, Ashley notes, “As tender as we've ever been, let's see how much more we can turn that up. As country as we've ever been, let's turn that up a little bit. As much as we know how to rock n' roll, let's turn that up just a little bit, and see what happens.”

The results? An 11-track “page turn” project that represents something new, but still contains all the key elements and people that have always made her records so powerful.

“It's me and the guys, the same guys that have been on the road with me for every single show, and, of course, Jay Joyce and his magical mind,” Ashley says, adding that she went into the studio at least once with a song so fresh that the proverbial ink wasn't even dry on the page.

“Jay said, Can we cut that today?' And I went, Hang on.' So I text[ed] my co-writer, because we wanted to rewrite the verses. So we just did it via text right then, and then cut the song,” she remembers.

“It was as magical as it always is, and as frustrating as it always is,” she sums up. When Ashley's next album arrives, it'll be the follow-up to her hit 2020 record, Never Will.

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Alan Jackson has announced tour plans for 2022. His headlining Last Call — One More for the Road tour will kick off in June. Tickets go on sale to the general public next Friday.

Wynonna Judd has been added to the bill for the Pure Imagination Festival, taking place May 21 in Prescott, Arizona.

Parker McCollum tries his hand at a George Strait classic with his new studio version of “Carrying Your Love with Me.”

Eli Young Band have announced their next album, Love Talking, named after its title track and lead single, which was released in January. The full project arrives June 3, and the group just shared another new song off of it, called “Break Up in a Bar.”

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