Dierks Bentley + Elle King’s “Worth a Shot” goes Wild West in new music video

Sony Music Nashville

Dierks Bentley and Elle King dive into the world of an 1800s-era Wild West town in the music video for their new duet, “Worth a Shot.”

The pair play a husband and wife drawn apart by Dierks’ gambling and outlaw ways. Elle catches wind of his misdeeds while she’s at home with their baby — played by her real-life 8-month-old son, Lucky — but it turns out she’s not quite the demure housewife she seems.

Cue a fun, 3 1/2-minute mini movie, which features a seedy saloon, Elle in disguise as a man and — ultimately — a reunion for the pair.

Elle came up for the concept of the music video in collaboration with directors Stephen Kinigopoulos and Alexa Stone. At the end of the video, a director calls “cut,” and Elle and Dierks snap out of their Wild West selves, going back to being the artists and pals who collaborated on the song.

“Can we drink now?” Elle says, cracking up. “Was yours real whiskey or water?” Dierks says, referencing the shots they’d taken in a drinking contest in a prior scene. “I have actually been drinking alcohol this whole time,” Elle jokes.

“I’m going back to the brothel,” Dierks responds, standing up and walking out of the frame.

Dierks and Elle may not be real-life outlaws, but they are real-life pals: “Worth a Shot” is their second collaboration, following 2016’s “Different for Girls.

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The Judds 2022 Tour will go on, with a star-studded new lineup featuring Faith Hill, Little Big Town + more

Wynonna Judd performs at the “Naomi Judd: A River of Time” celebration at Ryman Auditorium on May 15, 2022 in Nashville; Mickey Bernal/Getty Images

Before Naomi Judd’s unexpected death in late April, she and her daughter Wynonna had made plans to launch a fall 2022 tour as legendary country act The Judds.

At Naomi’s public memorial concert last weekend, Wynonna announced that The Judds: The Final Tour will continue, adding that it’s what her mother would have wanted. Now, new details are emerging about the lineup for the re-imagined tour dates, which are scheduled to begin September 30 and last through the month of October.

The show is being reimagined as an all-star girls’ night, with performances from Little Big Town, Ashley McBryde, Trisha Yearwood and Brandi Carlile. Martina McBride — who was originally scheduled to be the opener on the tour — is still on the bill, and she’ll perform a set of her own music during the supporting act slot each night.

Additionally, a final arena stop in Lexington, Kentucky has been added to the tour for October 29. That’s a particularly meaningful spot to close the show, as Kentucky is Wynonna and Naomi’s home state. Faith Hill will join the bill for that date.

In a statement, Wynonna thanked fans for their outpouring of support and interest in attending the shows, even though the lineup will look very different than originally planned.

“I am humbled, once again, by the loyalty of the fans who have been with us for 38+ years, who continue to show up for me when I need them the most,” she said. “I am grateful that we will continue to honor the Judds legacy together.”

“I am so happy that in this time of grief for us all, Wynonna has agreed to move forward with this tour,” added Larry Strickland, Naomi’s husband of 30+ years, “as my sweet wife Naomi would have wanted her to do.”

A limited number of tickets are still available for stops on The Judds: The Final Tour. Tickets for the Lexington, Kentucky show go on sale May 21.

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Ingrid Andress’ favorite hobby includes flowers, hearts and ‘raunchy’ rap lyrics: “It’s just so funny to me”

ABC

When Ingrid Andress isn’t writing new songs or touring, you can probably find her enjoying a hobby she picked up as a home-schooled kid: cross-stitching.

“I used to cross-stich when I was younger, and now I love cross-stitching rap lyrics,” the singer says. “It’s just so funny to me. I don’t know why my brain thinks that’s hilarious, but cross-stitching weird, raunchy rap lyrics with, like, flowers and hearts around [them] just brings me so much joy, and I have no idea why.”

Hopefully Ingrid’s friends and family feel the same way — she says she likes to spread that joy around, especially during the holidays.

“I used to do them as Christmas gifts,” she continues, explaining that she either keeps it in the hoop she uses to make it so the gift recipient can hang it on their wall, or she cross-stitches a pillow or napkin for them.

Ingrid says she’s waiting for the perfect cross-stitch craft to make for herself. “I haven’t kept one for me yet. Usually I just give them away,” she continues.

Ingrid may be cross-stitching in her free time, but she’s currently hard at work on musical pursuits. She released her latest new song, “Seeing Someone Else,” earlier this month.

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Luke Bryan pays tribute to fellow ‘American Idol’ judge and Gershwin Prize recipient Lionel Richie: “Nothing but love”

ABC/Lou Rocco

Luke Bryan was among the many performers who turned out at a ceremony on May 12 honoring Lionel Richie, this year’s recipient of the Library of Congress Gershwin Prize for Popular Song. PBS aired the event on Tuesday night.

During his time onstage, Luke performed “Lady,” a classic from Lionel’s catalog with a country connection. The song was recorded by Kenny Rogers in 1980, becoming a massive cross-genre hit for both artists.

Before he sang, Luke briefly spoke about his relationship with the honoree. “You know how we all have bad days? I wake up and have a bad day, and then I tell myself, ‘Somewhere, Lionel Richie ain’t having a bad day, so you better have a good day,’” he told the crowd.

“This guy is everything you believe he is, I promise you,” Luke added.

The country superstar also marked the moment on his social media, posting some snapshots of his performance and video of the hug he shared with Lionel after the song.

“I’ve got nothing but love for you [Lionel Richie]!” Luke wrote in the caption of his post. “It was an incredible experience getting to honor you at the #GershwinPrize concert.”

The country genre was well represented during the ceremony, which featured a massive cast of performers from all genres. Garth Brooks and Chris Stapleton were also on hand to tribute the pop legend.

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When they’re not on tour, Dan + Shay are “floating around the pool with an acoustic guitar” this summer

ABC

After a couple of relatively quiet months, Dan + Shay are once again hitting the stage: They performed at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards, where they also won Top Country Duo/Group, and now they’re on tour with Kenny Chesney for the summer.

And while both members of the duo are longtime Kenny fans who’ve been to plenty of his shows as fans, they say that getting on stage is giving them a chance to get to know his fanbase in a new way.

“It’s a great group of people. It’s very eclectic,” says Shay Mooney. “You’ve got anyone from, you know, [age] 10 to 80. It’s just people that love music and that love people. It’s a nice vibe.”

And when they’re not on tour? Bandmate Dan Smyers says they’ve been taking advantage of the downtime to get to work on some new music.

“Writing songs — I mean, we can’t stop. That’s all we do,” he explains, adding that they’re trading in a traditional writer’s room for a sunnier locale this summer. “We’ve been writing songs by the pool, a little bit, trying to enjoy being outside.”

The duo are operating at a slower pace than they were this time last year, since the summer of 2021 was a jam-packed few months filled with touring and makeup shows from last year’s pandemic cancellations.

“It was a grind. It was awesome. Very, very busy,” Dan continues. “This summer is just weekends. So we’re taking advantage of the weekdays at home, floating around the pool with an acoustic guitar and trying to write our best music.”

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Nashville notes: Dolly Parton + more

Dolly Parton presented broadcasting legend Dan Rather with the Peabody Career Achievement Award this week. He’s one of several honorees at the upcoming 82nd Peabody Awards, which will be held during a multiday virtual celebration next month.

Rising country star Ernest teased a new track called “Songs We Used to Sing” on social media this week. His duet with Morgan Wallen, “Flower Shops,” is currently climbing the country charts.

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Morgan Wallen says family, friends, fatherhood helped him grow in the wake of his racist slur scandal

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Morgan Wallen made his return to the awards show spotlight at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards over the weekend, performing two songs — “Don’t Think Jesus” and “Wasted on You” — and bringing home the award for Top Country Male Artist.

It was his first performance since a video of him yelling a racist slur emerged in early 2021. Since then, he’s been barred from many mainstream awards shows and other music industry platforms.

But at the BBMAs, Morgan walked the red carpet with his mom, Lesli, and credited the people closest to him for helping change his perspective amid the scandal.

“My family, my friends and just a really good team,” the singer replied to ET Online when asked who most helped him get through the past couple of years. “My kid. I’ve had a lot of really positive things going on behind the scenes, that maybe weren’t necessarily brought to light.”

He continued, “I’ve been able to get to a good place because of all that.”

Morgan also expressed his gratitude for the support he’s received from his fellow country artists, such as Jason Aldean and Hardy.

“Everybody tells you they’re your friends when everything’s good, so it’s really nice to have people who really mean that,” he said.

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“My world”: Kane Brown shares a sweet outdoor snapshot of his two daughters

ABC

Kane Brown may be busy readying a new album, but he’s never too busy to spend time with family.

The superstar hopped on social media this week to share a snap of his daughters, 2-year-old Kingsley and 4-month-old Kodi. Kane and his wife, Katelyn, have previously told fans that Kingsley loves being a big sister, and this photo is proof: the toddler’s got her arm around her baby sibling as the pair sit outside in a chair.

Kane and Katelyn welcomed baby Kodi in late December. They never announced the pregnancy publicly, making for quite the surprise when fans learned that they’d added a new bundle of joy to their household.

In musical news, Kane’s keeping busy: He put out his new song, “Like I Love Country Music,” earlier this month.

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Cody Johnson sends “Human” to country radio, puts more tour dates on the books

Amy Sussman/Getty Images for Stagecoach

After the success of his two-week number-one hit, “Til You Can’t,” Cody Johnson is following up that single with the title track off his Human The Double Album.

Part of the appeal of “Til You Can’t” was its powerful message, and with his new single “Human,” Cody once again relies on strong truth-telling and epic, anthemic relatability. The song is an anthem for today’s often divisive cultural climate, reminding listeners that ultimately, they’ve got more similarities than differences with their fellow humans.

“We’ve gone through a lot in this country the last two years. We are all doing this together. We all have struggles even though they are different,” Cody reflected during a recent live performance of the song, explaining why he chose “Human” to be his next single.

As he rides the momentum of some major career success over the past year, Cody is also extending his 2022 headlining tour with new shows. For a complete list of tour dates, visit the singer’s website.

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Could an album about “dadding” be in Thomas Rhett’s future? It “sounds really fun,” he says

ABC

Sure, Thomas Rhett’s written plenty of songs about family life and parenting — “Life Changes” and “To the Guys That Date My Girls,” for two — but he’s never written a whole project specifically devoted to the ups and downs of raising young kids.

That might change in the future, according to a new interview the dad of four gave to his record label recently. He says he’s tossed around the idea of a project called Dadding, with titles like “Eat Your Breakfast,” “Where’d You Learn That Word,” “Please Don’t Draw on the Walls” and more.

“I feel like that’d be super fun, you know, just to write from a super self-deprecating point of view of how challenging it is to just parent,” Thomas says. “That’s something that would be intriguing to me, and it also sounds really fun, ‘cause I feel like there’s a lot of people out there that would really enjoy listening to a piece of music like that.”

That hunch got confirmed last year, when the singer shared his album idea on social media and asked for fans to send him title suggestions. In response, he got “five or 6000” comments with hilarious suggestions.

Self-deprecating humor has been something TR’s been enjoying quite a lot in recent months. He used it to promote his latest album, Where We Started, posting a clip of himself and a friend spoofing The Office with dry humor and unorthodox promotion tactics.

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