Hank Williams Jr.’s new album, Rich White Honky Tonk Blues, arrives Friday. The record was produced by Dan Auerbach.
Shy Carter just released a new track called “Hard (Live on the Grand.)” The singer is making his Grand Ole Opry debut next Saturday, June 25.
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Blake Shelton’s Hollywood celebrity status will be cemented next year, when he receives his very own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
The country superstar — who is also a coach on The Voice — is an honoree in the Recording category, along with Marc Anthony, Lenny Kravitz, the Jonas Brothers and many more.
The 2023 honorees by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce are receiving their stars under one of four categories: Recording, Television, Motion Pictures and Live Theatre/Live Performance. Artists in the 2023 class include Ludacris, Mindy Kaling, Ellen Pompeo and John Waters.
The new honorees will officially receive their star at some point during 2023. Dates have not yet been set for the star ceremonies.
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After years of being a country star, Faith Hill is no stranger to being a performer, but the singer says that acting as a different character on the set of 1883 posed a different, exciting kind of challenge.
“Having the opportunity to play a character other than myself was nice,” she tells actor Courteney Cox for Variety’s “Actors on Actors” series. “It was really rewarding.”
An extra perk for Faith was being able to act alongside her country superstar husband, Tim McGraw, who played the character of James Dutton — her on-screen husband — on the show.
“And to be able to do it with Tim was remarkable. And we’ve been married for 24 years. We’ve done everything together,” Faith continues, explaining that though both of them had acted in the past, co-starring was new. “This was the first thing we had never done together.”
Still, even after all these years on stage, Faith says that performing still feels fresh. “I love performing, and it does come naturally to me three songs in,” she admits. “I stand near my band most of the time, and I’m constantly having to be reminded, ‘Oh yeah, the audience is that way!’”
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Jimmie Allen is commemorating Juneteenth tonight with a hosting spot celebrating the holiday, and Black Music Month, with performances from an all-genre array of stars.
Called Sound of Freedom — A Juneteenth Celebration, the special is part of ABC News’ Soul of a Nation series. The event will feature performances from Patti LaBelle, Marvin Sapp and Jon Batiste, plus conversations with Ciara, Jimmy Jam and Terry Lewis, who will address the importance of ownership in music with ABC News’ Janai Norman.
Another segment will feature correspondent Rachel Scott, putting a spotlight on some of the “all-Black production teams behind major artists and groups.”
The special will air on Friday at 8 p.m. ET on ABC. The following day, it will be available to stream on Hulu. It’s the third year in a row that the network has produced the special, but according to co-executive producer Catherine McKenzie, it is one of the most important specials to date.
“From gospel and country to jazz, rock and today’s pop hits, every genre of American music is influenced by the Black Diaspora and our stories of survival, joy, pain and resilience,” McKenzie says in a press release. “We’re looking forward to taking viewers on this musical journey in one of our most significant specials yet.”
Co-executive producer Quiana Burns adds that it’s “a must-watch for all viewers.”
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Luke Combs’ highly-anticipated new album, Growin’ Up, is coming out next week, but before it does, he’s got one more new song to share with fans off the track list.
“The Kind of Love We Make” is a mid-tempo love song about carving out some time alone with a special someone — and watching the sparks fly as a result. The song’s music video, also out today, puts a literal spin on blazing passion: It follows a young firefighter and paramedic who find passion when they come together to extinguish a house fire.
Luke’s new song will be his next single following a record-setting 13 consecutive number-one hits that include “Doin’ This,” his lead single from Growin’ Up. The singer co-wrote “The Kind of Love We Make” with a group of frequent collaborators — Jamie Davis and Dan and Reid Isbell — and he speculates that the easy songwriting process might be due to a shared life experience between the co-writers.
“It ended up being one of those songs that wrote itself,” he recounts. “Dan, Reid and I are all having kids within a month of each other, so maybe this song had something to do with that.”
Luke and his wife, Nicole, are expecting their first child — a boy — any day now. Nicole has shared that her due date is in June.
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Maybe Thomas Rhett is just a trendsetter: In 2019, when he wrote his song “Bring the Bar to You,” he was feeling inspired by Latin music, but he had no idea that the Disney film Encanto was two years away from taking the world by storm.
Now, with “Bring the Bar to You” on the track list of his new album — and the namesake of his next tour — TR jokes that his song sounds quite a bit like one of the Encanto soundtrack’s most popular hits.
“And now that this song is coming out when ‘We Don’t Talk About Bruno’ is out at the same time, makes me feel really good about life,” he continues. “Because we have been watching Encanto severely. And this song reminds me of that song.”
Meanwhile, there’s another unintentionally timely element to “Bring the Bar to You”: He wrote it before the COVID-19 pandemic, but in light of the 2020 shutdowns, its themes of making your own fun instead of heading out to a bar are more relatable than ever.
TR and his wife, Lauren Akins, have certainly learned a thing or two about making a party for themselves at home. “Me and Lauren got real good at bringing the bar to each other during 2020. I don’t think we saw a bar for a year and a half,” he remembers.
“So we got really good at getting creative with date night,” Thomas adds, “whether it was cooking together, watching a movie downstairs, opening a bottle of wine, whatever it was.”
But it’s also a “party jam,” he points out, making it the perfect namesake for his tour. TR’s Bring the Bar to You Tour kicks off on Friday.
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Willie Nelson duets with his son Micah Nelson — aka musical artist Particle Kid — on a new song out Thursday, called “Die When I’m High (Halfway to Heaven).”
Elvie Shane’s breakout hit “My Boy” has officially been certified RIAA Platinum. The song was a viral hit that also earned Elvie his first #1 at country radio.
Caitlyn Smith has announced new United Kingdom tour dates for this October. Tickets are available now.
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Talk about a glow-up: Lainey Wilson and Luke Combs are both big stars now, but their friendship dates back to when they were still unknown artists.
“I’ve known Luke for, oh my gosh, I met him in 2014,” Lainey reveals to Entertainment Tonight. “And he used to come over to my camper and write songs with me.”
If you’re not familiar with Lainey’s story, that camper was her home for three years after moving from her home state of Louisiana to Nashville to pursue her dream of being a country star.
But these days, all those difficult days of struggling to pay her dues seem worth it: She earned her first two #1 hits with her debut single, “Things a Man Oughta Know,” and a duet with Cole Swindell called “Never Say Never.” Plus, she’s been cast in the next season of the hit television show Yellowstone, cementing her superstar status.
Of course, Luke’s no slouch at country radio himself: Earlier this spring, he earned his 13th consecutive #1 hit with “Doin’ This.” That means that every one of the singles he’s released since he debuted has hit the top of the country charts.
Now, the old-pals-turned-stars are reuniting for Luke’s fall tour, called the Middle of Somewhere Tour, with Lainey serving as an opening act. She’s not letting her tour boss forget their early days together, though. “I’m reminding him of it all the time, and I guess he remembers,” she adds.
The Middle of Somewhere Tour launches September 2 with two dates in Bangor, Maine. Jordan Davis is also on the bill.
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Brian Kelley, one half of the currently-defunct hit duo Florida Georgia Line, is returning with new solo music next month. Called “American Spirit,” the new song will honor patriotic pride just in time for Independence Day.
Brian co-wrote “American Spirit” with fellow country artist Canaan Smith as well as Jake Rose and Blake Redferrin. It’s an especially meaningful song for the singer because it honors his “Poppy,” John Edward Kelley, who earned two Purple Hearts and was a prisoner of war while serving in the U.S. Army during World War II.
To celebrate the gravity of the song, Brian enlisted painter Steve Penley to create the cover art, which features an American soldier proudly waving the flag.
The new song also sees Brian returning to his former label home, Big Machine Records, which is also where he’ll release his new solo music going forward. In addition to his releases with FGL, he put out his debut solo album, Sunshine State of Mind, in 2021.
“American Spirit” comes out July 1, but it’s available to pre-save and preorder now.
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After teasing her next album with new songs like “Good Person” and “Seeing Someone Else,” Ingrid Andress is ready to share more. Her sophomore record, Good Person, will be out this August.
To celebrate the album announcement, she put out “Pain,” another new song that Ingrid says, in many ways, is the heart of the project.
“Sometimes you find yourself in situations where you know it’s going to hurt terribly, but you have to go through with it,” the singer reflects. “This song is a reminder that it’s ok to feel sad and unhappy, but it won’t always be that way.”
She adds, “Writing this song was a really cathartic experience, and it made me feel understood, like I was listening to myself.”
Those themes are present throughout her Good Person album: Ingrid says that making it was “one of the most painful processes I’ve ever been through,” but it led her to somewhere worthwhile.”
“I realized how scared a lot of people are to push boundaries and how I am not, that’s my bread and butter,” she continues. “Isn’t that the goal, to discover new things? What are we doing here if we’re not trying to make new art?”
Good Person is due out August 26. This summer, you can catch Ingrid on the road with Keith Urban for his The Speed of Now World Tour.
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