Country
Billboard celebrated the genre’s top executives, impact makers and rising artists on Wednesday, (June 4) during the annual Billboard Country Power Players Awards, which were held at venue Category 10 in downtown Nashville. Reyna Roberts hosted the Country Power Players party, which launched with a performance by Latin artist Carín León. Brooks & Dunn’s Ronnie […]
Margo Price is digging deep into her country music foundations on her new album, Hard Headed Woman, set to release Aug. 29 via Loma Vista Recordings. The project, recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A with producer Matt Ross-Spang, marks the first album Price has recorded in Nashville, a city she has called home for two […]
If you bring together six hot Country artists and add in some ice-cold beer, you get one memorable evening of live music. That’s exactly what fans experienced at Category 10 in Nashville on the first day of CMA Fest thanks to Billboard Country Live presented by Bud Light. Each artist gave fans 20 minutes of some of their top songs with a sprinkle – or three – of unexpected covers to spice things up.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The Thursday (June 5) event welcomed attendees into the multi-story music venue to kick off an unforgettable weekend of country music. The packed first floor made room for line dancing between acts while DJ Grant Fisher provided country, hip-hop, and EDM beats. On the second and third floors, fans lined up against the railings while sipping on Bud Light to get a glimpse of the Billboard-curated evening.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
Bud Light not only provided the draft pours and tall boys, but they also decked out the venue in vibrant neon decorations, gave fans stylish snap-back hats and bandanas, and created a custom photo moment for attendees to capture a snapshot to remember the epic evening.
Trending on Billboard
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
CMT host Carissa Culiner emceed the evening, welcoming everyone in for several hours of entertainment before kicking off the festivities.
Reyna Roberts
Reyna Roberts at the Billboard Country Live concert at Category 10 on June 05, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
Many first heard Roberts’ name when she appeared on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter album. But this evening’s performance showed she can stand by herself just fine. She rocked her signature red mane under a white cowboy hat, which perfectly matched her bustier, chaps and boots. Possibly taking a note from Queen Bey, her hair flowed as she worked the stage.
Roberts performed tunes including”Lawless”, “Louisiana”, “Raised Right” and treated fans to a performance of an upcoming song “Mustangs Over Bentleys.” She also told a heart-warming story before performing Gretchen Wilson’s “Here For The Party” about how she sang that song for her first on-stage performance at the age of 9 while in elementary school. She brought the party on stage with a Bud Light in hand to share a toast with fans, thanking them for their support at another CMA Fest. She spread the love saying, “I love God, I love Billboard, and I love Bud Light!”
Alexandra Kay
Alexandra Kay at the Billboard Country Live concert at Category 10 on June 05, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
A shining light of the evening, Alexandra Kay had the audience singing along to her hits, along with an unexpected pop cover song. You could be distracted by her pink, bedazzled mic stand if it weren’t for Kay’s strong vocals and effervescent personality. From turning her songs into sing-a-longs to taking a singing selfie video on a fan’s phone, the energy in the room reached another level.
She had one of the biggest surprises of the evening when she launched into a cover of Chappell Roan’s “Pink Pony Club,” a song about leaving Tennessee for Los Angeles where you find yourself dancing on stage at a gay bar. She sang fan-favorites like “Backroad Therapy” and “Everleave” but paused to take a moment to thank her fans for helping her get to this moment. She also gave Jelly Roll, her tour partner and oftentimes collaborator, a shout out for helping further her career. After years of being an independent artist, she recently signed to BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville.
Drew Baldridge
Drew Baldridge at the Billboard Country Live concert at Category 10 on June 05, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
Drew Baldridge’s set was a celebration of hard work and a victory lap for the past year’s accomplishments. He started the show off by shouting out all the country girls and country boys and warming up the crowd. Baldridge quickly raised a Bud Light to give a cheers to ’90s Country music and proceeded to give fans a medley of hits from Tim McGraw’s “I Like It, I Love It” to the late Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” and “Brand New Man” by Brooks & Dunn.
Baldridge brought the emotion, performing “Can She Have This Dance” which he wrote for his wife to dance to on their wedding day. After leaving Nashville and performing more than 400 backyard parties during the pandemic, he began to gain the recognition he deserved with “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” a song he took to No. 3 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as an independent artist (he’s since signed with BBR Music Group). He told fans “I’m not making music for Nashville. I’m not making music for country radio. I’m making music for y’all,” before closing his set with the inspirational “Tough People.”
Max McNown
Max McNown at the Billboard Country Live concert at Category 10 on June 05, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
Max McNown kept the show going, bringing energy to the stage and making connections with the audience. He started his set off with last year’s hit “Love Me Back.” Mid-song, he grabbed a fan’s phone to take a selfie with the crowd, then told the audience about having to run a mile through downtown Nashville to get to the show on time, adding that he’d then have to sprint to Nissan Stadium after the performance to make his set and stadium debut on the Platform Stage. He balanced his Billboard/Bud Light set with his own hits and covers of fan-favorite, including leveling up his song “Marley” by injecting it with Marley’s “Three Little Birds.” He also performed his version of “Cover Me Up” by Jason Isbell. Max finished on a high note, performing his hits “Better Me For You (Brown Eyes) and “A Lot More Free” flexing his musicality by whistling into the microphone and whipping out a harmonica.
Ashley Cooke
Ashley Cooke at the Billboard Country Live concert at Category 10 on June 05, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
The energy in the room became electric as Ashley Cooke took the stage. The audience fed off her spirited set, as she told fans she has registered some of the biggest accomplishments of her career over the past year, from getting her first tour bus to her first award, breakthrough female video of the year at the 2024 CMT Awards for “Your Place.” This year also had some of her lowest lows including the loss of family members and health scares in her circle. The emotional moment teed up her hit “It’s Been A Year.”
For those just getting to know her, she offered to show them who she was through a medley of some of her favorite songs. The audience sang along while Ashley belted out Kelly Clarkson’s “Since U Been Gone”, Avril Lavigne’s “Complicated” and “Life Is A Highway” by Tom Cochrane (and Rascal Flatts’ popular remake) . She ended her set asking who in the room had the craziest ex before performing her break-up tune, “Your Place.”
Mitchell Tenpenny
Mitchell Tenpenny at the Billboard Country Live concert at Category 10 on June 05, 2025 in Nashville, Tennessee.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
Closing out an epic evening of country music is not an easy task, but Mitchell Tenpenny attacked the opportunity armed with an acoustic guitar, giving fans a solo set that had everyone in the house singing along. He commanded the stage with hits like “Bucketlist” and “We Got History” which he said was his version of Rascal Flatt’s “Bless The Broken Road.” He kicked off his set by telling the backstory to “Alcohol You Later” – inspired by a drunken phone call he overheard in a bar – then launched into the song, changing some lyrics in verse two to “need someone to drink Bud Light with,” paying homage to the evening’s presenting sponsor.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
He thanked the audience for the sing-a-long, adding, “Hearing someone sing your song back to you is the greatest feeling in the world.” They even became an integral part of a fan-requested impromptu performance of “Bitches” where they had to sing the title during the chorus because Tenpenny claimed, “I don’t think I can sing that one here.” But the final song of the night was the perfect crescendo to an evening of amazing performances as he launched into an unexpected cover of “Iris” by Goo Goo Dolls. The audience was so engrossed in the performance, he did an encore which had everyone swaying with the lights from their phones over their heads. He then spent several minutes signing hats and greeting the adoring fans.
Gina Di Maio/Billboard
“You have to kiss a lot of frogs before you find your prince.”
Suffering through bad relationships to finally find the ideal romantic partner is a universal story that’s understood by men and women of every age, and of every generation. It’s at the heart of most Hallmark movies and a number of fairytales. And it’s a go-to subject for plenty of hit songs, including Rascal Flatts’ “Bless The Broken Road,” Foreigner’s “Waiting for a Girl Like You,” Garth Brooks’ “Unanswered Prayers” and Johnny Lee’s “Lookin’ for Love.”
It’s appropriate that when LOCASH strode down that same thematic lane, it took years for “Wrong Hearts” to find its right moment.
Explore
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
“I always believe songs are on journeys, and they have their own timing,” LOCASH’s Preston Brust says. “And so here we are.”
Trending on Billboard
“Wrong Hearts” was created when the whole of society was (im)patiently waiting to move forward. They penned it in 2020, when the pandemic had forced musicians off the road. LOCASH was writing via Zoom nearly every day, and on this particular occasion, they connected on computer screens with Josh Thompson (“Drowns the Whiskey,” “One Margarita”) and Matt Dragstrem (“Mamaw’s House,” “What My World Spins Around”), who checked in from his third-floor writing room on Music Row. Either Dragstrem or Thompson had the “Wrong Hearts” title, but all four related to its inherent message.
“I been married 15 years,” LOCASH’s Chris Lucas notes. “Trust me, there was a lot of broken jukeboxes that didn’t play. There’s a lot of neon lights that flickered. You know, there’s all kinds of stuff we went through to get to where we’re at.”
The trick was to make that sentiment work for LOCASH’s rough-cut vocal sound.
“Josh was playing this vibe, almost like a ‘50s, ‘60s vibe – retro, but at the same time, cool again,” Lucas recalls. “We just started writing it, with a kind of ‘God Bless the Broken Road’ vibe, but a little edgier.”From the start, Dragstrem built a musical track to work from, centered around a strummed guitar part that held an Eagles/Poco sort of country-rock attitude. They dug straight into the chorus, setting their intent with the first lines: “All the wrong hearts/ All the wrong bars.”
“We’re chorus writers,” Brust says. “If that hook doesn’t feel really good, then we’re probably not even gonna chase a verse.”
They recounted empty whiskey glass and bad barroom choices, using short, breezy phrases. But midway through the chorus, they changed the phrasing and the melody, as the text got even darker.
“At that time, post-choruses were really in, so I think we thought of [that section] as a post-chorus,” Dragstrem says. “Then the more we were writing it, we were like, ‘Oh, this kind of feels like just a part of the chorus.’ Doing that front half of the chorus again might get a little old, so I remember I was trying to play with a different back half that kind of wrapped it nicely in a bow. I love the front half of the chorus, but I wanted that melody to be really special and be interesting every time you hear it.”
The back half started on “that highway to hell” – not intended as a nod to AC/DC, though they knew people would make that connection. That highway “led straight to your arms,” cruising into a new emotional light that carried through to a reprise of the “Wrong Hearts” hook at the chorus’ end.
With that section complete, they turned to the verses, using the opening stanza to recap the lonely prior wilderness. “Wastin’ my time,” “gettin’ used to the rain” – they used a conversational tone while recasting that period as drudgery. Then, the singer’s dream girl walks in “outta that neon blue” – it’s easy to picture her silhouetted in cigarette smoke with a Bud Light sign glowing behind her.
“That’s always the challenge for songwriters: to find new ways to say ‘the bar’ without saying ‘the bar,’” Dragstrem notes.
In verse two, the singer recognizes the former relationships were always doomed to fail, and he revels in the time he’s spending with his partner now “under midnight stars.” It was a mere coincidence that they’d placed a light source – the “neon blue” and the “midnight stars” – in each verse, though it fit “Wrong Hearts” well.
“There’s light at the end of the tunnel,” Lucas says. “Sometimes you can’t see it when you’re younger and you’re still trying to find love.”
To finish, they crafted a bridge that pulled the bar and the relationship together, raising a drink to their romance. They would also “raise one to…” – then comes the final chorus – “All the wrong hearts.” By celebrating those former romances, they framed the failed past as necessary for the victorious present.Dragstrem completed the instrumental part of the demo on his own, adhering to the country-rock motif, and Thompson sang the vocal for that version. LOCASH was enthusiastic about “Wrong Hearts,” but their label relationship at the time was, it turned out, nearing its end. They had two more singles, then moved on, eventually starting their own Galaxy Music Group.
As they worked on their first Galaxy album, LOCASH pulled “Wrong Hearts” off the pile and asked producer Jacob Rice (Jon Langston, Kidd G) to record the instrumental bed. Rice was up for the assignment.
“The way the melody sat over the chord progression was very cool to me,” he says.
He cut it at Saxman Studios around the end of 2023 with drummer Grady Saxman, bassist Devin Malone, guitarists Nathan Keeterle and Dave Flint, and steel guitarist Andy Ellison. Rice encouraged them to follow Dragstrem’s country-rock lead, with a specific alteration.
“One of the main things I told everybody in there was, ‘I don’t want this to be too light,’” Rice remembers.
“I wanted it to have a little bit of a toughness to it, a little bit of a masculine thing to it. The demo had a beachy kind of lighter vibe, I’d say, because it had nylon guitar [strings] going on, and it kind of leaned itself a little bit more [Kenny] Chesney, when Chesney was kind of doing his beach thing.”
If listeners dig deep, they’ll hear Ellison playing steel lines with elongated notes mid-chorus, handling a supporting role that would typically belong to a string section. Keeterle used a tremolo effect to apply a bubbly sound in the bridge, and Saxman slipped a maraca-sounding shaker into a quiet space before the chorus.
“That’s all musicianship,” Rice says. “A lot of that came from those guys just playing off each other.”LOCASH cut its vocals at a later date, working out their parts in the studio. Lucas took the primary lead on the chorus, while Brust dominated the verses. And before it was all over, Brust developed a bonus post-chorus that had the guys singing a background counter melody.
As previous single “Hometown Home” wound its way to No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart, a major programmer suggested “Wrong Hearts” was the obvious follow-up. They researched it through multiple avenues, and the feedback supported that advice. Galaxy released “Wrong Hearts” to country radio via PlayMPE on May 2. Interestingly, that phrase at the end of the bridge – “raise one to” – is being heard by some listeners as “raise one, too.” It takes “Wrong Hearts” even further, suggesting the guy is wanting to become a father – making him obvious wife material.
Thus, “Wrong Hearts” is even more utilitarian than they expected. Its journey so far is five years – long by typical standards – but the song has a shot at making a long-awaited connection, mirroring the story embedded in its easy-going melody.
“The right heart has been waiting for you all along,” Brust suggests. “You just got to get there.”
Dumb Blonde Podcast host Bunnie Xo is firing back against an online troll who criticized her and husband Jelly Roll‘s journey to have a baby through IVF. On her Instagram Stories, Bunnie shared a TikTok video in which a woman is seen saying, “I think [Bunnie Xo’s] now on an IVF journey. Isn’t she 45 […]
Country singer Conner Smith was driving the truck that struck and killed a 77-year-old pedestrian in Nashville on Sunday (June 8), Billboard has confirmed. A release from the Metro Nashville Police Department on Monday (June 9) stated that a 24-year-old man named Conner Smith was behind the wheel during Sunday’s accident. The pedestrian was identified […]
Shortly after debuting his new song “Good Times & Tan Lines” on the main stage at Nissan Stadium on Sunday night, Zach Top released the new song as a glimpse into his upcoming August release Ain’t In It For My Health.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The song tops a slate of new releases this week, including Hailey Whitters’ romantic, retro sound on “White Limousine.” Meanwhile, Old Dominion, LouieTheSinger and Lanie Gardner also offer up fresh new tracks. Check out all of those below.
Zach Top, “Good Times & Tan Lines”
Trending on Billboard
Zach Top, the ACM’s reigning new artist vocalist of the year, just might have released what will be one of this summer’s top country anthems, with its strongly Alan Jackson-coded, twangy guitar intro and piles of fiddle, as he wraps his distinct twang around lyrics that look back lovingly on a time when summer meant a more laid-back time of friendship, chilled beverages and ample time on a beach or lake. Top reunites with two co-writers who played essential roles in his debut album, Cold Beer and Country Music, teaming again with Carson Chamberlain and Wyatt McCubbin.
Hailey Whitters, “White Limousine”
From her new album Corn Queen, Whitters issues this dreamy, 1970s haze-wrapped romantic ode. “I want to paint the town with the sunroof down,” Whitters sings, her twangy voice taking on a sultry smooth tone, as the song’s cinematic lyrics etch a story of a couple who know they only need each other to have a glamorous, romantic night out. This track leans slightly more gloss-pop than the twangier country tunes she’s known for, but she puts for this track with finesse. Whitters wrote the song with Jessie Jo Dillon and Jesse Frasure.
Louie TheSinger (feat. Chris Perez), “If I Die Tomorrow”
Louie TheSinger just dropped his major label debut album One For the Hometown (which released June 6), issuing a project that celebrates his Mexican-American heritage while also honoring his love of a range of sounds, including country, Tejano, hip-hop and more. Among the songs on this project is this heartfelt collaboration with Chris Pérez (Pérez also sings on the album’s title track). Over an underpinning of country-rock instrumentation, Pérez and Louie TheSinger center this new track on family connection, making an unfiltered, stark imagining of the messages they most hope their loved ones keep close if either of them should pass away unexpectedly.
Old Dominion, “Water My Flowers”
Eight-time ACM group of the year winners Old Dominion is known for its sunny pop-country tunes, but on their latest, the group gets more personal and introspective than ever — wrapping somber musings of finding a love who will be there in their final moments, mourn them and take care of the things they leave behind. Lead singer Matthew Ramsey turns in a powerful vocal, bolstered by hazy meldings of soulful pop, rock and country, and with a slightly retro vibe and insistent rhythm underpinning the heartbreak as Ramsey ponders, “Who’s gonna cry my name/ When they lay me down in the cold hard ground.” “Water My Flowers” previews the band’s upcoming album Barbara, due Aug. 22.
Lanie Gardner, “Takin’ the Slow Ride”
Gardner’s “Buzzkill” gained traction earlier this year, and on her newly released EP Polaroids, she builds on that momentum with this breezy summer jam that relishes time spent in a sweet car with her feet on the dashboard and her lover in the driver’s seat. Her sinewy voice lends the song an effortlessly cool vibe, one perfect for the warm days ahead. Gardner wrote the song with Matt Jenkins, Jesse Frasure and Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi.
The 2025 CMA Fest concluded Sunday night (June 8), and after four days of festing, tens of thousands of country music fans kept the energy going strong as they filled Nashville’s Nissan Stadium for one final evening. Throughout much of this year’s CMA Fest, which ran from June 5 to 8, rainclouds hovered over Nashville, […]
Day three of CMA Fest’s nighttime concert series at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium started right on time at 8 p.m. on Saturday (June 7), following a rain delay the night before. This time, there were clear, but slightly cloudy Nashville skies, with no rain in sight as another round of top artists took to the stage. […]
As rain poured down outside, within downtown Nashville’s Category 10 multi-level bar it was warm and cozy — and ultimately packed to the rafters — on day two of Billboard Country Live. Billed as On the Rise, Friday’s (June 6) lineup featured seven hot newcomers who, based on their infectious sets, all have promising futures.
Day two followed Thursday’s (June 5) Billboard Country Live Presented by Bud Light, which highlighted six acts, including Mitchell Tenpenny, Reyna Roberts, Alexandra Kay, Drew Baldridge, Max McNown and Ashley Cooke.
CMT host Carissa Culiner emceed both evenings, keeping things lively between sets, with assistance from DJ Grant Fisher.
Trending on Billboard
Annie Bosko performs during Billboard Country Live On the Rise at Category 10 on June 6, 2025 in Nashville, Tenne.
Michael Hickey/Billboard via Getty Images
Annie Bosko
Bosko, whose new Stone Country Records album arrives in October, was the perfect opener to kick off the afternoon with her warm, welcoming presence and denim shorts and vest.
The California native opened with the spirited “California Cowgirl,” explaining “because I think no matter where you’re from, you’ve got a cowgirl inside,” before launching into her inspirational current single, “God Winks.” “I’ve hit low points in my life when I wanted to give up and I got a sign from God to keep going,” Bosko said, as fans held up their lighted cell phones, waving their arms in the air. She closed her short set with “(Country Girls) Who Runs the World,” an empowering twangy successor to Beyoncé’s “Run the World (Girls)” that saw her accompanying herself on harmonica.
Harper Grace performs at Billboard Country Live On the Rise at Category 10 on June 6, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn.
Michael Hickey/Billboard via Getty Images
Harper Grace
Sporting a T-shirt that read, “Country music makes you live longer,” the Curb Records artist opened with a sassy, thumping version of “Mr. Mystery” and followed up with the fiddle-laden “Take It Like a Truck,” which would fit right in on a Lainey Wilson album. Grace then went old school with a gorgeous version of the classic heartbreaker “Tennessee Waltz,” first made famous by Patti Page in 1950, before closing out with “IDK,” her current duet with Franklin Jonas, who, dressed in a dapper suit, joined her to the audience’s delight. The two roamed the stage as they sang the searching ballad about trying to find a love that has previously eluded them.
Graham Barham performs at Billboard Country Live On the Rise at Category 10 on June 6, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn.
Michael Hickey/Billboard via Getty Images
Graham Barham
Barham, backed with a full band, kicked the energy up with his blend of country, rock and trap beats on songs like the intoxicating “MIA” and the driving “Camo.” The Sony artist showed off his sense of humor as he introduced “Whiskey,” admonishing the audience to “please remember everything you see on screen isn’t necessarily true. With that being said, this is about me getting hammered.” He followed with a faithful version of Brooks & Dunn’s “Red Dirt Road,” before finishing strong with his boisterous hit, “Oil Money,” as accomplices shot fake money into the audience.
Cooper Alan performs at Billboard Country Live On the Rise at Category 10 on June 6, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn.
Michael Hickey/Billboard via Getty Images
Cooper Alan
Alan brought the party with him in a ridiculously high-energy, fun set, which started with the loping “To the Bar,” adding he used to play in the location before it became Combs’ Category 10. His cover of choice was a galloping version of Avicii/Aloe Blacc’s “Wake Me Up,” which he admitted he goofed up, but made up for it by inviting the audience to jump along with him in a unifying moment. He then launched into “the stupidest thing we’ve ever done,” his TikTok viral novelty hit, “Cold 45,” which was inspired by Afroman’s “Because I Got High.”
Alan and the audience caught their collective breaths when he turned serious, slowing it down and strapping on a guitar to play the sweet ballad “Take Forever (Hally’s Song),” which he wrote about his wife, whom he married in September 2023. But he finished by raising the roof again with “Plead the Fifth,” a hilarious ditty sung to the tune of “Auld Lang Syne,” with rapid-fire lyrics, from which he segued, appropriately enough, into John Michael Montgomery’s “Sold (The Grundy County Auction Incident)” and Eminem’s “Without Me.” Alan wasn’t on stage for a long time, but he was definitely there for a good time.
Timmy McKeever performs at Billboard Country Live On the Rise at Category 10 on June 6, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn.
Michael Hickey/Billboard via Getty Images
Timmy McKeever
There was cause for celebration for Big Loud artist Timmy McKeever, who had moved to Nashville exactly a year ago and showed why he’d already made great strides in that time. In a striking acoustic set with just him and his guitar, the 18-year-old deliberately slowed down the pace and showed off his sweet voice and fine writing skills with such tunes as the earnest, romantic “I’ve Known Better,” his first song to go viral on TikTok (“for the first two lines,” he joked) and the vulnerable “Bulletproof” (an original, not a cover of the recent Nate Smith hit). He then delivered a tasty cover of Megan Moroney’s “Tennessee Orange” — dubbed “Tennessee Orange (Breakup Version)” — that had not only a gender flip, but a twist, where he’s a Georgia boy in love with a girl who is now wearing Tennessee orange for her new beau, before going into a softer, less aggressive version of Toby Keith’s “Courtesy of the Red, White & Blue.”
He finished with three originals that showed off his promise as a budding talent, the yearning, infectious “Cravin’ You,” the upcoming single “Hold You to It,” and “Lightning Speed,” a song about losing yourself to the music industry.
Jake Worthington performs at Billboard Country Live On the Rise at Category 10 on June 6, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn.
Michael Hickey/Billboard via Getty Images
Jake Worthington
Armed with just an acoustic guitar, the 2014 The Voice contestant and Big Loud artist conjured up the ghosts of country legends like George Jones and Waylon Jennings with his twangy, authentic traditionalism and big voice.
Even breaking a guitar string early on (which he eventually was able to replace) didn’t slow down Worthington on songs like the irrepressible, upbeat “I’m the One” (the recorded version of which features Marty Stuart) and the aching “Hello S—ty Day,” which would have felt just right performed by Jones.
His 30-minute set was filled with such chestnuts, including the up-tempo, yet downtrodden “It Ain’t the Whiskey” and “Not Like I Used To,” before the Texan played “Ain’t Got You a Hold,” a western swing twirler that would have done George Strait proud. His cover of Merle Haggard’s “Half a Man” fit perfectly in his wheelhouse and was delivered with just the right amount of pathos.
Tayler Holder performs at Billboard Country Live On the Rise at Category 10 on June 6, 2025 in Nashville, Tenn.
Michael Hickey/Billboard via Getty Images
Tayler Holder
From the time he stepped on stage, Holder had the audience eating out of his hand. With more than five million Instagram followers, it felt like all the influencer-turned-country- singer’s fans were crammed into Category 10.
Holder prowled the stage as he launched in the hypnotic “Neon,” immediately hand-slapping with the front row with a bad-boy appeal that connected with the audience.
His set showed off his ease tackling various tempos and styles, including “Time in This Truck,” which conjured up a windows-down, wind-in-your-hair feel, as well as the slowed down breakup song “Someone You Knew,” followed by another breakup song he wrote about a four-year relationship that went south, “California Tennessee.” (Happy ending: There’s a new girlfriend in the picture.)
Holder, who moved to Nashville three years ago, and his band did a blazing mini-set of covers that opened and closed with a few bars of “Sweet Home Alabama” and a raucous “Freebird,” with a sweet version of One Direction’s “What Makes You Beautiful,” Florida Georgia Line’s “Cruise” and Teddy Swims’ “Lose Control” (delivered by Holder’s gruff-voiced guitarist) in between.
Holder than ended his set — and day two of Billboard Country Live — with a new song that has already garnered more than a million stream in a few days, the mid-tempo, propulsive “Ain’t You Leaving,” and “Dyin’ Flame,” which has more than 12 million streams. Holder penned the song with Barham. “We sent it to Morgan [Wallen] and [he] politely sent it right back to me,” Holder said. “I’m glad he did.”