Country

26 Jan 2024

Charges Against Chris Young Dropped After Nashville Bar Arrest

All charges have been dismissed against Chris Young following an alleged altercation the country singer-songwriter had with Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission agents on Monday evening in Nashville (Jan. 22), which resulted in Young’s arrest. Young had been charged with resisting arrest, assaulting an officer and disorderly conduct, all misdemeanors.

Nashville District Attorney Glenn Funk issued a statement on Friday (Jan. 26), stating, “Regarding the Chris Young incident–After a review of all the evidence in this case, the Office of the District Attorney has determined that these charges will be dismissed.” The charges were dropped after a review of evidence, including security camera footage.

According to WSMV and The Tennessean, an arrest affidavit claimed that around 8:30 p.m. on Monday evening, ABC agents entered the Tin Roof bar in Nashville to conduct a compliance check, which included checking the musician’s ID. The affidavit claimed that Young also approached the men and began asking them questions (which they answered), and he later began videotaping them. The affidavit went on to say that Young and his friends then followed the agents to the Dawg House.

After the agents checked IDs and began to leave the second bar, Young allegedly put his hands out to stop them from leaving the bar, and “struck” an agent on the shoulder, according to local news reports, citing the arrest affidavit that also states the agent pushed Young to create distance between them. The affidavit, according to reports, also notes that patrons of the bar got between the agents and Young, and the musician “began walking backwards and not complying with” the agents’ orders, and they eventually detained and put him in handcuffs.

However, video camera security footage from the Dawg House, which was obtained by Nashville’s NewsChannel 5 and shared on reporter Nick Beres’ Facebook account, showed a different story, seeming to depict an ABC agent shoving Young to the floor after he reached out to one of the agents. The musician gets up, puts his hands in the air and backs away from the agents, while other patrons in the bar come between him and the agents. One of the agents then moves in to speak with Young. A second video shows the same, but from a different angle.

Young’s attorney Bill Ramsey said via a statement on Friday, “Mr. Young and I are gratified with the DA’s decision clearing him of the charges and any wrong-doing.”

Young is gearing up for the release of his ninth studio album, Young Love & Saturday Nights, which will release March 22 via Sony Music Nashville.


 

26 Jan 2024

HARDY, Kane Brown Hit Country Airplay Top 10, Nate Smith’s ‘Fire’ Rages On

HARDY notches his fourth top 10 as a recording artist on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Truck Bed” revs from No. 12 to No. 9 on the Feb. 3-dated tally. It increased by 2% to 18.9 million in audience during the Jan. 19-25 tracking week, according to Luminate.

The song is the sophomore single from HARDY’s The Mockingbird & The Crow, which launched at No. 1 on the Top Country Albums chart dated Feb. 4, 2023, marking his first leader. It follows “Wait in the Truck” (featuring Lainey Wilson), which hit No. 2 on Country Airplay last April.

Prior to “Wait in the Truck,” HARDY’s “Beers on Me,” with Dierks Bentley and BRELAND, led Country Airplay for one week in April 2022 and “One Beer,” featuring Lauren Alaina and Devin Dawson, ruled for one frame in December 2020.

HARDY has co-written 11 Country Airplay No. 1s, including those two chart-toppers; he first reigned as a writer thanks to Morgan Wallen’s “Up Down,” featuring Florida Georgia Line, in June 2018. “Truck Bed” is HARDY’s 14th top 10 as a writer. He co-authored “Truck Bed” with Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson and Hunter Phelps.

Brown’s 12th Top 10
Kane Brown’s “I Can Feel It” enters the Country Airplay top 10 pushing 11-10 (18.9 million, up 2%). He achieves his 12th top 10, with his latest following five consecutive No. 1s, each of which dominated for one week: “Bury Me in Georgia,” which led last September; “Thank God,” with Katelyn Brown, his wife (February 2023); “Like I Love Country Music” (August 2022); “One Mississippi” (March 2022); and “Famous Friends,” with Chris Young (July 2021).

Brown logged his first of 10 Country Airplay No. 1s with “What Ifs,” featuring Lauren Alaina, for two weeks in October 2017. He subsequently led with “Heaven” (two weeks, May 2018); “Lose It” (one week, December 2018); “Good as You” (one, June 2019); and “Homesick” (two, March 2020). He has also hit the top 10 with “Cool Again” (No. 3, September 2020).

Still on ‘Fire’
Nate Smith’s “World on Fire” leads Country Airplay for a seventh total and consecutive week (34.2 million, down 4%). It became his second straight career-opening No. 1, following “Whiskey on You,” which dominated for two weeks last February.

“World on Fire” marks the first title to crown Country Airplay for at least seven frames since Morgan Wallen’s crossover smash “Last Night” reigned for eight beginning last May.

26 Jan 2024

On ‘Into the Neon,’ Randall King Relishes Being the Guy With ‘The Honky-Tonk Sound’: ‘The Pendulum for Country Music Is Swinging’

Randall King has been reading the tea leaves, you could say.

“The pendulum for country music is really swinging and the honky-tonk sound is back,” the 33-year-old Texan tells Billboard, as he aims to two-step into the national spotlight with his second Warner Music Nashville album, Into the Neon, out today (Jan. 26).

Indeed, the neo-traditional country sound like that of the 1990s has been seeping back into country radio’s airwaves, whether from fellow Texans Cody Johnson (“’Til You Can’t,” “The Painter”) and Parker McCollum (“Pretty Heart”), bona fide ‘90s country legends such as Garth Brooks and Ronnie Dunn or newcomers such as Zach Top. With his new album, King is ready to join their ranks on the Country Airplay chart.

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King’s smooth vocal styling inevitably evokes comparisons to another “King” — George Strait — as well as Alan Jackson, but Into the Neon deepens his allegiance to the ‘90s country sound, following his 2022 project Shot Glass, while infusing it with stouter portions of rougher-edged production that King calls “a little more raw, and not as commercial in how they were mixed, a little closer to my [2018-released independent] self-titled record.”

King was raised in Hereford, Texas, a town with a population of around 15,000 located less than an hour southwest of Amarillo — stomping ground to artists including Aaron Watson, JD Souther and “Amarillo by Morning” writer Terry Stafford. He enrolled at Lubbock’s Texas Tech University, before transferring to South Plains College in nearby Levelland, Texas, following in the path of other South Plains alums-turned-country singers Lee Ann Womack, Josh Abbott and The Chicks’ Natalie Maines.

Like his labelmate Johnson (they also share the same management company, Durango Artist Management), King refined his sound through years filled with hundreds of shows in dusty dancehalls, tiny clubs and packed fairs and festivals — both in and beyond the 770 miles that elapse between the Lone Star State’s borders. He signed to Warner Music Nashville in 2019, and moved to Music City the following year, with an eye on the global spotlight. He followed with projects including 2020’s Leanna, a tender ode to his late sister, as well as 2022’s Shot Glass and Honky Tonk BS, in addition to a live project.

For the new album, King’s co-manager Scott Gunter suggested working with Jared Conrad, a producer on the Johnson/Ian Munsick collab “Long Live Cowgirls,” who has also worked on music for Reba McEntire and Pentatonix. King and Conrad worked on a three-song demo session — including 2023’s “Green Eyes Blue” — as a trial run.

“I gave him the direction I was looking for and let him take the reins, watched how he worked with the band,” King says. “As soon as I heard it, I was like, ‘This is it. This is what I’m aiming for.’ He smoked it.”

King co-wrote six songs on the album, but also drew heavily on Nashville’s songwriter community, a move he says “helped bring in an element that I didn’t have with my own writing — more open and dynamic.”

“When My Baby’s in Boots” was written by Trannie Anderson, Jordan Walker and Michael Carter, while “Hard to Be Humble” was written by Ben Hayslip, Corey Crowder and Chris LaCorte. A nod to the increasing artist-writer community in Nashville, the album also includes songs written by fellow artists including Jake Worthington, Mitchell Tenpenny, Greylan James, Will Jones and “World on Fire” hitmaker Nate Smith.

On the slow-burn title track, the protagonist isn’t quite riding off into the sunset, but rather makes a midnight rambler’s destination to the next neon sign, the next bar stool or the next honky-tonk town. Elsewhere, he offers premier twangers such as “Coulda Been Love” and clever wordplay of album opener “One Night Dance.”

One of the album’s most stunning — and personal — songs is the ending track “I Don’t Whiskey Anymore,” which King wrote with Gordie Sampson. The song was inspired by an incident from King’s early days of his relationship with his girlfriend.

“When we first started dating, I was a big whiskey drinker — that was my go-to,” he says, recalling how an incident two years ago effected a change. “It was our anniversary, and when Tampa Bay stomped a mud hole in my Kansas City Chiefs, I took her to Kansas City to go to the PBR bar there. We got a table and it was eight of us. Me and five guys finished about three bottles of whiskey and were working on our fourth and we had no control over our emotions. Chiefs lost, everybody’s upset and it was a chaotic bad night. It’s hilarious that it’s our anniversary now, but I learned that night that if I was going to make a relationship work and last, I had to make changes. One of those was learning to let go of things that weren’t good for you, and one of those was drinking whiskey. I cut that out of my life to be a better person.”

The rewards were both personal and professional. “After I quit drinking, I had taken an allergy test and realized I was allergic to several types of trees, including oak,” he explains. “The barrels whiskey is kept inside, all that resides in the whiskey — so I was literally drinking what I was allergic to. When I stopped drinking whiskey, I realized my voice opened up dramatically, and I have my full vocal range for the first time in years. I can hear that difference, even from Shot Glass to now.”

One thing noticeably absent from the project is seemingly a requisite in today’s marketing-minded country music scene: collaborations. King says he held off on recording the current version of the album until the last minute, in order to build up the best arsenal of songs he could muster.

“Once we did start recording, there wasn’t a lot of time to bring other artists in, otherwise it would have delayed the project,” says King, though he notes that it is still too early to tell what the year could bring—like the title track’s protagonist, he’s open to what opportunities come along.

“I don’t know if it will happen, but it’s a goal of mine to put out an alternate version of the album with collabs on it,” noting he has a list of potential partners for every song on the album. “Clay Walker, Miranda Lambert, they would be phenomenal. We did reach out to Megan Moroney, but I think she had the single with Old Dominion that had just dropped. So it didn’t work out on timing, but maybe down the road.”

25 Jan 2024

Morgan Wallen Fights Back Against Early EP Reissue by Re-Recording ‘Spin You Around’: ‘This Is Not My New Music’

Morgan Wallen is surprising fans with a re-recorded version of an older fan favorite, announcing a song called “Spin You Around (1/24 Version)” coming out Thursday night (Jan. 25). While it’s a welcome treat for fans, Wallen is also attempting to thwart what he calls “the dark side of the music business.”

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Via Instagram, Wallen explained, “I’m writing y’all from a duck hunting trip because I want to fill you in on something happening tonight. Back in 2014, I went to Florida to try my hand at making original music & songwriting for the first time. This led to a recording deal with a local investor & an artist management deal that I deeply regret. Unfortunately, I signed both deals without any legal representation.”

Wallen noted that they made 13 songs, saying, “Some were ok, most were terrible as I was just learning how to write in general & figuring it all out. I was not the only collaborator, so many of these songs were not my idea nor met my standards. We deemed 5 worthy-enough to make the Stand Alone EP which includes a fan-favorite, ‘Spin You Around.’”

The five-song Stand Alone EP was released in 2015 via Panacea Records.

Wallen continued: “Tonight, those colleagues I parted ways with almost 10 years ago plan to release a ’10th anniversary’ edition of Stand Alone against my wishes & include eight unreleased songs, distributing them with the assistance of my former managers. For months I’ve been exploring every avenue possible to acquire the rights to this old music & keep the quality of my catalog consistent with songs I choose to release & believe in.”

Wallen also called it “an example of how the dark side of the music business can suck the soul out of artists.”

Wallen emphasized: “I want you to know this is NOT my new music, & I don’t want to see this happen to anyone else. I cringe when I listen to these songs & I’m very concerned my fans may mistakenly believe this is a new release by me.”

To counteract the release of that 10th-anniversary project, Wallen recorded his own version of “Spin You Around” this week in Nashville, working with producer Joey Moi and instrumentalist Bryan Sutton. Moi has worked on all three of Wallen’s Big Loud label albums, including 2018’s If I Know Me, 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album and 2023’s One Thing at a Time, while Sutton has offered his musicianship to of many of Wallen’s songs. Wallen signed with Big Loud in 2016.

Wallen also designed the artwork for the song in the woods while duck hunting.

Morgan Wallen's

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Additionally, Wallen noted he is donating $100,000 from the Morgan Wallen Foundation to the Volunteer Lawyers & Professionals for the Arts (VLPA) program.

“I hope young aspiring musicians read this story and know they should never have to give up their creative freedoms for an opportunity in this business,” he said, adding, “Trust me, when new music is ready, you’ll hear it directly from me.”

Wallen also told fans that he begins recording his next album at the end of February. “I’m feeling inspired creatively & super excited to make more music I’m proud of,” he said.

Read his full message below:

25 Jan 2024

Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jelly Roll & Hardy to Headline 2024 Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival

The Red Hot Chili Peppers, Jelly Roll and Hardy are cruising through Wisconsin this summer. The Harley-Davidson Homecoming Festival confirmed that all three will serve as headliners at the 2024 lakeside event slated for July 25-28 at Veterans Park in Milwaukee.

Also on this year’s lineup are The Offspring, Warren Zeiders and Cypress Hill. Priscilla Block, Destroy Boys, OtoBoke Beaver, Hueston, Shaylen and IronTom will fill out the billing.

“We can’t keep this a secret any longer,” reads an announcement on Homecoming’s Instagram. “Come party with the @ChiliPeppers, @JellyRoll615, and @Hardy along with other musical acts and entertainment as we take over Milwaukee July 25-28 with another H-D Homecoming Festival ?​”

Described as a “celebration of music, moto-culture, and the H-D hometown of Milwaukee,” the festival will also offer food and beverages from local vendors, chances to ride Harley-Davidson vehicles and opportunities to take tours of the company’s museum and factory. Sales for both two-day and one-day passes, as well as General Admission, GA+ and VIP packages, opened Jan. 18 on the Homecoming website.

The 2024 showcase follows last year’s 120th anniversary celebrations, which featured Green Day and the Foo Fighters. Cody Jinks, Social Distortion, Joan Jett & the Blackhearts, Phantogram, White Reaper and KennyHoopla were also all included on the 2023 billing.

And, as signified by the Harley-Davidson news, festival season is nearly upon us. This month has also already seen lineup announcements for Coachella, Governors Ball, BeachLife, Tomorrowland, Lovers & Friends, Bonnaroo and more.

See the 2024 Harley-Davidson Homecoming lineup announcement below:

25 Jan 2024

Elle King Reschedules Additional Performances After Dolly Parton Tribute Backlash

Elle King has rescheduled four additional concerts following the backlash she faced for a recent performance at the Grand Ole Opry in honor of Dolly Parton. On her Instagram Stories Thursday (Jan. 25), the singer-songwriter revealed newly rescheduled dates for shows in Indiana, Illinois and Michigan, in addition to the now Sept. 21 date for her previously rescheduled show at Billy Bob’s Texas in Fort Worth, Texas.

The Stories post noted that her show in Shipshewana, Ind. is now slated for March 21, followed by a March 22 show in Waukegan, Ill., and two shows on March 29-30 in Harris, Mich. The shows were originally scheduled for Feb. 22, Feb. 25 and Feb. 23-24, respectively.

“Your tickets will be valid for the new dates. If you can’t make the new date, refunds are available at point of purchase. See you there!” the post read.

King’s website currently shows tour dates running from March 1 through Oct. 18.

Billboard has reached out to King’s rep for comment.

The news comes after King’s recent profanity-laced performance during a tribute show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in honor of Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday. Video from the performance shows her attempt to cover Parton’s “Marry Me,” during which King slurs her words and forgets the lyrics to the song. At one point, King herself tells the audience that she is “f–king hammered.”

The singer has yet to offer a statement on the performance, though the Grand Ole Opry did share a public apology on X in response to a fan comment, saying, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used.”

In 2023, King released her debut country album, Come Get Your Wife, which includes the Dierks Bentley collaboration “Worth a Shot.” She earned a top 10 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2015 with “Ex’s & Oh’s,” and has since had two No. 1 Country Airplay hit collaborations: “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” with Miranda Lambert, as well as “Different for Girls” with Bentley.

24 Jan 2024

Walker Hayes Had a Clever Musical Response to Zach Bryan’s ‘Fancy Like’ Jab

Walker Hayes has officially responded to Zach Bryan calling him out on X (formerly known as Twitter), and he made it fittingly “Fancy.”

So fancy, that he wrote a song about the situation. “Woke up this morning, read something mean / Something in the orange says you’re feeling green,” he sings on the track posted to Instagram on Wednesday (Jan. 24), in reference to Bryan’s “Something In the Orange” hit. “Felt like throwing punches / I just held ‘em back / Because Jesus didn’t die for me so I could fight with Zach.”

In the post’s caption, Hayes noted that while his friends commended him for taking the kind road in his response, he had “a hundred smart a— responses in the chamber that I didn’t fire off.”

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He continued, “Took me 18 years to feed my kids with music and I’ll still knock something I hear on the radio cuz I didn’t write it. So, we tried our best to put it all in a Twanger. And this is what we got. I hope it makes y’all talk about stuff that matters.”

Hayes’ post comes in response to a tweet earlier this month that Bryan posted comparing Hayes to Tyler Childers, who just notched his first top 50 country radio hit with “In Your Love,” despite being in the music business for a decade and becoming one of country’s most beloved artists.

“Imagine being radio (whoever the hell that is), hearing [Childers’] ‘Shake the Frost’ and being like, ‘no no let’s go with the Applebees song,’” Bryan wrote, referencing a line in Hayes’ TikTok-dance-fueled hit “Fancy Like,” which reached No. 3 on the Billboard Hot 100 in 2021 and stayed atop the Hot Country Songs chart for 24 weeks.

See Hayes’ response below.

24 Jan 2024

Elle King Reschedules Billy Bob’s Texas Show After Grand Ole Opry Concert Backlash

Elle King rescheduled her Friday show at Fort Worth, Texas, venue Billy Bob’s Texas following her controversial performance at a Grand Ole Opry concert over the weekend. The Billy Bob’s show will now take place on Sept. 21.

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The news comes after King’s profanity-laced performance during a tribute show at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium in honor of Dolly Parton’s 78th birthday. Video from the performance shows her attempt to cover Parton’s “Marry Me,” in which King slurs her words and forgets the lyrics to the song. At one point, King herself tells the audience that she is “f—ing hammered.”

“I don’t know the lyrics to these things in this [expletive] town,” King sang at one point during the performance, adding, “Don’t tell Dolly ’cause it’s her birthday.”

In video footage from the performance, one of King’s bandmembers suggests that they perform one of King’s songs, to which King responded, “I’ll tell you one thing: I can barely play another person’s song; let’s see if I can play one of mine.”

The Grand Ole Opry offered a public apology on X, stating, “We deeply regret and apologize for the language that was used.” However, King’s camp has made no public statement regarding the Opry performance.

Though a rep for King confirmed to Billboard that the Texas show had been rescheduled, her team did not offer a reason for the move.

King’s next scheduled concert, according to her tour calendar, is for a Feb. 22 concert in Shipshewana, Indiana.

In 2023, King released her first country album, Come Get Your Wife, which featured the Dierks Bentley collaboration “Worth a Shot.” King is known for pop hits including 2015’s “Ex’s & Oh’s” and “America’s Sweetheart,” as well as two No. 1 Country Airplay collaborations: “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home)” with Miranda Lambert as well as “Different for Girls” with Dierks Bentley.

24 Jan 2024

Country Hitmaker Dean Dillon Signs With River House Artists & Sony Music Publishing

Legendary songwriter and Country Music Hall of Famer Dean Dillon has signed a global publishing deal with River House Artists in partnership with Sony Music Publishing.

Dillon, who was inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame in 2002 and into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2021, is known for his long association with George Strait. He has written more than 70 Strait hits, including “The Chair,” “I’ve Come to Expect It From You,” “Easy Come, Easy Go” and “The Best Day.” Dillon was named the BMI Country Icon in 2013, and he has amassed a combined total of 31 BMI Country and Pop Awards. In 2011, he was nominated for a Grammy for country song of the year for Strait’s “Breath You Take.” Most recently, he was named a nominee for the 2024 Songwriters Hall Of Fame induction.

Dillon moved to Nashville in 1973. In addition to his songs for Strait, he also co-wrote such hits as Jim Ed Brown and Helen Cornelius’ “Lying Here in Love With You,” which reached No. 2 on Billboard’s Hot Country Singles chart in 1979, and George Jones‘ “Tennessee Whiskey,” which has gone on to become a signature song for Chris Stapleton. Dillon’s songs have also been recorded by artists including Toby Keith (“It’s a Little Too Late”) and Kenny Chesney & Dave Matthews (“I’m Alive”).

“We are thrilled to have Dean Dillon join our River House roster. His songwriting is unparalleled, and this is such an exciting time for us,” Zebb Luster, vp/GM of River House Artists, said in a statement. “I have been a true fan of his songwriting for years and how it has forged a path in country music history. We are honored that he trusts us to continue to further his incredible songwriting legacy.”

Dillon added, “I’m so excited to be part of the River House family. The team has an excellent track record and are such thoughtful stewards of great songs. I’m looking forward to working with them to further my lasting legacy as a songwriter.”

24 Jan 2024

Dolly Parton Says Her Husband Definitely ‘Got a Kick’ Out of Her Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Outfit

Dolly Parton definitely scored a touchdown when she shocked the crowd at the Dallas Cowboys’ Thanksgiving Day game at AT&T Stadium rocking a classic Cowboys cheerleader outfit. The belly-bearing uniform with the crop top and short shorts covered in rhinestones shined as the country icon performed a quick set that included her beloved songs “Jolene,” “9 to 5” and a cover of Queen’s “We Are the Champions/We Will Rock You.”

“It turned out pretty cool and my husband [Carl Thomas Dean] liked it. He said, ‘Those shorts were a little too short.’ I said, ‘Jealous?’” Parton laughed while recalling the instantly viral moment to People magazine. “And I said, ‘They weren’t as short as the other girls!’ He was just being funny. I think he thought — because everybody’s making a to-do over it — he thought, well, maybe you shouldn’t be showing your butt at that age. But anyway, he got a kick out of it too,” the 78-year-old singer said.

Parton’s manager Danny Nozell told Billboard at the time that the singer didn’t tell anyone about the cheerleader outfit until it was time to hit the stage. “It was completely her idea. She waited until right before she went to stage and came out of the dressing room to show us all. When she came out, myself, the security and my staff fainted,” Nozell said. “I couldn’t tell the difference between Dolly and the cheerleaders. That is the genius of Dolly, and people are still talking about it.”

By now Dean — who has been married to Parton since 1966 — is probably used to his wife revving up crowds, but to him she’s still just Dolly. As proof, Parton revealed to People the sweet gift he got her for her birthday last week. “It was a glass heart of Carl and I when we were younger, and it was carved into the glass inside,” she said. “You put it on a little light or a little podium and then it has a battery, and you can turn it on. We go around and around and around. I think those very personal gifts like that are always so sweet.”