State Champ Radio Country
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After a blockbuster year for country music, the members of Lady A — Charles Kelley, Hillary Scott and Dave Haywood — are ready to break down why they think the genre is having such a moment. In a new interview with Billboard News, the country trio explains that the mixing of genres through streaming consumption […]
Sixteen-year-old Ruby Leigh punched her ticket out of part two of the knockout rounds on The Voice on Monday night (Nov. 13) thanks to a perfect song choice by her coach Reba McEntire. The country legend suggested the 1996 breakthrough LeAnn Rimes cover of Bill Mack’s “Blue” for her charge and the Missouri native crushed […]
A little more than three months ago, Christopher Anthony Lunsford, aka Oliver Anthony Music, was still working his day job in outside sales. In a little under three months from now, he’ll kick off his 40-date Out of the Woods world tour in Stockholm.
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It’s heady stuff for Lunsford, who’s never traveled much beyond the southeastern United States and is awaiting the arrival of his first passport. The tour, which begins on Feb. 1, comes on the heels of the breathtakingly rapid success of his raw, blue-collar anthem, “Rich Men North of Richmond,” which bowed at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 in mid-August, a little more than 10 days after radiowv posted the video on YouTube of the six-foot-six, red-headed Virginian playing the song in his woodsy backyard.
“The last 90 days have been a little crazy,” Lunsford, a 31-year-old father of three, declares in a major understatement, during his first non-podcast/TV interview. Calling from the DMV in, believe it or not, Richmond, Lunsford comes across as smart and forthcoming. Even though he’s had to quickly navigate fame and the music industry, he’s already media-savvy enough to know what not to say — including declining to name the prominent producer he is in discussions with to helm his first full album, coming early next year, since the deal isn’t yet done.
Lunsford, who is self-managed and has no plans to sign with a label, seems extraordinarily grounded for someone who transformed into a household name almost overnight, even becoming such a cultural touchstone that his song was referenced during the first Republican presidential debate. Despite the far right’s initial embrace of his music and the left’s early rejection of it, he has declared that “I sit pretty dead center down the aisle on politics, and always have.”
Booked by UTA, his tour will weave through Norway, the Netherlands, United Kingdom and Ireland before the U.S. portion begins with two shows at country music’s mother church, Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium, and then heads into amphitheaters and arenas, including Jupiter, Florida’s Abacoa Amphitheater and the Greensboro (N.C.) Coliseum. Venue capacities average around 1,900 seats in Europe and 7,000 seats in the U.S. For the vast majority of the shows, tickets will range between $25-$45, excluding Ticketmaster fees. Fans can register for first access to tickets in select North American markets at his website, and tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday (Nov. 17) at 10 a.m. local time.
Tackling the ceaseless struggles of hourly-wage workers, who are taxed “to no end” to pay for, among other things, “the obese milkin’ welfare,” while politicians keep getting richer, the controversial “Rich Men North of Richmond” has been viewed more than 93 million times on YouTube and received more than 111 million streams on Spotify. The song is up for Top Selling Song at the 2023 Billboard Music Awards on Sunday (Nov. 19), while Lunsford is also up for Top Song Sales Artist, competing with the likes of Miley Cyrus, Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallen.
This interview has been edited for brevity and clarity.
How are you doing?
The last 90 days have been a little crazy. It’s funny because the music side of it has been very calming and enjoyable. It’s all the stuff behind the scenes that’s unreasonably chaotic. My life is actually a lot simpler in some ways, because I’m not working a job and juggling 10 other things with the music. But when you become a full-time musician, you’re essentially a business owner and an entrepreneur and a lot of other things, too. And those are things I’m not quite used to yet.
How long had you been in outdoor sales?
Pretty much the last decade. I dropped out of high school, had a GED, I was doing factory work and then I had a bad head injury in that factory. I was unable to work for a period of time, and then I moved into sales. I’ve spent the last 10 years having real, authentic conversations with hardworking Americans who are very transparent about the way they feel about things. It has, in a sense, given me the ability to maybe create music that’s so relatable to those type of people. Being on job sites and talking with so many people, I realized how similar everyone is as far as our personal struggles and our personal ambitions. We’re all dealing with a lot of setbacks and frustrations. … I hated the sales side of things. I just went out and did my thing every day. I’m not so much a big crowd person, but I do appreciate people individually.
You may say you’re not a big crowd person, but you’re about to perform before some big crowds come February, and you’ve already played some shows that drew thousands of people.
My first paid gig ever was 12,000 people [on Aug. 13] at Johnson Morris Farm [in Barco, N.C.], where Jamey Johnson showed up. That was my first time on the stage [other than] some open mics.
Many of your songs are topical. How do you educate yourself about issues?
It’s a mix of things. If there’s any kind of books, I probably was consuming Audible versions of them while I was in the truck driving around. In the last five years, I’ve listened to quite a bit of podcasts and YouTube videos. We’re a commodity to big companies, and all these companies spend all their time trying to manipulate their systems to be as addictive as possible, so when you get on Facebook, you’re gonna fall into this trance where you’re gonna scroll for like two hours. I’ve done it before myself. I’ve just tried to do everything I can do to not fall into that bubble, and instead try to spend my time educating myself.
Your first big interview was on Joe Rogan’s Spotify podcast. Are you a fan? Is that why you went on the show?
I guess I’d say I’m a Joe Rogan fan. I don’t watch every podcast episode. If I’m a fan of anything of Joe Rogan, it’s his style. He runs his whole podcast not around what’s culturally relevant, or what’s going to get the most views. He only talks to people he’s genuinely interested in. When you meet him in person, you’re seeing the guy that you watch online, there is no smoke and mirrors, versus a late-night TV guy. So that’s why I wanted to choose him first. I don’t agree with everything he has to say, of course. Nobody agrees with everything everybody says, but I like his style.
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Your first full album is coming next year. What can you reveal about it?
I don’t know if I can say who I’m recording with or not, but he’s one of the best in the business. In my opinion, it’s probably going to blow away everything else I’ve done so far, because everything has been recorded with just the internal microphone off of an about broken-in-half Android phone with a cracked screen. Even the radiowv videos used very basic equipment, so I had never had anything recorded with studio-quality equipment. So even just the vocal quality should absolutely knock people’s socks off, compared to what they’re used to hearing.
I want everything to still be authentic, and I want it to be me playing the music and not like a whole group of people involved. Everything now is just so carefully refined and edited and so we won’t have any of that. If anything, some of the songs are going to be recorded on older equipment from the ‘40s, ‘50s, ‘60s.
That ties into the concept of your name, Oliver Anthony Music, right?
I adopted the name because I didn’t want my real name associated with the music, because I’ve got a lot of songs about a lot of things that I wouldn’t necessarily want an employer to hear. In the very infancy stages of things, like a couple years ago, it was right after my grandpa passed away. He was the only other one in the family that’s 6’6” and redhead, and he’s like my second dad in a lot of ways. So, it’s an honor to him. But then the reason I stick Music on the end of the name is because it really is supposed to be a representation of music that would have existed in his era when he was alive, living up in the mountains. They had dirt floors, they were scrounging to survive, they didn’t have electricity. I’m trying to represent that type of music [and] maintain the simplicity that would have just been necessary at that time. It’s not going to sound like something that’s going to be on country radio, by any means.
Are you going to record in Nashville?
We’re actually going to be in a studio in Georgia. I’m never going to be in Nashville sitting with people co-writing, ever. Most anything I put out is going to be something I write just by myself and if I do co-write something with somebody, it’s going to be with another artist and we’re going to be singing the song together. I don’t ever want to sit in some writing circle somewhere and have somebody in khaki pants and a collared shirt figuring out what my words are from my song. There’s a million other people that can go do that. I’m not one of those guys.
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Is Jamey Johnson going to be on the album?
I don’t know if he will be or not. He just came to one of the shows. … I’ve had just so many artists reach out, kind of trying to — I don’t know if “protect” is the right word — but just kind of mentor me early on, because I kind of got into this so quick, they didn’t want me making wrong choices. He was just trying to be supportive, and come and introduce himself, and be somebody I can lean on for guidance.
John Rich also reached out and offered to work with you.
John Rich and I talked a little bit early on. I haven’t done anything with John Rich, we’ve just had a few casual phone conversations. See, this is kind of one of those gray areas where I don’t know if somebody wants me to mention their name or not in an interview, but I guess if I can make a statement about it at all, I would just say that there are a lot of really good people, not just in country music, that have been very supportive. We did the Blue Ridge Rock Festival and Louder Than Life, there were a lot of those rock bands that I met, they were super supportive and awesome. I’ve gotten to sing onstage with Shinedown and Papa Roach, and all those guys are just incredibly supportive. I’ve made contact with 20 or 30 different artists. A lot of them will reach out through Instagram.
You’ve said you believe that divine intervention has put you in this position. In the last few months, have you gotten any clarity on why this happened to you, and what God wants from you?
I mean, there’s no question that I don’t deserve any bit of any of this, so there’s no other explanation to be made of what happened the way it happened. There’s a gazillion, billion, trillion other people out there that are posting music that in my mind is better than mine. I’d had a decent online following before “Richmond” was ever written. I’d already started to have A&R people reach out from songs like “Doggonit” and “Ain’t Gotta Dollar.” I’d known for probably six months before “Rich Men North of Richmond” was even written or recorded that I’d probably end up full-time in music, but I would have never guessed it would have happened like this.
I think if there’s a message at all that needs to be spread, it’s probably that we just desperately need to connect on a personal level with each other. As a society, I think we rely too much on communicating with each other through the internet. The difference between talking in person and a text message is totally different — things get misunderstood and misrepresented, and when that’s done on such a large scale, like social media, and then there are things like bots and trolls, and probably the government influencing things and what gets said and what doesn’t get said, people form way too many opinions based off of internet-related content. Everyone’s looking at the top to fix a lot of what’s broken at the bottom, but we have to start at the bottom. It doesn’t matter who’s elected president, a lot of our problems are on the ground level.
You have been fearless when it comes to speaking truth to power, such as posting a video after the first Republican presidential debate declaring that those candidates are the very ones you’re singing about and distancing yourself from.
I don’t have anything against conservatives. I think there’s a big difference in today’s time between a conservative and a Republican. If you look at what conservative values are, by definition, I would say none of those candidates, maybe one of them, represents anything close to what a conservative is. When I knock those people, then the immediate attack that came back after me was like, “Oh, he’s against conservatives.” But most conservatives I know, at least in Virginia, would never vote for anybody that was up on that stage.
It’s funny, if I got any backlash at all from that statement, it was people misquoting me, trying to make it seem like I was against conservatives or somehow for, like, Joe Biden. What I’m against is corporate-owned politicians. The whole idea of us having a government and electing representatives is so they can represent us, because we obviously can’t all go to D.C. at one time and have our voice heard. And what’s happened is like, 90% of those quote-unquote “representatives” no longer represent us. They’re all bought out by whatever big corporation and they’re given stocks and given benefits, and they’re all filthy rich, and they do what they say, not what we say. It’s not a right or left issue. It’s more of a class versus corporate issue.
[Lunsford momentarily stops the interview, because a fan recognizes him at the DMV.]
You just got recognized. How are you adjusting to fame?
It’s been cool. I mean, everybody’s been super polite out in public and even at the shows everybody’s been very respectful. Everybody’s been just overwhelmingly well-behaved about everything.
There was a photo of you with Robert F. Kennedy Jr. and his wife, Cheryl Hines, on social media. Are you going to endorse him for president?
No, I was very clear, even when I talked to Bobby, that I don’t want any affiliation with him politically. Whether he becomes president or not, he’s very involved in this idea of a healing center, which is basically a way of combining regenerative agriculture and mental health together. We met specifically to talk about that project, because I’m looking to implement something very similar at my property. We were very clear upfront that there wasn’t any sort of political affiliation there with him. He’s been very respectful about that.
That’s kind of my long term ambition: getting people back in nature and teaching people how to grow their own food and raise animals and do all that stuff. We’ve become very disconnected from each other [and] we’ve also become very disconnected from nature. Everything’s fake and phony and plastic now, so getting away from that would really benefit, especially, our youth.
Yeah, as far as a candidate goes, I’m not really interested. I probably won’t vote for anybody. As a joke, I’ve made some Oliver Anthony 2024 signs, and I actually drive down the road and see quite a lot of them, which is pretty cool. But I’m not even old enough to run for president.
How do you even wrap your head around some of this? A year ago, you would not have been saying, “I said to Bobby,” referring to RFK Jr.
I’ve gotten open invitations from everybody, even the former president and all, and I’ve been careful about how I want to handle those because, I mean, if I wanted to go meet with Trump, no one should be upset about that. He was the president of the United States. Just historically, we’ve always respected anyone who was. People do just blow everything out of proportion.
You are the first person to debut at No. 1 on the Hot 100 chart without ever appearing on any other Billboard chart. Did that mean anything to you?
I think the most special thing about it being on the chart at all is that it made it to the chart without some big, corporate schmucky schmuck somewhere pumping a bunch of money into making it get there. It actually got to the top of the Billboard because people genuinely wanted to listen to it and support it. I think if people realized how much money record labels pumped into getting songs to become popular in the first place, they probably would never want to listen to the songs to start with. To just be a couple of dummies out in the woods with a laptop and a microphone and a guitar and [the song] ended getting there completely organically, that’s really saying something in and of itself. That’s what I proudest of.
There’s a lot of exciting things to come, but the most important part of all of it is just gonna be the opportunity to travel the world and connect with a lot of people. If there’s any mission statement out of any of this or any purpose, going back to your question before about what I’ve been called to do, I really hope if I accomplish anything out of my career in music, it’s just to give the voiceless a voice.
Out of the Woods tour dates
February 1 – Stockholm, SE – Cirkus
February 2 – Oslo, NO – Sentrum Scene
February 5 – Utrecht, NL – TivoliVredenburg
February 7 – Glasgow, UK – Barrowlands
February 8 – Manchester, UK – Albert Hall
February 10 – London, UK – O2 Shepherd’s Bush Empire
February 12 – Belfast, UK – Ulster Hall
February 13 – Dublin, IE – Vicar St.
February 21 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
February 22 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
February 29 – Plant City, FL – The Florida Strawberry Festival (on sale Dec 7 8AM ET)
March 2 – Jupiter, FL – Abacoa Amphitheater
March 3 – Estero, FL – Hertz Arena
March 8 – Alexandria, LA – Rapides Parish Coliseum
March 9 – Brandon, MS – The Brandon Amphitheater
March 16 – Queensland, AUS – CMC Rocks QLD 2024 (on sale now)
April 4 – Ft. Worth, TX – Billy Bob’s Texas
April 5 – Round Rock, TX – Round Rock Amp
April 6 – Lubbock, TX – Cook’s Garage
April 12 – Tupelo, MS – Cadence Bank Arena
April 13 – Jonesboro, AR – First National Bank Arena
April 19 – Albany, GA – Albany Civic Center
April 20 – Savannah, GA – Bulls, Bands & Barrels
April 26 – Greensboro, NC – Greensboro Coliseum Complex
April 27 – Duluth, GA – Gas South Arena
May 3 – Huntington, WV – Mountain Health Arena
May 4 – Beaver Dam, KY – Beaver Dam Amphitheater
May 10 – Corbin, KY – The Corbin Arena
May 11 – Pikeville, KY – Appalachian Wireless Arena
May 17 – Doswell, VA – Atlantic Union Bank at the SERVPRO Pavilion
June 14 – Marion, IL – MTN Dew Park
June 15 – Camdenton, MO – Ozarks Amphitheater
June 16 – Council Bluffs, IA – Westfair Amphitheater
June 22 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC
June 28 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE Outdoors
July 19 – Cullman, AL – Rock The South (on sale now)
August 16 – Lewisburg, WV – State Fair of West Virginia
August 21 – Put-In-Bay, OH – Bash on the Bay (on sale now)
August 23 – Indianapolis, IN – Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park
August 24 – Saginaw, MI – Dow Event Center
September 1 – Palmer, AK – Alaska State Fair
September 13 – Allegan, MI – Allegan County Fair
In February 1989, the New Jersey-born, Texas-raised guitar picker, singer and harmonica ace Clint Black released his debut single, “A Better Man.” By mid-June, the song had become his first No. 1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, ushering in the release of his debut album Killin’ Time.
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Black’s debut single established him as part of what would be called country music’s heralded “Class of ’89,” a group of artists who each had their first major hits that year–the cowboy-hatted triumvirate of Black, Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson, but also Travis Tritt and Mary Chapin Carpenter. This group led the way in an era that would usher country music into an unprecedented era of sales and influence.
In addition to “A Better Man,” Killin’ Time spurred Hot Country Songs chart leaders “Nobody’s Home” and “Walkin’ Away” and the title track, as well as a top 5 hit “Nothing’s News.” The album ultimately attained triple platinum status, while Black earned Billboard’s country song of the year in both 1989 (with “A Better Man”) and 1990 (“Nobody’s Home”). “A Better Man” garnered a Grammy nomination for best country song and Killin’ Time, for best country vocal performance, male.
In 2024, Black’s Killin’ Time – The 35th Anniversary World Tour will honor the album’s more than three decades of influence in shaping country music’s sonic landscape. Initiating with two already sold-out shows at Nashville’s vaunted Ryman Auditorium on Feb. 16 and 17 (and having just added a third and final night at the Ryman on Feb. 18) Black’s tour will feature the Grammy winner playing his debut album live from start to finish, heightened by some of his more than a dozen Hot Country Songs No. 1s, such as “When My Ship Comes In,” “A Good Run of Bad Luck,” and “Nothin’ But the Taillights.”
“We’ve played some songs that we haven’t played in 35 years during some shows recently,” Billboard tells Billboard. “We’ll play some songs at soundcheck and put in stuff like ‘Winding Down’ and ‘Straight From the Factory.’ Two of the guys in my band played on that album, so it’s fun to go back and remember it. Sometimes we had to think, ‘Who played that part?’ and things drift over time, they migrate. We’ve pulled some back to their origins. I think I’m singing these songs better now than I did, but pretty much it’s going to be like the record.”
Earlier this year, Black was honored with the Academy of Country Music Awards’ ACM Poet’s Award, an accolade that recognizes a songwriter or artist-writer’s significant writing contributions to country music. Even on his debut album, Black was already constructing his case as an artist whose vocal and instrumental capabilities were paralleled by his songwriting caliber. Black has written or co-written nearly all of his hit songs, with several of them, including his Grammy-nominated collaboration with Wynonna, “A Bad Goodbye,” and his duet with his wife Lisa Hartman Black, “When I Said I Do,” being solo writes.
“I set out to do that,” Black says. “I grew up reading liner notes and I wanted to know who was writing something I loved. I wasn’t trying to make any kind of statement, but I thought I could do it. And I saw an interview with Reba where she said she listened to about a thousand songs every time she wanted to make an album of 10 songs. That was terrifying to me. I thought, ‘Man, that’s a hard job. I’d rather do this other hard job and not have to go looking for songs.’ And I knew if I was successful in writing my own songs, I was going to need a lot of songs, if I was putting out an album every 18 months or so. I started writing a lot of songs, so that every time I had to make an album, I had at least 30 songs written that I wanted to record.”
One such solo write on the record, “Nothing’s News,” was born of that desire to prove his talent as a song crafter to his father. Black recalls his father “believed in me as a singer, but as a songwriter? Not so much. He told me I hadn’t done enough living to write real country songs, really, so I ran home and wrote ‘Nothing’s News’ to prove him wrong.”
Beginning with the songs that proliferate Killin’ Time, Black also forged what would become a decades-long association with fellow musician-writer Hayden Nicholas, whose contributions to Black’s music have been essential, from guitar work to co-writing hits including “No Time to Kill,” “Like the Rain,” “When My Ship Comes In” and “Summer’s Comin’.” Killin’ Time’s title track was born of a discussion with Nicholas.
“We were on our way to a gig and talking about how long it was taking the first single to come out,” he recalls. “He said, ‘The big wheel’s turning slowly,’ and I said, ‘Well I hope it starts turning soon, because this killing time is killing me.’ And we looked at each other and knew we had a song.”
Black recalls recording Killin’ Time in Houston, though he and Nicholas later traveled to Nashville to record overdubs—a trip that led to one of Black’s fondest “Nashville stories” from that early era.
“I was in Nashville for an extended time for the first time ever, and one of my producers, James Stroud, had loaned me his car. It was a Porsche,” Black recalls. “One day, he told me, ‘If you get me a gold record for this album, I’ll give you that car.’ He ended up having to sell the Porsche and then he bought himself a newer Porsche after that. The album was double platinum by then, and word got out that he had promised me a Porsche. So he did, in front of ASCAP, we have a photo of him handing me the keys and standing in front of that car. We would go on to give that car back and forth over the years — he has it now,” Black recalls.
Like many artists who launched in the late 1980s and through the 1990s, Black has felt the impact of the resurgent popularity of ‘90s country sounds. He points to the genre-spanning web of influences among the era’s artists, producers and label execs as a key factor.
“I think that the fidelity of music in Nashville all really rose to state of the art,” Black says. “You had all these budding engineers and rising producers and artists who loved all the country stuff, but were also influenced by the great classic rock, blues and jazz. For me, it was Bob Seger, and all that great James Taylor and Jimmy Buffett music. You had all these people coming up in country music that had this huge wealth of great standards to rise to. As the lyricists and melodies came into their own, and the A&R and the record companies, all of it combined. It was a perfect storm on every front in country music that made it as good or better than anything else out there.”
In tandem with the tour, Black will release a vinyl reissue of Killin’ Time in partnership with Sony Music and Vinyl Me Please. The special reissue will be on 180g Brown Galaxy vinyl with new lacquers cut by AIR Mastering’s Barry Grint and will ship in May 2024.
See below for the initial slate of tour dates for the tour.
Feb. 16, 2024 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Feb. 17, 2024 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Feb. 18, 2024 – Nashville, TN – Ryman Auditorium
Feb. 23, 2024 – Durant, OK – Choctaw Casino
Feb. 24, 2024 – San Antonio, TX – San Antonio Stock Show & Rodeo
Feb. 29, 2024 – Roanoke, VA – Berglund Performing Arts Center
March 1, 2024 – Roanoke Rapids, NC – Weldon Mills Theater
March 2, 2024 – Cherokee, NC – Harrah’s Cherokee Event Center
March 23, 2024 – Lancaster, PA – American Music Theatre
March 24, 2024 – Nashville, IN – Brown County Performing Arts Center
April 6, 2024 – Carlton, MN – Black Bear Casino Resort
April 21, 2024 – Georgetown, TX – Two Step Inn Fest
April 26, 2024 – Chandler, AZ – Wild Horse Pass Hotel & Casino
April 28, 2024 – Indio, CA – Stagecoach
June 13, 2024 – Abbotsford, BC – Abbotsford Arena
June 14, 2024 – Penticton, BC – South Okanagan Arena
June 15, 2024 – Prince George, BC – CN Arena
June 16, 2024 – Dawson Creek, BC – Ovintiv Arena
June 19, 2024 – Lethbridge, AB – ENMAX Arena
June 21, 2024 – Edmonton, AB – Winspear Centre
June 22, 2024 – Strathmore, AB – Strathmore Stampede
June 25, 2024 – Saskatoon, SK – SaskTel Arena
June 27, 2024 – Moose Jaw, SK – Moose Jaw Arena
July 11, 2024 – New Salem, ND – ND Country Fe
Small towns have long played an outsized role in American songwriting, often serving as waypoint between past and present, a place that that some characters leave, others yearn to return and many are left behind.
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For country singer Jason Aldean, the intricate details of life in a small town — from beer runs at the local Amoco station to the smell of White Rain hairspray at a Friday football game — have led to some of the genres most commercially successful songs in the past two decade. Songs such as “Night Train” — a love story about a man who stays connected to his hometown through sound of passing freight trains, or “Amarillo Sky,” which honors a humble farmer whose connection to his family is threatened by drought.
When it comes to documenting life in the “Fly Over States,” Aldean is an unrivaled talent and an obvious choice to headline the inaugural Rock the Country festival series, a traveling country music series spread out across seven small American towns in the Southeast U.S. Produced by Alabama-based producer Shane Quick of LiveCo — creator of the long-running Rock the South country festival in Cullman, Alabama — and Nathan Baugh, president, 46 Entertainment, the festival will also feature headliner Kid Rock on all seven stops and special guests such as Miranda Lambert, Hank Williams Jr., Lynyrd Skynyrd, Koe Wetzel, Brantley Gilbert, Travis Tritt and many more who will appear at different stops on the Rock the Country tour.
Aldean will be joined on the tour by co-headliner Kid Rock. Quick insists the tour is not political, but it’s booking of one of former president Donald Trump’s biggest boosters, and its timing months before the election injects an unavoidable dose amount of political energy into the tour that will be impossible to ignore.
Through Rock the Country, which launches at the Lamar-Dixon Expo Center in Gonzalez, La., on April 5 and 6, Aldean has a rare opportunity to speak to the serious challenges rural America faces over the next few years. First, as the controversy surrounding Aldean’s 2023 song “Try That in a Small Town” demonstrates, it can be difficult for rural America to express itself collectively to the country’s urban populations, and it can also be difficult for some living in major population centers to listen and not be patronizing in their response.
Could the controversy have been avoided had Aldean’s song been a little lighter on the rhetoric? Maybe, but once the conversation becomes a word-for-word litigation over intent and historical context, it becomes difficult to find middle ground.
And yet finding commonality is probably the most effective way to deal with major challenges facing rural communities, like the closure of more than 600 rural hospitals in the near future, according to a recent study by the Center for Healthcare Quality and Payment Reform. Rural communities have also been much harder hit by major economic downturns, leading to higher and longer rates of joblessness and unemployment during recessions.
Whatever direction Aldean decides to, Rock the Country is a rare opportunity for the artist to lift up rural America, and a rare chance for his fans and fans of country music to travel to small towns and celebrate together.
Dates and locations for Rock the Country are listed below. To learn more and buy tickets, visit rockthecountry.com.
Gonzalez, La. – April 5 & 6 at Lamar-Dixon Expo Center
Ashland, Ky. – April 19 & 20 at Boyd County Fairgrounds
Rome, Ga. – May 10 & 11 at Kingston Downs
Ocala, Fla – June 7 & 8 at Majestic Oaks Ocala
Mobile, Ala. – June 21 & 22 at The Grounds
Poplar Bluff, M. – June 28 & 29 at Brick’s Offroad Parks
Anderson, S.C. – July 26 & 27 at Anderson Sports and Entertainment Center
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The War & Treaty‘s Michael Jr. and Tanya Trotter are having a moment this year after earning their first-ever CMAs and Grammy nominations, as well as collaborating with country star Zach Bryan on his self-titled album. To celebrate these milestones, the couple got together with George Dickel to share a glass of the Tennessee whiskey brand’s new 18-year-old limited edition bourbon whiskey, which follows the brand’s eight-year-old version and is now available to buy in select U.S. markets for around $510.
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“Words cannot truly express how we feel,” Michael tells Billboard. “You can say all the good things and it’ll just fall short of what we truly, truly feel.”
The duo — who were nominated for CMAs’ best vocal duo but lost to Brothers Osborne and snagged a Grammy nod for best new artist — performed “That’s How Love Is Made” off their album Lover’s Game during the Nov. 8 CMAs ceremony. The track was particularly special, as it’s one of the few the husband-wife duo have written together.
“When we first started working together, Michael primarily wrote all the songs,” Tanya explains to Billboard. “And this is probably — I’m not going to say the only song — but probably [the] top five songs that we’ve written together, so to be able to do a song with him that we did together on the award show, and to have that record Lover’s Game that was, again, all the songs written by Michael and one of the songs produced by him — I think you have to sit back and look at your journey and say, look how far we’ve come.”
The couple — who talked to Billboard ahead of the CMAs — also discussed how the collaboration with Zach Bryan came about, their upcoming new album, the best gifts they’ve received from each another and the one person they turn to for fashion advice.
You’re going to be opening for Zach Bryan. How did your collaboration come about?
Tanya: We actually met him [when] we were doing the Outlaw Festival with Willie Nelson. I hadn’t heard of him before and I came backstage and I said to our tour manager, I was like, “I don’t know who this guy is, but every young girl in the audience is singing every single word.” I was just amazed. And then he came backstage and he was passing out T shirts, he introduced himself and it was very friendly, and that was the first time we met.
So we did the ACMa, performed and he happened to be there with his dad. Afterwards, he ran up to us as everybody was leaving, and he was like, “holy s–t, what just happened to me? I was sitting there and my legs were shaking, and I had chills up and down my arms.” He was like, “We have to work together. I don’t know what we’re going to do — let’s exchange numbers.”
It’s very kind of cliche, it happens all the time in the music business where you see other artists, and it’s always like, “We got to do a record together.” He and Michael connected, and we were on a three-way text, but Michael and him had the bond of being in the military and serving, and so the dialog happened. One day he called us and maybe two weeks later, he had a song, and he was like, “I want to hear what you guys sound like on this song.” So we put a voice memo together, sent it to him, he loved it and it was on Instagram I think in less than 20 minutes.
Also, Tanya, I love your denim cowboy boots and matching purse. Where are they from?
Tanya: I got these boots from, I want to say Amazon. My daughter, she’s like, “Mommy, Tanya, you have to carry the bag.” She’s a little fashionista, so she made me carry the bag. (See a similar style here.)
And you teased a new album in the works. What can we expect from this one?
Michael: We are intending to touch as many people as we can, whether they don’t look like us, look like us, whether they come from our walks of life or not — especially [in] country music. I think it’s important to be intentional in targeting people that look like me and Tanya. I think that you have to get rid of all of the things that you may think. Like Black people don’t do whiskey or Black people don’t do country music. And I think that that’s a thing that Tanya and I are here as proof and our intentional spirit to really take this back to the communities that look like us and to say it’s time to try new things. It’s time to love again, it’s time to trust again — especially in our country. I think that the intentional thing to say now is it’s time for us as a people to have faith and fall in love with each other again.
What is your favorite gift you’ve ever given one another?
Michael: OK, Dec. 8, 2010. Ty and I were in what we thought would be our first place to rent. We were sleeping on the floor, Tanya was pregnant, we had no money — no anything — but the greatest gift that Tanya has ever given me was that night. Her word that her heart belonged to me. I will never, ever forget that night.
Tanya: For me, with Michael, it’s his listening. There’s not anything that I can’t say to him. Just in random I could say something right now, like, “I want this” or “I can look at something,” and he’s always paying attention. He’s always listening, and when you have somebody that has a heart like his and listens and pays attention to the details of what you have, you can’t get that — you can’t pay for that.
That’s beautiful. And what do you think is the best gift someone can give their partner?
Michael: I think we’re living in a day and time where people can’t afford a lot. People can’t afford to play games. So many relationships we find ourselves in the lover’s game, but I think that the greatest thing you can give someone is honesty. That was the first thing I gave to Tanya. I just told her the truth, I said, “Listen, I’m bumming right now” … and I said, “I don’t know how I’m going to make it, but I know how to love.” And Tanya, the way Tanya looks and the way her heart is, Tanya could be with anybody in the entire universe, but she chose me. And I said, “You know what? I give you my word, I won’t let you regret that choice.” I like to think 13 years later, I’m making good on my promise.
Tanya: I would say the gift of time. The one thing about Michael that I’ve learned from him is I’m very anal retentive when it comes to something. So like this brownie, I’m going to finish this brownie because I like to finish things. But Michael could be in the middle of anything and any of our kids can walk into a room and he zones in on just that, and he does that with everything. I think that that’s the gift that you’re not able to replace, is your time. It’s the one thing you can’t buy and you can’t get back.
Morgan Wallen is the leading male finalist at the Billboard Music Awards, set for Sunday, Nov. 19, and he was just announced Monday (Nov. 13) as the latest performer on the 2023 awards show.
Wallen has 17 nods across 16 categories at the 2023 BBMAs, including top male artist, top Billboard 200 artist, and top Hot 100 artist. And he’ll use his performance on Sunday’s show not to highlight a radio single, but a fan-favorite track.
Knoxville, Tenn., native Wallen will take the stage during the awards to perform “98 Braves” and will perform at the Braves’ home field, Truist Park in Atlanta, while the country singer is in the middle of his sold-out U.S. tour.
“’98 Braves” peaked at No. 27 on the Billboard Hot 100 earlier this year, the week Wallen’s One Thing at a Time album debuted. The country superstar’s latest album spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks atop the Billboard 200, while its single “Last Night” spent 16 nonconsecutive weeks atop the all-genre Hot 100.
“’98 Braves” applies the similar philosophies of chance in baseball to life in lyrics such as “You win some and lose some/ It ain’t always home runs, and that’s just the way life plays.” The song was written by John Byron, Josh Miller and Travis Wood.
Wallen’s other BBMA nods include “Last Night” for top Hot 100 song, top streaming song and top country song, while he earned a second nod in the top country song category with “You Proof.”
Previously announced 2023 BBMA performers include Bebe Rexha & David Guetta, Karol G, NewJeans and Peso Pluma.
Wallen has previously won BBMA honors, including top country artist and top country male artist in 2020, as well as top country album that same year, for his 30-song project Dangerous: The Double Album.
Taylor Swift is the top finalist at the 2023 BBMAs with nods in 20 categories. Wallen and SZA are tied with 17 entries each, followed by The Weeknd (16); Drake and Zach Bryan (14); Luke Combs (10); 21 Savage, Metro Boomin and Miley Cyrus (nine each); Beyoncé and Rema (seven each); Bad Bunny and Peso Pluma (six each); and Ariana Grande, Guetta, Eslabon Armado, Karol G, NewJeans and Selena Gomez (five each).
The 2023 Billboard Music Awards Presented by Marriott Bonvoy — which will be produced by dick clark productions — will have a first-of-its-kind collaboration with Spotify “Fans First,” which will bring fans up close and personal with their favorite artists. Performances and awards will roll out across the BBMAs and Billboard social channels, as well as via BBMAs.watch on Sunday, Nov. 19. Billboard Music Awards performers will be revealed daily on BBMAs social channels.
One special BBMAs performance and two exclusive acceptance speeches will be hosted at hotel brands within the Marriott Bonvoy portfolio. Additionally, Marriott Bonvoy will be providing a select group of fans access to attend five BBMAs performances via Marriott Bonvoy Moments. Other sponsors include Lexus, who will be surprising one lucky fan with VIP treatment with a private ride in a luxury Lexus vehicle to the one-of-a-kind performance.
Warner Records has launched underscore works recordings, a joint venture with Charly Salvatore’s Nashville-based management company underscore works.
The new label will focus on discovering and developing fresh country music talent, and launches with two new signings: Dipper and Wesko.
Salvatore launched underscore works in 2022; the company works with artists including Warren Zeiders, Priscilla Block and Dalton Dover. Zeiders, who is signed directly to Warner Records, debuted on Billboard’s Hot 100 with “Pretty Little Poison,” which is currently in the top 20 on the Country Airplay chart.
Texas native Dipper recently released his debut EP Evergreen, including his first single, “She’s Got Wings.” Dipper also signed a global publishing deal with Bailey Zimmerman, The Core Entertainment and Warner Chappell Music.
North Carolina native Wesko spent the past four years performing with his band and writing songs, while working as a foreman for an erosion control company and balancing a full college course load. He continued building his audience in North Carolina, as well as building his social media following before signing with underscore works recordings.
Warner Records’ Co-Chairman & CEO Aaron Bay-Schuck and Co-Chairman & COO Tom Corson said in a statement, “Together with Charly, we’ve already seen incredible success with Warren Zeiders – a newcomer to the scene who has quickly made a big impact. The underscore team shares the same dedication we have when it comes to artist development and building meaningful and lasting careers, making it a no brainer to expand our partnership so we can support even more special artists. Dipper and Wesko are two genuinely talented, hard-working musicians with bright futures ahead, and we look forward to collaborating with underscore to bring even more great music to fans around the world.”
Salvatore added, “Aaron, Tom, and the entire world-class Warner Records team have an amazing track record when it comes to breaking new acts and, more importantly, sustaining that momentum. They’ve been incredible partners with Warren, and there’s no one else I’d want to be running alongside as we take this exciting next step in the underscore works journey. With a deep passion for developing emerging artists, I’m thrilled to embark on this new chapter with remarkable talents like Dipper and Wesko, who are destined to captivate the world’s stage.”
Jelly Roll was overwhelmed with emotion after receiving his first Grammy nominations.
On Friday (Nov. 10), the country star shared a tearful video on social media after learning about his nods for best new artist and best country duo/group performance for the remix of “Save Me” with Lainey Wilson at the upcoming 66th annual Grammy Awards.
“I’m not sure if I should post this or not because I’m so emotional, but the greatest honor an artist can ever hear is that they’ve been nominated for a Grammy,” Jelly Roll said while weeping in a clip on Instagram. “I got to hear that this morning.”
The rising star — who took home new artist of the year award at the 2023 CMA Awards on Nov. 8 — noted that he attempted to record the video seven times.
“I haven’t cried like this since my daddy died,” he said. “I love you all, man, so f—ing much.”
Jelly Roll wrote in the caption that he was “embarrassed” to share the clip but that his wife, Bunnie XO, encouraged him post it because his “honesty and rawness” are two traits he’s known for among fans. “I’ll post a more complete thought about this when I get my head together, he wrote. “I just never would’ve imagined.”
The intimate post received congratulatory messages in the comments from numerous other stars, including Wynonna Judd, Wiz Khalifa, Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Flavor Flav, Tamar Braxton, Carly Pearce and others.
“YOU DESERVE IT ALL!!!!!!! We are so happy for you!!!!!!! Congratulations my sweet friend,” wrote Judd, who performed her hit “Need a Favor” with the rapper-turned-country singer at the 2023 CMAs.
“Jelly, I love ya. Your energy is contagious. See ya at the GRAMMYs,” Wilson added.
Click here for a full list of nominations for the 2024 Grammy Awards, set for Feb. 4, 2024, at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
See Jelly Roll’s reaction on Instagram below.
This year, country music had a major mainstream moment on Billboard‘s all-genre charts, with four country songs topping the chart: Morgan Wallen’s 16-week No. 1 hit “Last Night,” Zach Bryan’s duet with Kacey Musgraves “I Remember Everything,” Jason Aldean’s “Try That in a Small Town,” and Oliver Anthony Music’s two-week viral No. 1 hit “Rich Men North of Richmond.” Meanwhile, Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car” spent eight weeks at No. 2 on the Hot 100, while Bryan also reached the top 10 this year with “Something in the Orange.”
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Dating back to the Hot 100’s 1958 start, the only other calendar year that had four or more country chart-toppers was 1975, when five songs became chart leaders.
Even with country music’s lofty, record-breaking showing on the all-genre chart this year, when the Grammy nominations were announced on Friday morning (Nov. 10), most of country music’s biggest artists of the moment — including Bryan, Combs, Wallen and Lainey Wilson, who just picked up the coveted CMA entertainer of the year trophy in a surprise win on Wednesday evening — were shut out of the four biggest categories: album, record and song of the year and best new artist.
Country’s only representation in the “Big Four” is Jelly Roll (who won new artist of the year at Wednesday’s CMAs) and the country/Americana duo The War and Treaty in the best new artist category. Though The War and Treaty’s music hasn’t gotten traction on mainstream country radio, the pair was nominated for vocal duo of the year at the CMA Awards, and their collaboration with Zach Bryan, “Hey Driver,” reached the top five on the Hot Country Songs chart. But primarily, their awards nods have come in Americana spaces, including a 2024 Grammy nomination for best Americana roots song.
“Unfortunately, country still isn’t given the respect it deserves by some Grammy voters….Stereotypes about country music still exist – twangy songs about my dog and my mom dying — and it can be perceived by some as not as good or influential as other genres,” posits Beverly Keel, co-founder of Change the Conversation and dean of Middle Tennessee State University’s College of Media and Entertainment. “I don’t think many Grammy voters are aware of the popularity and reach of country. While it doesn’t get the attention or respect that other genres do in terms of award nominations, media coverage and perception, the numbers reveal that a large number of people enjoy it.”
Despite his record-breaking sales and streaming year, Wallen was completely shut out of this year’s Grammy nominations, though his massive hit “Last Night” did earn a country song of the year nod (which goes to songwriters John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak). Despite his album One Thing at a Time being one of the biggest-selling albums of the year, it earned no nominations in the all-genre album of the year category, or even the country album of the year category. This shutout seems to echo another loss for Wallen earlier in the week, when he was nominated in three top CMA Awards categories — entertainer of the year, album of the year and male vocalist of the year — but went home empty-handed.
Wilson, who picked up five total wins during the CMA Awards ceremony, was noticeably absent from the all-genre best new artist category, despite being eligible. Her lone Grammy nominations were for country album of the year (Bell Bottom Country, an accolade she also picked up from the CMAs this week) and best country duo/group performance, for her collaboration with Jelly Roll on “Save Me.”
Historically, country music hasn’t had an especially strong showing in the winners circle in the Big Four categories. Country albums that have taken home the coveted album of the year prize include Glen Campbell’s By The Time I Get to Phoenix in 1968, the soundtrack to O Brother, Where Art Thou? in 2002 and The Chicks’ Taking the Long Way in 2007. More recently, Taylor Swift’s country project Fearless won in 2010 (her two most recent wins were for her pop albums 1989 in 2016 and Folklore in 2020). The most recent country project to win album of the year was Kacey Musgraves’ Golden Hour at the 2019 Grammys ceremony.
It has been more than a dozen years since a country artist has taken home the trophy for best new artist, with Zac Brown Band winning at the 2010 ceremony. Lady A’s “Need You Now” was the most recent country winner in both the record and song of the year categories at the 2011 Grammys ceremony.
Country has received a slew of nominations in the record of the year category, including Shania Twain’s “You’re Still the One” in 1999, Willie Nelson’s “Always on My Mind” in 1983, with other nominations including Kenny Rogers’ “The Gambler” and “Lady,” Crystal Gayle’s “Don’t It Make My Brown Eyes Blue,” Johnny Cash’s “A Boy Named Sue,” Jeannie C. Riley’s “Harper Valley P.T.A,” and Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe.” The Chicks won in the category with “Not Ready to Make Nice”; Olivia Newton-John’s multi-genre hit “I Honestly Love You” also took home the record of the year honor in 1975.
In the best new artist category, country winners have included Bobbie Gentry, LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood and Zac Brown Band, while nominees have included Jeannie C. Riley, The Judds, Kentucky Headhunters, Shania Twain (notably, she lost to Hootie & The Blowfish, whose lead singer Darius Rucker would go on to become a star in the country genre himself), The Chicks, Brad Paisley, Lady A, Sam Hunt, Brandy Clark, Maren Morris, Kelsea Ballerini and Kacey Musgraves.
This year, the general field expanded from the Big Four to the Big Six, with producer of the year, non-classical and songwriter of the year, non-classical added to the field. While no country producers received a nomination, both Shane McAnally (Brandy Clark, Old Dominion, Carly Pearce, Chris Stapleton) and Jessie Jo Dillon (Jelly Roll, Old Dominion, Dan + Shay) garnered nominations for songwriter of the year.
In an interview with Billboard on the eve of the nominations, Recording Academy Chief Harvey Mason, Jr. acknowledged that creators in both the Latin and country fields were likely disappointed with the final nominations in top categories. Asked specifically about Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car,” Mason noted, “That song, and country in general, had such a great year. [There were] so many really good records and great artists, so it was a surprise.”
He added, “We always feel like we can do better. We have to do more outreach in Latin communities, making sure that we’re representing the music accurately. We’re hearing from them things that we can do; making sure we have the right amount of membership and representation. Same goes for country. So, we have to make sure that we’re getting the right membership, which is something we have to talk about every year. When we look at the results of any given year, we always look and see where we can do better; where do we need to balance; where do we need to grow and evolve our membership. … It’s something that we pay close attention to, so we’ll continue to do work on our membership.”
Even within the country-focused categories, songs and albums that dominated country radio and albums sales over the past year did not dominate the nominations.
In addition to “Last Night,” best country song nominations also included Chris Stapleton’s current radio single “White Horse” and the Bryan/Musgraves duet “I Remember Everything,” which topped the Hot Country Songs chart for six weeks. Other nominees in the category were Tyler Childers’ more Americana-leaning “In Your Love” and Brandy Clark’s “Buried.” Childers’ “In Your Love” also earned a best country solo performance nod, as well as an overall best music video nod, while Childers’ Rustin in the Rain earned a best country album nod.
Other country categories, as is often the case, also leaned toward critically praised songs and albums over chart-toppers.
Projects including Wallen’s One Thing at a Time and Combs’ Gettin’ Old were absent from the best country album category, though Wilson’s Bell Bottom Country earned a nod, as did Bryan’s self-titled album. Other nominations are Kelsea Ballerini’s much-lauded divorce record Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, Brothers Osborne’s self-titled album, and Tyler Childers’ Rustin’ in the Rain.
Combs’ chart juggernaut “Fast Car” earned a best country solo performance nomination, as did Stapleton’s current top 20 Country Airplay hit “White Horse,” while the rest of the category was comprised of Childers’ “In Your Love” (which reached No. 7 on the Hot Country Songs chart, and is currently at No. 51 on the Country Airplay chart), in addition to Clark’s “Buried” and Country Music Hall of Famer Dolly Parton’s “The Last Thing on My Mind,” from the Doc Watson tribute album I Am a Pilgrim: Doc Watson at 100.
The best country duo/group performance category included the Stapleton/Carly Pearce collaboration “We Don’t Fight Anymore,” the Jelly Roll/Wilson collab, and the Bryan/Musgraves collab, with other nods going to Dierks Bentley’s bluegrass-tinged jam “High Note” with Billy Strings as well as Brothers Osborne’s “Nobody’s Nobody” and the Vince Gill/Paul Franklin collab “Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold).”
Notably, Oliver Anthony Music, whose “Rich Men North of Richmond” was submitted for song and record of the year, after being one of the biggest breakthroughs of the year, received no nominations.
Country music did much better in the Big Four categories at the Grammy Awards for 1975, which, as noted, was the last time the genre sent four or more songs to the top of the Hot 100. Glen Campbell’s “Rhinestone Cowboy,” which topped both the Hot 100 and Hot Country Songs that year, was nominated for both record and song of the year (the latter for its writer, Larry Weiss). Eagles’ pop/country crossover hit “Lyin’ Eyes” was also nominated for record of the year. Linda Ronstadt’s Heart Like a Wheel, which was a No. 1 album on both the Billboard 200 and Top Country Albums, was up for album of the year. And Amazing Rhythm Aces, which had the pop/country crossover hit “Third Rate Romance,” was nominated for best new artist.
See the full 2024 country Grammy nominations below:
Best Country Solo Performance
For new vocal or instrumental solo country recordings.
“In Your Love,” Tyler Childers
“Buried,” Brandy Clark
“Fast Car,” Luke Combs
“The Last Thing on My Mind,” Dolly Parton
“White Horse,” Chris Stapleton
Best Country Duo/Group Performance
For new vocal or instrumental duo/group or collaborative country recordings. (Note: More or less than 5 nominations in a category is the result of ties.)
“High Note,” Dierks Bentley featuring Billy Strings
“Nobody’s Nobody,” Brothers Osborne
“I Remember Everything,” Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves
“Kissing Your Picture (Is So Cold),” Vince Gill & Paul Franklin
“Save Me,” Jelly Roll with Lainey Wilson
“We Don’t Fight Anymore,” Carly Pearce featuring Chris Stapleton
Best Country Song
A Songwriter(s) Award. A song is eligible if it was first released or if it first achieved prominence during the Eligibility Year. (Artist names appear in parentheses.) Singles or Tracks only.
“Buried,” Brandy Clark & Jessie Jo Dillon, songwriters (Brandy Clark)
“I Remember Everything,” Zach Bryan & Kacey Musgraves, songwriters (Zach Bryan featuring Kacey Musgraves)
“In Your Love,” Tyler Childers & Geno Seale, songwriters (Tyler Childers)
“Last Night,” John Byron, Ashley Gorley, Jacob Kasher Hindlin & Ryan Vojtesak, songwriters (Morgan Wallen)
“White Horse,” Chris Stapleton & Dan Wilson, songwriters (Chris Stapleton)
Best Country Album
For albums containing greater than 75% playing time of new country recordings.
Rolling Up the Welcome Mat, Kelsea Ballerini
Brothers Osborne, Brothers Osborne
Zach Bryan, Zach Bryan
Rustin’ in the Rain, Tyler Childers
Bell Bottom Country, Lainey Wilson
