Country
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Priscilla Block reveals five things you didn’t know about her.Priscilla Block: Hey, I’m Priscilla Block, and here are five things that you might not know about me.
I am, like, a very great burper. I mean, I can hold pitch like it’s just a long burp … like belch. I don’t know. It’s very, very ladylike.
Another thing that fans might not know about me is I was supposed to be a twin. I think I ate my twin! I’m serious, that is actually real. I won’t go into all the details, but I have lived my life eating for two people. Thick thighs save lives, baby!
OK, this is a really good one. I sang “Wasted” for my third-grade talent show. Everyone else was singing Annie and, like, Beauty and the Beast soundtracks, and I sang “Wasted” by Carrie Underwood. The whole song is about being wasted. I definitely won.
Another thing that fans might not know about me: I can wakeboard. Not, like, decently great, but I mean, I can get up on a wakeboard, you know, cross the wake and everything. She really is a lot sportier than she seems.
There was one time I went to the hair salon, and this was, like, right after I signed my record deal, and this angel wanted to do my hair and she was like, “I’ll do it for free.” I walked out of there feeling like Carrie Underwood. I mean, my hair was blonde. It was so beautiful. I left the hair salon, and I called her immediately and I was like, “Hey, I love the hair. I just don’t think it’s trashy enough.” And she was like, “What?” And I was like, “I just need chunks in it. Like, it’s too blended. It looks too good.” And she was like, “OK …” So I felt really bad for her. I basically made her undo everything that she did. And I was like, “I’m really just going for more of, like, trailer park type vibe.”Watch the full video above!
The co-founders of Farm Aid are bringing the annual benefit for the country’s family farms back to the midwest this fall. Neil Young, John Mellencamp and Willie Nelson announced on Monday that the 2023 Farm Aid will return to the Indianapolis, IN area on Sept. 23 for the third time in the event’s 38-year history.
The show at Ruoff Music Center in Noblesville will mark Young’s first in-person attendance since 2019 after the Rock and Roll Hall of Famer took several years off from appearing live due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to the principles, other performers this year include: Farm Aid board member Margo Price, fellow board member Dave Matthews with Tim Reynolds, the Grateful Dead’s Bobby Weir & the Wolf Bros. featuring the Wolfpack, Lukas Nelson, Nathaniel Rateliff & the Night Sweats, Allison Russell, The String Cheese Incident, Particle Kid and more acts to be announced later.
Young did not attend in in 2021 or 2022 due to the pandemic; the 2020 event was presented online.
“We are honored and excited to bring the Farm Aid experience back to Indiana,” said Seymour, IN native Mellencamp in a statement about the first Farm Aid in the state in more than 20 years. “My home state holds deep meaning for me and for the generations of family farmers who have dedicated their lives to caring for the Earth and bringing us good food.”
Since launching in 1985, Farm Aid has raised more than $64 million to support programs that help family farmers.
Farm Aid first IV took place in 1990 at Indianapolis’ Hoosier Dome, with Elton John, Iggy Pop, Bonnie Raitt and Guns N’ Roses joining the three principles and returned in 2001 — shortly after the Sept. 11 terror attacks — with a lineup featuring then-new board member Matthews, as well as Martina McBride, the Doobie Brothers, Susan Tedeschi, Arlo Guthrie and more. Last years’ event in Raleigh, N.C. featured Chris Stapleton, Sheryl Crow, Rateliff, Russell, Charley Crockett, Brittney Spencer and others.
A limited number of pre-sale 2023 tickets will be available beginning at 10 a.m. ET on Wednesday (July 12); the pre-sale ends at 5 p.m. on Thursday (July 13), or when pre-sale tickets are sold out. General admission tickets will go on sale on Saturday (July 15) at 10 a.m. ET. here.
“Family farmers have the solutions to some of our toughest challenges,” Nelson added in a statement. “As we face a changing climate, farmers in Indiana, across the Midwest and all over the country are farming in ways that create more resilient farms to build healthy soils and protect our water.”
According to a release, this year’s event will honor Indiana family farmers and others who are taking on climate change using regenerative, organic and sustainable farming practices.
Jelly Roll has spent years building up a music career that includes chart-topping songs such as “Son of a Sinner,” being a Billboard cover star and winning CMT Music Awards accolades, in addition to the release of his latest album Whitsitt Chapel. But his wife Bunnie XO is also an entrepreneur and person of influence in her own right, thanks to her work building up her Dumb Blonde podcast, which covers a range of topics including fashion, relationship advice, music and business.
On Friday, Jelly Roll posted a lengthy statement of praise for his wife, titling it “A Bunnie Appreciation Post!” Jelly Roll (real name: Jason DeFord) and Bunnie have been married since 2016.
“A lot is often said or made about my story, but the truth is, I’ve never been moved more by a story than the story of my wife,” Jelly Roll wrote. “To watch what this woman has overcame and her passion and determination to be something better has inspired me from the moment I met her. She saved me in one of the darkest times of my life. She has been nothing but supportive.”
He also wrote about the origins of Bunnie’s Dumb Blonde podcast. “I remember her sitting at our kitchen table and her talking to me about the vision she had to start the Dumb Blonde Podcast, and how it was her means to end working in the sex industry for good. I watched her build her own platform, her own podcast and her own team with ZERO help from me. She wanted to do it on her own, she didn’t want to be just ‘Jelly Roll’s wife,’ she wanted to build her own empire to empower women and share her story in hopes that it could motivate others to believe that they could change their lives and be happy. Watching her launch into this season of the Podcast, watching her build this beautiful community on Patreon where she posts our family vlog series ‘Meet the DeFords’ and NOW SHE IS COMING ON TOUR WITH ME AND DOING HER OWN MEET AND GREET (that I’ll be crashing as many of them as I can).”
He concluded with a personal note to Bunnie, saying, “Watching you take this thing to the moon has been nothing short of incredible to watch- so so so so happy for you baby. Let’s keep changing the world a little at a time.”
Bunnie responded to Jelly Roll’s message, writing in a comment, “I’m crying at the dinner table … You have always been my reason, my why & my strength. I love you to the moon & deepest galaxies.”
In his recent Billboard cover story, Jelly called Bunnie “a beacon of change in my life. You’re talking about a woman that came in and took a child that was soon to be born and a child that [we were] soon to have full custody of. I would have never got custody of my daughter without her. I wouldn’t have had the stability or the money.”
Megan Moroney plays Fishing for Answers at Billboard’s Country Live event.
Megan Moroney:What’s up, y’all? I’m Megan Moroney, and I’m going Fishing for Answers with Billboard.
“What’s your secret talent?” I can do the ABCs backwards. Z, Y, X, W, V, U, T, S, R, Q, P, O, N, M, L, K, J, I, H, G, F, E, D, C, B, A. I don’t know when or how I learned how to do that.
“Where’s the craziest place you’ve ever run into a fan?” Probably the bathroom at Chili’s.
“What’s your favorite dance move, and can you show us?” It’s the worm and moonwalk, but I’m not going to do either of those. I’m in a dress.
“Best concert you’ve ever attended?” The Eras Tour. No question.
Oh, God, this one is so hard. “Who’s your style icon and why?” I don’t really have one. I just wear whatever the hell I want.
“Who was your musical inspiration growing up?” Definitely Miranda Lambert and, in high school, Kacey Musgraves.
“Who’s made you the most starstruck?” Meg Thee Stallion. She sat in front of me at the CMT Awards, and I was just in awe. She’s so pretty.
“First celebrity crush?” Probably Zac Efron. I feel like that’s everyone’s first celebrity crush.Watch the full video above!
Duo Dan+Shay‘s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney have worked together for over a decade, notching Grammy-winning, chart-topping hits such as “Tequila.” But in 2022, the duo nearly broke up.
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In an Instagram video titled “The Drive,” the duo’s Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney take viewers deep into their interpersonal relationship, as they take a drive and recall a pivotal moment in December 2021 when they were struggling with burnout and dissatisfaction following the conclusion of their (Arena) tour. Even though the duo had won Grammy honors and were headlining a huge tour, the constant pace and career demands led to burnout.
“I was in, like, the lowest low of my entire life,” Smyers says in the video. “Came off the road and I was like, ‘Man, I f–king hate music. I’m ready to quit.’”
Mooney agreed, adding that the frustrations within the duo impacted their respective marriages and personal lives. “I could feel the separation, and I think there was little things between you and I that we never talked about. It was affecting everything. Not just our band. Like, my marriage, everything. I was in a really dark place.” He later added, “Especially at that point, I was drinking a lot. So those highs became really high, and the lows became really, really low.”
Following the tour’s conclusion, the bandmates didn’t speak to each other for four months — until they came together in March 2022 to take a stark look at the duo’s future, including whether they wanted to quit performing together.
The conversation proved to be a moment that “changed it all,” and led the two to determine they wanted to continue recording together as a duo, and that they were committed to healthier communication.
“The thing that filled my cup the most was being in a room with you, making music together,” Smyers tells Mooney in the video clip. “One of the most important things that’s ever happened in my life was Dan + Shay. If we’re gonna keep going forever, let’s get ourselves right. Let’s have a gut check.”
“I can feel the closeness of our relationship and our friendship when I listen back to the music,” Smyers adds. “We are by far, a million times, the closest we’ve ever been. For so many reasons. But because we worked at it. That makes what we’re doing now infinitely sustainable. I could do this the rest of my life with you.”
The duo also revealed they have new music on the way (coming July 14), and recently told fans they will be joining The Voice as a coaching duo next year.
In this week’s batch of new songs, Jo Dee Messina extends her current career resurgence with an uplifting empowerment anthem, while Frank Ray offers a 15-song debut that serves as a perfect soundtrack for any party. Elsewhere, bluegrass wunderkind Wyatt Ellis showcases his mandolin prowess on a new song with bluegrass stalwart (and fellow mandolin powerhouse) Sierra Hull. Also, veteran country quartet Girls Next Door reunites again after more than a decade.
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Jo Dee Messina, “Just to Be Loved”
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Following her recent career resurgence, thanks to her classic “Heads Carolina, Tails California” being interpolated as part of Cole Swindell’s chart-topper “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” (in addition to their subsequent collaboration on a remake of track), Messina returns with this uptempo track she wrote with Jess Cates, Tim Nichols and Jordan Mohilowski. Here, Messina’s voice is as charismatic as ever, further elevated by sprightly mandolin and shimmering production. She delivers this song’s uplifting message with conviction, making its statement of valuing self-acceptance and self-love over chasing the adoration of others a worthy addition to the country canon of uplifting female empowerment anthems such as Martina McBride’s “This One’s For the Girls” and Maren Morris’ “Girl.”
Girls Next Door, “What’s This Thing (You’ve Got About Leaving)”
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The quartet of Cindy Nixon Psanos, Diane Williams Austin, Tammy Stephens Smith and Doris King Merrit notched nine singles on the Billboard country charts in the late 1980s and early 1990s, including the 1986 top 10 hit “Slow Boat to China.” The group disbanded in 1991 to focus on their families, and briefly reunited in 2011. They come together again on this fiddle-drenched, harmony-soaked track that reflects on fighting urges to take flight from a steady relationship. Though the production here sounds slightly dated, the group’s harmonies are tight and joyous.
Frank Ray, Frank Ray
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Ray first broke through with his Spanish-incorporating song “Streetlights,” and followed with the top 20 Country Airplay track “Country’d Look Good on You.” Both songs are included on his 15-track debut album, which is a deft mix of country, R&B and Latin. “Wasting Your Words” is a sultry, horn-driven blend of Latin and R&B. Elsewhere, his extends his affable vocal to showcase his range on “Learn Something New.” Evidenced by songs like “Let It Drop,” “Out on Me,” the twangy “Party With Strangers” and the ‘80s pop shaded “Spring Break,” this album is a light-hearted soundtrack that’s perfect for any party.
Drew Baldridge, “Honky Tonk Town”
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Like many artists at the moment, Baldridge draws on the enduring popularity of rock-influenced, high-octane ‘90s country music. He teamed with writers Lydia Dall and Joel Hutsell on this track, which feels like an amalgam of the boot-scootin’, dancehall ready songs that artists like Brooks & Dunn, Alan Jackson and Shenandoah took to the top of the country charts in the 1990s. Propelled by relentless drums and guitars and laced with mandolin and keyboard, this track is a more successful result than most attempts at incorporating ‘90s country, thanks in part to Baldridge’s confident, rollicking vocals.
Lauren Alaina, “Just Wanna Know That You Love Me”
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Alaina prolifically follows her recent Big Loud Records EP, Unlocked, with this pensive piano ballad with a simple plea — she doesn’t require all the finer things in life, and can withstand any adversity, as long she knows her lover’s commitment is uncompromising. It’s fitting that Alaina performed the song on a recent episode of The Bachelorette, as the song’s power-pop balladry construction houses a made-for-television quality. This elegant song comes courtesy of Brandy Clark, Sam Ellis and JoyBeth Taylor, and as always, Alaina displays her versatile, powerful vocals.
Wyatt Ellis with Sierra Hull, “Grassy Cove”
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Mandolin player and teenage phenom Ellis has quickly cemented himself as a sterling newcomer in the bluegrass scene, having shared the stage with artists including Billy Strings, Marty Stuart, and Molly Tuttle, and also having played Merlefest and the Grand Ole Opry. On his latest, Ellis teams with veteran mandolin player and mentor Hull on this gorgeous instrumental piece, with the two musicians layering twin, agile mandolin parts. He and Hull co-wrote this ode to a small town in East Tennessee, with Justin Moses producing the song; impressively, the song is the result of Ellis’ first time in a recording studio.
Camille Parker, “Heartless”
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Parker is a member of CMT’s Next Women of Country Class of 2022, and was a contestant on Apple TV+’s talent show My Kind of Country. Written by Parker, Sara Bares and Reid Sorel, this is a superb, searing track that’s melded in retro-pop. Embedded in this danceable anthem is a empathetic salve for anyone who has followed their heart more than their logic when it comes to a toxic relationship. “That was the last time I’d throw caution to the wind/ I’ll never do it again,” Parker vows atop layers of guitar grooves and pedal steel, resulting a celebratory moment of emotional maturation and freedom.
Kat Hasty, “Why Do Good People Die”
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After releasing the eight-song acoustic project, Drowning in Dreams, in 2021, Hasty returns with the three-song live EP Midland, highlighted by this sparse, rolling acoustic track that puts Hasty’s Texas twang front and center. The introspective song embodies inner contemplation of a musician in her late ’20s, focusing on the struggle between “standing out and fitting in,” between the pull of life on the road, and the tug of guilt that perhaps life would be better spent closer to home. She also ponders the existence of a higher power — and whether that higher power is good, when she sees good people dying around her.
Kevin “Chief” Zaruk and Simon Tikhman, co-founders of entertainment and talent management company The Core Entertainment (TCE), have partnered with Universal Music Group (UMG) to launch the global label venture The Core Records. The label venture will sign and develop new artists, working with UMG’s global network of labels. Tikhman and Zaruk, who were both […]
Madeline Edwards reveals five things you didn’t know about her. Madeline EdwardsHi, I’m Madeline Edwards and here are five things you may not know about me. I used to write sci-fi fiction when I was a little girl and I might still write sci-fi fiction maybe. My mother’s Polish, and we ate a lot of […]
Luke Combs’ cover of Tracy Chapman’s 1988 pop hit “Fast Car” tops Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated July 15) for a second week. In the tracking week ending July 6, the song increased by 1% to 33.6 million audience impressions, according to Luminate.
Combs claims his 12th Country Airplay No. 1 to dominate for more than a week, among his 16 leaders.
Plus, for the first time in almost 10 years, five consecutive Country Airplay chart-toppers rule for multiple weeks. The run started with Morgan Wallen’s “Thought You Should Know,” which led for its first of three weeks on the Feb. 25-dated chart, and continued with Combs’ Going, Going, Gone” (two, March 18), Bailey Zimmerman’s “Rock and a Hard Place” (six, April 1), Wallen’s “Last Night” (eight, May 13) and now “Fast Car.”
The last quintuplet of consecutive multi-week Country Airplay leaders occurred in August-October 2013, encompassing five two-week No. 1s each: Randy Houser’s “Runnin’ Outta Moonlight,” Brett Eldredge’s “Don’t Ya,” Keith Urban’s “Little Bit of Everything,” Florida Georgia Line’s “Round Here” and Jason Aldean’s “Night Train.”
“I think we have a couple things happening,” KBAY San Jose, Calif., program director Bo Matthews tells Billboard about the current streak by Combs and Wallen – who have four of the last five Country Airplay No. 1s – and Zimmerman. “The pop music cycle is not strong currently, and clearly country music is the winner. Consumption is higher with country music, and programmers are being smart, playing what their listeners want and embracing new country stars. What a great time to be in country music. We have the rock stars right now.”
“Country music is in such a good place right now,” echoes Cumulus Media vp of programming Charlie Cook. “The passion for the music is high and with tour season in full swing, fans are connecting with the acts and loving the music. Those one-week No. 1s are often [heavily driven by label promotion]. I like seeing songs finding their way to the top of the chart and settling in for more than one week.”
Jelly Roll recently made history on Billboard‘s country and rock charts, when “Need a Favor” became the first song to hit the top 10 on both the Country Airplay and Mainstream Rock Airplay charts. His recent album, Whitsitt Chapel, also crowned the Top Rock Albums chart and reached No. 2 on the Top Country Albums chart.
In a new interview, the Antioch, Tennessee, native — who earned a Country Airplay leader earlier this year with “Son of a Sinner” — opened up about some of the artists he considers to be rock icons, noting to Audacy’s Check In that he would love to collaborate with Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor.
“That’s like my dream collab in the rock space right now,” Jelly Roll said. “He’s inspired me in so many ways musically. One, his approach to music, but two, his ability to constantly reinvent and re-create. I’m the epitome of a guy that reinvented himself, right? … I think we could lean into something really different. … He’s the king, to me, of taking those serious songs and those big ballads and making ‘em bangers.”
Jelly Roll also noted that another of his favorite artists is Bob Seger, and that he loves Seger’s 1980 top five Billboard Hot 100 hit “Against the Wind” — not that fans should expect Jelly Roll to cover the classic track anytime soon.
“I’ve thought about it, but man, I just don’t know that I could do anything for it,” he said. “Those songs that meant the most to me I’m petrified of. … These are my favorite songs ever, I’m just petrified to even pretend to sing ‘em.”
He also referenced Machine Gun Kelly‘s dual music and acting career. MGK’s film credits have included the 2018 thriller Bird Box with Sandra Bullock; the Motley Crue comedy-drama film The Dirt; and the western film The Last Son with Sam Worthington.
“I want to act, really bad,” Jelly Roll said. “I know it sounds weird. I never thought I would act, but I’ve been really inspired by what Machine Gun Kelly has done with his career [over] the last three years.”
Jelly Roll may not have announced any acting roles at the moment, but he is the star of his own recent documentary, Save Me, which traces his journey to becoming a hitmaker.