Country
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After two pandemic-induced years of touring shutdowns, the return of the Country Music Association’s annual celebration feting country music’s touring industry was rung in with a heightened sense of joy and gratitude. On Monday evening (Jan. 30), members of country music’s touring elite gathered at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works for the much-anticipated event.
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“After two years away, we are glad to be back,” said CMA CEO Sarah Trahern in welcoming the industry members. “The touring industry was one of the hardest hit during the pandemic, and the individuals in this room know that better than anyone. In the midst of some really tough times as we all gather, I’m continually amazed at the resilience and passion that shine through from the people in this room, which I think is a true testament to how much you all recognize and value the power of music.” Trahern added that as touring ramped back up, the folks being saluted “didn’t miss a beat. You picked up right where we left off and delivered some of the biggest, most engaging tours we’ve ever seen. All of you continue to move the ball forward for country music, and I and all at the CMA are forever grateful for you.”
Twelve-time CMA Award winner and two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner Keith Urban hosted the festivities. Following the evening, he told Billboard what the celebration of touring means to him. “It’s all about them, not the artists they work with,” he said of the evening. “It feels right. I’m so glad the CMA started this nine years ago. I was honored to be here to do this.”
Members from the touring organizations of Kenny Chesney, Luke Combs and Dierks Bentley took home the lion’s share of the award wins during the evening. Members honored from Bentley’s team were Chris Reade (lighting director of the year) and fiddle player Dan Hochhalter (touring musician of the year). The win represented a full-circle moment for Hochhalter, who was nominated in the same category as one of his heroes: Jimmy Mattingly, fiddle player for Garth Brooks.
“This is crazy,” Hochhalter said. “Back in 1998, I was a 16-year-old kid obsessed with country music. I got tickets to a Garth Brooks show and saw this guy shredding fiddle and electrifying the audience. I wanted to be that guy, so to be nominated in this category is crazy.” He also thanked Bentley for supporting his entire road family during the height of the pandemic. “You have done a lot for me and my family, especially when the world shut down and he did so much to [make sure] we knew we still had a job.”
Make Wake Artists’ Chris Kappy, who has guided Luke Combs’ career toward becoming a two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner, was named manager of the year.
“Seven years ago I moved to Nashville and met a young songwriter who was playing chicken wing restaurants named Luke Combs and started driving the van for him: selling merch, mixing ears, loading in and loading out… and came very close to going broke and insane,” Kappy recalled in accepting his honor. He added, “I get to look around this room now and see the amazing camp of Luke Combs’ team over here, and my team at Make Wake, and the amazing people that get to bring music to fans every night. We get the opportunity to let people escape from their worlds and from their cubicles and from the mundane things they have to go through … none of that happens without the people in this room. You are the superheroes, you are the great people who do this. Thank you for everything that you do.”
Additional members of the Combs touring crew that were recognized with CMA Touring Award wins were Tyler Hutcheson (tour video director of the year), Michael Zuehsow (monitor engineer of the year) and Jerry Slone (production manager of the year).
In Chesney’s camp, winners included John Stalder (coach/truck driver of the year), David Farmer (tour manager of the year), Jill Trunnell (tour videographer/photographer of the year) and Robert Scovill (front of house engineer of the year).
Farmer gave thanks to Chesney’s longstanding touring crew, saying the loyalty and camaraderie there is “a testament to Kenny and the culture he’s created, and I hope I can keep cultivating it.” He ended with what has become a mantra among Chesney’s touring family and longtime fans, leading members of Chesney’s touring crew in shouting, “Who lives like we do? We do!”
Essential Broadcast Media’s Ebie McFarland was named publicist of the year. The Essential Broadcast Media PR roster also includes Chesney, George Strait, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Morgan Wallen, and Ashley McBryde. Live Nation’s Brian O’Connell was named talent buyer/promoter of the year. O’Connell previously earned the CMA Touring Awards’ lifetime achievement award in 2018.
In his acceptance speech Monday evening, O’Connell shared the quote, “No individual whistles a symphony.” He added, “I have two symphonies: my staff and everybody in this room. I love this event. We usually see each other in parking lots.” (The last bit drew laughter from the room.)
He also nodded to the overall touring community, saying, “David [Farmer] works with Kenny, Kenny is an AEG client, but we are all together on the road. We all know what we go through. This trophy, this honor, will always be very close to my heart, and everybody in this room will be close to my heart, because nobody really knows what we really do out there — for good or for bad, mostly for good … In my mind everybody on this piece of paper [the nominees] are talent buyer/promoter of the year.”
Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium was named venue of the year. Talent agent of the year went to Austin Neal, who last year launched The Neal Agency, home to artists including Wallen, Bailey Zimmerman, HARDY, Ernest and more.
“I did not prepare a speech, because [WME’s] Jay Williams and Joey Lee were in the same category, as well as [WME’s] Nate Towne and [Wasserman Music’s] Mike Betterton — a lot of people that I look up to and have learned a lot from in this business. I’d like to thank my artists and their teams for supporting us and being crazy enough to go and start a little agency last year … it’s been a crazy year coming out of COVID … and here’s to another great year.”
Sarah Trahern, John Huie, Keith Urban, and Tiffany Kerns at the 2022 CMA Touring Awards on Monday, January 30, 2023 at Marathon Music Works in Nashville.
Hunter Berry/CMA
During the evening, Urban also shared that he knows well the hustle, determination and stamina involved in being on the road day in and day out.
“I only had one day job and it was working at a lighting company called East Coast Lighting in Brisbane, Australia,” he said. “We rented out lighting to bands. That was my day job and a band wanted me to join their band in case their guitar player didn’t show up one night. They didn’t have a job for me, so they hired me as their lighting operator, thinking I can watch the show every night and if one night he doesn’t show up, I can miraculously get up there and play. I quit my job at East Coast Lighting and became a lighting roadie. We were playing five nights per week. The crew would come pick me up, we’d cram in the front of this truck, drive to the club we were playing at, unload the truck, set all the stuff up, and at about 7:00 I would get changed and I was the opening act.
He went on to recount how he “would play 30 to 40 minutes then get changed and get behind the desk, operate lights, at the end of the night, pack it all up and get home about 2:00 in the morning and do it all again the next day. I did this week after week, hoping one day this idiot wouldn’t show up. And sure enough, one night he did not show up, and I got to get onstage and play [with the band]. Because of what I did for so long with my brothers on the road, I have enormous respect for all of the crews.”
Another sweet moment was the onstage remembrance of Randy “Baja” Fletcher, the inaugural recipient of the CMA Touring Awards’ lifetime achievement award and the production manager for Urban. Following Fletcher’s passing in 2021, his daughter Natalie joined Urban’s tour. Natalie took the stage to share a remembrance of her father and how being on the road impacted her. Backstage following the event, Urban shared with Billboard of Natalie joining the tour, “It was this divine intervention. We lose Baja and there is no one like him, and suddenly Natalie is there, representing every part of his personality and sunny disposition. It was like this continuation with her on the road. It was healing for us, and it was healing for her and that spirit was as strong as it was with Baja.”
The evening concluded with the presentation of the CMA Touring Awards’ lifetime achievement honor to CAA Music Nashville’s John Huie. During his career, Huie helped break artists/bands including R.E.M, The Police and Joan Jett, and revamped Christian music touring while working with artists including Amy Grant and Michael W. Smith. He has also worked with a who’s-who of country music artists, from Carrie Underwood to Faith Hill to Zac Brown Band.
A video montage featured artists including Grant, Smith, Jett, Lady A and Brown, all commenting on the impact he has made in their careers. Grant thanked Huie for “finding the best stages for me for almost 40 years,” while Lady A’s Charles Kelley, Dave Haywood and Hillary Scott thanked Huie for being an “honest champion” for their career.
Taking the stage, Huie thanked his wife of 37 years for her support, as well as many of those he has worked with along the way, and praised former CMA Touring Awards lifetime achievement honorees, including Tony Conway and O’Connell. He also noted that the first concert he attended, when he was 9 years old, was on Aug. 18, 1965 to see the Beatles. “Best gift my mom ever gave me,” he said. He recalled teaming with Ron Baird to launch CAA’s Nashville office, as well as working with Richard Lovett.
CAA Music Nashville Co-Head John Huie receives the CMA Touring Lifetime Achievement Award at the 2022 CMA Touring Awards at Marathon Music Works in Nashville on Monday, Jan. 30.
Hunter Berry/CMA
“Richard’s big thing is, ‘Take care of each other, associates first and good things will happen.’ I still today think, ‘Take care of the people you work with day in and day out and good things will happen,’” Huie said.
Huie also paid tribute to the late Ron Baird (“God bless Ron Baird, who passed away from Parkinson’s. It was a special time with Ron, Rod [Essig] and myself. We know Ron’s here in spirit as well”) and gave a special shoutout to Urban (“You talk about sustainability and fighting the fight, how hard he’s worked to become a successful artist … he did whatever it took to be successful, and those are the guys you want to root for.”) And finally, he closed with a tribute to his extended musical families.
“I do want to say that the family is the key to everything. Not only the CMA family, but the country music family. The CMA family, what Sarah [Trahern] has done in running that operation and Tiffany [Kerns] has done with the foundation — can you imagine the Rock Music Association? The Pop Music Association? You’d never get anybody in the room to agree on anything. But they created an organization where we drop our guard and bring our best selves to the table and make this industry better, not only for the consumer, but for each other and for the world. Thank you so much for this, it means the world to me.”
See the full list of CMA Touring Awards winners below:
Business manager of the year: Stephanie Mundy-Self – Farris, Self & Moore, LLCPublicist of the year: Ebie McFarland (Essential Broadcast Media)Manager of the year: Chris Kappy (Make Wake Artists)Venue of the year: Ryman AuditoriumTouring musician of the year: Dan Hochhalter (Dierks Bentley)Tour videographer/photographer: Jill Trunnell (Kenny Chesney)Tour video director of the year: Tyler Hutcheson (Luke Combs)Lighting director of the year: Chris Reade (Dierks Bentley)Production manager of the year: Jerry Slone (Luke Combs)Tour manager of the year: David Farmer (Kenny Chesney)Talent agent of the year: Austin Neal (The Neal Agency)Coach/truck driver of the year: John Stalder (Kenny Chesney)FOH (front of house engineer of the year: Robert Scovill (Kenny Chesney)Monitor engineer of the year: Michael Zuehsow (Luke Combs)Talent buyer/promoter of the year: Brian O’Connell (Live Nation Nashville)
Dierks Bentley will rally the crowd with a headlining set prior to the 65th Daytona 500 race on Feb. 19 at Daytona International Speedway.
“I’m ready to get back to Daytona with all the biggest NASCAR fans,” 14-time Grammy nominee Bentley said via a press release. “The energy there is unmatched and I know we will have a blast getting them ready for the race.”
Bentley has history with Daytona, previously performing at the 2011 Daytona 500 and during Speedweeks in 2009. He also played prior to the NASCAR Cup Series Championship Race at Phoenix Raceway in 2021.
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“We’re honored to welcome Dierks back to the World Center of Racing,” Daytona International Speedway president Frank Kelleher said via a statement. “Having an entertainer who knows how to start a party, preforming at the 65th DAYTONA 500 and kicking off NASCAR’s 75th anniversary season, is a combination fit for a fantastic Sunday.”
The concert will take place on pit road, and will be visible from the grandstands, but fans with a UNOH Fanzone Pass can watch Bentley’s set up close. A special VIP add-on is available for fans who want an exclusive view of the concert in an area next to the stage. The Fanzone Pass also grants access to driver and VIP appearances, a look into the NASCAR Cup Series garages, up-close access to driver introductions and more.
Bentley is also gearing up for the release of his 10th album, Gravel & Gold, on Feb. 24. The album includes his recent release, “High Note,” a collaboration with bluegrass-centric musicians including Billy Strings.
Music public relations veteran Jake Basden has been named president at the Jason Owen-led Sandbox Entertainment Group. The news was first reported by Variety.
In his new role, Basden will champion a roster of artists that includes Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Little Big Town, Midland, Faith Hill, Dan+Shay and actress-singer Kate Hudson. He will also work with Sandbox’s various media and entertainment entities, including the Broadway musical Shucked, which premieres this spring.
“Jake is the sort of star executive who recognizes this is not a business of boxes and lanes,” said Owen, Sandbox founder and CEO, via a statement. “He is beloved by all and brings elevation to everything he touches. From conceptualizing events to executing campaigns, there’s no one [else] whose vision can see a project from conception through to not just success, but the highest awards recognition for whatever arena they’re in. Sandbox’s incredible team was formed as an entertainment firm whether it meant movies, television, touring or career direction. Jake excels in all of those spaces.”
“There is so much more to a successful launch, whether it’s an artist’s project, a Broadway show or long-term development,” Basden added via a statement. “Perception can define reality, but you have to back it up with solid strategy and execution. The opportunity Jason has provided allows me to both stretch and take topflight people, TV and motion picture platforms to new places. That thrills me because I believe that marketing done as a well-thought-out strategy yields exponential returns. The Sandbox team is comprised of the highest caliber executives whom I have long admired, and I am grateful for the opportunity to join them.”
Basden previously spent 12 years spearheading publicity efforts at Big Machine Label Group, championing artists including Thomas Rhett, Tim McGraw, Lady A, Glen Campbell and former Big Machine artist Taylor Swift. Basden was named senior vp of global communication for BMLG in 2017. He announced his departure from the label group earlier this month.
Basden, a University of Oklahoma graduate, joined Big Machine from the New York offices of public relations firm Edelman, where he served as a director in their sports and entertainment division. Basden’s career accolades to date include being named Country Music Association (CMA) publicist of the year. He was also named PRWeek‘s Young PR Professional of the Year, and was honored as one of the magazine’s “40 Under 40” in 2019.
Morgan Wallen‘s third album is officially on the way. The country star took to his socials on Monday (Jan. 30) to spread the news about his genre-blending upcoming LP, One Thing at a Time.
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Wallen revealed that the album, which contains a whopping 36 tracks — including two songs with features from HARDY and ERNEST — will be released via Big Loud / Mercury / Republic Records on March 3. The announcement also featured the album’s cover art — a photo of him posing in front of his grandmother’s home in Sneedville, Tenn. — and the album’s track list. To celebrate, Wallen will be dropping “Last Night,” “Everything I Love” and “I Wrote the Book” from the album on Monday night. Fans can pre-order the album now.
“This record represents the last few years of my life, the highs and the lows,” the country singer shared in a press release. “It also brings together the musical influences that have shaped me as an artist – country, alternative and hip-hop. There are 36 songs on this album because we just kept exploring with fresh lyrics, music and production ideas and these are the songs that felt right to me. It was a blast to create, and I was so grateful to be back in the studio to lay this out for my fans.”
“I just try to tell it how it is – the good, the bad, the love, the heartbreak. That’s all I know how to do,” Wallen added. “My hope is that this album makes my fans proud; makes ‘em laugh, smirk, cry, and think – just like it did for me.”
One Thing at a Time is the follow-up to 2021’s Dangerous: The Double Album, which spent 10 weeks at No. 1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and a whopping 92 weeks (so far) atop the Top Country Albums chart. This will be Wallen’s first full-length project since he was caught on video saying the N-word in February 2021 and was temporarily suspended by his label and had his music pulled from streaming playlists and radio. He has since apologized and gone on to perform (and pick up prizes) at awards shows and returned to the road.
See Wallen’s album announcement below.
In its 40th week on the chart, Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange” tops Billboard’s Hot Rock & Alternative Songs survey for the first time, lifting from No. 2 to No. 1 on the ranking dated Feb. 4.
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“Orange” accumulated 17.2 million official U.S. streams (up 2%), 4.7 million radio airplay audience impressions (up 5%) and 4,000 downloads sold (up 1%) in the Jan. 20-26 tracking week, according to Luminate.
The song’s 40-frame trip to No. 1 is tied for the fourth-steadiest in the history of the chart, which began in 2009, alongside the rise of Bastille’s “Pompeii” in 2014. The only songs to build support over longer stretches? Glass Animals‘ “Heat Waves” (60 weeks, 2020-21), twenty one pilots‘ “Ride” (47, 2015-16) and Passenger’s “Let Her Go” (43, 2013-14).
Most Time to No. 1 From Debut on Hot Rock & Alternative Songs60 weeks, “Heat Waves,” Glass Animals (first week at No. 1 in 2021)47, “Ride,” twenty one pilots (2016)43, “Let Her Go,” Passenger (2014)40, “Something in the Orange,” Zach Bryan (2023)40, “Pompeii,” Bastille (2014)39, “Hey Look Ma, I Made It,” Panic! at the Disco (2019)39, “Whatever It Takes,” Imagine Dragons (2018)35, “Stressed Out,” twenty one pilots (2016)32, “Ex’s & Oh’s,” Elle King (2015)30, “Feel It Still,” Portugal. The Man (2017)
“Orange” is Bryan’s first No. 1 on the chart. Bryan first made the tally in 2020 with “Heading South,” which eventually peaked at No. 27 in March 2021.
“Orange” concurrently spends its fifth week atop the Hot Country Songs list. On the all-format Billboard Hot 100, it rises 13-11, after reaching No. 10 two weeks earlier. It also bullets at its No. 27 high on Country Airplay with 4.2 million impressions (up 5%).
“Orange” is the lead radio single from American Heartbreak, Bryan’s third studio album and major-label debut, released on Belting Bronco/Warner Records. The set debuted and peaked at No. 5 on the Billboard 200 last June 4 and ranks at No. 9 on the latest survey with 23,000 equivalent album units earned. It has earned 1.2 million units to date.
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“Let’s take a trip down memory lane.”
Few expressions are more clichéd. Different usages of “memory lane” or “memory’s lane” began showing up in the late 1800s, and the phrase has become a common way to think of nostalgia.
Old Dominion’s new single, which Arista Nashville released to country radio via PlayMPE on Jan. 4, puts a fresh coat of paint on that time-worn “Memory Lane” idea. It exists because three band members — lead singer Matthew Ramsey and guitarists Brad Tursi and Trevor Rosen — were open to it when Jessie Jo Dillon (“Break Up in the End,” “10,000 Hours”) brought it up during a Jan. 24, 2022, appointment at Tursi’s house.
“Whenever you’re in a room full of very successful songwriters and someone throws out something that’s so clichéd, there’s a reason, and they may not even know it,” Ramsey says. “You definitely pay attention to it — because, of course, it’s clichéd. But why is that sticking out right now? So it makes us kind of all sit down and go, ‘All right, forget the clichéd. Why is this title here in this room with us?’”
Tursi actually started the creative chain before his co-writers arrived that day, building a short rhythmic track around an acoustic guitar and kick drum.
“After you write a million songs on the guitar, it starts to become hard to think of a different rhythm,” says Tursi. “I knew those guys — and girl — were coming to my house, and I tried to pull up a little drum program that has a different rhythm than you would play on a guitar. I just kind of found that little groove, that acoustic part in the intro. It was two chords and the loop, and that’s what I played them when they got there.”
It sounds vaguely similar in spirit to the rolling guitar in “Gentle on My Mind,” a song John Hartford wrote based on the traveling plot of the 1965 movie Dr. Zhivago. Dillon thought “Memory Lane,” logged in a page of titles on her phone, was an appropriate match.
“He had this beat that was real fast and kind of pulsing,” she says. “I wouldn’t really think to do that idea that way naturally, but it gave the song so much energy, and I think it feels driving — kind of like you’re driving down memory lane.”
Dillon originally generated the title during her own battle with nostalgia. She was getting over a relationship with another songwriter, and she still missed him significantly.
“When I hear that song, I picture exactly where it was — the house and the place, for me,” she recalls. “I think the guys had their own versions of that as well in their minds when we were writing it.”
One of the guys — likely Rosen — came up with the opening line, “If I could buy a house on Memory Lane,” and Ramsey chimed in with quick rhymes: “I’d put my money down, and I’d sign my name.” They envisioned a corner lot, but never identified the cross street. (It’s tempting to think it’s Lonely Street, which would put Memory Lane in the same neighborhood as Heartbreak Hotel.)
Since that “Memory Lane” title appears in the opening line, it made sense to repeat it in the first line of every successive verse. But that also posed a problem when they reached the chorus; it wouldn’t make sense to repeat the title at the end of the chorus and the beginning of the next verse. So they didn’t included the title in the song’s key stanza.
“It would have been corny to try to somehow wrap the chorus back up into that line,” explains Rosen. “It allows the chorus to just give the images, and it’s such a release when it falls back into that line [in the next verse]. There’s no need to say it in the chorus.”
In fact, they held out the tension at the end of the chorus, creating an extra line over an unresolved chord, while a fantasy from the past — “We’d never let go, and we’d never be over” — plays out in the story. Emphasizing that tension, staying locked in the memory, reminded Rosen of the movie Inception.“It’s a really trippy sci-fi movie where they figure out how to go into other people’s dreams,” he says. “But sometimes when they’re in a dream, they don’t know [it]. It felt like being in that movie, where if I could just live in this [dream], I wouldn’t care if I came back to reality.”
Since the chorus is designed to circle back to the verse, they couldn’t end “Memory Lane” with the chorus. So they concluded by repeating the first verse and changing the lyrics in the back half of that section to “We’d never fade, never fade, never fade…”
Old Dominion, including bassist Geoff Sprung and drummer Whit Sellers, recorded “Memory Lane” with producer Shane McAnally (Sam Hunt, Midland) at Shrimpboat Sound Studio in Key West, Fla., a facility with an appropriately nostalgic atmosphere.
“It’s this little, unassuming cinder block building that no one knows what’s going on on the inside or pays any attention to, but it’s Jimmy Buffett’s studio,” says Ramsey. “You walk in there, and it’s like a time capsule of his career. There’s Jimmy Buffett memorabilia and all these old Polaroids everywhere. It’s like stepping back in time, and it’s a very creative little vortex.”
Instead of following the band’s typical recording process, in which it plays as much of the track as possible together, “Memory Lane” was built piece by piece over programmed percussion. Sellers replaced most of the synthetic rhythms with real drums after everyone else did their parts, a reversal of the typical order.
Ramsey was challenged by the lead vocal’s phrasing — “It’s really tough to find a place to take your breath and keep going,” he says — and Tursi developed a guitar solo that feels as much like a journey as the rest of the track. “What happens with me is one of those times when we’re running it down, I’ll just take a solo and then spend another 15 minutes trying to beat it,” Tursi says. “And then everyone goes, ‘The first one is the best one.’ I’m never satisfied with anything.”
When Old Dominion played it as a full band for the first time on Jan. 19 in Evansville, Ind., Tursi extended the performance with an adventurous 90-second closing solo after the “never fades” lyric ended. Meanwhile, “Memory Lane” travels to No. 33 on the Country Airplay chart dated Feb. 4.
“It just felt like it was strong and artistic and commercial, and it had the right balance of everything,” Tursi says.
And it brings a fresh attitude to a very familiar phrase from the past.
Luke Bryan will bring his signature party vibe to summer when his Country On Tour visits 36 cities this year, starting June 15 in Syracuse, NY.
The five-time entertainer of the year winner will also present his fans with music from several red-hot newcomers, highlighting the music of Chayce Beckham, Tyler Braden, Ashley Cooke, Jackson Dean, Jon Langston, Conner Smith, Alana Springsteen, Hailey Whitters and DJ Rock.
Since launching his inaugural major headlining trek in 2013 with his Dirt Road Diaries Tour, Bryan has played to more than 13 million fans, while simultaneously continuing to amass hit songs (he has earned 26 No. 1 Billboard Country Airplay hits to date). He’s used his massive platform to offer numerous newcomers a prime performance slot on his tour, providing a sought-after stage for rising artists who have now also become household names in country music, including Morgan Wallen, Lauren Alaina, Little Big Town and Cole Swindell.
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“Artists get into the business to make music and perform it for the fans,” Bryan said via a press release. “Leaving it all out on that stage is what it’s all about for me. I’m excited to support and have so many talented new artists along for the ride this year. It’s one of the most rewarding parts of our job.”
Additionally, Bryan has diversified his concert offerings to include his annual Spring Break and Farm Tours, and just celebrated his eighth Crash My Playa festival in Mexico. He’s also spearheading his ongoing headlining show at Resorts World Theatre in Las Vegas.
Tickets for the tour dates go on sale Feb. 3 at 10 a.m. local time at lukebryan.com. See the full schedule for his Country On Tour below:
06/15/2023: Syracuse, NY- St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview
06/16/2023: Darien Center, NY-Darien Lake Amphitheater
06/17/2023: Toronto, ON-Budweiser Stage
06/23/2023: Philadelphia, PA-Freedom Mortgage Pavilion
06/24/2023: Holmdel, NJ -PNC Bank Arts Center
07/06/2023: Wantagh, NY-Northwell Health at Jones Beach Theater
07/07/2023: Columbia, MD-Merriweather Post Pavilion
07/13/2023: Hershey, PA-Hersheypark Stadium
07/20/2023: Portland, OR-RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater
07/21/2023: Wheatland, CA-Toyota Amphitheatre
07/22/2023: Mountain View, CA-Shoreline Amphitheatre
07/27/2023: Lubbock, TX-United Supermarkets Arena
07/28/2023: Albuquerque, NM-Isleta Amphitheater
07/29/2023: Denver, CO-Ball Arena
08/04/2023: Salt Lake City, UT-USANA Amphitheatre
08/05/2023: Boise, ID-Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater
08/10/2023: Rogers, AR-Walmart AMP
08/12/2023: Nashville, TN-Bridgestone Arena
08/13/2023: Brandon, MS-Brandon Amphitheater
08/17/2023: Cincinnati, OH-Riverbend Music Center
08/18/2023: Indianapolis, IN-Ruoff Music Center
08/19/2023: Pittsburgh, PA-The Pavilion at Star Lake
08/25/2023: Evansville, IN-Ford Center
08/26/2023: St. Louis, MO-Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
09/28/2023: Dallas, TX-Dos Equis Pavilion
09/29/2023: Ft Worth, TX-Dickies Arena
09/30/2023: Tulsa, OK-BOK Center
10/05/2023: Orlando, FL-Amway Center
10/06/2023: Savannah, GA-Enmarket Arena
10/07/2023: Charlotte, NC-PNC Music Pavilion
10/12/2023: Sioux Falls, SD-Denny Sanford PREMIER Center
10/13/2023: Green Bay, WI-Resch Center
10/14/2023: St. Paul, MN-Xcel Energy Center
10/26/2023: Raleigh, NC-Coastal Credit Union Music Park
10/27/2023: Charlottesville, VA-John Paul Jones Arena
10/28/2023: Charleston, SC-Credit One Stadium
Shania Twain has overcome a number of serious health issues during her career, battles with Lyme disease and dysphonia that robbed the singer of her signature powerhouse country pop voice and led to an extended break in the early and mid 2000s, as well as throat surgery in 2018 to shore up her weakened nerves.
But in a new interview with England’s The Mirror, the “Man! I Feel Like a Woman!” star said she was so sick during the pandemic that she had to be airlifted to a Swiss hospital. “It was progressively getting worse. My vital signs were getting worse… and in the end I had to be air evacuated,” Twain told the paper about the time she got COVID pneumonia in the midst of the global pandemic while in Lake Geneva, Switzerland and got so sick she could hardly breathe.
“It was like science fiction, I felt like I was going to another planet or something,” she said of the surreal helicopter ride to a local health clinic. “It all kind of happened in slow motion.” Luckily, Twain added, husband Frédéric Thiébaud — a Swiss exec for Nestlé — was there with her through the health ordeal, scrambling to find a scarce bed for his sick wife.
“My husband was freaking out, to be honest. He was really panicking because he was the one having to pull it all together,” she said of his rush to get her help. “He spent hours and hours every day on the phone, trying to get an air evacuation coordinated, trying to get a bed lined up, as there were none, checking my vital signs. It was just a real nightmare for him.”
Once they found a bed, Twain, 57, said she was placed in isolation and given plasma therapy drugs during a frightening episode. “It took several days to start building up any antibodies at all, so it was a very dangerous time and very scary,” she said. “I made it through and I’m just so grateful.”
Soon enough, Twain began to recover and begin working on her upcoming sixth studio album, Queen of Me, which is due out on Friday (Feb. 3).
Eight-time Grammy winner Chris Stapleton will become the latest country artist to usher in the Super Bowl, with a performance at Super Bowl LVII on Sunday, Feb. 12 on FOX, just prior to the game’s kickoff at 6:30 p.m. ET at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
Stapleton is known for his bluesy, supple vocal delivery as well as his songwriting chops (in addition to his own material, he’s written hits for Kenny Chesney, Josh Turner and Darius Rucker, among others). He’s also the reigning CMA male vocalist of the year, having won in the category six times. This year’s Super Bowl pregame performance lineup also includes R&B artist Babyface performing “America The Beautiful,” while Abbott Elementary star Sheryl Lee Ralph will perform “Lift Every Voice and Sing.” Rihanna is this year’s Super Bowl Halftime Show performer.
Stapleton is the third consecutive country singer to handle national anthem duties prior to the big game since 2021–Eric Church joined Jazmine Sullivan for a rendition of the anthem in 2021, while Mickey Guyton performed the national anthem last year.
Here, Billboard looks back at other country music artists who have performed the national anthem throughout the years.
Nothing goes together better than summer heat, cold drinks, good friends and country music. Throughout much of the year, country music fans gather at events across the nation (and abroad) to see their favorite country music artists perform.
Below, Billboard looks at many of the top country music festivals slated for 2023, including some of each festival’s top performers, from established artists such as Tim McGraw and Miranda Lambert to hot-shot newcomers including Bailey Zimmerman, Megan Moroney and Zach Bryan. Names including Luke Bryan, Cody Johnson and Zac Brown Band proliferate several festival lineups this year, headlining festivals including Country Thunder festivals, C2C and Windy City Smokeout.
Taken altogether, these numerous country fests offer a glimpse into the breadth of the country music moment, from Texas natives like Lambert, Johnson and Parker McCollum, to pop-leaning vocalists Dan+Shay, to ’90s country stalwarts Brooks & Dunn and Dwight Yoakam.
In addition to stellar lineups, these festivals also offer a range of activities and food offerings, including camping, line-dancing, food trucks, and merch vendors selling an array of items. See below.