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Kelsea Ballerini has added nine new concert dates to her Heartfirst Tour, beginning March 6 in Toronto, Ontario, and running through March 18 in Pittsburgh, Penn. The new dates include stops in Milwaukee, Detroit and Atlantic City. Opening for Ballerini will be Georgia Webster.
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Ballerini not only has her own headlining shows in the works for 2023, but she’s also opening for some key tours this year, including Kenny Chesney’s I Go Back Tour and The Judds: The Final Tour.
In September 2022, Ballerini released what is perhaps her most personal album to date with Subject to Change (via Black River Entertainment), including her current single, “If You Go Down (I’m Going Down Too).”
The country star welcomed several female collaborators for the project, including Little Big Town’s Karen Fairchild, a co-writer on the album’s title “Subject to Change” and the tour’s namesake, “Heartfirst.” Alysa Vanderheym is also a co-producer on the project, and wrote “Heartfirst” with Fairchild and Ballerini. She also collaborated with Carly Pearce and Kelly Clarkson on the song “You’re Drunk, Go Home.”
“It’s interesting because in the conversation of, ‘Yes, we need more women in country music,’ what does that actually look like?” Ballerini previously told Billboard. “We need more female artists and collaborators but we also need more female opportunities throughout the whole chain of events, you know? I intentionally wanted to write with more women this time. For me, when you are making a record about emotions, when you connect with a woman creatively, you’re gonna be able to tap into that in a whole different way.”
See the full list of new tour dates below:
The last thing the world needs is a new artist.
An influential executive said that around eight years ago, and she had a point — there’s already so much music in circulation that most acts are swimming against the current in their attempts to achieve widespread recognition.
But the industry doesn’t always know what it needs until it shows up, either. And all of country’s star acts — people such as Luke Combs, Carrie Underwood or Chris Stapleton — were unknown new artists before the genre eventually discovered they were essential for its vitality.
Over a dozen newbies are hoping events in the next six months will help them become the exception, eventually emerging as household names after releasing their first country album or EP during the period. The contenders include two acts (Tyler Hubbard and Mike Gossin) issuing their first solo projects, after previously earning hits as members of Florida Georgia Line and Gloriana, respectively.
The list also features three duos: recent 8 Track Entertainment signees BoomTown Saints, longtime Warner Music Nashville project Walker County and Americana husband-and-wife team The War and Treaty, who are optimistic that their sound can translate to country.
Following is an overview of 14 acts whose first album or EP, either in the genre or at a label of consequence, are due during the first six months of 2023:
Luke Combs has been steadily letting fans in on new music, including his latest teaser of a new song titled “Love You Anyway.”
The ballad muses that even if he knew from the beginning that his current relationship would ultimately break his heart, his love is strong enough that he knows he would do it anyway.
“If your touch shattered me like glass/ I’d be in pieces trying to make a breakin’ last/ If it took one look to turn my days to nights/ At least I’d have the stars that sparkle in your eyes,” Combs sings. “There’s just some things that leave a man no choice, like a compass needle needin’ its true north/ Even if I knew the day we met, you’d be the reason this heart breaks/ Oh I’d love you anyway.”
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This isn’t the first time Combs has shared a bit of this ballad, having previously released audio from a work tape of the song back in 2020.
Combs recently revealed he has a new, 18-song album coming March 24; it will be the reigning Country Music Association entertainer of the year’s fourth full-length studio album. The project follows his 2022 album Growin’ Up, which landed on Billboard‘s list of the best albums of 2022, as well as Billboard‘s best country albums of 2022.
Growin’ Up is nominated for best country album at the upcoming Grammy Awards on Feb. 5, which is slated to be held at Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. Combs is also nominated for best country duo/group performance for “Outrunnin’ Your Memory” with Miranda Lambert, as well as best country song (“Doin’ This,” which he wrote with Drew Parker and Robert Williford).
Eric Church is set to bring his electrifying headlining show to a slate of outdoor venues this summer when he launches his 27-date The Outsiders Revival Tour. The trek launches June 22 in Milwaukee, Wis. Church first revealed the tour to members of his Church Choir fan club on Wednesday morning (Jan. 11).
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Church is going all in on the summer vibes by welcoming more than a dozen of his fellow artists to join him on various show dates, with opening acts Whiskey Myers, Cody Jinks, Jelly Roll, Ashley McBryde, Koe Wetzel, Lainey Wilson, Midland, Parker McCollum, Travis Tritt, Elle King and Paul Cauthen, plus Jackson Dean, Morgan Wade, Muscadine Bloodline, Shane Smith & The Saints, Hailey Whitters, Ray Wylie Hubbard and The Red Clay Straws.
“When I approach touring, I’m always inspired by a new experience, a new way to gather, to express ourselves sonically and visually. Whether it’s solo, in the round, double down; being able to bring a different perspective has always brought out our best creatively,” Church said in a statement. “Well, we have never done an outdoor summer tour. Never headlined amphitheaters. Never brought a summer experience to your town that featured artists we want to share the summer with. Until now. See you in the season of sunshine with some fellow outsiders that shine brightest when the sun goes down.”
Tickets to all dates go on sale Jan. 20 at 10 a.m. local time via Ticketmaster.com, with presale access available to Church Choir members starting Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time.
Church previously teased the tour by blacking out his social media accounts and then posting a brief video clip that incorporated snippets of his own music as well as that of some of the tour’s openers.
See the full list of upcoming shows below (* signifies festival dates)
April 14* – Fort Lauderdale, Fla. / Fort Lauderdale Beach Park Tortuga Music FestivalJune 17* – Santa Rosa, Calif. / Sonoma County Fairgrounds Country Summer Music FestivalJune 22 – Milwaukee, Wisc. / American Family Insurance Amphitheater – Elle KingJune 23 – Detroit, Mich. / Pine Knob Music Theatre – Ashley McBryde, The Red Clay StraysJune 24 – Cleveland, Ohio / Blossom Music Center – Ashley McBryde, The Red Clay StraysJune 30 – Charleston, S.C. / Credit One Stadium – Parker McCollum, Morgan WadeJuly 1 – Virginia Beach, Va. / Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater – Parker McCollum, Morgan WadeJuly 7 – Toronto, Ontario / Budweiser Stage – Koe Wetzel, Shane Smith & The SaintsJuly 8 – Pittsburgh, Pa. / The Pavilion at Star Lake – Koe Wetzel, Shane Smith & The SaintsJuly 14 – Cincinnati, Ohio / Riverbend Music Center – Travis Tritt, Muscadine BloodlineJuly 15 – St. Louis, Mo. / Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Travis Tritt, Muscadine BloodlineJuly 28 – Dallas, Texas / Dos Equis Pavilion – Midland, Ray Wylie HubbardJuly 29 – Austin, Texas / Germania Insurance Amphitheater – Midland, Ray Wylie HubbardAug. 4 – Raleigh, N.C. / Coastal Credit Union Music Park – Cody JinksAug. 5 – Bristow, Va. / Jiffy Lube Live – Cody JinksAug. 11 – Indianapolis, Ind. / Ruoff Music Center – Cody JinksAug. 12 – Chicago, Ill. / Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre – Cody JinksAug. 13* – Des Moines, Iowa / Iowa State Fairgrounds Iowa State FairAug. 18 – Orange Beach, Ala. / The Wharf Amphitheater – Lainey Wilson, Jackson DeanAug. 19 – Orange Beach, Ala. / The Wharf Amphitheater – Lainey Wilson, Jackson DeanAug. 25 – Holmdel, N.J. / PNC Bank Arts Center – Whiskey MyersAug. 26 – Philadelphia, Pa. / Freedom Mortgage Pavilion – Whiskey MyersSept. 8 – Portland, Ore. / RV Inn Style Resorts Amphitheater – Jelly Roll, Hailey WhittersSept. 9 – George, Wash. / Gorge Amphitheatre – Jelly Roll, Hailey WhittersSept. 15 – Albuquerque, N.M. / Isleta Amphitheater – Paul Cauthen, Hailey WhittersSept. 16 – Phoenix, Ariz. / Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre – Jelly Roll, Paul CauthenSept. 22 – Atlanta, Ga. / Ameris Bank Amphitheatre -Whiskey MyersSept. 23 – Charlotte, N.C. / PNC Music Pavilion -Whiskey MyersSept. 29 – West Palm Beach, Fla. / iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre – Whiskey MyersSept. 30 – Tampa, Fla. / MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre – Whiskey MyersOct. 7* – Bristol, Tenn. / Bristol Motor Speedway Country Thunder Bristol
Several country music artists will honor the late comedian-musician Leslie Jordan on Feb. 19, when Reportin’ for Duty: A Tribute to Leslie Jordan is held at the Grand Ole Opry House in Nashville.
An assembly of Jordan’s friends and collaborators will celebrate his life and career, with performances from Eddie Vedder, Maren Morris, Brothers Osborne, Brittney Spencer, Billy Strings, Lukas Nelson, Jake Wesley Rogers, Ashley McBryde, Fancy Hagood, Jelly Roll, Danny Myrick and Travis Howard, in addition to special appearances by Jim Parsons, Anthony Mason, Mayim Bialik, Cheyenne Jackson, Max Greenfield, Margaret Cho, Robyn Schall, and Leanne Morgan.
Additionally, the house band will feature musicians who all performed on Jordan’s 2021 debut album, Company’s Comin’. On the album, Vedder collaborated with Jordan on “The One Who Hideth Me,” while TJ Osborne appeared on “In the Sweet By and By.” McBryde was also featured on the album, performing “Working on a Building” alongside Jordan and Charlie Worsham.
As a cause close to Jordan’s heart, all proceeds from the event will benefit the EB Research Partnership, an organization dedicated to funding research to treat and cure Epidermolysis Bullosa (EB). Tickets for the event will go on sale Friday, Jan. 13, at 10 a.m. CT, with pre-sale tickets going on sale Jan. 12 at 10 a.m. CT.
Jordan died Oct. 24, 2022, at age 67, following a car accident in Hollywood, Calif. He was known for his work on shows including Call Me Kat, Will & Grace, The Cool Kids, and The Book of Queer.
Actress, singer, producer, entrepreneur and author Kate Hudson has signed with Jason Owen and Sandbox Entertainment Group for music management, the company announced Monday (Jan. 9).
Hudson is known for her work in films including Almost Famous, How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days and Glass Onion: A Knives Out Mystery, but has also showcased her vocal talent in films including Nine and Music (which earned Hudson a Golden Globe nomination for best actress in a comedy or musical), as well as episodes of the hit television show Glee.
In signing with Sandbox, Hudson joins a talent roster that includes Kelsea Ballerini, Dan+Shay, Faith Hill, Kacey Musgraves, Little Big Town and the Johnny Cash estate.
“Music has always been my touchstone,” Hudson said in a statement. “To finally feel ready to share mine is deeply personal to me, almost like a musical memoir. Writing this album over the past year and a half has been the most gratifying and immersive experience and I couldn’t be more excited to partner with Jason to bring it into the world. I can’t wait to hit the ground running with him on this and other creative ventures.”
“Kate Hudson is a superstar of our generation,” Owen added. “Much like other icons in film and stage — from Judy Garland to Lady Gaga — Kate is a multifaceted entertainer who clearly has a deep connection to music. I could not be more honored and excited to help bring her brilliant music to the world and to work with such an incredible talent but mostly a such wonderful person. Big things are coming.”
Hudson will continue to be represented by CAA, Untitled Entertainment, Full Coverage Communications and Jackoway Austen Tyerman Wertheimer Mandelbaum Morris Bernstein Trattner & Klein.
During a recent episode of The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, Hudson said that she’s been making an album for over a year, and revealed that she’s been writing music since age 19, though she had never publicly shared her own music.
“I have no expectations. I just want to put a record out,” she said during the interview. See the clip here:
It’s not a song that will change the world, but it might well change a listener’s mood for three and a half minutes.
Tyler Hubbard’s second solo single – “Dancin’ in the Country,” released to country radio by EMI Nashville on Nov. 21 via PlayMPE – is 21st-century redneck disco, a four-on-the-four backbeat topped with a joyous melody, carefree lyrics and an unfettered country band, freed to play smart fills and jaw-dropping passages that defy the genre’s historically conservative approach to arrangements.
It’s generated from Hubbard’s home life, where rambunctious energy is welcome.
“Every night after dinner, we have a dance party,” he says. “A lot of times I’m playing them songs that I’ve written, and when the kids love the songs, whether it’s songs I’ve written or other songs, it just makes them feel good and want to dance.”
Hubbard brought a story about that experience into the room and submitted it as a guiding principle when he wrote the song on Nov. 3, 2021, at a Black River studio. Originally, the writing session was booked with fellow composers Jon Nite (“Pick Me Up,” “You Didn’t”) and Ross Copperman (“Gold,” “I Lived It”), but Hubbard amped it up a few days early when he invited Keith Urban to sit in.
“I don’t think I even slept the night before,” Nite recalls, “because I was all keyed up on the nerves of like, ‘Do not screw this up.’“
Nite wasn’t sure if they were writing for Urban or for Florida Georgia Line – he didn’t know until sometime during the co-write that Hubbard was cutting some solo material – and it wasn’t fully verbalized during the process. “The whole time I was laughing because I felt like I was writing for the song,” Nite says. “Keith would be like, ‘This would be great for Tyler’ when Tyler was in the bathroom. And then Tyler would be like, ‘This would be great for Keith’ when Keith was in the bathroom.”
It took a bit to find a direction, though Hubbard was definitely in a mood to write something cheery and upbeat, and he had the “Dancin’ in the Country” title as workable idea. Copperman built a rhythm track, and Urban kicked into a guitar groove that launched with a C chord, complicated by an extra D note that creates dissonance with two of the three foundational tones in that chord.
“That [note] is what’s giving you the disco vibes,” Copperman says.
They fashioned the chorus first, starting with the title and capping the stanza by repeating it two more times. In between, the melody pushes forward with a relentless repetition, each of the first four verses ending with the same melody. It’s an approach that wouldn’t work in another setting – it would have killed a thoughtful ballad like “The House That Built Me” – but it enhances the sing-along quality of “Dancin’ in the Country.”
“It’s an ear worm, and it’s hooky, and it’s really repetitive,” Hubbard agrees. “But it still feels right, you know. It feels appropriate.”
When they developed the verses, the narrative began in a bar, where a couple yearns for a little privacy. They end up in a pasture, playing “some Alabama and Jackson” – presumably, Alan Jackson, though with the danceable beat, one could make a case for Michael Jackson, Janet Jackson or even Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson.”
With the plot serving up a little romance in a field, it’s tempting to call it a bro-country story, though it stays away from the drunken-group dynamic. And it bears some authenticity for Nite, whose first date with his wife ended with the two of them dancing in a field along Soncy Road in Amarillo, Texas during their high-school years.
“That’s where I fell in love with my wife,” he says. “We were out there listening to George Strait on the radio. Our trucks were parked off the edge of this road, and we were just watching stars.” (Romantic sidebar: Some time later, Nite draped flowers over the fence posts and barbed wire in that same location to propose.)
The musical format of “Dancin’ in the Country” got an extra boost of energy from a hip-hop-like pre-chorus. The supporting instruments dropped out, except for a volley of tribal toms and a growling bass, and that chord-less section makes the chorus feel like a blast of sound when the whole band re-emerges. “It just felt like we needed that musical break,” Copperman says. “Maybe that’s why the nursery-rhyme chorus works. You drop out all the chords, and then the chorus hits, and it feels so good.”
Hubbard laid down a vocal for the demo, then split for a late-afternoon appointment, though before he did, Urban created some clarity about which artist would keep “Dancin’ in the Country.” “When we got finished writing, Keith said, ‘I think we just wrote your first single,’” Hubbard remembers. “It was nice that Keith put his stamp of approval on it.”
Urban and Copperman stayed for another two hours, playing with a multitude of sounds and instruments as they completed the demo, stopping occasionally to ask Nite if he thought what they were doing was working. “It was like watching an artist paint the Mona Lisa,” Nite says.
Hubbard co-produced the final version with Jordan M. Schmidt (Mitchell Tenpenny, Ingrid Andress) at Ocean Way in Nashville, assembling an A-list team of musicians and letting them follow Urban’s template from the demo. Bassist Jimmie Lee Sloas provides the melodic movement in the intro and offers a few uncharacteristically bold fills, guitarist Rob McNelley recreated a key riff and fashioned a compact burning solo, and banjo player Ilya Toshinskiy wraps the whole package with a wicked flurry of notes.
“What got me into playing and learning instruments was hearing cool s–t and just being like, ‘How did they play that?’ and then sitting there and trying to learn it,” Schmidt says. “Sometimes I feel like as producers we can dumb stuff down so much, but I’ve really taken the opposite approach now. Like, ‘Let’s inspire newer generations to be players and come up with that s–t, because that’s awesome.’”
Justin Schipper’s steel added a little extra country flavor to offset the dance groove in what proved to be a drama-free experience. “We just had a lot of fun,” Schmidt says of the tracking date. “There wasn’t really anything crazy that happened. It was just a great energy, and it felt like a good new start for T-Hub.”
“Dancin’ in the Country” made its debut on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart dated Dec. 10, 2022 and steps to No. 40 on the Jan. 14 list. Hubbard is convinced that the good-time vibe that music generates in his household is the right tonic for a much wider audience.
“We’re at this point in culture and our lives where everybody needs an escape from reality for three-and-a-half minutes,” Hubbard says. “That’s kind of the intention behind this song.”
The Chicks will soon be taking over Sin City! The trio has announced a six-night residency at Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, beginning May 3.
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The Chicks’ Natalie Maines, Martie Maguire and Emily Strayer said via a statement, “Finally getting to play live in 2022 left us hungry to continue our tour. After so many years without new music, last year felt like a long time coming. We hope our fans are ready for more in 2023 because we are not done! There is a lot more to come this year and we are excited to get it all started in Las Vegas at the Zappos Theater this Spring.”
Zappos Theater has previously hosted residencies from Shania Twain and Gwen Stefani, with current residencies including Miranda Lambert’s Velvet Rodeo The Las Vegas Residency, and Keith Urban: The Las Vegas Residency,
The trio’s most recent album, Gaslighter, was released in July 2020, and included the singles “March, March,” “Julianna Calm Down” and “Sleep at Night.”
The shows will run May 3, 5-6, 10, and 12-13, with each show beginning at 8 p.m. Pre-sale for the residency begins Tuesday (Jan. 10) at 10 a.m. PT with the code SINWAGON.
Since the release of their debut single, “I Can Love You Better,” in 1997, the trio has earned 12 Grammy wins, including four best country album — Wide Open Spaces (1998), Fly (1999), Home (2002), and Taking The Long Way (2006). They also earned the CMA’s entertainer of the year honor in 2000, and have taken home the organization’s vocal group of the year honor four times.
Morgan Wallen shared an early look at a new song over the weekend, and it is a musical nod to the late country music artist Keith Whitley.
“Sitting here waiting on the sun in a deer blind…here’s a new one,” Wallen wrote via Instagram on Sunday (Jan. 8), along with an audio snippet of a demo tape labeled “Keith Whitley Ref 1 Jan 6.”
The ballad, which includes the lyrics, “I’m no stranger to the rain/ It starts rainin’, I start pouring, I’ll take hurtin’ like hell in the morning over feeling this way…there ain’t a mirror in this house anymore,” nods to Whitley songs including “I Never Go Around Mirrors” and “I’m No Stranger to the Rain.”
This isn’t the first time Wallen has paid tribute to Whitley. Over the holidays, Wallen shared a video of himself singing a cover of Whitley’s “Kentucky Bluebird,” calling it one of his favorite Whitley songs. The song is the title track to a 1991 Whitley compilation album.
Whitley, who was posthumously inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2022, is known for his hits including “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” “Miami, My Amy.” As a teenager, Kentucky native Whitley teamed with another talented teen, Ricky Skaggs, to begin a bluegrass band, and soon bluegrass luminary Ralph Stanley hired Whitley and Skaggs as part of his own Clinch Mountain Boys.
By 1977, Whitley had joined J.D. Crowe & the New South, performing on albums including 1982’s Somewhere Between. In 1984, Whitley inked a deal with RCA Records and released the EP A Hard Act to Follow. He followed by his album L.A. to Miami, which included the singles “Ten Feet Away,” “Homecoming ’63” and “Hard Livin’.” Whitley’s 1988 album, Don’t Close Your Eyes, earned Whitley three consecutive Billboard Hot Country Songs chart toppers, including “When You Say Nothing at All,” “I’m No Stranger to the Rain,” and the album’s title track. Whitley died on May 9, 1989.
Later this year, Wallen will launch his massive One Night at a Time World Tour. He will welcome several openers for various shows, including HARDY, ERNEST, Bailey Zimmerman and Parker McCollum. The U.S. leg of the tour includes stops at Boston’s Fenway Park, Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium, Chicago’s Wrigley Field, St, Louis’ Busch Stadium and Detroit’s Ford Field, while the trek will also head overseas to Australia and New Zealand.
Listen to the clip of Wallen’s new tribute song to Whitley below.
Ryan Griffin is soaking up his recent success — and has “Salt, Lime & Tequila” to thank for it. The country singer and songwriter at down with Billboard News to discuss his TikTok viral song, and how co-writing a track for Kelsea Ballerini opened the doors for his music career.
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Griffin debuted “Salt” — which peaked at No. 52 and spent a total of 20 weeks on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart — via TikTok in a fun video with his dad. He explained, “I knew my dad would like that song because it has that beach-y vibe to it, and I threw the phone up and I was like, ‘Pops, listen to this! Just tell me you like the song.’”
The day after the country singer posted the video to his TikTok account, the track started making waves on the platform. “I look at my phone and it’s been going massively viral,” he added. “That’s what we’ve been touring on, that was my first single to country radio that I’ve been doing a radio tour [for] all year across the country. It’s definitely the song has launched my career and put me in the right direction.”
As for Griffin’s “Dibs” collaboration with Ballerini — her second No. 1 single on Country Airplay — it happened as a result of a serendipitous writing session.
“The day that we wrote that song, we weren’t even supposed to have written. We wrote it in 45 minutes and it popped out. I’ll never forget the day she called me and told me it would be her second single. My wife and I were pretty broke at the time, to be honest — being a broke songwriter is a real thing,” he recalled. “[Ballerini] called and told me it was going to be he second single and it was just this huge weight off my shoulders. It was really the song that helped me stick around Nashville a little bit longer and start doing my artist thing.”
Watch Ryan Griffin’s full interview with Billboard News in the video above.