Country

Jason Aldean, Brooks & Dunn to Co-Headline Fenway Park Show

Three-time ACM entertainer of the year winner Jason Aldean and reigning 15-time CMA vocal duo of the year winners Brooks & Dunn are teaming up to co-headline a concert at Boston’s iconic ballpark Fenway Park on May 30. “Whiskey on You” hitmaker Nate Smith and “God Made Girls” singer RaeLynn will open the show, which will be held at the home of the Boston Red Sox.

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“Playing Fenway Park has always been a highlight for me over the years,” Aldean said in a statement. “I love the city of Boston, the people and the energy surrounding the city. Getting to play it with some of my musical heroes, Brooks & Dunn, is going to be one for the ages.”

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Brooks & Dunn’s Kix Brooks added, “It’s going to be a blast playing such an iconic stadium like Fenway with our buddy Jason. See you in the spring, Boston!”

This isn’t the first time Aldean and B&D have teamed up. As part of the CMA Awards’ 50th anniversary show in 2016, they collaborated on a performance of Brooks & Dunn’s “Brand New Man.” In 2022, they also performed “Brand New Man” (along with Darius Rucker) to ring in the new year on New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash.

Aldean is currently in the studio working on new music to follow his most recent album, Macon, Georgia (which included hits “Try That in a Small Town” and “If I Didn’t Love You”), while Brooks & Dunn recently announced the 2025 dates for the first leg of their Neon Moon Tour, and released their album Reboot II in November.

Tickets for the Fenway Park show will be available on Friday, Jan. 10, at 10 a.m. local time via Live Nation.

Bailey Zimmerman Reveals Summer 2025 U.S. Headlining Dates on New to Country Tour

Since notching his first Billboard Country Airplay chart-topping hit in 2022 with “Fall in Love,” Bailey Zimmerman has ascended to headliner status and amassed a total of four Country Airplay No. 1s along the way.

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He’ll bring his arsenal of hits and energetic headlining stage show to 16 amphitheaters across the country this summer when his Live Nation-promoted New to Country Summer Tour launches June 6 in Indianapolis, with opening support from “Boys Back Home” hitmaker Dylan Marlowe and “She’s Somebody’s Daughter” hitmaker Drew Baldridge.

Following the tour’s Indianapolis launch, the trek will hit cities including Alpharetta, Ga., Richmond, Va., St. Louis and Denver, before wrapping Sept. 13 in Laughlin, Nev.

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Tickets for the New to Country Tour will go on sale Friday at 10 a.m. local time at baileyzimmermanmusic.com. Fans can sign up for the artist presale until Wednesday at 8 a.m. CT. Presale access begins Thursday from 10 a.m.-10 p.m. local time.

Zimmerman has steadily built his career to towering heights over the past few years. Zimmerman’s Religiously. The Album. entered the all-genre Billboard 200 at No. 7 and reached No. 3 on the Top Country Albums chart. In 2024, he sold out his first international headlining tour and earned his first CMA Award nomination, for new artist of the year. He was featured on the all-star soundtrack to Twisters: The Movie with the song “Hell or High Water” and just released his new song “Holy Smokes.”

See the full slate of Zimmerman’s New to Country summer tour dates below:

June 6: Indianapolis (Everwise Amphitheater at White River State Park) *
June 7: Sterling Heights, Mich. (Michigan Lottery Amphitheatre) *
June 13: St Louis (St. Louis Music Park) *
June 14: Rogers, Ark. (Walmart AMP) *
June 19: St. Augustine, Fla. (St. Augustine Amphitheatre) *
June 21: Alpharetta, Ga. (Ameris Bank Amphitheatre) *
July 27: Corning, Ca. (Obsidian Spirits Amphitheater at Rolling Hills Casino) *
July 29: Denver (Red Rocks Amphitheatre) *
Aug. 9: Canandaigua, N.Y. (CMAC)*
Aug. 14: Gilford, N.H. (BankNH Pavilion) *
Aug. 22: Bridgeport, Conn. (Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater) *
Aug. 23: Richmond, Va. (Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront) *
Aug. 29: Durant, Okla. (Choctaw Grand Theater)
Sept. 4: Council Bluffs, Ia. (Harrah’s Stir Cove)*
Sept. 12: Reno, Nev. (Grand Theatre at Grand Sierra Resorts) **
Sept. 13: Laughlin, Nev. (Rio Vista Outdoor Amp) **

*with support from Dylan Marlowe & Drew Baldridge
** with support from Dylan Marlowe

Pamela Anderson Was Afraid to Fly After She ‘Almost Got Killed’ By Crazed Passenger Who Mistook Her For Member of The Chicks

Pamela Anderson is flying high at the moment thanks to the most glowing notices of her career in The Last Showgirl. But the actress and former Baywatch star revealed on the Happy Sad Confused podcast this week that years ago a man threatened to kill her on a plane when he mistook her for a member of country trio The Chicks.

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Responding to a question about whether she’s ever been mistaken for another celebrity, Anderson said, “This one time, I was on a flight and this guy came up to me and said, ‘Do you know what this country’s done for you?’” Anderson said, describing a scene where the man lashed out at her, seemingly in response to the 2003 backlash against the group — then known as the Dixie Chicks — over a comment by singer Natalie Maines denigrating President George W. Bush. “And I was like, ‘Oh, my God. What have I done?’ I was like, ‘Oh god.’ I looked back and he was [angry]. Then this stewardess had to handcuff him to the chair because he was trying to attack me.”

Golden Globe nominee Anderson added, “Ended up he thought I was a Dixie Chick. Remember that whole Dixie Chick thing? I almost got killed on a plane. I was scared to fly after that, a little bit.”

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Though she did not specify the timeline of the incident, it appeared she was talking about the period in 2003 after Maines said during a concert in London in March of that year that she was ashamed that Bush was a fellow Texan in response to the U.S.’s invasion of Iraq. The Chicks’ career went into a tailspin following the backlash, impacting their record sales and radio play for years, a situation chronicled in the 2006 doc Shut Up and Sing.

See Anderson on HSC below (Chicks talk comes around 49-minute mark).

Riley Green Ends Up in Emergency Room After Hunting Accident

A recent hunting trip led to the emergency room for country singer/songwriter Riley Green.

“At the emergency room ’cause I stepped on a nail,” Alabama native Green said in a video posted to his Instagram Stories, which showed Green and a friend sitting in a hospital room. The camera panned down to show that one of Green’s boots had been removed. “Impaled my foot, and when I took my boot off, corn fell all over the floor,” Green said in the video, before laughing.

“The lady came in here wanting to know where all the corn came from. It’s from my boot. You don’t want me to take this other one off, either,” he said, laughing again and adding, “It’s real-world problems.”

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He posted other photos and videos to his IG Stories chronicling his emergency room visit; one photo depicted Green’s bootless foot (the photo was captioned “Hospital vibes”). In another video, Green’s friend gets to the important matter: asking when Green can resume hunting.

“Just hit us with it straight, doc,” Green said, before the doctor replied that Green could resume hunting immediately.

Indeed, Green wasn’t off his feet for long. On Monday afternoon (Jan. 6), he posted another video to his Instagram Stories, which depicted Green back out in the snowy woods, ready to put in another round of hunting.

“Somethin’ might be wrong with me at this point,” he captioned the video.

Beyond hunting, Green has been gearing up for his headlining Damn Country Music Tour, which launches in March. The tour will feature his “You Look Like You Love Me” collaborator Ella Langley on all tour dates, while Drake White, Vincent Mason, Lauren Watkins, Jake Worthington, Preston Cooper, Erik Dylan, Wyatt McCubbin, and Channing Wilson will open various shows throughout the tour.

Green recently earned the Billboard Country Airplay chart-topper “You Look Like You Love Me” in collaboration with Langley. The tour follows Green’s most recent album, Don’t Mind If I Do, which also includes another Langley collaboration on the title track, and features the fan-favorite favorite track “Jesus Saves.”

5 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Morgan Wallen, Sierra Ferrell, Brett Eldredge & More

In this week’s batch of new releases, Billboard Hot 100 chart-topper Morgan Wallen issues a tender ballad, while crooner Brett Eldredge releases a new, non-holiday track. Also featured in this week’s new releases are fresh music from Americana queen Sierra Ferrell, country group Restless Road, and bluegrass luminary Becky Buller.

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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.

Morgan Wallen, “Smile”

Nineteen-time Billboard Music Awards winner Wallen gave fans a surprise on New Year’s Eve, releasing the introspective ballad “Smile.” Written by Wallen along with Rocky Block, John Byron, Ernest Keith Smith, Ryan Vojtesak and Luis Witkiewitz, the song finds Wallen singing about having a photo taken at a bar with a lover, knowing that his lover’s bright smile “was only for the picture” — and far from representative of their crumbling relationship. Still, seeing his lover’s smile elicits memories of their happier times together. Melodically, this pensive, pop-tinged ballad makes the most of Wallen’s polished falsetto and heartfelt vocal rendering. The song’s breakup-centered lyrics build upon his recent hits, “Lies, Lies, Lies” and “Love Somebody.”

Brett Eldredge, “Gorgeous”

Eldredge marks the second release on his own Warm and Cozy Records with the lush, pop-leaning uptempo track, “Gorgeous.” The track is stratified with vocal harmonies, melding for a gospel-tinged choral sound that elevates the composition’s uplifting lyrics of praise and admiration for a significant other–even when they are seemingly at their lowest points. As always, Eldredge relates the song’s message with his nimble, soulful vocal rendering. The song is Eldredge’s first non-holiday music since 2022’s Songs About You, and is a welcome return from this gifted singer-songwriter.

Sierra Ferrell, “The Garden”

Sierra Ferrell’s intricate songwriting, exuberant performance style and signature musicianship have made quickly established her one of the most heralded artists in Americana, bluegrass and folk music over the past few years, and she continued amassing accolades in 2024, including taking home the artist of the year and album of the year (Trail of Flowers) at the Americana Music Awards. She’s also nominated for several Grammys at the upcoming ceremony, including best Americana album (Trail of Flowers). She previews the upcoming deluxe version of her Trail of Flowers album (out Jan. 31 on Rounder Records) by offering up an expanded arrangement of her song “The Garden.” The new arrangement is bolstered by layers of piano, pedal steel and stringwork, all framing Ferrell’s distinct voice.

Restless Road, “Work on Me”

Tender piano highlights this trio’s flawless harmonies and individual vocal talents, as Restless Road’s Zach Beeken, Garrett Nichols and Colton Pack release their latest song, centered on someone who realizes they are far from perfect, but are inspired by love to make better life choices and embark on a journey of building better habits. Written by Restless Road, Jacob Davis and Joe Fox, this powerful, pop-inflected ballad marks an auspicious musical start for the new year.

Becky Buller, “Reach”

Bluegrass vocalist/fiddle player/songwriter Buller teams here with her fellow First Ladies of Bluegrass members (who each became the first woman to win IBMA Awards in their respective instrumental categories): banjoist Alison Brown, mandolin player/vocalist Sierra Hull, bassist Missy Raines and guitarist/vocalist Molly Tuttle. Together, they construct this fleet-fingered, female-led, and harmony-heavy anthem about balancing ambition with contentment, while continually pushing forward with new personal challenges. Though a new single from Buller, “Reach” was written by rock group Orleans’ Johanna and John Hall, and previously recorded on New Grass Revival’s 1981 album Commonwealth.

Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO Welcome Three New Family Members: Adorable Baby Cows Brownie, S’Mores and Crunch

Jelly Roll and Bunnie XO are celebrated the new year by adding three new members to their extended family. In a video posted on Sunday (Jan. 5), the “Son of a Sinner” singer’s wife revealed that the couple’s farm is filling out thanks to the adoption of three mini-cows. In the cute clip, podcaster Bunnie introduced followers to “da boysss.”

The adorable trio, Brownie, S’mores and Crunch, are center stage in the accompanying clip, in which Bunnie re-enacts an iconic scene from Bridesmaids alongside the caption, “when you went for one mini-cow, but cam home with three.”

“How many of those did you take?” her friend lip synchs, as Bunnie — dressed down for farm work in a black hoodie, and “sobriety sucks” Jelly Roll baseball cap — mouths “I took nine… I did, uh, slightly overcommit,” while opening the gate to a stock trailer to reveal the white, black and brown cows.

In another video, Bunnie gets the whole gang hyped for the reveal, with Jelly excitedly asking, “Hey, where are the cows?” as she says, “let’s go see the new additions.” In the next scene, she’s saying, “the cows are here! The cows are here!” Followers then get a closer look at the three horned, with Jelly’s kids, 16-year-old daughter Bailee and eight-year-old son Noah getting geeked about their new pets.

Noah was especially psyched when asked why Crunch is his instant favorite. “I just feel that he is gonna be a great bull for me,” he says. “He’s small, he has the same hair and he’s probably nice.” Later, Jelly rolls out to the pen on the couple’s 500-acre Nashville farm while cooing, “Ooooh! We got cows!” as he gets up close and personal with Crunch and croons a few lines from Secondhand Serenade’s “Fall For You” to his new furry pals.

So he doesn’t feel left out, in another video Jelly Roll gets how own special friend, a strutting donkey named Griz. “He’s a stubborn f–ker,” Jelly jokes about his obstinate new pal. “I like the donkey,” he admits a few seconds later as he smiles at the sight of the little guy in his new enclosure. “I can’t believe he’s that small,” Jelly marvels.

Jelly Roll is gearing up to hit the road this year for the continuation of his Beautifully Broken tour in Canada, which will resume on March 6 with a show at the Memorial Centre in Victoria, British Columbia; he will also play the Tortuga Music Festival in Florida and Stagecoach in Indio, CA before hitting the road with Post Malone for their BIG ASS Stadium tour this summer.

Check out the cow reveal below.

6 Things You May Have Missed During Beyoncé Bowl

If Beyoncé is performing for halftime, you know you’re in for a very special treat. From her landmark two previous Super Bowl halftime show appearances (2013 and 2016) to her landmark Coachella headlining performance (2018) and record-breaking Renaissance World Tour (2023), Beyoncé has consistently delivered jaw-dropping performances that showcase her vocal virtuosity, dance skills and penchant for sharing important pieces of history.

On Christmas Day (Dec. 25, 2024), Queen Bey gifted NRG Stadium the first live performances of songs from her Billboard 200-topping Cowboy Carter album. She treated her hometown of Houston, Texas, to an explosive medley, including “16 Carriages,” “Blackbiird,” “Ya Ya,” “My House,” “Riiverdance,” “Spaghettii,” “Levii’s Jeans,” “Jolene” and the Billboard Hot 100-topping “Texas Hold ‘Em.” The performance also featured appearances from several of the album’s guest stars, including Shaboozey, Post Malone, Brittney Spencer, Tanner Adell, Reyna Roberts and Tiera Kennedy; Grammy winner Blue Ivy Carter was a featured dancer throughout the show.

Inspired by an unsavory experience at the 2016 CMA Awards, Queen Bey unleashed her 27-track, country and Western-informed LP in March last year. The set spawned three Hot 100 Top 10 hits and helped Beyoncé become the first Black woman in Billboard history to reach No. 1 on Hot Country Songs and Top Country Albums. At next month’s Grammys, the record is up for a whopping 11 awards, including album of the year.

Two days after Christmas (Dec. 27, 2024), Beyoncé’s performance hit Netflix as a standalone special titled Beyoncé Bowl. Now that the world has had ample time to watch (and re-watch) her stadium-rocking medley, here are six things you may have missed from Beyoncé’s NFL Christmas Day halftime show.

Bunnie XO Opens Up About Two Ectopic Pregnancies, Reveals She’s ‘Ready to Be a Parent’

Bunnie XO is healing through trauma as she plans for motherhood.

The star, who is married to country singer Jelly Roll, sat down with a psychic medium on the Jan. 2 episode of her Dumb Blonde podcast, revealing that despite going through a number of pregnancy losses, she’s now ready to become a parent — especially as she experienced being a stepmother to Jelly’s 15-year-old daughter, Bailee.

“I just feel like I’ve been healing so much trauma with my parents that I finally am ready to be a parent,” Bunnie said. “Like, I’ve helped raise Bailee since she was 7, and I think that also showed me that, hey, I’m not gonna f— up a kid’s life too badly.”

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She added that she also wants “a little piece of J and I together.”

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The podcaster also touched on some fertility “trauma” she’s gone through, including ectopic pregnancies, a sometimes life-threatening event in which a fertilized egg cannot survive because it grows outside the uterus.

“I have been pregnant three times in my life. When I was 16, I got pregnant the first time I had sex, and I ended that with an abortion because I was scared,” she shared. “I didn’t know what to do. I was a runaway. And then after that, three years after I had an ectopic pregnancy. I had two ectopic pregnancies.”

Bunnie previously opened up about her IVF journey on a July episode of her podcast. “I’m in my baby mama gardening era,” she joked, adding that Jelly said he would “love” to have a baby with her. “That was not the response that I thought he would say,” she admitted, noting that he’s “so excited” about the possibility of having children together.

“We were going to keep it from the Internet, because how the Internet is, they love to ruin beautiful things,” she recalled, before finding out that her husband broke the news during an appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast. After the episode dropped, Bunnie XO also shared a snippet from the podcast on her social media, adding in the caption, “God willing–Baby DeFord 2026,” and revealing that the couple is undergoing IVF.

She added, “Papa Bear dropped a surprise on this pod today. We had planned on doing this privately, but decided our IVF journey needed to be shared because we’ve always been so open. And w/ all odds stacked against us, it’s already been hard and we have only just begun. We have been meeting with IVF doctors & exploring all our options to add to our family.”

A Roundup of Country, Americana & Bluegrass Festivals in 2025 (Updating)

CMA Fest, June 5-8, Nashville. Performers: TBA

Carolina Country Music Festival, June 5-8, Myrtle Beach, S.C. Headliners: Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson, Rascal Flatts, Kid Rock

Tailgate N’ Tallboys, June 5-7, Clinton, Iowa. Performers include: Whiskey Myers, Jason Aldean and Riley Green.

The Country Fest, June 11-14, Orrville, Ohio. Headliners: Warren Zeiders, Dierks Bentley, HARDY, Bailey Zimmerman

Tailgate N’ Tallboys, June 12-15, Bloomington, Ill. Headliners: Koe Wetzel, Cody Johnson, Hardy, Bailey Zimmerman

Rock the Country Festival, June 13-14, Hastings, Mich. Headliners: Kid Rock, Nickelback, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Travis Tritt.

Gordys HWY 30 Music Fest, June 21-24, Filer, Idaho. Headliners: TBA

Rock the South, June 19-21, Cullman, Ala. Headliners: Hank Williams, Jr., Kid Rock, Nickelback

Barefoot Country Music Festival, June 19-22, Wildwood, N.J. Performers: Jason Aldean, Jelly Roll, Lainey Wilson

Telluride Bluegrass Festival, June 19-22, Telluride, Colo. Performers: TBA

Rock the Country Festival, June 20-21, Little Rock, Ark. Headliners: Kid Rock, Nickelback, Hank Williams, Jr., Travis Tritt.

Winstock Country Festival, June 20-21, Winstead, Minn. Headliners: Jordan Davis, Thomas Rhett

Buckeye Country Superfest, June 21, Columbus, Ohio. Headliners: Jelly Roll, Kane Brown

ROMP Fest, June 25-28, Owensboro, Ky. Performers include: Wynonna Judd, Del McCoury Band, Sam Bush, Molly Tuttle and Golden Highway

Jackalope Jamboree, June 26-28, Pendleton, Ore. Headliners: Midland, 49 Winchester, Paul Cauthen.

Country Jam, June 26-28, Grand Junction, Colo. Headliners: LUke Bryan, Bailey Zimmerman, Cody Johnson

Country Stampede, June 26-28, Bonner Springs, Kan. Headliners: Luke Bryan, Miranda Lambert, Cole Swindell, Ashley McBryde

Hoofbeat Country Fest, June 26-28, Cadott, Wis. Headliners: Brooks & Dunn, Lainey Wilson, Riley Green

Dauphin’s Countryfest, June 26-29, Dauphin, Manitoba, Canada. Headliners: Jordan Davis, Josh Ross, John Michael Montgomery.

Country Summer Music Festival, June 27-29, Santa Rosa, Calif. Headliners: Sam Hunt, Kane Brown, Dustin Lynch

Lakes Jam, June 26-28, Brainerd, Minn. Performers: Bush, Riley Green, Gary Allan

Jelly Roll Pays Tribute to Toby Keith on New Year’s Eve With Another Emotional ‘Should’ve Been a Cowboy’ Cover

Jelly Roll celebrated the end of the year with another homage of one of his musical heroes. During the Nashville’s Big Bash New Year’s Eve special on Tuesday night (Dec. 31), the singer performed Toby Keith’s 1993 debut single, “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” as part of a five-song set that also included his own hits “I Am Not Okay,” “Need a Favor,” “Son of a Sinner” and “Liar.”

“I would like to dedicate this newt song to one of the greatest country music superstars that ever lived,” Jelly told fans. “In his memory, God rest your soul Big Dog Daddy, Toby Keith baby!”

Jelly has performed “Cowboy” live a number of times since Keith died in February 2024 at age 62 from stomach cancer. He rolled out the cover for the first time at the Stagecoach Festival in April, when he was joined by T-Pain for a run through the song; the pair also dropped a recorded version of the track for Amazon Music.

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“I had been covering ‘Should’ve Been a Cowboy’ for about a year now at most of my shows, just kind of honoring Toby as he was getting sick before he passed away,” Jelly Roll, 40, told Variety at the time, noting that he got the blessing to release his version from Keith son, Stelen, who saw a video of Jelly’s version and called it one of the best he’d ever seen. “Then I really started chewing on, man, what better place to honor Toby than Stagecoach? Plus, Toby Keith was one of the artists that from afar, even though he would never have known it, encouraged me to do country music.” Funds raised from the cover were earmarked for the Toby Keith Foundations, which aids pediatric cancer patients.

Jelly Roll was also part of an all-star celebration of Keith’s life at Bridgestone Arena on July 29 taped for the NBC TV special Toby Keith: American Icon, which also featured Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Ashley McBryde, Darius Rucker, Carrie Underwood and many more.