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Morgan Wallen claims his fourth No. 1 of 2024 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart (dated July 27), as “Cowgirls,” featuring Ernest, rides to the top spot. Wallen becomes only the third artist to notch four leaders on the list in a single year, following Luke Combs in 2021 and Garth Brooks, who achieved the feat […]
ACM Awards triple crown winner Miranda Lambert is set to once again turn her potent songwriting pen, and fierce yet relatable vocal power, toward a new set of keen-eyed songs when she releases her new album, Postcards From Texas, on Sept. 13. The 14-song album marks the Texas native’s first since announcing her signing to Republic Records earlier this year.
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The three-time Grammy winner decamped to Austin’s Arlyn Recording Studios to record the new project, which she produced with Jon Randall. Lambert previously previewed the album with the fiery track “Wranglers” and “Dammit, Randy,” but her latest early look at the album comes with the swaggering dancefloor-ready shuffle of “Alimony,” which she wrote with longtime collaborators Shane McAnally and Natalie Hemby.
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“We were out in my barn; I was showing Shane and Natalie the horses, and I asked if he had any other titles,” Lambert said in a statement. “He said he had one, and I was like, ‘What is it? Because your last one was ‘Looking Back on Luckenbach,’ which I didn’t think you could top. He said, ‘Well, ‘If you’re gonna leave me in San Antone, remember the Alamo-neeeee…’’ Natalie and I were like, ‘Alright, Shane! Stop showing off.’
Lambert continues, “We went back to the house and got the guitars and I specifically was like, ‘I want a shuffle, man.’ I love to shuffle so much, and this record needed a shuffle! I knew I wanted one in my set, because I haven’t done one in a while – and everybody loves a shuffle.”
For “Alimony,” Lambert and Randall also assembled a group of top-shelf musicians, including Jedd Hughes and Ethan Ballinger (electric guitar), Texas icon Bukka Allen (barrelhouse piano), Rachel Loy (bass) and Conrad Choucroun (drums).
From there, the album promises a blend of tender ballads, steel guitar-laden tracks and acoustic renderings, as well as amped-up rock-tinged tunes. The album also features a collaboration with fellow Texan Parker McCollum on the song “Santa Fe,” as well as a solo-penned song from Lambert (“Run”) and a take on David Allan Coe’s “Living on the Run,” which Coe included on his 1976 album Longhaired Redneck.
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Though Postcards From Texas was recorded in its namesake state, this isn’t Lambert’s first album to be recorded in the Lone Star State. In 2020, she teamed with Randall and Jack Ingram to write and record the stripped-back, collaborative project The Marfa Tapes, recorded around a campfire in Marfa, Texas (the album released in 2021).
The new songs are just a taste of what is ahead on Lambert’s Postcards From Texas. See the full tracklist below:
“Armadillo” (Aaron Raitiere, Jon Decious, Park Twomey)
“Dammit Randy” (Miranda Lambert, Brendan McLoughlin, Jon Randall)
“Looking Back on Luckenbach” (Miranda Lambert, Shane McAnally, Natalie Hemby)
“Santa Fe” feat. Parker McCollum (Miranda Lambert, Jesse Frasure, Jessie Jo Dillon, Dean Dillon)
“January Heart” (Brent Cobb, Neil Medley)
“Wranglers” (Audra Mae, Evan McKeever, Ryan Carpenter)
“Run” (Miranda Lambert)
“Alimony” (Miranda Lambert, Natalie Hemby, Shane McAnally)
“I Hate Love Songs” (Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, Jon Randall)
“No Man’s Land” (Miranda Lambert, Luke Dick)
“Bitch On The Sauce” (Miranda Lambert, Jaren Johnston)
“Way Too Good At Breaking My Heart” (Miranda Lambert, Jon Randall, Jesse Frasure, Jenee Fleenor)
“Wildfire” (Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, Jon Randall)
“Living On The Run” (David Allen Coe, Jimmy L. Howard)
Miranda Lambert
James Macari
When Elisabeth Kübler-Ross introduced the five stages of grief in 1969, she provided an understanding of the complex reactions people use as coping mechanisms for severe loss.
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The five stages — denial, anger, bargaining, depression and acceptance — don’t always occur exclusively, or even in order, and though they were originally identified to assist people struggling with death, they also apply to other significant experiences, such as the loss of a job, a theft or the breakup of a relationship. That lattermost situation is the source of grief in Drew Parker’s “Love the Leavin’,” featuring a desperate singer in the bargaining stage, attempting to negotiate his way out of a broken heart.
“It is definitely exactly where it lives,” Parker says.
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He created “Love the Leavin’” in February during a co-write with Matt Rogers (“ ’Til You Can’t,” “Freedom Was a Highway”) at the Middle Tennessee home of Lindsay Rimes (“World on Fire,” “Cool Again”). Parker had finished recording his debut album — Camouflage Cowboy, released July 12 — so it was a low-pressure appointment. He brought up the title, written in his notes as “Love the Leavin’ (Out of You),” initially believing it should be witty and uptempo, an “I hate to see you go, love to watch you leave kind of thing,” Parker says.
Rimes explored a series of musical foundations, allowing them to weed out options that didn’t work or seemed too cliché.
“Lindsay is such a mad scientist,” Rogers says. “He’ll go from a song being 130 [beats per minute] to a waltz to four-on-the-floor, and then all of a sudden, we settled into that 6/8 ballad thing. It just came out, and Drew starts singing what we’re writing. He has such a massively powerful voice that it just felt very natural.”
As the song morphed into a ballad, Parker moved to an upright piano, an instrument that inspires a different set of melodies for him than his usual guitar. In the process, they fashioned a chord progression that consists of as many minor seventh chords as it does more standard major triads. “I don’t know that I’ve ever really put two minor chords butted up to each other in a chord progression,” Parker says, “but for some reason, it worked really, really well in the song.”
They wrote “Love the Leavin’ ” in linear fashion, starting with the first line as the protagonist offers reasons for his partner to stay instead of going home. It’s raining, it’s late — his pleading echoes that of “Baby, It’s Cold Outside.”
The chorus raised the energy, firmly punctuating the stanza’s opening lines with higher melodies and stabbing phrases. It relied heavily on blue notes that cry out — much like the protagonist — for resolution. “It almost comes off like blues,” Rogers says. “It doesn’t sound like country.”
In verse two, it’s clear that a flicker remains, and Parker suggests they “pour gas” on their emotions, creating a bonfire that would last at least for the night. That sentiment was underscored again in a short, two-line bridge that repurposes phrases from separate sections: The first line in the bridge uses the melody from line three of the chorus, while the bridge’s closing line matches the melody from the end of the verses.
“We could have gone to a different chord,” Rimes says, “but there’s already enough crafty chords in the song.”
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Rimes produced the demo around an acoustic piano, with spare drums and bass parts, designed to frame the vocal without drowning it. Parker responded with a lead performance that captured all of the song’s Kübler-Ross grief. “Drew sang his ass off,” Rimes says. “Honestly, it felt like we could put the demo out.”
Rimes finished that demo the same day, and the writers all texted each other enthusiastically, believing they’d built something special. That was confirmed by their publishers. “You always know a song is a successful song when you get bombarded by the entire team,” Rogers says. “And all of us, instantly when we submitted the song, it was just like bombs going off on our phone.”
The publishers weren’t the only ones who liked it. In short order, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs and Nate Smith all asked if they could place it on hold. The writers felt even more strongly about “Love the Leavin’ ” and its future potential. But Warner Music Nashville (WMN) co-chair/co-president Cris Lacy required a change of plans.
“A couple days later, I went and played it for my label, and Cris Lacy was like, ‘Why are you not cutting this?’ ” Parker recalls. “I was like, ‘Well, my record’s done.’ She was like, ‘Your record is not done. You have to cut this.’ ”
The label gave Parker an extremely tight deadline so it could release it as a single ahead of the album. Producer Jacob Rice (Conner Smith, Chase Daniel) booked session musicians for the Curb 43 studios in April, but he didn’t wait for the band’s participation to get Parker’s vocal.
“We actually started tracking the vocals before we cut the band,” Rice says. “We used the demo track that Lindsay created to start cutting vocals to get ahead, because the turnaround time that we were given was so short we had to get this thing done quickly.”
Parker was challenged, especially because the most difficult moment in the production occurred when his voice was most exposed.
“I think we cut it in C sharp; that is extremely high for me,” Parker says. “It was the hardest vocal I’ve ever cut, and I sang it over and over and over and over and over, mainly for that last chorus part where the band kind of cuts out. It gets that gravel in there, and my voice cracks. It’s breaking — it almost sounds like I’m crying. I wanted that. And so to get that I had to cut the song in a key that I normally wouldn’t sing in.”
Rice recorded several different songs during the instrumental tracking session, primarily using musicians who were best suited for “Love the Leavin’.” They were careful not to overplay, leaving plenty of space for Parker’s performance to shine. Sol Philcox-Littlefield overdubbed a blues-rock guitar solo, and Parker insisted on a steel guitarist, Eddie Dunlap, to heighten the song’s country quotient. Rice also snuck a prog-rock mellotron into the mix on the second and third choruses.
“The Beatles made it popular [primarily through “Strawberry Fields Forever”], and I’m a huge fan of classic rock,” Rice says. “We didn’t make it super apparent in the mix. It’s more of a supporting thing than anything. But I love using those types of things because it kind of makes it older-sounding but in a cool, fresh way.”
WMN released “Love the Leavin’ ” to country radio through PlayMPE on June 24, banking on Parker’s emotional performance and the band’s strategic playing to help the label bargain with stations.
“Everybody that is close to me, I’ve heard many of them say, ‘It sounds like I’ve heard it before,’ ” Parker says. “It does feel that way, which I think gives it that little classic edge.”
During his set at the Faster Horses Festival on Friday (July 19), Jelly Roll welcomed country and CCM singer-songwriter Anne Wilson to the stage as a surprise, last-minute guest to join him in singing the collaboration “Save Me.” Together, they infused the gospel-tinged song with an extra shot of urgency and fervor.
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“Save Me,” of course, is Jelly Roll’s Grammy-nominated duet another Wilson — reigning CMA and ACM entertainer of the year, and Jelly Roll’s labelmate, Lainey Wilson.
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“Lainey Wilson could not be here tonight, but I would like to welcome to the stage one of the greatest people I’ve ever met and her name is Miss Anne Wilson,” Jelly Roll told the audience as Anne began singing the lead on “Save Me,” eliciting cheers from the packed festival audience.
Wilson, who recently earned her latest top five Billboard Christian Airplay hit with “Strong,” shared a video clip of the experience on TikTok, captioning it, “When Jelly Roll asks you last minute to sing with him and you say YES!”
Lainey Wilson also chimed in on TikTok to give her blessing to Anne’s rendition of her portions in the song, writing, “My Wilson girl. Love you. Keep on shining that LIGHT like you do.”
Anne Wilson first broke through in 2021 with her song “My Jesus,” which spent six weeks atop Billboard‘s Christian Airplay chart. The two Wilsons also have their own recent collaboration, “Praying Woman,” which was included in Anne Wilson’s most recent album, Rebel, which blends both country and Contemporary Christian Music. Rebel debuted at No. 10 on Billboard‘s Top Country Albums chart, and spent three weeks at the pinnacle of the Top Christian Albums chart.
The Faster Horses Festival was held July 19-21 in Brooklyn, Mich. The lineup also included Lainey Wilson (who headlined Saturday’s lineup), Hardy, Cody Johnson, Old Dominion, Riley Green, Ernest and more.
See Wilson’s TikTok clip of the performance with Jelly Roll below.
Post Malone has steadily been showcasing new music from his upcoming country album F-1 Trillion (out Aug. 16), and piling up country collaborations over the past several weeks. He previously earned a six-week No. 1 hit on Billboard’s all-genre Hot 100 with the Morgan Wallen collab “I Had Some Help” and teamed with Blake Shelton […]
Country singer-songwriter Tucker Wetmore has had an extremely promising career launch thanks to a pair of songs that appeared on the Billboard Hot 100 and rose into the top 20 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart. His breakthrough hit “Wine into Whiskey” marked Wetmore’s debut Hot 100 single, and he swiftly followed with “Wind Up Missin’ You.”
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Now Wetmore, who is signed to UMG Nashville in partnership with Back Blocks Music, is bringing those potent hits — and more — to his first headlining tour, the Waves on a Sunset Tour, a 16-show trek that launches Oct. 4 in Statesboro, Ga. Supporting Wetmore will be Hannah McFarland, Eli Winders and Ashland Craft.
Wetmore, who was featured as Billboard‘s Country Rookie of the Month for May, said in a statement, “I am so excited to be going on my first headline tour! Thank you to my fans and listeners for making this possible. This has been a dream come true of mine for so long. So excited to bring out some of my friends, Hannah McFarland, Eli Winders and Ashland Craft, on the road with me. God is good!”
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In addition to his double-shot of hits, Wetmore also contributed music to the soundtrack to the movie Twisters, including the song “Already Had It” and the Conner Smith collaboration “Steal My Thunder.”
In addition to his own headlining shows, he’s set to join Luke Bryan’s Farm Tour 2024 and will open select dates for Jason Aldean, Jordan Davis, Jelly Roll and Dustin Lynch.
Wetmore is also working on his upcoming album, previously telling Billboard, “I’ve been working on songs for three or four years. The project is going to be all over the place when it comes to ideas — some cool country-type stuff, some that are more of an 808s-type of vibe. And there’s one song I’m definitely playing a little piano on, too. ‘Wine Into Whiskey’ did what it did, and it was really cool, but I don’t want it to just be a moment; I want to use the momentum to build something great.”
Pre-sale tickets for Wetmore’s headlining tour go on sale starting Wednesday, July 24, at 10 a.m. local time, with general onsale beginning Friday, July 26, at 10 a.m. local time at tuckerwetmore.com.
See the full lineup of shows below:
Oct. 4: Statesboro, Ga., at The Blue Room *
Oct. 5: Chattanooga, Tenn. at Barrelhouse Ballroom *
Oct. 10: Milwaukee at The Rave II ^
Oct. 11: Wyandotte, Mich. at District 142 ^
Oct. 12: Grand Rapids, Mich. at Elevation ^
Oct. 19: Savannah, Ga. at Victory North ^
Oct. 23: Athens, Ga. at Georgia Theatre +
Oct. 24: Huntsville, Ala. at Mars Music Hall +
Oct. 25: Starkville, Miss. at Ricks Cafe +
Oct. 31: Little Rock, Ark., at Little Rock Hall *
Nov. 1: Baton Rouge, La., at Texas Club *
Nov. 7: Knoxville, Tenn., at Cotton Eyed Joes +
Nov. 8: Rootstown, Ohio, at Dusty Armadillo +
Nov. 9: Pittsburgh, Penn., at Stage AE +
Nov. 15: Indianapolis, Ind., at 8 Seconds Saloon ^
Nov. 16: Chicago at Joe’s Bar on Weed St. ^
* with Hannah McFarland^ with Eli Winders+ with Ashland Craft
Could Bunnie XO be teaming up with Dolly Parton? It’s possible, judging from a recent Facebook post from the entrepreneur in which she notes that 10-time Grammy-winning country icon could potentially be an upcoming guest on Bunnie’s popular Dumb Blonde podcast.
“Y’all, I MIGHT get Dolly Parton on the podcast this season and if I do I’ll faint,” Bunnie, who is married to country singer Jelly Roll, wrote on Facebook. “Like WHATTTT?? Queen MOTHER DOLLY – I’ll cry & croak all at the same time.”
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Bunnie XO also noted that an appearance by the Country Music Hall of Famer would be a full-circle moment, saying, “I literally named my podcast as homage to her.”
“Dumb Blonde” is the name of Parton’s 1967 debut single, which was written by Curly Putman (“Green, Green Grass of Home,” “My Elusive Dreams”), and included on Parton’s debut album, Hello, I’m Dolly. “Dumb Blonde” reached No. 24 on Billboard‘s Hot Country Songs chart in 1967. The song includes the key lyrics, “Just because I’m blonde don’t think I’m dumb/ ‘Cause this dumb blonde ain’t nobody’s fool.”
In an interview with Music City News in 1967, Parton said of the song, “We went pickin’ material and wanted somethin’ that would be different and gimmicky that would get me on the road — somethin’ different — and we thought that suited me.” That interview was also included in the 2017 book Dolly on Dolly: Interviews and Encounters With Dolly Parton.
In 2018, the country star recorded a new version of the song with Miranda Lambert as part of the soundtrack to the film Dumplin‘.
Podcaster and media celebrity Bunnie XO launched her Dumb Blonde podcast in 2019, and has featured personalities and musicians including Demps, Melanie Martin, Dita Von Teese, Brantley Gilbert, Jelly Roll and Colt Ford. The podcast serves as a destination for Bunnie XO and her guests to open up about life, relationships, comedic moments and more.
See Bunnie’s post below:
This week’s crop of new tunes features Jelly Roll in collaboration with Alexandra Kay for a song included on the soundtrack Twisters: The Album. Meanwhile, Joe Nichols brings a sunny new tune and Old Dominion’s Brad Tursi offers some top-shelf songwriting on a solo outing and Caylee Hammack teams with Foy Vance for a soulful collaboration.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.
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Jelly Roll feat. Alexandra Kay, “Leave the Light On”
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Jelly Roll contributed a pair of songs to Twisters: The Album, the soundtrack to the recently-released movie sequel Twisters. Backed by a choir, Jelly leans slightly more into bluesy territory than his rock-fueled radio hits, as he sings of finally finding a love that feels peaceful after sabotaging many of his past relationships. He welcomes “Best Worst Ex” hitmaker Alexandra Kay, whose feathery voice offers a foil for his full-force, angsty tones. The intertwining of raging guitar, a gospel-tinged choir backing vocals, and their voices provide this track with plenty of torque. Jelly Roll wrote the track with Hillary Lindsey, Jesse Frasure, Blake Pendergrass and Jessie Jo Dillon. Kay also joins Jelly on his Beautifully Broken tour, beginning in August.
Joe Nichols, “Bottle It Up”
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In a society that often feels chaotic on numerous fronts, including politically and economically, one of country music’s most steadfast neo-traditional torchbearers offers a light-hearted moment of respite. Written by Josh Kear, Dan Isbell and Paul Sykes, with production from Mickey Jack Cones and Derek George, this song doubles down on etching Americana scenes of small-town living, with imagery of children catching fireflies in a backyard, as adults visit with family members, and prepare for dinner filled with chicken and pecan pie. A perfect song for a summer soundtrack, “Bottle It Up” is included on Nichols’ upcoming 11th career studio album, and his second project for Quartz Hill Records.
Denitia, “Gettin’ Over”
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This Texas-born singer, a member of CMT’s 2024 Next Women of Country class, also spent a decade working in Brooklyn’s music scene before relocating to Nashville. Denitia’s latest is an anthem for anyone who’s overworked, underpaid and worrying about paying bills and paying dues. Packed with steel guitar, muted percussion and a plucky melody that feels reminiscent of a bygone era of country music — one of homespun, unvarnished songs aimed at connecting with the heartaches and hopes of the working class– the song is infused with Denitia’s relaxed vocal rendering, which heightens potent lyrics of work-weary escapism. Denitia’s new album, Sunset Drive, releases Sept. 6.
Caylee Hammack with Foy Vance, “The Hill”
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In her career thus far, “Small Town Hypocrite” singer and Georgia native Hammack has consistently displayed a depth of creativity and unshackled musical exploration that is rare in Music Row circles. She finds a vocalist capable of matching her free-spirited passion in Northern Irish singer-songwriter Vance. Together, they elevate this song that centers on someone wise in the ways of romantic relationships, someone who knows that at times, winning the war for enduring love means surrendering in a temporary battle. Weaving in strands of Celtic and bluegrass influences with fiddle and stomping rhythms, “The Hill” highlights Hammack’s ceiling-scraping, soulful warble with Vance’s craggy, full-throttle vocal. Hammack wrote the song with Tenille Townes and Logan Wall, with production from Brothers Osborne’s John Osborne.
Brad Tursi, “Church Bells and Train Whistles”
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Old Dominion member Tursi makes his first solo outing on the new project Parallel Love. Several songs on this succinct album, culled from a decade of writing and recording, are solo writes from Tursi, in addition to tracks that found him collaborating with writing peers including Stephen Wilson Jr., Dan Isbell and Jessi Alexander. Among the standouts here is the earnest, softly rendered “Church Bells and Train Whistles,” in which Tursi tenderly muses on the craving for the comforts of home, while simultaneously being drawn to the freedoms and wanderlusts of the road. Tursi has always been an essential component of OD’s success, with the group winning Country Music Association’s vocal group of the year honors each awards since 2018. But his new project puts him squarely in the driver’s seat.
Jade Eagleson feat. Jake Worthington, “Do It Anyway”
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Canada native Eagleson and Texas native Worthington may have grown up more than 2,000 miles apart, but musically, their inspirations are excavated from much of the same fertile ground. This collaboration declares its striking country bona fides right from the starting gate, as their swaggering, twangy voices further fuel their reputations as traditional country flag bearers. “They said that sound ain’t coming back/ They said don’t wear that cowboy hat,” Eagleson and Worthington sing, before making it clear that no Music Row gatekeeper is going to stop them from making music their way.
Luke Combs‘ recent concert featured beer-guzzling cameos by the stars Hollywood’s latest blockbuster.
During his Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old tour stop at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium on Friday (July 19), the country singer was joined onstage by Twisters cast members Glen Powell, Daisy Edgar-Jones and Anthony Ramos.
In fan-captured footage posted on social media, the actors are seen carrying beer cans as they walk onto the stage in front of thousands. After reaching Combs, they shotgun the suds alongside the “Cold Beer Calling My Name” singer and then toss the empty containers into the cheering crowd. Edgar-Jones seemed to have trouble finishing the beverage, but handed it off to Powell, who quickly drank it down.
“So this happened,” Edgar-Jones captioned a video of the incident on her Instagram Story, tagging Combs and her Twisters co-stars. Ramos reposted the clip, adding the line, “The most legendary moment.”
Combs also joined in on the fun, sharing a video of the beer chugging on his X (formerly Twitter) account. “Hey Twisters cast, what you say we shotgun one?!” he captioned the post.
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The epic moment was in celebration of the theatrical release of Universal Pictures’ Twisters, which is the sequel to classic 1996 film Twister. The new summer flick is already off to a huge start at the box office, with forecasters predicting a domestic opening of of $74.6 million, according to The Hollywood Reporter.
The Twisters cameos at Combs’ N.J. was fitting being that the county star’s original song “Ain’t No Love in Oklahoma” is featured on the movie’s soundtrack. The muscular track is already No. 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after only nine weeks. Other country music heavyweights featured on the collection include Miranda Lambert, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Shania Twain and Jelly Roll.
Combs’ manager says the singer was enthusiastic about taking part in the soundtrack.
“We wanted to do this because it wasn’t a remake of a classic, but a continuation of the narrative of the film, and we felt the movie was going to be an epic moment to be a part of,” Chris Kappy tells Billboard. “The team at Atlantic and Universal were very professional and fun to work with, and gave Luke full creative control on the song and trusted him — so that makes it easier to let the artist create.”
See Combs chug a beer with the Powell and his Twisters co-stars below.
Congratulations are in order for Rory Feek, who married his 10-year-old daughter Indiana’s teacher, Rebecca — who is also a longtime family friend — in a romantic ceremony on July 14. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news The country star opened up about the ceremony on his […]