Country
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“How did all these people find out about Shaboozey?” one audience member could be heard asking at the country star’s headlining show at Brooklyn’s Baby’s All Right on May 17.
It’s the kind of question that longtime fans grapple with when their favorite artists have their breakthrough moments, but in Shaboozey’s case, the answer is pretty clear. Ten years removed from “Jeff Gordon,” a piano-inflected trap banger that granted him his first quasi-viral moment, the Nigerian-American singer-songwriter has combined his own self-sourced momentum, the glow of dual appearances on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter and an authentic understanding of the throughline between outlaw country and hip-hop to arrive at his splendid third studio album, Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going.
The months-long build-up for Shaboozey’s third LP has resulted in a series of buzzy moments, each bigger than the last. Despite a third of the album already out in the world as singles – with “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” leading the way, thanks to its No. 3 Billboard Hot 100 peak – Where I’ve Been sidesteps a lack of cohesion by contextualizing those standout singles (“Annabelle,” “Let It Burn” and “Vegas,” among them) within a narrative that subverts the idea of Westward expansion.
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In his May Billboard profile, Shaboozey explained the similarities between “the outlaw Old West and hip-hop” as “talking about the same things: going out and going after what is yours, and having to finesse to make ends meet.”
“If you listen to some old Western music, especially gunfighter ballads… Marty Robbins is a good one, [he] was a thug! He’s like robbing cattle, robbing trains, [he] knows [his] mom is disappointed,” he said. “It’s the same s–t Bossman Dlow [is] talking about, it’s just painted in a different world. Switch out draco for a six shooter. Switch out Balmain jeans for Wrangler jeans or chaps.”
The urgency of this middle ground – as well as this particular aesthetic’s preoccupation with moving forward (and westward) while always honoring the past – makes it a natural sonic space for Boozey’s third LP to reside in.
Where I’ve Been commences with “Horses & Hellcats,” a song whose title immediately synthesizes Shaboozey’s penchants for hip-hop, country and Western aesthetics. “We ride palominos like they’re SRTs/ Once I pick a speed, ain’t no catchin’ me,” he sings in the chorus, employing a cadence that’s firmly rooted in melodic rap, while his raspy drawl plays on the more overt country elements of the song (namely the brooding guitars and the neighing horses in the background.) “Horses & Hellcats” is a song that exalts the common ground between outlaw country and hip-hop. Preying on the shock value of the two genres’ juxtaposition isn’t Shaboozey’s goal –it’s the way those two genres are intrinsically tied together in Shaboozey’s artistic, sonic and personal profile that makes the sound so arresting.
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“Last of My Kind,” assisted by East Texas country rocker Paul Cauthen, emphasizes the outlaw feel of Shaboozey’s sound, with Cauthen’s dramatic warble pairing well with the rock influences of the song’s arrangement. “Can’t wait much longer, baby, yeah, it’s my time/ You won’t ever find another like me, uh, I’m the last of my kind,” Boozey closes the song, once again musing over new destinations, both literally and figuratively. Standout tracks “Highway” and “East of the Massanutten” — which finds Shaboozey “runnin’ full speed ahead out West” for his “freedom” and “40 acres” – keep that theme of new frontiers at the forefront of the record, despite occasional detours into poppier, more saccharine affairs. While those tracks do balance out the record’s darker moments, they still feel like surface-level examples of where Shaboozey can take his sound; in those moments, the outlaw cowboy becomes a law-abiding citizen of the country-pop state – a concession that Boozey doesn’t really need to make.
Advance singles “A Bar Song” and “Anabelle” are still stellar showcases of Shaboozey’s knack for melody, as is the BigXThaPlug-assisted “Drink Don’t Need No Mix,” which finds two of the South’s hottest new stars standing proudly in the legacy of country rappers like Nelly. Boozey and BigX have the best chemistry out of any of the album’s other collaborators; both of their voices effortlessly skate over the trap-inflected beat as they provide a celebratory complement to the escapist revelry of “A Bar Song.”
Outside of Cauthen and BigXThaPlug, Grammy nominee Noah Cyrus is the album’s only other featured artist. Always a strong duet partner (her past collaborations with Demi Lovato and big sister Miley Cyrus are both absolutely gorgeous), Noah provides a tender upper harmony on “My Fault” that picks up on the emotional fragility of the track’s finger-picked acoustic guitar. Here, the glory and wonder of unfamiliar streets are tempered by grueling heartbreak – a testament to Shaboozey’s ability to embrace and honor the full breadth of what it means to move forward. “But this road you lead me down is too long/ It ain’t nothin’ like the streets I grew up on/ When I beg you not to go, you leave again/ Well, I guess I wasn’t enough in the end,” they croon.
At a tight 12 tracks, there’s no real filler on Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going. Shaboozey assembled his strongest hooks and smartest arrangements to craft a record that embraces both country music tradition and modernity. A decade into the game, his singular vision of the 21st century urban outlaw cowboy has finally coalesced into something that’s not just coherent, but also plainly irresistible. Whether he’s belting out heartbreak ballads like “Let It Burn” or parsing the consequences of homewrecking on late-album standout “Steal Her From Me,” Shaboozey has delivered a terrific record of songs tailor-made to rock the arenas – which will certainly be where he’s going.
By the time Hootie & The Blowfish released their Atlantic Records debut, Cracked Rear View, on July 5, 1994, the band had already been together for more than eight years. Singer Darius Rucker and guitarist Mark Bryan met while attending the University of South Carolina and began gigging as a cover band called The Wolf Brothers. They were joined by bassist Dean Felber and drummer Brantley Smith, who was eventually replaced by Jim “Soni” Sonefeld. And Hootie & The Blowfish was born.
During the height of the grunge movement, Atlantic Records A&R executive Tim Sommer signed the quartet, which had already built a strong regional following for its jangly, harmony-filled pop rock songs and Rucker’s rich baritone. But the label’s expectations for the album were low.
“The only people [at Atlantic] championing us at the time were Tim and [Atlantic’s then-president] Danny Goldberg,” Rucker recalls. “One guy actually said that if they put Cracked Rear View out, they’d be the laughingstocks of the music business. Grunge was king, and nobody was looking for this pop/rock band out of South Carolina.”
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But Cracked Rear View surpassed all expectations — and then some, to put it mildly. Bolstered by the singalong, uplifting first single, “Hold My Hand,” the album bounced into the top spot on the Billboard 200 five times and has been certified 21 times platinum by the RIAA, signifying sales of more than 21 million units in the United States. The album, which took its name from a lyric in a John Hiatt song, is the highest-certified debut album of all time, according to RIAA data.
Thirty years later, to mark the anniversary of Cracked Rear View, Hootie & The Blowfish are staging the Summer Camp With Trucks Tour on a bill with Collective Soul and Edwin McCain.
Today, Bryan and Rucker fondly remember making the album with producer Don Gehman (R.E.M., John Mellencamp), whom they still work with; their favorite moment at the 1996 Grammy Awards; and where they were when the album first went to No. 1.
A promotional photo used on the band’s flyers in the early ’90s.
Courtesy of Hootie & the Blowfish
You started as a cover band, The Wolf Brothers. When did you start writing your own songs?
Mark Bryan: We were having fun doing the acoustic covers in the meantime, just the two of us. But I think we were always dreaming a little bigger, for sure. Then as Hootie, when we were in school, we started writing, but it was nothing we would want to share with you. (Laughs.)
Darius Rucker: We had decided that we wanted to make a change and [do] mostly originals. So when Brantley [Smith] left and with [Jim “Soni” Sonefeld] coming in, he made it an easy transition. We had written a couple of songs, but when Soni came in, we really started writing.
Soni came in with “Hold My Hand,” right?
Rucker: He played that the day he auditioned for us. He walked out of the room and I told the other guys, “He’s in the band!”
There were certain songwriters and acts you adored, like Radney Foster and R.E.M. How did they influence your sound?
Rucker: There’s always such a country element, and all of that comes from Radney Foster and [Bill] Lloyd. That jangly guitar we use definitely comes from R.E.M. [member] Peter Buck’s guitar with the jingle. It was rock’n’roll but it wasn’t metal. It was something we could do.
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Who is an act people would be surprised to know influenced the band?
Rucker: We listened to a lot of rap along with those country songs. Digital Underground and De La Soul and those bands. They influenced us in a big way. We still do [Digital Underground’s] “Freaks of the Industry.”
Why are the songs on the album credited to all four band members?
Bryan: We’ve split our publishing right down the middle from the very beginning. Nobody knew whose songs were going to be the hits. Our attorney was smart, and he was inspired by R.E.M. Not only did they inspire us musically, but they inspired us on the business side as well because they did the same thing. That fit with the way we were writing together anyway because everybody was bringing stuff in.
Despite the low expectations, the album took off. When did you realize you had a hit?
Bryan: Right when “Hold My Hand” hit, we realized our sound was connecting. Then it was “Let Her Cry,” “I Only Want To Be With You” and “Time.” A lot of times, it’s really hard for the artist, manager and label to decide what’s the right song for the [next] single. The funny thing about Cracked Rear View is there was never any question. I’ve never seen anything like it before or since.
Where were you when the album went to No. 1 for the first of its five times?
Rucker: We were on the road, and it had been moving [up the charts] so much, we were waiting for it to go to No. 1. Then you get that phone call that you’re finally the No. 1 record in the country. It was like, “Great. Let’s go play a show!” When you have so many naysayers and then you have the No. 1 record, it’s a pretty great feeling. You’re not [considered] cool, but you’re selling half a million albums a week.
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The melodies are so upbeat and jangly that it was easy to overlook a lot of the darkness or messages in the lyrics. For example, “Drowning” is about racism. Did you feel some people didn’t understand what you were saying?
Rucker: One hundred percent. I still don’t. “Hold My Hand” was a protest song. That’s a song about “Why are we hating each other?” You’ve got “Drowning,” and “Not Even the Trees” is such a dark song. “Let Her Cry” is a dark song. I think some people were caught up in “Hold My Hand” and “I Only Want To Be With You” and they didn’t look any deeper than that.
Bryan: I think Darius was very overt with “Drowning,” but that wasn’t our intention on a lot of our songs. It was more of that subtle approach to that, which is just treating each other right. I think there were other lyrics, here and there, where he was telling you about how he was feeling as a Black man in America at the time. It would have been nice if people caught up more on that. And I think from our end, too, with the fame that we got, we maybe had a responsibility to write into that a little more, and I don’t know if we ever resolved that.
For the 30th anniversary, do you wish people would give it a deeper listen?
Rucker: We wish they would but they won’t, and the thing that really matters to us is 23 million records sold [worldwide]. Success is the best revenge. Say what you want. Don’t put us on the ballot for the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. We still have one of the top 10-selling records of all time.
Does the lack of recognition from the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame bother you?
Rucker: If we didn’t get in, that’s fine. But you really mean to tell us that we don’t even deserve to be on the ballot?
When was the last time you listened to Cracked Rear View from start to finish?
Rucker: 1994. I’m not one to listen to records after I put them out. Ever. I don’t really love to hear me sing, to be honest with you.
Bryan: When we played it in Mexico last April. We played it from start to finish.
A performance in Raleigh, N.C., during the 2019 Group Therapy Tour.
Todd & Chris Owyoung
In a shocking twist at the 1996 American Music Awards, Garth Brooks won favorite artist. He left the award on the podium, saying he didn’t deserve it and said backstage that you did.
Rucker: That’s one of the greatest, classiest things I’ve ever seen. When Garth did that, it just said so much to us about what we were doing for music. Every time I tell that story and he’s around, he says, “You know where our award is, Darius? On the mantel!” (Laughs.)
The next month, you won Grammys for best new artist and best pop performance by a duo or group with vocals. What do you remember from that night?
Rucker: We figured they had to give us best new artist because we sold so many records. But the second one, we thought [TLC’s] “Waterfalls” was going to win everything. KISS, in makeup for the first time since 1979, and Tupac [Shakur] walk out to present this category. We had just won best new artist and they rush us back to our seats. We’re drunk. We sit down and then Tupac says, “My boys, Hootie & The Blowfish.” That was unbelievable.
So “my boys” meant as much as the Grammy?
Rucker: Exactly! And KISS meant so much to all of us.
Bryan: I can’t physically remember being on the stage with KISS and Tupac. It was so much bigger than me that I almost blocked it out. Isn’t that crazy? It was so overwhelming that I didn’t embrace the moment maybe the way I would have now.
Thirty years later, what do you think is the album’s legacy?
Bryan: It seems to resonate in people’s lives in a very big way. Those stories like [it’s] their wedding song or they say, “It got me through my father’s death,” always keep coming back up to us, and it never gets old. What a great full-circle way as a songwriter to know that you’ve connected with people. As a songwriter and musician, you can’t ask for more. It’s such a dream come true to have made an album that has connected on such a level with people like that.
This story originally appeared in the June 1, 2024, issue of Billboard.
It’s been an exciting year for George Birge and it doesn’t look like it’s slowing down anytime soon. Not only has he released new music and plotted a tour, but the rising country star also teamed up with Bud Light just in time for the summer season.
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As part of his partnership, Birge and several country hitmakers will perform for fans 21 and older in age at Billboard presents Bud Light Backyard, a two-day concert event at Tin Roof Broadway set amid CMA Fest. While the singer is scheduled to hit the stage, alongside Dasha and LOCASH on June 8, Alana Springsteen, Corey Kent and Dalton Dover will kick off festivities on June 7.
Since the launch of his counterpart Bud Light Backyard session, Birge spoke to Billboard exclusively about the team-up, the one-year anniversary of his debut album, Mind on You, and what fans can expect from him this summer.
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“Billboard and Bud Light are two brands that are synonymous with good times and country music, so it is an honor to be invited to be performing at this event,” Birge said of the upcoming event, admitting that he and his friends are ready to “cut loose.” “My favorite part of performing at a collaborative event like this is just bringing friends together around country music.”
The affair, which will be held at Tin Roof Broadway, is a venue that Birge said he visited as a young musician when he was brand-new to Nashville, revealing that he was “blown away by the songwriting and talent” in the town at the time.
As for his Bud Light Backyard session, Birge recalled, “It was the kind of day dreams are made of. Perfect weather, good friends, music and stories. Nothing better than having the grill fired up and relaxing with a cold Bud Light.”
With the one-year anniversary of his debut album, Mind on You, behind him, George has described his last year as “the wildest” of his life.” “From connecting with fans, to having my first hit, to touring the country in venues I only dreamed about playing when I started. It has been pretty surreal to sit back and take a moment to just be thankful for the opportunity country music and country fans have given me,” he explained.
While his fans were treated to a new EP, Cowboy Songs, in April, it seems as if the singer is already prepping some new music in the near future, along with his scheduled tour dates. “We are hitting the road with Sam Hunt and Luke Bryan. We have “Cowboy Songs” climbing the chart at country radio and we may even have more music in store,” he revealed. “It’s going to be a great summer!”
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Corey Kent may be focusing less on writing for others, but that doesn’t mean the country singer isn’t working with others on a few team-ups. In addition to preparing new releases, the star recently partnered with Bud Light for the summer season. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and […]
Shania Twain knows the No. 1 rule of live performance: if you can laugh at yourself, everyone else can too. The singer learned that lesson all over again recently during a show in which she was singing her 1995 The Woman in Me single “(If You’re Not in It For Love() I’m Outta Here!” while […]
Ashley Cooke is officially a Billboard Hot 100-charting artist.
The singer-songwriter debuts at No. 95 on the latest chart (dated June 8) with her single “Your Place.”
Released in July 2023 via Back Blocks/Big Loud, the track debuts on the Hot 100 with 23.3 million radio airplay audience impressions and 2 million official U.S. streams May 24-30, according to Luminate. It also holds at its No. 7 high on Country Airplay and climbs 25-23 on Hot Country Songs.
Cooke is just the second woman to reach the top 10 of Country Airplay in 2024, after Lainey Wilson, whose “Wildflowers and Wild Horses” hit No. 5 in May.
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In a December interview with Billboard, Cooke shared her experience of dumping a boyfriend after discovering that he had cheated on her and how that inspired her current hit. “In a weird way, writing ‘Your Place’ was kind of my line in the sand of, ‘Hey, I’m going to turn a new leaf and not deal with those kinds of relationships anymore,’ ” she said. “Singing that song every night on tour, you feel that power kind of being put back into who you are and your worth and your respect for yourself. And it’s cool to see people in the crowd also responding to that.”
Cooke’s relationship experiences are further detailed on her sophomore LP and major-label debut, Shot in the Dark, which includes “Your Place.” Released in 2023, the set reached No. 14 on Heatseekers Albums (which ranks the most popular albums each week by new or developing acts) last August.
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“As a young person growing up and falling in and out of love — and what you think is love, and what actually isn’t love — I think it’s easy to get so caught up in it,” she shared. “I put up with a lot of stuff in different relationships that, if you listened to my whole debut album, it’s a lot about relationships and about toxicity.”
“Your Place” was produced by Jimmy Robbins, who earns his second Hot 100 entry in that role, following Kelsea Ballerini’s “Half of My Hometown,” featuring Kenny Chesney (No. 53, 2022).
Cooke scored her first overall Billboard chart appearance in April 2022 when “Never Til Now,” with Brett Young, debuted and peaked at No. 5 on Country Digital Song Sales, No. 14 on Digital Song Sales and No. 46 on Hot Country Songs. The track also hit No. 49 on Country Airplay that December. She followed with “It’s Been a Year,” which hit Nos. 2 and 6 on the respective sales surveys.
For Zach Bryan’s The Quittin’ Time Tour, the fast-rising superstar has managed to make arenas feel like intimate backyard jam sessions – which is exactly what he delivered during his first of three nights at Los Angeles’ Crypto.com. With a stage situated in the center of the floor, allowing for every seat in the house […]
When The Texas Regional Radio Report handed out its annual awards in Arlington on March 25, Wade Bowen was the most-honored winner, taking home three trophies, including male vocalist of the year.
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Three nights later, he hit Global Life Field – again in Arlington – for the Texas Rangers’ season opener. It was a big deal: Bowen has a lifelong obsession with the team, and attending that game meant he got to witness as they hoisted a flag to recognize the Rangers’ first-ever World Series victory in 2023. Bowen delivered “The Star-Spangled Banner” that day, but the team also played another anthem on the stadium sound system: Bowen’s “Nothin But Texas.”
“Of all the times I’ve listened to it,” Bowen says, “it’s never been better.”
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The New Braunfels resident is one of the leading red-dirt artists, grounded in a country bar-band style that fits the club-heavy listening habits in the state. But the area also boasts a notable blues/rock current, and “Nothin But Texas” leans on that under-represented part of Bowen’s musical personality.
“Obviously I listened to Stevie Ray Vaughan and ZZ Top and Delbert McClinton,” he says. “I listened to them a lot, you know. It’s around me all the time, so it’s like, ‘Okay, I need to show some of this.’”
“Nothin But Texas” came in Bowen’s first collaboration with songwriter Leslie Satcher (“Troubadour,” “When God-Fearin’ Women Get The Blues”), whose default goal is to write something energetic.
“I’ll leave the ballads to the other guys,” she says. “I want to write the uptempo, let’s-turn-up-the-radio-and-drive song. And I’ll say, ‘Let’s do something that will have your crowds with their beer in the air.’”
They didn’t have a particular title or musical approach in mind when they started writing, but both are from the Lone Star State, and Satcher had just gotten back to Nashville after visiting Texas. Somewhere in their introductory conversation, one of them said that when they were able to retire, it’d be “nothin’ but Texas for me.” That sounded like something they could turn into a celebration, and Satcher started playing a blues-laced groove in an open tuning, starting the chords on the afterbeat and cutting them off on the downbeat. It had the same propellant feel as The Ozark Mountain Daredevils’ “If You Wanna Get to Heaven.”
Most Nashville songwriters would focus on the chorus first, but that’s not how it worked here. “I always start at the first line,” Satcher insists. “It was just sort of building blocks as we went – sort of Jenga, you know. It’s like you just keep stacking until something falls down.”
Figuring the song out was almost too easy. They turned the opening verse into a travelogue of American party cities, leaning into Las Vegas, New Orleans and Los Angeles, with the singer reflecting that he’s been “pedal down in L.A.” That, of course, is quite the accomplishment – anyone who’s driven on the 405 during daylight hours knows the brake is down as much as the gas pedal.
“I guess we shouldn’t should have said that,” Bowen says. Nonsense, Satcher counters: “There’s lots of ways to drive fast in LA., you know. It’s a party life, and it’s a fast life.”
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Those cities set up the chorus’ payoff: Those towns are great, but “It ain’t nothin’ but Texas for me.” That opinion gets stronger when it’s repeated in line two, and after a melodic detour that applies blue notes at the end of lines three and four, they said it again to end the chorus. Thus, the title appears hree times in five lines.
They both second-guessed it – the repetition is quite stark when it’s written down on paper – but the questions quickly disappeared. “Anthems need to be simple,” Bowen quips. “That’s what makes them anthems.”
The second verse seemed easy, too. After playing up the state in the chorus, they needed to explain what makes Texas so great. Or, since it was a song for Bowen to sing, what makes it such a great place for him.
That meant putting a country-band perspective on partying in the Lone Star State. They latched onto I-35, “straight to the river” – it cuts across the entire state, north to south, from Denton to Dallas, Austin, San Antonio and to the streets of Laredo, linking with a Mexican boulevard at the edge of the Rio Grande. “I-35 is obviously a huge part of my life,” Bowen says. “Like, I live on 35 more than [in] my damn house.”
By the end of the verse, the singer promises to clap back at “any law dog that tries to run me off” for playing the music too loud. The “law dog” is a phrase Satcher has used previously – “It’s just so fun,” she says – though it’s probably false bravado.
“Anybody knows me knows that I’m gonna keep my mouth shut,” Bowen admits, asked if he’d really confront a cop. On the other hand, he offers, “I’ve got a drunk alter ego named Paul that might do it.”
Satcher slipped in a reference to “cowboy beers” – a phrase she and her husband use for his Coors Light habit – during a bridge that’s so subtle it could pass without the listener recognizing the change of pace. “People who are dancing in Texas, dancehall people, they don’t particularly care for a song that busts up the groove or has a weird melody or something like that,” Satcher offers. “They’re dancing, and so they want to keep going round the circle.”
Bowen created a sparse work tape, but when his crew had some down time on tour in Colorado, they did a more extensive demo that laid out the basic arrangement. Bowen recorded “Nothin But Texas” during three days of sessions for his album Flyin’, Nov. 15-17, at Curb Studio 43, a Music Row facility with Spanish-flavored arched entrances, an architectural touch that’s familiar in Texas.
An eight-piece studio band firmed up the demo’s blues/rock foundation, approximating the sound of Vaughan’s recordings, particularly through Jim “Moose” Brown’s earthy Hammond B-3 tones and Tom Bukovac’s assured guitar licks. The band members entered informally during a 25-second intro that toughened the original rhythms, and they kept going for at least a minute after the song had survived its Jenga course. Bowen, self-producing the track, asked after one take for Bukovac to expand the solo, giving it even more of a live sound.
A day later, Satcher came in to layer in soulful backing vocals, offering R&B-flavored ad libs and churchy three-part harmonies. “This track is not near as good,” Bowen says, “if Leslie doesn’t sing the parts.”
“Nothin But Texas” was a key focus track leading into the May 10 release of Flyin’, while another cut, “Rainin On Me,” plays on red-dirt stations, ranked at No. 9 on the May 24 Texas Regional Radio Report chart. It’s a statement about the musical identity of both Bowen and his homeland.
“Texas is not just country music,” Bowen notes. “This kind of music is a huge part of our state: blues/rock. It’s a huge, huge aspect of where I come from.”
This week’s crop of new country music includes Chris Housman’s debut album and Georgia Webster’s latest, while Bronwyn Keith-Hynes teams with Dierks Bentley for a bluegrass spin on a Jimmy Buffett hit.
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Chris Housman, Blueneck
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Blueneck, the debut album from Kansas native and openly gay country musician Housman, melds a ’90s country sound with songs that reflect Housman’s own truths and journey. The project collects songs he’s released over the past few years, as well as new tracks, including songs of romance (“Tomorrow, Tonight”), heartbreak (the beautifully crafted “I Can’t Go Down that Road”) and nights of hazy escapes from life’s pressures (the dance-fueled “High Hopes”).
But Housman also turns his affinity for tightly turned lyrical phrases to songs such as “Drag Queen,” about a drag queen who is “never a drag,” and the title track, where he sings, “I think y’all means all and I know we all just want to know that we belong.” “Bible Belt” centers around reflections of (and healing from) religious trauma and rejection; the song’s uptempo feel and ultimate hope for acceptance and respect turn the song into a rallying cry. Centering the entire project is Housman’s twangy, versatile vocal and a range of songs that truly offer a country music album that is inclusive and universal.
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Georgia Webster, “Town Talks”
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On her third EP, Signs, Webster dissects the emotional nuances of coping with–then exiting–a noncommittal relationship. On “Town Talks,” she fights the urge to spill her ex’s misdeeds up and down the streets of Nashville, because, as she sings, “Nashville will hurt you more than I will … this town talks so I don’t have to.” The Massachusetts native brings a masterful storytelling arc to the overall project, but on this track, her conversational vocal style brings just the right touches of drama and intimacy.
Kameron Marlowe, “I Can Run”
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Off his new album Keepin’ The Lights On, this track showcases Marlowe’s ability to wring every ounce of emotion from a song. Written by Oscar Charles, Ben Roberts and Tucker Beathard, the song marks a powerful self-reflection of denial, disappointment and angst. This is another solid vocal showcase from Marlowe.
Maddie & Tae, “Sad Girl Summer”
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Don’t be fooled by the song title — this is no slow weeper. Instead, this post-breakup track is a girl’s best friend’s attempt to get her out of sad-girl mode and back into the dating scene. “Girl, you’re a catch/ He’s more catch and release,” they sing. Breezy, boppy, empowering and fueled by the duo’s harmonies, this is set to be a sure-fire fan favorite.
Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, “Trip Around the Sun”
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Keith-Hynes, a two-time IBMA fiddle player of year winner known for her work in Molly Tuttle’s band Golden Highway, teams up with country performer Dierks Bentley on this track from Keith-Hynes’ second album I Built a World, out now on Sugar Petunia Records.
Originally recorded by the late Jimmy Buffett and Martina McBride, here stately mandolin and Keith-Hynes’ top-shelf fiddle work bring the country hit squarely into bluegrass territory, while the sonic atmosphere here allows this meditation on acceptance and relinquishing control the room to breathe and expand, progressing from a ballad into a fiddle-driven bluegrass jam. Throughout, Bentley’s harmonies offer an earthy counterpoint to Keith-Hynes’ airy vocal. Bentley, of course, has long shown his affinity for bluegrass, including his 2010 bluegrass-infused project Up on the Ridge and stretching back to his first album, which featured a collaboration with The Del McCoury Band. The two are aided by musical luminaries including Bryan Sutton (guitar), Wes Corbett (banjo), Jerry Douglas (reso-guitar), Jeff Picker (bass) and Sam Bush (mandolin).
Recent tourmates Jelly Roll and Ashley McBryde are set to co-host this year’s CMA Fest, set to air Tuesday, June 25, at 8 p.m. ET/7 p.m. CT on ABC, and streaming the following day on Hulu.
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The three-hour primetime concert special will film in Nashville during the 51st annual CMA Fest, set for June 6-9. The special will highlight top moments from the festival, including surprise collaborations from some of country music’s top artists and never-before-seen performances.
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This year’s nightly concerts at Nissan Stadium will feature performances from artists including Jelly Roll, Keith Urban, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Luke Bryan, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, Brittney Spencer, Hardy, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” hitmaker Shaboozey, McBryde, Thomas Rhett, “Austin” hitmaker Dasha and Bailey Zimmerman. The four-day country music festival will also host hundreds of artists performing on nearly a dozen stages across downtown Nashville.
Last year, two-time CMA Award winner McBryde opened shows on Jelly Roll’s headlining Backroad Baptism Tour. Former Billboard Country Power Players cover star Jelly Roll’s ascent to headlining status has been swift, thanks to his underdog story, his passionate, joyous persona and his genre-fluid hitmaking, topping Billboard rock and country charts, including earning three Country Airplay hits in 2023, with “Son of a Sinner,” “Need a Favor” and his Lainey Wilson collaboration “Save Me.” Last year, he was named the CMA new artist of the year, and earlier this year, he earned two Grammy nominations, including a nomination in the all-genre best new artist category.
His music connects with McBryde’s, in that both have forged unique musical signatures based on country, rock and poetic storytelling arcs–whether that is Jelly Roll’s unfiltered, personal songs of struggles with addiction, McBryde’s songs of small-town aspirations (“Girl Goin’ Nowhere”) or the vivid lyrics that showcase the wilder side of small towns on her album Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville.
McBryde has also earned the respect of not only fans but her industry peers, winning a Grammy for her Carly Pearce collaboration, “Never Wanted to Be That Girl,” which also topped the Country Airplay chart in 2022. McBryde has earned six total Grammy nominations to date, including three nominations for best country album, for her projects Girl Going Nowhere, Never Will and the collaborative project Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville.
CMA Fest is produced by the Country Music Association, executive produced and written by Robert Deaton and directed by Alan Carter.
Artists who perform during the festival are not paid for their sets, but volunteer so that sales profits can benefit the nonprofit CMA Foundation, which launched in 2011 with the aim of focusing “on providing sustainability, advocacy and accountability within music education by investing in various resources for students, schools and communities.”
CMA Fest launched as Fan Fair in 1972, drawing 5,000 fans to Nashville’s Municipal Auditorium. Over the past half-century, the festival has grown to become Nashville’s signature country music festival, welcoming fans from all 50 states and 39 international countries.