Country
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Eric Church took people to church at Stagecoach‘s Mane stage on the Empire Polo Grounds in Indio, Calif., on Friday night (April 26), but not all attendees of his closing set at the festival’s opening night were ready for some religion.
The country superstar curated a one-of-a-kind set that he obviously put a great deal of thought into, from the stained-glass backdrop and 16-person choir to the setlist that included covers of “Hallelujah,” “Take Me to the River,” “Stand By Me,” “I’ll Fly Away,” “When the Saints Go Marching In” and even “Gin and Juice.”
“This was the most difficult set I have ever attempted,” Church said in a press release issued after the show. “I’ve always found that taking it back to where it started, back to chasing who Bob Seger loves, who Springsteen loves, who Willie Nelson loves, you chase it back to the origin. The origin of all that is still the purest form of it. And we don’t do that as much anymore. It felt good at this moment to go back, take a choir and do that.”
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“For me, it’s always been something with records, with performances, I’ve always been the one that’s like, ‘Let’s do something really, really strange and weird and take a chance.’ Sometimes it doesn’t work, but it’s okay if you’re living on that edge, because that edge, that cutting edge, is where all the new guys are going to gravitate to anyway. So if you can always challenge yourself that way, it always cuts sharper than any other edge,” he said.
For much of the set, the only accompaniment was Church on guitar, the choir and his frequent collaborator, Joanna Cotton, but his full band joined at the end for a handful of Church’s tunes, including “Country Music Jesus” and “Springsteen.”
For some fans, the show was a thrilling chance to see a (presumably) once-in-a-lifetime set, while for others, it was too much of a deviation from his regular live show. To be fair, Church has mixed it up on festival gigs before: at the 2019 CMA Fest he did a 17-song acoustic medley, and at last year’s CMA Fest he played a seven-song set that featured some hits with new arrangements and some covers, including Little Feat’s “Sailin’ Shoes,” that left some casual attendees scratching their heads, which surprised Church. “I was shocked because I played the show that I went out there to play,” he told Rolling Stone. “We had a time slot and I went out there to play that slot and try to show a little bit, a peek, as to what I was working on for this tour.”
Some attendees were exhilarated by the one-of-a kind show at Stagecoach:
Others, not so much, with reports on social media of attendees leaving mid-show to to attend Nickelback’s performance at the Palomino stage. Palm Springs Desert Sun reporter Brian Blueskye described the scene as an “unplugged jam session” that “sent festivalgoers for the exit of the Empire Polo Club starting about 15 minutes in, a sight that could be best described as Moses parting the Red Sea” in his review.
Obviously Stagecoach didn’t learn their lesson from having Eric Church headline Friday night in 2016 and being a complete energy suck because he’s doing it again tonight. The stream not showing any crowd shots because they are probably leaving in droves 🤣— Robert Wedge IV (@rtwedge4) April 27, 2024
Eric Church might be the most disappointing festival headliner ive ever seen??? It’s like a gospel set?? I’m so lost.— kb (@KennethBaker97) April 27, 2024
Representatives for Stagecoach did not respond to a request for comment. A representative for Church said he declined to comment beyond Church’s statement.
Following well-received sets Saturday night (April 29) by Post Malone (who was joined by Dwight Yoakam, Sara Evans and Brad Paisley) and Miranda Lambert (who was joined by Reba McEntire), Stagecoach concludes Sunday with a closing set by Morgan Wallen.
California got a little bit more of Lana Del Rey this weekend, with her making an unannounced appearance at Stagecoach following two weekends of headlining Coachella. Paul Cauthen welcomed the Did You Know That There’s a Tunnel Under Ocean Blvd songstress to the stage for a stirring rendition of “Unchained Melody” on Friday (April 27). […]
Jelly Roll was full of surprises at Stagecoach 2024.
During his wild evening set on the country music festival‘s opening day Friday (April 26), the “Need a Favor” singer welcomed numerous unexpected guests onto the stage, including T-Pain, Ernest and Maddie & Tae.
Jelly Roll’s performance took place on the T-Mobile Mane Stage at Empire Polo Field in Indio, Calif., shortly before Eric Church’s headlining slot.
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Halfway through his 50-minute set, Jelly Roll was joined by T-Pain for their cover of Toby Keith‘s hit song “Should’ve Been a Cowboy.” The pair dropped a recorded version of the cover for Amazon Music a day earlier. The country star shared his thoughts on the classic track leading up to the music fest.
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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 told Variety. “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 “Should’ve Been a Cowboy” cover will go toward the Toby Keith Foundation, which aids pediatric cancer patients. Keith died earlier this year following a battle with stomach cancer.
Elsewhere during his Stagecoach set, Jelly Roll welcomed collaborator Ernest for a performance of “Son of a Sinner,” which reached No. 1 on Billboard‘s Country Airplay chart in 2022. Jelly Roll was also joined by Maddie & Tae on what he called a brand new song titled “Liar.” The country duo will perform their own set on Saturday (April 27).
Jelly Roll ended his performance by bringing out his wife, Bunnie XO, and daughter, Bailee Ann, is turning 16 years old. To celebrate her birthday next week, the country star asked the thousands of fans to join him in singing happy birthday.
Earlier in the day, Jelly Roll visited celebrity chef Guy Fieri at the Smokehouse Cooking Demo stage for a cooking lesson.
Stagecoach continues with headlining performances by Miranda Lambert and Morgan Wallen, as well as sets by Elle King, Post Malone, Willie Nelson, Hardy and Bailey Zimmerman, among many others. The festival is streaming live on Prime Video or Amazon Music’s Twitch channel.
Fans have been speculating that Beyoncé could be making a surprise appearance at Stagecoach under the name “DJ Backwoods Barbie,” an unknown performer listed on the roster. Backwoods Barbie happens to be the name of a Dolly Parton album and Bey collaborated with Parton on Cowboy Carter.
Bunnie XO has always been an open book, and her latest TikTok shares insight to her traumatic upbringing.
The Dumb Blonde podcast host took part in a recent trend on the platform to the tune of Taylor Swift’s The Tortured Poets Department hit, “Who’s Afraid of Little Old Me?,” in which she sings, “You wouldn’t last an hour in the asylum where they raised me.” Participants of the trend share the various “asylums” they grew up experiencing.
In Bunnie’s version, she shows a photo of her teenage self before showing a picture of a church as the “asylum” that hurt her. “Pentacostals & Mental Hospitals,” she captioned the photos set, adding, “That pic was taken shortly after I left home at 14. Wait ’til y’all read my book.”
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Watch the TikTok here.
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Last week, Bunnie got vulnerable on her podcast and discussed how online bullying and harsh comments have affected her husband, country superstar Jelly Roll. “My husband got off the internet because he is so tired of being bullied about his f–king weight,” she said on the podcast. “And that makes me want to cry, because he is the sweetest angel baby. My husband doesn’t show it to you guys, but I’m going to have a very vulnerable moment here. It hurts him.
“The internet can say whatever they f–king want about you and they say, ‘You’re a celebrity. You’re supposed to be able to handle it.’ No the f–k we’re not … Enough is enough,” she continued. “Don’t bully people, because you never know where they are mentally. There are a lot of people who are not as strong as me, that are on the internet and they don’t deserve to f–kin’ be bullied.”
The entrepreneur also called out internet trolls and bullies who try to intimidate her and her family. “I’m going to stand up for all the f–kin’ underdogs. You’re never going to bully me. You’re never going to lie about me or my family, and I will fight to the end,” she said. “I love it when people say, ‘Bunnie is a bad human. Just wait and you’ll see.’ I’ve been on the internet 15 f–kin’ years. When are they gonna see? I’m waiting. What you see is what you get with me. I don’t f–kin’ pretend to be something I’m not … all you gotta do is leave me and my family the f–k alone, and you won’t get called out.”
Watch Latin American Music Awards Jelly Roll adds his fourth top 10 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Halfway to Hell” rides 11-9 on the list dated May 4. The song increased by 11% to 20.3 million audience impressions in the April 19-25 tracking week, according to Luminate. Explore See latest videos, charts and news […]
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Earlier this week, Flavor Flav posted a video standing up for Jelly Roll after the country star’s wife, podcaster Bunnie XO, revealed that her husband had quit social media due to relentless bullying about his weight. But in a new interview, the “Need a Favor” singer explained that there’s actually a bit more to the story — although he’s very grateful to the DJ for coming to his defense.
“He’s a sweet human, man,” Jelly told Variety of Flav in an article published Friday (April 26). “His wife is just salt of the earth. I met their whole family again last night. I’ve gotten to really spend some time with Flav and his family, and they’re real, real salt of the earth.”
The three-time CMT Award-winner went on to say he’s “sure [he’ll] be back” on social media at some point, but for now, there’s “bigger fish to fry.”
“I probably shouldn’t elaborate on this because nobody on my team wants me to, but I don’t have a problem with social media,” he continued. “And it wasn’t just bullying that did it. It was not only the toxicity of social media, but the addiction of it. I was becoming too busy to waste hours of my life scrolling.”
“I can honestly say that I’ve been off social media for a few months now and I’ve never felt better or healthier mentally — never felt more clearheaded,” Jelly added. “I’ve also never had less of an idea what was going on in the world, but I tell you what, I’m definitely not coming back before the election. Bad joke.”
The interview comes a few days after Bunnie told fans on TikTok that Jelly “got off the internet because he is so tired of being bullied about his f–king weight.” She added, “My husband doesn’t show it to you guys, but I’m going to have a very vulnerable moment here … It hurts him.”
Shortly afterward, Flavor Flav addressed the haters with a video on X. “How dare y’all try to judge my man about his weight and his character,” the rapper said at the time. “All y’all trying to judge my boy Jelly Roll, I think y’all need to take a step back and judge yourself.”
The “Son of a Sinner” musician is currently gearing up to make his Stagecoach debut at this year’s festival. He’s slated to perform on the first day of the weekend-long event, which kicks off Friday and will also see sets from Morgan Wallen, Miranda Lambert, Eric Church, Willie Nelson, Post Malone, Hardy and more.
“I tell you what: I don’t know what every other artist does when they debut at Stagecoach, but I have taken it serious,” Jelly told Variety, noting that he wants to premiere some new material at the festival. “I rehearsed more for Stagecoach than I have any single event in my career.”
Watch Latin American Music Awards The University of Oklahoma will fete late singer-songwriter Toby Keith with an honorary degree during the university’s May 11 commencement ceremony at Lloyd Noble Center. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news Keith is one of four individuals who will earn an honorary […]
Mickey Guyton is hitting the road this fall for a North American tour. The Grammy-nominated country star announced the dates for her CMT On Tour Presents Mickey Guyton 2024 dates on Friday morning (April 26), along with dropping a sweet lyric video for her new single, “Scary Love.”
The 22-date Live Nation-promoted tour is slated to kick off on Sept. 18 at Buckhead Theatre in Atlanta, followed by gigs in New York, Pittsburgh, Kansas City, St. Louis, Chicago, Columbus, Buffalo, Toronto, Boston and Philadelphia before winding down on Nov. 9 in Lexington, Kentucky at Manchester Music Hall.
Tickets for the tour will be available via a artist presale beginning on April 30 at 10 a.m. local time, with additional presales throughout the week leading up to the general on-sale beginning on May 3 at 10 a.m. local time; click here for ticketing details.
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Guyton’s new single, a gentle ballad about a mother’s fierce love, opens with the heart-touching lines, “I see pictures of my mama, hangin’ on the wall/ She’s never looked so happy, and I’ve never looked so small/ Now I’m holdin’ you and I know what they say is true/ When a baby’s born that’s when a mother’s born too.”
Guyton and husband Grant Savoy welcomed their first child, son Grayson, in Feb. 2021 and the acoustic ballad’s moving lyric video features home movie footage of Guyton in the hospital cradling her then newborn and spending time with the now toddler. “Cuz I felt it before, but it wasn’t like this/ Ain’t a thing I wouldn’t do, ain’t a thing I wouldn’t give/ It’s the kind you fall into and never hit the bottom of/ It’s a scary love,” she sings on the chorus.
Watch the “Scary Love” lyric video and check out the 2024 CMT on Tour dates below.
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Sept. 18 — Atlanta, GA @ Buckhead Theatre
Sept. 20 — Charlotte, NC @ The Underground
Sept. 21 — Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
Sept. 26 — Washington, DC @ Union Stage
Sept. 27 — New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
Sept. 28 — Pittsburgh, PA @ Thunderbird Café and Music Hall
Oct. 2 — Kansas City, MO @ Knuckleheads*
Oct. 3 — Oklahoma City, OK @ Beer City Music Hall*
Oct. 15 — St. Louis, MO @ Delmar Hall
Oct. 17 — Chicago, IL @ Joe’s on Weed St.
Oct. 18 — Minneapolis, MN @ First Ave*
Oct. 19 — Des Moines, IA @ Wooly’s
Oct. 22 — Madison, WI @ Majestic Theatre
Oct. 23 — Ann Arbor, MI @ Blind Pig
Oct. 25 — Grand Rapids, MI @ The Stache at The Intersection
Oct. 30 — Columbus, OH @ The Bluestone
Nov. 1 — Buffalo, NY @ Iron Works*
Nov. 2 — Toronto, ON @ Velvet Underground
Nov. 4 — Boston, MA @ Brighton Music Hall
Nov. 6 — Philadelphia, PA @ World Cafe Live*
Nov. 8 — Indianapolis, Indiana @ The Hifi*
Nov. 9 — Lexington, KY @ Manchester Music Hall
*Not a Live Nation Date
The Rolling Stones will launch the group’s Hackney Diamonds North American tour on April 28 at NRG Houston, and the lineup of openers for various dates on the tour includes a few heavy-hitters from country and Americana circles.
Reigning CMA entertainer of the year Lainey Wilson, as well as Tyler Childers, The Red Clay Strays and The War and Treaty are among the openers, joining Carin León (who made his own Grand Ole Opry debut earlier this year and has a country-tinged album in the works), The Pretty Reckless, Ghost Hounds, Bettye LaVette, Gary Clark Jr. and The Linda Lindas.
Wilson will open for The Rolling Stones on June 30 at Soldier Field in Chicago, while Childers, who released his sixth album Rustin in the Rain in 2023, will perform June 3 at Camping World Stadium in Orlando. The Red Clay Strays, who earned their first major Billboard Hot 100 entry this year with “Wondering Why,” will open for the rockers on May 30 at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass. Grammy-nominated duo The War and Treaty, who just released the video for their song “Stealing a Kiss,” will open for The Stones on July 10 at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
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The tour supports The Rolling Stones’ album Hackney Diamonds, their first project of new, original material in nearly two decades.
Notably, Wilson and The War and Treaty were part of a 2023 tribute album to The Rolling Stones, Stoned Cold Country, which featured several country artists performing Stones classics.
See the full list of tour dates below:
The Rolling Stones 2024 Tour Dates:April 28 – Houston, TX @ NRG Stadium w/ Gary Clark JrMay 2 – New Orleans, LA @ Jazz FestMay 7 – Glendale, AZ @ State Farm Stadium w/ Carin León; Electric MudMay 11 – Las Vegas, NV @ Allegiant Stadium w/ The Pretty RecklessMay 15 – Seattle, WA @ Lumen Field w/ Joe BonamassaMay 23 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium w/ TBAMay 26 – East Rutherford, NJ @ MetLife Stadium w/ LawrenceMay 30 – Foxboro, MA @ Gillette Stadium w/ The Red Clay StraysJune 3 – Orlando, FL @ Camping World Stadium w/ Tyler ChildersJune 7 – Atlanta, GA @ Mercedes-Benz Stadium w/ Ghost HoundsJune 11 – Philadelphia, PA @ Lincoln Financial Field w/ KaleoJune 15 – Cleveland, OH @ Cleveland Browns Stadium w/ Ghost HoundsJune 20 – Denver, CO @ Empower Field at Mile High w/ Widespread PanicJune 27 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field w/ Betty LaVetteJune 30 – Chicago, IL @ Soldier Field w/ Lainey WilsonJuly 5 – Vancouver, BC @ BC Place w/ Ghost HoundsJuly 10 – Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium w/ The War and TreatyJuly 13 – Los Angeles, CA @ SoFi Stadium w/ The Linda LindasJuly 17 – Santa Clara, CA @ Levi’s® Stadium w/ The Beaches
Flavor Flav isn’t letting hate slide. After learning that Jelly Roll recently quit social media due to relentless bullying about his weight, the rapper came to the country star’s defense in a heated video posted to social media Wednesday (April 24). “How dare y’all try to judge my man about his weight and his character,” […]