Country
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In their early days, LOCASH earned their stripes playing the bars on Nashville’s Lower Broadway, so it was a return to their past when they took the stage at the Tin Roof to get Saturday’s party started with a rowdy, infectious, non-stop set that had the packed venue hopping from their opening tune, the 2019 hit “One Big Country Song.”
“Let’s get this party rockin’,” exclaimed Chris Lucas, as the duo followed with “Buzzin’ in the Country,” a surefire crowd pleaser with its sing-along chorus, before segueing into their first No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart, 2016’s easygoing “I Know Somebody.”
Like many acts playing the event, LOCASH had a cover song in their back pocket. In this case, it was a sultry, slow-jamming take on the Prince-penned “Waterfalls,” made famous by TLC 30 years ago. The duo quickly brought it back to the present with “Hometown Home,” their first song released through the new label they started, Galaxy Label Group. “We pushed all the chips in and bet on ourselves,” Preston Brust said. And it’s paying off. The gently swaying song, which features the duo’s layered harmonies, was the Hot Shot Debut on the Country Airplay chart, bowing at No. 56.
Of all the acts playing Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard, LOCASH got the award for traveling the most distance. Three hours before their set, the group arrived from Wisconsin, where they had played the night before, and immediately left for a show Saturday evening in Indiana.
LOCASH then called an audible and veered from the set list, diving into a breathless medley of classic rock songs, starting with The Outfield’s “Your Love,” Bryan Adams’ “Summer of ’69” and Fountains of Wayne’s “Stacy’s Mom,” before launching into Lit’s “My Own Worst Enemy” and calling up the group’s lead singer, A. Jay Popoff, who lives in Nashville, to sing with them. For those several moments of pure unadulterated joy, there is no doubt that there was not a better time to be had on Lower Broadway. “Are we in trouble?” Lucas playfully asked after completing the rock segment. “I don’t know. I don’t care,” answered Brust.
After leading the audience in a chant of “Ain’t no party like a Billboard party because a Billboard party don’t stop,” complete with a spinning disco ball, LOCASH wound their segment down with their 2015 hit “I Love This Life,” which reached No. 2, before throwing signed drum sticks and guitar picks into the dancing crowd.
Right next to Nissan Stadium in Nashville — just across the parking lot — is the Davidson County Juvenile Detention Center, where Antioch, Tennessee, native Jelly Roll spent years incarcerated as a teen. His underdog story has brought him from a jail cell to center stage at Nissan Stadium, headlining CMA Fest’s Saturday night show.
The crowd was already cheering before the hometown hero took the stage, and he rewarded their applause by performing “The Lost.” Pausing to take in the triumphant, full-circle moment, Jelly Roll — and many in the audience — were soon in tears. But those tears didn’t last long before turning into a joyous celebration.
“I am from Nashville, Tennessee!” he shouted to the crowd, which roared back with equal enthusiasm. “My father brought me here 23 years ago when the Tennessee Titans first came to town — this is a dream come true… playing to a sold-out Nissan Stadium crowd… and I’m getting to perform the No. 1 on country radio right this moment,” he said, before launching into his current (and fourth) Billboard Country Airplay No. 1, “Halfway to Hell.” The performance was heightened by Keith Urban playing guitar during the performance.
One year ago, he got a taste of headlining at the stadium when he performed on the platform stage at CMA Fest, but on Saturday night, he fully made that dream come true. He dedicated his set to the teens that are currently in the juvenile center.
“I know they can hear us because I was one of them, one time. I was in and out of jail and in and out of drug addiction, and tonight I am headlining CMA Fest at Nissan Stadium,” he said. Launching into “Son of a Sinner,” with lights aglow all around the stadium, he said, “I’m here to tell you you can do whatever you want in life, I don’t give a f— what anybody says,” before praising country music as “the genre that saved my life.”
Jelly Roll’s shows have become part concert, part therapy session, part spiritual revival for those who identify as an outcast, feel misunderstood, are struggling with addiction, or are simply working through any personal struggles — and his CMA Fest set was no exception.
“This is a come one, come all kind of crew,’ he said. He later added, “I am here to represent the lost and the broken,” before performing his new song “I Am Not Ok.”
Prior to making country music, Jelly Roll was primarily known as a rapper, and he passionately and effortlessly sailed through a medley of rap classics, including Eminem’s “Lose Yourself,” Biz Markie’s “Just a Friend” and Outkast’s “Ms. Jackson,” before performing his own collaboration “Wild Ones” (sans Jessie Murph). The crowd’s reaction was so fervent that the singer-songwriter collapsed onto a riser on the stage, laughing in amazement. Later on, wife Bunnie XO made a brief appearance and shared a kiss with Jelly Roll.
From there, he offered up his four-week No. 1 Country Airplay hit “Need a Favor,” with the audience waving hands high in the air. He then followed up with his two-week No. 1 “Save Me,” welcoming labelmate Lainey Wilson back to the festival stage with a hug. Jelly Roll then returned solo to center stage, waving his hat to the crowd and thanking the audience for their part in his triumph story.
The beer and music were flowing at the first day of Billboard Presents Bud Light Backyard at CMA Fest as fans took a break from the Nashville heat and took in some great performances by some of today’s hottest hitmakers at a jammed Tin Roof on Lower Broadway on Friday (June 7). Fans enjoyed line dancing lessons […]
When Lainey Wilson was 9, she and her family made their first trip to the Grand Ole Opry from her small hometown of Baskin, Louisiana, 471 miles away, and she knew that one day she would be on that revered stage. More than 20 years later, she reached the pinnacle for any country artist by being inducted to the Grand Ole Opry.
Friday night (June 7), she became the latest artist to stand in the famed wood circle as Trisha Yearwood and Garth Brooks did the official induction honors. “Tonight, it honestly feels like the biggest night of my life,” Wilson said.
“We are honored to be here tonight,” Yearwood said, “And I may be a little bit biased, but there can never be enough women inducted into the Grand Ole Opry. You get it. You know what it means to love country music, you love the Opry. When I think about the future of country music, I know with you in it, we’re going to be OK.”
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Grand Ole Opry/Photo by Chris Hollo
“I would say I’m so happy for you, but I’m so happy for the Grand Ole Opry,” added Brooks. “It’s just so rare to find someone at your age that gets it. The awards they give you will fade in time, but the thing that will always stay the same is this family.”
For Wilson, the induction caps a meteoric last several months that has seen her latest album, Bell Bottom Country, capture the ACM and CMA Awards for album of the year and the Grammy Award for best country album, as well as winning entertainer of the year at both the ACM and CMA Awards. She also graced the cover of Billboard‘s Country Power Players issue last month. But Wilson vowed to only work harder. “We’ve had a crazy couple of years with all the awards, but this right here is the highest honor,” she said. “It feels like the stamp of approval. It lights another fire under my butt.”
Wilson then brought her immediate family, as well as her boyfriend, Devlin “Duck” Hodges, to the stage. Surrounded by those who know her best and have supported her through the decades, she added, “As a little girl, I didn’t dream about my wedding day or what song I would play at my wedding, I dreamed about what song I would play in the circle.” After that initial visit to the Opry when she was 9, nine years later she moved to Nashville and nine years after that, she played the Opry for the first time on Valentine’s Day 2020. Four years later she became a member.
Wilson played throughout the night, first joining Terri Clark (who introduced her when she played the Opry that first time in 2020) for a duet on “Poor, Poor Pitiful Me,” then returning to sing “Refugee,” with Wynonna, the song the pair covered for the upcoming Tom Petty tribute album. She also performed a number of her own tunes, including “Dreamcatcher”; her first No. 1, “Things a Man Oughta Know”; “Heart Like a Truck” and “Watermelon Moonshine.”
After her official induction, Brooks told Wilson she had to sing at least one more tune, saying, “I’ve never gotten to hear you sing a song as an official member of the Grand Ole Opry.” He offered to hold her newly presented trophy, and Wilson allowed him to only after he promised to give it back. She closed the evening with a spirited version of “Hang Tight Honey” from her new album, Whirlwind, out Aug. 23 on Broken Bow/BMG.
Shortly into his set at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium on Friday night (June 7), two-time CMA Award winner Cody Johnson laid down a challenge for the crowd with one simple question: “Are you ready for some country music tonight?”
For more than three hours, approximately 70,000 fans filling the stadium answered that question with a resounding ‘Yes.’ As the four-day country music extravaganza CMA Fest reached its halfway mark, the Friday night lineup at Nissan Stadium offered a triple shot of Texas country, thanks to a lineup that included Johnson, Parker McCollum and Jon Pardi.
Women artists also made a strong showing Friday night, with the lineup featuring the “Redneck Woman” herself, Gretchen Wilson, as well as “Austin” hitmaker Dasha, singer-songwriter K. Michelle’s soulful set on the platform stage, and Kelsea Ballerini, who just announced her added gig as a coach on The Voice.
In the process of the cavalcade of artists taking the stage, night two at Nissan Stadium showcased the country music industry’s continued economic power and international draw, with die-hard country music fans attending from all 50 states and numerous countries. Night two also highlighted the power of songs that break through to the core of deep-seated emotions — whether heartbreak, remorse, love or celebration — to fuel fan-connecting, headliner-status careers.
Throughout the evening, the songs that poured from the two stages highlighted enduring country classics, some of the biggest hits of the moment, party-ready fare and moments of self-reflection and heartbreak — with those spectrum-spanning emotions sometimes wrapped into a single song.
As the clock reached midnight, two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner Luke Bryan launched his show, asking the crowd, “Ready to take this into the next morning?” He then proceeded to fill his midnight set with a string of hits he’s piled up over the past decade-plus, including “My Kind of Night” and “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Everyday.” The bulk of the concertgoers stayed, ready to continue an already hours-long, music-filled day in downtown Nashville into the wee hours of the morning at Nissan Stadium.
Here, we look at five top moments from night two of CMA Fest.
Dasha Takes Nashville to “Austin”
As scores of artists performed on outdoor stages throughout Nashville’s Lower Broadway on Friday (June 7), some of country music’s rising Latino country artists gathered for a panel and performance inside Fan Fair X at the CMA Closeup Stage.
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“Latin Roots: The ‘Equis’ Factor in Country Music” featured artists Frank Ray, Angie K, Leah Turner, LouieTheSinger and Sammy Arriaga, with the panel moderated by Rolling Stone writer Tomás Mier.
Each artist spoke of their respective backgrounds and journeys into country music, which are varied. Texas native Louie TheSinger, who signed with UMG Nashville earlier this year and released his single “Brothers,” previously performed R&B music prior to making a switch to country, and is open about sharing his story of being incarcerated for two years on a drug charge. Meanwhile, Frank Ray was a police officer in Texas prior to transitioning to performing country music. Angie K noted her El Salvador roots, but also her identity as part of the LGBTQ+ community.
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Angie K spoke of migrating to Georgia from El Salvador, saying, “Moving here from El Salvador…when you’re in a country where freedom is not as easy as it is here…my dad, his grandfather was kidnapped and as soon as he got out, got cancer and passed away. My dad almost got kidnapped and that’s one of the reasons we ended up moving to the United States,” Angie K recalled. “I remember talking to my dad and he was like, ‘It doesn’t matter because you are healthy and you are ok.’ That’s the Latin community that I want people to know,” she said, drawing applause from the audience.
“We are a beautiful community and I think both Latinos and country people, there’s real trauma in both of those worlds and we are here to do the priority of taking care of each other,” Angie K added.
“I’m a border town boy, raised in Columbus, New Mexico, and in Texas,” Ray said, noting the deep ties between country music culture and Latin culture. “The Latin community and country music…the American cowboy wouldn’t exist without the Mexican vaquero. I just picture, at some point, there was a guitar being passed around a campfire. That’s why the themes are the same—love, family, heartbreak, whiskey. Growing up in a border town, country music [would be heard] as much as mariachi.”
The artists’ music was also front and center during the event. Mexican-American country singer-songwriter Turner, who fully embraced her Latin roots with her 2022 EP Lost in Translation, performed a scorching version of her sultry ballad “T Shirt.” Angie K performed her new song “Red Dirt on Mars” and Arriaga offered up the tear-jerker “The Boat.” Ray, who earned a Billboard Country Airplay top 20 hit with “Country’d Look Good on You,” performed a mashup of his breakthrough song, the bilingual “Streetlights” and his new release, “Uh-huh (Ajá).”
Each spoke of Latino and country singers who inspired them, including Luis Fonsi, the late Tejano singer Selena, Jessi & Joy, Rick Trevino (who earned a Hot Country Songs No. 1 in 1997 with “Running Out of Reasons to Run”) George Strait, Garth Brooks, Carin León and the late country music singer Freddy Fender, known for his No. 1 Hot Country Songs hits “Wasted Days and Wasted Nights” and “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”
Arriaga, a Cuban-American who grew up in Miami, first garnered attention in 2011 with his stint on American Idol. In addition to releasing his own original songs, including his recent single “Dominoes,” Arriaga has long helped solidify ties between Latino music and country music with Spanish versions of country hits such as Luke Combs’ “Beautiful Crazy” and Thomas Rhett’s “Die a Happy Man.”
“The Spanish language, everything just sounds more romantic,” Arriaga said. “These [songs] are too beautiful to not be experienced by my culture. I wanted to do it in a way that we weren’t changing too much of what people are used to, so we just flipped the language. We had musicians from Mexico and Miami and we added some flair. It opened up some doors for me to tap into a Latino community. I’ve noticed a lot of Texans are loving the music.”
Angie K told Arriaga, “You were one of the first people I saw…when I was trying to decide whether to release [her bilingual single] ‘Real Talk,’ and you were doing this, so I thought, ‘Why not?’ I feel like you are also one of the pioneers with Spanish and country.”
Of working to increase visibility for artists with Latin roots in country music, Ray said, “It takes a lot of work and I couldn’t be more proud to do this with this group here. We love these opportunities and there are not a lot of them. It also brings us closer together.”
“We should all do a big tour,” Ray also said, drawing agreement from his fellow artists and cheers from the audience.
Robert Plant has mostly kept his Led Zeppelin past at arms-length since the group officially disbanded in 1980. But there are a few songs from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame band’s catalog that he has revisited and revised over the years, including on his current Can’t Let Go summer tour with Alison Krauss. […]
Jelly Roll banks his fourth No. 1 in a row on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart as “Halfway to Hell” ascends to the top of the tally dated June 15. It rose by 16% to 33.2 million audience impressions May 30-June 6, according to Luminate. Jelly Roll (born Jason DeFord) co-authored the song with Jessie Jo Dillon, […]
“It’s kind of crazy stepping into that lead role. I’ve been a side woman my whole life,” says fiddle player Jenee Fleenor.
Since moving to Nashville in 2001, she has toured with artists including Blake Shelton, Steven Tyler and Martina McBride, in addition to playing on hits such as Cody Johnson’s “’Til You Can’t.” But now, with her bluegrass group Wood Box Heroes, she is stepping into the spotlight and showcasing her talents as songwriter and soulful vocalist.
“I’ve always wanted to sing, but it’s been on the back burner,” Fleenor tells Billboard. “Fiddle wasn’t hot on the radio at that time, so I started songwriting and realized I could say things I wanted to say. It’s nice to have a fiddle playing, songwriting and vocal trifecta all in one place.”
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It wasn’t long ago that Fleenor was touring with Shelton when vocalist/guitarist Josh Martin hired her — along with 15-time Grammy winner and bassist Barry Bales and banjoist Matt Menefee — to be part of a backing group for his run of acoustic shows. At the end of the 10-day gig, they had honed their sound and realized they each had more to give.
“Those shows locked the band in and solidified the sound and we thought, ‘We could probably make a record,’” says Fleenor, who adds she had songs stored away that she felt would be a great fit for the newly-formed group. “It’s always been a dream of mine to have a band of session-quality musicians. We hardly rehearsed. We played through the songs one time and got onstage.” Wood Box Heroes released its self-titled EP last year and now (Friday, June 7), its debut full-length, 444, has arrived.
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The group’s quirky name came about thanks to a random Buc-ee’s gas station stop, when Fleenor saw two small Marvel Comics figurines, Thor and Groot, sitting atop the gas station pump. “We were looking for a name for a band,” Fleenor recalls. “I sent Josh a picture of them and he said, ‘Those look like some wood box heroes,’ and I thought that was a great name for a band. We went through probably a thousand more names, but came back to that.”
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Once in the studio, the recording process came naturally and swiftly, given the years they have all spent in recording studios, laying down tracks for other artists and as part of other groups. As a result, Fleenor says 444 was recorded in just two days. “We wrote charts and mapped out arrangements so when we are in the studio we aren’t wasting time,” she recalls. “A lot of my vocals, I cut while we were tracking.”
Fleenor notes the group’s sound has been compared to bands ranging from Fleetwood Mac to New Grass Revival — and their expansive influences prove why. While Fleenor began playing Suzuki violin at age three, she was also raised on Bob Wills records (“’Faded Love’ changed my life,” she says), as well as Merle Haggard, George Strait and Willie Nelson. She also soaked in Cajun music, as her mother is from Louisiana. Meanwhile, Martin grew up on the bluegrass-influenced Eastern Kentucky sounds of Patty Loveless, Loretta Lynn and The Judds. And Menefee’s influences add an unexpected element to their sound, drawing on jazz, rap, pop and video game music. (Menefee won the Winfield Banjo Contest at age 17 and has since worked with artists including Bruce Hornsby, Jerry Douglas and Mumford & Sons; Bales, who alongside his work for Alison Krauss & Union Station, has played on albums for Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, The Civil Wars and Chris Stapleton, the latter of whom he won an Academy of Country Music Award with for song of the year as co-writer on “Nobody to Blame.”)
On 444, each member not only plays but also helped with songwriting: Fleenor co-wrote six tracks; Martin is the sole writer on a trio of compositions, “Cross the Line,” “Piece of the Peace,” and “Better When We’re Livin’”; and another of Bales’ Stapleton co-writes made it on the album with “Cannonball.”
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“When we cut that, I had a flashback to the 1997 Alison Krauss & Union Station album So Long So Wrong,” Fleenor recalls. “That album influenced us all so much, so it was cool to find that intersection. I say Barry [Bales] is the hero of the Wood Box Heroes. I wanted to do a string thing on the front of that song as soon as I heard it, because it sounds like it should be in a movie.”
Elsewhere, “This Train,” which features Fleenor on lead vocals, joins the lengthy canon of train songs alongside Blue Highway’s “Endless Train” and Flatt & Scruggs’ “Petticoat Junction.” As Fleenor sats, “Once we got the ball rolling and figuring out the songs, I told Josh, ‘We need an up-tempo song — and every bluegrass band needs a train song.’ I was driving to a session and threw some melodies down in my voice memos. I was writing with Josh and Jim [“Moose” Brown] and this came out. It’s fun to sing and it showcases our musicality.”
Ahead, Fleenor, Bales, Martin and Menefee are slotting in Wood Box Heroes shows between their continued work playing with other artists and groups. For Fleenor, that has meant playing recent shows with “King George” Strait.
“As a fiddle player, I have to pinch myself. I’m playing ‘Amarillo by Morning,’” she says. “But getting to step into the artist thing was something I thought, ‘I don’t know if I’ll ever get to do that.’ I took a leap into this thing. I’m living my dream.”
And even though she is marking milestones off her list, Fleenor does have one bucket list item left: “My mom’s dream for me as a kid was to play violin at Carnegie Hall. I’m not playing classical, but maybe one day we can play some bluegrass there.”
Eminem and Jelly Roll linked up for a surprise performance of Slim Shady’s Aerosmith-sampling “Sing for the Moment” at the Live From Detroit: The Concert at Michigan Central show on Thursday night (June 6).
Prior to hitting the stage together, the Detroit legend and country star linked up outside the Michigan Central Station venue for a heartwarming interaction, which was shared by Bunny XO, who is married to Jelly Roll. She posted the exchange between Em and her husband on TikTok for the world to see. “When the goat meets THE GOAT,” she captioned the clip soundtracked by Eminem’s “My Name Is” anthem.
The exchange finds Jelly Roll in awe as Em approaches him, and he takes his hat off out of respect for the rap icon before they dap up.
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Their voices can’t be heard in the clip, but it looks as if Jelly Roll was giving Eminem his flowers as a longtime fan. They dap up again before going their separate ways, with Em in a black hooded jacket and sunglasses.
Fans really enjoyed seeing Em and Jelly Roll connect prior to making magic on stage, and let it be known in Bunnie’s comment section.
“I saw someone say ’eminem helped us get through our childhood and jelly roll is helping us get through adulthood’ so true,” one person wrote. Bunnie responded to the comment with the bawling and “100” emojis.
Another noted, “He took his hat off to shake Eminem’s hand hes so respectful even though he is a celebrity too.”
Some are hoping this could eventually lead to a collaboration between Em and Jelly. “Can we get a Jelly Roll featuring Eminem song soon, please,” they asked.
Eminem, who co-produced the concert with his manager Paul Rosenberg, sent the crowd into a frenzy when he performed a surprise four-track mini-set that included the live debut of his new “Houdini” single, which fans are hoping will be earning a lofty debut on the Billboard Hot 100.
Em was joined by the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, and also performed the aforementioned “Sing for the Moment” with Jelly, along with the Trick Trick-assisted “Welcome 2 Detroit” and “Not Afraid.”
Watch the moment Eminem and Jelly Roll met below.