genre country
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Billboard cover star Koe Wetzel is ready to headline Billboard’s THE STAGE at SXSW. The country singer shares his journey from a small Texas town to hitting the stage in countless cities where he’s able to connect with fans and change their lives. He opens up about how ‘Noise Complaint’ was the turning point in […]
Nashville will host its first-ever professional rodeo this spring when the Music City Rodeo touches down at Bridgestone Arena fromMay 29-31. The partnership between Tim McGraw‘s Down Home entertainment group, Skydance Media and Humes Rodeo will feature McGraw, Jelly Roll and Reba McEntire headlining shows during Music City’s first Professional Rodeo Cowboys Association (PRCA) event.
“As a Nashville native, this felt like a chance to be a part of a history-making event for the city,” said Jelly Roll in a statement. “I have vivid memories when it was announced in Nashville that we were getting a hockey team with the Predators, or a football team with the Titans… and I watched Bridgestone Arena be built from the ground up. Headlining Music City Rodeo in my hometown as a part of the first rodeo brought to town feels like the same type of milestone.”
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Jelly also appears in a minute-long promo video for the Rodeo, jumping behind the bar at a nightclub and saying, “ain’t your usual stop, is it boys?” to a group of cowboys, as Reba says in voiceover, “right here in the heart of Broadway where honky tonk neon meets daredevil grit, rodeo and country music collide. “Three nights of guts, glory and history in the making,” McGraw adds over thrilling footage of the cowboys roping and riding.
According to a release, “each day will showcase 7 thrilling rodeo events from bull riding to barrel racing, team roping to broncs, featuring the world’s best cowboys and cowgirls going head-to-head for over $200,000.00 in prize money. Fans will enjoy the full pageantry of rodeo with additional family-friendly activities like mutton bustin’, clowns and Rodeo Queens, before culminating each night in a headlining arena concert.”
McEntire is slated to perform on opening night (May 29), followed by Jelly on the 30th and McGraw on the 31st.
McGraw, McEntire and Jelly Roll are serving as the founding members of MCR, with McGraw — who has played more than 20 historic rodeos across the country during his carer — saying in a statement, ““For eight decades, Nashville’s music stars have been the soundtrack to America’s iconic rodeos — country music and rodeo go hand in hand. So, it was time to bring the magic of the rodeo home to Nashville and I’m thrilled to be bringing it here.”
Tickets for MCR will go on sale on Friday (March 7) at 10 a.m. CT. A select amount of pre-sale tickets and VIP packages will be available starting Wednesday (March 5) at 10 a.m. CT here.
“It’s no secret that rodeo is in my blood, and I’m thrilled to be a part of starting a new Nashville tradition,” added McEntire. “Country music and rodeo coming together in Music City, what a perfect combination…I just knew I had to be part of it.”
MCR is partnering with Nashville’s Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt to benefit the patients and families it serves, with a portion of all event proceeds earmarked to support the hospital’s mission of providing world class pediatric healthcare and research.
“Having been involved in rodeo my entire life, both inside and outside the arena, there is no other city built better for rodeo than Nashville,” said Pat Humes of Humes Rodeo. “I knew it from the moment my boots first hit the ground here. You can feel it. The people here are genuine, kind, polite and they like to have fun. They act and live like cowboys. The city breathes country music. It’s woven into the fabric of life here. It’s the coolest thing I’ve ever experienced.”
Check out the promo video for the Music City Rodeo below.
Garth Brooks will release The Anthology Part V: The Comeback, The First Five Years, the latest installment in his hardbound anthology series, on April 4. Each part covers a specific era of Brooks’ career with the Part V focused on his return to the stage in 2014 after taking off more than a dozen years […]
Carl Dean, a Nashville businessman and beloved husband of Dolly Parton for nearly 60 years, died on Monday (March 3). He was 82 years old.
The news of his death was announced via Parton’s Instagram page, along with a statement from the country superstar. “Carl and I spent many wonderful years together,” the statement reads. “Words can’t do justice to the love we shared for over 60 years. Thank you for your prayers and sympathy.”
The statement ends with requests for privacy from the family. A cause of death has yet to be revealed.
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Dean and Parton met outside a laundromat in Nashville as young adults, the same day Parton arrived in Music City at 18 years old to pursue her dreams of a music career (at that point, Parton had released a handful of non-charting singles; she first entered the Hot Country Songs chart with “Dumb Blonde” not long after their marriage).
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“We had the car radio on,” Parton told Billboard of the day she met Dean. “I don’t remember what it was playing, but it was loud and it was rock ’n roll.”
Parton and Dean wed on May 30, 1966 in Ringgold, Georgia. They renewed their vows in Nashville on their 50th anniversary in 2016.
Dean has famously been averse to the spotlight. Only rarely do photographs of the couple emerge, and Parton has said that Dean has only ever seen her perform live once. At various times during her career, she has even had to debunk rumors that her husband doesn’t exist. “A lot of people have thought that through the years, because he does not want to be in the spotlight at all,” Parton told Entertainment Tonight during an interview in 2020.
Parton recently discussed her relationship with Dean during an interview with Bunnie XO on the latter’s Dumb Blonde podcast in December, sharing the secret to their long-lasting marriage. “He’s quiet and I’m loud, and we’re funny,” she explained. “Oh, he’s hilarious. And I think one of the things that’s made it last so long through the years is that we love each other [and] we respect each other, but we have a lot of fun.”
She added, “Anytime [there’s] too much tension going on, either one of us can like, find a joke about it to really break the tension, where we don’t let it go so far. We never fought back and forth. And I’m glad now that we never did, because once you start that, that becomes a lifetime thing.”
Dean is survived by Parton and his two siblings, Sandra and Donnie.
Can Kendrick Lamar still hold No. 1 this week? Tetris Kelly:This is the Billboard Hot 100 top 10 for the week dated March 8. Down to 10 is “Squabble Up.” Teddy is back in the top 10 as is Chappell Roan up to eight. “Birds of a Feather” is at seven. “APT.” is at No. […]
Ingrid Andress got her second chance at singing the national anthem at a recent Colorado Avalanche game, and this time, things went a lot better than they did seven months prior at the 2024 Home Run Derby.
In a video posted to the country star’s social media accounts Feb. 28, Andress stands on the ice and sings “The Star-Spangled Banner” a cappella, this time hitting all of the notes and getting through the whole song smoothly. When she gets to the line, “… that our flag was still there,” the fans in the arena join in, making her laugh before nailing her big finish.
After the song is over, she exits the rink and — before emotionally hugging a friend — the “More Hearts Than Mine” artist cheers, “I did it!”
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“We’re back baby,” Andress captioned the clip.
The showcase serves as a redemption for the singer-songwriter, who went viral in July over a flubbed rendition of the national anthem at the Home Run Derby in Arlington, Texas. After the pitchy, overall messy performance drew harsh criticism, Andress confessed on social media that she’d been under the influence of alcohol during the event and would be seeking treatment.
“I’m not gonna bulls–t y’all,” she wrote at the time in a post shared to her various accounts. “I was drunk last night. I’m checking myself into a facility today to get the help I need. That was not me last night. I apologize to MLB, all the fans, and this country I love so much for that rendition.”
As part of her comeback, Andress also released a new song titled “Footprints” Monday (March 3). “I think the most human thing on earth is failing,” she wrote of the song on Instagram. “It’s getting kicked off, feeling the sting of it, but getting back on the same damn horse anyway. The sister, daughter, and human I want to be is resilient. Without the mistakes in my life, I would not be the person I am today, and I sure as hell wouldn’t have the stories to pass on about my journey.”
“‘Footprints’ is a reminder to all the people I love the most, and also to myself, that I’m out here trying my best at this ‘life’ thing,” she added. “If there’s any helpful guidance anyone can take from it, it’s all worth it. Here’s to making it worse, making it right, and making it.”
Watch Andress redeem herself on the national anthem below.
Cole Swindell is going to be a dad! The “She Had Me at Heads Carolina” hitmaker and his wife, entrepreneur and former NBA dancer Courtney Little, revealed on Monday (March 3) that they are expecting their first child this year. Explore Explore See latest videos, charts and news See latest videos, charts and news On […]
Collaborations abound in this week’s Must-Hear column. Kassi Ashton and Parker McCollum team up for a sultry new ballad, Charles Wesley Godwin joins musical forces with Ernest, and Dani Rose partners with Brent Cobb. Meanwhile, Zach Top and Billy Strings offer a take on a Ricky Skaggs classic, while JD Clayton offers up music on his new project, Blue Sky Sundays.
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Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country, bluegrass and/or Americana songs of the week below.
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Kassi Ashton feat. Parker McCollum, “Sounds Like Something I’d Say”
Enveloped in a cool, sultry swagger, Ashton and McCollum sing about the hazy, morning-after regrets that follow a night of decisions intended to make one forget the loneliness that haunts them. “It sounds better in the dark than in the light of day,” Ashton sings about recalling words spoken under the influence of heartache and alcohol. They both venture into fervent, soulful territory here, to mighty impact.
Charles Wesley Godwin feat. Ernest, “Dead to Rights”
Charles Wesley Godwin teams with Ernest for this track included on Godwin’s seven-song EP, Lonely Mountain Town, which released Feb. 28 on Big Loud. Somber, acoustic-driven and steel guitar-inflected, “Dead to Rights” finds the song’s protagonist reflecting on how he once reveled in nights on the town and the single life, until finding a love worth trading it all in for. “You crashed into me, like that d–ned left hook I never got to see,” Godwin sings. He’s got a voice with all the warmth of a crackling fire, and he employs it admirably here.
Zach Top and Billy Strings, “Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown”
Bluegrass-and-beyond luminary Strings and ascendant country star Zach Top serve up a slab of classic country, taking on Ricky Skaggs’ 1983 hit “Don’t Cheat in Our Hometown.” The track is from Top’s new three-song EP, Me & Billy, which features a trio of songs previously featured as part of their Apple Music Sessions, and now available to stream everywhere. Strings, of course, has become an arena draw with his superb, genre-agnostic musicianship, while Top is has become one of the most-buzzed-about new country artists. Top also comes from a bluegrass background, formerly leading the band Modern Tradition, which won the SPBGMA Band Championship in 2017. He also issued his solo, self-titled bluegrass-leaning project in 2022, before issuing his breakthrough country project in 2024. Their musical camaraderie and mutual love for the genre is undeniable here.
JD Clayton, “Slow & Steady”
On his previous project Long Way From Home, Clayton focused on more pared-back folk and country vibes. But on his new album, Blue Sky Sundays, he returns to his rock influences. Here, a tale about a balmy Sunday drive gets a laid-back, Southern rock surge, thanks to the solid percussion and muscular guitar work Clayton and his band employ here. His grizzled voice lays into lyrics about soaking in a carefree day, from first sunlight to when the sun’s rays fade. “I said let’s take it slow/ You know we ain’t got no place to go,” he sings.
Blue Sky Sundays released Feb. 28 on Rounder Records.
Dani Rose and Brent Cobb, “I Ain’t Livin’”
Rose and Cobb trade harmonies gloriously on this track, which marked Rose’s fifth placement on the Paramount’s Yellowstone series. The track was written by Cobb and Jessi Alexander, and co-produced by Rose and Maks Gabriel. Together, Rose and Cobb turn in a cool, sultry rendering, declaring devotion to living life to the fullest and seeking adventure wherever they come across it. “May I ride till the wheels fall off/ But my soul’s out there in the ether,” they sing, wrapping in elements of a freewheeling, 1970s feel.
Brad Paisley announced the initial run of dates for his upcoming 2025 Truck Still Works World Tour on Monday (March 3). The first leg of the outing is slated to kick off on May 21 at the Mountain America Center in Idaho Falls, ID and bring the “No I in Beer” singer to Montana, Colorado, Oregon, Arizona, California, Ohio, New York, Virginia, Connecticut, New Hampshire, North Carolina, Georgia and Florida before winding down on August 8 at in Arcadia, WI at the Ashley for the Arts festival.
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The first announced dates of the Live Nation-promoted tour will feature support from Walker Hayes, as well as Avery Anna, Mae Estes and Alexandra Kay and Paisley’s first-ever stops at Morrison, CO’s historic Red Rocks Amphitheatre and Los Angeles’ Greek Theatre. The tour is named for Paisley’s current radio single “Truck Still Works,” which the singer debuted last fall on NBC’s People’s Choice Country Awards and the American Music Awards 50th anniversary special on CBS.
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A fan club presale will open on Tuesday (March 4) at 10 a.m. local time through Thursday (March 6) at 10 p.m. local time. The general on-sale will kick off on Friday (March 7) here. In addition, there will be an exclusive Verizon presale through Verizon Access for select shows beginning on Tuesday at noon local; for more details click here. Official tour sponsor Citi will give cardmembers access to a presale beginning on Tuesday at 10 a.m. local time through 10 p.m. local on Thursday here.
Check out the dates for Paisley’s Truck Still Works World Tour below.
May 21 – Idaho Falls, ID @ Mountain America Center #
May 22 – Bonner, MT @ KettleHouse Amphitheater #
May 24 – Morrison, CO @ Red Rocks Amphitheatre *#
May 29 – Bend, OR @ Hayden Homes Amphitheater *+
May 30 – Airway Heights, WA @ BECU Live at Northern Quest *+
May 31 – Everett, WA @ Angel Of the Winds Arena *+
June 5 – Phoenix, AZ @ Arizona Financial Theatre @ *#
June 6 – Los Angeles, CA @ The Greek Theatre *#
June 7 – San Diego, CA @ Gallagher Square at Petco Park *#
July 10 – Ft. Loramie, OH @ Country Concert festival line up
July 12 – Canandaigua, NY @ Constellation Brands Marvin Sands Performing Arts Center ++ xx
July 17 – Richmond, VA @ Allianz Amphitheater at Riverfront *=
July 18 – Bridgeport, CT @ Hartford HealthCare Amphitheater *=
July 19 – Gilford, NH @ BankNH Pavilion *=
July 24 – Wilmington, NC @ Live Oak Bank Pavilion @ *=
July 25 – Simpsonville, SC @ CCNB Amphitheatre *=
August 1 – Savannah, GA @ Enmarket Arena *=
August 2 – St. Augustine, FL @ The St. Augustine Amphitheatre *=
August 3 – Clearwater, FL @ The Baycare Sound @ *= ++
August 8 – Arcadia, WI @ Ashley For the Arts Festival
* Walker Hayes
# Avery Anna
+ Mae Estes
= Alexandra Kay
@ No Citi & Verizon pre sale
++ non Live Nation show
xx Dylan Scott & Alexandra Kay
On March 3, 1990, The Oak Ridge Boys’ “No Matter How High” topped Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Written by Joey Scarbury — of “Theme From Greatest American Hero (Believe It or Not)” fame — and Even Stevens, and produced by Jimmy Bowen, the song was released as the second of two singles from the […]