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It was the Year of Hootie: With grunge tailing off, country getting huge and top 40 starting to drift to a mellower and rootsier middle, an unassuming group of good-time frat-rockers became the biggest thing in 1995 popular music. After the mid-1994 release of Cracked Rear View started to spread from the Carolinas to the rest of the country, Hootie & the Blowfish dominated 1995 from front to back, with three top 10 hits, a guest (sort-of) appearance on the year’s hottest TV show, over 10 million in sales and nearly as many annoying questions about the band’s name. But within a couple years, the band’s quick fall from pop stardom would prove just as dramatic and difficult-to-explain as its rise.
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On this week’s Vintage Pop Stardom episode of the Greatest Pop Stars podcast, host Andrew Unterberger is joined by Billboard managing editor Christine Werthman, a member of the Blowfish’s school since ’95, to talk about the band’s unquestioned peak year of pop stardom. We talk about the many cultural and musical factors that led to the Hootie takeover — and still how improbable the sheer size and scope of it ended up being — as well as why it ultimately wasn’t built to last, and whether the band deserves better than they got in terms of their legacy in both rock and pop music.
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And of course, along the way, we ask all the big questions about Hootie & the Blowfish’s year as the big men on the pop-rock campus: Why did so many critics love to hate on Hootie? Is “Hold My Hand” more anthemic or simplistic? Did the SportsCenter anchors in the “Only Wanna Be With You” video go a little too hard with the catchphrases? Was an invisible Hootie cameo worth more to a ’90s sitcom than another band actually showing up? And of course: What kind of career could Hootie & the Blowfish have had if they had just gone with a different band name a decade earlier?
Check it out above — along with a YouTube playlist of some of the most important moments from Hootie’s 1995, all of which are discussed in the podcast — and subscribe to the Greatest Pop Stars podcast on Apple Music or Spotify (or wherever you get your podcasts) for weekly discussions every Thursday about all things related to pop stardom!
And as we say in every one of these GPS podcast posts — if you have the time and money to spare, please consider donating to any of these causes in the fight for trans rights:
Transgender Law Center
Trans Lifeline
Gender-Affirming Care Fundraising on GoFundMe
Also, please consider giving your local congresspeople a call in support of trans rights, with contact information you can find on 5Calls.org — and if you’re in the D.C. area this weekend (May 30-31), definitely check out Liberation Weekend, a music festival supporting trans rights with an incredible lineup of trans artists and allies.
Asking for a commitment, we’re told, will scare a man away. And if that’s true, then young men, who have the bulk of their lives ahead of them, should be particularly frightened. Why, they may ask themselves, should I get tied down now?
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So it’s amusing to hear Ty Myers, at age 17, vow to a woman to be hers “’til the end of the Earth.” Say it again: 17 years old, singing about forever. Seems unusual, right?
“Guys my age definitely think in that way,” Myers insists. “They just don’t tell people they’re thinking in that way because they know it’s probably stupid to think in that way.”
Stupid because, well, maybe they’re wrong. Maybe they’re misreading the signals. Maybe everyone else’s opinion carries some weight. “You talk to girls, you feel something, you don’t really know exactly what you’re feeling,” Myers explains. “You’re like, ‘Well, you know, this is my first time doing this. Maybe it is, you know, [love]. And so you kind of start thinking in that way. You tell your friends, and your friends say you’re an idiot.”
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“Ends of the Earth,” a song Myers says is mostly “based on true events,” arrived before classmates had the chance to share their opinions. He was uncertain where he stood with a girl — “[It’s] that cat-and-mouse game where you’re running after somebody,” he says — and he went to work on a song about it in his bedroom late at night, playing an electric guitar plugged into a Spark Practice Amp, ideal for muted situations.
“That volume knob never stares at you like it does at 2 a.m.,” Myers says.
He launched into simple arpeggios in 6/8 time, emulating a Stax soul ballad. Myers had the title, “Ends of the Earth,” and he wove his way toward its payoff line, ricocheting between images of his room — starting with the “silence of the speakers” — and the object of his affection. The story was sweet, but it took a turn at the pre-chorus as the singer confessed his anger. They could get “so damn close,” then she would pull away — her lack of commitment was tearing at his nerves.
It set up a bigger-sounding chorus. The melody hit a higher peak while the words turned to pleading. If the “Ends of the Earth” title wasn’t fully clear, he promised to follow her “where the horizon meets the sunrise.”
“If you’re going to the ends of the Earth, that implies that there’s an end to the Earth — which, I’m not a flat-Earther,” he says. “Personally, I believe the Earth is round, which would mean that there’s no end, right? But if the Earth was flat, which is kind of what I’m alluding to in the song, then that would mean that the horizon would be the end. So in my mind, I was thinking where the horizon meets the sunrise. That’s where I’ll go to follow you.”
Of course, with the Earth being round, chasing her to the horizon is a never-ending pursuit.
The mix of sensibilities continued in verse two. After initially toying with a line about Sunday, Myers made her “The whole sundae /And the cherry on top.” Again, the sweetness didn’t last; just a few lines later, the singer’s heart is “broken on the floor.” Another chorus would carry it from there — the guy remains in limbo by the end of the song, still willing to follow as long as she lets him.
Myers made a simple work tape, singing along with electric guitar, and he sent it off to producer Brandon Hood (Mackenzie Carpenter, Troy Cartwright) just a couple of days before their first session together at Nashville’s Starstruck Studios. The short window from conception to recording set a precedent for their working relationship. “All the songs he writes and brings in, he writes them just a few days before we cut them,” Hood says.
“That’s kind of his MO. It’s like The Beatles, almost — not trying to compare him to The Beatles, but it’s got that kind of innocence. There’s no label people involved, there’s no publishers involved, and most of the songs he’s writing 100% by himself.”
Their game plan for Myers’ recordings was particularly appropriate for a song that hints at “forever.”“We were trying to stamp a little bit of the timeless thing in there,” Hood says. “That’s the thing with Ty, the thing that I think connects the two of us more than anything: He wants to be somebody that’s not date-stamped.”
Myers played “Ends of the Earth” acoustically at the session for the band: bassist Mark Hill, drummer Chris McHugh, keyboardist Gordon Mote, guitarists Tom Bukovac and Kris Donegan and steel guitarist Bruce Bouton. They initially tried to take it in that same acoustic direction, but it didn’t quite have the right level of grit. They tried several other approaches, too, but ultimately landed on their own version of the Stax-style production that Myers had employed when he wrote it in his bedroom. They added a couple of chords to the chorus to create a little more movement, but still kept the arrangement simple and spacious.
“It wasn’t going to be something where we needed a wall of guitars and a wall of noise behind him,” Hood says. “The things he referenced were all very open-sounding records. I find it, as a producer, a lot more challenging to leave the space open than filling it, but I really do think it’s made him stick out a little bit more, and that’s to his own credit.”
Myers sang live with the band, sounding more adult than his 17 years and helping to heighten the tension embedded in the “Ends of the Earth” story. His performance from that session formed the bulk of the final vocal track, though he did some touch-up work at a later date. Hood would overdub a guitar solo, played with a country flare to offset the track’s blues sound, and Trey Keller provided backing vocals.
“Ends of the Earth” played well when RECORDS Nashville/Columbia sent it out into the real world on Oct. 18, 2024. It scored heavy airplay on SiriusXM’s The Highway and earned an RIAA-certified gold single on April 3. When the label decided to promote it to terrestrial country radio, an edited version was in order, trimming it from its original 4:30 length. Hood scrapped the pre-chorus, cut his own guitar solo and slashed half of the second verse, eliminating the sundae part of the lyrics while paring it to 3:23 just days before its April 10 release via PlayMPE.
Ultimately, the romantic tension in “Ends of the Earth” is familiar, and its mix of country and classic soul made it easy for Myers and the label to commit to it as he starts his relationship with broadcasters.
“There’s something about a song where you can sit down and not strain your head thinking about it,” he says. “You can just sit down and kind of relax to it. And I think that’s where ‘Ends of the Earth’ shines.”
Larry Hoover Jr. has thanked Ye (formerly Kanye West) for his support over the years when it comes to advocating for his father, Larry Hoover’s, freedom. The elder Hoover had his federal life sentence commuted by President Donald Trump on Wednesday (May 28). TheGangster Disciples’ founder has been locked up since 1973. “It started a […]
There are lucky fans, like the ones who managed to get tickets to see Beyoncé for her ongoing Cowboy Carter tour, and then there are really lucky fans, such as the couple who got Queen Bey to do a gender-reveal for their first born child. In the middle Wednesday night’s (May 28) rain-soaked stop of […]
This week’s roundup of Publishing Briefs includes a rebrand for Sheer Publishing Africa, a pair of big deals for Warner Chappell Music and a renewal of Sony Music Publishing Nashville’s pact with Kane Brown’s creative company.
Warner Chappell Music signed a global administration and sub-publishing deal with veteran French DJ and producer Bob Sinclar, covering over 350 works from his catalog, including iconic tracks like “World Hold On,” “Love Generation,” and “The Beat Goes On.” The agreement also includes music from the influential Africanism label. Known for pioneering the French House (or French Touch) movement since 1998, Sinclar has built a successful mainstream and underground career through his label Yellow Productions, and over the years has collaborated with global stars such as Kylie Minogue, Sean Paul and Robbie Williams, and remixed tracks by Madonna, Rihanna, and Moby. “Bob Sinclar is a fervent representative of the French Touch, a true tastemaker who has always made a point of crossing borders,” said Valentin Zucca, senior A&R at WCM France. “His music, and what he did for the dance culture, had a major influence on a whole generation of listeners and artists.”
WCM also extended its joint venture with Lilly Raye Music, the publishing and management company led by Edward Matthew and Justin Martinez. Since its 2020 launch and 2023 expansion, the partnership has driven international collaborations across Asia, Europe and the United States. The venture is ramping up efforts in Germany and the Netherlands, particularly in dance and electronic music, while strengthening A&R in the UK. Achievements include Grammy recognition for work on albums by Summer Walker and Janelle Monáe, ten No. 1 hits in Sweden, and syncs with Apple and Acne Studios. They’ve also contributed to K-pop hits for LESSERAFIM and IVE, and support rising stars like Ayra Starr and RAYE. “We’ve built a really solid relationship with Edward and Justin over the past few years,” mentioned Guy Moot, co-chair and CEO of WCM. “They have an infectious enthusiasm for forging cultural connections between writers and producers from different parts of the world. The amazing results speak for themselves.”
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Sheer Publishing Africa officially rebranded as Downtown Music Publishing Africa (DMP Africa), marking a major milestone in its nearly 30-year history as a leading inie music publisher on the continent. Effective May 27, the rebrand aligns the company with Downtown Music Publishing’s global infrastructure, offering African creators enhanced access to royalty administration, tech and global services across 145 countries. DMP Africa will also introduce Neighbouring Rights Administration and Downtown’s royalty system to improve transparency and earnings access. With partnerships including Warner Chappell, Concord, and Saregama, DMP Africa is positioning itself as a global rights management leader. “This is a transformational moment,” said Managing Director Thando Makhunga. Downtown executives Emily Stephenson and Pieter van Rijn emphasized the strategic importance of Africa as a dynamic creative hub, with the latter calling it “a region rich in creativity, culture and talent.” Stephenson added that “through DMP Africa, we are investing not just in infrastructure, but in long-term relationships that will shape the future of the music industry.”
Sony Music Publishing Nashville renewed its partnership with Verse 2 Music, the joint venture founded in 2021 by Kane Brown and Kent Earls. V2 has quickly become a rising force in country music, representing top songwriters like Josh Hoge, Rivers Rutherford, and Dylan Schneider. Over four years, the venture has delivered more than 200 major label releases, 11 country airplay singles, and four No. 1 hits — including the award-winning “Thank God” by Kane and Katelyn Brown. Brown and Earls said they were “excited” and “thrilled” to renew the deal. SMPN chief Rusty Gaston added, “Kent and Kane are a creative and business dynamic duo. Just within a few years, they’ve gone from zero songs to celebrating four No. 1 singles, with multiple singles on the chart currently. Their success is just getting started, and we are so excited to continue this journey with them.”
PUB BRIEFS BRIEFS: Nick Autry inked a global publishing deal with Spirit Music Nashville. A former touring drummer, he’s now a Grammy-nominated engineer and producer who has worked with Carrie Underwood and Sam Hunt, and co-produced a chart-topping comedy album for Bobby Bones and The Raging Idiots … Sheltered Music formed a creative partnership with Crystal Pony Publishing and songwriter Roger Springer (“It’s a Little Too Late”). Their first signee is artist-writer Will Banister … Big Machine Music signed South African artist-writer Will Linley to an exclusive co-publishing deal. Known for viral hit “Last Call,” Linley’s catalog includes “Miss Me (When You’re Gone)” and EPs Kill All My Feelings and Magic. His new single “Cinematic” dropped May 16, launching a European pop-up tour.
Sony Music Publishing signed electronic artist and remixer Purple Disco Machine (Tino Piontek) to an exclusive worldwide songwriting deal. This joint venture between SMP’s German and UK offices aims to expand PDM’s international creative reach. Since his 2012 breakthrough “My House,” Purple Disco Machine has earned 37 platinum and 14 gold certifications, with over 1.5 billion streams. His hits “Hypnotized” and “In The Dark” with Sophie and the Giants, from the Exotica album, have surpassed a billion streams. His latest album Paradise features the hit “Substitution” with Kungs and Julian Perretta, and the 2024 chart-topper “Honey Boy” with Nile Rodgers, Benjamin Ingrosso and Shenseea. He’s also known for crafting remixes for The Rolling Stones, Dua Lipa, Lady Gaga and Lizzo. “I began working with Tino a decade ago, just after his ‘Street Life’ releases, when he was flipping samples, making club bangers and experimenting with his sound,” said SMPUK director of A&R Adrienne Bookbinder. “It’s been a pleasure witnessing Tino’s defining moments to-date, and it’s an honor to continue the story together alongside his manager Matt Jagger as we welcome him to SMP.”
As one of the biggest pop stars in the world, ROSÉ can’t exactly walk around in public without being recognized — not without a little creativity, at least.
In a Dazed cover story published Thursday (May 29), the BLACKPINK star opened up about a time she disguised herself as an old lady, just so she could walk around for a little while without fans knowing it was her. The getup was elaborate, with ROSÉ hiring a professional team to deck her out with prosthetic wrinkles and a gray wig.
“It was really, really intense,” she told the publication, noting that the fear of being caught in the costume ultimately outweighed the freedom it brought her. “I don’t think I’ll ever do that again.”
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Even so, the K-pop star says that experiencing life as a regular person, even if only for a little bit, still calls to her. “What does freedom look like to me?” she mused in the interview. “Freedom means being anonymous.”
ROSÉ also said that she misses “not having to be terrified of small things” and “not having to be the annoying person in the room full of my friends who is paranoid about something, when I want to be very nonchalant and chill, but I have to be careful about everything.”
“Even if I’m not doing anything wrong, I have to think, ‘What if this makes people think that I’m doing something wrong?’” she continued, adding that her fame means she’s always grappling with the “fear of being misunderstood.”
The New Zealand native’s thoughts on celebrity and anonymity come at a time when she’s more famous than ever. In addition to being one-fourth of what is arguably the biggest girl group in the world, ROSÉ also recently elevated her superstar status by dropping her debut solo album, Rosie, in December. The LP featured smash hit “APT.” featuring Bruno Mars, which spent 12 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Global 200.
She’s now gearing up to regroup with LISA, JENNIE and JISOO as BLACKPINK plans to reunite this summer, embarking on a world tour that kicks off in July. ROSÉ didn’t say much about the upcoming comeback, but she did tell Dazed, “Each of us has gone out and been inspired and learned so much about ourselves, and now we’re coming back to each other with good energy.”
As for her own ambitions, the “Number One Girl” singer opened up about wanting to win a Grammy someday. “That would be incredible,” she said. “But I think if it means more to my community, it’d be special. That’s the first thing that I want, and whatever awards or celebration comes after it, that would feel extra rewarding.”
Coldplay was back on the road in April, extending the group’s reach to Hong Kong and Goyang, South Korea (14 miles from Seoul). According to figures reported to Billboard Boxscore, the British band is No. 1 on the monthly Top Tours chart, with $67.4 million in the bank and 502,000 tickets sold.
Coldplay has been one of the most dominant acts on the Boxscore charts since the 2022 kickoff of the Music of the Spheres World Tour, reigning over seven Top Tours charts. The band’s touring calendar has become an accurate predictor of chart results: Its last batch of shows was in January, which matches its sixth monthly victory. Before that, Coldplay had dates in November, aligning with its fifth monthly win. Coldplay has only one show scheduled in May, but a busier calendar throughout the summer immediately makes the band prohibitive competition for the top spot over the next several months.
With its April triumph, Chris Martin & Co. tie Bad Bunny and Elton John for the most months at No. 1 (seven). Trans-Siberian Orchestra follows with five (December of every year since the chart premiered).
Beyoncé and P!nk have each led four times. The latter did it twice on the Beautiful Trauma World Tour in 2019 and twice more with dates from Summer Carnival and Trustfall Tour in 2023-24. Beyoncé dominated the summer of 2023 with the Renaissance World Tour and played the first show on Cowboy Carter Tour on April 28, squeaking onto the month’s list with one date.
Coldplay’s April boils down to four shows at Hong Kong’s Kai Tak Stadium and six at Goyang Stadium in South Korea. The first set of dates grossed $32.9 million and sold 184,000 tickets. The second set moved $34.4 million from 318,000 tickets. That’s enough to secure the top two positions on the Top Boxscores chart.
The grosses of Coldplay’s two stops are close, separated by just 4%. But the longer stay in Goyang sold 73% more tickets, which means that the ticket price in Hong Kong had to be much higher. At Kai Tak Stadium, Coldplay averaged $179 per seat, while the Korean shows paced $108.22.
Added to Coldplay’s January run in the United Arab Emirates and India, the 2025 Asian leg wrapped with $124 million and 1.1 million tickets. Combined with the 2023-24 leg in Japan, Taiwan, Indonesia and more, Asia accounts for $253.4 million on the Music of the Spheres World Tour. Worldwide, the trek has brought in $1.3 billion and sold 11.4 million tickets, extending its lead as the bestselling tour in history.
Coldplay picks back up on May 31 in Stanford, Calif., kicking off a 17-show run in the U.S. and Canada. Finally, there are 12 dates scheduled in the U.K., closing out the three-and-a-half-year tour with 10 shows at London’s Wembley Stadium. By closing night, the trek will be approaching $1.5 billion and 13 million tickets sold.
From one of the biggest tours of all time nearing its close to the opening shows of one of 2025’s hottest tickets, Kendrick Lamar and SZA are No. 2 on April’s tally. The first four shows of the Grand National Tour brought in $43.2 million and sold 180,000 tickets.
Lamar and SZA premiered their co-headline trek on April 19 at Minneapolis’ U.S. Bank Stadium, before hitting Houston, Dallas and Atlanta. These are the first stadium shows for each artist, having previously conquered arenas in 2022 (Lamar’s The Steppers Tour) and 2023 (SZA’s SOS Tour).
Already, the Grand National Tour is the biggest tour of either artist’s career, and they are only 10 shows deep. Including six reported shows in May, which will count toward next month’s charts, the trek has earned $115.7 million and sold 508,000 tickets through the May 17 show at Seattle’s Lumen Field.
Thirteen shows remain on the pair’s schedule in North America, before traveling to Europe for 16 dates. Before its close on Aug. 9 in Stockholm, the Grand National Tour will be one of the biggest co-headline treks in history.
April was not just the stadium launchpad for Lamar and SZA. In the closing days of the month, Lady Gaga played her first two ticketed shows of the year at Mexico City’s Estadio GNP Seguros (April 26-27), hitting No. 6 on Top Boxscores and No. 10 on Top Tours. Beyoncé opened Cowboy Carter Tour in Los Angeles (April 28), reaching Nos. 14 and 15, respectively. And Post Malone unleashed the Big Ass Stadium Tour with assistance from Jelly Roll in Salt Lake City (April 29).
Beyoncé, Gaga and SZA help to make April a banner month for women on tour. They are three of 10 women on the Top Tours chart, up from seven in March, six in February, and just one in January. Still less than half, the 33% representation in April represents the most women on a Top Tours chart in its 58 editions, surpassing nine, or 30%, in December 2019 and January 2022.
In between SZA and Gaga, Shakira is No. 7 after leading the list in February and March. The first Latin American leg of her 2025 tour ended mid-month, handicapping her potential rank. Elsewhere, Charli xcx and Olivia Rodrigo carry over tours that began in 2024. Kelsea Ballerini, Mary J. Blige and Kylie Minogue wrapped up spring runs, while Katy Perry began The Lifetimes Tour with five shows in Mexico.
On May 5, 2015 when Mercury Records/Universal Music Group Nashville released Chris Stapleton’s solo debut album, Traveller, those close to the project knew it was a potent collection of heartfelt songs executed by a once-in-a-generation voice, yet no one could have imagined the career juggernaut it would become, including claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard’s Top Country Albums of the 21st Century chart.
Stapleton was a well-respected talent, known for penning hits for Kenny Chesney, Luke Bryan and Josh Turner, as well as fronting Grammy-nominated bluegrass outfit The SteelDrivers and Southern rock band The Jompson Brothers. However, when Traveller arrived, the Kentucky native had yet to gain any traction as a solo artist, including with previous single, 2013’s “What Are You Listening To.”
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“Traveller came from a place of frustration,” former CEO/chair of Universal Music Group Nashville Cindy Mabe says. “Chris had written a lot of songs and done a radio promo tour only to find that he wasn’t getting any support. People knew he was this incredible vocalist, but they had no idea what to do with him.
“In the midst of all of that, his father passed away in October 2013. Chris decided to make an entirely different album based on the songs he had been writing over the 15 years he had been in Nashville,” Mabe continues. “He took a step away from everything. [His wife] Morgane bought Chris an old Jeep and they decided to take a trip across the country and drive the Jeep back. Along the way, Chris wrote the song ‘Traveller,’ which gave birth to one of the most iconic albums in the last 40 years. It helped frame the album Chris wanted to make for himself and his dad. It wasn’t chasing what was currently happening but bringing back what he loved about country music.”
The deeply personal and soulful Traveller has become a landmark album, and the story of that fateful drive from Phoenix to Nashville has become country music lore. “Our dear friend Becky Fluke is an incredible videographer and photographer, and it was something the three of us had talked about doing for quite a while,” Morgane Stapleton tells Billboard. “Becky said, ‘In 20 years you’re going to want to have this,’ but it was really mainly just three friends taking a trip and Chris getting some head-clearing space.”
In the summer of 2014, Chris and Morgane, along with co-producer Dave Cobb, Stapleton’s drummer Derek Mixon and bassist J.T. Cure, and special guests Mickey Raphael on harmonica and Robby Turner on pedal steel guitar entered RCA’s famed Studio A in Nashville. Armed with some of the most compelling songs in Stapleton’s catalog, they proceeded to record Traveller, while the studio was under threat of developers planning to take a wrecking ball to the historic site.
That November, Stapleton performed with Justin Timberlake on the Country Music Association Awards and their mesmerizing medley of Stapleton’s cover of David Allan Coe’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and Timberlake’s “Drink You Away” changed Stapleton’s career. “Tennessee Whiskey,” penned by Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, hit No. 1 on Hot Country Songs and Traveller finally reached No. 1 on Top Country Albums six months after its release (after initially debuting at No. 2). A decade later, Traveller is still on the chart, having logged more than 523 weeks on that list. By the end of the year, it will likely surpass Willie Nelson’s 1978 album Stardust’s record of 551 weeks as the longest run on the chart.
In all new interviews, those closest to Stapleton and the project recall the creative journey.
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Brian Wright, former executive vp of A&R, UMG Nashville: I was doing A&R and got Chris a few songwriting cuts [with] Josh Turner and George Strait. That’s how we became friends. Publishers would play me their latest and greatest songs, and somebody played me a Chris demo. I called Chris and said, “Hey buddy, do you want to go to lunch?” We talked about family, kids, life. We get up to leave and I have no idea why or what my intention, but I said, “It’s time for you to make a country record.” He said, “Are you offering me a record deal?” I said, “Yeah,” and that’s how the whole thing started. I just wanted to make a record. I didn’t care if it was commercial. I just wanted the world to hear Chris Stapleton.
Before Traveller, Stapleton initially worked with producer Tony Brown, a Nashville legend who played piano for Elvis Presley and has produced The Oak Ridge Boys, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill and George Strait, among many others. Brown will be inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame this fall.
Morgane Stapleton: Tony is an icon, but what was interesting is when Chris recorded with Tony, he did not play guitar, acoustic or electric. So much of his sound — and what people enjoy about Chris’ music is [his guitar]. I know him better than anybody, and when he sings without a guitar in his hand, it’s very different. He just embodies music differently. If he’s not holding a guitar or playing an instrument on a song, it’s almost like he’s not whole. [With Tony] we used Nashville session guys, and all those guys are brilliant, but I think what makes Chris’ sound unique to him is that musicianship that we share.”
Wright: What Tony cut was really, really good, but I think once we had Traveller it was like a wheel where you have the hub and you start making spokes. We weren’t just trying to cut four radio songs and we’ll just throw six other songs on there. Every song was thought through: “What do you want to say? What else do you want to say?”
Derek Mixon, drummer: Chris decided he wanted to put a band together and go out on the road and [try out songs for what would become Traveller] for about a year and then make a record. He called me out of the blue one day — probably based on J.T.’s recommendation — and we went from there. It was probably late 2013 or early 2014.
J.T. Cure, bassist: Prior to going into the studio, the band consisted of me, Chris, Morgane and Derek Mixon. We would get together at Chris and Morgane’s house and start working on the songs and arrangements that would eventually become Traveller. So, we were all pretty familiar with the songs going into it.
Dave Cobb, co-producer: The first time I heard Chris sing, I was living in Los Angeles at the time and this guy played me the SteelDrivers. I’m like, “Oh my God! What a voice,” and I always wanted to work with him. Then he heard Sturgill Simpson’s [Cobb-produced] High Top Mountain, and we had a meeting. We found out we had exactly the same bad habits — guitars, old cars and country music. We just hit it off. Brian Wright had been kind enough to give us a budget to cut some songs. I give so much credit to Brian of being the ultimate supporter. He came in, heard some stuff and said, “Keep going.” We felt like kids getting away with something we weren’t supposed to be doing. It was an amazing opportunity to get to go into the studio, especially RCA Studio A.
Mixon: No question that recording in that studio impacted what we were doing, just knowing all the music that had happened in that room. It’s really mind boggling when you think about all the great records that were recorded there and all the legendary artists, musicians and producers and songwriters that had passed through that room. It’s such a heavy feeling knowing that you are tied in with that now. It is a very magical place, and it inspires creativity.
Morgane Stapleton: We would’ve been the last record made in there, and I think that was part of the charge in the air for sure. How could [Nashville] be about to tear down this most sacred of places? That was definitely felt. It was like a presence in the room with us for sure. But then, of course, they came in and at the last minute saved the day.
Vance Powell, engineer/mixer: I believe Chris liked the sound of High Top Mountain and asked Dave to get me on [Traveller]. I appreciate every day that Dave, Chris and Morgane called on me to be a part of this. It’s two-and-a-half weeks of our life that changed our lives and the country music industry.
During recording, there was one day RCA Studio A wasn’t available, and Stapleton and crew moved to The Castle to record “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore” and “Might As Well Get Stoned.”
Cobb: I remember very vividly cutting “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore” at the Castle. I remember walking out and it was so pretty outside. I had a guitar in my hand and it sounded amazing out there, I remember convincing Chris and the guys to record outside. The lyrics and his performance are so incredible. Sometimes you hear things that sound like a record going down. That was one of them.
Mixon: “Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore” might have been a first take because I don’t think any of us could get through it more than once. My dad had just passed away about a year prior to that and so that was a tough one for me. It was a bittersweet memory recording that, but I remember the sound at the Castle was just incredible. I remember setting the microphones up on the porch out there for guitars and vocals. We decided to open up the doors and let nature in. On “Might As Well Get Stoned,” you can hear the locusts in the beginning when the guitar cranks up.
Morgane Stapleton: Recording “More of You” back at RCA was one of my most favorite moments. Chris played mandolin and we sat in a room together, all of us, and it was completely live. I had never done harmony vocals live with anybody in a recording studio and Dave was adamant that our vocals should go down at the same time. It was nerve-racking and it really pushed me out of what was my comfort zone at the time, but staring at Chris, it just felt like the most magical love song.
Mixon: [Album closer] “Sometimes I Cry” was recorded after the bulk of Traveller was recorded. We went back in a month or two later and recorded that song in one take in front of an audience at RCA Studio A. We had rehearsed it a few times before, but then the day of, we were in a circle in the middle of the studio. We set up and got levels. The audience came in and we played the song one time and that’s what you hear on the record.
Mabe: Chris had fans that were lifelong fans even before this album. We filmed the fans telling their stories of why they loved the live shows and how far they’d drive. Chris drove a Ram truck, and Ram ultimately helped us tell the story through Chris’ own voice and words. His first performance of “Tennessee Whiskey” was on The View. It instantly translated to sales off that performance, and we knew he needed more TV, but were still convincing people because he didn’t have a radio hit. Despite that, [the album] debuted at No. 2 and sold 27,000 units, which made us know we were on to something big. That was a really big number to hit without a radio hit to drive it.
At the 2015 CMA Awards on Nov. 4, Stapleton won album of the year for Traveller, as well as male vocalist and new artist of the year. But more than the trophies he collected, he’ll be remembered for his performance with Timberlake.
Mixon: I remember this sort of electric feeling, even in rehearsal. I felt we were on the verge of something that was really cool. I don’t think anybody could have ever predicted the impact that it had.
Robert Deaton, CMA Awards executive producer: It’s arguably the most famous moment on the CMA Awards. There have been great moments from Dolly [Parton] doing “He’s Alive” to Martina McBride doing “Independence Day,” but what set this performance apart is we all knew who those people were. This was a coming out party for Chris Stapleton. Because he was in the SteelDrivers, people in Nashville knew who he was, but for the most part he was being introduced to a national audience. I’ve never experienced anything like this before in that it literally sucked the wind out of the room for an hour. It’s like we had to recover. We were not the same.
Mabe: Perhaps Chris’ biggest superpower was in how much he had been tied to everyone else’s success and story in Nashville. We are such a connected community; that’s the magic of Nashville. And he has written so many songs for our community and other artists. He had sung background vocal or played guitar on their projects. He really was the greatest artist that everyone knew and adored in Nashville, but the world just hadn’t caught up yet.
Sarah Trahern, CEO Country Music Association: The thing that I love with Chris is he’s such a great gateway drug. Chris is about great songs, great production and being true to who he is. You don’t have to be a country fan to like his music. If you are a country fan, you are going to love it because you’re going to hear Haggard and Jones and it’s still totally contemporary. People who think they may not like country music like Chris, and that’s one of the reasons why he works so well on television, whether it’s on our show or on a multiformat show like the Grammys.
Deaton: Afterwards, my phone started lighting up and I started seeing all the texts. People were going, “Hey Chris Stapleton is trending worldwide right now.” And Mike Dungan, my dear friend who was at the time the president of Chris’s record label, sent me a text that said, “Thank you Robert, I think I just recouped on Chris Stapleton.”
Mabe: Getting to be a part of the Traveller campaign is one of the favorite memories of my career because everything about it speaks to how much music impacts overall culture. The reason Traveller stands the test of time is because these songs had already been tested. They held up over 15 years before they were ever recorded. When you are striving for greatness and endurance, the songs have to reflect more than one moment. Chris and Morgane have a way of keeping their fingers on the pulse by hearing what cuts through the lens of time. Some were road tested, but all were heart tested. They have a clear understanding that past, present and future connect in songs and music and that’s what gives rise to enduring legacy. That and being able to sing like Chris Stapleton.
Cobb: It’s very cool that you can come from the most honest place and have such commercial acceptance and community acceptance. It’s really beautiful.
American metal band Mastodon will join influential Brooklyn indie rockers TV on the Radio and 1990s alt- rock icons Pavement to headline this year’s Levitation festival, alongside reunited sludge metal band Acid Bath, Built to Spill, the Brian Jonestown Massacre and more.
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Launched in 2008 by Austin band The Black Angels to celebrate the resurgence of psychedelic rock and the formation of the label The Reverberation Appreciation Society or RVRB, the festival is now part of a partnership with Austin promoter Resound Presents, led by Graham Williams.
This year Levitation is moving to the festival grounds at the Palmer Events Center, in addition to nightly venue programming across Austin’s Downtown Red River District. Located on the shores of Town Lake overlooking the Austin skyline, the Palmer Events Center includes a massive 75,000 square foot environment for the indoor stage and a huge canvas for the artists on stage with 360 lighting and visuals, day or night. The indoor experience is accompanied by an outdoor stage set to a backdrop of lush trees and the Austin skyline. The new venue offers amenities like an air-conditioned common space, indoor experience for the main stage, ample outdoor green space, plenty of room to stretch out and hang, and an immersive setting for the music and visual experience.
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“The idea to use Palmer Events Center goes all the way back to 2011. I was riding my bike home from the cleanup day after that year’s festival at Seaholm Power Plant—our first and last year there before the site was redeveloped into convos and office spaces,” says Levitation’s co-founders Rob Fitzpatrick. “I took a detour through the park and stopped by Palmer. I’d been there before, but never seriously considered it as a festival site. That day I peeked inside and saw the massive indoor space and canopy around it and thought, ‘Damn, this would be perfect.’
The new home means larger acts can play the weekend festival, and Levitation’s Night Shows will continue to offer intimate club experiences downtown, celebrating the independent music scene—from up-and-comers to national headliners.
“When the 2016 edition at Carson Creek Ranch was canceled due to weather, it was a huge setback—we didn’t get a full insurance payout and were left with serious debt,” Fitzpatrick says. “So it was a disaster but the silver lining of the weekend was the way that the Austin music community and venues stepped up. They moved shows, shifted schedules, let us rebook shows in their clubs and helped save the weekend for fans. That experience sparked an idea: instead of building a temporary city in a remote location without infrastructure – and exposed to the weather – at the ranch, what if we brought the whole thing into downtown—with intention? That became the blueprint from 2018 to 2024.”
With this new chapter, Ftizpatrick says the fest was “finally able to merge both models. Palmer gives us the space, infrastructure, and production capabilities to bring back a larger-scale, multi-stage experience—and thanks to its downtown location, we can still collaborate with the Red River venues that have been the heart of the festival in recent years. It’s the best of both worlds.”
Passes for Levitation 2025 are now on sale, and night show tickets can be purchased separately here.
Levitation
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05/29/2025
The multi-genre smash rules Billboard’s 100-position Top Hot Country Songs of the 21st Century retrospective. Below, find a breakdown of the 2000-24 top 10.
05/29/2025
