Pulse – Country Music News

Dolly Parton fans will have access to an exclusive, limited-run pop-up store, called Dolly! All Access, during ACM Awards Week (May 9-14, 2023) at The Star in Frisco, Texas. For the first time, Dolly is bringing her brand partners together for a custom, curated shopping experience which will include the opportunity to pre-order both her upcoming album, Rockstar, and her book, Dolly Parton Behind The Seams: My Life In Rhinestones, along with her line of Doggy Parton dog clothes, her Duncan Hines collection of mixes, Funko Pop! dolls, and many other merchandise items.

Dolly joins Garth Brooks as they host the 58th Academy of Country Music Awards, streaming live on Prime Video on May 11th at 8 p,m, ET from The Ford Center in Frisco, TX.

Dolly will also perform during the live event.

Chelsea Handler, Ethan Hawke, Gabriel Iglesias, Helen Mirren, Jennifer Garner, Owen Wilson and Woody Harrelson have been added as presenters at Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie's 90th Birthday. They join the performing artists including Willie Nelson, Chris Stapleton, Dwight Yoakam, George Strait, Kris Kristofferson, Miranda Lambert, and Snoop Dogg, to name just a few. The shows will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30, 2023, at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles.

The Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic returns to Norman, OK on June 2-3 for the 19th edition in support of OK Kids Korral, the cost-free home for families of children battling cancer. Sawyer Brown will headline the denim and diamonds-themed dinner and auction Friday (June 2) at Riverwind Casino with support from local favorites Drive. The 18th annual Toby Keith & Friends Golf Classic raised more than $1.3 million in May of 2022 – the third highest total ever. To date, the event has raised more than $15 million for OK Kids Korral.

Luke Bryan is ready to bring his annual Farm Tour back this fall on five farms from September 14 -23. This year's chosen farms are located in Kentucky, Ohio, Iowa, Wisconsin and Minnesota. Tickets for Farm Tour 2023 go on sale Friday, May 4th at 10 a.m. local time at lukebryan.com/FarmTour.

Luke shared the news on social media yesterday (Wednesday, April 26th) writing in part, "It's my favorite time of year. #FarmTour2023 will kick off in September. I can't wait to get back in the fields, up close to the fans and honoring our American farmer . . ."

More than 100,000 fans have attended the tour each year since its inception in 2009, and it continues drawing more and more fans. Luke tells us: "The Farm Tour has grown throughout the years, and the fact that we can set a stage up in a hayfield or some kind of field and people flock to it is what I envisioned when I created Farm Tour, and then obviously help some kids with scholarships and stuff like that. But the Farm Tour just really an exciting time to be able to just be out on a farm on a Fall night. Sometimes it's cool and everybody's got, it's perfect jacket weather and everybody's just enjoying music and having fun, and it's happening in these little towns."

Luke is once again partnering with Bayer for the #HeresToTheFarmerCampaign, with Bayer pledging to donate 1 million meals to people in need via Feeding America.

Miranda Lambert's new cookbook, Y'ALL EAT YET? Welcome to the Pretty B*tchin' Kitchen, spent release day, which was Tuesday (April 25th) at the top of Amazon's cookbook lists and at No. 2 on their overall Best Sellers list.

Miranda said, "What started as a way to get Mom and her friends to write things down turned into a real journey through my life, the incredible women who have shaped me and all the things we ate and drank along the way. None of us ever thought it would be a hardbound book with perfect binding and all these pretty pictures, let alone be an actual best-seller, but that's the power of this kind of positive, kick-ass female energy."

Miranda will be in Los Angeles for a signing at Barnes & Noble's The Grove location tomorrow (Friday, April 28th), followed by a final signing on May 9th in her hometown of Lindale, Texas at her own Pink Pistol boutique.

Lady A's Charles Kelley has released his new video for "As Far As You Could," a personal goodbye letter to alcohol, which was filmed over the course of three live shows last month in London, Glasgow and Dublin. Lady A bandmate Dave Haywood co-wrote and co-produced the song with Charles.

He said, "For me, I keep feeling so much gratitude. I'm so thankful to the fans for sticking with us and understanding that I needed to take some time off from touring to get better. Because I was able to focus on my recovery, we are having the best shows as a band we've ever had. Playing shows has always been one of my favorite things, and now this song has already made me feel more connected live with fans than ever before."

Lady A kicked off their Request Line Tour with back-to-back sold-out shows at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on April 14th and 15th. Their next show is in Sacramento, CA on May 5th.

George Strait, Dave Matthews, Dwight Yoakam, Emmylou Harris, Kris Kristofferson, Rodney Crowell, and Stephen Stills have been added to the lineup of artists performing at Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, A Star-Studded Concert Celebrating Willie's 90th Birthday. The shows will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 29 and 30, 2023, at the Hollywood Bowl. Previously announced performers include Willie, Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Neil Young, Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, and The Chicks.

Boot Barn announces the inaugural takeover of the Hard Rock Cafe Nashville June 8-11. The Boot Barn House at Hard Rock Cafe Nashville will feature performances by Brian Kelley, Lucas Hoge, Hailey Whitters, Tenille Arts, and David Nail, to name a few. The back-to-back performances will run from Thursday, June 8 through Sunday, June 11 from 5 p.m. - 10 p.m. CST.

Morgan Wallen is being sued by a fan for canceling his concert in Oxford, MS just minutes before showtime on Sunday (April 23rd). Page Six reports that Brandi Burcham filed a class action lawsuit "on behalf of herself and all other similarly situated" concertgoers who attended the show at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium but were unable to see Morgan perform because according to him, he was "unable to sing." Burcham is suing for breach of contract and negligence in addition to demanding a trial by jury.

According to court documents, the lawsuit states, "Even if ticket prices are refunded, no offer has been made to reimburse concertgoers for other out-of-pocket expenses they incurred in connection with the concert cancellation, including transportation, lodging, food, merchandise sales, transaction fees and other such expenses."

In other Morgan-related news, the security company hired to work the superstar's shows in Mississippi is denouncing a statement made by one of their own employees who worked the show on Sunday. In a video shared on social media, this particular security guard told fans at the venue the reason the show was canceled was because Morgan was "too drunk" to perform, that he "couldn't walk," and that an "ambulance took him." He added that the "losing his voice" story is "bull crap."

However, BEST Crowd Management released a statement saying, "A hired employee of BEST Crowd Management made false claims as it related to last night's Morgan Wallen concert and we do not stand behind the detail in his statement."

Morgan was put on doctor-ordered voice rest for the next several days, causing him to postpone the three concerts that were previously scheduled for this week on his One Night At A Time Tour. At this time, he is set to resume his schedule on May 4 in Jacksonville, FL.

Eric Church, Sam Hunt, Elle King and Lyle Lovett will all pay musical tributes to Willie Nelson as the LBJ Foundation gives the iconic artist its highest honor, the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award, at a gala Friday, May 12, at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin TX.

Net proceeds from the gala will benefit the newly established Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a part of The University of Texas at Austin.

The Willie Nelson Endowment will fund research and student fellowships focused on sustainable agriculture, eliminating hunger, resilient energy, sustainable water and natural disaster recovery to benefit rural communities.

Ticket and sponsorship information is available at lbjaward.org.

Carly Pearce has been tapped to sing the National Anthem prior to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6th. The 149th running of the Derby and Carly's performance will be broadcast on NBC.

She shared the news on social media yesterday (Tuesday, April 25th) writing, "Being from Kentucky, this is a major bucket list moment for me!"

Last week, Carly teased the event with a video on social media where she unboxes a wide-brimmed red hat and puts it on her head, giving a wink to the camera. She captioned it, "Hmmm what could this mean?? Place your bets below for what it could be."

Carly recently performed her 100th show at the Grand Ole Opry.

She is nominated in three Academy of Country Music Awards categories -- Female, Single of the Year, and Visual Media of the Year -- at the upcoming show, streaming on Prime Video on May 11th at 8 p.m. ET.

Nate Smith will release his self-titled debut album on Friday (April 28th). The 20-track project includes his debut chart-topping hit, "Whiskey On You."

He tells us: "So this album is a collection of songs from my heart. That's basically what this is, and I've said before it's chapters of my life and different experiences that I've had. Just kind of putting all those thoughts together is a crazy thing cause then you release it and then people connect to it so it's kind of a mind-blowing thing to have your experiences connect with other peoples' experiences and stuff."

Nate will also release a deluxe version of the album on Friday. Due to fan demand on his social platforms, Nate Smith (Deluxe) will include the track "World On Fire" and five other new songs.

Also on Friday, he will perform at Stagecoach for the first time on Friday in Indio, CA. Nate will join Thomas Rhett on his Home Team Tour 23, which will kick off May 4th in Des Moines, IA, and play in a total of 40 cities this summer.

Nate is nominated for New Male Artist of the Year at the upcoming ACM Awards. The show will stream live on Prime Video on May 11th at 8 p.m. ET from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, TX.

Clay Walker's wife, Jessica, has suffered a miscarriage 20 weeks into her pregnancy. The news comes just weeks after the couple announced the news that they were expecting their sixth child together, a baby girl.

Clay told People.com, "The whole family had been waiting for the baby and it was really, just a huge blow. We had her room ready, her clothes bought — everything, and her name, Eleanora Lindsey, so it was a nightmare and still is for my wife. We were at 20 weeks, and we'd already made it through the toughest part. We've had five successful full-term pregnancies and five beautiful children. It's tough."

Clay has has two grown daughters from a previous marriage.

Morgan Wallen blamed vocal problems for his last-minute cancellation just before he was set to take the stage in Oxford, MS on Sunday (April 23rd) night. Opening acts Hardy, Ernest and Nate Smith had already performed when organizers flashed a message on the screens explaining that Morgan "has lost his voice and is unable to perform tonight . . ." Concertgoers were instructed to exit the stadium and told that refunds would be available at point of purchase.

Morgan posted a message to fans on Instagram stories that night writing in part that he "spent the day resting up, talking to (his) doctor and working through vocal exercises" but was still "unable to sing." He added, "I really thought I'd be able to take the stage and it kills me to deliver this so close to showtime . . . I am so sorry. I promise you guys I tried everything I could."

Morgan's fans met the news with mixed reactions, with some taking him to task on social media for waiting until the very last minute to pull the plug.

Last night (Monday, April 24th), Morgan turned to Instagram stories again to update fans with the news that this week's scheduled shows in Grand Rapids, MI; Moline, Il; and Lincoln, NE have all been rescheduled after doctors ordered him to be on voice rest. He wrote in part, "I appreciate and understand everything you do to get to my shows, so it would be unfair of me to put on a show that I know will not be 100% . . ." Morgan also shared the new dates for those shows, which are Grand Rapids on June 27; Moline on September 8; and Lincoln on September 9.

His next scheduled show on the One Night At A Time Tour is May 4th in Jacksonville, FL.

Carrie Underwood has extended her REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency at Resorts World Theatre residency with three additional dates in December -- the 13th, 15th and 16. Tickets for the new performances go on sale this Friday (April 28th) at 10 a.m. PT.

On the heels of her 43-city U.S. arena tour, The Denim & Rhinestones Tour, Carrie will make her return to the Resorts World Theatre stage this summer beginning on June 21st.

She said, "We had a blast on the road . . . but it's always nice to come back ‘home' to Resorts World Las Vegas to continue REFLECTION. This show is truly a celebration of all my music, and I love having the chance to welcome fans from all over the world who come to see us in Vegas."

Her upcoming Vegas dates include:

June 2023: 21, 23, 24, 28, 30
July 2023: 1
September 2023: 20, 22, 23, 27, 29, 30
November 2023: 29
December 2023: 1, 2, 6, 8, 9

One dollar from each ticket sold for REFLECTION: The Las Vegas Residency is donated to Make-A-Wish Foundation of America (https://wish.org), which grants life-changing wishes for children with critical illnesses.

After selling out the Nashville show on his upcoming Home Team Tour 23, Thomas Rhett has added a second hometown show at Music City's Bridgestone Arena. The tour was scheduled to close out on September 29th but will now wrap on September 30th with Cole Swindell and Nate Smith. Tickets go on sale to the general public this Friday (April 28th) at 10 a.m. local time at ThomasRhett.com.

Thomas said, "It's always a dream come true to play your hometown, but getting to play the arena two nights in a row is going to be one of those things I tell my grandkids about one day."

The Home Team Tour 23 will kick off in Des Moines, IA on May 4th and play in 40 cities in 27 states.

Thomas sits inside the Top 25 and climbing on the country charts with his latest hit, "Angels."

Dustin Lynch launched the first-ever Country music-themed full-weekend pool party of its kind in Sin City with his Pool Situation: Vegas in June 2021, but this year, he's moving it to Nashville during the annual CMA Fest. The event will be held on June 10th at Margaritaville Hotel Nashville.

Dustin told The Tennessean, "I can't believe I didn't think to do this sooner. Currently, I'm having the most fun I've ever had in my career. I'm in control of fun, interactive and pumped-up crowds. I'm ready to make memories with them at whatever heights I dream are possible."

Members of Dustin's Stay Country Club have exclusive first access to the tickets. Limited event tickets will be distributed via a random lottery system and the opt-in period for the drawing is open now through Thursday (April 27th) at 5 p.m. ET via Dustin's Stay Country Club. Winners will be notified via email on Friday (April 28th). For more details, visit dustinlynchmusic.com.

Dustin and Mackenzie Porter are each up for their first Academy of Country Music Awards nomination for Music Event of the Year with their six-week Number One duet, "Thinking ‘Bout You." The ACM Awards will stream live on Prime Video on May 11th at 8 p.m. ET.

Cole Swindell will head out on a new tour consisting of a dozen dates appropriately title The Twelve Tour this fall. The trek launches on October 12th in Fargo, ND and runs through November 4th in Rome, GA. Cole will be joined by special guests Nate Smith, Conner Smith, Avery Anna, and Greylan James on select dates.

He announced the tour on social media yesterday (Monday, April 24th) writing in part, "Y'all know 12 is my number… 12 SHOWS. 12 DIFFERENT SETS . . ."

Cole will release the deluxe version of his Sterotype album, called Stereotype: Broken, Friday (April 28th).

He will join Thomas Rhett on his headlining Home Team Tour 23, which kicks off on May 4th in Des Moines, IA.

Jimmie Allen and his wife, Alexis Gale, announced plans to separate on social media on Friday (April 21st), along with the fact that Alexis is expecting the couple's third child together later this year. They have been married for three years.

Jimmie's post read in part, "Our number one priority is and always will be ensuring that our children are healthy, happy and loved, and we remain committed to co-parenting with love and respect for one another."

TMZ reports that according to sources, Jimmie and Alexis have been "off and on for the last few months" before officially deciding to separate.

Morgan Wallen took a tumble on stage during his One Night At A Time Tour stop in Louisville, KY on Thursday (April 20th) night. He was in the midst of performing his hit with Diplo, "Heartless," when the fog made by a smoke machine on stage made it hard to see where he was going and he fell to the stage. Morgan didn't miss a beat, though, continuing to sing despite the mishap.

Fans shared TikToks of the incident on social media, showing Morgan give fans in the section in front of him a sheepish grin before standing up and carrying on with the show.

The tour rolls on to Grand Rapids, MI on Thursday (April 27th).

Morgan sits inside the Top 10 and climbing on the charts with the title track of his new album, "One Thing At A Time."

Sam Hunt and his wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, are expecting their second child. Sam shared the news on stage during his concert in Las Vegas on Friday (April 21st), Entertainment Tonight reports. The couple are already parents to 10-month-old daughter Lucy.

According to a source, Sam added that his wife and daughter were with him in Las Vegas for the weekend, as he performed a second show at Resorts World Theatre on Saturday (April 22nd).

There are no details yet on the pregnancy, including the baby's due date.

Tyler Hubbard has released the demo of his current hit, "Dancin' In The Country," which he co-wrote with Keith Urban, Ross Copperman and Jon Nite. Keith contributes guitar, bass, ganjo and vocals to the demo.

Tyler said, "I've always admired Keith Urban as a writer, but never had the chance to actually write a song with him. Keith came into the writing session so engaged and ready to go where the ideas took us. Ross and Jon are two of the finest writers in town, and by the end of the day we had a song we all felt was special. It's exciting to share a behind the scenes look at how a song comes together."

Keith added, "Spending a day with Tyler, Ross and Jon in the studio writing this song was a total blast, especially creating the track with Ross - I love working fast, ideas flowing really quickly- a bass part, a ganjo part, a very intentionally 80s country super compressed electric guitar riff."

Tyler tells us this collaboration brought about a song which sounds different than anything else on his self-titled debut solo album. "'Dancin' In The Country' is just a really fun, uptempo country song that I was fortunate enough to get to write with Ross Copperman, Jon Nite and Keith Urban, who's just incredible as a writer and a guitarist, and he and Ross Copperman really helped capture the feel and emotion of this song sonically and also me and Jon Nite really tried to dial in the lyrics and they were also very helpful with that. But just an incredible day of songwriting and a really cool song that came from it and a song that sounds like nothing else on the project."

"Dancin' In The Country" is a Top 10 and climbing at Country radio.

Niko Moon has teamed up with Zac Brown for a new release called "Heaven Has A Bar." The two have collaborated on several songs throughout the years, including co-writing chart toppers "Loving You Easy," "Homegrown," "Beautiful Drug," "Keep Me In Mind," and "Heavy Is The Head," recorded by Zac Brown Band.

Of "Heaven Has A Bar," Niko said, "It's a song of simplicity, down-homeness, and celebration. I think Zac and I find a lot of value in the simple things: Family and friends, and celebrating life is what it's all about. This is about celebrating with all the people you love once you go to heaven."

Zac added, "I like the imagination in this song. Whatever there is after life ends, that love of music doesn't go away. To go see all of our heroes that have passed away and play some music, maybe that's heaven for us."

Niko has been performing "Heaven Has A Bar" while on his current Ain't No Better Place Tour, which wraps May 4th in Toronto.

Jordan Davis has one word to express how he felt when he recently heard his name called in the Male Artist of the Year category at next month's ACM Awards -- shocked! He is joined on that short list by Chris Stapleton, Kane Brown, Morgan Wallen and Luke Combs.

Jordan tells us: "I haven't been that shocked in a long time. Definitely the most shocked I've been since I started doing music. It was definitely shocked to see that I was in that category. I knew I made it through to the last round, but, honestly, I was, y'all see the other nominees in there, some heavy hitters. So, to hear my name first, it was pure shock, but to be nominated with those guys is a huge win for me."

The 58th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards will stream live from the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas on Amazon Prime Video on May 11th at 8 p/m. ET.

Jordan is currently climbing the country charts with his latest single, "Next Thing You Know."

Jason Aldean's Kitchen + Rooftop Bar is expanding to include a second location in Gatlinburg, Tennessee. The news was confirmed on Visit Gatlinburg's social media on Wednesday (April 19th) with a tweet including a photo of the new location and the caption, "Guess what's coming to Gatlinburg? @Jason_Aldean's Kitchen + Rooftop Bar."

There is no word yet on when that new location will be open to the public.

Jason's original Kitchen + Rooftop Bar opened in downtown Nashville in 2018. It features six bars spread out over four levels.

Jason will head out on his Highway Desperado Tour on July 14th at in Bethel, NY. Special guests include Mitchell Tenpenny, Corey Kent and Dee Jay Silver.

Maren Morris is working on new music, this time with pop producer Jack Antonoff, who has previously worked with the likes of Taylor Swift, Lana Del Rey, the 1975, and Carly Rae Jepsen, to name a few. Maren shared a video of them in the studio on TikTok writing, "The jack's out of the bag."

She shared a few more photos on Instagram on Wednesday (April 19th) including some with her son, Hayes, visiting New York City staple FAO Schwartz toy store, a playground and a few shots from the studio.

This new project will follow up Maren's 2022 album, Humble Quest.