Pulse – Country Music News

Luke Bryan, Cody Johnson and Keith Urban will headline this year's Watershed Music and Camping Festival at the Gorge Amphitheatre in George, WA on Friday, August 4th through Sunday, August 6th. The three-day, two-stage festival's main stage will host performances by Wade Bowen, Travis Denning, Ernest, Kameron Marlowe, Parker McCollum, Niko Moon, Kylie Morgan, Carly Pearce, Conner Smith, Tenille Townes, Lainey Wilson, DJ Rod Youree and Warren Zeiders.

The second stage lineup, called "Next From Nashville," will feature Avery Anna, Chayce Beckham, George Birge, Ben Burgess, Ben Chapman, Madeline Edwards, Carter Faith, Ella Langley, Alexander Ludwig, Landon Parker, Pillbox Patti, MacKenzie Porter, Peytan Porter, Aaron Raitiere and Lauren Watkins.

Three-day passes will go on sale beginning on Friday (February 3rd) at 10 a.m. PT at WatershedFest.com.

Chase Rice has released a song called "Bench Seat," along with the video. It's a song he wrote by himself about a guy and his dog, written from the dog's perspective. He said, "My buddy was in a really dark place – to the point where he was ready to end his own life. It took a lot for him to take me back to that moment, but when he told me what stopped him it stopped me in my tracks: his dog came and laid his head on his lap, and that connection saved him." The song is included on Chase's I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go To Hell, set for release on February 10th.

Tyler Braden will release a six-song EP called Neon Grave on March 3rd. The project features the duet version of "Try Losing One" (with Sydney Sierota of Echosmith) and the title track, which was released on Friday (January 27th).

Luke Combs shared the album cover and title of his upcoming project with fans on social media yesterday (Thursday, January 26th). The album is called Gettin' Old, and it's due out on March 24th. Luke will release two songs -- the title track and one called "Growin' Up" -- today (Friday, January 27th).

In addition to the album artwork, Luke wrote, "This album is about the stage of life I'm in right now. One that I'm sure a lot of us are in, have been through, or will go through. It's about coming of age, loving where life is now but at the same time missing how it used to be, continuing to fall for the one you love and loving them no matter what, living in the moment but still wondering how much time you have left, family, friends, being thankful, and leaving a legacy. Me and so many others have poured their hearts and souls into this record and I hope you love it as much as we do."

Gettin' Old will feature 18 songs. It follows Luke's 2022 release, Growin' Up.

Elle King's debut solo country album, Come Get Your Wife, is out today (Friday, January 27th. The project was co-produced by Elle and features 12 tracks, including her hit collaboration with Miranda Lambert, "Drunk (And I Don't Want To Go Home)," as well as her latest single, "Worth A Shot," featuring Dierks Bentley.

Elle tells us that album title came to her a while ago during an altercation at a concert. "In the past 10 years of my life, the only fist fights I've ever gotten into were at concerts and it was usually sticking up for somebody else and that's kind of what happened, you know? People (were) giving elbows and in the sense of the title of my album, the elbows I was throwing were just inappropriate jokes and somebody shouted over me to my partner, 'Come get your wife,' and I was like, 'Ooh, that's a good album title' (laughs)."

Elle's headlining The A-FREAKIN-MEN Tour kicks off on February 14th in New Orleans.

She will appear on ABC's Good Morning America today.

Kelsea Ballerini and her new rumored boyfriend, actor Chase Stokes, were spotted out together in downtown Nashville on Tuesday (January 24th) night, TMZ reports. The two were grabbing a bite to eat and listening to music at one of Music City's well-known honky-tonks, Robert's Western World.

The video of Kelsea and Chase shows them sitting across from each other and holding hands while talking.

The couple was first spotted together at the National Championship football game at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

Kelsea's divorce from her husband of almost five years, singer Morgan Evans, was finalized in November.

Tyler Hubbard initially had no plans on becoming a solo artist. In fact, he was totally surprised when his Florida Georgia Line partner, Brian Kelley, said he was ready to move on from the duo to do his own thing, musically. Tyler told Entertainment Tonight, "It was definitely unexpected and something that BK came to me and wanted to do, and it took me a minute to kind of process that. And I thought, 'Well, I'll just be a songwriter, and I won't do the artist thing.'"

For a while that worked, but Tyler began missing those parts of being an artist like recording and touring. He said, "It's been really fun to kind of step into this new season and connect with the fans."

Tyler releases his self-titled album today (Friday, January 27th). He's already topped the charts with his debut single, "5 Foot 9," and his current single, "Dancin' In The Country," is a Top 40 hit and climbing.

Miranda Lambert and her husband Brendan McLoughlin headed to a tropical destination to celebrate their fourth wedding anniversary, which was yesterday (Thursday, January 26th). She posted a few pictures of them beachside writing, "Celebrating 4 years married today with my main squeeze @brendanjmcloughlin. Happy anniversary babe! You are the best." Brendan is shirtless in the last two photos so Miranda added, "Y'all are welcome for the last two pics."

Runaway June will headline the post-race concert at the St. Jude Rock ‘n' Roll Running Series Nashville on Saturday, April 22nd from 10:30 a.m.-Noon at the finish line location outside of Nissan Stadium. Additional musical artists for event week will be announced soon. For more information about event visit www.runrocknroll.com.

Luke Combs will be among the performers on the upcoming Grammy Awards, along with Bad Bunny, Mary J. Blige, Brandi Carlile, Steve Lacy, Lizzo, Kim Petras, and Sam Smith. All current Grammy nominees, they will perform live from Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles. The 65th Annual Grammy Awards, hosted by Trevor Noah, will be broadcast live on Sunday, February 5th at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Additional performers will be announced in the coming days.

Luke is nominated in three categories: Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Outrunnin' Your Memory", Best Country Song for "Doin' This," and Best Country Album for Growin' Up.

Luke Bryan turned to Instagram Stories last night (Wednesday, January 25th) to publicly apologize to Dustin Lynch for the controversial introduction he gave Dustin when he called him to the stage on the last night of Crash My Playa in Mexico on Sunday (January 22nd). Some on social media took issue with his comments, which included, "No one has drank more liquor, no one has vomited more, no one has taken more drugs, no one has taken more IVs, no one has passed more STD tests than this next gentlemen right here . . ." Luke explained that his words were "complete sarcasm."

Luke sent the message while "flooded cornfield, doing a little duck hunting." He said, "Just saw where people are starting to chat about my introduction of Dustin Lynch. Dustin Lynch is one of my dearest friends on the planet. No one respects him more than I do and that night at (Crash My) Playa, Sunday night, the last night I get everybody out and my introduction of him was complete sarcasm."

He added, "Those words were so absurd. I figured everybody would take it as sarcasm. Obviously some people didn't. I spoke to Dustin. I love him. He and I are all good and I apologize to anybody that doesn't understand my humor and sarcasm. It's been going on like that down there for years . . ."

Dustin responded to Luke via Instagram stories writing, "Thx for the call, love ya bro. All good. We had a lot of fun down there again with the pirates."

Reba McEntire is set to perform live from the grand opening of Reba's Place in Atoka, OK tonight (Thursday, January 26th). The event is closed to the public, but fans across the country can join in via a live stream from Reba's socials at 6:45 p.m. CT at Facebook.com/Reba.

Reba's Place is a combination restaurant, bar, live music venue and retail store which was constructed in an old Masonic Temple. It features two stories of dining space and a stage for regular live music. The menu includes popular regional dishes including the "Fancy" steak dinner, and Reba's personal favorite, pinto beans and corn bread.

Little Big Town will hit the road this summer on their headlining Friends of Mine Tour. The 10-date tour will open on April 13th in Birmingham, AL and wrap up on July 16th in Reno, NV. Tickets go on sale on February 3rd at littlebigtown.com.

LBT announced the tour on social media yesterday (Wednesday, January 25th) writing, "Been dying to share this news. Beyond excited to bring our 'Friends of Mine Tour' to a city near you."

The tour borrows its title from a song off the band's 2022 album, Mr. Sun.

Luke Bryan, Shania Twain and Zac Brown Band have been announced to headline the 10th annual Faster Horses Music and Camping Festival, taking place at the Michigan International Speedway in Brooklyn, MI July 14 - 16. The three-day, two-stage festival's main stage will host performances by Priscilla Block, Blanco Brown, Chris Cagle, Billy Currington, Dustin Lynch, Kameron Marlowe, MIKE., Kylie Morgan, Dylan Scott, Dee Jay Silver, Conner Smith, Tenille Townes, Hailey Whitters, Dwight Yoakam and Warren Zeiders. Three-day passes for the Faster Horses Festival go on sale Friday, February 10th at 10 a.m. ET at FasterHorsesFestival.com.

Faster Horses will also continue to introduce fans to country music's up-and-coming acts with a second stage lineup, called "Next from Nashville," which will include Chayce Beckham, George Birge, Ben Burgess, Madeline Edwards, Megan Moroney, Pillbox Patti, MacKenzie Porter, and Lauren Watkins, as well as a special performance by Ray Wylie Hubbard.

Chris Stapleton will perform the national anthem ahead of the Super Bowl at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona on February 12th. Rounding out the lineup are Kenny "Babyface" Edmonds and Sheryl Lee Ralph before the big game at State Farm Stadium in Arizona.

Babyface will sing "America the Beautiful," while Abbott Elementary star Ralph will offer a rendition of "Lift Every Voice and Sing."

Rihanna was previously announced to perform the Apple Music Super Bowl Halftime show.

Super Bowl LVII will air live on FOX with pregame festivities starting at 6:30 p.m. ET.

Chris Stapleton, Miranda Lambert, Kacey Musgraves, Rosanne Cash, Sheryl Crow, Snoop Dogg, The Chicks, The Lumineers, Tom Jones, and Tyler Childers will be among the artists performing during a two-day concert in honor of Willie Nelson's 90th birthday. The event, called Long Story Short: Willie Nelson 90, will take place on Saturday and Sunday, April 29th and 30th at the Hollywood Bowl.

Willie said, "I can't think of a better way to spend my 90th birthday than being surrounded by family, friends and of course the fans who made this all possible. It's an honor to perform with such an incredible group of artists at such an iconic venue."

Willie's birthday falls on April 29th.

Cole Swindell's first love growing up wasn't music, but rather sports. He tells us: "Well, I really didn't start singing seriously until I graduated high school. I grew up playing sports and not many people know that about me but that's something I've always loved and in high school I played five sports and you know music was always a big part of my life and always loved it but I didn't actually start singing and know that I wanted to do this until I was almost out of high school so although sports didn't really get me anywhere other than writing material but I'll take that any day. I look back and miss those Friday nights all the time."

Cole will release his new single, called "Drinkaby," on Friday (January 27th). The song will be featured on his upcoming project.

Maddie & Tae, Gavin DeGraw and duo The War & Treaty are set to perform at "Rock The Ryman," a concert "celebrating the intersection of rock & roll and country," according to a release. The night will honor the legacy and impact of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame inductees who have graced the Ryman stage. "Rock The Ryman" will take place on March 1st at 7:30 p.m. CT.

The show will be hosted by Charlie Worsham. Additional performers will be announced in the coming weeks.

Tickets go on sale to the public at 10 a.m. CT on Friday (January 27th) at ryman.com. Proceeds from the event will help preserve and celebrate the history of rock & roll at the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame and Ryman Auditorium.

Twitter reunited Parker McCollum and one of his favorite former high school teachers. On Monday (January 23rd), he tweeted, "Sometimes I wonder what my AP Environmental Science teacher is doing now days. She was so cool. Coach Deorfler was her name. We were pretty tight in that class. Never been able to find her online. Hope she's doin good!" A short time later, Coach Deorfler tweeted Parker back writing, "Hey Parker! It's me, Coach Doerfler! Not teaching or coaching anymore. Just living the mom life! Would love to catch a show next time your in town! Looks like you've made it! Proud of you!!"

The two continued their conversation, with Parker adding, "Coach Doerfler!!! Good to hear from you. Was talkin with the boys about CP and you crossed my mind. Glad to see you're doin so well! Would love to have you and your family out to a show! Anytime you want!"

She let him know that her family members are fans writing, "Whenever we hear you on the radio my 4-year-old little boy says 'hey mom, that's your student!' We had tickets to see you at the pavilion in October but got sick and didn't make it. Would love to come see you at the rodeo or at Minute Maid! Thanks for the kind words."

Parker continues on the road on February 2nd at the Palace Theatre in Columbus, OH.

Jordan Davis claims his second week at Number One on both the Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase country airplay charts this week with "What My World Spins Around." The song is his fifth career chart-topper single to date.

"What My World Spins Around" was co-written Jordan, Ryan Hurd and Matt Dragstrem, and as Jordan tells us, they knew the song was special. "Anytime I go in to write with Ryan, like he's just a beast, like that guy is an incredible songwriter and knows how to pull out, like truly pull out what you do real well. And I think even with Ryan, my first inclination with that chorus was to drop it a little bit, ‘cause it's kind of up there for a long time, but Ryan was like, ‘Naw, you got it. Just sing it.' But obviously super-talented, and Matt has become one of my favorite writers. So, I think we left that day realizing that we had something that felt really, really good."

Jordan will release his sophomore album, Bluebird Days, on February 17th.

Brooks & Dunn will reprise their Reboot Tour this year, announcing arena dates in 17 cities beginning on May 4th in Kansas City, MO. They will be joined by special guest Scotty McCreery. Tickets go on sale Friday (January 27th) at 10 a.m. local time at brooks-dunn.com and livenation.com.

Kix Brooks said, "Last year, you all reminded us just how much fun it is to walk out on that stage and share the night with ya! We love what we do, but we're just surfing your wave …can't wait!!"

Ronnie Dunn added, "The Brooks and Dunn posse rides again. More excited to hit the big stage as we ever have been! Unbelievable band of friends.…annnnnd YOU! Together, let's rock the house!!"

The Reboot Tour 2023 runs through June 17th in Greensboro, NC.

Brantley Gilbert will join Nickelback on their Get Rollin' Tour, set to kick off on June 12th in Quebec City, QC. He shared the news on social media yesterday (Monday, January 23rd) writing, "How do you make the most unexpected and bad@$$ tour of all time ... @nickelback and your boy join forces for the summer ... That's how. I'm so stoked to announce we'll be seeing y'all on the #getrollintour criss-crossing the country all summer long."

Nickelback's tour is named after their latest album, Get Rollin', which was released in November.

Brantley previously toured with another rock act, Five Finger Death Punch, last year.

His current single, "Heaven by Then" features Blake Shelton and Vince Gill.

Elle King will promote Friday's (January 27th) release of her debut country album, Come Get Your Wife, with appearances on Bravo's Watch What Happens Live tomorrow (Wednesday, January 25th),
CBS' The Late Show With Stephen Colbert on Thursday (January 26th), where Elle will premiere a song called "Love Go By," and ABC's Good Morning America on Friday, where she'll debut the song "Lucky," which she wrote about her son named Lucky.

Luke Bryan and Dustin Lynch closed out Luke's annual Crash My Playa event in Riviera Cancun, Mexico on Sunday (January 22nd) night by teaming up on a cover of Toby Keith's "Should've Been A Cowboy." The eighth annual event's lineup included Chris Stapleton, Cole Swindell, Lionel Richie, Ashley McBryde, Brian Kelley, Carly Pearce, Chase Rice, and Dylan Scott.

Eric Church has added eight new shows to his The Outsiders Revival Tour across the U.S. and Canada this summer. Those cities include Charleston, Toronto, Rogers, Orange Beach, Saratoga Springs, George, Atlanta, and Charlotte. These are in addition to the 27 previously announced dates at outdoor venues including amphitheaters, pavilions, and stadiums. Tickets to all originally announced dates are on sale now, with added dates on sale next Friday (January 27th) at 10 a.m. local time (Rogers, Ark. at 9 a.m. local time) via Ticketmaster.com.

Eric said, "When I approach touring, I'm always inspired by a new experience, a new way to gather, to express ourselves sonically and visually. Whether it's solo, in the round, double down; being able to bring a different perspective has always brought out our best creatively. Well, we have never done an outdoor summer tour. Never headlined amphitheaters. Never brought a summer experience to your town that featured artists we want to share the summer with. Until now. See you in the season of sunshine with some fellow outsiders that shine brightest when the sun goes down."

Eric will be joined on The Outsiders Revival Tour by Whiskey Myers, Cody Jinks, Jelly Roll, Ashley McBryde, Koe Wetzel, Lainey Wilson, Midland, Parker McCollum, Travis Tritt, Elle King and Paul Cauthen, plus Jackson Dean, Morgan Wade, Muscadine Bloodline, Shane Smith & The Saints, Hailey Whitters, Ray Wylie Hubbard and The Red Clay Strays.

The tour launces on June 22nd in Milwaukee, WI at American Family Insurance Amphitheater.

Dan + Shay's Shay Mooney and his wife, Hannah, welcomed son Abram Shay Mooney on Tuesday (January 17th). He shared the news on social media on Friday (January 20th) with a video of himself with baby Abram writing, "Grateful doesn't begin to cover it."

Abram is Shay and Hannah's third son, joining big brothers Asher, who turns five tomorrow (Tuesday, January 24th) and two-year-old Ames.