Pulse – Country Music News

In a groundbreaking deal, Blake Shelton has sold his master recordings catalog and created a joint venture with Influence Media. The collection of music includes all of his commercial releases from 2001 to 2019. During that time, he has accumulated 27 #1 singles on Billboard's Country Airplay chart.

About his 20 years' worth of music, Blake said "Sometimes I still feel like the kid from Oklahoma I was back then. While a lot has changed during that time, my passion for music hasn't."

His discography consists of 11 studio LP's, including one Christmas album, two EP's, and three compilation albums.

The amount of the deal was not disclosed, but Influence Media recently announced $750 million fund platform to invest in high-value compositions. To date, they have invested in over 20 catalogs.

Parker McCollum is excited that he'll be performing at the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo again next year. He posted a video online and told Houston that he "can't wait" to join them for opening day.

The Texas native will be on hand to kick off the annual event on Feb. 28.

2022 has been great for Parker: He got married in the Spring. He won ACM New Male Artist of the Year and is nominated for CMA New Artist of the Year. Plus, he's currently on the road, opening for Thomas Rhett.

Jon Pardi wrapped his headlining, Ain't Always The Cowboy Tour, in Nashville over the weekend.

The award-winning artist took the stage to a capacity crowd and performed his fan-favorite hits, plus new music from Mr. Saturday Night. One of those new songs included his latest release, "You're Heart or Mine."

He posted on his socials following the concert and wrote: "Nashville,,, I LUV YA! So fun."

Pardi sold out over a dozen dates on his nationwide run that included Los Angeles, New York, Boston, and Sacramento.

HARDY is home recovering, after a tour bus accident over the weekend left him and three other people with "significant injuries." Although he hasn't mentioned the specifics about what happened or how bad the injuries are, he is thanking fans for their prayers.

On Sunday (Oct. 2), he posted a selfie with his fiancé, Caleigh Ryan resting her head on his shoulder. He wrote: "Thank you for all the texts and calls. I'm alive and that's all that matters. I love you all."

According to his fiancé's post, the bus driver, Ricky still… "very much needs everyone's prayers."

HARDY has only posted twice since the accident. Both on Twitter and Instagram.

Tonight (10-4) Miranda Lambert returns to ABC's Jimmy Kimmel Live! to perform her current single, "Strange."

Through a press release she stated, "‘Strange' is permission to just let go for a sec. We were really wanting the chorus to lift. Literally and emotionally – and go into a happy place."

The single follows her most recent Top 10 hit, "If I Was A Cowboy," which is also the second single from the album. Palomino.

After a string of sold-out shows, Reba McEntire has decided to extend her time on the road.

She just added 14 new dates to the Reba: Live In Concert tour for spring of next year. Terri Clark and The Isaacs will open each show.

In a press release, she said, "I've had so much fun being back out on the road and doing what I love to do most… entertaining people."

The spring run will kick off March 9 in Jacksonville and will conclude at NYC's Madison Square Garden, marking her first time to play the iconic venue. Tickets go on sale Friday, October 7.

It’s a good week for Little Big Town. Their new album, Mr. Sun officially debuted as the year’s Top Country Album by a group. That’s in addition to  taking over the #1 spot as the current Country album in pure album sales. Karen Fairchild tells us more about the album: [“‘Mr. Sun’ is the title track of the record, and it’s a song that we didn’t write. Sarah Buxton and Daniel Tashian wrote this song. Daniel sent it to me one day and when I heard it, I was like ‘Wow,’ there’s the title of the record you know, we were trying to find something that really encapsulated the whole vibe of the record, and ‘Mr. Sun,’ although it sounds like it’s gonna be a happy song, it’s actually a very melancholy song, and beautiful guitar work on this song  and kinda old school 70s harmonies, but it’s a song about asking sun not to shine because his girl is gone and he can’t take it today, and we really loved the way that fit in the whole like sunnier vibe of what this whole record is about. You got your ‘Rich Man’ and ‘Friends of Mine’ and these songs that really remind us of things that are important in life and also you know heartache is a part of it as well and learning to let go, so that’s the way that ‘Mr. Sun’ fits in on being the title track of our tenth studio record.”] SOUNDCUE 1:13 (OC: tenth studio album)

After a serious bus accident, HARDY is requesting prayers for his tour family. It took place after a show in Bristol, Tennessee, on the way back to Nashville Saturday night (Oct. 1).

All four, including HARDY were taken to the hospital and treated for significant injuries. All have been released, except for the bus driver who remains there with more serious injuries. The driver's family is with him and HARDY said "we're all pulling and praying for him."

He posted the news on Twitter on Sunday afternoon and wrote: "I've been released from the hospital, but ordered by doctors to recover for the next few weeks which may cost us a couple of shows. My team and I will keep fans updated on that as I rest in the coming days."

HARDY was on the road promoting his new single, "Jack" that he just released this weekend.

Saturday (10-1) marked the anniversary of the mass shootings that took place at the Route 91 Harvest Festival in Las Vegas, where Jason Aldean was on stage at the time.

He posted this weekend about it and wrote, "5 years later and it's still a rough day."

Along with his words of remembrance, he shared a photo of those who were on hand at the festival with him when the shootings took place.

On that day in 2017, a lone gunman killed 58 people when he opened fire from his room at the Mandalay Bay hotel, just across the street from the festival. Hundreds more were wounded, and two more people later died of their injuries.

The mass shooting is the subject of a new four-part documentary series on Paramount+. It's titled, 11 Minutes.

Russell Dickerson announced over the weekend that he's all set to release his third studio album on November 4. The self-titled collection will contain 15 new tracks.

Russell says these song may not be what his fans have come to expect from him, but through them, he's expressing a different side of himself.

He stated in press release: "I'm still the hyper, outgoing, fun-loving, crazy dude on stage. But also these songs are so meaningful to me. It's not all hype and smoke and lights." I am a songwriter, I trust my instincts, and now my instincts are telling me to share 100-percent me, and creatively just let it flow."

He co-wrote and co-produced all 15 tracks.

There's new music out from the Zac Brown Band. The album is called The Comeback (Deluxe).

Lead singer, Zac Brown enlisted a lot of special guests for the record, including legendary artist Jimmy Buffett. Together, they sang a brand new version of "Same Boat."

Other artists on the project include Blake Shelton, James Taylor, Cody Johnson, Ingrid Andress, and Jamey Johnson. The music is available now, plus a vinyl version will be out in late January.

The band is playing the new songs across the country and that includes upcoming shows in Seattle, Phoenix, and Los Angeles.

With both Maren Morris and husband Ryan Hurd being in the music business, they've always had to juggle between their personal time and their careers. Then when baby Hayes came along, things had the potential to get really crazy, but Maren tells us, they have it all under control: "It's definitely a labor of love. I think it takes a lot of planning and forethought, especially when you're touring for a living and you're constantly away from each other. Yeah, you have to get creative with your schedule. And luckily we work with a lot of the same people that help our calendars coalesce. And we have good like date nights planned and we're gonna go on vacation in a couple of months, which I'm really excited about, just to kind of like get away and just be with each other. But yeah, it takes a village for sure to help us go but we're really lucky that we have those people in our life and that we love each other so much that we want to make our dreams and our relationship substantial." :49 (OC: our relationship substantial)

There are artists who like to perform all of their songs exactly as they are on their albums in concert, but Ingrid Andress is not one of them. She tells us that she likes to shake things up during live performances and give her audience something a little unexpected. "There are a lot of songs that I play that we amp up basically for the live version because sometimes songs don't translate as well depending on what instruments you use or how much energy you're using so to me creating live versions of songs is super fun because it opens up another level of creativity sort of like a round two on a song."

Ingrid continues on tour with Keith Urban, playing tonight (Friday, September 30th) in Oklahoma City and tomorrow (Saturday, October 1st) in Fort Worth, TX.

She continues climbing the charts with her Top Five hit, "Wishful Drinking" featuring Sam Hunt. Ingrid released a song called "Seeing Someone Else" to pop radio earlier this week.

Alan Jackson will be honored with the Artist of a Lifetime award at the upcoming CMT Artists of the Year special, set to premiere on the cable network on Friday, October 14th at 9 p.m. ET. Previous recipients of this award include Randy Travis, Reba McEntire, Loretta Lynn, Shania Twain, Kenny Rogers and Merle Haggard.

Alan said, "I believe I've made more videos than just about anybody, and I know how important they have been in bringing my songs to life for the fans, so thank you CMT for all the years and for this sweet honor. I'm very proud."

Alan has made and released nearly 60 music videos throughout his three-decade career.

In addition to Alan, this year's CMT Artists of the Year special will showcase previously announced honorees Carly Pearce, Cody Johnson, Kane Brown, Luke Combs and Walker Hayes.

Handwritten song lyrics from hits by Kelsea Ballerini, Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood, Florida Georgia Line and Walker Hayes, to name just a few, will hit the auction block to raise money for Music Health Alliance. Julien's Auctions will host the third annual online charity auction event at juliensauctions.com beginning on Saturday (October 1st) and start closing in real time and in lot order for live bidding at 11 a.m. PT on Monday, October 24th. Proceeds will benefit Music Health Alliance, a 501(c)3 non-profit organization that provides 100% free access to life-saving healthcare and financial resources for the music industry.

Highlighted handwritten song lyrics signed by the songwriter and/or recording artist include:

Kelsea Ballerini, "Peter Pan" on a hand-painted and signed Epiphone acoustic guitar (co-written with Forest Glen Whitehead and Jesse Lee)

Michael Martin Murphey, "Wildfire" on a signed black Yamaha acoustic guitar and in a separate lot, signed lyrics of his other greatest hit, "What's Forever For" handwritten by songwriter Rafe Van Hoy

"Meant To Be" recorded by Florida Georgia Line and BeBe Rehxa, signed by Brian Kelley, Tyler Hubbard, and Josh Miller (co-written by Josh Miller, David Garcia)

Pat Monahan of Train, "Drops of Jupiter" on a stage-played Remo Emperor drumhead signed by all band members. (Recorded by Train)

Signed by Carrie Underwood and Jason Aldean, co-writers Tully Kennedy and Lydia Vaughan handwrote "If I Didn't Love You"

ZZ Top/Billy Gibbons signed "Sharp Dressed Man"

Walker Hayes, "Fancy Like" (co-written with Cameron Bartolini, Josh Jenkins, and Shane Stevens)

Peter Frampton, "Do You Feel Like I Do" (co-written with John Siomos, Mick Gallagher and Rick Wills)

Sam Hunt will perform his current hit, "Water Under The Bridge," on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Monday (October 3rd). Sam co-wrote the song, which follows his career eighth Number One hit, "23."

Parker McCollum will open the 2023 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on Tuesday, February 28th. Individual tickets for the concert go on sale to the public on Thursday, October 6th at 10 a.m. through AXS Ticketing via rodeohouston.com.

Shania Twain was a guest on the Table Manners podcast yesterday (Wednesday, September 28th) where she revealed that during a dinner with Oprah Winfrey, the two got into an uncomfortable conversation about religion. Shania said, "She's such a smart lady, and, you know, it was just great to just sit and have real talks, you know. But as soon as we started talking about religion, it all went sour. So I was like, ‘Oh, let's stop talking about religion.'"

Shania continued, "She is quite religious. I'm not religious in the sense that I'm dedicated to a religion. I'm much more of a spiritual person. I'm much more of an inner– I'm a seeker. I would say I'm a seeker. That was like, ‘OK, yes. I've entered into –' You know how everyone always says never talk about politics or religion? It just wasn't debatable. There was no room for debate. And I like to debate, Canadians like to debate about it, you know, debate everything. So I'm like, ‘Oh OK, Sorry. Change subject.'"

Shania released her new single last week called "Waking Up Dreaming." The song's artwork features her topless wearing just a cowboy hat, colorful boots, a white shirt tied around her waist. Shania told People.com, "I styled that photograph myself. It was all about taking off the bra, taking off the shirt, tying the shirt around my waist. This is a statement of being comfortable in my own skin and just being really myself."

"Waking Up Dreaming" is Shania's first single in five years. She plans to follow it up with an entire album.

Jackson Dean has several tattoos, one of which was inspired by some ink he saw in the 1992 film The Last of The Mohicans. He tells us that the one on his left forearm is a combination of the character's tattoo and his own embellishment: "This was Daniel Day-Lewis‘ tattoo in The Last of The Mohicans. One of my favorite quotes of all time was, ‘Live not by another man's leave, beholden to none.' And then I realized that I didn't want words on my body. I got particular about it for some reason. So, I just got his tattoo and then blacked it out, and it was three sessions of just pounding black into my arm. It took a while."

Jackson sits inside the Top 10 and climbing with his current single, "Don't Come Lookin'."

Tracy Lawrence is launching his first podcast show called TL's Road House. He is joined by Jelly Roll for the pilot episode, which is now available everywhere. The season will continue with special guest stars including Jason Aldean, Lainey Wilson, Michael Ray, Dustin Lynch, Tracy Byrd, and Dee Jay Silver, with more to be announced. All of Tracy's interviews take place on his tour bus.

He said, "I'm really excited to launch TL's Road House. There are so many artists and people in the industry that I've wanted to sit down with— ultimately, I just wanted the chance to get to know my peers."

The podcast will premiere every Wednesday morning via Anchor and is available on Tracy's YouTube Channel.

Chris Janson has signed with Big Machine Label Group in partnership with his own imprint, Harpeth 60 Records. He was previously signed with Warner Music Nashville since 2015, releasing four albums. His latest, All In, was just released in April.

Chris shared the news on social media by posting a picture of him flanked by Big Machine executives writing, "This opportunity is an absolute dream come true, and I'm honored to be working with such a talented crew and roster of artists. (Producer) Julian Raymond and I are hitting the studio for this first album, and we are on the fast track for great new music!"

Other artists on the Big Machine roster include Lady A, Brett Young, Riley Green and Chris' protoge, Shane Profitt.

Luke Bryan fans will have 12 more chances to see him perform his residency in Las Vegas in 2023, he announced yesterday (Tuesday, September 27th). Luke will return to Resorts World Theatre beginning on February 1st and wrap up on April 1st. Tickets and a limited number of premium VIP packages for the new 2023 show dates will go on sale to the public beginning on Friday (September 30th) at 10 a.m. PT at axs.com and rwlasvegas.com/entertainment.

Luke tells us that fans who have seen him perform on tour over the years, like on his current Raised Up Right Tour, will find this to be a completely different experience. "Playing my Vegas residency is . . . it's really, really fun. I mean, our production value and our sound value and just the enormity of the stage and the lights is certainly so unique. It's just a massive look and I think when fans have never seen me is such a big theater with all the bells and whistles and tricks and fun things to do . . . It's a pretty special show."

2023 Vegas show dates include: February: 1, 3, 4, 8, 10, 11; March: 22, 24, 25, 29, 31; April: 1.

Previously announced Luke Bryan: Vegas show dates that are currently on sale include: November 30; and December 2, 3, 7, 9, 10.

Luke wrapped up his 13th Farm Tour on Saturday (September 24th) after completing a run of six concerts. He continues to give back to the farmers by awarding college scholarships to students from farming families who are attending the local college or university near the tour stops. To date, 78 scholarships have been granted.

Morgan Evans seemed to be telling his side of the split from his wife of nearly five years, Kelsea Ballerini, during his recent set at the CMC Rocks QLD Festival in his native Australia. Morgan sat down at the piano and belted out a song called "How Long" with the lyrics "How long have you been waiting to take our pictures down? / How long have you been breaking? Why am I just finding out?"

The song continues, "I would have searched the whole world over for you / Took a flight through the night to be that shoulder for you / I would have let go if you wanted me to / How many times did you say you loved me when it wasn't true?"

Fans in the audience had an audible reaction to the painful song.

Kelsea shared news of the divorce with fans on social media in late August.

Morgan later confirmed the news on social media writing, "I am very sad to confirm that after almost 5 years of marriage, Kelsea and I are parting ways. I wish it were otherwise but sadly it is not."

Jake Owen has released his new single called "Up There Down Here," along with the official video. The clip was shot in Wyoming, with Jake narrating a story of unconditional love and devotion told through the lens of a bull rider and his wife.

Jake said, "I'm really proud of this song and this video . . . The thought was about how so many guys out there just like us have these angels watching over us. Sometimes, I'm not so sure we even deserve it, but this is our tribute to those angels on earth. Hope you enjoy!"

Jake hits the road to kickstart the back half of his headlining Up There Down Here Tour on October 13th in Rosemont, IL. He'll be joined by special guest Travis Denning and Mackenzie Carpenter.

Gary LeVox recently surprised newcomer Ashley Cooke when he recorded a video message for her, turning her invitation to make her debut at the Grand Ole Opry into a song. He strummed a guitar singing, "Ashley, I can't wait to see you October 26," then spoke to her adding, "At the Opry for your debut. I will be there, and I can't wait to see you. I'm so proud of you and I'll see you October 26."

Ashley shared a video of the former Rascal Flatts lead singer's message along with her reaction to the the news on social media writing, "I can't believe this moment…I get to step into the circle at the grand ole opry. this legendary place is country music's home and getting to make my debut on a night @garylevox is performing, one of my childhood heroes/reasons I fell in love with this genre in the first place.. I don't even have the words. see you october 26, @opry."

Ashley recently released her latest single, "Back In The Saddle."

She is currently out on Cole Swindell's Back Down To The Bar Tour.