Pulse – Country Music News

Thomas Rhett will resume his headlining tour beginning tomorrow night (Thursday, September 8th) in Tuscaloosa, AL after being forced off the road by doctors who ordered him on voice rest nearly two weeks ago. Thomas shared the good news via a video message to fans on Instagram yesterday (Tuesday, September 6th) saying in part, "I've been cleared to go, cleared to sing."

He explained, "The doctors over at Vanderbilt put me on vocal rest. My cords were pretty dad gum swollen and inflamed and it's been a week for sure. I think it's the quietest I've been in about a decade. I went back this morning and they checked my cords again and all the inflammation is down . . . I just wanted to hop on here and say thank y'all so much for the love and just for the well wishes. Glad to be back, glad to be singing again . . ."

Vocal issues forced the last-minute postponement of Thomas' show in Chula Vista, CA on August 27th.

His Bring The Bar To You Tour is set to run through October 15th in Fairborn, OH with special guests Parker McCollum and Conner Smith.

Organizers of Darius Rucker's inaugural Riverfront Revival music festival have revealed the full music schedule of performers at the event, set to take place in Darius' hometown of Charleston, S.C. on Saturday, October 8th and Sunday, October 9th. Jimmie Allen, Maggie Rose and Darius are among the acts in Saturday's lineup, while Radney Foster and Brothers Osborne are set to take the stage on Sunday.

Tickets to Riverfront Revival at North Charleston's Riverfront Park are on sale via RiverfrontRevival.com.

One dollar of each ticket sold will go to support the Medical University of South Carolina (MUSC) Arts in Healing program. MUSC's board-certified and registered Arts in Healing therapists work with children and adults to identify, explore and transform emotional, psychological, physical and spiritual difficulties through Clinical Art and Music Therapy.

Nominees for the 56th Annual CMA Awards will be announced this morning (Wednesday, September 7th) at 8 a.m. ET via the CMA Awards website, the Official CMA Connect App, and CMA's social platforms (Twitter, Instagram, and Facebook). The CMA Awards will air live from Nashville on November 9th on ABC. It will be co-hosted by Luke Bryan and former NFL quarterback Peyton Manning.

Lainey Wilson is the most-nominated act heading into this year's CMA Awards, it was announced this morning (Wednesday, September 7th) on social media. She tops the list with six nods, followed by Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce, and Chris Stapleton, with five each. The 56th Annual CMA Awards, hosted by Luke Bryan and Peyton Manning, will air live from Nashville on Wednesday, November 9th at 8 p.m. ET on ABC.

Here is the complete list of artist nominees:

ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR
• Luke Combs   
• Miranda Lambert    
• Chris Stapleton  
• Carrie Underwood   
• Morgan Wallen 

SINGLE OF THE YEAR
• “Buy Dirt” – Jordan Davis featuring Luke Bryan 
• "half of my hometown” – Kelsea Ballerini (feat. Kenny Chesney)  • “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde  • “'Til You Can't” – Cody Johnson 
• “You Should Probably Leave” – Chris Stapleton 

ALBUM OF THE YEAR  
• Growin' Up – Luke Combs 
• Humble Quest – Maren Morris 
• Palomino – Miranda Lambert   
• Sayin' What I'm Thinkin' – Lainey Wilson 
• Time, Tequila & Therapy – Old Dominion 

SONG OF THE YEAR
• “Buy Dirt”  Songwriters: Jacob Davis, Jordan Davis, Josh Jenkins, Matt Jenkins 
• “Never Wanted To Be That Girl”  Songwriters: Shane McAnally, Ashley McBryde, Carly Pearce 
• “Sand In My Boots”   Songwriters: Ashley Gorley, Michael Hardy, Josh Osborne 
• “Things A Man Oughta Know”  Songwriters: Jason Nix, Jonathan Singleton, Lainey Wilson 
• “You Should Probably Leave”  Songwriters: Chris DuBois, Ashley Gorley, Chris Stapleton 

FEMALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR   
• Miranda Lambert 
• Ashley McBryde 
• Carly Pearce 
• Carrie Underwood 
• Lainey Wilson 

MALE VOCALIST OF THE YEAR 
• Eric Church 
• Luke Combs 
• Cody Johnson 
• Chris Stapleton 
• Morgan Wallen 

VOCAL GROUP OF THE YEAR
• Lady A 
• Little Big Town 
• Midland 
• Old Dominion 
• Zac Brown Band 

VOCAL DUO OF THE YEAR
• Brooks & Dunn 
• Brothers Osborne 
• Dan + Shay 
• LOCASH 
• Maddie & Tae 

MUSICAL EVENT OF THE YEAR
• “Beers On Me” – Dierks Bentley with BRELAND & HARDY 
• “If I Didn't Love You” – Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood  • “Longneck Way To Go” – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi) 
• “Never Say Never” – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson) 
• “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde 

MUSIC VIDEO OF THE YEAR   
• “I Bet You Think About Me” (Taylor’s Version) (From The Vault) – Taylor Swift (featuring Chris Stapleton)   
• “Longneck Way To Go” – Midland (featuring Jon Pardi) 
• “Never Say Never” – Cole Swindell (with Lainey Wilson) 
• “Never Wanted To Be That Girl” – Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde 
• “'Til You Can't” – Cody Johnson 

NEW ARTIST OF THE YEAR  
• HARDY 
• Walker Hayes 
• Cody Johnson 
• Parker McCollum 
• Lainey Wilson 

Luke Combs refunded the ticket prices of concert-goers at the second of his two sold-out shows at Maine Savings Amphitheater in Bangor, Maine on Saturday (September 3rd) when he felt his vocals weren't up to what they should have been, despite performing the entire concert. He told the crowd, "(My voice is not) what I think it should be for you guys having to pay for it, so we're going to put on the best free show we could put on and I want you guys to know how upset I am to have to tell you that tonight, but all I want you to know is that we're going to do the very damn best. I'm going to give you everything that I have. I am so sorry, so sorry."

Luke added that he had already refunded the tickets prior to show time. He explained, "Before we even start playing this show, I have to let you know that I have refunded all of your tickets. As of 7:00 PM, today, a few hours ago, I realized that I'm not going to be able to sing as good as I normally do . . . "

This past weekend was the kickoff of Luke's Middle of Somewhere Tour.

His latest single, "The Kind of Love We Make," sits inside the Top Five and climbing on the country charts.

Kane Brown dropped a teaser of his duet with his wife, Katelyn Brown, on social media on Sunday (September 4th). The clip shows them recording in the studio. Kane captioned the post, "First teaser (Thank God) with my wife @katelynbrown So excited releasing this Friday with my album Different Man!!"

The song will be released to country radio on September 12th. It is included on Kane's third studio album, Different Man, which will be released on Friday (September 9th).

The album will also include his latest Number One hit, "Like I Love Country Music," as well as "Grand," "One Mississippi," "Whiskey Sour," and "Leave You Alone."

Lainey Wilson's latest single, "Heart Like A Truck," is the first taste of new music from her upcoming album, Bell Bottom Country. She tells us the song's message speaks to the large majority of people everywhere. "My new song, "Heart Like A Truck," is for anybody and everybody who's been through hard times, hard luck, heartbreak. It's about finding freedom in your strength and about not being afraid of the scars and the bumps along the way because it builds some character."

"Heart Like A Truck" sits inside the Top 40 and climbing on the country charts.

Bell Bottom Country is set for release on October 28th.

Alan Jackson's oldest daughter, Mattie Jackson Selecman, is engaged! Her boyfriend, Connor Smith, popped the question during a recent birthday trip to Palm Beach, FL, which she shared on Instagram.

This will be Mattie's second marriage. Her first ended when her husband, Ben Selecman, died tragically in 2018 in West Palm Beach, FL after suffering a head injury after falling while trying to help a woman get into a boat.

Alan's daughter, Ali, and her husband are expecting their first child, making Alan a first-time grandparent. The couple will welcome a boy.

So far, Maren Morris has raised upwards of $100,000 for transgender causes following negative comments made about her by Tucker Carlson on Fox News.

While interviewing Jason Aldean's wife, Brittany (on 9-1) Carlson called Maren a "lunatic" and a "fake country music singer."

Almost immediately, Maren took advantage of the exposure and had T-shirts for sale that read: "Lunatic Country Music Person" and it includes a support and crisis hotline for trans youth.

The merch went on sale Friday night and in the first two hours had raised $63,000.

Brittany Aldean came under fire in late August for a makeup video she posted on Instagram with the caption, "I'd really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life."

In response, Cassadee Pope tweeted, "You'd think celebs with beauty brands would see the positives in including LGBTQ+ people in their messaging. But instead here we are, hearing someone compare their ‘tomboy phase' to someone wanting to transition. Real nice."

Maren got involved by replying: "It's so easy to, like, not be a scumbag human? Sell your clip-ins and zip it, Insurrection Barbie."

After some back and forth between the three women, Brittany insisted that her words were "taken out of context," and later told Carlson that she's "advocating for children."

Maren's most recent post was Saturday morning (Sept. 3), the charity shirt had then sold more than $100,000 for GLAAD's Transgender Media Program and Trans Lifeline.

A quick look at Carly Pearce's tour schedule shows she has Labor Day off before she heads to Switzerland. We talked with Carly about jobs she held before she was an entertainer. She told us this: "I used to work in the Banana Republic in the Opry Mills Mall in Nashville, which is kind of the touristy mall. So, we get a lot of traffic. So I work there 10 hours on a Saturday, which y'all, you see a lot of people. And then I also cleaned Airbnb‘s, which is not glamorous at all. I cleaned a lot of toilets, scrubbed a lot of floors, cleaned a lot of sheets… nasty. And I also nannied, which was super fun, but hard work." :29 (OC: but hard work)

Jason Aldean was dropped by his longtime public relations firm yesterday (Thursday, September 1st) after his wife, Brittany, posted a video on Instagram last week that drew the ire of the likes of Maren Morris and Cassadee Pope who called her "transphobic." The video showed a glam before and after of Brittany which she captioned, "I'd really like to thank my parents for not changing my gender when I went through my tomboy phase. I love this girly life." The GreenRoom has represented Jason for 17 years.

While not mentioning the recent controversy as the catalyst for the split, co-owner Tyne Parrish said, "Music has always been and remains The GreenRoom's core focus, so we had to make the difficult decision after 17 years to step away from representing Jason. We aren't the best people for the gig anymore, but will always be big fans of his music — he is one of the greatest live entertainers in country music."

So far, Jason has not commented on the split.

The GreenRoom's other clients include Dierks Bentley, Thomas Rhett, Lady A, and Kip Moore.

Jon Pardi's fourth studio album, Mr. Saturday Night, is released today (Friday, September 2nd). It features 14 new songs, including his latest Number One hit, "Last Night Lonely."

Jon tells us: "When the fans listen to this record I hope they go away with just another great record to listen to. Put it on, let it play from start to finish and rock out to every song. I feel like emotionally the fans are gonna feel this record more than a lot of the past records so it's gonna be good. Y'all gonna dig it!"

The video for "Mr. Saturday Night" is set to premiere on YouTube today at 1 p.m. ET.

Jon's headlining Ain't Always The Cowboy Tour with special guests Lainey Wilson and Hailey Whitters continues on September 9th in Milwaukee.

Blake Shelton will make his first in-person post-Covid appearance on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on Thursday (September 8th). He is set to perform his new single, "No Body," which was just released and is already nearing the Top 30 on the country charts.

Blake said, "It's been a while since I've been able to do the show in person, so it will be fun and we'll see what crap Fallon has planned on Thursday! It will be the first time the band and will play ‘No Body' on TV, so that always brings some extra excitement and nerves."

Blake will head to Nashville following his New York trip where he will perform on both shows of the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday, September 10th. He is celebrating his 12th year as an Opry member.

Florida Georgia Line officially played their last concert on Wednesday (August 31st) night at the Minnesota State Fair. The duo, made up of Brian Kelley and Tyler Hubbard, took time to thank the fans for supporting them for the past 10-plus years before singing the final song of their set, which was "Cruise."

TMZ reports that after saying their goodbyes to the crowd and each other, they exited the stage from separate sides.

Both Brian and Tyler are pursuing solo careers. This weekend, Brian continues his residency at Tribe Kelley Surf Post in Grayton Beach, FL, while Tyler joins Keith Urban's The Speed of Now Tour on the West Coast.

Kane Brown just announced plans to hit the road in 2023 on the U.S. leg of his Drunk or Dreaming Tour. The tour will open on March 16th in Grand Rapids, MI with special guests Dustin Lynch, Gabby Barrett and Locash on select dates. The 23-city trek will run through mid-June. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, September 9th at 10 a.m. local time.

Kane's international dates on the Drunk or Dreaming Tour begin on September 17th in Melbourne, VIC. He'll visit Australia, New Zealand, Canada, UK, and Europe before wrapping up in Stockholm on January 31st.

Kelsea Ballerini, Zac Brown Band, Brooks & Dunn, and Little Big Town are the first round of performers announced for this year's New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash celebration being broadcast on CBS on Saturday, December 31st beginning at 8 p.m. ET. This is the second year for this televised event, which last year drew 5.51 million viewers in the midnight hour.

New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash will originate from downtown Nashville across multiple locations. Additional artists and information about the special will be announced at a later date.

New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

With Labor Day approaching this weekend, Tyler Hubbard can recall one job he had that he was grateful to put behind him. He was a student attending Belmont University in Nashville at the time. Tyler tells us: "I polished silverware at Maggiano's for like seven months probably, in hopes to just be a server there. And I love Maggiano's and it was definitely an experience that I'll never forget, but I am definitely thankful for everything I learned there, and polishin' silverware and talking about learning patience and all that, but definitely something I'm grateful to have moved on from."

Of course, Belmont is where Tyler met Brian Kelley and they formed Florida Georgia Line.

Tyler is in the Top 10 and climbing on the country charts with his debut solo single, "5 Foot 9." It's included on his new six-song EP, Dancin' In The Country, available now.

Dolly Parton has gone to the dogs . . . in the best way! She has launched Doggy Parton, a line of dog apparel, accessories, toys and more. Part of the line's proceeds will go to Willa B. Farms, a rescue that provides a loving home to displaced animals of all kinds.

Dolly said, "'Puppy Love'' was my very first record and 6 decades later, my love for pets is stronger than ever. This inspired me to start my own line of Doggy Parton apparel, accessories, toys and more with a little ‘Dolly' flair. Part of the proceeds will support Willa B Farms, a rescue where animals in need find never-ending love. Don't we all need that?'"

Doggy Parton products will be available via DoggyParton.com and Amazon.com, with more retailers to be announced later.

Priscilla Block has released the video for her new song, "Off The Deep End," which has her marking the end of a relationship by taking the party from the lake to the bars with her friends.

She said, "We had such a blast creating ‘Off the Deep End.' Hope this one gets you feeling a little wild whether it's at the bar, at the pool, or you found your Boat Daddy for the summer! Life's short - sometimes you gotta let your crazy side show! I'll be right there with y'all, Off the Deep End!"

Priscilla is currently on her Welcome to the Block Party World Tour.

Her latest single, "My Bar," sits inside the Top 30 and climbing.

Ingrid Andress has released the music video for the song "Feel Like This," which premiered yesterday (Wednesday, August 31st) across all MTV & CMT platforms. "Feel Like This" was co-written by Julia Michaels and is included on Ingrid's new album, Good Person.

Jon Pardi charts his fifth Number One hit this week with "Last Night Lonely." The song was co-written by Jimi Bell, Joe Fox and Dylan Marlowe, and marks each of the songwriters' first official Number One single. "Last Night Lonely" is the lead single from Jon's upcoming album, Mr. Saturday Night, due out on Friday (September 2nd).

Jon told Billboard, "I love the way ‘Last Night Lonely' (was) written, and when I first heard it I knew it was one I wanted, for sure, on the new record. The response to the song has been really amazing to watch. We knew we felt good about it, but it has really connected with our fans. It's incredibly cool to have it be the first No.1 for the writers, too. I'm so excited for them."

The new album borrows its title from one of the 14 tracks on Jon's new album, which he tells us made perfect sense as it pertains to the entire project. "'Mr. Saturday Night' is about a guy (who) has a great time wherever he goes but behind the curtain he's sad. He misses his girl and, I don't know -- he says he messed it up so I don't know if she's coming back but he tried to have the best time and make the best of it. It goes along by titling it Mr. Saturday Night cause we got a lot of feel-good songs and a lot of great just all kinds of feels on this fourth record, so I know you're all gonna dig it. Check it out."

Jon continues on his Ain't Always The Cowboy Tour with Lainey Wilson and Hailey Whitters through October 1st where he wraps things up at Nashville's Ascend Amphitheater.

Drivers in the state of Tennessee will have the opportunity to own a Dolly Parton license plate. The Dolly Parton Foundation has created a special "Drive with Dolly" license plate featuring her image. In a video, Dolly explained that 100% of the sales of the plate will support her Imagination Library, which offers free books to children up to five years old.

Country Now reports that with each new plate purchased, one child's enrollment will be fully funded for a year.

The license plates are currently available at county clerks' offices across the state of Tennessee.

Michael Ray recently kicked off his new "Bootlegger Sessions" with a cover of Tracy Lawrence's 1996 chart-topping hit, "Time Marches On." He shared a video of himself singing the stripped-down song on social media writing, "As long as I'm blessed enough to do what I love and write and sing my music, I plan to do everything I can to honor this genre and all the legends who have come before me. That's what the #BootleggersSessions are all about to me!"

Tracy commented on the post writing, "Brother! Sounding great. Let's hang soon."

Of the "Bootlegger Sessions," Michael explained in a previous Instagram post, "For the next several weeks, I'm gonna be dropping my own versions of my personal favorite story songs of Country music . . . "

Michael continues on Lee Brice's Label Me Proud Tour, in addition to playing fair and festival dates.

Kameron Marlowe recently celebrated his Gold-certified single "Burn ‘Em All" with the staff at Sony Music Nashville. The team presented him with the plaque ahead of the release of his debut album, We Were Cowboys, which was released last week. "Burn ‘Em All" was co-written by Kameron.