Pulse – Country Music News

Miranda Lambert has followed up her recent Top 10 single, "If I Was A Cowboy," with a new single called "Strange," which was officially released to radio yesterday (Monday, July 18th). It's the second single off Miranda's latest album, Palomino.

She co-wrote the song with frequent collaborators Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby during the height of 2020. Miranda said, "‘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. It's such a song for the time that we're in right now, but it doesn't feel like it won't matter in 10 years, either."

Miranda will launch her Velvet Rodeo Las Vegas residency this fall at the Zappos Theater at Planet Hollywood Resort & Casino. The 24-date run begins in September.

Kenny Chesney invited one of the co-writers of his latest Number One hit, "Knowing You," on stage during his concert last week Harvey's Lake Tahoe Outdoor Arena. Kat Higgins joined Kenny to perform the hit song, which earned its place in history as Kenny's 34th Number One hit. "Knowing You" was Kat's very first chart-topper as a songwriter.

Of their performance Kenny said, "It was an amazing thing to see,"It's tough to walk out anywhere with just a guitar and put your heart out there, but Kat was so pure and just so true. She played that song we've all loved and believed in, and when she was done, she'd just destroyed the crowd."

The Here And Now Tour rolls on to Los Angeles' SoFi Stadium on Saturday (July 23rd).

Tyler Hubbard has released another new track from his upcoming album. The song is called "Way Home," and as he explains, he co-wrote it from a new perspective. "This is one of the first songs that I had wrote after I decided to be a solo artist and to really shift my perspective in writing rooms to specifically to trying to write for me and my project and my album, and kind of capture my voice and what I want to say and tell the world my story. This is a song that does just that. It's kind of autobiographical and tells the world and tells the fans kind of where I came from and where I'm at and where I'm headed, and also just a reminder to stay in the passenger seat and let Jesus drive and he's in control and knows where we're headed."

The new song follows his debut radio single, "5 Foot 9," which is currently Top 25 and climbing the country radio airplay charts.

Tyler is set to join Keith Urban on his The Speed of Now World Tour this fall where he'll be performing his new solo music for the first time on tour.

Walker Hayes has released his latest single called "Y'all Life." Among his co-writers on "Y'all Life" is rapper Nelly. The video for the song was shot in Chapel Hill, Tennessee where they called on the town to help create the perfect Friday night football setting.

Walker said, "'Y'all Life' is meant to celebrate life and livin' in the moment, even if that means things are a little messy, that just means you're busy livin'. Take me and my family for instance. We're normal people. We have a garage on the front of our house, we live down the street from a strip mall. Sometimes I leave the lawn mower in the yard; the blow-up Christmas yard ornaments stayed up way too long this year; there are bikes all over the driveway. We even got a letter in the mail about our weeds the other day. We're out here living life the best we can and it's chaotic, but it's ours and we're doing it with the people we love, and I feel like a lot of people can relate to that imagery in this song."

This fall, Walker heads out on his headlining arena tour, Glad You're Here, named after the book he co-wrote with best friend Craig Allen Cooper. The book tells the story of Walker's song "Craig" and details his personal journey to finding Christ.

Brian Kelley has released the video for his recently-released track, "American Spirit." Parts of the video were shot during the annual Grayton Beach Parade in Florida with many celebrating Independence Day.

Brian said, "We wanted to capture the energy and spirit of Fourth of July at home in Florida . . . Our friends always set up a huge flag in front of their driveway, so during the afternoon when everyone was at the beach, we did one quick performance shot for this music video to tie it all in with the great footage we captured of families and friends celebrating, soaking up the Florida sun, and giving thanks to our service members. I just love our town – good times, good vibez, and good people."

Brian has been hosting his first-ever Surf Post Sessions live from the backyard of the Tribe Kelley Surf Post in Grayton Beach. He played a fifth sold-out show yesterday (Sunday, July 17th).

On Friday (July 22nd), the former college baseball player will jet to Atlanta, GA, to headline the CMT Hot Prospects summer concert series at The Battery Atlanta where he'll play a free pregame concert for fans of the 2021 World Series champions. He'll also perform on the Georgia Power Pavilion stage ahead of a Los Angeles Angels vs. Atlanta Braves game and make an appearance at the top of the game inside Truist Park.

Zac Brown Band have released a new version of "Wild Palomino" featuring their labelmate Cody Johnson. The track will be featured on the band's The Comeback (Deluxe) project due out September 30th.

Lady A's Hillary Scott has joined FOR KING + COUNTRY on a brand new recording of their Number One hit single, "For God Is With Us." The original release of "For God Is With Us" has been at Number One on the Mediabase AC chart for five consecutive weeks and was originally released on FOR KING + COUNTRY's current album, What Are We Waiting For?.

ERNEST is taking fans to Big Sur, CA in his official music video for "Feet Wanna Run" from his debut full-length album Flower Shops (The Album). The clip was shot on the scenic Pacific Coast Highway and features ERNEST's 1975 Coupe DeVille, shipped out specially for the occasion.

Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson gathered with the co-writers of their recent hit duet, "Never Say Never," on Wednesday (July 13th) in Nashville to celebrate it topping the country charts earlier this year. The song was Cole's 11th career Number One hit and Lainey's second.

The two say "Never Say Never" has helped them both, career-wise, in different ways, and as Lainey tells us, she's very appreciative for that boost from Cole. "I will say I think it's important for people like Cole who have been there, done that, for him to show the rest of the world like, 'Hey, I believe in this girl, maybe you should too.' That is really important, especially for where I'm at in my career and I can't wait to be able to do that for somebody. (Cole) I've told her since day one that this wasn't just helping her, this was gonna help both of us and take us both to whatever that next level we want to be at and I think its definitely done that."

Cole and Lainey perform their now RIAA-certified gold duet on the upcoming CMA Fest special airing on ABC on Wednesday, August 3rd at 8 p.m. ET and available the next day on Hulu.

Ashley McBryde returns to the road this weekend after taking a hiatus which began late last month due to "personal reasons." She notified fans of her return on social media on Wednesday (July 13th) writing in part, "I didn't anticipate having to take time away. However, It was something that could not be avoided. More on that someday. Thank you for the outpouring of love and support. Now back to business, a little spackle, a little sparkle… See you this weekend Trybe!"

She kicked things off last night (Thursday, July 14th) with a scheduled show in Charleston, SC as part of the Beers On Me Tour with headliner Dierks Bentley. The tour rolls on to Virginia Beach, VA tonight (Friday, July 15th), followed by Ashley's performance at the Blame My Roots Country Music Festival in Belmont, OH on Saturday (July 16th).

On June 28th, Ashley's camp issued a statement explaining that she would be stepping away from performances, appearances and social media "for a few weeks." At the time they wrote, "We will share more details regarding when she will be back on the road as soon as they become available, but she wants you to know that she loves you all and misses you and will be back soon stronger than ever!"

Dan + Shay will release a new single called "You" to country radio on Monday (July 18th). They recently performed "You" at the 2022 Billboard Music Awards where they took home their third award for Top Country Duo / Group. Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney co-wrote "You" for their latest album, Good Things.

Newcomer Ashley Cooke and her current duet partner Brett Young will perform their song "Never Til Now" on on ABC's The Bachelorette. Their appearance is scheduled for episode two with the newest Bachelorettes, Rachel Recchia and Gabby Windey, airing on Monday (July 18th) at 8 p.m. ET.

BRELAND has earned RIAA GOLD certification for his collaboration with Keith Urban called "Throw It Back." The song is included on his upcoming album Cross Country, due out in September.

Four-night stadium passes for the 50th CMA Fest – which takes place in Nashville Thursday, June 8 through Sunday, June 11, 2023 – will be available for purchase through Ticketmaster beginning on Wednesday, Aug. 3 at 10 a.m. CT. For details, visit CMAfest.com.

Chris Janson, Scotty McCreery and Lauren Alaina will all be featured performers at The Grand Ole Opry's Opry Country Christmas. The event returns to the Grand Ole Opry House for the second year in a row beginning on December 1st with Lauren, December 11th with Chris and December 18th with Scotty. Tickets are on sale now at opry.com.

Opry Country Christmas will be hosted by Opry member Larry Gatlin and will showcase songs of the holiday season starting on November 27th and running through December 22nd for a total of nine shows. Each show features Opry members The Gatlin Brothers, Riders In The Sky, Mandy Barnett and Country Music Hall of Famer Charlie McCoy. Other Opry members, special guests, and spotlight artists will round out the shows made up of artists' original songs and Christmas favorites.

All Opry Country Christmas shows air on WSM Radio as well as WSM and Opry digital platforms.

The annual ABC-TV primetime special CMA Fest is set to return to the network on August 3rd at 8 p.m. ET for three full hours of entertainment filmed during this year's CMA Fest three-day event in Nashville in June. The special boasts 30 performances and will be co-hosted for the first time by Dierks Bentley and Elle King.

Dierks said, "I think Elle brings so much to the table. Onstage she's just a riot and also super talented - a great combination of talent with comedic humor. A lot of spontaneous moments between the two of us and just a lot of laughs."

Elle tells us that whether it's singing together or just hanging out, she and Dierks can't not have fun together, especially while co-hosting CMA Fest. "Anything that Dierks and I do together is fun and funny because we're just kind of, in the nicest way, idiots, in the best way. We just make each other laugh so nothing that we do feels like work. This does not feel like work. It feels like we get to go out in a stadium and introduce usually Dierks' friends. I don't know a lot of these people -- like two of them -- but we get to introduce them and say some funny jokes with some of the fans and get to go out there with them. It's been really cool."

Among the performers are Jason Aldean, Kelsea Ballerini, Brothers Osborne, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Russell Dickerson, Parker McCollum, Old Dominion, Thomas Rhett and Carrie Underwood, along with collaborations between Dierks and Billy Ray Cyrus, Wynonna Judd and Carly Pearce, Dustin Lynch and MacKenzie Porter, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson, Elle and Ashley McBryde, Lady A and BRELAND, and Zac Brown Band with Darius Rucker.

CMA Fest will be available on Hulu beginning on August 4th.

Kelsea Ballerini dropped the news on social media yesterday (Wednesday, July 13th) that her fifth studio album will be titled Subject to Change, and it will be released on September 23rd. She also shared the album cover art, which shows her wearing a flowy, yellow dress with her face obscured by her hair as she looks to be spinning her head around.

In the video clip she provides a voiceover saying in part, "This is a season of becoming, healing, loving, dancing and feeling, and like everything, it is subject to change."

The lead single from Subject To Change, "Heartfirst," sits in the Top 30 and climbing on the Mediabase chart.

Maren Morris and Wynonna are among the ladies taking part in Brandi Carlile's Girls Just Wanna Weekend next year. The event will also feature Sara Bareilles, Brittney Spencer, Brandy Clark and Yola, among others.

The fourth Girls Just Wanna Weekend will take place from January 9-13 in Riviera Maya, Mexico. Taste of Country reports that the all-inclusive concert vacation will include accommodations packages at either the Hard Rock Hotel or the Barcelo Maya Riviera Resort.

Brandi recently shared the lineup on social media writing, "This LINEUP!!!!!….We asked you what artists you wanted to see on the Girls Just Wanna Weekend stage and we listened! This will be the party to beat all parties. Ladies Of The 80's brings on the apocalypse! See you in the hot tub misfits, the island awaits you!"

Maddie & Tae will release their new album, called Through The Madness Vol. 2, on September 23rd. Including their recent release, "Every Night Every Morning," the project will feature eight new tracks, each co-written by Maddie Font & Tae Kerr.

Through The Madness Vol. 2 is the follow up to Maddie & Tae's Through The Madness Vol. 1, which was released earlier this year.

The duo will crisscross the country this fall, headlining the CMT Next Women of Country Tour Presents: All Song No Static Tour which kicks off on September 15th in Oklahoma City, OK.

Montgomery Gentry's Eddie Montgomery has co-authored a children's book called Police Officers, Our Friends! It is set in his hometown of Danville, Kentucky, and it was written to teach kids about "trusting and supporting law enforcement," according to CBS-TV affiliate WKYT in Lexington.

Eddie told the outlet, "Our guys man, and girls man, are our American heroes, and they're getting a bad rap. I just got tired and sick of it myself. We thought, you know what, it's time."

Police Officers, Our Friends! is available online at ourpolicefriends.com.

Keith Urban will add Tyler Hubbard to his The Speed of Now World Tour this fall. The former Florida Georgia Line singer will join Keith and special guest Ingrid Andress beginning on September 3rd at The Shoreline Amphitheatre in Mountain View, CA.

Keith shared the announcement with fans via a video on social media yesterday (Tuesday, July 12th) writing, "We've got a new member joining @ingridandress and I on our crazy circus starting in September….welcome to the tour brother !!!! @tylerhubbard"

Tyler said, "I've been writing and recording a lot of new music for my first solo album, songs that are made to be played live. I am so excited to be joining Keith on his fall tour and can't wait to play them for the first time for fans across the country."

Tyler is climbing the charts with his debut solo single, "5 Foot 9."

The Speed of Now World Tour wraps up on November 4th in Peoria, IL.

Luke Combs is featured on a new scratch game as part of the Wisconsin Lottery. Living Lucky with Luke Combs offers players the chance to win a $10,000 Instant Top Prize, according to the Wisconsin Lottery's official website, as well as a chance to win one of three trips to see Luke in concert in Nashville.

Country Now reports that players who win one of the Nashville concert trips will then be entered into a lottery where they can win $500,000. The winner of the $500,000 lottery will be announced at Luke's concert.

Via a statement, Luke said, "I'm truly honored for the opportunity to give my fans the chance to live out the song ‘When It Rains It Pours,' and a shot at half a million dollars. Good luck to everyone."

According to the game's official website, the Living Lucky with Luke Combs scratch-off will soon be available in Texas, Minnesota, Maine, Arizona, Kansas, North Carolina, South Carolina, Ohio, Kentucky, and more in the coming months.

Maren Morris included a lot of her own personal circumstances in her latest hit, "Circles Around This Town," but she tells us the message is universal enough for everyone to relate to it. "I think that with the chorus we really, in a cyclical way, tied in the idea of yes, I'm looking back on my past, but I'm also still in the driver's seat doing the same exact things. Like I'm still trying to outdo myself and I'm still getting inspired by this town every single day. Obviously it's very specific to my story but I think it's relatable to a mass of people who are just trying their best and trying to figure out what their dream is and chase it down and stay inspired by it over time."

"Circles Around This Town" is a Top 10 hit and climbing on the Mediabase chart.

It's the lead single from her latest album, Humble Quest, which was released in March.

Parker McCollum will be sporting some very nice boots for the foreseeable future. He has partnered with the Lucchese Bootmaker brand for a multi-year deal.

The Texas native has been a life-long fan of Lucchese, saying, "Lucchese has always been the boots that I wanted when I was a kid. I can remember several years ago saying to the band and kind of saying to myself quite a bit, how much I would love to sign a deal with Lucchese one day and be able to represent them with what I do, since I just love their product so much. It quite literally gives me chills to think about the fact that we're actually signing a deal with Lucchese and it's a big deal and means something. It's going to give both of us a platform to collaborate on, which is literally one of my dreams that I had a couple of years ago. So to manifest that and speak it and actually come to fruition, is what dreams are all about, man. You can never shoot too high, and you can never dream too big. You just never know what you may end up actually getting in life. So the Lucchese deal is a prime example of that, and I'm just so excited to start this relationship and build on it and show the world what we can do."

Texas-based Lucchese dates back to 1883.

Parker performs tonight (Wednesday, July 13th) at the LaPorte County Fair in Indiana.

Newcomer Kameron Marlowe will release his debut album, called We Were Cowboys, on August 26th. The project features 16 tracks, the majority of which were co-written by Kameron including the title track, which is available now.

Kameron said, "I've been working on this project for the better part of two years, and I've lived a lot of life in that time. This album encapsulates it all – nostalgia, romance, heartbreak, and everything in between. I couldn't be prouder of this project, and I'm incredibly excited for fans to get a deeper look at who I am through these songs."

Kameron's debut single is called "Steady Heart."

He will be opening on upcoming select dates on Morgan Wallen's Dangerous Tour.

Clay Walker and Tracy Lawrence are joining forces for a set of co-headlining tour dates this fall.

The two Country stars will kick things off on November 3rd in Norfolk, Virginia and will have their last show of the tour on November 12th in Macon, Georgia.

Walker and Lawrence shared the stage back in March, making this the second time they've toured together this year.

Tickets for Clay Walker and Tracy Lawrence's tour go on sale on Friday (July 15th).

Clay Walker and Tracy Lawrence's Fall 2022 Tour Dates:
November 3rd - Norfolk, Va.
November 4th - Fayetteville, N.C.
November 5th - Columbia, S.C.
November 10th - Knoxville, Tenn.
November 11th - Spartanburg, S.C.
November 12th - Macon, Ga.

Gavin DeGraw has announced summer dates for his Face The River Tour.

The 11-date trek will kick off in Clearwater, Florida at the Bilheimer Capitol Theatre on August 20th and will make stops in Annapolis, Maryland at the Rams Head on Stage, Morristown, New Jersey at the Mayo Performing Arts Center, Great Neck, New York at Steppingstone Park and more before wrapping things up on September 13th in Madison, Wisconsin at the Barrymore Theatre.

DeGraw spoke on the tour, which follows his 20-show Full Circle tour, saying, "It feels so good any time I hit the road, but adding music from this album to the show makes this run particularly special. To watch fans connect so strongly to this material, which is so personal to me, makes performing these songs one of the greatest joys of my life."

Tickets go on sale on Friday (July 15th) at 10 a.m.

Face The River Tour Dates
August 20th - Clearwater, FL - Bilheimer Capitol Theatre
August 23rd - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head On Stage
August 24th - Annapolis, MD - Rams Head On Stage
August 26th - Morristown, NJ - Mayo Performing Arts Center
August 28th - Great Neck, NY - Steppingstone Park (*CLOSED SHOW)
August 31st - Bethel, NY - The Event Gallery at Bethel Woods Center For The Arts
September 8th - Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater
September 9th -Green Bay, WI - Epic Event Center
September 10th - Des Plaines, IL - Rivers Casino Des Plaines, The Event Center
September 12th - Milwaukee, WI - The Pabst Theater
September 13th - Madison, WI - Barrymore Theatre

Kelsea Ballerini has hinted at some of the details surrounding her next album.

Kelsea held an impromptu Q&A on TikTok recently, teasing that her album may come out in August or September.

When asked when she plans to release her next album, Kelsea said It's hard to say but if I had to pick a month ... um ... yeah."

The camera then zoomed in on her necklace, which looks to be the symbol for the Virgo astrology sign.

Virgo represents August 23-September 22 birthdays.

Reba McEntire will be hitting the road this fall.

The singer-actress is set to embark on the Reba: Live in Concert tour with support from Terri Clark.

McEntire will start things off in Lafayette, Louisiana on October 13th at the Cajundome.

She'll then make stops in Fort Worth, Texas at the Dickies Arena, Austin, Texas at the Moody Center, Tampa, Florida at the Amalie Arena and will close things up in Wichita, Kanasa at the Intrust Bank Arena.

The tour's final date is on November 19th.

Tickets go on sale on Friday (July 15th).

Reba Live in Concert Tour Dates
October 13 - Lafayette, LA - Cajundome
October 14 - Ft. Worth, TX - Dickies Arena
October 15 - Oklahoma City, OK - Paycom Center
October 20 - Charleston, WV - Charleston Coliseum
October 21 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
October 22 - St. Louis, MO - Enterprise Center
October 28 - Austin, TX - Moody Center
October 29 - Corpus Christi, TX - AmericanBank Center
November 3 - Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
November 4 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
November 5 - Indianapolis, IN - Gainbridge Fieldhouse
November 10 - Estero, FL - Hertz Arena
November 11 - Tampa, FL - Amalie Arena
November 12 - Savannah, GA- Enmarket Arena
November 17 - Memphis, TN - FedExForum
November 18 - Kansas City, MO - T-Mobile Center
November 19 - Wichita, KS - Intrust Bank Arena