Pulse – Country Music News

Morgan Wallen is as happy as he's ever been these days, according to him, but he admits he experienced some "dark" days last year in the wake of the scandal in which he was caught on video making a racial slur. Morgan told SiriusXM's the Highway, "It got pretty dark for sure. I feel like I'm a pretty resilient person and I'm a pretty happy person in, in general. But that was definitely a really difficult time, you know?"

With that in his rear view mirror, Morgan says life couldn't be better. He explained, "I think I'm happy as I've ever been. I can honestly say that. I'm just in a really good place mentally. I got my little boy. I got my family ... Everything is really good for me right now. So, gratitude is at the top of my vocabulary."

Morgan plays two shows in Orange Beach, AL this weekend on his headlining The Dangerous Tour.

Thomas Rhett loves an opportunity to show off his grilling skills, and that includes this weekend's July 4th holiday. He tells us what he'll be preparing in the event of a gathering with family and friends. "Steaks are kinda my go to, but I think if I was having like a Fourth of July party or something like that, makin' smash burgers on the Traeger are my favorite thing in the world to do. Just getting ground beef and putting like a cast iron on the Traeger and gettin' it to 500°, put ‘em on there, smashin' ‘em, cutting with olive oil, salt, pepper. Put the buns on either side of them while there's butter meltin' on ‘em, and then American cheese. Pop it all together, good to go."

Thomas has a break in his tour schedule until July 9th when he hits the stage at Summerfest in Milwaukee, WI.

His new single, "Half of Me," is a collaboration with Riley Green.

Kenny Chesney's holiday weekend plans include playing a show at GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, MO on Saturday (July 2nd). There is no word on how he will spend his July 4th (Monday) holiday this year, but he tells us that in years past it was all about baseball and girls. "You know what? I was usually playin' little-league baseball on the Fourth of July. You know, I was big into sports, and the summertime in east Tennessee consisted of playin' baseball, and that's what I did on the Fourth of July. And they had a big fireworks display after all the games, and I was usually, you know, tryin' to win the affection of some little girl over at the concession stand. And, you know (laughs), things don't change very much!"

Kenny sits inside the Top 15 and climbing on the Mediabase country singles chart with "Everyone She Knows."

Ashley McBryde is taking a step back from performing and being in the spotlight in general. Earlier this week, her camp shared that news via a Facebook message which read, "For personal reasons, Ashley will not be performing for a few weeks. 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!"

No specific reason was given for her decision to take a break.

Currently, her scheduled show on July 14th in Charleston, South Carolina with Dierks Bentley and Travis Denning is still a go via her official website, as are all concerts following that date.

Ashley last performed at Spotify House during CMA Fest in Nashville early last month.

Jake Owen will be among the performers on PBS' A Capitol Fourth special on Monday (July 4th) starting at 8 p.m. ET (check local listings). He will be joined by the National Symphony Orchestra to perform his hits "American Country Love Song" and "Down To The Honkytonk." A Capitol Fourth will be hosted by Mickey Guyton.

Jake said, "I can't wait to celebrate the Fourth in D.C. this year. It's exciting to be a part of a great American tradition, and to sing a couple songs while I'm at it. See you on Monday night!"

A Capitol Fourth will also be streaming on YouTube and at www.pbs.org/a-capitol-fourth.

Jake continues climbing the charts with his current Top 10, "Best Thing Since Backroads."

Brett Young is racking up the musical milestones, the latest being the 8X platinum RIAA certification of his hit single "In Case You Didn't Know." The song is one of only three Country tunes to achieve the honor since 2017. Brett co-wrote the track with Trent Tomlinson and Tyler Reeve.

He said, "Eight times PLATINUM - that's pretty wild. I could never have imagined what this song would become when we first wrote it. It's humbling to have created something that has resonated so strongly with so many people."

Brett's ballad "Mercy" also recently earned 4X RIAA platinum certification and "Like I Loved You" went double platinum. He is currently climbing the charts with "You Didn't" and the "Never Til Now" collaboration with Ashley Cooke.

Luke Combs says the recent birth of his son has made him want to really work on his health and get his weight under control. He told Apple Music 1, "Having a kid has messed up my head on this thing in the best way. I want to be around … I'm fine right now, my cholesterol and my blood pressure is fine 'cause I'm a younger guy, but by the time I'm 45, it's not going to be because of the shape that I'm in."

Admitted admitted he "definitely struggles" with his weight and explained why it's difficult for him to get it under control saying, "Let's say you're a cocaine addict and you quit cocaine, food is the only drug that you are addicted to that you have to have to live. I don't need a cigarette to be alive. But I need food to be alive. You would literally die without food so that's what makes it such a difficult thing."

Luke added that while he's "comfortable in his own skin," he worries about people judging him by his appearance. He said, "Sometimes I think, man I don't want people to think of me in this way where it's like, this guy doesn't care about himself."

Luke and his wife, Nicole, welcomed son Tex on Father's Day (June 19th) in Nashville.

Miranda Lambert has revealed her mother, Beverly Lambert, has been battling breast cancer since last September but is now cancer-free. She told People that she has spent a lot of her time over the last several months in her home state of Texas to help support her mom and the rest of her family.

Miranda said, "She's been through a whole lot, but she's doing really well, and she's ready to roll. I was able to be with her through the hardest parts. She's unstoppable. She's just been so strong and positive through the whole thing. It's a good lesson for people to take away from a journey like that: Even though it's a really scary place to be, the more positive, the better."

While tough to watch her mom go through, Miranda says the experience gave her a new perspective on life. She said, "All I want to do is dream, live in the moment and spend time doing things I love with my friends and family because this thing with my mom has taught me we don't have them forever."

Miranda is featured in this week's issue of People magazine, on newsstands on Friday (July 1st).

Keith Urban will be performing in the streets near New York's Rockefeller Center today (Thursday, June 30th) as part of NBC's Today show. In addition to several of his hits, Keith will debut his upcoming single, "Brown Eyes Baby," during the live broadcast. The entire outdoor concert will be broadcast throughout Today's morning programming from 8 -11 a.m. ET.

Keith is currently on his The Speed Of Now World Tour. The trek rolls on to Toronto with two shows on July 8th and 9th featuring special guest Ingrid Andress.

"Brown Eyes Baby" will officially head to radio in early July.

Luke Bryan plans to celebrate this July 4th holiday weekend doing the same things he loves to do all summer long. He tells us: "My plans for the Fourth are always to be on the boat somewhere in the water, and buy a few fireworks, send ‘em up in the sky for the boys, but it's always a boat and water, whether it's in the Gulf of Mexico, whether it's in Georgia. We don't have a total plan yet, but we'll be having a good time on the fourth."

Luke continues his Raised Up Right Tour on July 7th in Virginia Beach, VA with special guests Riley Green and Mitchell Tenpenny.

His new single, "Country On," will be released on Friday (July 1st).

Cole Swindell was surprised backstage on Tuesday (June 28th) night at his show for the Home On Tour presented by Ashley x Pandora in Nashville with a Pandora Billionaire plaque for surpassing three billion lifetime spins. Cole's current single, "She Had Me At Heads Carolina," is climbing the country charts.

Ryan Hurd has released the new video for his latest single "Pass It On." The video features a guest appearance from his wife Maren Morris, who also co-wrote the song.

Luke Combs has tour dates on the books through mid-December, and while his wife, Nicole, frequently joined him on the road prior to welcoming son Tex earlier this month, things will be very different from here on out. In fact, Luke says they decided to wait until Tex is at least a year old before they consider taking him on the road. He tells us: "We don't even take our dog on the road because of how much we feel like that affects his quality of life, so I can't imagine wanting to take a newborn out there and I'm sure that there's people that do, and not that maybe that couldn't happen or maybe we change our minds but I think we really want to make sure we have this parenting thing down and figured out before we start adding in a variable as huge as doing it on the road."

Luke is enjoying some downtime off the road with his family. He resumes his busy schedule on July 7th with a performance at the Cavendish Beach Music Festival.

Luke released his new album, Growin' Up, on Friday (June 24th). His latest single, "The Kind of Love We Make," sits at Number 21 on the Mediabase chart.

Garth Brooks will receive the Kris Kristofferson Lifetime Achievement Award at the 5th annual Nashville Songwriter Awards, taking place on September 20th at the Ryman Auditorium. He is only the fourth person to receive the honor, following Willie Nelson in 2013, Bill Anderson in 2018, and, most recently, Loretta Lynn in 2019.

Garth said, "When they name awards after artists, that award takes on an even greater meaning. Kristofferson is known as the songwriter's songwriter...and he should be. The honor is the name on the award and the names who have received it. My hope is that through time, the Garth Brooks name is worthy of such an honor. This is going to be a cool night."

Ticket information will be released in the near future.

Toby Keith and his management team have been alerted to "imposter profiles" that are making false reports about the singer's health and publicly addressed the issue on Toby's socials. A statement from "Team Toby" wrote, "It's come to our attention that some of these accounts are now posting falsified updates regarding Toby's health. We are working to get these removed. Any updates will come directly from Toby's verified social media pages. As a reminder, Toby will never personally contact you or request money and you should report any accounts claiming otherwise."

Toby recently revealed that he was diagnosed with stomach cancer last fall and has been undergoing chemotherapy, radiation and surgery throughout the past six months. At the time, Toby wrote, "So far, so good. I need time to breathe, recover and relax. I am looking forward to spending this time with my family. But I will see the fans sooner than later. I can't wait."

He recently expressed his appreciation for the support of his fans writing, "Thank you for all your love and support. I have the best fans in the world."

The Mt. Juliet, TN gravesite of Charlie Daniels has been vandalized. Daniels' team posted a picture of his marker on social media on Tuesday (June 27th) writing, "Thanks to someone stealing a dogwood sapling & watering bag this weekend (seriously!) & someone gluing a spouse's military ID on the marble of Charlie's marker a few months ago, MJPD will be increasing patrols near his grave & video surveillance will soon be installed."

Daniels is buried at Mt. Juliet Memorial Gardens located near his former home.

He died on July 6, 2020 at the age of 83.

Kane Brown visited with a group of children from the Boys & Girls Clubs of Middle Tennessee and Rutherford County on Sunday (June 26th) before the start of the Ally 400 at Nashville Superspeedway. Kane served as grand marshal for the event, but he showed up a little early to surprise these kids, signing autographs and taking pictures before participating in a short Q&A. Two kids from the Clubs joined Kane in officially starting the race.

Kane sits inside the Top 10 and climbing on the Mediabase chart with "Like I Love Country Music."

He will head out on an international tour in September with special guests Chris Lane, Blanco Brown, Restless Road and Jessie James Decker.

Brantley Gilbert and Carly Pearce will headline the special Grand Ole Prix show set for Sunday, August 7th at the Nissan Stadium campus in Nashville as part of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix. Fellow label artists Midland and Callista Clark will also perform during the outdoor show. For more information or to purchase tickets visit musiccitygp.com/tickets.

The Grand Ole Prix follows the conclusion of the Big Machine Music City Grand Prix NTT INDYCAR SERIES race.

Eric Church is a huge University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill basketball fan and this weekend, he got to hang with arguably the school's most celebrated player, Michael Jordan. The two spent time chatting and sipping tequila at Nashville's White Limozeen bar inside The Graduate hotel where they watched NASCAR.

Church posted a photo of the two on social media yesterday (Monday, June 27th) writing, "Enjoyed the fellowship and the libations. Go Heels."

He tagged Cincoro Tequila in the post, which is Jordan's own tequila, a brand he shares with fellow NBA owners Jeanie Buss of the Los Angeles Lakers, Wes Edens of the Milwaukee Bucks, and Emilia Fazzalari and her husband Wyc Grousbeck of the Boston Celtics.

Country Now reports that Jordan was in Nashville for the Ally 400 NASCAR Cup Series as he is the principal owner and chairman of 23XI Racing alongside three-time Daytona 500 winner Denny Hamlin.

Carly Pearce will take the stage to close the show at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville tonight (Tuesday, June 28th). Carly is now an official Opry member, but when she was dreaming about such milestones, she visited the venue with her parents where she tells us she was expecially excited about seeing one performer in particular. "The first time I actually got to go to the Opry, I think I was 15, 16. I just freaked out. My mom got us like second row tickets because she knew that I had to see it up close. And this is gonna be funny, but I wore a little white tank top because Dierks Bentley was there and he was a new artist, and he was singing ‘What Was I Thinkin',' which is funny. Maybe I'll tell him that someday."

Carly will mark her one-year anniversary as an Opry member on August 3rd.

She continues on the Here And Now Tour with Kenny Chesney, performing in Brandon, MS tomorrow (Wednesday, June 29th).

Morgan Wallen sits at the top of the Mediabase chart this week with his career sixth Number One hit "Wasted On You." He co-wrote the song, which is included on his multi-platinum sophomore album, Dangerous: The Double Album.

Duo Neon Union has been signed to Jay DeMarcus' Red Street Records in Nashville. The act was formed by Jimmie Allen, who also produces and manages the duo. Neon Union is expected to release new music sometime later this year.

Brothers Osborne‘s TJ Osborne was the Grand Marshal of Nashville's Pride Parade on Saturday (June 25th). In honor of Pride Month, Brothers Osborne have released the digital EP, Brothers Osborne: Celebrating Pride.

Brett Eldredge is an uncle! He announced the news on social media yesterday, sharing a video clip of him singing to his newborn nephew. He captioned the clip, "Life update ... I'm an uncle now and I'm here to spoil this lil guy and sing away all the hiccups."

Brett is serenading the baby with his chart-topping hit "Mean To Me."

The baby is the first child of Brett's only sibling, his older brother, Brice. So far, the baby's name and other details have not been shared.

Brett released a new album called Songs About You earlier this month.

Michael Ray has earned some heavy metal with his Number One hit, "Whiskey And Rain," as the song has been certified platinum for more than a million downloads. "Whiskey And Rain" is Michael's fourth chart-topper and his first multi-week Number One.

He said, "When I first heard ‘Whiskey And Rain,' I connected with the idea of letting yourself really live in a moment where it can wash over you. To say I'm proud of this song would be an understatement. I'm very grateful that it's found a home in the hearts of fans. I couldn't do this without them or the team I have behind me."

Michael's current single, "Holy Water," is climbing the country charts. It's the second single from his latest album, Higher Education.

Jimmie Allen's third studio album, Tulip Drive, is available everywhere. The 17-track project was released on Friday (June 24th) and includes collaborations with Jennifer Lopez, CeeLo Green, T-Pain and Jimmie's eight-year-old son, Aadyn.

The album is very personal to Jimmie, who says he decided to write the songs about his "own personal experiences, thoughts and hopes."

The album title is also reflective of his childhood. Jimmie explains: "So Tulip Drive, name of my new album, it is the street my grandma Bettie lived on in Delaware. So this album is a lot of songs I wrote based off actual things I went through in life and a lot of songs I chose, I picked ones that tied in directly to moments in my life while hanging out on Tulip Drive."

Jimmie will make his debut performance appearance on CBS' The Late Show with Stephen Colbert tomorrow (Tuesday, June 28th) followed by a performance on Good Morning America and GMA3 on ABC on Wednesday (June 29th).

He is beginning his climb up the country charts with "down home."

The customized Prevost tour bus that Dolly Parton called home on the road for the last 15 years is now available for fans to rent as a luxury hotel suite at her DreamMore Resort & Spa in Pigeon Forge, Tennessee. The Suite 1986 Tour Bus Experience only sleeps two but each booking comes with a room at DreamMore Resort that can sleep an additional four guests, according to thepointsguy.com. Stays require a two-night minimum and start at $10,000.

The bus features a bathtub, wig cabinet and a full-size refrigerator which required the front window of the bus to be removed in order to get it inside.

According to reports, Dolly wrote her Backwoods Barbie album as well as the 9 to 5 The Musical aboard the bus, in addition to riding it to the more than 60 cities on her Pure & Simple Tour.