Pulse – Country Music News

Eli Young Band celebrated the release of their Love Talking album with a sold-out weekend on their Love Talking Tour, wrapping with another milestone for one of their biggest hits. The band was surprised when a representative from both the RIAA and their record label presented them with 4x Platinum certification during their show in Washington, D.C. on Friday night (June 3rd) for their hit single "Crazy Girl." As their highest award yet, "Crazy Girl" has surpassed more than four million sales and streaming units in the U.S. and was previously named Billboard's No. 1 Country Song of the Year and won the ACM Award for Song of the Year.

Mike Eli said, "‘Crazy Girl' has been a defining song for us, and it's really special to see how much fans love it too. We're grateful for those singing along from the crowd and those who play our music on repeat because you make moments like these possible! And thanks to the RIAA for celebrating this certification with us."

Eli Young Band has tour stops in Colorado, Utah and Idaho coming up this weekend.

Sara Evans, Mark Wills and John Berry will all perform at a 90s themed CMA Fest week performance of Opry Country Classics at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on Saturday (June 11th). In other Opry news, Billy Ray Cyrus will continue the 30th anniversary celebration of his iconic debut album, Some Gave All, which includes the hit "Achy Breaky Heart," with a performance at the "Opry Loves The 90s Party" on Saturday, July 15th. Lauren Alaina is also scheduled to perform.

Cody Johnson has officially released his new single, called "Human," to country radio. He also recently released a new official music video for his hit single, "Til You Can't." The clip layers in footage captured on the road as the track climbed to the top of the country radio charts, where it remained at No. 1 for two consecutive weeks in the US and five consecutive weeks in Canada.

Luke Combs and his wife Nicole celebrated the upcoming birth of their first child with a special baby shower.

Nicole documented the party and shared photos on Instagram. The one of a kind event had a citrus theme, including clementines made into the flower arrangements. Guests enjoyed decorated cookies in the shape of tangerine baby rattles, and some cookies had a message on them that read, "A little cutie is on the way.".

A due date has not been announced but Luke told fans earlier this year, that Nicole was due in spring. With that said, summer is only 2 weeks away.

People.com reports that Joe Don Rooney of Rascal Flatts has pleaded guilty to a 2021 DUI charge and will spend time in jail.

The 46-year-old guitarist entered his guilty plea and was sentenced to two days in jail. His remaining sentence of 11 months and 27 days was suspended.

His driver's license was also revoked, but he will have the opportunity to apply for a restricted license, with a built-in breathalyzer device.

Joe Don was arrested last September after crashing his car into a tree in Franklin, Tennessee, just a few miles south of Nashville.

Just days before the kickoff of CMA Fest, Alan Jackson has canceled his performance. No details were given, but last year when he revealed his diagnosis with Charcot-Marie-Tooth, he said that it made performing increasingly difficult.

Alan has been open about his health condition, and has also voiced his determination to keep performing for fans as long as he possibly can.

In the recent past, Alan talked about his neuropathy and neurological disease that he inherited from his dad. He said, "There's no cure for it, but it's been affecting me for years. And it's getting more and more obvious. And I know I'm stumbling around on stage. And now I'm having a little trouble balancing, even in front of the microphone, and so I just feel very uncomfortable."

Brothers Osborne and Old Dominion have now been added to fill the empty time slot on the CMA stadium stage.

Over the weekend, Chris Young released the Deluxe edition of his album, Famous Friends. In addition to songs already released with Kane Brown and Mitchell Tenpenny, it includes new collaborations with Old Dominion, Jimmie Allen, and Cassadee Pope. We talked to Chris about the 20-track collection and he told us this: I couldn't be more proud of this album. It's one of those things that's really grown completely organically. I know that word gets used a whole lot. But I've been lucky enough to have so many of my artist friends, so many friends in the songwriting community become a part of this record. And just continue to grow it from you know, the success of Raised On Country and Drowning to Famous Friends to now At The End of A Bar and all the stuff that we're getting ready to add with the guys from Old Dominion, Jimmie Allen and just some more new stuff. Including a couple of reimagining I'm Comin' Over and Think Of You which has Cassidy Pope on it. It really does encapsulate the meaning of the words Famous Friends." :44 (OC: worlds famous friends)

Lee Brice, has released a new remix of his Top 30 single, "Soul." The song, which features Blanco Brown is the #1 most added single at Country Radio and can be found on Lee's album, Hey World.

After selling-out the first show, Carly Pearce has added a second concert at Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium. Carly stated: "I am so grateful that the Ryman was able to let us do the show one more night! I can't wait to see everyone October 26 & 27." Carly is also playing stadiums this year, opening shows for Kenny Chesney.

Eli Young Band just released Love Talking, their sixth studio album. Mike Eli commented about choosing the songs, "We all collectively realized that the songs raising hands the most were the positive, optimistic ones. That big, uplifting energy is what we needed as a band in that moment. And we understood that our fans were probably needing it, too, so that's the vibe we hope this album portrays to the world." Members of the band were involved with writing 7 of the 9 new songs.

Carrie Underwood is set to release her album, Denim & Rhinestones on June 10^th.

Carrie had a hand in writing 11 of the 12 tracks with several of her frequent collaborators.

Through a press release, she said she wants fans who listen to the album, to feel joyous and have a good time. She hopes the music will make them feel happy.

She said, "I feel like over the past couple of years, everybody's been a little cooped up and just need some fun in their lives."

Carrie co-produced the album with David Garcia. He also worked with her on the 2018 release of Cry Pretty, which marked the first time she produced her own album.

Randy Owen's mother, Martha Owen has passed away. A post on Alabama's socials states that she was surrounded by family in Fort Payne, Alabama when she died.

She leaves behind Randy and his two sisters, Reba Patterson and Rachel Carroll, as well as an extended family.

Due to her death, two Alabama concerts slated for this weekend will be rescheduled for December.

Martha Alice Teague Owen died on Thursday morning (June 2) after a short illness. She was 90 years old.

Blake Shelton says he wishes everyone could meet his wife, Gwen Stefani because she's just a magical person to be around. In an interview with People.com, he said if you do, "You'll just be a better person for it. That's the only way I know to say it."

Blake is keeping busy on their Oklahoma ranch right now… because Gwen loves flowers, so he's been planting "fields and acres" of flowers for her.

The two met while working on The Voice and are quickly approaching their first wedding anniversary on July 3.

The Voice will return to NBC for season 22 in the fall.

Michael Ray hit the road this week opening for Lee Brice on his Label Me Proud Tour. They kicked things off last night (June 2) in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire and he'll be out on 22 of the 23 stops now through late September. Michael tells us more: "When you can tour with your friends, and get to share in their success…it makes that tour even better. And he's one of those artists that just makes you wanna level up, and I know he's gonna make us level up every night and just elevate my show and I'm honored that he asked me and my crew to be a part of his first ever big headlining tour, the Label Me Proud tour." :20 (OC: Label Me Proud tour)

Niko Moon is only days away from the release of his EP called Coastin.' It will be out next week on June 10. From it, comes a new single that sets the beach mood of the 5 song collection. We asked Niko about his new single, "Easy Tonight" and his answer was short and simple: "Easy Tonight is a celebration of life y'all. Telling about making sure those drinks go down easy. We don't get a long time – we're gonna have a good time, right?" :08 (OC: a good time, right?)

Morgan Wallen will receive the ACM Milestone Award at the upcoming ACM Honors show. According to the press release, it's given to an artist or industry leader for specific, unprecedented, or outstanding achievement in the field of Country Music.

Morgan's Dangerous: The Double Album spent 10 weeks at #1 in all genres and has spent 60 weeks in the Top 10 since its release. Past Milestone Award recipients include Garth Brooks, Kenny Chesney, Taylor Swift, Luke Combs, and Miranda Lambert.

This year, Miranda will receive the Triple Crown Award for having won ACM Top New Female Vocalist, Female Vocalist of the Year, and Entertainer of the Year since the start of her career. She's one of only seven to obtain the honor.

Chris Stapleton will get the ACM Spirit Award. And Sonny Throckmorton and Shania Twain will both receive the ACM Poet's Award.

Performers and host will be announced at a later date. The 15th annual ACM Honors is set for August 24 at Nashville's Ryman Auditorium.

Luke Combs has dropped a couple of teases online that have his fans trying to find out more. First was a photo of him with his arm around Shania Twain.

That was just enough to get fans started on speculating about a collaboration and asking him to cover one of her songs. That didn't seem to be the case though, her socials posted the same photo and she mentioned that they saw each other at the Bottle Rock Napa Festival.

The other teaser was a short audio clip of an unreleased fishing song called "On The Other Line." In it, he sings about having a line in the water, while on a phone line with his wife.

That song and 11 others will be on his new album called Growin' Up, to be released on June 24.

Tyler Hubbard flew across the Atlantic to surprise his 4-year-old daughter Liv and wife Hayley, while they were on a girls trip to Paris together.

The news broke as Hayley shared a video on Instagram. She revealed the surprise at the end as Tyler walked in and hugged his daughter and she flashed a big smile.

Tyler had initially stayed in the states to kick off his solo career with the release of his first single, "5 Foot 9."

Chris Janson has released a new single from his 16 track album, All In. He says that "Keys To The Country" describes his life very well. Chris tells us more: "When I'm off, I will be doing that. I will be taking a drive through the country, smoking a cigar in my farm truck, listening to Hank Jr…like, it's…honestly it's a lifestyle piece for me. You know, by the way, not to mention…that is the majority of the country music listening audience. I mean, they love rowdy, up-tempo, make you feel good songs. And man, that's 3 minutes of pure blissful fun." :20 (OC: pure blissful fun)

Conner Smith made his Opry debut over the weekend and it was a full circle moment for him because he started writing songs at the age of 6, following a trip to the iconic show.

With more than 60 family and friends in the audience supporting him, he kicked off with his Top-40-and-rising single, "Learn From It."

About the night, he said, "It was a moment to look around with gratitude for the support from family and friends and appreciate all the hands that went into making this moment possible. It's something I'll never forget."

He also performed a song he wrote called "Jesus & Me." It was inspired by his great grandparents.

Conner's next show will be at CMA Fest in Nashville on June 10 and then he goes on the road with Thomas Rhett for the summer.

Keith Urban is tying up some loose ends while getting set to launch The Speed Of Now World Tour. He just wrapped his Las Vegas residency at The Colosseum at Caesar's Palace over the weekend, where wife, Nicole Kidman made a quick appearance on stage. We talked to Keith about his shows in Sin City and he told us this: "It's wide open. I mean, you, you're ready for anything in Vegas, but the energy from the crowd every night is phenomenal." :08 (OC: is phenomenal)

Carly Pearce has announced that she will be playing a concert at the iconic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on October 26.

Known for singing about her life, she stated: "Country music is three chords and the truth. Well, those who know me know I can't help but be honest in my music so what better way to celebrate my first time playing the Mother Church of Country Music than with some cold hard truth songs!"

Her first ever headlining show in the historic venue will be called Carly Pearce: One Night At The Ryman. Fan club tickets are available now and tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday (6/3).

Old Dominion is set to headline Nashville's Let Freedom Sing! July 4 concert.

The two day event will also feature performances from other artists, including Levi Hummon and Cassadee Pope.

The kickoff on July 3 will include a Family Fun Zone at Music City Walk Of Fame Park.

The free downtown event, will feature fireworks synchronized to a live performance by the Nashville Symphony and will air on CMT.

With everyone jumping on the podcast bandwagon, Brett Young won't be one of them. He says he stays busy enough as it is. He tells us more: "Honestly, I'm surprised people are still listenin' to my music. I don't think I could feel justified asking ‘em to listen for an hour a week to something else I have an opinion about. If I were to do a podcast, I wouldn't even know where to start, because unless somebody's leading it and asking me the questions, you know, that's not a skill set I have. So, I have mad respect for people that do that, that have enough to say to fill that much time all the time. Especially with two young kids now, I value my silence (laugh)." :23 (OC: value my silence)

After a concert in New York with Chris Young over the weekend, Mitchell Tenpenny got to throw out the first pitch at a Mets game. And he may have brought them good luck, as they beat the Phillies 5-4.

Staying in the sports realm, he'll play in the Celebrity Softball Game next week at CMA Fest. The June 6^th event will benefit Folds of Honor. The non-profit organization provides educational scholarships to the spouses and children of military members who have fallen or have been disabled while serving in the military.

Dan + Shay were so excited to be opening shows for Kenny Chesney, that they re-wrote the lyrics of "I Go Back," and made the song about him. Both grew up as big fans and being on the same stadium stage with him has been a wild dream come true.

Before the crowd showed up at Nashville's Nissan Stadium concert, they went into the stands, performed the song and posted it online. Then later, they debuted it that night to the biggest-concert-crowd-ever to attend a show there.

About being on tour with one of their musical heroes, Dan said, "I get emotional just thinking about it. It's insane."

They both said that they re-wrote it to express their love and appreciation for Kenny.

To hear the song, check out their social media pages.

Chris Janson had a proud dad moment over the weekend. During a concert in Las Vegas on Saturday night (May 28) he brought out his youngest son, Jesse.

Taste of Country wrote that Chris was visibly brimming with pride during the show, as Jesse hopped up on a platform, holding a microphone and tapping his foot to the music. Chris pumped his fist in the air and gave the cheering crowd a big thumbs up.

Jesse is 8 years old.