Pulse – Country Music News

Sam Hunt has confirmed the impending arrival of his first child with soon-to-be ex-wife Hannah Lee Fowler, telling Country Countdown USA that they are expecting a girl in about two months.

Sam said, "I haven't talked about this, but I have a little girl on the way. I blocked out two months at the end of May and early June. Really this year revolves around that big news in my life."

He added that the baby is due "in about 8 weeks" and that he and Hannah are still mulling over names. Sam said, "We're thinking about it. I want her to be in the world before we name her. I want to be able to look at her and decide what name suits her best."

Hannah filed for divorce in February after five years of marriage. In the documents, she claims that Sam is "guilty of inappropriate marital conduct" and "guilty of adultery." She's asking for alimony, primary custody of their child and child support.

Sam and Hannah tied the knot in 2017 after several years of dating on and off.

Georgia natives Brantley Gilbert and Jason Aldean have joined forces on Brantley's new song, "Rolex On A Redneck." Brantley co-wrote the song with HARDY, among others, for his next project.

Brantley said, "Aldean was one of those guys coming up that I looked up to as he's a great song guy. Back in the day, he cut a couple songs of mine, ‘My Kinda Party' and ‘Dirt Road Anthem,' and he turned both of those into big ole hits, and I'll forever be thankful for that. Writing a song and having Aldean cut it is one thing, and that's something I'll always be thankful for and is a blessing in itself, but to be able to do a song with him, well, it's a whole other level."

Jason added, "Brantley and I go way back. This song is just a straight up a banger – it‘s cool to be part of it with him."

Brantley has been back in the studio preparing new music to be announced later this year.

Garth Brooks has added a second show in Charlotte, NC on his Stadium Tour. The new concert will happen on Friday, July 15th at Bank of America Stadium. His previously-announced concert there is set for Saturday, July 16th.

Garth said, "We learned from socials that people who had great seats for the shows before Covid, did not get great seats for the make up shows. So we decided for the make up show in Charlotte, we wouldn't even open up the top deck and just do two shows in lower bowl if the demand was there. Now any ticket in Charlotte is guaranteed a great seat. Now that Charlotte has taught us how to do this, I really want to think of a second show in the three other make up cities of Nashville, Cincinnati, and Foxborough . . . basically a brand new opening night! It doesn't matter to me if 200 people show up for the new opening nights, what matters to me is now everybody gets a chance to get a great seat. That thought makes me happy for them."

Tickets for both Charlotte shows are on sale now at ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks or on the Garth Brooks line at Ticketmaster, 1-877-654-2784 or through the Ticketmaster App.

Keith Urban invited about 30 students from the Las Vegas Academy of the Arts to visit with him during a private soundcheck of his show at Caesars Palace's Colosseum last Thursday (March 24th). People.com reports the students, all guitar majors, got a backstage tour, learned about sound engineering, got a close-up view of Keith's many guitars, got to have a little Q&A with him and were even treated to a private performance of a few of Keith's hits.

He told People, "It's great to kind of be in that situation to give any answers that might help, but also to hear questions and challenges that they're going through right now."

As their time was wrapping up, Keith invited a senior named Bradley Love to jam with him onstage for a few minutes.

Keith's Las Vegas residency at Caesar's Palace runs through April 2nd. He returns again at the end of May.

Reba McEntire's new CD & DVD pairing, My Chains Are Gone, features several special guests including Trisha Yearwood, Kelly Clarkson and The Isaacs, and is hosted by Gospel music legend Bill Gaither.

Among the collaborations on the project is "Back To God" with Lauren Daigle. As Reba explains, this wasn't her first time to record the song. "'Back To God' is a song that I absolutely fell in love with on Randy Houser's freshman album. I wanted to record it myself, which I did, and then to do it again with Lauren Daigle, you just never get tired of hearing ‘Back To God.' It is a song of instruction of faith and hope."

My Chains Are Gone was released on Friday (March 25th).

Last night (Sunday, March 27th), Reba performed at the 94th Academy Awards. She sang "Somehow You Do," written by Diane Warren and nominated for Best Original Song category from the movie "Four Good Days" starring Mila Kunis and Glenn Close. Best Original Song went to Billie Eilish and Finneas O'Connell for "No Time To Die."

Today (Monday, March 28th), Reba celebrates her 67th birthday!

Carrie Underwood tapped her mother, Carole Underwood, to join her on stage for a special duet of "All American Girl" during her Las Vegas show on Saturday (March 26th) as part of her residency at the Resorts World Theatre. Carrie shared a few pictures from the performance on social media writing, "‘If you wanna go, I'll take you.' These might have been the most pivotal words anyone has ever spoken to me. I was busy talking myself out of trying out for American Idol and my mom said these words…the rest is history. Tonight, I got to sing with her on stage in front of the most incredible crowd in #LasVegas Life sure is amazing! Thanks, Mom, for everything!"

Jake Owen's new single is called "Up There Down Here," and it's available everywhere now. Jake said, "I really loved this song from the minute I heard it. All of us boys are lucky to find these angels here on earth. I happen to be lucky enough to raise two of them."

Newcomer Morgan Wade will make her debut at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on April 2nd. She said, "With the Grand Ole Opry, whether you're talking Hank Williams or Johnny Cash, Dolly Parton or Elizabeth Cook, the people who walk out on that stage are plugging into so much more than just their own music, they're drawing on all the history that's made the Opry what it is."

Jeff Carson, best known for his chart-topping 1995 single "Not on Your Love," died on Saturday (March 26th) at the age of 58. According to his publicist, Carson suffered a heart attack and died at Williamson Medical Center in Franklin, Tennessee.

He was born Jeffrey Lee Herndon in Tulsa, Oklahoma, on December 16, 1963. He signed with Curb Records in 1995 and released three studio albums along the way. The last one, Real Life, was released in 2001.

Maren Morris' new album, Humble Quest, is out today (Friday, March 25th). It includes her latest single, "Circles Around This Town," as well as 10 other new songs which came together as a result of several factors, not the least of which was the pandemic.

Maren tells us: "I think that forced me to really stop and recalibrate my life and my choices and what I put stock into so it really made me sharpen my view on what I do for a living and what I don't want to do anymore, so I think that a culmination of motherhood, marriage, the pandemic, not being able to tour, and then just trying to be creative again, it all ended up being these songs, and so it just felt like a huge growth period but also less pressure going into trying to prove myself because I feel like I don't have to do that anymore."

Maren has teamed up with Amazon Music for Maren Morris: Live From New York, a one-night-only live performance to celebrate the launch of Humble Quest taking place at the historic Sony Hall in New York City tomorrow (Saturday, March 26th) night beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Fans will be able to tune in via the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, and within the Amazon Music mobile app via Twitch. as well as on Prime Video globally.

Blake Shelton asked for continued prayers for the families and friends of the six high school students killed on Tuesday (March 22nd) in a terrible car accident in his community of Tishomingo, OK. The vehicle the six teen girls were riding in collided with a trailer-tractor, recalling Blake's own personal loss of his then-24-year-old brother Richie in a car accident in 1990.

Blake issued a statement to People magazine on Wednesday (March 23rd) which reads, "In the wake of yesterday's unthinkable crash in our small town of Tishomingo, we as a community have all been in shock and broken-hearted. I personally know the devastation of suddenly losing a loved one in a car accident. But our community is strong and has come together to support and wrap our arms around the families and friends that are hurting the most. There's no question it will take a long time to heal from this tragedy. Keep the prayers coming."

Blake owns a ranch in Tishomingo, where he and his wife, Gwen Stefani, spend a lot of time.

Matt Stell is making his mark on the metaverse with his debut, limited-edition NFT. He has teamed up with Fanpage LLC to offer his first ever NFT, "Sex, Drugs, & Country Music." This animated design "is a nod to the country legends who were about Saturday night as much as they were Sunday morning," according to the Fanpage website. In appreciation of his fans, Matt is giving away 500 free collectible NFTs to the first fans to claim with the promo code "msdrop."

Matt's debut NFT will be minted on the polygon blockchain, a climate sustainable blockchain which is over 99.9% more carbon efficient than Ethereum.

Priscilla Block kicked off her first-ever headlining tour, called Welcome To The Block Party, last night (Thursday, March 24th) in Birmingham, AL. She has upcoming dates this weekend in Huntsville, AL and Rome, GA. The tour stops in 15 markets across the Southeast and Midwest including Knoxville, TN; Charlotte, NC; Houston, TX; and Dallas.

Priscilla's debut single, "Just About Over You," recently earned her her first RIAA Certified Gold single and led to her debut album, Welcome To The Block Party, which was just released last month.

Priscilla is a nominee for the upcoming CMT Music Awards for Breakthrough Video of the Year for "Just About Over You." The show will air live from Nashville on April 11th on CBS.

Chris Stapleton has been added to the growing list of Grammy Awards performers, along with Foo Fighters, H.E.R., Nas and Jon Batiste. Chris is nominated in three categories, including Best Country Album, Song, and Solo Performance. The Grammy Awards will be held in Las Vegas on April 3rd and air live from the MGM Grand Garden Arena at 8 p.m. ET on CBS.

Newcomer Morgan Wade is climbing the charts with her debut single, "Wilder Days," but she has released a video for a cut on her Reckless album called "Take Me Away." The clip was shot in an abandoned building in Watertown, Tennessee.

Luke Combs has canceled his scheduled performance at the CMT Music Awards due to being diagnosed with Covid. He will be replaced by Old Dominion, CountryNow.com reports. While the CMT Awards aren't scheduled to take place until April 11th, Luke was supposed to pre-tape his performance with Kane Brown today (Thursday, March 24th) in Nashville.

An email to CountryNow.com from 1iota, a company involved with the performance, reads in part, "In Luke's absence, Old Dominion will join Kane Brown for special musical performances for a TV taping."

The CMT Awards is set to air for the first time on CBS. Performers include Kelsea Ballerini, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Maren Morris and Ryan Hurd, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Carly Pearce and Keith Urban.

The show will be co-hosted by Kelsea and actor Anthony Mackie.

2022 is the year that Jon Pardi's fans can expect a new album. He's been hard at work on writing and recording for the project, which will be the followup to his 2019 release, Heartache Medication.

Getting a new album into the hands of his fans is Jon's priority this year. He tells us: "This year we're really buckling down with songwriting and making the record and the number one thing for this year is new music, which I've already got 'Last Night Lonely' and then Ain't Always The Cowboy tour and then the album in September is our month we're gonna put it out. We don't have the exact date but our goal is September. We have a lot of songs."

As Jon mentioned, his first taste of the new music, "Last Night Lonely," is climbing the charts at country radio.

He will kick off his headlining Ain't Always The Cowboy Tour on July 14th in Irving, TX with special guests Lainey Wilson and Hailey Whitters.

Hank Williams Jr.'s wife, Mary Jane Thomas, died unexpectedly on Tuesday (March 22nd) at the age of 58. TMZ reports she suffered a complication -- possibly a blood clot -- after undergoing a medical procedure in Jupiter, FL.

Hank and Mary Jane have been married since 1985 and have two children together -- daughter Katie Williams-Dunning, who was killed in a car accident in 2020, and son and musician Sam Williams. Mary Jane also leaves behind three grandchildren.

Hank has yet to publicly comment, although a member of the Williams family told TMZ they'd like privacy at this time.

Reba McEntire will perform the song "Somehow You Do" from the drama Four Good Days, starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis, when she hits the stage at the Academy Awards in Hollywood on Sunday (March 27th). The song, which is nominated for Best Original Song, was written and composed by Diane Warren.

Reba tells us the song's message is apropo for the times we're living in: "I definitely feel like the fans can relate to the overall message of this song. It does give hope when you're down, depressed and you're having problems in life. This song gives hope, and that's what we all need."

Beyonce, Billie Eilish and Finneas, and Sebastian Yatra will also perform their Oscar-nominated songs during the ceremony.

The 94th Academy Awards, hosted by Regina Hall, Amy Schumer and Wanda Sykes, will air live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Reba McEntire is among the singers set to perform live on this Sunday's (March 27th) Academy Awards. She will join Beyonce, Billie Eilish and Finneas, and Sebastian Yatra in singing four of the five original songs nominated for Oscars this year.

People.com reports that Reba will perform "Somehow You Do" from the drama Four Good Days, starring Glenn Close and Mila Kunis. The song was written and composed by Diane Warren, who is a Best Original Song category nominee at this year's Oscars.

The 94th Academy Awards will air live on ABC beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Luke Combs, Kane Brown, Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, Little Big Town, Maren Morris, Carly Pearce, Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson, Keith Urban and Kelsea Ballerini are all set to perform on next month's CMT Music Awards. The fan-voted show will be co-hosted by Kelsea and actor Anthony Mackie on April 11th in Nashville and air live on CBS for the first time.

The CMT Music Awards nominees were announced last week with Kane leading the pack with four nods. He is trailed by Kelsea, Mickey Guyton, BRELAND and Cody Johnson, who each have three.

Voting is open at vote.cmt.com through Monday, April 4th at 10 a.m. ET.

Thomas Rhett rarely ventures out alone with his four daughters, all under the age of six. The situation can be overwhelming for Thomas, who braved an outing with the girls the other day. He tells us: "Yeah, I took all four to Chick-fil-A the other day. That was an act of God, because any time that you're with an infant – not that every kid is not as important – but when you are literally strollering an infant into a restaurant, the other three are kinda like, ‘Hey, I hope I've taught you enough to where you don't sprint into the street and you're holding somebody's hand, and we don't start throwing French fries in Chick-fil-A. I often don't volunteer to take all four of them at the same time because it's absolute chaos. But it is fun cause I like for my kids to look at me and trust me and be like, ‘Oh, he can do this.'"

Thomas continues climbing the charts with his latest single, "Slow Down Summer," which is a Top 15 and climbing on the country charts.

The song is included on his upcoming album, Where We Started, which will be released on April 1st.

Lauren Alaina will head back to American Idol next week to mentor those following in her footsteps. She shared the news on social media on Monday (March 21st) writing, "I am FLIPPING OUT to return to @americanidol as a guest mentor for #HollywoodWeek! I'll be mentoring the country genre! . . ." Lauren will appear on American Idol on Monday (March 28th).

Lauren got her big break as runner up to Scotty McCreery during season 10 of American Idol.

She is currently starring on the CBS' Beyond the Edge, where celebrities compete to survive in the Panamanian jungle for charity.

Riley Green will release an album of 11 songs recorded live on his We Out Here Tour on Friday (March 25th). We Out Here: Live includes fan favorites along with his debut hit single, "There Was This Girl."

Riley announced the news on social media writing, "I've always wanted to record a live album and the We Out Here tour was the perfect way to do it. We had a blast on the road with all of y'all and this album is from our show in Huntsville, Alabama. It'll be out this Friday and I can't wait for y'all to hear it."

Riley's next live performance is set for Country Thunder Arizona on April 7th in Florence, AZ.

Cody Johnson claims the top of both the Billboard Country Airplay and Mediabase charts this week with his career first Number One hit, "Til You Can't." The song is the debut single from Cody's 2021 Human The Double Album.

Cody shared the big news on social media yesterday (Monday, March 21st) writing, "Til You Can't is officially #1 on Country Radio! Huge thank you to Country Radio and to #COJONation for loving this song. Y'all, I am so thankful!"

He will perform "Til You Can't" when he makes his debut on NBC's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on April 8th.

Cody is nominated in three categories at the CMT Music Awards -- Video of the Year ("'Til You Can't"), Male Video of The Year ("'Til You Can't"), and CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year for "Dear Rodeo" from CMT Campfire Sessions. The fan-voted CMT Awards will air live from Nashville on Monday, April 11th on CBS.

Tickets go on sale on Friday (March 25th) for the summer leg of Dierks Bentley's Beers On Me Tour. He will play in more than 30 cities between June 3rd and September 11th, along with special guests Ashley McBryde and Travis Denning.

Dierks said, "A bunch of friends, ice cold beer and good Country music is just about all you need for a perfect summer. Every year when we plan a tour, I think this summer is going to the best yet...and this year is no different! I'm excited to have Ashley and Travis jump on this leg of the Beers On Me Tour…now just counting the days 'til June!"

The Beers On Me summer tour officially kicks off on June 3rd in Wilmington, NC.

Dierks is climbing the charts with his new single, which happens to be the name of his tour, "Beers On Me," featuring BRELAND and HARDY.

Maren Morris has teamed up with Amazon Music for a one-night-only live performance to celebrate the launch of her new album, Humble Quest. Maren Morris: Live From New York will take place at the historic Sony Hall in New York City on Saturday (March 26th) beginning at 8 p.m. ET. Fans will be able to tune in via the Amazon Music channel on Twitch, and within the Amazon Music mobile app via Twitch. as well as on Prime Video globally. Maren's Humble Quest album arrives on Friday (March 25th).

During the livestream, fans will also get a sneak peek at Maren's episode of the Amazon Music digital series The Walk In, where host Mo Heart (RuPaul's Drag Race) takes fans on tours through the closets of some of her favorite celebrities and artists. From Maren's looks at the ACM Awards, CMAs, and her tours, livestream viewers will hear the stories behind the looks and learn about Maren's relationship with her stylist, Dani Michelle, before the full episode kicks off season two of the series on March 28th.

Maren kicks off her Humble Quest Tour on June 9th in Raleigh, NC.