Pulse – Country Music News

After playing three nights of shows at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena last weekend, Morgan Wallen played a pop-up, stripped-down acoustic set for a crowd of about 100 fans at Graduate Nashville's Cross-Eyed Critters Watering Hole on Saturday (March 19th). The fourth show in four days made good on a prize rewarded to raffle winners from his Morgan Wallen & Friends Show at Marathon Music Works in September of last year where over $800,000 was raised for flood victims of Middle Tennessee, in partnership with The Community Foundation of Middle Tennessee and the Tennessee Emergency Response Fund.

Morgan was seated on the stage with his guitar alongside bandmates Dominic Frost and Tyler Tomlinson. They treated attendees to cuts from his Dangerous album, which recently won ACM Album of the Year, as well as his current hit collaboration with ERNEST, "Flower Shops."

In other Morgan news, his three-night stop at Bridgestone last week alone raised over $120,000 for the More Than My Hometown Foundation which will be put into initiatives for adolescent development, resources and local communities. In 2022, $3 from every ticket sold on his Dangerous Tour benefits the Foundation.

Chris Stapleton and Brothers Osborne are a couple of the special guests performing on Willie Nelson's Outlaw Music Festival Tour this summer. The 20-plus date tour launches on June 24th in St. Louis, MO, and tickets for the general public go on sale on Friday (March 25th) at 10 a.m. local time.

Other acts set to join Willie on the road this summer include The Avett Brothers, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Billy Strings, ZZ Top, Gov't Mule, Zach Bryan, Steve Earle & The Dukes, Allison Russell, Charley Crockett, Larkin Poe, The War and Treaty, Brittney Spencer and Particle Kid.

Willie said, "The Outlaw Music Festival Tour has always been about family and friends coming together for a great day of music and fun, and with the amazing group of artists joining us, this year promises to be our most special Outlaw Tour to date. I just can't wait to get back on the road again."

Dolly Parton's new book, Run, Rose, Run, co-written by James Patterson, is headed to the big screen and she is set to star in the movie in addition to co-producing. Actress Reese Witherspoon will also co-produce on behalf of her production company, Hello Sunshine. There is no word yet on the role Dolly will play or when production will get underway.

Run, Rose, Run was published on March 7th and debuted at Number One on The New York Times bestseller list. Dolly also released a companion album of the same name on March 4th, also debuting at Number One on the Current Country albums, American/Folk and Bluegrass charts.

Kenny Rogers' close friends, family and band members gathered at Oakland Cemetery in Atlanta, Georgia on Sunday (March 20th) to pay their respects to the singer who died two years ago to the day. Until then, a celebration of his life was put on hold due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The outdoor ceremony was hosted by long time touring partners Linda Davis and Billy Dean, with over fifteen speakers paying homage to Kenny and telling personal stories about a life well lived. The ceremony concluded with the Dr. T. Lynn Smith and Friendsgospel choir singing "Amazing Grace" along with a pre-recorded Kenny Rogers vocal and a performance of "Will The Circle Be Unbroken," one of the late singer's favorites. As the guests filed out, the event concluded with an Irish sendoff by Brigadier General (Ret.) Richard McPhee.

At the reception that immediately followed, there was a special surprise. A brand new lyric video for Kenny's song "Goodbye," written by Lionel Richie, was debuted for the first time ever to the invited guests. Yesterday (Monday, March 21st), Lionel shared the video on social media writing, Two years ago this week, we lost my dear friend, @_KennyRogers. Today a beautiful lyric video has been released for a song that I wrote for Kenny, "Goodbye", to celebrate his memory."

Kenny died at the age of 81 on March 20, 2020 at his home in Sandy Springs, Georgia.

Randy Houser has released a special performance video to go along with his latest single, "Note To Self." The clip was directed by internationally acclaimed cinematographer Jay Christensen and was shot in one take entirely by a drone in downtown Nashville. The video follows Randy performing solo from Tootsie's Orchid Lounge, across the alley and to the historic stage of Ryman Auditorium where he joins his full band.

Randy said, "It was amazing to watch Jay go to work. He's like a mad scientist with these drones. After seeing his viral bowling alley video last year, we thought about taking that concept and applying it to a performance video in these historic locations."

He added, "We also wanted to spotlight a special part of Nashville, one that not everyone gets to experience. The short walk between the Ryman and Tootsie's is a path taken by some of the most legendary performers across all genres. It felt like a special way to honor and appreciate two of the city's most enduring staples."

Randy wrapped his headlining tour on Sunday night (March 20th) with a sold-out performance at the Ryman Auditorium which featured special guests Dierks Bentley and Jamey Johnson.

He joins Jamey Johnson beginning this week for their co-headlining Country Cadillac Tour Part 2. Tickets are available at RandyHouser.com.

Morgan Wallen has announced his very first headlining stadium show will take place at Arlington, Texas' Globe Life Field, home of the Texas Rangers, on October 8th where he will be joined by special guests HARDY, Mike Ryan and Jake Worthington. Tickets go on sale on Friday (March 25th) at 10 a.m. local time at morganwallen.com.

Morgan said, "I grew up playing baseball, spending more nights than I can count on fields in East Tennessee, (so) it's a special moment to be back on the field but doing my thing with my band . . . Fans have shown up in ways I never dreamt. Because of them, and because of the faith and support a lot of folks have had in me over the years, we're gonna get to do this Texas."

Over the weekend, Morgan played three back-to-back shows at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on his headlining Dangerous Tour. Surprise guests included Eric Church, Thomas Rhett, Jason Aldean and Lil Durk.

He closed the run on Friday (March 18th) night by thanking the crowd and saying, "God bless you, Nashville - these have been three of the best nights of my life."

Morgan's next stop on the Dangerous Tour is on April 14th in Evansville, IN.

Carrie Underwood released her new single, called "Ghost Story," on Friday (March 18th), along with a lyric video. She co-produced the song, which will be included on the followup to her 2018 Cry Pretty album.

The song was co-written by Carrie's longtime producer David Garcia along with Hillary Lindsey and Josh Kear especially for her. She tells us: "The song is hauntingly beautiful and just tells this really cool, cinematic story of how this guy is never going to be able to let go of the girl he let go of because she's just always going to be haunting him. He's gonna want her back but she's moved on – sorry man. (laughs) I loved this song, I loved recording it. It's challenging vocally, but I like that. I feel like it's just a really awesome song and I'm glad they got together to think of me while they were writing one day."

Carrie is nominated for two Grammy Awards for Bluegrass/Country/Roots Album of the Year for My Savior, and she and Jason Aldean are nominated for Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "If I Didn't Love You." The Grammys will take place on April 3rd in Las Vegas and air live on CBS.

Carrie continues her ongoing Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency at the Resorts World Theatre on Wednesday (March 23rd).

Maren Morris posted a throwback photo over the weekend from a tasteful Playboy shoot she did a couple years ago and found she had to defend herself all over again. In the picture, she's wearing a cowboy hat and appears topless but is concealing the side of her breast with her arm. Maren wrote, "Before I go into the next album era, I did @playboy in 2019 and got a lot of hate at the time, but I'm the proudest that I showed country female sexuality in its realist form here. We are nuanced, we are messy and stretch-marked in the most beautiful way. Don't sleep on us. We tell your down home stories in the most unflinching, gorgeous lane. Don't forget it."

After reading comments criticizing her for not dressing in an "appropriate" manner, Maren replied, "RESPECT 4 MOM BOOBZ" before sharing it onto her Instagram Story, adding, "I see this kind of comment a lot on country music accounts at me, soooooo GET OVER IT. Letting all the prudes know women in country music own their sexuality too."

Maren received positive comments on the post from several of her famous friends including Amanda Kloots, Kyle Richards, Mickey Guyton and LeAnn Rimes.

On Saturday (March 19th), Maren shared a few pictures from her son Hayes' second birthday celebration which included a petting zoo. She captioned it, "My baby boy is 2."

Maren will release her new album, Humble Quest, on Friday (March 25th).

Lady A member Charles Kelley has recorded his version of "Georgia On My Mind" for use in ESPN's official nationwide commercial leading into the Masters at Augusta National Golf Club. Charles' version of the iconic song is available now at all digital retailers.

He said, "Growing up in Augusta I have been going to the Masters for as long as I can remember, so this was a special full-circle moment for me. No one can sing this song like Ray Charles, but I hope I did him justice and I can't wait to get back home and experience the Masters in-person."

Charles and Lady A are currently climbing the country charts with "What A Song Can Do," the title track of their latest album.

Kenny Chesney's coastal conservation organization, No Shoes Reefs, is featured in the Coastal Conservation Association's magazine, called Tide, in a two-page spread highlighting Kenny's commitment and efforts to protect the health of coastal waters. He said, "I don't do this for anything more than to give back. Because of what the ocean has given me, it's the least I can do . . ."

Jamey Johnson was invited to become a member of the Grand Ole Opry on Saturday (March 19th). The surprise invitation came from Opry member Bill Anderson at the close of a writer's round featuring Bill, Jamey and songwriter Buddy Cannon performing songs they had written together. An induction date for Jamey will be announced soon.

Jimmie Allen released the video for his new single "Down Home" on Friday (March 18th). He co-directed the clip, which was shot between Jimmie's hometown of Milton, DE and the nearby town of Lewes, DE to keep the spirit of his relationship and memories created with his late father alive.

Kip Moore has released the video for his fan-favorite track and current single "Crazy One More Time (Revisited)." The clip gives fans a look behind the curtain at Kip's creative process in the studio, and spotlights a live performance of the song.

Despite Dolly Parton's request earlier this week to be removed from this year's Rock & Roll Hall of Fame nominees, the Hall has declined to pull her nomination. In a post on social media yesterday (Thursday, March 17th), the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame wrote in part, "Dolly's nomination, along with the other 16 artists for the class of 2022, was sent out earlier this month to our 1,200 general ballot voters, the majority of whom are artists themselves, for consideration for induction at our ceremony. We are in awe of Dolly's brilliant talent and pioneering spirit and are proud to have nominated her for induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."

On Monday (March 14th), Dolly turned to social media writing that while she was "flattered and grateful" for the nomination, she "must respectfully bow out." She explained, "I don't feel I have earned that right. I really do not want votes split because of me . . . "

The Tennessean reports that prior to the Hall's public decision to keep her name on the ballot, Dolly appeared on Fox & Friends yesterday morning where she said, "Because my perception, and I think the perception of most of America – I just feel like that's more for the people in rock music. I've been educated since then, saying that it's more than that, but I still didn't feel right about it. It kind of would be like putting AC/DC in the Country Music Hall of Fame. That just felt a little out of place for me."

At press time, Dolly had not reacted to the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame's decision to keep her on the ballot.

Morgan Wallen played the first of three concerts at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena on his headlining Dangerous Tour on Wednesday (March 16th), surprising the crowd with collaborations with Jimmie Allen, Ronnie Dunn and ERNEST. Among Morgan's 26-song set was his current Top 25 hit with ERNEST, "Flower Shops," followed later on by "Talkin' Tennessee," where he was joined halfway through by Ronnie. The two then dueted on Brooks & Dunn's 1992 hit "Neon Moon." Finally, Morgan was joined by Jimmie on his hit "The Way I Talk."

Morgan began the evening by telling the crowd, "I really appreciate you being here tonight. I got a lot of people I care about here, a lot of people who believed in me for a long time are in the building tonight… this is really special to me."

Morgan's Dangerous Tour remained at the Bridgestone Arena in Music City both last night (Thursday, March 17th) and tonight (Friday, March 18th).

Fans who pre-order Thomas Rhett's upcoming album, Where We Started, will be privy to several options including a cassette version of the project featuring commentary from Thomas about all the songs. He tells us the idea to offer a cassette made perfect sense in keeping with the nostalgic feel of the entire album. "When I think about a cassette, I think about being young. I remember my mom taking me to the store to buy a Faith Hill cassette when I was like, maybe six or seven years old. And with the album being called Where We Started, I don't know, it's kind of just a deep dive into looking back at your younger self, and cassettes are what I grew up with. I was passed vinyl and 45s but cassettes when I grew up were the thing, and I still have a bunch of those from being young. And I just thought, that was kind of a really neat way to ring in the album title with something that feels so nostalgic like a cassette."

Where We Started will be released on April 1st. The cassette and other versions of the album are available for pre-order now at thomasrhettshop.com.

Thomas sits inside the Top 15 and climbing with his latest single, "Slow Down Summer."

Lainey Wilson is becoming a household name in her own right, but her parents are still learning to adjust to having Lainey's celebrity friends around. She recently told Taste of Country, "My daddy, he'll just take a little picture just to show his buddies back home and I'm like, 'Can you please not do that? That's my friend now.'"

One such occasion was when Miranda Lambert invited Lainey and her family to a party at her Nashville restaurant, Casa Rosa, after the CMA Awards. Lainey said, "He just like walked up straight to her and hugged her by the neck and is like, 'Can you get our picture?' And I'm like, 'Can you be cool?'"

Lainey's parents are still over the moon about their daughter's first ACM Award wins for Song of the Year for "Things A Man Oughta Know" and New Female Artist of the Year.

Mickey Guyton and Brandi Carlile will be performing at the 31st Annual MusiCares Person Of The Year benefit gala honoring Joni Mitchell, taking place on April 1st in Las Vegas. Other performers include Cyndi Lauper, Chaka Khan, Leon Bridges, Herbie Hancock, St. Vincent, Jon Batiste, Pentatonix, Billy Porter, Black Pumas, Sara Bareilles, Lauren Daigle and more.

Restless Road's upcoming headlining tour, called the Bar Friends Tour, will feature opening acts Kat & Alex and Shelby Darrall. The tour will kick off in Milwaukee, Wisconsin on April 6th. Restless Road's first official radio single, "Growing Old With You," heads to radio later this month.

Kane Brown is the top nominee at this year's CMT Music Awards with four fan-voted nods, including Video of the Year, CMT Performance of the Year and Male Video of the Year. Kelsea Ballerini, Mickey Guyton, BRELAND and Cody Johnson trail behind with three each. The CMT Music Awards will air live from Nashville on CBS on April 11th at 8 p.m. ET. It will be co-hosted by Kelsea and actor Anthony Mackie.

Here are the 2022 CMT Music Awards nominees:

Video of the Year

Brandi Carlile - "Right On Time"

Cody Johnson - "‘Til You Can't"

Cole Swindell & Lainey Wilson - "Never Say Never"

Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood - "If I Didn't Love You"

Kacey Musgraves - "justified"

Kane Brown - "One Mississippi"

Kelsea Ballerini feat. Kenny Chesney - "half of my hometown"

Luke Combs - "Forever After All"

Maren Morris - "Circles Around This Town"

Mickey Guyton - "Remember Her Name"

Miranda Lambert - "If I Was A Cowboy"

Taylor Swift feat. Chris Stapleton - "I Bet You Think About Me (Taylor's Version) (From The Vault)"

Female Video of the Year

Brandi Carlile - "Right On Time"

Gabby Barrett - "Footprints On The Moon"

Kacey Musgraves - "justified"

Maren Morris - "Circles Around This Town"

Mickey Guyton - "Remember Her Name"

Miranda Lambert - "If I Was A Cowboy"

Tenille Arts - "Back Then, Right Now"

Male Video of the Year

Cody Johnson - "'Til You Can't"

Eric Church - "Heart On Fire"

Kane Brown - "One Mississippi"

Luke Bryan - "Waves"

Luke Combs - "Forever After All"

Thomas Rhett - "Country Again"

Walker Hayes - "Fancy Like"

Group/Duo Video of the Year

Brothers Osborne - "I'm Not For Everyone"

Dan + Shay - "Steal My Love"

Maddie & Tae - "Woman You Got"

Old Dominion - "I Was On a Boat That Day"

Parmalee - "Take My Name"

Zac Brown Band - "Same Boat"

Breakthrough Video of the Year

BRELAND - "Cross Country"

Caitlyn Smith feat. Old Dominion - "I Can't"

Elvie Shane - "My Boy"

Parker McCollum - "To Be Loved By You"

Priscilla Block - "Just About Over You"

Tenille Arts - "Back Then, Right Now"

Collaborative Video of the Year

Carly Pearce & Ashley McBryde - "Never Wanted To Be That Girl"

Dustin Lynch feat. MacKenzie Porter - "Thinking 'Bout You"

Nelly & Florida Georgia Line - "Lil Bit"

Jason Aldean & Carrie Underwood - "If I Didn't Love You"

Jimmie Allen & Brad Paisley - "Freedom Was A Highway"

Jordan Davis feat. Luke Bryan - "Buy Dirt"

Kelsea Ballerini feat. Kenny Chesney - "half of my hometown"

CMT Performance of the Year

Brothers Osborne - "Muskrat Greene/Dead Man's Curve Medley (from CMT Campfire Sessions)"

George Strait - "Is Anybody Goin' to San Antone (from CMT GIANTS: Charley Pride)"

H.E.R. feat. Chris Stapleton - "Hold On (from 2021 CMT Music Awards)"

Kane Brown - "Three Wooden Crosses (from 2021 CMT Artists of the Year)"

Kelsea Ballerini feat. Paul Klein of LANY - "I Quit Drinking (from 2021 CMT Music Awards)"

Mickey Guyton feat. Gladys Knight & BRELAND - "Friendship Train (from 2021 CMT Music Awards)"

Nelly feat. Kane Brown, Blanco Brown & BRELAND - "Ride Wit Me (from CMT Crossroads: Nelly & Friends)"

CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year

Brittney Spencer - "Sober & Skinny" (from CMT Campfire Sessions)

Carly Pearce - "Dear Miss Loretta" (from CMT:60 Songs)

Cody Johnson - "Dear Rodeo" (from CMT Campfire Sessions)

Jon Pardi - "On The Other Hand / Forever and Ever, Amen" (in honor of 2021 CMT Artist of a Lifetime Randy Travis)

Josh Turner LIVE (from CMT KickBack)

Lainey Wilson - "Things A Man Oughta Know" (from the CMT Studio)

Over the weekend, Sam Hunt made his first public appearance since news broke that he and his pregnant wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, are divorcing. He performed at the Strawberry Festival in Plant City, FL and surprised the crowd by bringing NFL player Rob Gronkowski on stage to close the show with him. Rob danced to "Body Like A Backroad" while giving fans high fives.

Taste of Country reports that Sam was not wearing his wedding ring. Hannah filed for divorce last month citing "adultery" and "inappropriate marital conduct." The court documents revealed Hannah's pregnancy. She is reportedly due with the couple's first child in May.

According to reports, Garth Brooks might be planning to open his own venue on Nashville's Lower Broadway area, which is already home to restaurants and live music venues opened by the likes of Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Dierks Bentley, Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton. Nashville Business Journal reports that according to "multiple" unnamed sources, a deal is in the works. Garth's team is allegedly linked to the purchase of a building that sold for $47.9 million in December.

All Access reports that Garth's business manager and attorney are both listed on the building's public sale documents.

As we previously reported, Eric Church is in the midst of remodeling a six-story bar and music venue called Chief's which is set to open next year.

Michael Ray premiered the official music video for "Holy Water" yesterday (Wednesday, March 16th) afternoon. The clip was
filmed near Michael's hometown of Eustis, Florida in the very church he grew up worshipping alongside his family.

The church dates back to 1889, and as Michael tells us EXCLUSIVELY, he has a lifetime of memories from attending it. "There's photos of my many great before me grandparents sitting in the pews of that church. My family (members) were preachers there. To have this full circle moment of this church that I (went to ) vacation bible school twice on Sundays, once on Wednesdays. I mean, growing up our lives were going to this little church. It just felt really cool, it felt really good to be able to give back to my community in that way."

"Holy Water" follows Michael's fourth Number One single "Whiskey And Rain," which marked his first multi-week chart topper. Michael has partnered with MusicFX.io for his very first NFT. The Michael Ray No. 1 Country Music Airplay Commemorative NFT will be strictly limited to just 100 tokens and will drop exclusively on MusicFX on March 22nd.

Garth Brooks has added Charlotte, NC to his Stadium Tour. He'll perform at Bank of America Stadium on Saturday, July 16th. Tickets will be on sale, Friday, March 25th at 10 a.m. ET via ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks.

Lainey Wilson took the stage at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in Nashville on Tuesday (March 15th) for its annual kickoff party for the museum's Troubadour members. Lainey is highlighted in the museum's annual exhibition American Currents: State of the Music, which opened this month and explores notable music, artists' achievements and music-related events from the past year.

Brothers Osborne announced that they will perform at this year's Grammy Awards. The duo is also nominated for two awards... Best Country Duo/Group Performance for "Younger Me," as well as for Best Country Album for Skeletons.

The 64th annual Grammy Awards will be broadcast live from Las Vegas on April 3rd on CBS. The show will also be available to stream live and on demand on Paramount+.

Carly Pearce has announced a one-night-only, intimate concert at a club in Nashville. The event, called 29: Written In Stone Live From Music City, will be filmed and released later this year.

Carly commented through a press release and said: "I have been lucky enough to connect with fans in times of heartache and joy, especially with 29, so this is going to be such a special night. There may be a few surprise guests, and I can't wait to share even more of the inspiration behind these songs that led me to a place of growth and happiness."

Tickets go on sale Friday (March 18) and a portion of the profit will benefit recent tornado victims in her home state of Kentucky.

The show on April 6, will be held at Marathon Music Works and is open to all ages.

On Twitter this week, Luke Bryan congratulated Jon Langston, a new artist that he signed to his label, 32 Bridge... who just released a new single. That's only one project that he's juggling these days. Luke tells us more: "2022's been real, real busy. I've done my first month at Resorts World, my first-ever Vegas headlining show, and I learned that I can live one month in Vegas and actually live to see the other side. Then we're coming back in June, and then we've got the Raised (Up Right) Tour, and I've got Mitchell Tenpenny, Riley Green and I, we're going out for dates in the summer, and I've still got a lot of Idol to film, and we've got the live shows, so real, real busy. Vacation at some point, very soon." :32 (OC: very soon)

During a performance at Rodeo Houston over the weekend, Dierks Bentley sang a song with his daughter, Evie. Fans have seen her on stage with him before, but this was the 13year-old's first time at the Texas event.

A fan captured it all on video and posted it online. First you see Dierks start singing the ZZ Top classic rock song, "Gimme All Your Lovin'" and then Evie walks on stage to swap verses wither dad. As he introduced her, the crowd roared.

The father-daughter duo, wearing matching plaid shirts, finished the song and then walked off the stage together to finish the show.