Hank Williams Jr. has announced a string of 2022 tour dates, beginning on April 1st in Southaven, MS. He said, "It's about that time, and you better believe I'm ready brothers and sisters. We're bringing some blues, some rock and some country back to country."
Maren Morris will kick off her headlining Humble Quest Tour on June 9th in Raleigh NC with a rotating group of opening acts including Brent Cobb, Ruston Kelly, Joy Oladokun, Natalie Hemby, Lone Bellow and Brittney Spencer. The tour will wrap up in December at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena. Tickets go on sale to the general public on March 11th at 10 a.m. local time via ticketmaster.com.
Maren will release new her album, Humble Quest, on March 25th. She's climbing the charts with the album's debut single, "Circles Around This Town," which she debuted during last night's (Monday, March 7th) ACM Awards.
Jon Pardi sold out his debut appearance at the RodeoHouston on Saturday (March 5th) night, selling 72,859 tickets - the highest paid attendance of the year so far. He was supposed to perform in 2020 until COVID cut that season short and 2021's rodeo was canceled. After his performance, Jon posted a recap on Instagram.
Dolly Parton announced Miranda Lambert as Entertainer of The Year at The 57th ACM Awards. It was the first time in 17 years that Miranda had missed a show, and her very first win for Entertainer, which she accepted via video from London. Miranda said, "I've been waiting for this for a really, really long time. I actually never thought it would happen." Miranda also won for Video of the Year with Elle King for "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)." This brings Miranda's total ACM Awards count to 37, more than any artist in ACM Awards history.
Lainey Wilson led the night in total wins with three, including New Female and as both artist and writer for Song of the Year for her debut chart-topper, "Things A Man Oughta Know."
Before introducing Jimmie Allen's opening performance, Dolly delivered a world sentiment and said, "I want to send love and hope to our brothers and sisters in Ukraine."
Morgan Wallen, who won Album of The Year, surprised many just by being in attendance. He was deemed ineligible for last year's awards after he uttered a racial slur which was captured on video.
Female Artist of The Year went to Carly Pearce, while Chris Stapleton picked up Best Male Artist.
Along with several songs through-out the show, the streaming aspect allowed for a 35 minute segment of continuous performances. That included Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood with their Number One song, "If I Didn't Love You." They also won Single of The Year.
Dolly Parton, along with Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett took turns with introductions from various stages. Live from Allegiant Stadium, the show was streamed exclusively on Amazon Prime for the first time ever on Monday night (March 7th).
WINNERS
BROADCAST SOUND
BACKSTAGE SOUND
Parker McCollum on New Male win: "To get to have a night like this after putting out a record like that, just to know that it worked a little bit -- you know, you wouldn't waste your time for nothin', you know. I don't know what else anybody could ask for. It's a good feeling."
Old Dominion's Matthew Ramsey on winning an award and celebrating while those in the Ukraine are suffering: "I'm feeling very grateful that we are living in a country that allows us to fight for our dreams. These are things that we take for granted, but also my heart just hurts for the people that are hiding in basements and trying to get out of the country and their very way of life and their lives and the lives of their children are in danger. It's a strange feeling. It's a strange feeling to be here, dressing up in nice clothes and in this beautiful building. I feel grateful but also just silly at the same time, if that makes sense."
Lainey Wilson on ACM New Female and Song of the Year wins: "If I could talk to Lainey who moved to Nashville in 2011 in a camper trailer, I'd say, 'A lot of people are gonna think you're crazy, but put in the time, roll up your sleeves, elbow grease, faith, and you gone be okay. Just tell the truth, write the truth,' and I'd just say it's all gonna work out the way it's supposed to. I feel like I'm here and I deserve to be here and that's a damn good feeling."
Jason Aldean on his performance of "If I Didn't Love You" with Carrie Underwood where she was lowered from the stadium ceiling onto the stage: "I was scared for her, actually. When we came to rehearsals, I knew she was coming from the ceiling but I was like, 'Where is she sitting,' and then they showed me this little bitty seat. I'm like, 'Oh man,' so I went to her. I'm like, 'Man, I'm glad you're doing this and now me cause I would've tapped out,' so she's a trooper!"
Carly Pearce on winning ACM Female Vocalist for the first time: "So many of my heroes have won this award and I think just the last year's blown my mind. It's really hard to put into words what it means but I think, I hope, that this industry and this genre knows that Country music is all I've ever wanted. I have always dreamt of this moment and I will never, ever take that for granted, and I think that just going down as one of the women that won this is just the most special, sacred thing. I will cherish this forever."
Lainey Wilson and Parker McCollum are early winners at tonight's (Monday, March 7th) ACM Awards, winning New Female Vocalist and New Male Vocalist, respectively. Miranda Lambert surprised them both via Zoom on Friday (March 4th) with the big news. As winners, Lainey and Parker have been added to the list of ACM performers, along with Lady A, who are nominated for Group of the Year.
Tonight's awards presenters include Jason Aldean, Mickey Guyton, Alan Ritchson (actor, Reacher), Derek Carr (quarterback, Las Vegas Raiders), Guy Torry (comedian, Phat Tuesdays), James Patterson (author, Run Rose Run), Kelsey Asbille (actor, Yellowstone), Luke Grimes (actor, Yellowstone), and Tom Pelphrey (actor, Outer Range).
The ACM Awards will be livestreamed from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas exclusively on Amazon Prime Video beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
The show will be co-hosted by Dolly Parton, Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett.
Maren Morris will be among the performers on tonight's (Monday, March 7th) ACM Awards, streaming live from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Amazon Prime Video. She will debut her latest single, which Maren tells us will be a first. "It's my first time performing my single 'Circles Around This Town' live. And, definitely my first award show performance of it. So we're going to do it really special. And yeah, it's kind of we're back in Vegas, so it's gonna be fun. It's been a long two years of just doing it like remotely, so I'm excited to do such a fun song in Vegas at ACMs."
In addition to her performance, Maren is nominated for Female Artist of the Year.
Her new album, Humble Quest, will be released on March 25th.
Maren teased what seems like an announcement on social media yesterday (Sunday, March 6th), posting a picture of her hand opening a curtain on stage with the caption "whatever's next..."
After sharing a Weezer-approved cover of their 2001 hit "Island in the Sun" to social media last month, Morgan Evans received a video response from the band's front man, Rivers Cuomo, that blew his mind. On Thursday (March 3rd), Rivers took to his own social media to offer a new verse on Morgan's current single, "Country Outta My Girl." The comment section exploded with requests from fans for a full version of the song and on Friday (March 4th), Morgan released "Country Outta My Girl (feat. Rivers Cuomo)."
Rivers posted his performance on social media first on Friday writing, "I see your 'Island in the Sun' and I raise you a 'country outta my girl.'
Morgan shared the final collaboration on social media writing, "Rivers re-wrote the 2nd verse and chorus for this version and I think it's one of the most badass, weird and wonderful things I've ever been a part of! Shoutout to Rivers for lending his genius to this tune. I hope this puts a big smile on your face today . . ."
Morgan recently announced his own headlining show overseas, performing at the Lafayette in London on July 14th and marking his first UK show since 2019. He will join Brad Paisley for additional European dates.
Thomas Rhett has shared a new track off his upcoming album. The song is called "Death Row," and it features Tyler Hubbard and Russell Dickerson. Thomas co-wrote the song after the three visited a men's prison in Tennessee with their guitars.
He said, "Tyler, Russell and I went and played some songs for a men's prison here in Tennessee. We left with a lot of complex feelings, so I started writing as a way to process the heaviness. Our goal was for people to understand our experience by way of music - it's basically a page directly from our journal that day."
Thomas' new album, Where We Started, will be released on April 1st.
He is set to perform live on tonight's (Monday, March 7th) ACM Awards, beging livestreamed on Amazon Prime Video beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Kane Brown has released his latest track, "Leave You Alone," which he wil perform for the first time on television at tonight's (Monday, March 7th) 57th ACM Awards. The show streams live from Allegiant Auditorium in Las Vegas on Amazon Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET.
Cole Swindell has released a new song, called "Down To The Bar," featuring HARDY. The song will be included on his upcoming fourth album, Stereotype, which will be released on April 8th.
Cody Johnson was inducted into The Texas Cowboy Hall of Fame last week, receiving the Spirit of Texas Award. He was part of the class of 2022 Honorees that also included Patti Colbert, Wilson Franklin, Scharbauer Cattle Company, and Dr. Charles "Bud" Townsend.
LoCash have released their new single, "Beach Boys," which is available now on all streaming platforms and digital retailers. The song features The Beach Boys' co-founder Mike Love and longtime bandmate Bruce Johnston.
LoCash members Preston Brust and Chris Lucas said, "We're honored and amazed to have members of America's band, Mike Love and Bruce Johnston of The Beach Boys, on this song with us. We're so excited to share this moment with our fans and can't wait to see y'all singing every word when we come to your town!"
LoCash kicked off their Woods & Water Tour over the weekend.
They're nominated for Duo of the Year at tonight's (Monday, March 7th) 57th Academy of Country Music Awards, streaming live on Amazon Prime Video beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Mitchell Tenpenny will release a new project, called The Low Light Sessions EP, on April 15th. The first track, called "Horseshoes and Hand Grenades" is available now.
Mitchell wrote or co-wrote all eight songs on The Low Light Sessions. Many of the songs were penned nearly four years ago, with the exception of the devotional, "The Way You Are," written for his now-fiance, Meghan Patrick.
Mitchell said, "I've held onto these songs as I didn't want them to get overshadowed in some of the other recent projects. I wanted to wait until I was in a good place with my life, and I feel I'm strong enough to share them now. I was a different person then and it feels good to look back and know I've come through that dark time."
Tonight (Monday, March 7th), Mitchell will join Chris Young to perform their duet, "At The End Of A Bar," on the 57th Annual ACM Awards. The show livestreams on Amazon Prime Video at 8 p.m. ET.
Kane Brown has whipped his body into shape and now he's focusing on his health, admitting to Audacy's Rob + Holly show that it wasn't until very recently that he tried spinach and kale for the first time. In fact, until now Kane has lived by the rule that he doesn't eat "anything green."
He said, "All I eat is chicken and rice, literally breakfast, lunch, and dinner. If I had a taco from Taco Bell and there was a small piece of lettuce in my taco, I would throw the whole thing away because I feel like it stains the food. It tastes like lettuce."
Kane is on a quest now to "start eating better," confessing, "I don't really eat good."
His diet over the years has largely consisted of what he calls "American food" like ravioli, beefaroni, macaroni, and hot dogs, food he explained his mom made for him because they "didn't have a lot of money."
Carly Pearce's reaction to winning awards is 100% authentic. She may get emotional, she may scream, she may seem over-the-top, but as Carly tells us, it's all genuine. [“Here’s the deal. I don’t know how to fake or compose my reactions to things, you know like my peers, they’ll get up and they’re like, ‘I’d like to think the Academy of Country Music…’ And I like stand up and start jumping up and down, hiking my dress up to jump up to win an award. I’m like, ‘OH MY GAWWWD!’ The Kentucky part of me just comes out and I’m fine with it. At this point everybody’s seen every ugly face I could ever make.”] SOUNDCUE (:25 OC: . . . could ever make.)
Carly may have the chance to do all of these things during Monday's (March 7th) ACM Awards in Las Vegas. She is nominated for Female Artist, Album of the Year for 29: Written In Stone, and Video and Music Event of the Year for "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" featuring Ashley McBryde. The two will perform the song during the ACM Awards, which will be livestreamed exclusively on Amazon Prime Video beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Gabby Barrett was among the honorees at Wednesday night's (March 2nd) Billboard Women in Music Awards, held at YouTube Theater in Inglewood, CA. She received the Rising Star award, which was presented in part by her husband and band member Cade Foehner.
Billboard reports that Gabby accepted the award saying in part, “I dedicate this to all those who dream big, no matter what age you are. You may not see a clear path and others will try to knock you down, certainly. Some days you will want to completely give up and feel absolutely defeated, but try to use any negative comments and situations that you run into along the way as fuel to keep you going. … You really can achieve those big dreams . . ."
After her acceptance speech, Gabby joined her husband on stage for an acoustic performance of “I Hope.”
Other honorees included Woman of the Year Olivia Rodrigo; Icon Award recipient Bonnie Raitt; Powerhouse Award recipient Doja Cat; Impact Award recipient H.E.R.; Executive of the Year Award recipient Golnar Khosrowshahi; Rule Breaker Award recipient Karol G; Trailblazer Award recipient Phoebe Bridgers; Game Changer Award recipient Saweetie; and Chart Breaker Award recipient Summer Walker.
On Monday (March 7th), Gabby will serve as a co-host on the ACM Awards alongside Dolly Parton and Jimmie Allen. The show will be livestreamed from Las Vegas on Amazon Prime. Gabby is also nominated for Female Artist of the Year.
Chris Janson will release his fourth studio album, called All In, on April 29th. The 16-track album features collaborations with Eric Church and Travis Tritt, and Chris served as one of four co-producers on the project.
He said, “The title All In epitomizes this album. There are all kind of songs on this project, but they all flow together because they are genuine to me. I went all in on every part of the process, from writing to singing to playing to producing. I feel like it’s my best, most true-to-myself album to date.”
Chris continues on his headlining Halfway to Crazy Tour, with a sold-out stop at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on March 10th. The trek features openers Ray Fulcher and Shane Profitt.
A deluxe edition of Kenny Rogers' only gospel album of his career, called The Love of God, will be released on March 25th. This marks the first time this project has ever been available on CD.
Special guest artists collaborating with Kenny on The Love Of God (Deluxe Edition) include the Oak Ridge Boys, Point of Grace, The Whites, and Winfield’s Locket.
The Love Of God was originally released in 2011. At the time, Kenny said, “The Love Of God is the culmination of an idea I had been thinking about for years but never had the opportunity to bring to life. It’s been a musical awakening to me. To all of the wonderful musicians, vocalists, and songwriters who lent their amazing talents to this record, I want to thank you for making it so special. It seems I have a personal relationship with every song on it. For example, ‘In The Sweet By And By’ was my mom’s favorite song. When I was a kid, as I was leaving to go to school, I remember hearing her sing along with the radio. Music is by far the best ‘memory creator’ I know, and that memory is very special to me.”
Eric Church has announced his second headlining stadium show this summer. Billed as "One Hell of a Night in Minneapolis," the concert is set for Saturday, June 11th at U.S. Bank Stadium with special guest Morgan Wallen and ERNEST. Tickets go on sale to the general public on Friday, March 11th at 10 a.m. CT via EricChurch.com.
He recently annnounced a Milwaukee stadium show at American Family Field on Saturday, May 28th with openers Brothers Osborne and Parker McCollum.
Eric's latest single, "Heart On Fire," climbs into the Top 10 at country radio this week, while his headlining The Gather Again Tour holds the top spot on Pollstar's Live75 chart for back-to-back weeks.
Dolly Parton is celebrating International Women's Day on March 8th by teaming up with 1-800-Flowers.com where she has curated three International Women's Day rose bouquets that are available now through March 11th. She's also celebrating the March 7th release of her new novel, Run, Rose, Run, co-written by James Patterson. The companion album will be released on Friday (March 4th).
Dolly said, "I remember as a little girl, running into the meadows behind our house so I could pick fresh flowers for my mama. I loved the smell and that they felt like a little ray of sunshine that I could share. To this day, I feel the same way. I'm partial to yellow roses, but I love all different kinds of flowers. So, join me and send a little bit of sunshine to the special woman in your life with 1-800-Flowers.com. Plant a seed with love."
Along with the bouquets, customers will be able to purchase a digital copy of the Run, Rose, Run album and audiobook, which will come with a digital note from Dolly and bouquet recipients will receive a special note from Dolly.
Lady A is excited about their latest nomination for Group of the Year at next week's ACM Awards, but they're almost as excited to watch this year's host, Dolly Parton, do her thing. Hillary Scott tells us: "I think it is absolutely incredible. And as excited as I think everyone is that the ACMs are back in Vegas and together, the fact that Dolly is hosting, it just kinda takes it over the top. And I can't wait to hear how she just delivers these amazing little quips and always pokes fun at herself and other people. I mean, there's no greater icon than Dolly, and I just think that she's gonna do a great job."
Lady A have taken home Group of the Year at the ACM Awards three times prior.
The ACM Awards, hosted by Dolly along with Jimmie Allen and Gabby Barrett, will livestream from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on Monday (March 7th) beginning at 8 p.m. ET exclusively on Amazon Prime.
Michael Ray's new single, called "Holy Water," will be released to Country radio next week. The song follows his fourth and latest chart-topper "Whiskey And Rain." Both songs are featured on Michael's Higher Education EP which was released in August.
He said, "Back in the day, my family was part of building this little church off a dirt road. It's the church my grandfather grew up in, my dad grew up in and then pastored, we grew up in it, and now, my sisters are working to rejuvenate it. ‘Holy Water' takes me right back to being a boy in that church, sitting in a wooden pew listening to some of the greatest truths I hold onto to this day."
Michael performs tonight (Thursday, March 3rd) in Foxborough, MA at the Six String Grill & Stage.
Garth Brooks has announced a May 14th stop at Paul Brown Stadium in Cincinnati on his Stadium Tour. Tickets go on sale on Friday, March 11th at 10 a.m. ET at ticketmaster.com/garthbrooks or on the Garth Brooks line at Ticketmaster, 1-877-654-2784 or through the Ticketmaster mobile phone app.
Priscilla Block will join Elaina Smith, Kristin Cavallari and Zuri Hall to co-host the ACM Awards Red Carpet Show on Amazon Prime Video from 7–8 p.m. ET on Monday (March 7th). The ACM Awards will livestream from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Trisha Yearwood launched a new line of dog food and treats available at Kroger stores nationwide. Bizwomen reports she drew inspiration for the new food products from personal family recipes. Trisha's dogs Emmy and Millie were put to work as her taste-testers.
Carrie Underwood is again nominated for Entertainer of the Year heading into next week's ACM Awards in Las Vegas on Monday (March 7th). She has previously taken home the honor three times before, and as Carrie tells us, just being nominated is special. "Of course, it's an honor to be nominated for Entertainer of the Year, you know. I feel like I'm so blessed to have so many facets of my job and things that I do, obviously performing live on stage, but there's about a million other irons that we've always got in the fire that we're always working on and we're always busy. It kind of encapsulates all of that. You never know what's going to happen, because obviously there's been many, many other artists that have just been crushing it and putting on great shows and doing all the things. There's only a select handful that get nominated and it's obviously very exciting and we'll see what happens."
The world will see what happens when the ACM Awards are livestreamed globally for the first time ever exclusively on Amazon Prime beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
Carrie is also set to perform live during the show.
Elle King brought her 2022 Drunk And I Don't Wanna Go Home Tour to Nashville's historic Ryman Auditorium on Monday (February 28th) night where she and her latest duet partner, Miranda Lambert, were surprised with RIAA Platinum Certification plaques for their Top 10 smash hit "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)."
The show also featured surprise performances from Dierks Bentley, who joined Elle on stage to perform an unreleased new collaboration for the first time, and Ashley McBryde, who Elle called down to the stage from her balcony seat to help her sing "Long Haired Country Boy." Elle closed the show by surprising the crowd with Miranda and a performance of "Drunk (And I Don't Wanna Go Home)."
In addition to the platinum certification, "Drunk" has amassed over 210 million on-demand streams to date and is nominated for Video of the Year at the 57th Annual ACM Awards, livestreaming from Las Vegas on Monday (March 7th) exclusively on Amazon Prime.
Dolly Parton is partnering with FOX Entertainment's Blockchain Creative Labs (BCL) to launch "Dollyverse," an audience-centric Web3 experience at the South by Southwest (SXSW) Conference and Festivals starting next week at welcometodollyverse.com.
To promote the debut of her co-authored book with James Patterson, called Run, Rose, Run, Dolly will make her first-ever appearance at SXSW on March 18th. She and James will speak about the project at Austin City Limits Live at The Moody Theater. The event will be moderated by actress Connie Britton.
Following the conversation, Dolly will give a live performance featuring songs from Run, Rose, Run, along with a few of her hits. The entire event will be streamed live for free on "Dollyverse" by Eluvio, which also will power the "Dollyverse's" NFT sales.
The "Dollyverse" will release an exclusive selection of official and certified Dolly NFT collectibles, including limited-edition NFTs of the Run, Rose, Run music album and a limited series of Dolly-inspired NFT artwork, for purchase during and after SXSW.
Dolly said, "There's almost nothing more important to me than connecting with my fans. And I'm almost always up for trying something new and different. I'd say releasing NFTs at my first ever appearance at SXSW, with James Patterson by my side, definitely counts as new and different!"
Run, Rose, Run is available for purchase beginning this Monday, (March 7th). That night, Dolly will co-host the ACM Awards, livestreaming exclusively on Amazon Prime beginning at 8 p.m. ET.
12 a.m.-6 a.m.
