Pulse – Country Music News

Priscilla Block will make her deubt on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday (March 3rd), where she'll perform her gold-certified single, "Just About Over You." Check local listings for air times. Priscilla is nominated for New Female Artist of the Year at next week's ACM Awards in Las Vegas. The show will stream live exclusively on Amazon Prime on Monday (March 7th) beginning at 8 p.m. ET.

Texas native Cody Johnson became the third performer ever to sell out opening night of RODEOHOUSTON, following records set in previous years by Garth Brooks (2018) and George Strait (2017). With a crowd of 70,554 cheering fans, he launched the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo's 90th anniversary season on Monday (February 28th).

Johnny Cash was honored on Saturday (February 26th) with the unveiling of a new "Tennessee Music Pathways" marker. Representatives, friends and family for Cash, and city and state officials gathered on Main Street in Hendersonville at HALO Realty, the original site of the House of Cash music publishing company, to celebrate the milestone achievement of what would have been the singer's 90th Birthday.

Thomas Rhett is featured in a new commercial for Fritos, the brand's first television commercial in 20 years. He stars alongside an actor who plays his friend and they play a game of "this or that" when it comes to a variety of topics, including which flavor of Fritos they prefer.

Thomas' new song, "Church Boots," is also featured in the commercial, which began airing on Monday (February 28th).

Jimmie Allen will release his new single, called "Down Home," early next month. The song was co-written by Jimmie and is a letter to his late father, James, who passed away in 2019. "Down Home" is the lead single from Jimmie's upcoming third album.

He said, "‘Down Home' is probably one of the most special songs I've ever written. I wrote it about my father – kind of like, hopefully he's in heaven and looking down on everything I'm doing and hope he'd be proud of me . . . It's a song that's actually helped me a lot because in the midst of missing my father, I think about him seeing everything I've got going on and it's like even though he's gone, he's always with me. I hope this song finds its place in the world and this song helps people that have lost not only a father, or a parent, or a loved one just like the song has helped me."

The music video for "Down Home" will debut on March 18th.

Jimmie is set to appear on The Ellen DeGeneres Show on Thursday (March 4th).

Brooks & Dunn are returning to arenas on their headlining 2022 Reboot Tour, set to open in Evansville, IN on May 5th. The duo will be joined by openers including Gabby Barrett, Jordan Davis, Riley Green, Walker Hayes, Jon Pardi and more. Tickets go on sale on Friday (March 4th) at 10 a.m. local time at brooks-dunn.com and livenation.com.

Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn spent the better part of the last fews years performing in Las Vegas with Reba McEntire, but as Kix tells us, they're ready to hit the road again. "I think we both still like being out there. Vegas was cool and it was a great room to play. We dug it, but I like being on the bus, I like riding, I like seeing what a new city's gonna look like and what those fans are gonna be -- you know, really just feeling different every night kind of keeps your head in the game. (Ronnie) It's the variety. It's shaking things up. Like stopping and doing Vegas for a while was great. Now coming back and doing this feels like climbing back on the horse that we almost killed 20 years ago (laughter)."

Brooks & Dunn's Reboot album was released in 2019. It features 12 of the duo's hits re-recorded as duets with the likes of Luke Combs, Thomas Rhett, Kane Brown, Brett Young and Brothers Osborne, to name a few.

Kane Brown's "One Mississippi" takes the Number One spot on the Billboard and Country Aircheck/Mediabase airplay charts this week. This is his seventh chart-topper on the country airplay charts. Kane co-wrote the song for his upcoming studio album. His new release, "Leave You Alone," will be released on Friday (March 4th).

Trace Adkins has sold out the opening night of his headlining spring tour at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville on April 8th. The show will mark Trace's first Ryman visit since 2012, and fans around the globe will get to see it as it's going to be live streamed via Mandolin with tickets on sale now.

Jon Pardi 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. The tour takes its name from Jon's chart-topping hit. Tickets go on sale on March 4th at 10 a.m. local venue time at jonpardi.com.

Jon said, “I’m really excited to take two great friends and great artists out as openers for the Ain’t Always The Cowboy tour." 

His new single is called “Last Night Lonely.” It's the first taste of new music from Jon's upcoming studio album.

Morgan Wallen and his girlfriend, Paige Lorenze, have split after almost a year, according to Page Six. Sources cite alleged infidelity on Morgan's part as the cause.

One source told the outlet, “She suspected he was cheating on her with multiple people. After they went public, Paige started getting all these messages on Instagram from girls saying, ‘I was with him. We slept together.'”

The source added that Paige is“heartbroken."

Morgan and Paige have unfollowed each other on Instagram.

Luke Combs' new video for "Doin' This" features his good friend and fellow artist Adam Church. Prior to signing his major label record deal, Luke performed with Adam for years while the two tried to achieve their musical dreams.

Luke tells us he wanted to put Adam in the spotlight in this clip. [“He’s been, you know, a huge part of my musical journey. You know, since the very beginning, you know, he helped me out, you know, back when I didn’t have anything going on. And, you know, we kind of just started playing together. And we played so many, so many shows together, you know, on stools, setting up our own little PA systems. And, you know, he’d let me borrow his guitar some times and vice versa. You know, somebody would have some guitar strings, and the other one couldn’t afford any. And, you know, he’s still chasing his dream of doing what he wants to do. And it just felt like something that was very important to me to shine a light on somebody that, you know, has been so helpful and beneficial to me."] SOUNDCUE (:36 OC: . . . beneficial to me.)

"Doin' This" is a Top 15 hit and climbing on the Mediabase chart.

Luke is nominated for Entertainer and Male Artist of the Year at the ACM Awards, taking place on March 7th in Las Vegas. The show will livestream exclusively on Amazon Prime. 

“Team Blake” artists from NBC's The Voice will take the stage at Ole Red Nashville on March 14th for a free performance as part of the venue’s annual, month-long Spring Blake celebration. The Spring Blake Tour will be headlined by The Voice alums Emily Ann Roberts, Joy Reunion and Ian Flanigan and stop at Ole Red locations across the country. Blake Shelton will also take the stage for back-to-back shows at Ole Red Gatlinburg on March 11th and Ole Red Orlando on March 12th.

He said, “Giving young artists a platform to perform and grow is what Ole Red is all about, and every year Spring Blake is an important part of that commitment. I’m excited for Nashville to have a chance to see this group of incredible artists perform up close and personal.”

Blake is climbing the charts with his latest hit, "Come Back As A Country Boy."

ERNEST will release his debut full-length album, called Flower Shops (The Album), on March 11th. The 11-track project was entirely co-written by ERNEST, including his current single, the album's title track, featuring labelmate Morgan Wallen.

ERNEST said, "It's a very good feeling to have this body of work ready to share with the world. This album came together organically over the course of a year or so. It feels like there's a shift happening in country music and the people want to hear more honesty in songs, and with honesty comes pain – sometimes we need to feel that too. I hope this project provides a little sepia tone world for the listener to escape to and go on a journey of their own...feeling everything from love to lost. This is FLOWER SHOPS."

ERNEST will perform his new set to a hometown crowd at back-to-back sold-out shows headlining Nashville’s famed Exit/In on March 21st & 22nd. Until then, he’s on the road supporting Chris Lane’s Fill Them Boots Tour.

The majority of Jason Aldean's recorded music catalog has been purchased by Spirit Music Group for a reported $100+ million. The deal includes Jason's first nine albums, from his self-titled 2005 debut to his 2019 project, 9. Taste of Country reports that neighboring rights and sound exchange royalties are included in the deal, and Jason will keep income interest.

He said, "It's cool that a company like Spirit, that's been around so long, has taken on my music catalog. It's something really important to me, so I'm glad it'll be looked after."

Jason's 10th studio album, Macon, was released in November. His next project, called Georgia, will be released in April.

Earlier this week, Jason was honored with this year's Artist Humanitarian Award at Country Radio Seminar in Nashville.

Parker McCollum heads into next month's ACM Awards with his first industry nomination for New Male Artist of the Year. This moment is one that Parker tells us has been a dream for so long. "You know, it's really just crazy to be at a point in my life, in my career, where I can say things like I'm nominated for an ACM Award. I mean, I've watched those awards since I was a little kid and watched so many of my heroes win awards on that show, and it's something I've thought about for a long, long, long time, so to even be a consideration for an award, to even be a nominee, is just such an honor. It's kind of a pinch me moment of man, maybe what I'm doing is working out and paying off."

The 57th annual ACM Awards will take place on March 7th at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas. The show will be livestreamed exclusively on Amazon Prime for the first time.

Parker is closing in on the top of the country charts with his current Top Five hit "To Be Loved By You."

Runaway June lead singer Naomi Cooke Johnson is leaving the group after seven years. She posted the news on social media on Wednesday (February 23rd) writing in part, "I am incredibly excited to officially be able to announce that I am taking a new musical journey as a solo artist, and I am beyond excited to share new stories and music with you."

She also thanked her former and present trio members writing, "I am so grateful for the memories and time well spent with my bandmates, Hannah (Mulholland), Jen (Wayne) and Natalie (Stovall). It has been extremely hard to keep quiet about what I've been up to, and I cannot wait to share everything with you all very soon!! I miss you guys so much, and can't wait to see y'all out on the road. I love you guys so much I could burst."

Original member Hannah Mulholland left the group in May of 2020 and was replaced by Natalie Stovall.

There is no word yet on whether Runaway June will move forward as a duo or with new members.

Chase Rice, ACM New Male Artist of the Year nominee Elvie Shane, and newcomers Erin Kinsey and Ian Munsick have been added to the list of artists taking part in the Topgolf Tee-Off & Rock On on March 6th at Topgolf in Las Vegas. They joined previously announced headliner Luke Bryan as well as Jordan Davis and Lainey Wilson. The event benefits ACM Lifting Lives, the charitable arm of the Academy of Country Music.

In addition to the live entertainment on the Aristocrat Gaming Stage, the event kicking off at 11 a.m. will also feature a reimagined golf tournament experience bringing together artists, industry members and fans in support of ACM Lifting Lives.

The ACM Lifting Lives Topgolf Tee-Off & Rock On precedes the 57th ACM Awards, hosted by Dolly Parton together with Jimmie Allen & Gabby Barrett and airing live and without commercial interruption from Allegiant Stadium on Monday, March 7th at 8 p.m. ET exclusively on Prime Video.

Russell Dickerson released a new video for the song "She Likes It (feat. Jake Scott)," with live performance and backstage footage as he made a surprise appearance on stage with singer-songwriter Jake Scott in Nashville. This also marked the first time Russell and Jake performed the collaboration together live.

Released this past fall, the track pulled in over 19M worldwide streams to date.

Russell originally wrote and recorded the "She Likes It" with Jake in Nashville.

In yet another twist in the ongoing Sam Hunt divorce saga, his wife, Hannah Lee Fowler, is moving forward with her split from the singer. As we told you yesterday (Wednesday, February 23rd), Hannah withdrew her petition for divorce on Friday (February 18th) just hours after filing the papers in Nashville. TMZ reports that it wasn't a change of heart, but rather the realization that the documents were filed in the wrong county. The papers have now been filed in the correct county and the divorce proceeds.

Hannah cites infidelity as the cause for the split.

The papers also revealed the couple are expecting their first child in May. Hannah is asking for primary custody as well as spousal and child support.

Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood are together nominated in three categories at next month's ACM Awards for their chart-topping duet, "If I Didn't Love You" -- Single, Video and Music Event of the Year. The collaboration was a long time in coming, as Carrie tells us she and Jason had been working towards this for a while. "I knew I liked the song, and Jason and I have actually been kind of trying to do things together over the years. We've sang together before, but we've never officially recorded anything together. It just kind of felt like this could be our moment. I felt like it was a little bit of an unexpected duet to other people, but I feel like I kinda always knew at some point I'd probably sing with him officially, and this just seemed like, the stars were aligning and it just seemed like it was going to be the perfect fit."

"If I Didn't Love You" is included on Jason's Macon album, which was released in November.

Carrie is also nominated for Entertainer of the Year at the ACM Awards, taking place on March 7th in Las Vegas. The show will livestream exclusively on Amazon Prime.

Carrie returns to Las Vegas on March 23rd for the second run of her Reflection: The Las Vegas Residency at the Resorts World Theatre. Upcoming dates are March 23, 25, 26, 30; April 1, 2; and May 11, 13, 14, 18, 20, 21.

Jimmie Allen recently used his songwriting skills to help a U.S. Army veteran write his own song through a program called CreatiVets. Former Master Sergeant KC Shaw traveled from his home in Baltimore to Nashville to sit down with Jimmie and a couple other successful writers as a form of therapy, according to People.com. Shaw has suffered traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress along with suicidal thoughts.

Allen, whose father is a veteran, told the publication, "We send people overseas and teach them to kill to protect yourself and your country. You can't come back and expect things to be different without proper help."

Their collaborative song is called "Find Me Again." Shaw and Allen are featured in the latest issue of People, on newsstands on Friday (February 25th).

Garth Brooks has rescheduled his Nashville show for Saturday, April 16th at Nissan Stadium. The concert was originally supposed to take place last June but was canceled before Garth could take the stage due to inclement weather. Tickets will be on sale on Friday, March 4th at 10 a.m. CT via ticketmaster.

Garth posted news of the show on social media yesterday writing, "Nashville, we're coming home…AGAIN! You were sweet to each other when the Thunder Rolled last time. I not only want to come back, I have to come back! Not for you, but for me! Let's make this a night so great we want to live it twice!"

Garth's next stop on the Stadium Tour is Petco Park in San Diego, CA on March 5th. The concert is already sold out.

Ryan Hurd has released a new single called "Pass It On." He co-wrote it with Michael Hardy (HARDY), Maren Morris and Jordan Schmidt. "Pass It On" is the follow-up to Ryan's chart-topping hit, "Chasing After You" with Maren.

Spotify is teaming up with Dolly Parton and her co-writer, James Patterson, for the Run, Rose, Run Bookcast, which will combine excerpts of their co-authored fiction novel with its original soundtrack which was written, produced, and recorded by Dolly. The Run, Rose, Run Bookcast is now available for free exclusively on Spotify, with multiple episodes releasing weekly. The book's soundtrack will be released on March 4th, followed by the book on March 7th.

The members of the Eli Young Band were surprised with a Pandora Billionaire Plaque following their Grand Ole Opry performance in Nashville on Tuesday (February 22nd) night. The moment commemorates over two billion streams on the platform, and the band has been added to Pandora's Country Billionaires Radio in celebration of the honor.

Singer Mike Eli said, "Sometimes these moments sneak up on you and refill the gas tank. We love to play music and when something like this comes along and reminds you that people are listening, it just feels so good. The first and last time someone will call us billionaires!"

Last week, Eli Young Band released a new single called "Love Talking." It's the lead release off the band's upcoming sixth studio album, planned for release later this year.

The lineup of performers at next month's ACM Awards continues to grow with the addition of Chris Young, Eric Church, Luke Bryan, Carrie Underwood, Jason Aldean, Kane Brown, Brothers Osborne, Gabby Barrett, Jimmie Allen, Jordan Davis, Mitchell Tenpenny, Brittney Spencer and show host Dolly Parton with Kelsea Ballerini.  

They join previously-announced performers Walker Hayes, Maren Morris, Thomas Rhett, Chris Stapleton, Parmalee and Blanco Brown featuring Brooke Eden (“Just The Way”), Carly Pearce and Ashley McBryde (“Never Wanted to Be That Girl”), and BRELAND (“Praise The Lord”).  

The ACM Awards will be livestreamed from Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas on March 7th exclusively on Amazon Prime beginning at 8 p.m. ET.   The two-hour show, featuring more than 20 performances, will stream live without commercial interruption.

Sam Hunt and his wife of five years, Hannah Lee Fowler, are not getting a divorce after all, according to Us Weekly. The publication points to court documents they obtained just yesterday (Tuesday, February 22nd) which show that Hannah both filed for divorce and withdrew her complaint a little more than two hours apart on Friday (February 18th).

She initially filed for divorce at 11:43 a.m., citing "inappropriate marital conduct” and “adultery.” At 2:13 p.m., Hannah filed a Notice of Voluntary Nonsuit, or dismisal, meaning she is no longer seeking a divorce. According to the documents, her decision is classified as “voluntary nonsuited without prejudice,” which means she can file for divorce again at a later time.

As of Tuesday, a judge had yet to sign off on the filing, which would then dismiss the case completely, according to Us Weekly.