Country Music 411 Archives for 2023-04

Carly Pearce To Perform Anthem At Kentucky Derby

Carly Pearce has been tapped to sing the National Anthem prior to the Kentucky Derby at Churchill Downs on May 6th. The 149th running of the Derby and Carly's performance will be broadcast on NBC.

She shared the news on social media yesterday (Tuesday, April 25th) writing, "Being from Kentucky, this is a major bucket list moment for me!"

Last week, Carly teased the event with a video on social media where she unboxes a wide-brimmed red hat and puts it on her head, giving a wink to the camera. She captioned it, "Hmmm what could this mean?? Place your bets below for what it could be."

Carly recently performed her 100th show at the Grand Ole Opry. 

She is nominated in three Academy of Country Music Awards categories -- Female, Single of the Year, and Visual Media of the Year -- at the upcoming show, streaming on Prime Video on May 11th at 8 p.m. ET.

 

Check out her instagram post below: 

 

 

Eric Church, Sam Hunt To Honor Willie Nelson At Austin Gala

Eric Church, Sam Hunt, Elle King and Lyle Lovett will all pay musical tributes to Willie Nelson as the LBJ Foundation gives the iconic artist its highest honor, the LBJ Liberty & Justice for All Award, at a gala Friday, May 12, at the LBJ Presidential Library in Austin TX.

Net proceeds from the gala will benefit the newly established Willie Nelson Endowment for Uplifting Rural Communities at the LBJ School of Public Affairs, a part of The University of Texas at Austin. 

The Willie Nelson Endowment will fund research and student fellowships focused on sustainable agriculture, eliminating hunger, resilient energy, sustainable water and natural disaster recovery to benefit rural communities.

Morgan Wallen Being Sued by Fans

Morgan Wallen is being sued by a fan for canceling his concert in Oxford, MS just minutes before showtime on Sunday (April 23rd). Page Six reports that Brandi Burcham filed a class action lawsuit “on behalf of herself and all other similarly situated” concertgoers who attended the show at Vaught-Hemingway Stadium but were unable to see Morgan perform because according to him, he was "unable to sing." Burcham is suing for breach of contract and negligence in addition to demanding a trial by jury. 

According to court documents, the lawsuit states, “Even if ticket prices are refunded, no offer has been made to reimburse concertgoers for other out-of-pocket expenses they incurred in connection with the concert cancellation, including transportation, lodging, food, merchandise sales, transaction fees and other such expenses."

In other Morgan-related news, the security company hired to work the superstar's shows in Mississippi is denouncing a statement made by one of their own employees who worked the show on Sunday. In a video shared on social media, this particular security guard told fans at the venue the reason the show was canceled was because Morgan was “too drunk” to perform, that he “couldn’t walk,” and that an “ambulance took him.” He added that the "losing his voice” story is “bull crap.”

However, BEST Crowd Management released a statement saying, “A hired employee of BEST Crowd Management made false claims as it related to last night’s Morgan Wallen concert and we do not stand behind the detail in his statement."

Morgan was put on doctor-ordered voice rest for the next several days, causing him to postpone the three concerts that were previously scheduled for this week on his One Night At A Time Tour. At this time, he is set to resume his schedule on May 4 in Jacksonville, FL.

ARTICLE PHOTO CREDIT: THUNDERB4LIGHTNIN ON TIKTOK

 

Check out the guard's claim below: 

 

@thunderb4lightnin #morganwallen #morganwallentiktok #morganwallenconcert #country #countrymusic #cowboy #addiction #olemiss #mississippi #university #football #fans ? Last Night - Morgan Wallen

Morgan Wallen Takes A Tumble On Stage

Morgan Wallen took a tumble on stage during his One Night At A Time Tour stop in Louisville, KY on Thursday (April 20th) night. He was in the midst of performing his hit with Diplo, "Heartless," when the fog made by a smoke machine on stage made it hard to see where he was going and he fell to the stage. Morgan didn't miss a beat, though, continuing to sing despite the mishap.

Fans shared TikToks of the incident on social media, showing Morgan give fans in the section in front of him a sheepish grin before standing up and carrying on with the show.

The tour rolls on to Grand Rapids, MI on Thursday (April 27th). 

Morgan sits inside the Top 10 and climbing on the charts with the title track of his new album, "One Thing At A Time."

 

ARTICLE PHOTO CREDIT: WADEPOOR TIKTOK

 

@wadepoor That face made right after ????????????@morganwallen #morganwallenfall #fyp #morganwallen #louisville #kfcyumcenter #fyp? #foryou #morganwallentiktok #morganwallenmusic ? original sound - Wade

Bailey Zimmerman Was Stuck Between a Rock and A Hard Place

Bailey Zimmerman has his second single “Rock And A Hard Place” at number-one. 

Rock And A Hard Place,” raced to the top even faster than he did the first timewith Multi-Platinum smash, “Fall In Love.” According to BillboardZimmerman’s three-month, three-week span between these first two chart-toppers is “the quickest for any act’s first two in nearly a quarter-century.” 

Bailey’s road to musical success started with a stumble in his previous career. After losing his job, Bailey knew that when he started making music – there was no turning back.  

“So, it actually started…I got laid off…I strung pipe on the pipeline. I built gas pipelines you know all over America and I’ve done that since I was 18 and I’ve got laid off and I never looked back from day one I knew I was gonna make it work somehow, someway.” 

 

ARTICLE PHOTO CREDIT: INSTAGRAM @BAILEY.ZIMMERMAN

Luke Combs Announces New Single During Nashville Stadium Show

Luke Combs revealed that his new single will be "Love You Anyway" during his sold-out concert at Nashville's Nissan Stadium on Saturday (April 15th). Last week, he gave fans a choice between that and "5 Leaf Clover" and asked them to vote. Luke promised to reveal the winner over the weekend, which he prefaced by telling the crowd, “It was real close. I think it was 51% to 49% so it was neck and neck . . ."

"Love You Anyway" follows up his latest chart-topping hit, "Going, Going, Gone," and is featured on his new album, Gettin' Old.

 

PHOTO CREDIT TO VIDEO BELOW:

 

Carly Pearce Lookalike Dies In Michael Ray's New Music Video

Michael Ray is gearing up to drop his latest project “Dive Bars & Broken Hearts” on June 23rd. And to preview that new EP, Michael Ray has just dropped his first song of the year.  The new song features a theme of getting back at an ex that calls to mind his very public yet brief marriage and divorce from Carly Pearce. In the new video for “Get Her Back”, a wine drinking, little dog-owning, Carly Pearce lookalike dies.  A number of fans were quick to draw the comparisons to his ex-wife as well… and they weren’t exactly happy about it. 

CHECK OUT THE VIDEO BELOW:

 

ARTICLE PHOTO CREDIT: YOUTUBE 'MICHAEL RAY - GET HER BACK'

 

Zach Bryan and Travis Tritt Talk Bud Light

It appears as though Zach Bryan took Travis Tritt up on his offer to have a face-to-face conversation.  The recent Bud Light controversy that has been sweeping headlines lead to an online disagreement between the two. Bryan says they spoke for an hour and a half at a weekend festival.  He said they disagree on some things and agree on some other things, and it seems the world did not end, adding: “It was nice to meet an old legend”.

 

ARTICLE PHOTO CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Keith Urban's Favorite After-Show Activity

 

For many musicians, post-show euphoria makes heading straight to bed after a concert an impossible task. Some artists head out for late-night meals or binge their favorite TV shows. For Keith Urban, however, it’s driving. Urban says he loves driving after a gig. He added that it’s really nice coming off a stage with such an intense environment to then immediately be in a car with some Ray Charles on or something else completely chill. Urban says he likes the quiet isolation. 

Blake the Pink Bunny

Blake Shelton rocked his full-size pink bunny costume Sunday for Easter celebrations with Gwen Stefani and her three sons.  The bunny suit was on full display in a series of Instagram posts. Yesterday (April 10), she shared a montage of Easter video clips, including scenes around a family table. In the middle of it all was Blake the pink Easter Bunny.  

 

ARTICLE PHOTO CREDIT: GWENSTEFANI INSTAGRAM

 

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

A post shared by Gwen Stefani (@gwenstefani)

Osborne Newborn Twins Finally Go Home

Brothers Osborne's John Osborne and his wife, Lucie Silvas, brought their twin newborns home from a Nashville hospital's NICU just in time for the Easter weekend. Arthur and Maybelle were born on March 21st.  The twins were about a month premature and too small to go home.  The couple, who have been married since 2015, conceived the twins via IVF after years of infertility.  

 

CHECK OUT HIS INSTAGRAM POST BELOW!

 

ARTICLE PHOTO CREDIT: JINGLEJOHNOSBORNE INSTAGRAM

 

Taylor Swift is Single Again

Taylor Swift and her longtime boyfriend, British actor Joe Alwyn, have reportedly split up.  According to multiple reports, the couple broke up "a few weeks ago," and the relationship "had just run its course."  Alwyn and Swift dated for over six years.  Although he is credited as “William Bowery,” Alwyn co-wrote several songs for her pair of quarantine projects, “Folklore” and “Evermore.

 

Ashley McBryde's New Tattoo Represents Her New Song

Ashley McBryde has a couple new tattoos, which she recently debuted on social media. They represent the latest milestones in her career, with one being a gramophone to commemorate winning her first Grammy with Carly Pearce for their duet, "Never Wanted To Be That Girl." The second was not as self-explanatory, but Ashley told Entertainment Tonight the devil-like figure looking through the rearview mirror relates to the release of her new song, "The Devil I Know," which is out today (Friday, April 7th).

Ashley recently wrapped up The Judds: The Final Tour and is now playing several headlining dates throughout the spring. She is scheduled to perform at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville on April 11th.

 

CHECK OUT HER INSTAGRAM POST HERE:

 

 

Country Artists Sever Ties With Anheuser-Busch

 

Several artists are cutting ties with Bud Light. Travis Tritt is showing his disapproval of Anheuser-Busch's recent partnership with transgender influencer Dylan Mulvaney by boycotting the brand. Tritt says he will be deleting all Anheuser-Busch products from his tour hospitality rider. He also claims other artists are deleting Anheuser-Busch products from their hospitality rider but not saying so publicly for fear of being ridiculed and cancelled. Travis says “I have no such fear”. He also called out Jack Daniels' new "Small Town, Big Pride" campaign.  John Rich has pulled Bud Light from the Redneck Riviera, his Lower Broadway honky-tonk. Kid Rock reacted to the partnership by sharing a video of himself blowing up several cases of Bud Light with a semi-automatic rifle.   

Kane Brown on CBS Tonight

Kane Brown makes his acting debut tonight (Friday, April 7th) on CBS' Fire Country. The network released a sneak peek at the episode.  In it, Kane plays a "modern-day train hopper" named Robin who helps injured people at the scene of a train and bus crash.  Fire Country airs tonight at 9. . .Kane has the weekend off from his headlining Drunk or Dreaming Tour to be home with his family this Easter weekend. 

ARTICLE PHOTO CREDIT: WIKIMEDIA COMMONS

Check it out below:

Maddie Font Expecting First Child

 

Maddie & Tae's Maddie Font is expecting her first child! She and husband Jonah Font will welcome a baby boy in September. Maddie said she found out in early January that she was expecting and surprised Jonah with a little card and the positive tests when he got home from work . . .Her Maddie & Tae partner, Taylor Kerr suspected the pregnancy before she did. 

John Osborne's Babies Remain in ICU

Brothers Osborne's John Osborne and his wife, Lucie's, twins are still in the neonatal intensive care unit in Nashville but Lucie shared an update and a few pictures of the babies on social media over the last few days. According to her post, Arthur and Maybelle are "holding hands and getting stronger by the day."  The babies were born on March 21st.   Maybelle weighed 5 lb 1 oz while Arthur weighed just 3 lbs 13 oz.

 

Priscilla Block Teams with SHEIN

Priscilla Block has teamed up with global fashion and online retailer SHEIN to curate an apparel collection for summer. The clothes are inspired by the exact looks she’ll be wearing during her Stagecoach and Hangout Music Fest performances this year. The collection includes 90 pieces offered in size XS to 4XL.  Shein established a distribution center in Whitestown, Indiana last year, but all the clothes are made in Shanghai. In recent years, Shein has found itself in the middle of several controversies including trademark disputes, tax evasion, human rights violations, lead and other safety concerns.   

2023 CMT Music Award Rundown

Kelsea Ballerini and Kane Brown were back to co-host the CMT Music Awards last night.  In a surprise win, Kane ended up picking up the prized Video of the Year award for "Thank God," featuring his wife, Katelyn Brown.  Jelly Roll won all three categories he was nominated in: Male Video of the Year, Male Breakthrough Video of the Year, and CMT Digital-First Performance of the Year.  Lainey Wilson, went into the night with four nominations, the most of any artist, and won two: One for Collaborative Video of the Year for "Wait in the Truck" with HARDY, and Female Video of the Year for "Heart Like a Truck."  Megan Moroney picked up Female Break Through Video of the Year for “Tennessee Orange”. Carrie Underwood, who holds the record for being the most nominated artist in the history of the award show was shut out in both of her nominations last night.  Check out an extended cut of the show, featuring 30 extra minutes of new performances and bonus content, airing this Thursday night at 8 on CMT. 

 

Here's the complete winners list of the 2023 CMT Music Award winners:

 

Video of the year: Kane Brown & Katelyn Brown - "Thank God"

Female video of the year: Lainey Wilson - "Heart Like A Truck"

Male video of the year: Jelly Roll – "Son Of A Sinner"

Group/Duo video of the year: Zac Brown Band - "Out in the Middle"

Breakthrough female video of the year: Megan Moroney - "Tennessee Orange"

Breakthrough male video of the year: Jelly Roll - "Son of a Sinner"

Collaborative video of the year: HARDY feat. Lainey Wilson - "wait in the truck"

CMT performance of the year: Cody Johnson - "‘Til You Can’t" (from 2022 CMT Music Awards)

CMT digital-first performance of year: Jelly Roll - "Son of a Sinner" (from CMT "All Accesss")