Latest / Country Weekly / 1.10.25
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Yes, it's time again to catch up with Country Weekly,
- 0:08where we check out news and gossip from the world
- 0:11of country music. I'm your host, Ken Dawkins, and I
- 0:15will be reading from various sources found online. As a reminder,
- 0:19RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
- 0:22blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
- 0:25read printed material. We'll begin with the first article, dated
- 0:29January seventh, twenty twenty five, from countrynow dot Com. First up,
- 0:35Bailey Zimmerman plots headlining New to Country summer tour. Bailey
- 0:40Zimmerman's hot streak continues with the announcement of his headlining
- 0:43twenty twenty five New to Country Tour. The tour will
- 0:46launch in Indianapolis on June sixth, and unfortunately that's as
- 0:50close as it gets to us, and concludes on September
- 0:53thirteenth in Laughlin, Nevada. Zimmerman will be joined on the
- 0:57sixteen stop Amphitheater run by Dylan Marlowe and Drew Baldridge.
- 1:01The news comes on the heels of the Rising Stars
- 1:03sold out thirty plus city international headline Trek Religiously, the tour,
- 1:08which took place last year. After teasing that he had
- 1:12big news to share on Monday evening. The Illinois native
- 1:15took the social media early Tuesday to share the announcement.
- 1:18Last year's tour was insane, but y'all, this year is
- 1:21going to be even crazier, he promised. I can't wait
- 1:24to see you all and get wild. The news was
- 1:27shared alongside a comical tour teaser where Bailey Zimmerman wakes
- 1:30with a scream and shouts down to Marlow and Baldridge,
- 1:33who are playing video games downstairs. Dylan drew, get ready,
- 1:36we got to go on tour, zimmer Minnell's confused. Baldridge
- 1:40looks at Marlow and questions what did he say? Marlow answers,
- 1:44I think he said he wants to get in the pool.
- 1:46They decide to get pool ready while Zimmerman hops out
- 1:49of bed and starts to pack for tour. Upstairs, he
- 1:52adds all the touring essentials, including American flag boxer breeves,
- 1:56red solo cups, ping pong balls, and more. Later, he
- 1:59heads downstairs and appears to be confused as he finds
- 2:02Marlow and Baldridge dressed in their best swimming gear. What
- 2:05are you doing? He asked them, Baldridge replies, I thought
- 2:08you said we're going to the pool. Zimmerman quips, no,
- 2:11I said we're going on tour. And again, the closest
- 2:15concert to us will be June sixth in Indianapolis. Next,
- 2:21Post Malone leaves single mom a twenty thousand dollars tip
- 2:25on Christmas Eve. Post Malone is being praised for delivering
- 2:29a Christmas miracle to a single mom working as a
- 2:32bartender in a local Texas dive bar on a night
- 2:36people often spend with their families. Thirty six year old
- 2:38Renee Brown was putting the hours in at the rail
- 2:41yard and struggling with the fact that she wasn't spending
- 2:43the holiday with her nine year old daughter, Ilianna. Little
- 2:48did the Virginia native know that during her late night
- 2:50shift she would meet a genre bending star who would
- 2:53completely change her life in a matter of seconds. The
- 2:57day started off super slow, and I was just taking
- 2:59it as it were. I was trying to be in
- 3:00a good mood for others while dealing with not being
- 3:03able to spend Christmas Eve with my daughter, she said, well,
- 3:06recounting the events to Music Mayhem, we usually bake cookies
- 3:09and watch Christmas movies, and this was the first time
- 3:12I wasn't able to do that. The neighborhood established started
- 3:16to fill up with locals and various customers looking to
- 3:18celebrate the festive evening. Suddenly word began to spread that
- 3:22one of those patrons was Post Malone, whose real name,
- 3:25as we know, is Austin Post, alongside some of fellow
- 3:28chart topping friends, including a bar song tipsy singer Shaboozie.
- 3:32I initially didn't realize he was there until one of
- 3:34my coworkers from my second job came inside and told
- 3:37me that Post Malone was outside on the patio. Renee
- 3:41continued as she recalled the events of the evening. I
- 3:44thought he was kidding with me at first, when I
- 3:45kept seeing people go outside and I kept making drinks
- 3:48for all holl thirty minutes or so before the curiosity
- 3:51got the best of me, and lo and behold, he
- 3:53was there. Although excitement was bubbling inside her upon hearing
- 3:57the news that the I had some help singer was
- 3:59in her presence, Renee kept her cool and encouraged those
- 4:02around her to do the same. Her actions allowed Malone
- 4:05to have a night of normalcy, offering him a break
- 4:08from his usual fan encounters that likely occur wherever he goes.
- 4:12I told all my regulars not to be weird and
- 4:14bug him, as it's a neighborhood dive bar, and I'm
- 4:17sure he picked a place like that to feel a
- 4:19sense of normalcy, she shared. It seemed that both staff
- 4:22and customers were happy to treat Malone like anyone else
- 4:24who entered into the bar, and in turn, his bright
- 4:27personality and carefree energy lifted the spirits of the entire place.
- 4:31It was amazing to see everyone so happy and seeing
- 4:33how kind he was to all the people that spend
- 4:35their days with me on a regular Renee added as
- 4:39Malone's night of merriment on the rail yard's patio near
- 4:42the end, and Christmas Eve turned into Christmas morning, he
- 4:45went to close out with Renee. To his surprise, he
- 4:48found that his bill was already paid in full by
- 4:51several of the customers and his friends. Everyone that he
- 4:55was with was also so kind and inviting. We had
- 4:57a great night jamming to songs on the jukebox. Then
- 5:00came time for last call and to close. When Austin
- 5:04asked for his check, that's post Malone, he didn't have
- 5:06one because many regulars and his friends bought his beverages.
- 5:09Renee remembered, while appreciative of the kind of gesture, he
- 5:13wanted to take sure make sure that the bartender did
- 5:16not go empty hand at home. So, in return for
- 5:19her excellent service, Renee received a generous twenty thousand dollar
- 5:22tip from alone. So he asked me to ring him
- 5:25up for a penny or anything. So I did. I
- 5:27continued my clothes and collected all my checks and started
- 5:30to enter my tips. Then I got to his. It
- 5:33was a tip for twenty thousand dollars, she said as
- 5:35she recalled seeing the remarkable number on the receipt. Renee
- 5:39was understandably overcome with emotions in this moment that not
- 5:42only had a life changing effect on her, but also
- 5:44her family, who was awaiting her return on Christmas Day.
- 5:48I'd immediately broke down crying. It was very emotional night,
- 5:51already being away from home, being swamped behind the bar,
- 5:54trying to process that they were even there, and then
- 5:57the tip on top, she said. Renee went on to
- 6:01illustrate how incredibly tough it had been trying to balance
- 6:03her life as a single mom, knowing that all the
- 6:05responsibilities fall in her hands. I worked two jobs and
- 6:09homeschool my daughter. I'm constantly exhausted. We've been without a
- 6:12car for two years and recently moved after losing everything
- 6:15and starting over from scratch in August of last year.
- 6:19This twenty thousand dollars may have been a small token
- 6:21of appreciation in Malone's eyes, However, it is completely transformative
- 6:25for Renee and her daughter. She told the outlet how
- 6:27she plans to use the money to get a form
- 6:29of transportation to and from work, in addition to putting
- 6:32some of it aside in savings. Next, Megan Morony hints
- 6:38at third studio album with unreleased track. Megan Maroney has
- 6:43been enjoying a break from the road and soaking up
- 6:45the sun on a tropical getaway, which she has been
- 6:48sharing snippets of online. While she appears to be in
- 6:51a state of relaxation, the rising star revealed she actually
- 6:54still got work on my mind, as she recently previewed
- 6:58an unreleased tune via TikTok and Instagram. The clip showcased
- 7:02her stunning views of sales and the bright sun peeking
- 7:05through the clouds from a floating boat and the background
- 7:08viewers can hear the brand new song, matching the calmness
- 7:11of the water. Maroni's soft yet gritty vocals glide along
- 7:15the smooth instrumental as she toys with the idea of
- 7:17getting back together with a love interest who she still
- 7:20has feelings for. She sings, I know I shouldn't, but
- 7:23I want to, so I might, And if I do,
- 7:25it's now a bad time to let you know that
- 7:27I kind of still love you. I've got nothing to
- 7:30do and nothing to lose. Why be alone when we
- 7:32don't have to? Let's get a table for two. Fans
- 7:36were quick to point out the fact that both the
- 7:38theme of the video and the song seemed to match
- 7:40the coastal energy of her twenty twenty four tour mate
- 7:43Kenny Chesney. One user wrote, this feels like a very
- 7:47Kenny Chesney coded song, while another commenter hung out with
- 7:50Kenny Chesney one summer now we get a Beach album.
- 7:53There was also a request for Maroni to lean into
- 7:56her beach themed coastal Calgirl era. Regardless of the inspiration
- 8:00behind the song, the most important thing to take note
- 8:03of is Maroni's caption, which signals that this could be
- 8:05a teaser for her next project for m M three,
- 8:09she wrote, indicating that the tune might appear as a
- 8:12track on her yet to be announced third studio album.
- 8:15The fact that the Jordian native is already hinting at
- 8:17another collection just three months after the release of the
- 8:20deluxe version of her sophomore album, m I Okay, proves
- 8:24that she is always one step ahead. The fast paced
- 8:28nature is nothing unusual for the Man on the Moon singer.
- 8:31In May of twenty twenty three, she dropped her debut
- 8:33album Lucky, followed by her highly anticipated project m Ioka
- 8:38in July of twenty four and its extended version, am
- 8:41Iokay I'll Be Fine this past October. Then she closed
- 8:45out the year by gifting fans her first ever holiday EP,
- 8:48titled Blue Christmas Duh meaning collectively. The songstress has released
- 8:52a heavy dose of music in less than two years,
- 8:56so with the rate Maroney's been moving, it's no surprise
- 8:58that album number three is all already in the works
- 9:01and could potentially be released sometime in twenty twenty five.
- 9:05Fans may have the chance to hear even more new
- 9:07music throughout Megan Maroney's upcoming headline run the fifty date
- 9:11m i Okay is officially set to kick off in
- 9:13March and feature stops across Canada as well as the US,
- 9:16including Tennessee, Minnesota, Oklahoma, California, Georgia, and Moore before wrapping
- 9:22up in the fall. Next. Riley Green's latest hunting trip
- 9:27ends in an emergency room visit. Riley Green has been
- 9:31taking advantage of hunting season and making sure to share
- 9:34a glimpse into his outdoor endeavors on social media. However,
- 9:38over the weekend, the superstar went from being posted up
- 9:41in a snow covered tree to the emergency room, wondering
- 9:45he was seeing sporting his camo doing what he loves
- 9:47in the silence of nature, and the next he took
- 9:50to his socials to share a video from inside the
- 9:52hospital room. Green revealed that the reason for the visit
- 9:55was due to him stepping on a nail that impaled
- 9:58his foot. Luckily, the Alabama native's injuries appeared to be
- 10:02minor and his pain level remained low. As he quickly
- 10:05began making jokes about the situation, He fought back laughter
- 10:09as he recounted the moment that proved to be no
- 10:11matter how big of a star he becomes, he can't
- 10:14escape his country roots. When I took off my boot,
- 10:17corn fell over on the floor. The lady came in
- 10:20here and wanted to know where all that corn came from.
- 10:23It's my boot, Green said, with a laugh. You don't
- 10:25want me to take this other one off either, It's
- 10:27real world problems. The next slide included a photo of
- 10:31the Worst Way singer lying down on the bed with
- 10:33one boot on and one boot off. He wrote, hospital
- 10:36vibes WI emphasize his toughness by pairing it with a
- 10:39hard hitting tune down with the sickness by disturb Green's
- 10:42emergency room saga ended with him jokingly asking the nurse
- 10:46when he will be recovered enough to return to hunting
- 10:49in the deer or hunting the deer in the woods.
- 10:52Just hit us with it straight, he said. The nurse
- 10:54then assured him that he is cleared to get back
- 10:56to it whenever he feels ready, So no need to worry,
- 10:59because Riley means slight injury will not be stopping him
- 11:01from participating in what's left of hunting season. It appears
- 11:04he has had a successful year in the woods, but
- 11:06isn't ready to call it quitch just yet, since November,
- 11:09Green has proudly posted photos with several of the bucks
- 11:12he secured while bow hunting. First buck off my new
- 11:16farm in Kansas, and he was a good one. Took
- 11:18a bunch of hours sitting in the tree with a bow,
- 11:21but he finally slipped up. Damn, I love it out here,
- 11:23he wrote while showing off his latest trophy in December.
- 11:27The country star will also be back on stage before
- 11:30we Know it as his Damn Country Music Tour, set
- 11:32to kick off on February twenty seventh in Abbotsford, British Columbia.
- 11:37He's scheduled to be on the road through August, with
- 11:40headlining dates that feature his fellow CMA Award winning duet
- 11:43partner Ella Langley, as well as a slew of special
- 11:46guests on select dates. Next, Morgan Wallen surprises fans with
- 11:51new song Smile and a rare music video. Morgan Wallen
- 11:57surprised fans with the release of a brand new tracks
- 12:00just ahead of the New year, dropping at midnight Eastern
- 12:03Time on New Year's Eve. The unexpected track continues the
- 12:06narrative from Wallin's earlier releases, Lies, Lies, Lies, and Loves Somebody,
- 12:11delving into the unraveling of a once happy and thriving relationship.
- 12:15Co written by Wallen alongside Rocky Block, John Byron, Ernest,
- 12:18Keith Smith, Ryan Votcheck, and Lewis Witkowitz, Smile portrays the
- 12:23narrator reflecting on a fleeting moment of joy preserved in
- 12:26a single photograph, amid the turmoil of a relationship that
- 12:29is crumbling before his eyes. It was good to see
- 12:33you smile, girl. You know it's been a while. It
- 12:35was good to see you smile, even if it's just
- 12:37for the picture, he sings. The haunting lyrics convey the
- 12:41fact that the narrator cherishes seeing his partner smile again,
- 12:45even if it was simply for the sake of the photo.
- 12:47You know, it took me right back to how it
- 12:49used to be. Baby, Seeing us like that is still
- 12:51a little bittersweet, he admits. The song debuted alongside a
- 12:55rare Morgan Wallen music video directed by Justin Clough. In
- 12:58the clip, while in a scene backstage at what appears
- 13:01to be late night show on New Year's Eve, scheduled
- 13:04to perform Loves Somebody just before midnight, Wallin decides to
- 13:07go off script and perform a never before heard song Smile,
- 13:11As tension mounts between him and his partner backstage, Both
- 13:15the production crew and the audience appear to be confused
- 13:18as the performance begins, but the song strikes accord with
- 13:21everyone and winds up drawing more viewers than expected. In
- 13:25the middle of the performance, Wallin's other half walks out
- 13:28to witness a portion of the live performance. However, walks
- 13:31away from the set and isn't seen again As the
- 13:34clock strikes midnight, ushering in a brand new year, Wallin
- 13:37finishes his performance while everyone else celebrates with friends and
- 13:41loved ones, he quietly retreats backstage alone. Wallin's friend in
- 13:46Barstool's sports personality KHALIEB. Presley, makes a special appearance in
- 13:50the music video as the host of the Dark to
- 13:52Daylight Show. The release of Smile comes on the heels
- 13:56of Wallin's sixteenth number one single at country radio, Lies Lies, Lies,
- 14:00and the release of Love Somebody, which debuted at number
- 14:02one globally across five countries, becoming Wallen's first solo song
- 14:06to debut at number one on the All Genre Billboard
- 14:09one hundred chart upon release. According to a release Loved
- 14:13Somebody led Wallen to become the first artist to have
- 14:16three singles at atop the Billboard one hundred and Hot
- 14:19Country Songs charts simultaneously. All three tracks follow Wallin's record
- 14:24breaking One Thing at a Time album, paving the way
- 14:28for a possible new album in twenty twenty five. As
- 14:31fans anticipate Wallin's next project, the opportunities to see him
- 14:35live are also scarce, as currently his only planned tour
- 14:39date for twenty twenty five is his inaugural Sand in
- 14:42My Boots Festival, taking place on the beaches of Gulf Shores, Alabama,
- 14:47in May. The festival will feature Wallen, Post Malone Brooks,
- 14:51and Don Hardy and many special guests including Riley Green,
- 14:54Bailly Zimmerman, Tea Pain, Dip Loo, Whiz Khalifa, The War
- 14:57on Drugs, Two Chains, Chase, Rice three Six, Mafia, Three
- 15:02Doors Down, Ella Langley, Ernest Morgan, Wade, Money Bag Yo
- 15:06and more. Now we move on over to saving country music.
- 15:11With the first article published January seventh, Billy Strings announces
- 15:16twenty twenty five spring summer tour. Billy Strings is one
- 15:21of the biggest things in live music in this generation.
- 15:24Irrespective of the genre. The fact that he's bluegrass artist
- 15:27at heart makes his wild popularity that more inexplicable and exciting.
- 15:32His latest album, Highway Prayers, released last September, had many
- 15:36singing praises. Now they can't wait to get out and
- 15:38see him perform live, where he starts in bluegrass and
- 15:41then explores the universe beyond. Billy could probably sell out
- 15:45stadiums at this point, but instead of placing his music
- 15:48in a cavernous space where he's so detached from the audience,
- 15:52he's continuing to opt for arenas and amphitheaters and doubling
- 15:55and sometimes tripling updates to accommodate demand. Case for many
- 16:00of his newly added dates for the spring summer of
- 16:02twenty twenty five, he'll be spending most of his time
- 16:05in the South and Midwest, with stops in Florida, Georgia,
- 16:08North Carolina, Michigan, Virginia, Illinois, Missouri, and yes, Kentucky. But
- 16:13don't worry you all, you folks and the rockies in
- 16:15West coast. You can be assured Billy will be heading
- 16:17your way at some point this year. Let's take a
- 16:20look at the schedule here and see what he's going
- 16:22to be and there we go rupp Ana in Lexington.
- 16:24Of course, that would be June twentieth and June twenty first. Next,
- 16:30Co Wetzel lands number one on country radio. It sounds
- 16:34like number one on country radio? Now, what the hell
- 16:38is this? What's the fun of challenging or getting to
- 16:41the top if you sell out to get there? Well.
- 16:44Co Wetzel, according to Saving Country Music, is supposed to
- 16:47be one of country music's bad boys, blowing in from Texas,
- 16:50doing things his own way, writing his own songs and
- 16:52putting a rock attitude behind it, all to upset the prudes.
- 16:56Yet here he is releasing a radio single with seven songwriters.
- 17:00It sounds like it was rejected from a Dan and
- 17:02Shay session. According to Saving Country Music, Co's single high
- 17:06Road with Jesse Murfh has been the number one song
- 17:09in country radio for the last couple of weeks. Previously,
- 17:12Wetzel hadn't even sniffed the top forty on radio, but
- 17:15that was okay because he didn't need to. He was
- 17:18minting gold and platinum singles just fine, building something on
- 17:21his own Texas style. Co Wetzel's at his best when
- 17:24he's braying drunk for someone to get him some taco
- 17:27bell while co Ed's whip bras at his face backed
- 17:30by bad post grunge nineties rock riffs, I guess says,
- 17:34saving country music. Now that Gavin Adcock is out there
- 17:36out cooking, co Wetzel feels the need to be more
- 17:40commercially applicable. You shouldn't be afraid of your favorite artists
- 17:43maturing or evolving, but in this case, putting out paint
- 17:46by numbers radio singles is a regression, even for someone
- 17:50like co Wetzel. I Road isn't entirely terrible as much
- 17:54as it just smacks of corporate radio project says saving
- 17:58country music. Maybe it's not entirely on characteristic of something
- 18:01co Wetzel would release, but it's definitely not something that
- 18:04makes you feel like this is a win for the
- 18:05good guys that it went number one. Both co and
- 18:09his attitude sounding collaborator Jesse Murph's hand gestulations and hip
- 18:13hop inflections feel incredibly fake. It's less emotive and more
- 18:17put on attitude from a couple of bumpkins trying to
- 18:20act street. To be honest, Jesse Murph is the worst
- 18:23part of this. Apparently she came up on TikTok and
- 18:26has collaborated with Diplow, Jelly Roll, Teddy Swims, and Bailey
- 18:29Zimmerman Io. That sounds about right. Cowetzel's music has always
- 18:34been somewhat vapid and pandering on the surface, while deceptively
- 18:37deep when you dig into the lyrics, and upon occasion'll
- 18:40write and record an undeniably good song, even if his
- 18:44detractors deny it. Anyway, what was cool about Coe's major
- 18:47label debut album Sellout twenty twenty is that he didn't
- 18:51change himself. He still wrote his own songs and was
- 18:53true to his original sound. With High Road, it feels
- 18:56like he did capitulate. When you have seven songwriters and
- 19:00whatever you're doing, it becomes so detached from the original
- 19:02inspiration it's difficult to impossible to resonate, despite how easy
- 19:07it is to push it up the radio charts. From
- 19:09having that sound. Cowetzel is a country mail on a
- 19:12major label, so he apparently deserves a number one radio
- 19:15single like all the others, and now he's got one.
- 19:19Congratulations Next, Garth Brooks No Fences appears on Spotify in
- 19:25streaming scam. Fans of Garth Brooks were rejoicing Thursday evening,
- 19:30as it appeared that Garth was finally giving in and
- 19:33starting to upload his catalog to Spotify. Tracks from his
- 19:37second album, No Fences from nineteen ninety appeared on the
- 19:40streaming service after Garth previously swore it off for an
- 19:44exclusive deal with Amazon Music back in twenty sixteen. But
- 19:48it's pretty clear that Garth didn't have a change of
- 19:50heart or was enacting a New Year's resolution to finally
- 19:53evolve with the rest of the music world. Instead, it
- 19:56appears he's victim of streaming fraud, which has become more
- 19:59and more pervasive on Spotify and other streaming services over
- 20:03the years. Not only is the Spotify version of Offenses missing
- 20:06three tracks, unanswered prayers, same old story in Wolves. If
- 20:11you'll listen to New Way to Fly it actually is
- 20:13a live track. Most of the tracks sound like they're
- 20:16at a lower bit rate than normal or something has
- 20:18been augmented with their sound, likely to circumvent Spotify's fraud detection.
- 20:23All songs were marked as explicit. Furthermore, the copyright is
- 20:27not Capital Nashville but Garth Brooks, and all the songs
- 20:30are credited to Garth Brooks, Stephanie Davis as opposed to
- 20:34the actual songwriters. It's likely the album will be taken
- 20:38down shortly as soon as Spotify finds out about the malfeasance,
- 20:41but it does illustrate just how easy it is for
- 20:43virtually anyone to upload someone else's tracks to streaming services
- 20:47and start earning money from spins. In twenty twenty, Saving
- 20:51Country Music exposed a sweeping song theft scheme that included
- 20:55over one hundred and twelve artists and some eight hundred
- 20:58and thirty one total songs, where the thieves took tracks
- 21:00from other performers and distributed under fake artist names. In
- 21:05April of last year, Saving Country Music also reported on
- 21:08country artist Grant Langston having his unreleased album released on Spotify,
- 21:13ostensibly resulting in him losing control of his own music
- 21:16even before it was released. The brazenness of thieves to
- 21:20redistributing Garth Brook's material proves it can happen to anybody,
- 21:24and how lacks the protocols continue to be for uploading songs.
- 21:28Garth is notorious for keeping his music off of anything
- 21:31except Amazon, including YouTube. A live in Germany album is
- 21:35on the platform and was added in twenty twenty four.
- 21:38Probably in a separate deal. Unfortunately, for Garth Brooks fans
- 21:42without Amazon Music accounts, it'll mean they'll have to wait
- 21:45a little longer to stream Garth's music. Now we scoot
- 21:50on over to the boot dot com with the first
- 21:53article published on January eighth. Eric Church Miranda Lambert to
- 21:57headline twenty twenty five Field and Stream Festival. Field and
- 22:02Stream Fest has been announced for this year, and it's
- 22:04delivering a jam packed lineup of country and rock artists.
- 22:08Eric Church, Miranda Lambert and Leonard Skinnard are each headlining
- 22:12one of the events three nights on a bill that
- 22:14will also feature performance from zz Top, Riley Green, Bail
- 22:18Bailey Zimmerman and many others. Twenty twenty five will mark
- 22:22the second year since Field and Stream was purchased by
- 22:24an investment company fronted by Church and Morgan Wallen. The
- 22:27move revived publication for the legendary outdoors magazine, which is
- 22:31also part of a popular lifestyle brand. The inaugural Field
- 22:36in Streamfest was supposed to take place in October of
- 22:38last year, but the event was postponed due to Hurricane Helene.
- 22:42Many of the performers on that bill will be appearing
- 22:45during the twenty twenty five iteration, including Church and zz Top.
- 22:49Of course, Church's personal involvement in Hurricane Helen recovery has
- 22:53been extensive. The singer dropped his song Darkest Hour Helene
- 22:57edit to raise money for the regents impacted by the storms.
- 23:01Church team with Luke Combs to mount a benefit concert,
- 23:04which raised nearly twenty five million dollars toward relief efforts.
- 23:08He also announced a long term rebuilding project in his
- 23:10home state of North Carolina. The festival's scheduled to take
- 23:14place in Winnsboro, South Carolina, October three through fifth. It
- 23:18will feature outdoors focused experiences in addition to a stout
- 23:22musical lineup, and it'll have RV and camping options on site,
- 23:26as well as fishing showcases and football watching stations. Next,
- 23:32Alan Jackson fans scammed out of almost three thousand dollars
- 23:35by online impersonator. A woman in Georgia has filed a
- 23:40police report after an online scammer claiming to be Alan
- 23:43Jackson swindled her out of nearly three thousand dollars in
- 23:46Apple gift cards. According to a report from local news
- 23:50outlet The Augusta Chronicle, The fan, who was a seventy
- 23:53six year old Columbia County resident, says she believed she
- 23:56was sending the money directly to Jackson himself after someone
- 23:59claiming to be his manager got in touch with her
- 24:02on Facebook. The whole thing started back in June of
- 24:05last year, when the Georgia woman made a post on
- 24:07Facebook about Jackson's health issues. The singer had recently announced
- 24:11some tour dates at the time, and though he stopped
- 24:14short of calling the run of Farewell Tour, he'd been
- 24:16open about the fact that he lives with a degenerative
- 24:18nerve condition called Sharcott Marie tooth disease, which could impact
- 24:23his ability to travel and perform. In a statement she
- 24:26made in December of twenty four, the fan told police
- 24:29that the person claiming to be Jackson said he was
- 24:31going through a divorce and that his assets had been
- 24:33frozen in the process and he needed money to pay bills.
- 24:37In October, the fan began sending Apple gift cards, which
- 24:42would eventually amount to twenty nine hundred and seventeen dollars
- 24:45across thirty six different cards. The impersonating a celebrity online
- 24:50is a common way for scammers to solicit money from
- 24:52unsuspecting fans. Many celebrities, including country stars, frequently post reminders
- 24:57to fans not to send money to anyone claiming to
- 25:00be them. Jackson's teams posted reminders about not falling for
- 25:04online scams, including his Facebook post from twenty eighteen. The
- 25:10Jackson impersonator story about a bitter divorce was a lie.
- 25:13In fact, the singer and his wife Denise celebrated their
- 25:15forty fifth wedding anniversary in mid December. Next Jason Aldeen
- 25:21tried to trick his kids while boat shopping. Jason Aldean
- 25:25and his wife Brittany had been spending the better part
- 25:27of their winter in a warmer climate at their Florida
- 25:29beach home. That's where the dirt roade anthem singer decided
- 25:33to pull a fast one on his family. Britney posted
- 25:35on Instagram as a story as the Aldans walked the marina,
- 25:39letting fans in on a little scoop they're shopping for
- 25:42a boat. She shared a photover two kids with the
- 25:45country star Memphis and Navy walking on a boat dock
- 25:48alongside some pretty hefty boats. We also went to a
- 25:52marina and looked at boats, she explains, Aldean tried to
- 25:55trick his kiddos seven to five into thinking they were
- 25:57getting a little dinghy instead of something large enough for
- 26:00a party. As Memphis walks past a tiny paddle boat
- 26:04in the photo that they showed a vehicle, it is
- 26:06barely large enough for just him. Britney says that dad
- 26:10told him, don't get too excited, we're getting this little
- 26:12thing right here. Well, Memphis doesn't look to be buying
- 26:15his dad's joke, and Navy certainly isn't. She skips right
- 26:19past the little floater and towards some of the bigger
- 26:21boats in the marina. Don't worry, the family's taking time
- 26:24to relax. Two. Britney shared some Instagram photos that show
- 26:27the crew beach frollicking, enjoying drinks, and snoozing with the dogs.
- 26:33And finally, the list this week simply the top forty
- 26:36country songs for January of twenty twenty five. A few
- 26:39familiar names top this first top forty country songs list
- 26:43of the year, but more than a few newcomers who
- 26:45are seeking their first country hit help make it to
- 26:47the top ten. Morgan Wallins Loves Somebody surge to number
- 26:51one to begin the new year, and that's not his
- 26:52only entry. Post Malone Jelly Roll also have multiple songs,
- 26:56as they have for the last several months. Four of
- 26:59the first ten songs you'll find on the path to
- 27:00becoming the artists number one hit wor have already done so.
- 27:04Contemporary and traditional country artists are represent it without prejudice
- 27:07across the Top forty songs list, and as always, the
- 27:11January list of Top forty Country Songs is equal parts airplay,
- 27:14sales and streaming charts plus fan ratings, staff opinion breaks
- 27:19any ties at the boot. Number one song for January
- 27:23of this year right now Morgan Walland Loves Somebody. It
- 27:26took less than a full season from Morgan Wallen's Loves
- 27:28Somebody to go from zero to one. Post Malone featuring
- 27:31Luke Comb's Guy for That, Cole Wetzel and Jesse Murph.
- 27:35As we heard high Road Tucker Wetmore is number four.
- 27:39Wind Up Missing You. There's a strong group of country
- 27:41newcomers poised to lead this year. Ella Langley featuring Riley
- 27:45Green You Look Like You Love Me. That's number five.
- 27:49Rei Shaboozi a bar song, Tipsy number six, Jelly Roll
- 27:52I'm Not Okay Number seven, Landy Wilson four Times, four
- 27:55Times You Number nine, Post Malone with Blake Shelton, Pour
- 27:58Me a Drink Number ten, Jelly Roll Liar Number eleven,
- 28:01Morgan Wallen Smile, Cody Johnson and Carrie Underwood. I'm going
- 28:05to love You then number thirteen, Megan Maroney, Am I Okay,
- 28:08Dan and Shay at number fourteen with Bigger Houses, Riley
- 28:12Green featuring Ella Langley Don't Mind If I Do Number fifteen,
- 28:15Zach Topp, I Never Lie, Dylan Marlowe and Dylan Scott
- 28:19Boys Back Home at number seventeen. Chris Stapleton has eighteen
- 28:23Think I'm in Love with You, Riley Green, damn Good
- 28:25day to leave number nineteen and we're out of time,
- 28:28so Shaboozi is number twenty with Highway Well. This concludes
- 28:32the reading of Country Weekly for this week. If you
- 28:35have any comments or suggestions about our program, kindly call
- 28:38us at eight five nine four two two sixty three ninety.
- 28:42Thank you for joining me on behalf of everyone here
- 28:45at RADIOI. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing you a great
- 28:48day