Latest / Country Weekly / 1.24.25
Transcript
- 0:04Speaker 1: Hope you enjoyed I our New England weather this week. But
- 0:07now it's time to warm up and catch up with
- 0:09Country Weekly, where we dive into news and gossip from
- 0:13the world of country music. I'm your host, Ken Dawkins,
- 0:16and I will be reading from various sources found online.
- 0:20As a reminder, Radio I is a reading service intended
- 0:23for people who are blind or have other disabilities that
- 0:26make it difficult to read printed material. We'll begin with
- 0:30the first article date of January twenty first from The Independent.
- 0:34Billy Ray Cyrus gives epic disaster of a performance at
- 0:38Trump's Liberty Ball. Billy Ray Cyrus gave an epic disaster
- 0:43of a performance during Donald Trump's Liberty Ball following the
- 0:46presidential inauguration. According to The Independent, the sixty three year
- 0:50old singer took the stage at the event in Washington
- 0:53on Monday night. He performed his hit tune Achy Breaky
- 0:56Heart and his little Nazak song Old Town Road. However,
- 1:00his show didn't go on without a few issues. At
- 1:02one point during his performance, after singing Old Town Road,
- 1:05he couldn't hear his guitar playing. Is my guitar still on?
- 1:08He asked the stage crew, I think they cut me off.
- 1:11I don't hear my guitar anymore. Cyrus continued to hold
- 1:14the instrument up before asking the workers backstage, is anyone awake?
- 1:18I don't hear it? You all hear it? He continued
- 1:21to ask, is anyone back there? Can somebody turn my
- 1:23guitar back on? We're going to sing a bit more.
- 1:26He then quipped about why his guitar may have been
- 1:29turned off, adding you all want me to sing more?
- 1:32Or you just want me to get the hell off
- 1:33the stage. I don't give a damn. However, a crew
- 1:36member finally came on to the stage and fixed the
- 1:39singer's guitar before he continued his performance. When you have
- 1:42technical difficulties, you got to just keep going, he added.
- 1:46Fans on social media also didn't hesitate to criticize cyrus
- 1:49gruff sounding voice Billy Ray cyrus performance at Donald Trump's
- 1:53inaugural Liberty Ball as an epic disaster, one person wrote.
- 1:57Another added that Billy Ray cyrus performance Liberty Ball was
- 2:00absolutely pathetic, worst I've ever seen. It seems that Billy
- 2:04Ray Cyrus had a lot more than just technical issues
- 2:07going on at the Liberty Ball. Just now, a third wrote.
- 2:10Others went on to question if he was actually singing
- 2:12live at one point, as his Little Nazak's video for
- 2:15Old Country Road was playing on the stage. Billy Ray
- 2:18Cyrus clearly lip syncing. Looks like he crawled out from
- 2:21under a bridge before this week performance at Donald Trump's
- 2:24Liberty Ball. So embarrassing, one wrote. Another said, why does
- 2:27Billy Cyrus look so out of It doesn't even look
- 2:30like him. You can totally tell he's lip syncing. It's horrible.
- 2:34Along with his voice, Cyrus was also mocked for his appearance.
- 2:37Many viewers made quips about his outfit on stage, as
- 2:39he paired his black jacket and dark washed jeans with
- 2:42a multi colored scarf and cowboy hat. Billy Ray Cyrus
- 2:46or Captain Jack Sparrow, one wrote. Along with Cyrus, some
- 2:50of the performers at Trump's three inaugural Balls on Monday
- 2:53night were Kid Rock, The Village People, Jason Aldean, Rascal Flats,
- 2:57Parker McCollum, Gavin de Grau, and the Liberty Universeveres praise choir,
- 3:02but as we run down town on the subway to
- 3:05the New York Post dated January twentieth we find that
- 3:08Carrie Underwood also had some issues, but she handled it differently.
- 3:13Jesus Take the Wheel. Carrie Underwood had a quick response
- 3:16to the technical difficulties that preceded her performance at Donald
- 3:19Trump's inauguration on Monday. The American idol Winn forty one
- 3:23was slated to sing America the Beautiful at the ceremony
- 3:26inside the US Capitol with the accompaniment of the Armed
- 3:29Forces Chorus and the United States Naval Academy Glee Club. However,
- 3:33she was ultimately left without a band or an instrumental track.
- 3:37The moment Underwood learned the bad news was caught on camera,
- 3:40and a clip from the ceremony shared on social media.
- 3:43Someone with a headset approaches the before he cheats singer
- 3:46as she waits for music to begin playing. As she's
- 3:49seemingly told the major hiccup, Underwood appears to ask just sing.
- 3:53She then adds, I can just sing it? Did Jesus
- 3:56take the wheel? Shantous then addressed the assembled guests, saying,
- 4:00you know the words. Help me out here. She went
- 4:02on to sing a few verses of the patriotic song
- 4:05with the help from the crowd. Underwood received reassurance after
- 4:09the song ended from former President Joe Biden, who mouthed
- 4:12great job as Underwood shook his hand. She then greeted
- 4:15President Trump and Vice President j d. Vance. The awkward
- 4:19silent moment during which Underwood waited for the music to play,
- 4:21lasted for nearly a minute. At one point, a track started,
- 4:24but then it quickly cut out. After the incident, Today
- 4:28host Savannah Guthrie weighed in during NBC's broadcast, we just
- 4:32have to mention an unplanned part of the ceremony that
- 4:34took place a few moments ago. There was a pause
- 4:37right before Carrie Underwood was meant to sing. It seems
- 4:40as though there was some kind of problem with the
- 4:41accompaniment of the band that was supposed to play along
- 4:44with her. Guthrie told viewers, so yes, spontaneously, she sang
- 4:49a cappella with a few scattered voices. The star spoke
- 4:52about her decision to perform at Trump's inauguration and a
- 4:55statement to The Post last Monday. I love our country
- 4:58and a honor to have been asked to sing at
- 4:59the bauguration and to be a small part of this
- 5:01historic event. Underwood set at the time, I am humbled
- 5:04to answer the call at a time when we must
- 5:06all come together in the spirit of unity and looking
- 5:09to the future. Underwood is not revealed whether she voted
- 5:12for Trump and the recent elections. She has previously said
- 5:16she tried to remain publicly apolitical. I try to stay
- 5:20as far out of politics as possible, at least in public,
- 5:23because nobody wins, she told The Guardian back in twenty nineteen.
- 5:27Trump's inauguration featured two other musical acts. In addition to Underwood,
- 5:31Lee Greenwood sang God Bless the USA, and opera singer
- 5:34Christopher Amaccio belted out the national anthem. Now he mosey
- 5:39over to countrynow dot com with the first article dated
- 5:41back to January seventeenth. Dale Earnhardt Junior and Chris Stapleton
- 5:47unveiled number forty Traveler Whiskey Chevrolet for the twenty twenty
- 5:51five Daytona five hundred. Dale Earnhardt Junior, president of professional
- 5:55race team JR Motorsports, has teamed up with country superstar
- 5:59Christ Stapleton and Buffalo Trace Distillery for the highly anticipated
- 6:04Daytona five hundred. This will mark the first time that
- 6:08Earnhardt Junior and his sister Kelly earnhart Miller have entered
- 6:11a race in the Cup Series as team owners of JRM.
- 6:14To celebrate this milestone, the NASCAR Hall of Famer and
- 6:17two times Daytona five hundred winner has announced that JRM
- 6:20will field a number forty Traveler Whiskey Chevrolet inspired by
- 6:24Stapleton's Premium Whiskey with Buffalo Trace Distillery, raining and defending
- 6:29NASCAR Roxfinity Series champion Justin Algyer will be behind the
- 6:33wheel for JRM as they embark on the Great American Race.
- 6:38This is an incredible honor to be driving JR motorsports
- 6:40inaugural entry into the Cup Series, and to do it
- 6:43with not only Dale and Kelly, but with Chris Stapleton
- 6:47and Traveler Whiskey makes this even more special, said Algier.
- 6:50Entering into the Daytona five hundred has been a goal
- 6:52of this company for a long time, and I know
- 6:55that we're going to have everything we need to go
- 6:56out and contend for the win. This is going to
- 6:59be special for sure. Hailing from Riverton, Illinois, Algier is
- 7:03a highly decorated driver with a slew of achievements on
- 7:06his resume. His impressive career highlights include being the reigning
- 7:10NXS champion, five time recipient of the fan voted NXS
- 7:13Most Popular Driver Award, the all time NXS series leader
- 7:17in top ten finishes, and JRM's all time leader and wins.
- 7:22This won't be Algier's first time competing in the Cup Series,
- 7:25as he previously raced full time at the highest level
- 7:28of North American Motorsports during the twenty fourteen and fifteen seasons.
- 7:32More recently, in twenty twenty four, he stepped in as
- 7:35a substitute for the twenty twenty one Cup Series champion
- 7:38Kyle Larson at Charlotte motors Speedway, where he finished in
- 7:41the thirteenth position. We've been waiting for the right moment
- 7:46for JR Motorsports at Earnhardt Junior. With Justin winning the
- 7:49Xfinity Series Championship and Chris Stapleton's undeniable star power, the
- 7:54planets aligned for this perfect opportunity to enter this year's
- 7:56Daytona five hundred. The car's design that will be shcase
- 8:00across the track by the veteran driver is inspired by
- 8:03the collaboration between Buffalo Trace Distillery and Stapleton, known as Traveler,
- 8:08named after the ten time Grammy winner's debut album. The
- 8:11bottles of Blend Number forty were created using a unique
- 8:14combination of Whiskey's hands selected from the Sazarak Company's award
- 8:18winning distilleries. The spirit offers a flavor profile featuring notes
- 8:22of oak, sweet, maple, tart, current, and leather in addition
- 8:26to Aroma's of vanilla, aged fruit, buttery, short bread, and caramel.
- 8:30The inclusion of spice, toasted nut, and oak flavors also
- 8:33adds a touch of sweetness. Since its debutne January twenty
- 8:38twenty four, Traveler earned the distinction of most awarded super
- 8:41Premium whiskey with fifteen accolades, including the Master Medal from
- 8:45the Luxury Masters and Best in Class Gold Award at
- 8:48the twenty twenty four Whiskies of the World competition. Traveler
- 8:52Whiskey joining JR. Motorsports for their inaugural entry into the
- 8:55Cup Series at the Daytona five hundred feels like a
- 8:57very natural partnership, said Stapleton. I'm honored to be part
- 9:01of this historic moment with Dale and Kelly and excited
- 9:04to see justin race the number forty Traveler Whiskey Chevrolet
- 9:07in Daytona. J r m's pursuit of the Daytona five
- 9:10hundred is representative of the new leadership Earnhardt Junior and
- 9:13Earnhart Miller have brought to the organization. There was a
- 9:16result of their work in the NASCAR Infinity Series. J
- 9:19RM is racked up eighty eight victories and four championships
- 9:22with drivers such as Chase Elliott, William Byron, Tyler Reddick,
- 9:26and Justin Algier. In addition to this being a major
- 9:29race because of j r M's debut, it will also
- 9:31serve as a sentimental event for the siblings whose father,
- 9:34Dale Earnhardt, died while competing in the twenty two thousand
- 9:38and one Daytona five hundred. Traveler whiskey is also available
- 9:42for purchase in bars and restaurants, of course, through Sazax
- 9:45United States and global distributor networks at a suggested retail
- 9:49price of thirty nine ninety nine plus taxes. Moving on
- 9:54honky Tonk Hollywood, John Party's most grown up album yet
- 9:58arrives this spring, John Party has finally unveiled details surrounding
- 10:03his highly anticipated fifth studio album, honky Tonk Hollywood, out
- 10:08on April eleventh. The seventeen track project embodies Party's signature sound,
- 10:12but with a new spark. For this project, the California
- 10:15born star teamed up with lauded producer Jay Joyce to
- 10:19bring his music to the next level. All my albums
- 10:22have been rock and roll with the country flare. This
- 10:24one keeps on rock and Party shared it's also the
- 10:27most grown up record I've ever made all my soul. Basically,
- 10:31Honky Tonk Hollywood is for the Nashville that's in my blood,
- 10:34and it's also a nod to my California roots, and
- 10:37right now, more than ever, I hope it's a way
- 10:39to honor and lift up the people of my home state.
- 10:42Leaving the traditional Nashville recording process behind, Party and his
- 10:46touring band spent three solid weeks in the studio perfecting
- 10:49every note. We did what we wanted and it stands
- 10:52out because of it, he added, Taking the chance paid off,
- 10:55and I want to kind of keep it that way.
- 10:57The Honky Talk Hollywood track list boots off Friday Night, Heartbreaker,
- 11:02She gets to drinking, gambling man Hey, California Rush, She
- 11:06drives away, He went to work, Last Call Thing. Honky
- 11:09Tonk Hollywood, Love the Lights out, nice place to visit,
- 11:13Hard Knocks, Don't you want to know? Barroom Blue? Who do?
- 11:18I don't want to be and kind of want to
- 11:20keep it that way. Honky Talk Hollywood follows Capitol Records
- 11:23Nashville Artists twenty twenty two project Mister Saturday Night, which
- 11:27spawned hits like Lace, Last Night, Lonely, and Your Heart
- 11:30or Mine. Fans first got a taste of the new
- 11:33album with the release of Friday Night Heartbreaker last fall.
- 11:37He recently brought a new jingle to life with music
- 11:39video shot in Nashville's infamous Printer's Alley. The clip was
- 11:43filmed by Jim Wright and features a unique set of characters.
- 11:46I always enjoy filming with Jim Wright, even if it
- 11:49means being in Printer's Alley until two am, said Party,
- 11:53You really sees wild characters down there at that hour.
- 11:56One of my favorite parts of the shoot was chatting
- 11:58with the actors and actresses who form the circus stunts.
- 12:01They were amazing. Party later joked that his only responsibility
- 12:05for the video was to play guitar and drive a
- 12:07cool car while the circus acts stole the show by
- 12:09breathing fire and swallowing swords. It was awesome to watch
- 12:13it all come together. Party equipped. Following a string of
- 12:16headlining shows in the US and Australia, including a standout
- 12:19performance at CMC Rocks this spring, the multi platinum country
- 12:23star will launch his Honky Tonk Hollywood Tour on April
- 12:26twenty fifth. The tour will span sixteen arenas and amphitheaters
- 12:30across the US, featuring Corey Kant on select dates and
- 12:33Cassie Ashton as support. Next, Jason Aldean plots Full Throttle
- 12:39Tour twenty twenty five. Jason Aldean just unveiled plans for
- 12:44his twenty twenty five tour with special guests Nate Smith,
- 12:47Raylynn and DJ Silver. The ACM Artist of the Decade
- 12:50and three time Entertainer of the Year will launch his
- 12:53Full Throttle Tour twenty twenty five at Blossom Music Center
- 12:57in Cyoga Falls, Ohio on May twenty. The thirty day
- 13:01tour will make its way around North America. Who stops
- 13:04at Toronto's Budweiser Stage, Nashville's Bridgestone Arena, Denver's Ball Arena,
- 13:09Grand Rapids, Des Moines, Charleston, Nothing near here. Unfortunately, the
- 13:14trek will come to a close in West Palm Beach
- 13:16at i Think Financial Amphitheater on October fourth. Additionally, in
- 13:20the midst of the tour, Aldan will join Brooks and
- 13:23Dunn to co headline Fenway Park in Boston on May thirtieth.
- 13:28Tickets for Aldean's Full Throttle Tour twenty five will go
- 13:31on sales starting with the artist pre sale on Wednesday.
- 13:35Additional pre sales will take place throughout the week next.
- 13:39Tim McGraw to headline first ever concert event at the
- 13:43Iconic Field of Dreams Farm. Tim McGraw is set to
- 13:47deliver a historic performance that combines his love for music
- 13:51with his deep connection with baseball. On January sixteenth, the
- 13:55US Concert Agency, along with their ticketing partner stub Hub,
- 13:59announced that McGraw as the headliner for the first ever
- 14:02all day concert event at the Iconic Field of Dreams
- 14:05in Dyersville, Iowa on August thirtieth. The three times Grammy
- 14:09Award winner will bring his must see live show to
- 14:12the one hundred ninety three acre farm that has become
- 14:15a symbol of American culture. The lucky attendees will get
- 14:18to experience a once in a lifetime event that is
- 14:20slated to offer more than just a night of live
- 14:22country music. It also presents fellow music and baseball lovers
- 14:26with a rare opportunity to step foot onto the iconic
- 14:29location made famous, of course, by the movie and join
- 14:32in the history making moment. This is destined to be
- 14:35an unforgettable performance for McGraw not only because of his
- 14:38passion for the sport, but it also falls on what
- 14:42would be his father in MLB legend, Tug McGraw's eighty
- 14:45first birthday. Tug, of course, played as a relief pitcher
- 14:49in the major leagues from nineteen sixty five to nineteen
- 14:51eighty four. He won World Series championships with both the
- 14:55New York Mets in nineteen sixty nine and the Philadelphia
- 14:58Phillies in nineteen eighty and is known for, as you
- 15:00gotta believe catchphrase, the standing room only. Singer and his
- 15:04father had a complicated relationship throughout their time together. In fact,
- 15:08McGraw didn't even know Tug was his biological father until
- 15:11he was eleven years old. Once he turned seventeen, the
- 15:14pair grew closer, and Tug even helped kickstart his son's
- 15:18music career. Unfortunately, in two thousand and four, Tug passed
- 15:22away from brain cancer at age fifty nine. He has
- 15:25since been inducted into the New York Mets Hall of
- 15:28Fame and the Philadelphia Sports Hall of Fame. Tug Yers,
- 15:32playing for the Mets and Phillies left an indelible mark
- 15:34on the game, and his legacy will be honored by
- 15:36his son in this Unforgettable celebration. Additional opening acts will
- 15:41be announced in the coming weeks. USCA has partnered with
- 15:46stub Hub as the official ticket partner for the event.
- 15:49Starting this past January twentieth, tickets went on sale available
- 15:53through Stubhub's platform. We are beyond excited to kick off
- 15:57this partnership with stub Hub, said but founder of USCA.
- 16:02With the world class technology and reach, it will be
- 16:04easier than ever for fans to access tickets to this
- 16:07Unforgettable event, as well as many more in the years
- 16:10to come. We always strive to curate memorable and impactful events,
- 16:14and this tribute to Tug McGraw's legacy is no exception.
- 16:18It's a huge moment not only for the fans, but
- 16:20for Tim as well, and just the beginning of something
- 16:22truly special. Additionally, this concert kicks off a multi year
- 16:27partnership between USCA and stub Hub, paving the way for
- 16:30future events designed to deliver even more unforgettable live experiences
- 16:34for fans. Now we move over to saving country music
- 16:38with the first article also dated back on January seventeenth,
- 16:41Country music's pre eminent duet partner, Melba Montgomery has died.
- 16:46Before there was Conway Twitty and Loretta Lana, before there
- 16:49was George Jones and Tammy Wynette, it was George Jones
- 16:53and Melba Montgomery who helped set the standard for duets
- 16:55in the country music discipline. With her strong dimples and
- 16:59confident voice, Melbah helped to make the men she sang
- 17:02with stars. It was a nineteen seventy one when both
- 17:05Conway and Loretta and George and Tammy went on their
- 17:08magical runs of country duo records. But eight years before,
- 17:12in nineteen sixty three, Melbourn started recording a series of
- 17:15albums and songs with George Jones herself. George heard Melbourn's
- 17:19music and immediately believed in her, convincing producer Pappy Daily
- 17:23to sign her to United Artists Records. The duo would
- 17:27go on to release four collaborative albums together between nineteen
- 17:31sixty three and sixty seven. Some of their most famous
- 17:34songs include we Must Have Been Out of Our Minds,
- 17:36written by Montgomery that went on to be covered by
- 17:39scores of other duet partners, along with Let's Invite Them
- 17:42Over and You Comb Her Hair. It really was the
- 17:45pairing of George Jones and Melbourne Montgomery that forged the
- 17:48themes of male female duos and country as a mix
- 17:51of infidelity and comedy. During the same period, Montgomery paired
- 17:56with Gene Pitney on an album called Being Together in
- 17:58nineteen sixty five, with the marriage of George Jones and
- 18:02Tammy Wynette launching their duet era, Melburn Montgomery moved on
- 18:05to record two duet albums in nineteen seventy one with
- 18:08Charlie Lovin. This whole time, Montgomery also had a solo
- 18:12career and released solo albums, thanks in part to her
- 18:15popularity through George Jones. But how MELBURNA. Montgomery remained to
- 18:19be known best was as a duet partner. She was
- 18:23nearly perfect at matching male voices for harmony because she
- 18:26was raised doing it. Born in Iron City, Tennessee, Melburn Montgomery.
- 18:31She grew up in Florence, Alabama, in a musical family,
- 18:34including her father, who was a singing teacher at the
- 18:37local church. Montgomery received a guitar at the age of
- 18:40ten and regularly performed with her brothers Carl and Earl
- 18:43Peanut Montgomery as a trio, officially forming a group together
- 18:47in the late teens. When Montgomery was twenty, her and
- 18:50her brother performed in a talent contest at the WSM
- 18:53Studios in Nashville and impressed Grand Old Opry patriarch Roy Aycoff.
- 18:58Aycoff decided to hire Melbourne as his heuring harmony singer,
- 19:01and Montgomery performed with a cuff regularly from nineteen fifty
- 19:04eight to sixty two. This gave Melbury the experience she
- 19:08needed in the industry, but it wasn't until George Jones
- 19:10chose to share the billing with Melba that she became
- 19:13a star in country. Throughout the nineteen sixties, Melburn Montgomery
- 19:17released her own singles through multiple labels, including Hall of
- 19:20Shame and The Greatest One of All That made it
- 19:22to number twenty two and number twenty six on the
- 19:25country charts, respectively. Her sound both as a solo artist
- 19:29and a duet partner. Was hard country, which won her
- 19:32many fans in traditional circles, but as time went on
- 19:35she became somewhat typecast as a duet singer. There which
- 19:38is something about Melbourne singing with men that made both
- 19:40voices greater than the sum of their parts. Then, in
- 19:44nineteen seventy four, songwriter Harlan Howard brought Montgomery a song
- 19:47called No Charge that he'd written for her personally. The
- 19:51song featured Melbury taking or talking in her strong Southern accent,
- 19:55ringing off the price for chores performed by her little boy,
- 19:58before breaking into singing in the chorus. There was a
- 20:00sweetness to the song that helped shoot it straight to
- 20:03number one and gave Melba Montgomery a solo hit on
- 20:06all on her own. Montgomery would have another hit briefly
- 20:10in nineteen seventy five with Don't let the Good Times
- 20:13Fool You, but the commercial success of her solo career
- 20:16was brief. However, Melburgh would spend many more years contributing
- 20:20to country music, both on and off the stage. Her brothers,
- 20:23Carl and Earl Peanut Montgomery, had been working in country
- 20:25music as songwriters, and Melburagh found a second career in
- 20:28this occupation as well. George Strait, Pam Tillis, Terry Clark,
- 20:32Ronda Vincent, Patty Loveless, Sarah Evans, Travis Tritt, and others
- 20:36would all record her songs in the late eighties and nineties,
- 20:39while she co wrote songs with legendary songwriters such as
- 20:42Costas Him Lauderdale and especially bluegrass artist Carl Jackson. Montgomery
- 20:48songwriting careers as much a part of her legacy as anything,
- 20:51and this whole time, Melburgh continued to record and release
- 20:54albums on independent labels. In nineteen ninety nine, when John
- 20:58Prime did his famous album of country duet What's Called
- 21:00In Spite of Ourselves, he solicited Melburn Montgomery to sing
- 21:03with him on the song She's made famous with George Jones,
- 21:06we must Have Been Out of Our Minds. As a
- 21:09studio harmony singer, Montgomery worked with Randy Travis and Emmy
- 21:12Lou Harris, among others. Though Melburn Montgomery was mostly known
- 21:16as a duet partner, she was also considered in her
- 21:19era as one of the first ladies of country music,
- 21:22right beside Loretta Lynn and Tammy Wynette. She may never
- 21:25have forged the landmark solo career similar to the other
- 21:27first ladies of the era, but her contributions to country
- 21:30music are worthy of remembering, all on their own and
- 21:33as equal to the careers she helped launch through the
- 21:36contributions of her voice. Next, the twenty twenty five Harley
- 21:41Davidson Homecoming Fest just got interesting. Earlier in January, when
- 21:45they first announced the twenty twenty five Harley Davidson Homecoming
- 21:49Festival with headliners Chris Stapleton and Hank Williams Junior, you thought, okay, cool,
- 21:54but it was a festival that could either break towards
- 21:56a mainstream lineup or an independent one. After all, last
- 22:00year they had Jelly Roll and Warren Zeeders. Would you
- 22:03get your hopes up and book a hotel in Harley
- 22:05Davidson's hometown of Milwaukee for July tenth through thirteenth, only
- 22:09to find the undercard filled out by Mitchell Tenpenny nickelback
- 22:12in a triumphant return of Florida Georgia line Or would
- 22:16they know What's really up in modern country music? While
- 22:19the latter appears to be the case, as the second
- 22:21wave of talent they've announced includes The Turnpike, Troubadours, Charlie Wesland, Godwin,
- 22:26siriaar Farrell, Treaty Oak Revival forty nine, Winchester Old Sixty,
- 22:30The drop Tones, and Kendall Marvel. In other words, it's
- 22:34the who's who of surging country and southern rock artists,
- 22:37with still more performers to announce. That means whoever's booking
- 22:41curating this thing has done their homework and knows their stuff,
- 22:44says Saving Country Music. Sure, if you're paying any attention,
- 22:47you know about Turnpike and Sierra Ferrell, but to hit
- 22:50on the drop Tones means you've really done your research.
- 22:52Let's hope the rest of the lineup comes together with
- 22:55similar results. The Homecoming Festival will be held in Veterans
- 22:58Park and Milwaukee, Wisconsin, and with other events happening at
- 23:01the Harley Davidson Museum and Headquarters, including free events. Now
- 23:06we move over to people dot com Country with the
- 23:08first article dated January twenty second. Bailey Zimmerman apologizes after
- 23:14awful drunk performance at music festival I Let You All Down.
- 23:19Bailey Zimmerman has issued an apology to fans after he
- 23:22performed drunk at the Crash My Play, a music festival
- 23:25in Cancun, Mexico. Three days after the performance, which went
- 23:29viral on social media thanks to the country stars off
- 23:32key singing, Zimmerman shared a video to Instagram admitting that
- 23:35while he was embarrassed by the situation, he'd been raised
- 23:39to hit my problems head on. I'd like to talk
- 23:42about something that's been eating me alive last weekend down
- 23:45in Cancun. I'm sure everybody's seen the videos of me
- 23:47playing absolutely awful and singing absolutely awful, and I feel
- 23:51like you guys deserve an explanation from me, because you've
- 23:54had my back through the highs and lows and through
- 23:56every mistake. The Rock and a Hard Play singer now
- 23:59twenty four or explained that he'd been drinking earlier in
- 24:01the day, which he now knows was a mistake. I
- 24:05got up on stage and I was too drunk to play,
- 24:07and I sang awful. I played awful, he said. Nobody
- 24:10got the show that they wanted or paid for, and
- 24:12I'm disappointed in myself. Zimmerman went on to say that
- 24:15while embarrassed by the performance, he is now focused on
- 24:18making sure it doesn't happen again. I want to show you, guys,
- 24:21to the person that I truly am, So I'm just
- 24:24asking for a little bit of grace. Man. Growing up
- 24:26is interesting. It's not an excuse, but man, thank you
- 24:28to everybody that's got my back. Thank you for staying,
- 24:31thank you for showing me loving grace. And we're going
- 24:33to crush this year. But yeah, I just wanted to
- 24:35say I'm sorry. I freaking love you guys more than
- 24:38anything in the world, and I don't want to lose you,
- 24:40so forgive me. I love you. Next. Taylor Swift and
- 24:45Morgan Wallen lead twenty twenty five iHeart Radio Music Awards nominations,
- 24:50as Lady Gaga and Maria Carey earn honors. The nominations
- 24:55are in for the twenty twenty five iHeartRadio Music Awards.
- 24:58The annual awards show se lebrates the most played artists
- 25:01and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app through
- 25:05twenty twenty four. This year's slate of nominated stars runs
- 25:08the gamut from pop music royalty to country and hip
- 25:12hop superstars. Taylor Swift and Morgan Wallan are tied for
- 25:15the most nominations with ten each. Trailing them are Kendrick Lamar,
- 25:19Post Malone, and Sabrina Carpenter, who each have nine k noods.
- 25:23Swift is also the recipient of a new award called
- 25:25Tour of the Century, which honors her record Chattering Heres Tour.
- 25:29Lady Gaga is set to receive the twenty twenty five
- 25:32iHeartRadio Innovator Award, while Maria I Carrey will be honored
- 25:36with a twenty twenty five iHeartRadio Icon Award. Past Innovator
- 25:40recipients include Swift, Beyonce, U two, and Elie Sha Keys,
- 25:44while past Icon Award winners include cher Elton, John bon Jovi,
- 25:48and Moore. Artists up for Song of the Year include Shaboozi, Doja,
- 25:52Cat Benson, Boone, Carpenter, Tate McCrae, Malone, and Wallen Teddy
- 25:57Swims also along with Jack Harlow, Lamar and Hosier. This
- 26:01year's show includes five socially voted awards Favorite Soundtrack, Favorite
- 26:05Broadway Debut, Favorite Surprise Guest, Favorite Tour Tradition, and Favorite
- 26:10K Pop Dance Challenge. It will also pay tribute to
- 26:13the resiliency and rebuilding of Los Angeles following the devastating
- 26:17wildfires and will drive donations to fireaidla dot com, according
- 26:22to the release. Finally, Kenny Chesney recalls bait and switch
- 26:27he had to pull on Taylor Swift early in her career.
- 26:32Kenny Chesney still holding out on Taylor Swift's IOU. During
- 26:36an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, the
- 26:38country star recalled having to remove her from his tour
- 26:41and raved about how much she's grown as an artist.
- 26:45When Swift was booked to go on tour with Chesney,
- 26:47the tour was sponsored by a beer company when she
- 26:49was a miner. The company said she couldn't join him
- 26:52because she was only seventeen. I had to call Taylor
- 26:55personally and tell her she couldn't go on tour with me,
- 26:58which now seems absurd, right, he remembered on the show
- 27:01on Thursday. However, Chesney felt awful about telling Swift she
- 27:04couldn't join him because she was going to lose some money.
- 27:08To make up for the loss, the country singer gave
- 27:10her a specific amount of money. Later that same year,
- 27:13Chesney and Swift were both nominated for CMA Entertainer of
- 27:16the Year well she won Chesney continued, so backstage, I
- 27:20went up to her and gave her a big hug.
- 27:22I said, congratulations, but give me my money back, he joked.
- 27:26In the twenty twenty three Time Person of the Year
- 27:28cover story, Swift alluded to Chesney's generosity. The fourteen time
- 27:32Grammy winner recalled the note Chesney sent her with the
- 27:35news that left her mother weeping. I'm sorry that you
- 27:37couldn't come on the tour, so I wanted to make
- 27:39it up to you. The note read, which included a check.
- 27:42With the note was a check. It was for more
- 27:44money than I'd ever seen in my life. I was
- 27:47able to pay my band bonuses. I was able to
- 27:49pay for my tour buses. I was able to fuel
- 27:52my dreams. After the U and Tequila singer Reddit he
- 27:55was stunned that Swift remembered what had happened. To see
- 27:58what she did with that, and the person she is now,
- 28:00and the artist she is now, and the creator she
- 28:02is now. It's unbelievable what she has become, he told
- 28:05USA Today. Jesney added that he knew Swift had something
- 28:08when he first met her. I knew that she was
- 28:10very driven. I knew that she was a really good songwriter,
- 28:12he said while on Jimmy Fallon's show. Nobody knows that
- 28:15a person has the ability to really touch the world
- 28:18like Taylor has. Swift wrapped up her record breaking continent
- 28:22spanning eras to her this past December. Meanwhile, Chesney has
- 28:25just announced a limited residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas,
- 28:28kicking off in May. Well, this concludes the reading of
- 28:32Country Weekly for this week. If you have any comments
- 28:35or suggestions about our program, kindly call us at eight
- 28:38five nine four two two six three nine zero. Thank
- 28:42you for joining me and on behalf of everyone here
- 28:45at RADIOI. This is Ken Dawkins wishing you a great day.