Latest / Country Weekly / 10.24.25
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Howdy, It's time once again to catch up with Country Weekly,
- 0:09where we check out news and gossip from the world
- 0:12of country music. I'm your host as always, Ken Dawkins,
- 0:16and I'll be reading from various sources found online now.
- 0:20As a reminder, RADIOI is a reading service intended for
- 0:23people who are blind or have other disabilities that make
- 0:26it difficult to read printed material. We'll begin with the
- 0:29first article, dated October twentieth. This is from l exaighteen
- 0:34dot com. Tyler Childers and the Lumineers the headline Railbird
- 0:38Music Festival in twenty twenty six. You may have heard
- 0:42this story already, with Tyler Childers and the Lumineers will
- 0:45headline the Railbird Music Festival next year, taking place June
- 0:49sixth and seventh at the Infield at Red Mile in Lexington.
- 0:53The festival feature more than thirty artists across three stages,
- 0:57including performances by Zach Topp, Ela Langley Camp, Mountjoy, Sam Barber, Muscadine, Bloodline,
- 1:04Stephen Wilson, Junior, Houndmouth, Robert Earl, Keene, Shane Smith and
- 1:08The Saints, The Wallflowers, Margot Price, Watchhouse, Shaky Graves, Waylon
- 1:13Wyatt and Evan Hohner. The event will be held on
- 1:17the infield of the Iconic Horse Racetrack and will include
- 1:20curated bourbon experiences throughout the festival celebrating the spirit of Kentucky.
- 1:26Tickets went on sale this past Wednesday. Now we continue
- 1:30by moving on over to countrynow dot com with the
- 1:33first article also published on October twentieth. Kenny Chesney, Tony Brown,
- 1:37and June Carter Cash officially inducted into the Country Music
- 1:41Hall of Fame. It was a special night in Nashville
- 1:45on Sunday evening, as Tony Brown, June Carter Cash, and
- 1:48Kenny Chesney were formerly inducted into the Country Music Hall
- 1:51of Fame. During the Star Studied Medallion ceremony in the
- 1:54Country Music Hall of Fame and Museums CMA Theater, dozens
- 1:59of Country Music Hall Fame members, special guests, family and
- 2:02friends were gathered together in celebration of a one hundred
- 2:06and fifty sixth, one hundred and fifty seventh, and one
- 2:09hundred and fifty eighth members of the Country Music Hall
- 2:12of Fame, country music's highest distinction. The evening began with
- 2:17a portion honoring the late June Carter Cash, who was
- 2:19welcomed into the Veteran's Era Artist category. Her segment featured
- 2:24a series of moving tributes, beginning with Casey Musgraves and
- 2:27Daniel Tashan performing Ring of Fire, followed by keb Moe
- 2:30and Ruby Amanfu with Keep on the Sunny Side, and
- 2:33Lucas Nelson closing the set with it Ain't Me Babe.
- 2:37Country Music Hall of Fame member Emmy Lou Harris then
- 2:40took the stage for the Mendallion presentation. It's really truly
- 2:44a privilege to stand before you this evening as we
- 2:47honor my beautiful friend, June Carter Cash, Harris began. She
- 2:51went on to remember June's kind hearted, nurturing spirit and
- 2:54her often competitive side, recalling a few intense scrabble games
- 2:58they once played together. June was, of course the ultimate
- 3:01Southern hostess, attending to our every need and comfort. That
- 3:05is until she brought out the scrabble board and then
- 3:08all bets were off, she laughed. Harris said she was
- 3:11thrilled to take part in the long awaited opportunity to
- 3:13celebrate her dear friend and welcomed John Carter Cash and
- 3:16Carlene Carter to the stage. To accept the medallion on
- 3:19their mother's behalf. Mom would love this. She's here, I
- 3:23know in everyone's heart here tonight because I know she
- 3:26made a difference in this world. I know she made
- 3:28a difference in Nashville and in the music community they
- 3:31collectively shared. Music executive and famed record producer Tony Brown
- 3:36was welcomed into the non performer category following a string
- 3:39of stunning tributes. Lyle Lovett honored him with a performance
- 3:43of If I Had a Boat. Steve Earle followed with
- 3:45Guitar Town. Trusha Yearwood performed Perfect Love, and Country Music
- 3:50Hall of Fame member George Straight closed the segment with Troubadour.
- 3:54Straight delivered a short speech prior to his performance, telling Brown, Tony,
- 3:58you are the man. I have appreciate all the records
- 4:01that we were able to make together. I had so
- 4:03much fun with you in the studio, and a lot
- 4:04of these guys up here played on a bunch of
- 4:07them too, and you're just an amazing producer Tony and
- 4:10a great friend. Country Music Hall of Fame member Vince
- 4:14Gill brought both laughs and heartfelt moments during Brown's medallion presentation,
- 4:18reflecting on their decades long friendship and Brown's impact on
- 4:22his life and career. I was trying to get a
- 4:25pop record deal out in LA and nobody wanted to
- 4:27hire and overweight high singer to a record deal. And
- 4:30every time I would talk to Tony about wanting to
- 4:32be an artist, it never really crossed my mind before that.
- 4:35He said you should be a country singer, Gil recalled.
- 4:38He said, everything you do is country, you talk country,
- 4:41everything you say is country. He said, you and you
- 4:44would never fit in in leather pants anyway. With Brown's
- 4:48encouragement and guidance, Gill later went on to sign with
- 4:50mc A Nashville under Brown's reign, and the two enjoyed
- 4:54a stellar run on the charts together. It was only
- 4:56fitting that Gil was the one to welcome Brown into
- 4:59the hall. Brown kept his speech short and sweet, but
- 5:02incredibly impactful. Well, needless to say, I've had some big
- 5:06things happen in my life. This is by far the biggest.
- 5:09For years, everybody thought my life my career was defined
- 5:12by playing for Elvis Presley. Now my career is defined
- 5:16by being elected into the Country Music Hall of Fame,
- 5:19he stated. Meanwhile, Modern Era Artist Category inductee Kenny Chesney
- 5:23sat between his mother and father in the front row
- 5:26as three of his dear friends and former tour mats
- 5:29delivered surprise performances in his honor. Kelsey Ballerini performed Somewhere
- 5:34with You, Megan Maroney offered a heartfelt rendition of Knowing You,
- 5:38and Eric Church, who was called just twelve hours before
- 5:41the event to fill in for another performer, took the
- 5:43stage for a medley of I Go Back, Anything but Mine, ELP,
- 5:47Theorrito Place, Never Wanted Nothing More and the Boys of Fall.
- 5:52Eric Church joked with the crowd about getting the last
- 5:54minute call, admitting he was winging it. He went on
- 5:57to share a memory of the first time he saw
- 5:58Kenny Chesney live during the George Strait Music Festival in Clemson,
- 6:02South Carolina, and how it left left a lasting impact.
- 6:07I watched reality change, Church recalled, describing how Chesney's performance
- 6:12transformed the entire crowd. Chesney's long time friend and former
- 6:16label president Country Music Hall of Fame member Joe Glatte,
- 6:20was on hand to present the East Tennessee native with
- 6:22the medallion, officially welcoming him as a member of the
- 6:25Country Music Hall of Fame. An emotional Chesney called a
- 6:29moment overwhelming as he delivered in a nearly fifteen minute,
- 6:32heartfelt speech reflecting on his journey and the people who
- 6:35made it possible, his friends, his family, road crew, manager, publicist,
- 6:39and Moore. It was clear this honor meant the world
- 6:42to him. The truth is, I've never really let myself
- 6:45sit in accomplishment very much. I've always been very creative,
- 6:48very driven. But to night, I can tell you walking
- 6:50into that rotunda and taking the group shot with a
- 6:53lot of my heroes and a lot of my friends,
- 6:55it was the first time that I have ever felt
- 6:57accomplished in my life, he shared, later, admitting, it's an
- 7:01unbelievable feeling to stand here at this moment, and with
- 7:04every cell in my body, I feel the gravity of
- 7:06the moment. Standing at the podium, a humble Chesney expressed
- 7:10gratitude to the many people who helped him along the way,
- 7:13before closing his speech in a fitting way as applause
- 7:17filled the room, Chesney shared, I know I didn't get
- 7:19here alone, and I'm honored tonight to be in the
- 7:22Country Music Hall of Fame. Thank you guys. The medallion
- 7:26ceremony wrapped up with a moving performance of Will the
- 7:28Circle Be Unbroken? Led by Country Music Hall of Fame
- 7:31member John Anderson. The Medallion All Star Band provided the
- 7:35music for the evening, featuring an impressive lineup of musicians
- 7:38Paul Franklin on steel guitar, Jen Gunderman on keyboards, Tanya
- 7:42hencher Off on vocals, Brent Mason on electric guitar, Jerry
- 7:46Pentecost on drums, Alison Prestwood on bass, Deanie richardson fiddle
- 7:50and mandolin, Michael Roberts vocals, Biff Watson bandleader and acoustic guitar,
- 7:55Jeff White on acoustic guitar and vocals, and Charlie Worsham
- 7:59on guitar and vocals. Next, Tucker Wetmore plots the Brunette
- 8:05World Tour for twenty twenty six. After spending the past
- 8:09year performing at major festivals, selling out his headlining debut
- 8:12with the historic Ryman Auditorium and serving as support for
- 8:16Thomas Rhett, Tucker Wetmore is ready to embark on his
- 8:18next headline run next year. Today, the rising country star
- 8:22announced his twenty two stop headlining tour called the Brunette
- 8:27World Tour, named after his fan favorite hit the trek
- 8:30is set to launch on February twelfth in Boston and
- 8:33continues through April with stops across the US, EU and UK.
- 8:38Wetmore will be joined by special guests Dasha Carter Faith
- 8:41and Jacob Hackworth for select dates. The twenty twenty five
- 8:46CMA New Artist of the Year nominee is quickly earned
- 8:48a reputation as one of the country music's most electric
- 8:51live performers, and it appears he plans to uphold that
- 8:54title on his upcoming tour. I've been lucky to play
- 8:58these songs for fans all over the country in the
- 9:00past year and a half. But getting to headline my
- 9:02own tour and take it to the fans and the
- 9:04UK and Europe for the first time, well that's something
- 9:06I've dreamed about for a long time, shares Wetmore. I'm
- 9:10bringing some of my favorite people out on the road
- 9:12with me, and you can bet we're going to make
- 9:14it a party every night. Tickets for the US leg
- 9:17of the Brunette World Tour go on pre sale or
- 9:20did this Wednesdays past Wednesday. Tickets will be available for
- 9:23purchase at ww Tuckerwetmore dot com. The announcement of The
- 9:28Brunette World Tour arrives less than two years after Tucker
- 9:31Wetmore made his explosive debut on the country scene in
- 9:34March of twenty twenty four. The momentum continued into April
- 9:38when he released his record breaking first album, What Not To,
- 9:41via Black Blocks Music MCA Mercury Records. The album made
- 9:45History is the biggest country album debut from a new
- 9:47artist in twenty twenty five. It debuted at number fifteen
- 9:51on Billboard's All Genre two hundred Albums chart and helped
- 9:54Wetmore amass over one point four billion global streams in
- 9:58just over a year. After scoring his first country radio
- 10:02number one with wind Up Missing You, his follow up
- 10:04single three two one continues its rise, reaching number nine
- 10:08this week. Well More illness in the country music world
- 10:13as Mark Chesnut cancels shows following hospitalization issues. Health update.
- 10:20Mark Chesnut has been forced to cancel several upcoming concerts
- 10:23after being hospitalized unexpectedly. According to his statement to Country
- 10:27Now from the country singer's publicist Don Murray Grubbs, Chestnut
- 10:31was set to open for Alabama at the Raising Kines
- 10:33River Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, on Thursday but fell
- 10:37short that's a week ago, but fell ill shortly after
- 10:40his flight landed. Upon being admitted to the hospital, doctors
- 10:44discovered that he was suffering from a low sodium count
- 10:47and very high blood pressure. In addition to the Louisiana concert,
- 10:52Chesnut also canceled his previously scheduled performance in New Mexico
- 10:55on Sunday, October eighteenth. The official statement reads, Mark One's
- 11:00to apologize to the fans who came to see him
- 11:02in Baton Rouge and also those who had planned to
- 11:04see him yesterday in Portalis, New Mexico. He hopes to
- 11:08be back on the road and perform in both cities soon.
- 11:11The sixty two year old is currently stabilized and was
- 11:14released from the hospital ver recently. He's currently back home
- 11:17in Beaumont, Texas, and plans to visit his doctor for
- 11:20more follow up tests on sodium levels and blood pressure.
- 11:23After they get the low sodium and high blood pressure
- 11:26under control, he'll be good to go. His publicist ads
- 11:30it's currently unclear if any other upcoming shows will be
- 11:32impacted by Mark Chestnut's latest health update. He currently has
- 11:35a slew of date schedule through February of next year.
- 11:39This week's news comes over a year after the brother
- 11:42jukebox singer underwent emergency quadrupled bypass surgery. He was reportedly
- 11:47hospitalized in June of twenty twenty four, and that was
- 11:50due to a heart health issue at that time. His
- 11:53teams shared the update with fans through social media, posting.
- 11:56Chestnut has also issued a statement addressed to fans in
- 11:59which he apologlogized for having to cancel several shows as
- 12:02a result of those health issues back in twenty four. Next,
- 12:08Chris Young celebrates renewed creativity with tenth studio album. Almost
- 12:13two decades into his career, Chris Young is proving that
- 12:16instead of slowing down, he's raising the bar with his
- 12:20tenth studio album, first with Black River Entertainment, I Didn't
- 12:23come here to Leave. Young is celebrating a fresh chapter,
- 12:27fueled by its latest wave of creativity released this week.
- 12:31The fourteen track project featuring eleven songs co written by Young,
- 12:35came together in less than a year's time. The Tennessee
- 12:38native explained to Country Now and other outlets that his
- 12:40pen never stopped even after dropping his latest project and
- 12:44scoring his fourteenth career number one, Young Love and Saturday
- 12:47Nights back in twenty four, He found that there was
- 12:50more to be said, and he decided to lean into
- 12:52whatever the creativity was leading him. It was very interesting
- 12:56for me because I had all this music I've bitten writing.
- 12:59I've been constantly right in and I was like, what
- 13:01am I doing. I've got a record out. We just
- 13:03had a number one. I don't know what's going on,
- 13:05but I'm just continuing to write more and more songs.
- 13:08And I had most of this album just teed up
- 13:10ready to go, not all of it, and I definitely
- 13:13re recorded all of the demos that I had put out.
- 13:16But that was one thing that we did do and
- 13:19spend a lot of time on. By we, I mean
- 13:21me and Andy Sherin, who co produced this. He shared,
- 13:25Young found that when recording for this record, he was
- 13:28determined to take his time to make sure he got
- 13:30it right, even if that meant doing several passes just
- 13:33to ensure every single word he was singing felt like
- 13:36his best work. It's almost I don't want to say
- 13:39this and it'd be taken out of context, but it's
- 13:41sort of a god thing. It was like upstairs new
- 13:44I needed this music, and I was just being pushed
- 13:46to create and I was like, I'm going to take January, February,
- 13:49and March off this year. Well Nope, that didn't happen,
- 13:52he added with a laugh. The level of care that's
- 13:55been put into the album is made Chris Young that
- 13:57much more excited to share it with the world because
- 13:59now many of his past albums have had that same
- 14:02level of time and effort poured into them. There's something
- 14:05special about this one. I don't know what it is.
- 14:07It just makes me happy. I love going back and
- 14:09listening to it. Normally as an artist, I feel like
- 14:12a lot of us say I get done, I don't
- 14:13go back and listen to it anymore, and I'm walking
- 14:16around to my friends going, hey, listen to this. This
- 14:19is cool, right, So I don't know. I'm just excited.
- 14:21I think this record is special, and obviously the new
- 14:24relationship with Black River is pretty incredible. On December fourth,
- 14:28twenty twenty four, it was announced that the multi platinum
- 14:30global entertainer had officially joined the Black River Entertainment roster.
- 14:34This new partnership followed Young's run with RCA Nashville, which
- 14:38served as his home since two thousand and six, but
- 14:41it was time for a change. When looking for his
- 14:44new home, Young immediately connected with Black River, who says
- 14:47he proceeded to kill me with kindness. Within that three
- 14:50hour meeting, he played the labels some songs he'd written,
- 14:52shared ideas, and by the end he had canceled any
- 14:55other meetings he had originally planned with other labels. He
- 14:58credits a big part of his new creat activity wave
- 15:00to the fresh partnership with Black River. I think that's
- 15:04a big part of why I feel not necessarily reinvigorated,
- 15:07because I've always enjoyed making music, and I've been lucky
- 15:09to do so. There's not many people that get to
- 15:12do this as long as I've been able to do it.
- 15:14It's more so from a perspective of this album just
- 15:17sort of came together in such a cool way that
- 15:19it just feels right. And I've used this quote and
- 15:21I don't mean to be labor the point, but arts
- 15:23never finished or completed. It's only abandon I feel like
- 15:27this record was completed. Young first tease the new chapter
- 15:31with Till the Last One Dies, which now serves as
- 15:34the lead single from the project and is rising on
- 15:36country radio and streaming charts. He also unveiled Jesus Mama,
- 15:40Country Radio break Lights and the title track, I didn't
- 15:44come here to leave. I just had a lot of
- 15:47fun with this song. I also thought it was a
- 15:48statement of sort to where I am at my career,
- 15:51which is weird if you think about my age compared
- 15:53to some other people that got started at least on
- 15:56a label much later than me. They're older than I am.
- 16:00Its very interesting to look at it, but I think
- 16:01that's being around for twenty years on record labels. I
- 16:04think that's indicative of that, and it sort of me
- 16:06just looking at everybody going. I still have more to say.
- 16:10Throughout the project. Fans will hear love stories like Till
- 16:13the Last One Dies, as well as songs that will
- 16:15bring happiness and songs that will evoke tears like what
- 16:18would you Take? I Hope it's okay and just keep living.
- 16:22Tapping into all these different themes is what makes the
- 16:24project a well rounded country album in Young's eyes. I
- 16:28think that's important with the country album. I think you
- 16:30have things to make you happy. I have songs that
- 16:33are going to make you want to cry and text
- 16:35your parents or your kids and just be like I
- 16:37Love You. While fans have a lot to unpack with
- 16:40this project, Young hinted that this might be the end
- 16:43of the I didn't come here to leave chapter. I
- 16:46would say that there's pretty good feeling that in the
- 16:48future there will be things added to this record, possibly,
- 16:50and I'll leave it at that, he teased. The album's
- 16:53fall release date also coincides with another special milestone, Chris
- 16:57Young's eighth anniversary of his induction into the ex busive
- 17:00membership of the Grand Old Opry. Next month, listeners will
- 17:03get to hear a few songs off the new album,
- 17:06along with some holiday classics on his first ever holiday tour,
- 17:09It Must Be Christmas, an Acoustic Evening with Chris Young Trek,
- 17:13and it will feature fifteen headlining shows running November through December.
- 17:19Now he grabs some napkins and head on over to
- 17:21Taste of Country. With the first article published October twentieth,
- 17:25and I've got a little personal interest in this story,
- 17:28jelly Roll can't hold back for tears as he tours
- 17:31his new plot of land. Jelly Roll couldn't hide his
- 17:34emotions during a teary eyed social media update this weekend
- 17:38as he took fans for a video tour of his
- 17:40five hundred acre property that he and his wife, Bunny Exo,
- 17:43recently purchased. It's no wonder the tears were flowing. The
- 17:46couple's new property is more than just a place to
- 17:48call home. It's also Jelly's way of honoring his late father,
- 17:51Horace Buddy de Ford. The singer has spoken in the
- 17:55past about his upbringing in Antioch, Tennessee, and he's also
- 17:58shared stories about his paternal uncle, who owned a farm
- 18:01outside of town. That's where a young Jelly learned to
- 18:04ride ATVs and shoot guns, and in the new video,
- 18:07he says it was also a safe place for the
- 18:09family when he was young. Along with eighteen forty five
- 18:13bondominium southeast out of Texas and using building plans from
- 18:17my very own brother in law, Greg Sloan of Georgetown,
- 18:20a retired custom home builder, Jelly and Bunny plan to
- 18:24create a drug recovery and wellness center on one hundred
- 18:27acres of his property near Lebanon, Tennessee. Greg tells me
- 18:31that they also planned to use his original idea to
- 18:34work together to build a tiny home project for veterans
- 18:37and first responders in the same area. We all look
- 18:41forward to following up on the progress of these plans. Next.
- 18:46Petition for George Strait to replace Bad Bunny at the
- 18:49super Bowl gains major traction. A fan generator petition for
- 18:54George Strait to replace Bad Bunny as the halftime entertainment
- 18:57at the twenty twenty sixth Super Bowl is attracting major
- 19:01support online. Yes, As Entertainment Weekly reports, there have been
- 19:05negative reactions in some more conservative quarters to the NFL's
- 19:09announcement that the Puerto Rican Superstar would perform the halftime
- 19:12show next January. It's actually February, I guess now. As
- 19:16a result, a petition is launched on change dot org
- 19:19calling for Strait to replace Bad Bunny as the halftime entertainment.
- 19:24In recent years, this performance has leaned increasingly towards modern
- 19:28pop and international artists. The petition argues, while this approach
- 19:32is certainly broadening the audience, it's pivotal to remember the
- 19:36roots that have made American music what it is today.
- 19:40The petition further states that Strait is not only a
- 19:42legend in country music genre, but a staple in American
- 19:45music history. His ability to transcend generations with his timeless
- 19:50songs resonates with a diverse demographic, welcoming both longtime fans
- 19:54and newcomers. The Super Bowl halftime show should unite our country,
- 19:58honor American culture, and remain family friendly, not be turned
- 20:02into a political stunt. The petition states Bad Bunny represents
- 20:06none of these values. His drag performances in style or
- 20:09the opposite of what families expect on football's biggest stage.
- 20:13George Strait embodies unity, tradition and the timeless American music
- 20:17that truly deserves the twenty twenty six Super Bowl spotlight.
- 20:21The petition has garnered more than fifty eight thousand signatures
- 20:24as of publication time. Now. As a country star ever
- 20:27played the Super Bowl, well, yes, but country themed performances
- 20:30have been few and far between. Several different country artists
- 20:34have performed the national anthem at the Super Bowl or
- 20:37taken part in other performances. However, the last time a
- 20:41country singer performed during half time was during Super Bowl
- 20:44thirty seven's halftime show in two thousand three, when Shania
- 20:48Twain performed man I Feel Like a Woman and Up
- 20:51during a set that also featured No Doubt and Sting.
- 20:55The Super Bowl set to take place on Sunday, February
- 20:58eighth at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, California. Next, Ernest
- 21:04just On earthed a never before heard Toby Keith's song.
- 21:09A decade ago, Toby Keith sat down with David Lee
- 21:12Murphy and Bobby Pinson to write a song called End
- 21:14of the Night. That song never saw the light of
- 21:17day during Keith's lifetime, but now fans are finally going
- 21:20to listen to it. Ernest recently released an Apple Music
- 21:24exclusive version of end of the Night. But That's not All.
- 21:28On Monday, Keith's team posted a snippet of the singer's
- 21:31original demo to social media. This lost demo has been found.
- 21:34The caption reads, Keith's End of Night demo is chicken
- 21:38Soup to any country fans still missing the singer, who
- 21:41died in early twenty twenty four after a battle with
- 21:44stomach cancer. The lyrics. Its lyrics offer a warm, comforting
- 21:48message of hope that ain't the end of the road.
- 21:50Still a whole lot of ride, It's just the end
- 21:52of the night, Keith things in the chorus. As part
- 21:55of the Apple Music release, the song's co writers spoke
- 21:59about writing End of the Night with Keith. When they
- 22:02asked me about this project and said what do we have?
- 22:05It was like Christmas, you know, it was like finding
- 22:07a dollar in your pocket, said Pinson, who says End
- 22:10of Night has been a favorite of his ever since
- 22:12the three men wrote the song. I always felt like, man,
- 22:15if we could just get this one on tape, this
- 22:17would be more than probably Keith would realize it is,
- 22:19Pinson continues. Murphy, who's also known for hits like dust
- 22:23Down the Bottle, remembered the writing session that produced this song.
- 22:27We were laughing so hard, he reminisced. It's always fun
- 22:30to discover a new style. To watch him put this
- 22:32thing on, Pinson agreed, it's always a Toby Keith song
- 22:35when he's done. Keith announced that he had been diagnosed
- 22:38with stomach cancer pack in June of twenty twenty two.
- 22:41He bravely fought his illness, taking time off for treatment,
- 22:44but returning to the Spotlight for a series of shows.
- 22:47He accepted the Icon Award at the People's Choice Country
- 22:50Awards in twenty twenty three, and then died on February fifth,
- 22:53twenty twenty four, at sixty two. While We're at Taste
- 22:58of Country. There's an odd list this week, country couples
- 23:01with the largest age gaps. They say age is just
- 23:05a number when it comes to love, but there's evidence
- 23:07a wide age gap can foretell trouble. Here are country
- 23:11music large age differences from eight years all the way
- 23:14up to thirty one years. There have been quite a
- 23:17few country power couples over the decades, and several of
- 23:19them have had a major age gap in the relationship.
- 23:23From current couples like Jason Aldean and Brittany Aldean to
- 23:26past couples like Glenn Campbell and Tanya Tucker. Country music's
- 23:29deep rooted truths can often be found in the relationships
- 23:32that inspire the songs that are recorded. One country artist
- 23:36makes this list twice, with an eight year age gap
- 23:38each time. She's on both ends. Typically, older country men
- 23:42marry younger brides, often after a first marriage doesn't work out.
- 23:46In fact, fourteen of the sixteen couples listed here, one
- 23:50or both parties is on their second, third, or even
- 23:53fourth marriage. Contemporaries like Cole Swindell and Randy Hawser are
- 23:57alongside legends like Kenny Rodgers and George Jones. So the
- 24:01country couples were the largest age gaps according to Taste
- 24:05of Country. Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert eight years. Shelton
- 24:10and Lambert's age gap was eight years. At the time
- 24:12of their wedding, Shelton was thirty five and Lambert twenty seven.
- 24:15They were married from twenty eleven until twenty fifteen. Miranda
- 24:20Lambert and Brendan McLaughlin eight years. Lambert and her second
- 24:24husband McLaughlin have an age gap of eight years. Lambert
- 24:27turns forty two years old in November, while McLoughlin is
- 24:30thirty four and they've been married since twenty nineteen. Kelsey
- 24:35Ballerini and Morgan Evans nine years. Vallerinian Evans age gap
- 24:39was nine years. Two were married from twenty seventeen to
- 24:42twenty twenty two. At the time they got married, Evans
- 24:45was thirty two and Ballerini was twenty three. Trace Atkins
- 24:51and wife Victoria Pratt nine years. They've been married for
- 24:55about six years. She's fifty four years old and he's
- 24:58sixty three. George Jones and Tammy Wynette eleven years. Difference
- 25:04build his country music's first power couple. Jones and Wynette
- 25:07gap was eleven years. When they first started dating, Jones
- 25:10was thirty eight and Wynette was twenty seven. The couple
- 25:12was married from nineteen sixty nine to nineteen seventy five.
- 25:17Jason Aldean and Brittany Aldeine twelve years. The age gap
- 25:22is twelve years. Jason turned forty eight and twenty five
- 25:25and Britney turned thirty six. The two have been married
- 25:27since two thousand fifteen. Clay Walker and wife Jessica Craig
- 25:33clay Walker and his wife Jessica celebrated eighteen years of
- 25:35marriage in September. At that time, he just turned fifty
- 25:39six and she was forty three, so that's a thirteen
- 25:41year difference. Zach Brown and Kelly Yatze thirteen years. Brown
- 25:47and Yatzie were married less than ninety days when they separated.
- 25:50She was born in January of ninety one. He July
- 25:54of nineteen seventy eight. Cole Swindell and Courtney Little fourteen years.
- 26:00Swindell is forty two and Little is twenty eight. The
- 26:03two got married just in nineteen I'm sorry twenty twenty four.
- 26:08Randy Hawser and wife Tachiana Starzinski eighteen years. Howser and
- 26:13Titina were engaged a year Emily. They were married in
- 26:15twenty sixteen. At the time, they were forty and twenty
- 26:18two years old, respectively. Glenn Campbell and Tanya Tucker twenty
- 26:23two years when they got married. At the time, Campbell
- 26:27was forty four and Tucker was twenty two. Willie Nelson
- 26:31and his wife Annie DiAngelo twenty three years. Billy Ray
- 26:36Cyrus and wife Fire Rose twenty six years. She assumed
- 26:40to be thirty eight. Well, he's sixty four, of course.
- 26:42They split in twenty twenty four. Darius Rucker and fiancee
- 26:46Emily Deal. They announced they were getting married in twenty
- 26:49twenty five. There were a few details about Emily at
- 26:53that time, but it turns out there's a twenty six
- 26:56year age difference. Kenny Rodgers and wife won A twenty
- 26:59eight years, and Hank Williams Junior and wife Brandy thirty
- 27:03one years. And finally, from the book dot Com, with
- 27:07an article dated October twenty first, Reba McIntyre reveals the
- 27:11hardest lesson she's learned. At age seventy, Reba has done
- 27:15a lot of living and just as much learning. Despite
- 27:18countless awards and life changing milestones, turning seventy gave the
- 27:21country legend a new kind of clarity. She recently opened
- 27:25up about the hardest lesson she's ever had to learn,
- 27:27and it wasn't about music, money, or fame. It was
- 27:30about being present. The hardest lesson was to quit living
- 27:33for tomorrow and for yesterday. The Voice coach told people.
- 27:37That's really hard to do, but it's so rewarding when
- 27:39it clicks. She noted that she's still working on it,
- 27:42but the shift has changed her perspective. I used to
- 27:45think being content was unknown. Because of your content, you're
- 27:48not going to strive to continue to do better, she explained,
- 27:51and that's just not true. I enjoy every minute advice,
- 27:55she says, she shares often with young artists on the
- 27:57Voice and anyone else who asks mindset that's helped her
- 28:01go let go of stress, whether it's a little stuff
- 28:04or big stuff, and focus on what really matters. After
- 28:07more than fifty years in country music, MacIntyre has no
- 28:11plans to slow down, at least not completely. I don't
- 28:14know when I'll retire, could be in twenty years, she
- 28:16told the outlet. I think I'll know when it's really time,
- 28:20she recalled, asking Dolly parton how she knew when to stop,
- 28:23and the response stuck with her. Why would I What
- 28:25in the world could I do and have as much
- 28:27fun as what I'm doing right now? I agree with
- 28:30her one hundred percent. McIntyre said, slow down maybe, but
- 28:34no plans of retiring. Well. This concludes the reading of
- 28:38Country Weekly for this week. If you have any comments
- 28:41or suggestions about our program, please call us at eight
- 28:44five nine four two two sixty three ninety. Thank you
- 28:48for joining me and on behalf of every one here
- 28:51at Radio Eye. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing you a
- 28:54great day.