Transcript

5.22.26 · Country Weekly

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Speaker 1: Now it's time to catch up with Country Weekly, where
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we check out news and gossip from the world of
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country music. I'm your host, Ken Dawkins, and I'll be
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reading from various sources found online. As a reminder, RADIOI
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is a reading service intended for people who are blind
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or have other disabilities that make it difficult to read
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printed material From Billboard. We'll begin with the first article
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dated May seventeenth. We want to give you the winners.
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The lists of the twenty twenty six ACM Award winners.
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Ella Langley swept every prize she was nominated for at
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Sunday Nights twenty twenty six Academy of Country Music Awards,
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going seven for seven on the night, including Female Artists
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of the Year. The top prize of Entertainer of the
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Year went to Cody Johnson, who also won Male Artists
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of the Year earlier in the evening. The ACM Awards
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were back in Las Vegas at the MGM Grand Garden
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Arena after the last three years at Ford Center at
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the Star in Frisco, Texas. They also had a brand
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new host in country superstar Shania Twain, who took over
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after repeat host Reba McIntyre the past two years, so
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let's take a look at all the winners. The Entertainer
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of the Year, as we said, was Cody Johnson. Female
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Artist of the Year, Ella Langley, Male Artist of the
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Year Cody Johnson. Group of the Year, The Red clay
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Strays Album of the Year went to Parker McCollum for
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Parker McCollum Song of the Year choosing Texas from Ella Langley.
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Single of the Year was also choosing Texas from Ella Langley.
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The Visual Media of the Year Cuckoo from Stephen Wilson,
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Music Event of the Year Don't Mind If I Do
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Riley Green featuring Ella Langley, Song of the Songwriter of
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the Year Jesse Joe Dillon Artist Songwriter of the Year,
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Ella Langley, New Male Artist of the Year Tucker Wetmore
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and New Female Artist of the Year Avery Anna. Diving
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a little deeper, we move over to countryanow dot com
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with the first article dated May eighteenth, Cody Johnson dedicate's
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first ACM Entertainer of the Year win to Luke Combs.
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Cody Johnson had one of the biggest moments of the
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night of the twenty six Awards at the very end
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of Sunday Star Studied show. He took home the coveted
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Entertainer of the Year title. As we mentioned, while celebrating
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the milestone win, he surprised the crowd by dedicating the
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win to fellow nominee Luke Combs. The night mark Johnson's
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third time being nominated in the category and his first win.
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He was up against Combs, Megan Maroney, Lady Wilson, Chris Stapleton,
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Jelly Roll and Morgan Wallen. While he could have used
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his acceptance speech to thank so many people, he chose
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to call attention to one particular artist who he has
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personally watched to vote his entire life to country music.
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Johnson was a supporting act for Colmes in his twenty
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twenty three world tour. During that time, the artist jetted
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off to Australia for a string of shows, and while there,
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Colmbs unfortunately missed his wife Nicole giving birth to their
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second son, Bo. The next night, he got on stage
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and delivered a powerhouse show. Seeing that level of dedication
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left a lasting impact on Johnson, which is why he
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chose to dedicate his first ever Entertainer of the Year
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win to his fellow country star tonight, I want to
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dedicate this to somebody that you guys probably didn't expect
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me to dedicate this too. I was there the night
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in Australia when his wife gave birth to one of
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their sons, and I watched the anguish and I watched
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the defeat on his face for not being there because
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he was across the world playing music in his sold
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out arena, Johnson recalled. And the next night, right after it,
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I watched him get on stage and absolutely murder the
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stage and go on stage and play country music and
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preach the message of country music to a bunch of
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Australians across the world, he added. So tonight I want
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to dedicate my first Entertainer of the Year award to
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my buddy Luke Colmbs. I love you, brother, Thank you.
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Prior to this surprise dedication, viewers saw the Texas native
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become overwhelmed with emotion when he first heard his name
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called for the coveted trophy. As Johnson collected himself at
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the in front of a crowd filled with fans and
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fellow artists, he joked that he had prepared a speech
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but had already covered most of what he wanted to
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say earlier in the night while accepting Male Artists of
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the Year. I literally have no idea what I'm going
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to say, Johnson stated, Honestly, it turned out not knowing
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what to say may have resulted in something even better
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because it came directly from the heart. He went on
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to recall the days of his mom catching him as
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a child with a microphone duct taped to the side
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of a bunk bed in his room and a guitar
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with no strings, singing the Rick Terarino song Learning as
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You Go. His reason for sharing this glimpse into his
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life was to prove that all he ever wanted to
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be was to perform in front of a crowd, and
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now he's doing that on a greater scale than he
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ever dreamed of. And Johnson has not taken his platform
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for granted. He prides himself on promising positivity throughout his
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words and his music all over the world. I get
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used to I get to use my platform to not
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only promote positivity in this country and all over the world.
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I get to use it to make you excpt, experience
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emotions that I feel, whether we're crying, whether we're laughing,
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whether we're happy or sad. I get to convey that
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through this thing that God gave me called music. Johnson shared,
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it's the greatest drug that has ever been introduced on
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the planet Earth. While he's garnered so much success leading
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up to this moment, Johnson wanted to make it clear
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that at the end of the day he goes home,
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that artist hat comes off, so he is completely unplugged
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and present for his family. I just want you all
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to know that when I go home, I take my phone,
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I turn it face down. When I go home. I'm
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a husband, I'm a father, I'm a cattle rancher. So
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listen to all you fans out there in the top bowl,
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I turn you guys off. And as soon as I
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step on the jet, as soon as I step on
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the bus, all I look forward to is seeing you
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because I can't wait to see you on that stage
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so we can experience those motions together. The moving speech
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ended with his heartfelt dedication to Luke Colmbs. This was
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certainly a night to remember for Johnson. On top of
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winning both Mail of the Year and Entertainer of the Year,
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he took the stage to perform a stirring and patriotic
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rendition of Traveling Soldiers was also up for wins in
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the categories of Single of the Year and Visual Media
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of the Year, both for the fall. He set to
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return to the road with a weekend of shows on
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May twenty ninth at Grand Rapids, Michigan and May thirtieth
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in Rosemont, Illinois, followed by a trip to Nashville to
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perform at Nissan Stadium for CMA Fest On June fifth, next,
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Blake Shelton closes ACM Awards show with a show stopping
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tribute performance of The Gambler. The sixty first Academy of
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Music Country Awards came to a close with Blake Shelton
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delivering one of the most one of the night's most
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memorable moments, honoring beloved Nashville songwriter Don Schlitz, who passed
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away on April sixteenth at seventy three following a sudden illness.
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The tribute unfolded with an electrifying performance of Kenny Rodgers
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classic The Gambler, with Grammy winning song penned by Schlitz.
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As Shelton stepped on to the stage, the screen lit
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up with vibrant neon signs, perfectly capturing the energy of
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Las Vegas, while setting the tone for a powerful finale.
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Shelton came dressed for the moment as he took the
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stage and strummed his guitar, filling the entire arena with
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the iconic song. It was impossible for the fans and
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fellow artists not to get on their feet and sing
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along until every last note. Released on November fifteenth, nineteen
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seventy eight, is the title track to Roger's album of
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the same name. The song climbed its way to the
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top of country charts and also crossed over onto the
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pop charts. Following rehearsals at MGM Grand's Garden Arena in Vegas,
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Shelton had reflected on just how meaningful this song has
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been throughout his life. That particular song is like two
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legends come together and made one of the most important
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pieces of music and country music history. I would say
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it's in the top ten, at least in my top ten.
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Shelton previously recorded his own version of the Gambler in
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two thousand and six while working in the studio with
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renowned producer Bobby Braddock. Leading up to the ACM Awards,
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he also released a cover of the song exclusively on
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Amazon Music in honor of the performance. The Oklahoma native,
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who is currently in the midst of his Las Vegas residency,
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brought the night to a memorable close with a tribute
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that celebrated the lasting legacy of both Schlitz and Rogers.
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His residency will pick back up at the Coliseum at
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Caesar's Palace for the final shows on May twenty first
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and twenty fourth. Next, Laney Wilson and Devlin Hodges make
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ACM Awards Red carpet debut as newlyweds yep, She's married.
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Lany Wilson and Devlin Duck Hodges have officially stepped out
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on to their first red carpet as husband and wife.
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The couple arrived to the ACM Awards in style, just
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one week after tying the knot in their scenic Tennessee wedding.
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The Louisiana songstress ditched her signature bell bottoms for an
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elegant gown, orange fringe floor length gown that is with
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her hair cascading down her shoulders and lucy bouncy curls,
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while Hodges sported a dark gray suit with a gold
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bowlo tie and belt bucket, both of which cater to
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his nickname Duck, and of course, Wilson's best successory of all,
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her wedding ring, which she made sure to show off
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loud and proud on the red carpet. According to Vogue,
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the country music superstar and the former NFL players said
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I do at the Ruskin Cave in Dixon, Tennessee. The
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couple fell in love with the venue as soon as
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they came across it during a drive down the back roads.
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Duck said, you want to get married there? I said, Dundal,
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We've dropped by saw the venue. Fell in love with
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the natural beauty of the cave and the simplicity of
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the property. They rang in the new chapter of their
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lives together, surrounded by loved ones and several fellow country
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music stars like Luke Bryan, Ian Munsick, Laurna, Elena La Langley,
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Miranda Lambert, when owner Judd Ashland Kraft, Drew Baldridge, and
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Jelly Roll. This epic wedding ceremony took place a little
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over a year after Hodges proposed to Wilson on the
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doorstep of George Jones's renowned estate in Franklin, Tennessee, back
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in February of twenty twenty five. Their first love story
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began in twenty twenty one when they were set up
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on a blind date. The two had dinner in Nashville
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at Moby Dickie's and later ended up at the bar's Silverados.
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We've been pretty inseparable ever since, Wilson admitted. Now we
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march over to people dot Country dot com, where we
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have the headline. From May nineteenth, the Red Clay Strays
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said they almost died after their private jet malfunctions on
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the way to the ACMs. The Red Clay Strays had
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a rocky road getting to the twenty twenty six ACM Awards.
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The musicians said on the red carpet that they almost
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died while en route to the show after their private
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jets suffered technical difficulties. On Sunday, May seventeenth, the band
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was asked by Yahoo Entertainment what the most country thing
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they'd done that week was, and guitarist Zach Rischel was
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quick to answer, well, we almost died in that private jet.
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Part of our engine calling flew off during takeoff, he explained.
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Bassist Andrew Bishops said the jet circled above Mobile, Alabama
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for about two hours in order to lose enough fuel
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to land again and get the banned onto a different
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plane to Las Vegas. Drummer John Hall then showed a
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photo of the broken engine and emphasized that the issue
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happened in the air. It was terrifying. Hall, who's thirty three,
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said the Red Clay Strays one group of the Year
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at the ACMs, as we mentioned, and also performed Demons
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in Your Choir. The ACM's incident is not the first
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time the band has had trouble in the skies. In October,
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they shared video of extreme turbulence on a flight taking
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them to the Country Music festival in Salt Lake City.
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In the clip, which was shared to Instagram, the frightened
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band members held on tight as the plane shook due
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to extreme wins. At one point, Bishop played Leonard Skinnert
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song That Smell from his phone, equipping that if the
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plane was going to go down, I'm going down with Skinner.
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Leonard Skinner was famously involved in a nineteen seventy seven
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plane crash in Mississippi that killed six people, including band
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members Ronnie van Zant, Steve Gaines, and Cassie Gaines. Elsewhere
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in the video, band members can be heard saying they'll
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be drinking to that boys and that someone threw up
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to during the turbulence. Apparently we wait and over forty
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degree bank while trying to land in Salt Lake. Naturally,
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as we thought the plane was going down, I thought
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it was a good time to play some skinner. The
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group captured the post seriously though, very thankful to our
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pilots for their quick thinking and coolness under pressure. You
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all rock. Moving on, we head on over to Saving
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Country Music for news and of course some commentary as usual.
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First article dated May nineteenth, Nashville gets a super Bowl,
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but will country music finally get one? It was made
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official on Tuesday, the twenty thirty Super Bowl is coming
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to Nashville, Tennessee, a reward for the Tennessee Titans and
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Nashville constructing a new stadium in the city, and the
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implications of country music and how it interfaces with America's
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biggest annual media event could be significant. For decades now,
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a big story has been how the Super Bowl has
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ignored country music when it comes to its massive halftime performance,
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which has become just as big of a cultural event
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as the game itself. It's been thirty two years since
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country music was featured on the super Bowl halftime, you
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have to go all the way back to nineteen ninety
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four when Clint Blackton, Ya Tucker, Travis Tritt and the
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Judge performed. Since the super Bowl halftime became a big
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deal in nineteen ninety one, with new Kids on the
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Block taking the field, country music has really only been
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featured prominently once. Shenaia Twain appeared briefly with No Doubt
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in two thousand and three, but that was over twenty
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years ago. When you consider country as one of America's
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popular genres and arguably the most popular genre currently, this
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feels like a travesty, says saving country music. The barrier
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currently standing between a country artist playing the super Bowl
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halftime is the NFL's partnership with Jay Z's Rock Nation
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as their official live music entertainment strategists. This has put
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country music on the sidelines permanently like a third string quarterback,
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and relegated it to pregame performances. With the Super Bowl
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being announced for Nashville in twenty thirty, lots of people
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are assuming this will finally be the opportunity for country
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music to get its halftime show but folks shouldn't be
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so quick to assume that this is a lock for
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twenty thirty. While for the NFL and country music, waiting
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until twenty thirty might be too late. Ignoring country music
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in America's rural demographic arguably bit the super Bowl in
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the butt back in twenty twenty six, with TPUSA laugh
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and launching its alternative halftime show featuring country artists Lee Brice,
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Gabby Barrett, Branley, Gilbert, and headliner Kid Rock, who some
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associate with country and who concluded his portion of the
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show performing a Cody Johnson song. Though popular music critics
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panned the halftime ratings really didn't seem to suffer for
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the proper super Bowl performance with Bad Bunny, and the
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alternative halftime show featured B level country talent at best,
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it did present a problem for the NFL and for
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American culture while it did draw a significant amount of eyeballs.
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Though some continue to write off the importance of this stuff,
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we're still feeling the cultural reverberations of the alternative halftime
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show as it's become synonymous with country music and what
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is perceived to be a right wing cultural malaise. The
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genre is suffering through country music, says, Saving Country Music says.
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The NFL shouldn't wait until twenty thirty to feature country
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music during the halftime show. They should do it in
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twenty twenty seven. If they were business smart and savvy
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at all, this is the way they could undercut any
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alternative programming as TPUSA or whoever fields a bunch of
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B level stars once again. The super Bowl proper could
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feature Ella Langley with guest Morgan Wallener, Chris Stapleton and
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Louke Colmbs with appearances by Sierra Ferrell and Billy Strings.
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Would that ruin the opportunity for super Bowl to feature
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country music in twenty thirty in Nashville, Of course not.
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They could do both. Since it's been thirty two years
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since country's been featured on the halftime show, it would
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make sense to feature it in twenty seven, when the
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genre is as hot as ever and dominating the charts,
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and in twenty thirty, when it's held in Music City,
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with two years in between to feature other genres. But
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while some are taking it as a foregone conclusion the
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twenty thirty super Bowl will be with country music, this
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is far from certain. Super Bowl performance have rarely ever
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been geographically specific. Perhaps the branding and logos pregame and
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postgame festivities have leaned into representing whatever city the super
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Bowl is held in, but the halftime performances seem to
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be sequestered from these considerations. If anything, Given the NFL's
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track record, there's a good chance country music is not
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featured in twenty thirty, especially if Jay Z is still
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in charge. Or if country is featured in twenty thirty,
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it could be some terrible virtual signaling version of country
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that would be even worse than booking someone not country
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at all. Nothing can be taken for granted here, but
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what can't be ignored is that, as we speak, a
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country artist in the form of Ala Langley as the
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number one song in all of music for a historic
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tenth straight week. In choosing Texas, there's also a good
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chance it will be there well into the summer. Ella
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also has the number two song and be her and
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her album Dandelion is number two all genre country music
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ebbs and flows in popular culture. Who knows where it
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will be in twenty thirty. Right now, it's hotter than
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it's ever been. This isn't to say or rule out
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country Music for twenty thirty in lieu of twenty seven.
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It's to say that country music should be considered for
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the Super Bowl halftime show every year if there's an
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eligible moment and artist Bad Bunny was celebrated in twenty
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twenty six for putting his Puerto Rican culture of music
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and dance on display for the world during the Super
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Bowl halftime. What better time to feature country music and
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two stepping at the fifty yard line than this next year?
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And yes, these things do matter next despite requests, Treaty
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Oak Revival fans throw trash at Ryman stage. Treaty Oak
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Revival was in Nashville this weekend, playing a big show
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at the city's Bridgestone Arena, and then took a page
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out of the Billy Strings playbook and booked a more
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intimate show across the street at the mother church of
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country music, the Ryman Auditorium. The rock band has been
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strangely slatted into country music, perhaps because they're from Texas,
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but the Ryman hosts artists from all genres. It wasn't
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Treaty Oak's rock sound that had some worried when they
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were booked at the hollowed venue. It's how The band's
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fans are notorious for throwing beers, other drinks, water bottles,
18:32
full trash barrels, and anything not nailed down at the
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stage during concerts, especially during their song Boomtown. The band
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has been criticized in the past for being permissive of
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this behavior, though after lead singer Sam Can'ty got yet
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hit yet again earlier this year and stormed off stage,
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his wife piped up requesting fans sling the liquid contents
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of their beverage over their heads before dropping the bottles
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to the ground. Still not exactly appropriate concert behavior. All
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of this led to their show on Sunday at the
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Country Music mother Church. Looking to not trash what country
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fans consider a sacred place, signs were posted throughout the
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concourse requesting fans not throw objects at the stage during
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the show. Behind the stage on the video screen, a
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similar request was displayed as fans filed into the show,
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but of course the requests were ignored. At least a
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portion of the Treatioach Revival audience did not respect the rymen,
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as can be seen in videos posted on Whiskey Riff.
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As some will observe, the scene wasn't as chaotic as
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what most treatioch Revival shows experienced during Boomtown, but it
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was still at disrespect of the rieman of Treatioak Revival
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and their requests. The rymans wodwork is quite literally a
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cultural heirloom and historic, as is the stage itself that
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had a circle cut out of it at stage center
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and transported to the grand old opry House east of
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downtown when the operaing moved from the Ryman in the
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nineteen seventies. It does not appear the wood stage itself
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was covered for the Treatiok Revival show. We want to
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thank you all, most of you all for coming to
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see us two nights in a row at Tennessee. Frontman
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Sam Canty said from the stage. We certainly do appreciate
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it from the bottom of our hearts. We were just
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a small band from West Texas just a few years ago.
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Now we're playing one of the best venues in all
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of country music, So thank you. Trety Oak Revival appeared
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to be truly grateful to play the legendary stage and
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did their part to ensure the audience behaved, but more
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than just a few of their fans refused to comply.
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Saving country music reached out to the Ryman Auditorium to
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see if they had any statement about the behavior. Those
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requests were not returned. Now we take a walk down
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to the boot dot com where Tyler Hubbard says Florida
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Georgia Line might play a handful of shows in twenty
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twenty seven. This article dated May eighteenth looks like Florida
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Georgia Line fans might finally get the reunion that they've
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been eagerly waiting for in twenty twenty seven. On the
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Red carpet at the twenty twenty six ACM Awards, former
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fga Els Tyler Hubbard told Entertainment Tonight that he and
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Brian Kelly are seriously considering the possibility of playing a
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handful of shows next year. We've been toying around and
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flirting with the idea of playing a handful of shows
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next year, and that gets us both excited. Hubbard reveals.
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Hubbard definitely made it seem like a strong possibility, but
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he also reminded fans to be patient. Hubbard and Kelly
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parted ways on a seemingly turbulent note when the band
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broke up back in twenty twenty one, but over the
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past few months, they've started slowly reconnecting and getting to
21:31
know each other again as friends. They both stressed that
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reconnecting was more about rebuilding their personal bond than it
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was about reviving FGL. It's been a really fun season
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of healing. We've been hanging out, laughing, cutting up, goofing around.
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It just feels like the old days, Hubbard said in
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his ACM Awards interview. We're just trying to soak it up,
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make the most of it, not rush anything at this point.
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Hubbard says they've got no plans to put out new
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music as a duo, but that could change too. It
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hasn't gotten there yet, he explains, I'm too busy working
22:04
on my solo stuff at the moment. But in the
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meantime and on stage, reunion seems more plausible. The idea
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of playing shows together sounds like a lot of fun,
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and we're just trying to keep it low stress and
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nothing but a good time, Hubbard adds. Florida Joji Aline,
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of course, shot to start them in twenty twelve, and
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by the time they released their fourth album twenty nineteens
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can't say I ain't country. The country music world was
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their oyster, but by the time their fifth album, Life
22:32
Rolls On came out in twenty twenty one, they'd fizzled.
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At the time, they said they both planned to pursue
22:37
solo projects and didn't elaborate further on that, but a
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series of interviews and statements in the years ahead would
22:43
reveal that the breakup was more complicated than they originally
22:46
let on. Hubbard said in Busting with the Boys podcast
22:50
appearance that Kelly brought up the idea of going solo
22:53
and it caught him off guard. Kelly subsequently went on
22:57
the same podcast to say that the conversation about pursuit
23:00
doing solo projects was one that had been in the
23:02
works for years. The twenty twenty COVID nineteen pandemic also
23:06
proved trying to fgl's friendship, and the bandmates have said
23:11
that the rumor mill exaggerated the idea of political tensions
23:14
between them. Hubbard and his wife temporarily unfollowed Kelly on
23:18
social media that year, and Kelly acknowledged to Busting with
23:22
the Boys that political issues were a factor, but said
23:25
that was one piece of a larger falling out. They
23:29
also both said they went to therapy to try and
23:31
keep the band together, but they could never quite see
23:34
eye to eye. The FGL bandmates never ruled out a reunion,
23:37
but for a while it seemed pretty unlikely. But thanks
23:40
to their willingness to build bridges, coupled with the support
23:43
they felt from the fans, they've made big strides in
23:46
the past five months. Hubbard says their friendship is continuing
23:50
to grow. I'm literally leaving from Vegas and flying to
23:53
the beach to hang out with him and his wife.
23:55
Me and my wife are he said at the ACMs.
23:58
He also said their reconnection has been really special and
24:01
that fanned excitement about the possibility of a Flora Georgia
24:04
line reunion. Is a mirror to how they feel about
24:07
healing their bond. It's bigger than just us and bigger
24:10
than the music. It's actually a story and a powerful
24:13
testimony to grace and healing and forgiveness and all those things.
24:16
Hubbard reflects. It feels like the world is feeling what
24:20
we're feeling, and that feels good. Now. We move over
24:24
to Countrycentral dot Com with the article. First article dated
24:28
May nineteenth. Bailey Zimmerman to release the Climb cover this Friday.
24:33
Bailey Zimmerman will release his cover of Miley Cyrus's The
24:36
Climb on May twenty second. The singer announced the release
24:39
Monday night via social media, sharing a reel of himself
24:42
performing the song's hook. The cover's been a fixture of
24:46
Zimmerman's live set throughout his current Different Night, Same Rodeo tour,
24:50
where crowd reactions drew enough attention online to turn the
24:52
performance into a recurring viral moment. In March, Zimmerman floated
24:57
the idea of an official release on Instagram, asking fans
25:00
whether he should put out his own version. He made
25:03
the formal announcement at Stagecoach on April twenty fifth. The
25:07
Climb originally released in two thousand and nine as part
25:09
of the Hannah Montana. The movie soundtrack was one of
25:13
Cyrus's earliest crossover hits. A TikTok clip from Zimmerman appears
25:17
to tease a potential collaboration with Cyrus on the track,
25:21
though no official confirmation has been made. Zimmerman signed with
25:24
Warner Music Nashville in twenty twenty two and released his
25:27
debut album Religiously in twenty twenty three. Next, Luke Bryan
25:33
reveals new album Signs in the past ten days or so,
25:37
Luke Bryan announced a new studio album titled Signs. This
25:41
was actually announced during an American Idol episode or the finale,
25:45
where he completed his ninth year as celebrity judge. The
25:48
album is due out September eighteenth and is available for
25:51
pre order now. To mark the announcement, Brian performed the
25:55
album's lead track, Fish Hunt Golf Drunk, co written by Brian,
26:00
Chase McGill, and Matt Dragstrom, and produced by Jeff Stevens
26:03
and Jody Stevens. The song is available now on all
26:06
major streaming platforms. It's the third single Brian has released
26:10
in the past two months, following Word on the Street
26:13
in February and radio single Country and She Knows It,
26:16
which went to country radio on March thirtieth. It's always
26:20
a great day when I get the chance to release
26:22
new music. I've been working on this album for the
26:24
past year, and I just love how it turned out.
26:27
I was able to co write a few and then
26:29
turned to the writers in Nashville to round them out.
26:31
Bryan remarked, I feel like my fans have always let
26:34
me record songs that make you feel good, so I
26:37
went into this album, wanting everyone to just have fun.
26:40
Brian's Word on the Street Tour launches May twenty ninth
26:43
and thirtieth, with back to back shows in Guildford, New Hampshire.
26:47
He and Jason Aldeen have also expanded their co headlining
26:50
stadium run with four additional twenty six dates. Following a
26:53
sold out show at UGA's Sandford Stadium in April which
26:57
drew as many as sixty three thousand fans, Brian returns
27:01
to California soon for more of his long running Farm
27:05
Tour dates. Since the tour's launch in two thousand and nine,
27:08
he has awarded ninety college scholarships to students from farming families.
27:14
And finally, we move over to allcountrynews dot Com with
27:20
the article from a Couple about a week ago. Eric
27:23
Church keeps the fire burning with unpredictable summer shows at
27:27
Red Rocks in Lake Tahoe. Fresh off the final weekend
27:30
of his bold boundary Pushing Free the Machine Tour, the
27:33
eleven time Grammy nominee is already setting his sights on
27:36
what's next. And if you thought he might take a
27:39
breather after celebrating Evangeline Versus the Machine, think again, the
27:43
Chief is doubling down with a pair of can't miss
27:45
destination runs this July, bringing his signature unpredictability to some
27:50
of the most iconic stages in the country. First up,
27:54
a triumph re Turned to Red Rocks Amphitheater, and that
27:58
will be in Colorado, of course, show both different special
28:01
guests Corey Ghent forty nine Winchester and the Creakers. Then
28:05
it's off to scenic shores of Nevada for a two
28:08
nights stand at the Lake Tahoe Amphitheater at Caesar's republicju
28:11
Life fifteenth and sixteenth, with Ernest joining Church for both evenings.
28:16
If history tells us anything, these won't just be concerts,
28:19
They'll be full on experiences. Unlike the Freeedom Machine Tour,
28:22
these newly announced shows are built as a celebration of
28:25
twenty years of Eric Church's catalog, But don't expect the
28:28
greatest hits run through true to form churches leaning into spontaneity,
28:33
crafting nights that are as unpredictable as they are unforgettable. Well.
28:38
This concludes the reading this week of Country Weekly. If
28:41
you have any comments or suggestions about the program, kindly
28:44
call us at eight five, nine, four, two, two sixty
28:47
three ninety. Thank you for joining me and on behalf
28:50
of everyone here at RADIOI. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing
28:54
you a great day. From Billboard