Latest / Country Weekly / 6.5.26
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Howdy, It's time once again to catch up with Country Weekly,
- 0:09where we dive into news and gossip from the world
- 0:12of country music. I'm your host, Ken Dawkins, and I
- 0:15will be reading from various sources found online. As a reminder,
- 0:20Radio I is a reading service intended for people who
- 0:22are blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult
- 0:26to read printed material. We'll begin with the first article,
- 0:29dated back on May twenty eighth. In case you missed it.
- 0:32This is from the Lexington Herald Leader. The Eastern Kentucky
- 0:36Music Festival cancels twenty twenty six plans due to the
- 0:40current economic environment. A popular music festival in Eastern Kentucky
- 0:45that was headlined by Chris Stapleton and Tyler Childers last
- 0:48year will not take place in twenty twenty six due
- 0:51to the current economic environment. Event organizers announced this last Thursday.
- 0:57The Healing Appleachi of Music Festival was hosted at the
- 1:00Wade County Fairgrounds in Ashland for the first time last year,
- 1:04after previously taking place in West Virginia. Event organizers said
- 1:08rising production costs have forced the nonprofit organization that puts
- 1:12on the festival to prioritize resources toward its mission instead
- 1:16of putting on the festival. This is not the outcome
- 1:19we wanted. The festival set in a Facebook post, Hope
- 1:22in the Hills will continue its year round mission, leveraging
- 1:25music to support recovery, funding, addiction prevention, and spreading hope
- 1:29and community throughout our growing partnerships across Appalachia and beyond.
- 1:35Hope in the Hill's mission is to raise funds for
- 1:37reducing opioid addiction in Appalachian communities. The funds are given
- 1:41to a wide array of projects and programs, from youth prevention,
- 1:44healthy lifestyles and wellness, to recovery houses and recovery to work.
- 1:49According to the festival's website, Tyler Childers, a Lawrence County
- 1:53native and co owner of the event, has headlined the
- 1:55festival every year since the inaugural show in twenty eighteen.
- 1:59According to Variety, the tendance for the festival has grown
- 2:03from fewer than twenty five hundred patrons in twenty eighteen
- 2:06to over twenty one thousand and twenty twenty four. While
- 2:11announcing the twenty six cancelation, festival organizers committed to returning
- 2:15in twenty twenty seven. Next year's festival is scheduled to
- 2:19take place September tenth and eleventh at the Boyd County
- 2:22Fairgrounds in Ashland. Until then, the nonprofit organization hopes to
- 2:27surpass two million dollars in investments for its programs this year.
- 2:31Although the festival is paused for a year, the need
- 2:33for recovery is not. The festival said in a Facebook post,
- 2:37thank you to the artists, fans, partners, donors and communities
- 2:40who continue to stand behind the mission. Now we move
- 2:44on over to people dot com Country with the article
- 2:47dated and actually updated June first. Morgan Wallen flips piano
- 2:52on stage after technical issue occurs during his Still the
- 2:55Problem tour. Morgan Wallen flipped the piano on stage after
- 3:00experienced a technical issue mid concert. The thirty three year
- 3:03old country singer was performing as part of his Still
- 3:06the Problem tour in support of his latest album I'm
- 3:09the Problem at empower Field at Mile High in Denver
- 3:13on Friday when the incident occurred. Videos of the piano
- 3:17flipping that were shared on social media show Wallen performing
- 3:20his song sand in My Boots before running into tech difficulties.
- 3:24He can be seen in one clip pushing over and
- 3:26seemingly breaking the piano, then walking away from the instrument.
- 3:30Another video shows Wallen walking back towards the piano as
- 3:33the audience gasps and cheers and response. Rolling Stone reported
- 3:38that Wallen was unable to hear the piano while he played,
- 3:40and he finished the song a cappella. Wallin is not
- 3:43yet commented on the situation. People reached out to representatives
- 3:47for the singer on Sunday, but did not immediately hear
- 3:50Back The Lies, Lies Lies Musician kicked off as two
- 3:54are in April tenth in Minneapolis. It features stops in
- 3:57major cities including Las Vegas, Indianapolis, Pittsburgh, and Chicago. The
- 4:01Stadium Concert series is set to conclude in Philadelphia on
- 4:04August first. Opening acts at various stops included Brooks and Dunn, Hardy, Ella, Langley,
- 4:10Thomas Rhet, Kevin Adcock, Flatland Cavalry, Hudson Westbrook, Jason Scott
- 4:14in the High Heat, Zach John King, Vincent Mason, and
- 4:18Blake Whitten. While he's on stage. Throwing of the piano
- 4:21this week took place two years after he was arrested
- 4:24in Nashville for hurling a chair off the roof of
- 4:27a bar in Nashville on April in twenty twenty four.
- 4:31That December, he was sentenced to seven days at a
- 4:33DUI education center, as well as two years probation. He
- 4:37was also ordered to pay a fine and court fees.
- 4:41Now we move on over to country central dot com
- 4:44with the first article dated June second, Midland and Clint
- 4:48Black reveal co headlining tour dates in one includes Kentucky.
- 4:53Clint Black and Midland have announced a joint eighth show
- 4:56fall tour with dates running through October across the Midwest
- 4:59and mid Atlantic parts of the country. Tickets go on
- 5:02sale to the public this weekend. The pairing is a
- 5:06natural one. Black and Midland are already set to appear
- 5:09together on Up in Texas, a duet on Midland's upcoming
- 5:12album Stages, dueout June twelve. The tour extends that collaboration
- 5:17to the stage, bringing together an artist whose career defined
- 5:20the country class of nineteen eighty nine and a trio
- 5:23that has spent the past decade reviving the traditional sounds
- 5:26Black help popularize. Black's catalog includes twenty two number one
- 5:31singles and thirty one top ten hits, all of which
- 5:34he wrote or co wrote, among them Killing Time, a
- 5:37Better Man and Like the Rain. He sold over twenty
- 5:40million records and is currently being honored by the Country
- 5:42Music Hall of Fame and Museum with a career spanning
- 5:45exhibition Clint Black The Hard Way on Purpose. Midland, meanwhile,
- 5:50has built their reputation around thick harmonies and pedal steel
- 5:54driven traditionalism, anchored by their humongous breakout single Drinking Problem
- 6:00Run marks a rare extended collaboration between the two acts.
- 6:03Further details about support acts have not been announced. The
- 6:08Kentucky Program or Show will be on October fifteenth in
- 6:11Louisville at the Louisville Palace. Next, Wyatt Flores reveals new album,
- 6:17Scared of Heights. Wyatt Flores will release his new albums
- 6:22Scared of Heights on July thirty first. The thirteen track
- 6:25project is his first since signing with MCA and was
- 6:28produced by Charlie Hansom, Jacob j Cash, Hindlin and Gan Stone.
- 6:33A new single, Half the Man is due This we Can.
- 6:37In a statement, Whine shared a bit on its inspiration.
- 6:40I finally feel like I know who I'm supposed to
- 6:42be right here in this moment. Flora shares I'm not
- 6:45second guessing myself anymore and what the music's supposed to be,
- 6:49what I'm supposed to be chasing, or who I've become.
- 6:52This is who I am now in twenty twenty six,
- 6:55still figuring out my struggles and mental health, but finally
- 6:58getting the confidence to step back into this and to
- 7:01believe in myself again. Flores is currently on his Drive
- 7:05All Night tour, with upcoming dates in Nashville, Birmingham, and Pittsburgh.
- 7:09He will also join the Red Clay Strays and Cowetzel
- 7:12for select dates later in the year. The run follows
- 7:15recent appearances supporting George Strait and Cody Johnson, as well
- 7:18as a Stagecoach set that included a guest appearance from
- 7:22Isaac Slade, the former frontman of The Fray. Next, Riley
- 7:27Green extends his Cowboy as It Gets tour. Riley Green
- 7:32has announced a new batch of dates for his Cowboy
- 7:34as It Gets to Her, expanding the run with fifteen
- 7:36additional shows this fall. Tickets go on sale to the
- 7:40general public this weekend. His back forty Duck Club members
- 7:44get first access. Of course, been having a damn good
- 7:47time on the road this year, so he added some
- 7:48more dates Green Road on Instagram. Randy Hauser will serve
- 7:52as special guest across the new dates, with Cassius Culpeper
- 7:55and Hannah McFarland also on select shows. The tour is
- 7:59presented by boot Bar. The newly added dates run from
- 8:03September through December, with a heavy West Coast stretch in
- 8:05late September that include stops in Long Beach, Los Angeles,
- 8:09and Mountain View, before wrapping up with two Las Vegas
- 8:12shows in December. The run also marks the continuation of
- 8:15a busy twenty twenty six for Green, who earlier this
- 8:18year released the singles My Way and Think as You Drunk,
- 8:21and announced his upcoming album That's Just Me, due out
- 8:24September eighteenth. Earlier this year, he also made his acting
- 8:28debut on Yellowstone spin off Marshals Now. He scooed on
- 8:33down to Saving Country music with news and Commentary. With
- 8:36the first article dated June first, Outlaw legend David allen
- 8:40Coe laid to rest in Cincinnati. Outlaw country legend David
- 8:45allan Coe was laid to rest on Saturday at the
- 8:47Gate of Heaven Cemetery in Cincinnati. The burial preceded a
- 8:51funeral ceremony in public visitation from eleven to two at
- 8:54Spring Grove Funeral Home, Co passed away, as we had
- 8:58mentioned last week on Wednesday, April twentieth ninth, at the
- 9:00age of eighty six. At the funeral home, numerous photos
- 9:04and pieces of memorabili you were on display, including the
- 9:06legendary Harley Davidson Banana yellow Panhead motorcycle owned by Coe.
- 9:12Numerous people also shared words and remembrances of the colorful
- 9:15and sometimes controversial country star. Members of the Outlaws Motorcycle
- 9:20Club then helped guide the motorcade to the gate of
- 9:22Heaven Cemetery and acted as pallbearers to bring Coe to
- 9:25his final resting plays. Coe was laid to rest in
- 9:29a casket with a black and purple color scheme emblazoned
- 9:31with an image of the country star playing a guitar
- 9:34during his masked mysterious rhinestone Cowboy era nineteen thirty nine
- 9:38to twenty twenty six, and the phrase American Badass. Along
- 9:43the side of the casket read singer, songwriter, magician, actor,
- 9:46soldier and legend. Unfortunately, there has been a lot of
- 9:50misinformation and AI generated fake content about Coe's funeral along
- 9:55with the burial. No Alan Jackson was not at the funeral.
- 9:59Even the offen reliable find a Grave currently lists Coe
- 10:02as having been cremated as opposed to buried at the
- 10:05Gate of Heaven Cemetery, which Saving Country Music has confirmed
- 10:09with the cemetery. Other reports say he was buried at
- 10:12Spring Grove Funeral Home, where the funeral happened. There is
- 10:16a lot of misinformation out there. At Gate of Heaven,
- 10:19spokesman tells Saving Country Music he was buried on Saturday,
- 10:22May the twenty third here at Gate of Heaven and Cincinnati.
- 10:25He's in section sixteen, Lot fifty nine, ninety, grave number two.
- 10:29It's basically back in the left corner of the cemetery
- 10:32of the property as you come into the Gates of course.
- 10:35Gates of Heaven Cemetery is located at eleven thousand Montgomery Road.
- 10:39What is true as many of Coe's children were not
- 10:41in attendance after being estranged from the Country Star after
- 10:44an auto accident back in twenty thirteen. David Allen, Coe's widow,
- 10:49Kimberly M Co, along with members of Coe's band, were
- 10:52in attendance, though Co only served in the military for
- 10:56four months before being discharged for being under age. There
- 11:00was a small contingent of honor guard involved in the
- 11:02funeral and Co's coffin was draped in an American flag.
- 11:06The funeral happened on Memorial Day weekend. Next George Strait
- 11:11is new addition to the final Alan Jackson concert. Finally,
- 11:16when Alan Jackson's final concert was announced for June twenty
- 11:20seventh at Nissan Stadium in Nashville, there were some really
- 11:23cool names announced to help send the country legend off,
- 11:26folks like Cody Johnson, Miranda Lambert, john Party, Lee Ane Walmack,
- 11:30and others who embrace a more traditional country sound. But
- 11:34you also had some names like Luke Bryan and Keith
- 11:36Urban that no offense to them, just didn't seem to
- 11:39fit the bill, says Saving Country Music. The biggest question
- 11:42mark was who was left off the lineup, namely Alan
- 11:45Jackson's long partner in crime against the ills of Music Row,
- 11:49George Strait. Could we even ponder a proper send off
- 11:53without the two reprising their CMA winning murder on Music Row.
- 11:58Well luckily always been set right with the world. Maybe
- 12:00they had it planned this way. The whole time, but
- 12:02George Strait has been announced as the latest addition to
- 12:05the Last Call One More for the Road the finale
- 12:08line up. He joins Landy Wilson as another late edition
- 12:11to round out the concert. Concert tickets soared to exorbitant
- 12:16prices and sold out immediately when they went on sale,
- 12:18so no luck securing them now if you're looking, But
- 12:21hopefully the whole thing will be taped and distributed both
- 12:24in video and audio form for all the Alan Jackson
- 12:26fans who can't be there. Luke Combs and Riley Green
- 12:30are also scheduled to perform, but don't expect full sets
- 12:33from many of these folks, and more likely to sing
- 12:36a few songs in tribute to Jackson and may be
- 12:38guessed with Alan on stage. Also scheduled to perform are
- 12:42members of Alan Jackson's family, including nephews Adam Wright and
- 12:46Big City Brian Wright, along with Big City Brian Wright's daughter,
- 12:49Carlyle Wright. Whenever you see a final show announced, you
- 12:53always have to approach them with caution. Many times in
- 12:56the past, performers have announced their finale only to return
- 12:59to touring later. However, in September of twenty twenty one,
- 13:02Alan Jackson reveal that he's been suffering from a degenerative
- 13:05nerve condition called sharkpy that's Sharcott Marie tooth disease. The
- 13:11disease is not life threatening, nor does it affect longevity,
- 13:14but CMT does significantly affect coordination, which has restricted Alan
- 13:19Jackson's ability to perform. Now we grab a hoop in
- 13:23a bagel and head on over to Closer dot com.
- 13:26Country fans keep saying the same thing about superstar Lany Wilson.
- 13:32Even after becoming one of country music's biggest stars, many
- 13:36listeners say Landy Wilson still feels refreshingly real. From recognizing
- 13:40longtime supporters at concerts to proudly embracing her Louisiana roots,
- 13:45many believe fame hasn't changed the singer's one darn bit.
- 13:49Fans recently praised Wilson after she paused mid show to
- 13:53acknowledge a longtime supporter in the crowd. It was a
- 13:56moment that many online said prove she hasn't lost touch
- 13:59with win. She came from a YouTube response read just
- 14:03a glimpse of her impact on the women, ladies and
- 14:05young girls. Lanny, your authentic and humble character speaks very
- 14:09loud to those who find comfort and healing in your songs.
- 14:13A supporter on Facebook wrote that's who Lannie is, Louisiana
- 14:17girl who never forgets where she came from. On YouTube,
- 14:20and other supporter gushed over Wilson's reaction at the concert.
- 14:23Thank you Lannie for staying real in this ever changing world.
- 14:27We need more stars like her. She's down to earth, humble,
- 14:30regular human being, caring, kind and doesn't get all crazed
- 14:33like so many others, added another. Wilson once told Billboard,
- 14:37I just try to take care of what I have,
- 14:39and I take a lot of pride in what we've grown.
- 14:42She also explained it's important for me to be proud
- 14:44of where I came from and the way that I
- 14:47was raised, but not dwell on her too much. Well.
- 14:50That authenticity has also caught the attention of some of
- 14:53country music's biggest names. The Heart Like a Truck singer
- 14:57has said that Dolly Parton is her idol, and Parton
- 15:00thinks highly of Wilson too. Parton told Billboard people feel
- 15:04her heart and soul and what she writes because she
- 15:07knows what they feel and how they feel. Feels what
- 15:10they feel and has the gift to present it in words.
- 15:13Even Parton sees something familiar in Wilson's grounded personality. I
- 15:17believe Laney, like myself, will never sacrifice her principles and
- 15:20values for a dollar bill. Those same values continue to
- 15:25define how fans describe her to day. As Wilson's career
- 15:28continues to soar, many fans say that what they admire
- 15:31most about her isn't the fame or the awards. It's
- 15:34the feeling that the same Louisiana girl they first rooted
- 15:37for is still the one standing on stage to day.
- 15:42Now we whistle on over to Holler dot com with
- 15:44the first article day to June first, Taylor Swift is
- 15:48making a return to country, But what does that mean
- 15:51for the genre? In twenty twenty six, it's official Taylor
- 15:55Swift is making her long awaited return to country, with
- 15:59the global phenom releasing a brand new song, I Knew It,
- 16:02I Knew You in honor of Toy Story five. I
- 16:06Knew It, I Knew You arrives Friday, head of the
- 16:08film's release on June nineteenth. As per the official Disney
- 16:12Press release, the song marks a return to Swift's country roots,
- 16:16blending styles that have defined her record breaking career as
- 16:19a songwriter and artist. Now, it's important to add that
- 16:23caveat that this doesn't appear to be a full blown,
- 16:26wholehearted return to country music that many fans have been
- 16:29longing for in recent years. Rather, as she recalls via Instagram,
- 16:34she simply felt moved to write this particular track in
- 16:37this particular way after watching an early screening of the movie.
- 16:42Taylor explains via social media, you knew it my new
- 16:45original song. I knew It, I Knew You for Disney
- 16:49and Pixar's Toy Story five will be yours on June fifth.
- 16:53I've always dreamed of getting to write for these characters
- 16:56who if I've adored since I was a five year
- 16:57old kid watching the first Toy Story movie. I fell
- 17:01instantly in love with Toy Story five when I was
- 17:04lucky enough to see it in early stages, and I
- 17:06wrote this song as soon as I got home from
- 17:08the screening. Sometimes you just know right while we shouldn't
- 17:12allow ourselves to get too carried away, Many swifty sleuths
- 17:15have been claiming for a while now that Taylor has
- 17:18been teasing something country For instance, there was a viral
- 17:22theory in April that the Cruel Summer hit Maker is
- 17:24plotting a Taylor's version release of Tim McGraw this month,
- 17:28potentially as part of a re recorded rendition of her
- 17:31now iconic debut country album. And although it seems I
- 17:35Knew It, I Knew You just float out of the
- 17:37prolific singer songwriter, Taylor is incredibly and admirably intentional with
- 17:42everything she does, so dropping a country leaning track could
- 17:46just be somewhat whimsical, a standalone single for toy Story five,
- 17:51or it could be a bold hint at what's to
- 17:53come if Taylor is indeed planning a deeper foray into
- 17:57the country sphere. Again, it goes without saying at the
- 18:00music city landscape she left in twenty fourteen is drastically
- 18:04different in twenty twenty six. Bro country is no longer
- 18:08the flavor of the day for one, and women in
- 18:10country music are finally receiving the recognition they deserve, with
- 18:14the likes of Ella Langley, Landy Wilson, Megan Maroney and
- 18:16so many more securing their position atop the genre. With
- 18:21Taylor being photographed alongside Langley and Laney back in March
- 18:24at the iHeartRadio Music Awards. Perhaps a new country leaning
- 18:28project from Taylor could be a means of celebrating how
- 18:31far the genre has come since she first emerged in
- 18:34twenty fourteen. At long last, the women are dominating the
- 18:38charts in country radio, and a collaboration peppered project could
- 18:41be the perfect way to toast that fact. There's also
- 18:45the curious question of Morgan Wallen. Can't get away from him.
- 18:49Undoubtedly the biggest artist in the genre, and he has
- 18:51been for the past four or five years. He's also,
- 18:54of course, a light lightning rod for controversy. Even his
- 18:57piano flipping stunt on stage this past week again drew
- 19:00an array of headlines expressing outrage one way or the other.
- 19:04Wallin's public perception and is rumored, but it should be
- 19:07stressed never confirmed political allegiances would usually make him the
- 19:11furthest thing from a potential tailor collaborator, but it's worth
- 19:16highlighting a Taylor's fiancee, Travis Kelcey, walked out with Wallan
- 19:19during his Kansas City show back in August of twenty
- 19:22twenty four, and then there was the also famous moment
- 19:26where Wallan joked about how he assumed his new Lucas
- 19:29Oil Stadium attendance record would only stand until Taylor headlines
- 19:33the venue and the crowd started booing, only for him
- 19:36to gently reprimand them, outlining, we ain't got a boo,
- 19:39We ain't got a boo. I know you all got
- 19:41my back. So maybe a Taylor and Walin Duwett isn't
- 19:45far fetched a concept as you might think. Even so,
- 19:48we don't think their sounds would really align, and we'd
- 19:50be very surprised to see this. The other lingering question
- 19:54around Taylor Swift's and pending return to country music is
- 19:57how fondly she will be received. Taylor be embraced as
- 20:01the prodigal daughter returning to her roots after a wildly
- 20:04successful and utterly game changing run in pop, or will
- 20:08she be treated like Beyonce, as an outsider, a mainstream
- 20:11chart topper who has only decided to jump back on
- 20:14the country bandwagon because it's popular again. Holler says, we
- 20:18hope it will be the former. Taylor's return has been
- 20:20mythologized prospect that we've always assumed would happen at some point,
- 20:24but looked increasingly unlikely, especially when she finally bought all
- 20:28her master's recordings last spring, removing the need to re
- 20:32record her most country album, Taylor Swift. It's safe to
- 20:35say we'll know a lot more once Taylor releases I
- 20:38Knew It, I Knew You on June fifth, and then
- 20:41when the ten year anniversary of Tim McGraw arrives on
- 20:44June nineteen. Taylor remains one of the most talented songwriters
- 20:47in the modern era. If she does come back to
- 20:50country with a full body of work, it's true that
- 20:52she'll be returning to a different space than the one
- 20:54she departed from all those years ago, but it's also
- 20:57true that, given her unrivaled star power, her artistic capabilities,
- 21:01and her unwavering sense of ambition, she will leave a
- 21:04huge imprint on country and leave it looking different once
- 21:07more when the time comes again to bid farewell. Next
- 21:12more information about The Chicks back on tour. The Chicks
- 21:17are heading back on tour this year, with the Trailblazing
- 21:19trio consisting of Natalie Mains, Marty MacGuire and Emily Strayer
- 21:24embarking on a newly unveiled run of shows to celebrate
- 21:27the twentieth anniversary of their two thousand and six album
- 21:30Taking the Long Way. The project remains one of the
- 21:33most iconic records in the country canon, with Taking the
- 21:36Long Way spawning much love hits such as not Ready
- 21:38to Make Nice and Lullaby. Of course, we imagine attendees
- 21:42at these shows will also be treated to live wire
- 21:45performances of other wildly popular country anthems such as There's
- 21:49Your Trouble, Goodbye, Earl Landslide, Wide Open Spaces, and Cowboy
- 21:53Take Me Away. Kicking off on September twentieth at Detroit's
- 21:57Fox Theater, the expansive series of tours will take The
- 22:00Chicks across Chicago, Washington, New York, San Antonio, and more
- 22:05this fall. Based on the pre sale sign ups alone,
- 22:08demand is shaping up to be through the roof, with
- 22:11The Chicks already adding a third date at New York's
- 22:13Beacon Theater on October tenth. But if you're trying to
- 22:17secure tickets to The Chicks twenty twenty six Taking the
- 22:19Long Way twentieth Anniversary tour, don't fret, because their details
- 22:24are out there. If you need tickets in order to
- 22:26put yourself in prime position to try and get your
- 22:28hands on those such coveted tickets. Of course, they're not
- 22:32playing around here anywhere. Well, as we move over to
- 22:36Tasteiffcountry dot com with the first article dated back on
- 22:39May twenty seventh, here's a subject you probably don't think
- 22:41about too much, travel stops. Well, here's your first look
- 22:45at Dolly Parton's Tennessee and Travel Stop. Dolly Parton is
- 22:49getting into the travel stop business, and of course she's
- 22:52adding her iconic Dolly flare that her places more than
- 22:55just a rest stop, it's roadside destination. The country veteran
- 22:59is takeing care of every detail with her truck stop,
- 23:02caring for all road warriors, from truckers and road trippers
- 23:05to family caravans and furry companions. In a map shared
- 23:09to social media, we can see that there is something
- 23:11for everyone. The Dolly Parton Tennessee and Travel Stop will
- 23:15feature all of the typical fuel and parking options, in
- 23:19addition to some added luxuries. The property is home to
- 23:22dly BBQ, Cup of Ambition coffee and a restaurant and cafe.
- 23:28Guests can also shop around for custom merch in the
- 23:31general store and take their pets to the doggy part
- 23:34and dog park. Hopefully there's some electric charging stations as well. Anyway,
- 23:39partners also sprinkled in some fun activities like murals and
- 23:42a tour bus, not to mention a lounge with a
- 23:45main stage to bring live performances to the space. There's
- 23:48also upstairs lounge and events space for even more entertainment.
- 23:53If you know Dolly Parton, you know that she's not
- 23:55afraid to jump into different industries like cooking, cosmetics, hospitality,
- 23:59theme parks, ARX, Broadway shows, and more. This travel stop
- 24:02extension is just another one to add to her list.
- 24:06Last year, the country hit maker announced she was partnering
- 24:08with Tennessee and Travel Stop to revamp their business model
- 24:11and renovate their spaces, in other words, bringing Dolly's Southern
- 24:15Hospitality to the highway, as the company puts it. While
- 24:19the flagship location is in Cornersville, Tennessee, and the first
- 24:22spot to receive a part and makeover, part of a
- 24:25deal is to expand the brand's footprint across the nation.
- 24:28Fans will be able to pull into Dolly's the first
- 24:31Dollies Tennessee and Travel Stop beginning on Wednesday, June twenty fourth.
- 24:36Next Kenny Rodgers Widow on their anniversary I hold you
- 24:41in my heart Forever. Kenny Rogers and his wife Wanda
- 24:45would have celebrated their twenty ninth wedding anniversary on Monday,
- 24:48and Wanda remembered the special day with a social media tribute.
- 24:52Even though I can't touch you, I hold you in
- 24:54my heart forever, Kenny, she wrote, sharing a photo from
- 24:57their wedding day of June first, nineteen ninety seven. She
- 25:00also shared the lyrics to as God Is My Witness,
- 25:03the song that Rogers wrote for her to celebrate their wedding.
- 25:07Kenny Rogers was already a global superstar when he met
- 25:09his future wife, Wanda Miller back in nineteen ninety three.
- 25:13Wanda was in her mid twenties and working as a
- 25:15hostess in an Atlanta restaurant when Rogers walked in for
- 25:18a blind date with another woman, but the singer was
- 25:21instantly smitten with Wanda, and afterward he called the restaurant
- 25:25to try to get in touch with her. Wanda later
- 25:28told people that she thought the staff at the restaurant
- 25:31was pranking her at first when they passed on the
- 25:33message from Rogers. The bartenders always would play jokes on me,
- 25:37They said, Oh, Kenny Rogers called back and they gave
- 25:40me a note. She recalls, I bawled up and threw
- 25:42it in the trash can, and they went on diving
- 25:45after it. I thought, maybe they're not joking. Even after
- 25:48she realized that his interest was for real, she wasn't
- 25:51sure they stood a shot at lasting love, since he
- 25:53was twenty eight years her senior, but the couple grew close.
- 25:57They married in nineteen ninety seven and welcomed twinble Is,
- 26:00Justin and Jordan in two thousand and four. By the
- 26:03time Rogers died in March of twenty twenty, they'd been
- 26:06together for nearly twenty five years. Rogers, of course, was
- 26:10eighty one years old when he passed. He died of
- 26:12natural causes and had been in hospice care prior to
- 26:14his death. He was at home surrounded by his loved ones.
- 26:18Since then, Wanda has worked to preserve her late husband's legacy.
- 26:22She personally curated his posthumous album Life as a Song,
- 26:26which included tracks that Rogers recorded between two thousand and
- 26:29eight and two thousand and eleven. In twenty twenty three,
- 26:33Wander reveal to people that she had found love again
- 26:36and was dating someone very special. She also said that
- 26:40prior to his death, Rogers encouraged her to keep her
- 26:43heart open to new love after he was gone. Due
- 26:46to their age gap, the singer knew his wife was
- 26:48likely to outlive him by many years. One day, while
- 26:51they were watching TV, he hit the pause button and
- 26:54turned to her for an important conversation. You're young. I
- 26:58want you to have a full life past me, Wander
- 27:00remembers him saying, and of course I was like, what,
- 27:03I don't want to talk about that? Turn the TV
- 27:05back on. She said. The man she was dating was
- 27:08respectful toward her then teenaged son's relationship with their late father,
- 27:13assuring them that he wasn't trying to be their new father,
- 27:16but rather their friend forever. Wander also pointed out that
- 27:19part of her decision to date again was wanting to
- 27:22model healthy grieving for her kids. One of the big
- 27:25things is to show the boys that life goes on,
- 27:28she reflected. Kenny gave me his very best and wanted
- 27:31me to be happy. That's a really big man to
- 27:33be able to say those words and mean it, She continued,
- 27:36I think it just shows the kind of guy that
- 27:38he was. And finally, you'll be surprised at who passed
- 27:42on It's five o'clock Somewhere before Alan Jackson cut it.
- 27:46Jackson scored one of the biggest hits of his entire
- 27:48career when he recorded It's five o'clock Somewhere with Jimmy
- 27:51Buffett in three, but he was not the artist the
- 27:53songwriters had in mind when they wrote the song. Jim
- 27:57Moose Brown and Don rowlans co wrote It's five o'clock Somewhere,
- 28:00and Rowlins tells the Booth that their original demo was
- 28:02very islandly, framed by acoustic guitars and punctuated by steel drums.
- 28:07It was definitely that Margueritaville feel well. Sony turned it down,
- 28:12Kenny Chesney turned it down and released on June second,
- 28:16two thousand and three. It's five o'clock Somewhere ended up
- 28:19topping Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart for eight total weeks
- 28:22beginning on two thousand three. August ninth. That also crossed
- 28:26over to the mainstream Hot one hundred, where it peaked
- 28:29at number seventeen, and the song went on to win
- 28:31a CMA Award for Vocal Event of the Year. This
- 28:35concludes the reading of Country Weekly for this week. If
- 28:37you have any comments or ideas about this program, please
- 28:40call us at eight five nine four two two sixty
- 28:43three ninety. Thanks for joining me and on behalf of
- 28:46everyone here at Radio I. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing
- 28:49you a great day,