Latest / Country Weekly / 8.29.25
Transcript
- 0:04Speaker 1: Welcome once again to Country Weekly, where we check out
- 0:08news and gossip from the world of country music. I'm
- 0:12your host, Ken Dawkins, and i will be reading from
- 0:14various sources found online. As a reminder, RADIOI is a
- 0:19reading service intended for people who are blind or have
- 0:22other disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material.
- 0:26We'll begin with the first article, dated August twenty fifth
- 0:29from Savingcountry Music dot com, where you get opinion along
- 0:33with the news. First up, a strange drummer Mark Herndon
- 0:38reunites with Alabama. Something most country music fans and fans
- 0:43of the Hall of Fame band Alabama thought would never
- 0:46happen in our lifetimes transpired Saturday night. Longtime Alabama drummer
- 0:51Mark Herndon reunited with the living members of Alabama on
- 0:54the stage in Huntsville at the Orion Amphitheater during a
- 0:58sold out concert, Mark Herndon joined singer and guitarist Randy
- 1:02Owen and bassist Teddy Gentry on stage for the first
- 1:05time since the band's two thousand three two thousand and
- 1:08four farewell to her. Original Alabama fiddler and guitarist Jeff Cook,
- 1:13of course, passed away in twenty twenty two, Herndon performed
- 1:16on the band's legendary song Mountain Music, wearing his signature
- 1:20sunglasses along with a head band and sleeveless shirt. It
- 1:24just fell together, Teddy Gentry said in a statement Monday morning.
- 1:27The Good Lord blesses us sometimes to do things that
- 1:30we can't do. All we can do is kind of
- 1:32be in the wings and kind of hope for those things.
- 1:35Like I said, we make plans and he laughs, but
- 1:37there's nothing he can't do. I felt like a little
- 1:40kid all day, said Herndon. It was so cathartic for everybody.
- 1:43I think it was on God's time. I really do.
- 1:45It was magic all over again. The reason the reunification
- 1:49is so unbelievable is due to how the relationship between
- 1:52the drummer and Alabama ended. For years, Mark Herndon has
- 1:56been photographed with the band for album covers, tour posters,
- 2:00t shirts, and just about everything else. When the band
- 2:03was inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame back
- 2:05in twenty nineteen, Herndon was also included on the plaque.
- 2:09Statues of the band and Fort Payne include Herndon in
- 2:12the band. Nonetheless, Randy ow and Teddy Gentry and Jeff
- 2:16Cook all were cousins, while Mark Herndon had no familial relation.
- 2:20In two thousand eight, the three other members sued Mark
- 2:23Herndon for two hundred thousand dollars, claiming overpayment during the
- 2:26farewell tour. As the lawsuit unfolded, the other members of
- 2:30Alabama claimed that Herndon was never meant to be a
- 2:33member and was simply a hired hand. Randy Owen would
- 2:36later say that management and labels insisted Herndon be included
- 2:40in the photos since it gave the band four faces
- 2:42like the Beatles, and that Herndon never performed on the
- 2:45band's studio records. This characterization not only didn't sit right
- 2:49with Herndon, it also did not sit right with many
- 2:51of the Alabama fans. When Randy ow and Teddy Gentry
- 2:55and Jeff Cook re formed Alabama back in twenty thirteen,
- 2:59Mark Herndon was complet lely out of the picture. In
- 3:01twenty twenty, when Herndon published a memoir called The high
- 3:04Road Memories from a Long Trip, he addressed the drama, but,
- 3:07as the title alludes to, tried to focus more on
- 3:10the good times and his happier experiences with the band.
- 3:13Perhaps taking the high road eventually worked out for him
- 3:16time as a way of healing old wounds, and apparently
- 3:18that happened for Alabama. First forming under the name Alabama
- 3:22in nineteen seventy seven, the group signed with RCA Records
- 3:26and were off to the races. Thirty of the next
- 3:28band's thirty two singles all landed at number one, stretching
- 3:31from early nineteen eighty into nineteen eighty nineteen ninety one.
- 3:35That is, with the band continuing to mint number ones
- 3:38in top tens late into the nineties, Alabama became one
- 3:42of the most successful acts in country music history and
- 3:45the most successful band from a commercial standpoint. Mark herndon
- 3:49reuniting with Alabama, if only for a song, speaks to
- 3:53how anything is possible when it comes to life in
- 3:56country music. At a moment when country music beefs seemed
- 3:59to be the story of the day, it's good to
- 4:02finally receive some heartwarming news. No word if Mark Herndon
- 4:05will be performing anymore with the band in the future,
- 4:08but it's official. The hatchet with Alabama has been buried.
- 4:12Next on Morgan Wallen bowing out of Grammy consideration might
- 4:18have heard, but for the upcoming run of the Grammy Awards,
- 4:20the Recording Academy finally added a Best Traditional Album category
- 4:25and turn the previous album category into Best Contemporary Country Album.
- 4:29This is a major development for trying to separate the
- 4:32country genre in a way that is fair to everyone.
- 4:34That can decrease conflict and increase exposure for wordy country
- 4:38artists that too often get overshadowed by the big contemporary names.
- 4:43An effort is currently underway to get as many of
- 4:45these traditional country artists to submit their albums to the
- 4:48Grammys as possible, so hopefully the Recording Academy keeps this
- 4:51new category around and who knows, maybe adds a song
- 4:55category in the future. Says saving country music. But artists
- 4:59and bands have to put out the effort to submit
- 5:02or their album won't be considered. If you're one of
- 5:04these artists, you have until August twenty ninth to get
- 5:07your stuff in. One artist that we know won't be
- 5:10submitting their work to the Recording Academy happens to also
- 5:13be the biggest artist in all of country music. Morgan
- 5:17Wallen has let it be known, and he won't be
- 5:19submitting his massive number one album I'm the Problem for
- 5:22consideration this year. Though no explanation has been given, Wallen's
- 5:26representatives did confirm the decision on Wednesday, August twentieth. That
- 5:31means the album that has spent eleven weeks in the
- 5:33number one spot in all of American music since its
- 5:36release in May won't compete in the Country's selection or
- 5:40anywhere else. Though it might be easy to cast off
- 5:43the Grammys as being too hoity toity for the likes
- 5:46of Wallen, he was nominated for two awards just last year,
- 5:49Best Country Song and Best Country Duo Group Performance via
- 5:53I had some help with post Malone. It wasn't entirely
- 5:57out of the question that he couldn't receive some nominations
- 5:59this year, including in the Grammys All genre categories. It's
- 6:03interesting this information leaked out to the public as well.
- 6:07Sometimes artists just don't submit their stuff, like Zach Bryan
- 6:10last year, but it wasn't until the press figured out
- 6:12Zach Bryan wasn't in contention after the submissions had closed.
- 6:16When the news was revealed, It's almost like Wallin wants
- 6:19the public to know he's not playing ball, though unlike
- 6:22Drake or the week End who declined consideration in the past.
- 6:26It doesn't come with some sort of fiery sermon of
- 6:28how the Grammys suck. Nonetheless, this very well could be
- 6:32face saving move for Wallen to get ahead of the
- 6:34Grammys before making headlines for being snubbed. At the same time,
- 6:38Wallen has never been much for awards to begin with.
- 6:40In twenty twenty four, he won the most coveted trophy
- 6:43in the country entirety of Country music, the CMA's Entertainer
- 6:47of the Year. Wallin wasn't there to accept it in
- 6:50person or hasn't acknowledged the wind subsequently, let alone seem
- 6:54grateful for it. But what does Morgan Wallan need awards for.
- 6:57He's already one of the biggest artists in all of music.
- 7:00When Sierra Farrell won four Grammys in the Americana categories
- 7:03earlier this year, it was a major moment in her career.
- 7:07There could also be more big moments for independent artists
- 7:09when the nominations are revealed on November seventh and at
- 7:13the awards in February, especially with the new Best Traditional
- 7:16Country Album category, but focusing more on the critically acclaimed
- 7:20as opposed to the completely commercial. It's not exactly a
- 7:24loss that Morgan Wallen won't be in Grammy contentions as
- 7:26saving country music. It simply opens the field for more
- 7:30artists who deserve the recognition, can benefit more from it,
- 7:33and might actually care if they receive it. Now we
- 7:37wander on over to countrynow dot com with the first article,
- 7:40also dated August twenty fifth. Braxton Keith walks off stage
- 7:45mid show after fan toss'es beer at concert in Oklahoma.
- 7:50Rising country artist Braxton Keith had enough of unruly fans
- 7:53at his concert It's getting to be a thing over
- 7:56the weekend. He made his message loud and clear, abruptly
- 7:58stopping the show and walking off stage and Heritage Hall
- 8:01in Ardmore, Oklahoma. According to concert attendees, Keith was performing
- 8:06when fans tossed beer onto the stage, promoting him to
- 8:09stop the show and address the situation. The Baby You
- 8:12Do singer took it a step further and decided to
- 8:15end the show right then and right there, y'all. I
- 8:18know most of y'all are behaving yourselves tonight, but there's
- 8:21a bunch of people up here that are having a
- 8:22good time. And then there's a bunch of beer throwing.
- 8:25He said, I don't come you all's jobs and do
- 8:27anything like that to you all, So until you all
- 8:30can learn some concert etiquette, my name's Braxton Keith. Thank
- 8:33you all for coming out to Ardmore, Oklahoma tonight. Leaving
- 8:37fans puzzled, Keith took off his guitar and exited the stage,
- 8:41with the band following him close behind. Based on the
- 8:44comments on the post, fans seemed divided over the situation,
- 8:47with some supporting his decision to leave the stage and
- 8:50others upset that a different course of action wasn't taken.
- 8:53One user wrote, don't blame him for being pissed off,
- 8:56but why should you punish everyone else because of a
- 8:58few idiots, and others shared, well, the good people that
- 9:01were there to hear him sing don't get their money back.
- 9:05Some One else had a different opinion, writing, seems pretty
- 9:07childish of him to me. If he can't handle that
- 9:09kind of stuff, maybe he needs to pick a different
- 9:11career path. Oh boy. This isn't the first time Braxton
- 9:15Keith has made headlines for speaking out about fans behavior.
- 9:18Earlier this year, he sparked a minor feud with label
- 9:21mate Gavin Adcock after comparing his own crowd to the
- 9:24way fans reportedly behave at a Gavin Adcock show. He
- 9:29later addressed the situation on social media. Please watch the
- 9:32entire entire video. He says, this is unacceptable behavior for
- 9:36any concert, including my brother Gavin Adcock. Nobody likes beer
- 9:40and trash getting thrown at them. I love live music,
- 9:42and when given the opportunity to speak up about unruliness
- 9:45in the concert community, I will protect my audience, ban crew, equipment,
- 9:49and most important, the integrity of live performance experiences, he wrote.
- 9:54Braxton Keith is known for his non traditional i should
- 9:57say neo traditional country sound and his turn head with
- 10:00recent releases Cozy and Cheating on My Honky Talk with
- 10:03Randall King. He's open for artists like Cody Johnson, Gavin Adcock,
- 10:07and Luke Bryant, and it's currently headlining his This Ain't
- 10:11My First Tour tour, which is set to run through
- 10:14early November. On a happier note, Thomas Rhett and wife
- 10:18Lauren are expecting a fifth child. Thomas Rhett and his
- 10:23wife Lauren Akens are adding another little one to their family.
- 10:26Baby number five is on the way. The country superstar
- 10:29Who's thirty five shared the exciting news on Instagram early Tuesday.
- 10:33In the sweet video, Lauren can be heard saying are
- 10:35you ready, honey, before stepping into the frame to join Thomas,
- 10:38who's strumming his guitar. Lauren thirty five shows off for
- 10:42a growing baby bump. Thomas delivers an acoustic rendition of
- 10:46his twenty eighteen hit Life Changes, but with a special
- 10:49twist updated lyrics to announce their big news. As strums
- 10:54the guitar, Lauren reveals her ultrasound photos with a big smile.
- 10:58They captured the clip here we go again. We've got
- 11:00some really excited big sisters in our house. God is
- 11:03so good. Thomas and Lauren are already parents the four
- 11:07Girls wille Gray, Ada, James Lennon, Love and Lily Carolina.
- 11:12Thomas and Lauren have been open about their desire to
- 11:14have a big family. In twenty twenty four, he admitted
- 11:17that they were thinking about having another. Telling Backstage Country,
- 11:20I think we go back and forth because I've heard
- 11:22a lot of people older than me say so many
- 11:24times I wish I'd had more kids, or you never
- 11:27hear somebody in their sixties be like I wish I
- 11:29had less kids. No one ever says that at the
- 11:33time they were still trying to figure it out and
- 11:35decide between adopting and having another biological child. Although it
- 11:40would be hard now to add another one or two
- 11:42more or whatever. But I know the time will go
- 11:44by fast and at some point there could be five
- 11:46or six children sitting at our Thanksgiving table, he said,
- 11:49So it's not out of the question. I think we're
- 11:51trying to figure out when and do we want to
- 11:53try biological do we want to adopt again? I think
- 11:56those are questions that we're kind of dealing with in
- 11:58that interview. Thomas and Lorne have yet to reveal the
- 12:01do date or gender of their fifth child. Moving along,
- 12:05Carter Faith taps Billy Bob Thornton for bar Star music video.
- 12:11Carter Faith recently dropped the official music video for her
- 12:14single bar Store, and it comes with a dose of
- 12:17Hollywood stardom thanks to Academy Award winner Billy Bob Thornton.
- 12:21This collaboration with Thornton was a dream come true for Faith,
- 12:24who claims to be a longtime fan of his on
- 12:26screen talent. As soon as she wrote the Late Night track,
- 12:29alongside Aaron Raider, Toper Brown, and Tyler Halverson. The songstress
- 12:34knew that Thornton would be the perfect person to help
- 12:36her bring it to life. The story is told from
- 12:39perspective of a woman who can't help but gush over
- 12:42her charismatic, yet slightly reckless man who is notorious for
- 12:45drinking too much, staying out too late, and thriving in
- 12:49the chaos of night life. While others might see these
- 12:52habits as flaws, she deems them to be a work
- 12:55of art because, contrary to what some people might believe,
- 12:58he treats her right, loves his mama, and has got
- 13:00a charm. It's impossible for her to resist. With a
- 13:04voice dripping in innocence and confidence, Faith stands up for
- 13:07her man as she sings the clever lyrics, my Baby's
- 13:10a bar star, a damn living drinking work of art.
- 13:13He gets to sipping and he goes too far, But
- 13:15I don't mind it. Kind of like it when he
- 13:17goes too far. He's a happy hour hero. He's always
- 13:20getting keystone, bless his liver and his honky Tonk heart.
- 13:23Because my Baby's a bar Star. Faith's vision for the
- 13:27song music video is perfectly executed thanks to Thornton's acting skills.
- 13:31At its core, the song celebrates loving someone unapologetically for
- 13:35who they are and finding beauty in the rough edges.
- 13:38In order to put that narrative on display, Faith appeared
- 13:41in the grungy bar setting wearing her rhinestone detailed denim
- 13:44ensemble and stepped up to the old fashioned mike to
- 13:47share the story of her bar star. As she delivers
- 13:51the story with love radiating from her eyes, the actor
- 13:53is seen flirting with the abundance of women inside the bar,
- 13:56getting flirtier and rowdier the more he drinks. Star is
- 14:00a fun song about a lovable honkey talk man. Says
- 14:02Carter in simple terms, He's the star of the bar
- 14:05for better or for worse, but damn it, she loves him.
- 14:09Fair reached out to Billy Bob Thornton and hopes that
- 14:11he would say yes to her request to join her
- 14:13in the music video, and to her surprise, he was
- 14:16on board. I can't believe I somehow convinced Billy to
- 14:19be in my music video. She says. He is the
- 14:21ultimate bar star in my opinion, and I'm so grateful
- 14:24to him for his friendship Along with the music video
- 14:28the North Carolina native Honor Thornton with a surprise bonus
- 14:31track titled Billy Bob Thornton Work Tape. She shared, I
- 14:36wrote this song about Billy Bob Thornton because I literally
- 14:39love him. I've always thought he was so talented, and
- 14:41I've wanted to marry many of the characters he's played
- 14:44over the years. I just had to write about it,
- 14:46and I hope people like this little glimpse into my
- 14:48one track mind. Barstar offers fans another look into Carter
- 14:52Faith's highly anticipated debut album, Cherry Valley, which is set
- 14:56to drop October third via MCA. She has also previews
- 15:00the project with past releases including If I Had Never
- 15:03Lost My Mind, Grudge, and the most recently, Sex, Drugs
- 15:07and Country Music. The album will follow Faith's The Aftermath EP,
- 15:11the drop last fall and featured a duet with Alison Krausse.
- 15:15Cherry Valleys comprised of songs the chronicle Faith's journey from
- 15:19her hometown to Nashville, covering moments of her success, the
- 15:23highs and lows of relationships, family conflicts, and everything in between.
- 15:29The project will mark a milestone release for Carter faith Or.
- 15:32She has been announced as the first signee of the
- 15:34newly launched Gatsby Records, a label formed under MCA Music
- 15:39Corporation of America and esteemed songwriter Jesse Joe Dillon. Cherry
- 15:44Valley is an album that is deeply personal to me
- 15:46and I'm so grateful to be working with Jesse Joe
- 15:48Dillon and MCA to launch this music on Gatsby Records.
- 15:52Faith ads Jesse Joe is building this eight label with
- 15:55heart and soul. She has a true passion and talent
- 15:58for making sure artists get heard. I'm proud to be
- 16:01working with her and so honored to be the first
- 16:02artist on Gatsby Records with a new musical chapter ahead.
- 16:07Carter faith is fresh off her time on the road
- 16:09with Little Big Town and is now gearing up to
- 16:11support Noah Cyrus in September, followed by dates with Marcus
- 16:15King and Kelsey Vallerini this winter. Next, Laney Wilson levels
- 16:21up with Whirlwind and World Tour. Laney Wilson has expanded
- 16:26her Grammy winning album Whirlwind with the release of Whirlwind Deluxe.
- 16:31The album doubles down on the Louisiana native's signature storytelling and,
- 16:35according to Wilson, conveys a sense of peace to listeners.
- 16:39In addition to the project's fourteen original songs, the new
- 16:42Extended Edition features five additional tracks, Bell Bottoms Up, King, Ranch, King,
- 16:47George King, James, Yesterday, All Day, every Day, Peace, Love
- 16:51and Cowboys, and the Chart Climbing Somewhere Over Laredo. The
- 16:55Superstar says she wasn't convinced her Whirlwind chapter was completely
- 16:58over and felt the desire to keep it going with
- 17:01these five new songs. When I wrote Whirlwind, it was
- 17:05during the time in my life when I felt things
- 17:06were constantly changing. It was completely chaotic. Those were the
- 17:11songs that helped keep one foot on the ground, Wilson
- 17:14shared with Zane Lowe on Apple Music. Once it was out,
- 17:17I got a minute to really breathe and soak it up,
- 17:20and then I had another time when the songs were
- 17:21coming out of me. It was on the tail end
- 17:24of Whirlwind, but they still felt part of the Whirlwind story.
- 17:28Through these new songs, Wilson says, fans will hear a
- 17:30sense of peace. I don't know if you can hear
- 17:32it in Somewhere Over Laredo or Peace Loven Cowboys. There
- 17:36are certain songs on there that feel more grounded and centered.
- 17:39There's a little magical feeling of some of it, she
- 17:41pointed out to Low. It feels like a step into
- 17:44another direction. It's still about the storytelling no matter what.
- 17:48But even as a band, we've grown, even with these tracks.
- 17:52Fans will see that same growth on her brand new
- 17:55Whirlwind World Tour, which recently opened with a sold out
- 17:58show in Phoenix. I'm partial, but I feel like we've
- 18:01leveled up. This tour is not just a step up.
- 18:04We've taken a leap and I have a badass crew,
- 18:06she told Low. On the tour, fans can catch Wilson
- 18:09performing Heart Like a Truck at Watermelon Moonshine from her
- 18:13breakout album Bell Bottom Country, along with chart topping hits
- 18:16such as four by Four by You Plus Somewhere Over
- 18:19Laredo and Peace Love and Cowboys from Whirlwind de Luxe.
- 18:23Amid a landmark year, Wilson earned four trophies at the
- 18:26sixtieth a CM Awards earlier this year, her second consecutive
- 18:30Entertainer of the Year, a third consecutive Female Artist of
- 18:33the Year, plus Album of the Year for Whirlwind and
- 18:36Artist Songwriter of the Year. Additionally, she expanded her brand
- 18:41with a fourth Wrangler collection, her own Golden West boots,
- 18:44and the Lady Wilson Jewelry collection. She continues to prove
- 18:48to be an unstoppable force in country music and beyond.
- 18:52Now we make a stop over at people dot com
- 18:55Country with the first and only article dated the twenty
- 18:58sixth of August. Lina Delray reveals why forthcoming country album
- 19:02The Right Person Will Stay now titled Stove, was delayed.
- 19:08Lina Delray revealed why her upcoming tenth studio album was
- 19:11delayed in a w magazine cover story published on Tuesday.
- 19:16The Summertime Sadness singer shared why her LP, now called
- 19:20Stove after originally being called Lasso and renamed The Bright
- 19:24Person Will Stay, is coming out later than expected. According
- 19:28to Delray, forty, she had six songs she wanted to
- 19:31add to the record. They were more autobiographical than I thought,
- 19:34and that took more time, said the West Coast musician.
- 19:37Storytelling is there in both and I'm always drawn to
- 19:40world creating, especially in country music. Delray, who worked on
- 19:44the record with producer Luke Laird. In addition to jack
- 19:47Ananoff also noted that the majority of the album will
- 19:50have a country flare. According to the singer songwriter, her
- 19:54new album, Stove will likely be released at the end
- 19:57of January in twenty twenty six. Elsewhere in the interview,
- 20:01Delray revealed that she considered releasing an album of country
- 20:03covers called Country in Western, which would feature covers of
- 20:07California classics. I Love California Dreaming and California by Joni Mitchell,
- 20:12she said, also noting her love of the country's song Lukenbach, Texas,
- 20:17added del Rey, the story telling is there in both,
- 20:20and I'm always drawn to world creating, especially in country music.
- 20:24Ahead of the release of Stove, Delray shared two singles
- 20:27in April, Bluebird and Henry Come On. She also noted
- 20:31at the time that her forthcoming country album would be
- 20:34delayed and not released on the anticipated May twenty first date,
- 20:38and that the title of the LP would be changing again.
- 20:41I'm really happy for this album to be moving along.
- 20:43I do have a lot more to say about that.
- 20:46I mean, you do know it's not going to come
- 20:47on time, right, Like I should even tell you that
- 20:49the name is changed again. Delray sent in and now
- 20:52deleted Instagram reels shared on April eleventh, She added, should
- 20:56I tell you that now you while you're so happy
- 20:58you even have a song? Yeah? Maybe I'll wait Now
- 21:03we mosey on over to the boot dot com with
- 21:06the article I'm about to redate it back on August
- 21:09twenty second. It's a list fifteen country songs from the
- 21:13nineties that are perfect for a Friday night tailgate in
- 21:16twenty twenty five. Yeah, high school football season is upon us,
- 21:21and you need a playlist if you're going about throwing
- 21:23it back to nineties country in twenty twenty five. There's
- 21:27something about a Friday night under the big lights, hanging
- 21:29with friends and loved ones while cheering on the local team.
- 21:33Since the majority of Friday night football games happened in
- 21:36the early evening hours, it makes for a perfect sunset
- 21:39tailgate in the parking lot before the game, and nineteen
- 21:42nineties country music really fits perfectly with a small town vibe.
- 21:46The Boot picked fifteen songs for a reason. Country songs
- 21:49in the nineteen nineties average roughly four minutes each, so
- 21:53a fifteen song playlist would be good for about an
- 21:56hour of tailgating before the big game. First one, Garth
- 22:01Brooks Friends in Low Places, Number two, Joe Diffy's pick
- 22:06Up Man. We'll get the whole party singing along, Pass
- 22:09me a hot dog and play Tim mc graw's I
- 22:11Like It, I Love It, Push, play On, Billy Cyrus,
- 22:15Billy Ray Cyrus, Achy, Breaky Hard of Course, boot scoot
- 22:19and boogie with will Of Brooks and Dunn. Get ready
- 22:23for a sing along with Alan Jackson's Chattahoochee. Can't mention
- 22:27high school football without Little Texas, God Bless Texas, and
- 22:32you've got to play Neil McCoy's tail on Tailgate and
- 22:36Travis Tritz t r O U B l E perfect
- 22:39for small town vibes. Smile when Mark Chestnut's Bubba Shot
- 22:44the jukebox plays, And is it even a tailgate without
- 22:47Alan Jackson's Gone Country? God, you just play Heads, Carolina
- 22:52Tails California. No, we need reason to flip a coin.
- 22:55Toby Keith's should have been a Cowboys and must play
- 22:58for Friday night tailgate And as the sun goes down,
- 23:02Fire up Neon Moon from sister publication to the boot
- 23:08Taste of Country, first article published August twenty six. Back
- 23:12to Morgan Wallen he slapped with a fifteen thousand dollars
- 23:15fine after breaking curfew at Gillette Stadium in Massachusetts. Morgan
- 23:21Wallen's I'm the Problem tour stop in Foxborough while it
- 23:24met with a problem and when fourteen minutes passed the
- 23:26town's curfew of eleven thirty. Now he's facing a hefty fine.
- 23:31Wallin played two nights at Gillette Stadium last Friday and Saturday.
- 23:35Now The Boston Herald reports that during his Friday show,
- 23:38his final song started at eleven forty four pm. Spokesman
- 23:43for the town of Foxboro says that the fine is
- 23:45assessed twenty five cents per concert goer in the crowd,
- 23:50and in total, Wallin was fined fifteen thousand, seven hundred
- 23:53and five dollars for the violation. That math works out
- 23:56to total attendance of sixty two, eight hundred and twenty fans.
- 24:00That's at Wallin's Friday night Jillette Stadium show. That, by
- 24:04the way, is about two miles from where I worked
- 24:06for many years. Anyway, it also means that each minute
- 24:09of overtime costs the singer eleven hundred and twenty one
- 24:12dollars and seventy nine cents. The spokesperson also told The
- 24:16Boston Herald that Wallin's team is aware of the fine. Meanwhile,
- 24:20Wallen is known for his all star walkouts and the
- 24:23singer delivered during his two nights at Gillette Stadium on
- 24:26Friday night, Mike Vrabel, the head coach of the New
- 24:28England Patriots, joined Wallen for his walkout. The next night,
- 24:32former NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski made an appearance and
- 24:35even spiked a guitar during the walkout. The Problem Tours
- 24:39stops at Gillette Stadium were special for opening act Miranda
- 24:43Lambert iiO. Her parents Beverly and Rick, and brother Luke
- 24:47joined her backstage at the show. Lambert shared some snapshots
- 24:50of the backstage family reunion on her social media. Wallen
- 24:55has now wrapped up all of his I'm the Problem
- 24:57Tour dates with Problems scheduled for the US. He scheduled
- 25:01for two more weekends in Canada, one in Toronto, the
- 25:04other in Edmonton in September next. Is the future of
- 25:09country music doomed because of this sobering new statistic. Is
- 25:14the future of country music doom because of this new
- 25:16statistic that was just released, says Taste of country. According
- 25:20to Forbes Gallup, who have been polling Americans about their
- 25:24drinking habits for over ninety years, the latest statistics show
- 25:28that alcohol consumption is way down. Only fifty four percent
- 25:32of Americans report drinking alcohol in the latest poll, which
- 25:35was taken in July. This is a stark difference from
- 25:38the sixty percent of Americans who reported drinking alcohol from
- 25:41nineteen ninety seven through twenty twenty three. That figure then
- 25:46increased to sixty two percent in twenty twenty three, and
- 25:49went back down again to fifty eight percent in twenty
- 25:52twenty four, before reaching a record low of fifty four
- 25:55percent today. I'm sure there was a bump during the pandemic. Anyways,
- 25:59you'll likely no alcohol and alcohol consumption is a major
- 26:02part of not only the country music lifestyle, but the
- 26:05lyrics and subjects of many country songs. According to Medium,
- 26:10forty percent of country music's biggest hits in the past
- 26:13ten years mention alcohol in some form. So if the
- 26:17future generations are drinking less of it, will that affect
- 26:20the way that country music sounds, both live and recorded.
- 26:24Think of how many of your favorite country songs mention
- 26:27either whiskey, tequila, wine or beer. If people stop drinking
- 26:31those things, the lyrics will soon become outdated and irrelevant
- 26:35if not adopted. Could the future of country music include
- 26:38references to vaping instead? Now, don't count on it. Singing
- 26:42about missing your ex while taking a drag on your
- 26:45vape just doesn't hit as hard as missing your ex
- 26:47will half a bottle deep on some Jack Daniels. Now,
- 26:51if you're wondering when we drank the most in America,
- 26:53it was between nineteen seventy four and nineteen eighty one,
- 26:57when sixty eight percent to seventy one percent of how
- 27:00Americans were drinkers. According to Upgraded Points, whiskey is the
- 27:06most popular alcohol in eighteen states across America, with vodka
- 27:10coming in second most popular in fifteen states. The youngest
- 27:14legal drinking age in the world is in Mali and
- 27:18the Central African Republic, which allows people to drink at
- 27:21the tender age of fifteen. And finally, meet the country
- 27:25star who's helping Cracker Barrel with its makeover. Crackerball has
- 27:30a long history of country music partnerships. They even have
- 27:32a Grammy. The restaurant's newest spokesman is being overshadowed of course,
- 27:36by a controversy over its new logo. In fact, a
- 27:40major kickoff event in New York City was totally eclipsed
- 27:42by headlines focused on diner outrage and plummeting stock prices.
- 27:47That's Jordan Davis pulling a fork from a pot pie
- 27:50as he touts that Crackerbowl is all about more. His
- 27:53song Ain't Enough Road plays in the background as he
- 27:55continues the pitch. He was actually announced in the company's
- 27:59Tuesday press release, and he offered a quote about how
- 28:01Cracker Barrel values line up with his own. This video
- 28:04would be sent to his social media platforms with little
- 28:07expectation that it would become a lightning rod for criticism.
- 28:11George Davis has been one of country music's most dependable
- 28:14hit maker since his debut singles Singles You Up, dropped
- 28:18in two thousand seventeen. He has five number one songs
- 28:21on Billboard Country Airplay Chart. His best known are probably
- 28:24by Dirt and Next Thing You Know Well. This concludes
- 28:29the reading of Country Weekly for this week. If you
- 28:31have any comments or suggestions about our program, kindly call
- 28:35us at eight five nine four two two sixty three ninety.
- 28:39Thank you for joining me. And on behalf of every
- 28:41one here at Radio I. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing
- 28:44you a great day.