Latest / Country Weekly / 3.27.26
Transcript
- 0:05Speaker 1: Welcome back. It's time once again to catch up with
- 0:08Country Weekly, where we dive in to news and gossip
- 0:11from the world of country music. I'm your host as always,
- 0:15Ken Dawkins, and I will be reading from various sources
- 0:18found online. As a reminder, RADIOI is a reading service
- 0:22intended for people who are blind or have other disabilities
- 0:25that make it difficult to read printed material. We'll begin
- 0:29with the first article, dated March twenty third from Rolling Stone.
- 0:35Stergil Simpson scores a top three debut with an album
- 0:38you still can't stream. Last month, Stergil Simpson revealed that
- 0:43his new album, Mutiny After Midnight, his second as his
- 0:47alter ego Johnny Bluesky's, would only be released on physical formats,
- 0:51and for anyone who doubted that decision, the joke's on you.
- 0:55The album just debuted at number three on the Billboard
- 0:58two hundred to Billboard, Mutiny landed on the top ten
- 1:02with fifty nine thousand equivalent album units earned. It's the
- 1:05first physical only release to achieve this since twenty twenty three,
- 1:09when Taylor Swift released Folklore the Long Pond Studio Sessions
- 1:13on Record Store Day that was released only via independent
- 1:17record shops. Prior to that, Garth Brooks five CD compilation,
- 1:21the anthology part won the first five years, which was
- 1:24more widely available than Folklore, debuted at number four in
- 1:28twenty seventeen. But as Simpson noted on Instagram, Mutiny is
- 1:33not a compilation, so this is the only new album
- 1:36of original music to do it. Since we don't know,
- 1:39he wrote, perhaps Billboard can provide that information. Mutiney was
- 1:43pressed on six vinyl variants, cassette and CD. Though the
- 1:47album briefly leaked on YouTube, it stopped sharing data with
- 1:50Billboard late last year, but at the very least the
- 1:53YouTube release caused excitement and word of mouth anticipation for
- 1:56the official March thirteenth release. Thinking about the leak, Simpson wrote,
- 2:01we had originally planned a physical only release for at
- 2:04least the first four to six weeks, to support and
- 2:06show solidarity with independent record shops and to promote increasingly
- 2:10bygone physical and tangible connection between music and music fans.
- 2:16There were some hiccups and some opportunities, thus some in
- 2:19the moment adjustments that led only to more fun and chaos. Personally,
- 2:23I'm just here for the chaos. Plus, I've always really
- 2:26wanted to leak my own record. Simpson has yet to
- 2:29announce tour dates in support of Mutiny, but charting from
- 2:32physical releases alone is enough to celebrate this disco country record.
- 2:37Want to start a revolution and watch it begin, Simpson
- 2:39sings in the opener, Stay tuned now, we bob and
- 2:44weave on over to countrynow dot com with the first article,
- 2:47also dated March twenty third, Dustin Lynch, Cole Goodwin, and
- 2:51Moore shine a Country Now Live benefiting Saint Jude. If
- 2:55there's one thing Nashville knows how to do, it's to
- 2:58have a good time, and Country Now Live delivered just
- 3:00that at sixth and Peabody on Saint Patrick's Day. The
- 3:04evening mixed great music with an even greater cause, as
- 3:07each act in the line up generously donated their time
- 3:10in support of the Saint Jude Children's Research Hospital. Despite
- 3:15chili conditions outside, the atmosphere inside was warm and lively.
- 3:18Its fans and members of the industry packed out the
- 3:20venue to see headliner Dustin Lynch, as well as a
- 3:23lineup of rising acts including Cole Goodwin, Kaylee Green, Kenny Whitmyer,
- 3:27Jacob Hackworth and Graham Saint Clair. Each artist took the
- 3:32stage for intimate sets, mixing fan favorites with new material
- 3:36and giving the crowd a closer look at the next
- 3:37wave of country talent. Country Now Live once again took
- 3:41place the night before CRS, setting the tone for the
- 3:44three day event to come. Graham Saint Clair kept saying simple,
- 3:48taking the stage with Justice guitar and letting the song
- 3:50speak for themselves. His set featured several tracks, including his
- 3:54latest release carry Me Home, along with a brand new
- 3:57unreleased song titled bad Guy, which she shared as set
- 4:01to be recorded in the coming months. Despite it being
- 4:04only a second time performing in Nashville, the Texas native
- 4:08made the moment count and likely walked away with a
- 4:10few new fans. Up next, with Jacob Hackworth, he brought
- 4:14a mix of fresh momentum and songwriting success to the stage.
- 4:17During his Country Now Live set, the rising artist spotlighted
- 4:21his debut radio single what Took You So Long, giving
- 4:24fans a first taste of this next chapter in his
- 4:26career as he makes his transition from songwriter to an
- 4:29artist in his own right. He also performed another recent
- 4:32release that's heating up social media, bad As I Do
- 4:36Kenny Whittmeyer took the stage also last week. He made
- 4:39one thing clear his set was going to be country,
- 4:42because admittingly, that's all he knows and it's the kind
- 4:44of music that fuels him. He stayed true to that
- 4:47promise from the very first note, delivering a performance rooted
- 4:50in traditional storytelling and heartfelt lyrics. Kaylee Green had the
- 4:55crowd on their feet, singing along as she moved seamlessly
- 4:58between classic covers in her own powerful original songs. She
- 5:02was met with cheers while showcasing her vulnerable ballad A
- 5:06Little Bit Lonely, and captured the hearts in the crowd
- 5:09with more originals like Wedding Gown and the storytelling driven
- 5:12Shadow of a Cowboy, offering a deeper look at her songwriting.
- 5:17She also delivered a show stopping cover of Shania Twain's
- 5:21man I Feel Like a Woman, before bringing the house
- 5:23down with an epic rendition of Martina McBride's Independence Day.
- 5:28Cole Goodwin admitted he was tickled to be part of
- 5:30Country Now Live and performing in support of Saint Jude's
- 5:33Children Research Hospital. During his time on stage, he used
- 5:37every minute to the fullest while giving fans a taste
- 5:39of his traditional country sound. The Georgia native briefly slowed
- 5:43things down with Call Me Colorado before closing his set
- 5:46with his latest release Howdy. This clever track earned plenty
- 5:50of smiles from the crowd once they caught on to
- 5:52the twist that turns the classic southern greeting into how
- 5:56he and the chorus trying it into a question of
- 5:59how he ended up with a girl like Her. Goodwin
- 6:02set perfectly balanced humor, heart and his signature traditional country sound,
- 6:06proving he's already making waves as a well rounded entertainer.
- 6:11Dustin Lynch closed out Country Now Live with an unforgettable,
- 6:14high energy set featuring crowd favorites like hell of a Knight,
- 6:17Seeing Red, Thinking About You, and Where's It's At. He
- 6:20later turned things down a notch with the heartfelt Cowboys
- 6:23and Angels, after which he admitted he had missed performing
- 6:26the song and giving fans a tender emotional moment amidst
- 6:29the upbeat tracks. He then picked the energy back up
- 6:32with small Town Boy to wrap up the show. Before
- 6:36exiting the stage, Looks Lynch took a moment to highlight
- 6:39the Knight's purpose and thanked everyone who came out on
- 6:42Tuesday night. Thank you Country Now, Thank you Saint Jude
- 6:45for doing all you do. It's changed so many lives,
- 6:48and I think we've all been touched by what they're
- 6:50trying to cure, and they're doing a great job of it.
- 6:53On top of all the doctors and nurses. Just the
- 6:56amount of research as they have at Memphis is incredible.
- 6:59He proudly should. I'm a science nerd, so I appreciate
- 7:02all that fun stuff, and I love to visit and
- 7:04we always are honored to get to ask to be
- 7:07part of anything they touch. So thank you guys for
- 7:10honoring and to asking us to be here. Tonight may
- 7:14have been fun filled Tuesday night, but the impact of
- 7:16Country Now Live went far beyond music. All proceeds from
- 7:19the evening were donated to Saint Jude's Children's Research Hospital,
- 7:24supporting its life saving mission to treat and defeat childhood
- 7:27cancer and other life threatening diseases. Thanks to fundraising efforts
- 7:32like this, families at Saint Jude never receive a bill
- 7:35for treatment, housing, or food, allowing them to focus fully
- 7:39on what matters most. Next, the aforementioned CRS twenty twenty
- 7:44six showed new Faces delivers breakout moments from Ella Langley,
- 7:48Chase Matthew and Moore. Country Radio Seminar, which is known
- 7:53as CRS of Course, officially returned to Nashville this week,
- 7:56once again bringing together the voices that help shape country music,
- 8:00from the radio programmers and label executives to artists, media
- 8:03and beyond. Held March eighteenth through the twentieth at the
- 8:07Omni Nashville Hotel, the annual event served as the center
- 8:10of fresh conversations, new connections, and a look to where
- 8:13the format is headed next with the artists who are
- 8:16leading the charge. Keeping with the tradition more than fifty
- 8:20years in the making. The three day event concluded with
- 8:22its most anticipated moment, the New Faces of Country Music Show.
- 8:27This annual showcase puts a mix of rising artists on
- 8:29stage in front of those who already played that role
- 8:32on their journey and who can help push it even further.
- 8:36In five decades of history, it has proven anything, it's
- 8:39that this stage has a way of predicting country music's
- 8:42next biggest stars. Last year, welcome to stand Out twenty
- 8:45twenty five class including Drew Baldridge, Ashley Cook, Dasha zach Topp,
- 8:50and Warren Zeeders. Before them came artists like Jelly Roll,
- 8:54Parker mc collum, Lup, Bryan Taylor, Swift, Brad Paisley, Eric Church,
- 8:58Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhete, Colmbs, Tim McGraw, Toby Keith, and
- 9:02Brooks and Dunn, all of whom were named new Faces
- 9:05of country music over the years. Presented in partnership with
- 9:10the Academy of Country Music and again Saint Jude's Children's
- 9:13Research Hospital, the twenty twenty six showcase highlighted six artists
- 9:17instead of the usual five acts, spotlighting Chase Matthew, Kelsey Hart,
- 9:22Meghan Patrick, John Morgan, Josh Ross, and Ella Langley. Each
- 9:26of these artists earned their spot through votes from the
- 9:29country music industry, reflecting their strong momentum, growing fan bases,
- 9:33and impactful songs released during the qualification period leading into
- 9:37CRS twenty twenty six. This year's performers certainly did the
- 9:42genre proud, showcasing exactly why they deserve this moment in
- 9:45the spotlight and proving their only getting started. Next inside
- 9:52Jason Aldean's surprised thirty one number one party with performances
- 9:56from his friends and heroes. Jason Aldean's rec label and
- 10:00team pulled off an epic surprise for the country superstar
- 10:04during country radio Seminar on Thursday, when he was honored
- 10:07with a thirty one number one party. The star Stuttered
- 10:10event was hosted by BMG America's President Frontline Recordings, John
- 10:14Loba and BBR Music Group. BMG Nashville's EVP Recording Music
- 10:18Joe Jamie harr And brought together Aldean's friends and heroes
- 10:22to celebrate the Georgia Natives career, which includes thirteen top
- 10:26ten country albums and thirty one number one hits at
- 10:29country radio. Blake Shelton kicked off the night with a
- 10:33performance of Aldean's number one hit when She Says Baby,
- 10:36and later recited a self written poem that had the
- 10:39entire room laughing. Later, Aldean's all time favorite band, Alabama,
- 10:44took the stage to perform one of his favorite songs,
- 10:47the Closer You Get, marking a full circle moment as
- 10:50Aldean performed or often performed the track during his early
- 10:53sets as a rising artist. Travis Dridd, Aldean's longtime friend
- 10:58and musical hero, also prize the crowd with a performance
- 11:01of All Dean's chart topping hit Night Train. The celebration
- 11:04continued with a major moment when Brian Kelly and Tyler
- 11:08Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line reunited to perform Aldane's number
- 11:11one hit that they co wrote with Morgan Wallen and
- 11:13Jordan Schmidt, You Make It Easy. In total, fifty four
- 11:18songwriters were celebrated for all Dean's thirty one number one hits,
- 11:22including Red Atkins, Kurt Allison, Dylan Altman, Brent Anderson, Thomas Archer,
- 11:27Brett Beavers, Garrant Boyer, Will Bundy, Rodney Clausen, Alex Palmer,
- 11:33Bobby Pinson, Neil Thrasher, Chris Tompkins, and many many more. Additionally,
- 11:39Laura and Elaine Brooks and Don Luke, Bryan Hardy, Chipper Jones,
- 11:43Miranda Lambert, Chase Matthew, Rascal Flats, Thomas Rhett, Willie Robertson,
- 11:47Darius Rucker, Bridget Tatum, Laney Wilson, Carrie Underwood, and Trisha
- 11:51Yearwood shared video tributes for al Dean, who watched alongside
- 11:55his wife Brittany and other members of the family. A
- 11:59visibly stunned all Day closed out the eventful evening with
- 12:02a performance of his thirty first chart topping single, how
- 12:05Far Does a Goodbye Go? Meanwhile, also at CRS, Randy
- 12:10Owen surprises Keith Urban with Angels among Us Award. Keith
- 12:15Urban received a surprise honor during the Special Conversation at
- 12:18CRS on Thursday, when he was presented with the Randy
- 12:21Owen Angels among Us Award for his longtime commitment and
- 12:24service to the mission of the Saint Jude's Research Hospital.
- 12:28The four time Grammy winner and fourteen time CMA Award
- 12:31recipient was recognized during a Saint Jude focused session where
- 12:35iHeart Country's Gator Harrison sat down with him to discuss
- 12:38his longtime support of Saint Jude's Children Research. Following the conversation,
- 12:43Randy Owen of Alabama surprised Urban with the honor. Saint
- 12:47Jude patient Faith also joined Owen on stage to help
- 12:50present the award. When we leave this world, here's what
- 12:54we're going to leave behind, what we gave and what
- 12:56we didn't give. You, my friend, are a giver. Want
- 13:00to present the Randy Owen Angels among Us Award to
- 13:03you with all my love and respect. On behalf of
- 13:05the beautiful children at Saint Jude's Children's Research Hospital, Owen
- 13:09shared with Urban. Being recognized with the Angels among Us
- 13:13award is not something I take lightly. Urban added, I've
- 13:16witnessed the courage shown by the children and families at
- 13:18Saint Jude for more than twenty years, and it never
- 13:21ceases to amaze me. By standing together, we've been able
- 13:24to help Saint Jude continue advancing research and treatment for
- 13:27children around the world with cancer and other life threatening diseases.
- 13:31It's an absolute honor to stand behind a mission this meaningful.
- 13:35Keith Urban has supported Saint Jude's children Research Hospital for
- 13:38more than two decades, first visiting the hospital back in
- 13:41nineteen ninety eight. In twenty fifteen, he was named the
- 13:44founding artist Ambassador for the Connected Caring program, which brings
- 13:48him together with patients to share their stories and mutual
- 13:51love of music. Throughout the years, Urban has taken part
- 13:54in numerous benefit concerts, radiothons, live streams, marketing campaigns, a
- 14:00special album release, and meaningful meet and greets with Saint
- 14:03Jude parents. Country music has a long and meaningful history
- 14:07of supporting Saint Jude's Research Hospital, and Keith Urban stands
- 14:10among our most enduring champions, ikenand President and CEO of
- 14:14AALSAC Fundraising, an awareness organization for Saint Jude, stated, we
- 14:19are grateful to Keith and the country music community for
- 14:22their continued commitment to the Saint Jude mission. Thanks to
- 14:26the generosity of artists like Keith and Randy Owen, Saint
- 14:29Jude is able to advance life saving research and treatment
- 14:32while also bringing moments of joy and comfort to patients
- 14:35and families through the power of music. Next, Kenny Chesney
- 14:40to celebrate ten years of No Shoes Radio with exclusive
- 14:44Florabama concert. Kenny Chesney's gearing up to celebrate ten years
- 14:49of No Shoes Radio in a big way. The country
- 14:52superstar and Serious Exam have announced that Chesney will perform
- 14:56an exclusive concert at the legendary Florabama Beach bok Are,
- 15:00perched right on the Alabama Florida Line between Orange Beach,
- 15:03Alabama and Pedodido, Key, Florida. This will be Saturday, April eighteenth.
- 15:09The special performance marks a decade of Country Music Hall
- 15:12of Famer's Sirius XM channel, which plays his hits, deep
- 15:16cuts and more, along with exclusive commentary from Chesney, his
- 15:19friends and musical influences. The exclusive and intimate show will
- 15:24feature the East Tennessee native performing some of his biggest hits,
- 15:27might even include a few surprises. We started No Shoes
- 15:31Radio on the Internet as a something fun to do thing,
- 15:33a place to play that special cocktail of reggae, rock, country,
- 15:37and more. Chesney shared when Sirius XM embraced what we
- 15:40were doing and opened up a whole new other portal
- 15:43for people who live on these songs. After ten years,
- 15:46we needed to do something that captured the sea, salt,
- 15:49the joy, and all the memories in our music. What
- 15:51better place than inside the Florabama Kenny Chesney's built something
- 15:56truly special with No Shoes Radio over the past ten years.
- 15:59It's more than a channel, it's a community that captures
- 16:01the spirit of his music and the connection he has
- 16:04with his fans. According to Scott Greenstein, Serious XM's president
- 16:08and chief content officer, he added, celebrating a decade of
- 16:12No Shoes Radio on SiriusXM with a concert in Floriabama,
- 16:16a place that embodies that same laid back coastal energy,
- 16:19feels like the perfect way to mark the milestone. Serious
- 16:24XM's subscribers can enterfer a chance to win a trip
- 16:26to the concert. Those who cannot attend the show can
- 16:29tune in to experience Kenny Chesney's performance on No Shoes Radio.
- 16:33That's Saturday, April eighteenth at three pm. The concert will
- 16:37also be available on Serious ExM app Now we slide
- 16:41down the pew to saving Country music with the first
- 16:44article also dated March twenty third, nearing ninety three, Willie
- 16:48Nelson is still chasing his dreams. When you've expended all
- 16:53of the plaudits and accolades due to a career that's
- 16:55nearing the century mark and tenure, you resigned to only
- 16:59one word left to the describe greatness, Willie. When Willie
- 17:03Nelson took the stage at the Luck reunion in little
- 17:05western town that he built on the outskirts of Austin
- 17:08on Thursday night, it was the first announced show he'd
- 17:11played in a half a year since farm made on
- 17:13September twentieth in Minneapolis. Granted, Willie did play a surprise
- 17:18show at a benefit in Houston back in November, and
- 17:20a private pot luck at Luck a couple of nights before,
- 17:24but ahead of the Luck Texas appearance, Willie had been
- 17:26mostly out of the public eye for an extended period,
- 17:29and there weren't any future tour dates on his schedule either.
- 17:32The lack of public appearances or calendar dates had some
- 17:35wondering if Willy might finally be hanging it up or
- 17:38scaling back ahead of his ninety third birthday on April
- 17:41twenty ninth, But of course that's not the case at all.
- 17:44As Willy has set himself he wants to die on stage,
- 17:47and he very well might fulfill that dream in the end,
- 17:50but for now he still has other dreams to chase.
- 17:54As has been customary over the last few years, Willie
- 17:56Nelson used the opportunity of his Luck reunion appearance to
- 18:00announce a new album. On May twenty ninth, Willie Nelson
- 18:03will deliver his seventy ninth studio at seventy nine. Seventy
- 18:07ninth Studio release called Dream Chaser. It's not a tribute
- 18:10album like many of his recent releases, but one that
- 18:13will include more original music, including six songs co written
- 18:16by Willie. Once again, Buddy Cannon will be the producer.
- 18:21Other notables about the upcoming album include a song Willie
- 18:23co wrote with Bob Dylan called I Can't Read Your Mind.
- 18:27Bobby Tomerlin also co writes four songs on the album.
- 18:30There's also a song co written by Willie's longtime harmonica
- 18:34player Mickey Raphael, who of course also appears on the album,
- 18:38and a rendition of Developing My Pictures originally recorded by
- 18:41George Jones. Willie also announced a handful of new tour
- 18:46dates in the mid Atlantic region come late April, and
- 18:48there's even strong rumors that his annual Outlaw Fest will
- 18:51once again be embarking on the road come summer. At
- 18:55the Luck reunion, Willie Nelson at times gulp fer air,
- 18:57took phrases off from singing, some time struggled to make
- 19:01much more than strumming noises on his guitar trigger. Then
- 19:04at other times Willie would sing out with curious energy
- 19:07of blaze or brilliant run and had that old nylon
- 19:10string guitar going. But you don't go to see Willy
- 19:14for blazing musicianship or soaring vocals. He's nearing ninety three.
- 19:18You go to see Willy because you never know what
- 19:20it's going to be the last time for you or
- 19:22anyone else. You go to see him because he's the
- 19:25patron saint of country music and of the American dream.
- 19:29You go to see Willy because he's living piece of history.
- 19:32You go to see Willy because he's Willie. The track
- 19:35list on the New Dream Chaser album title cut Dream
- 19:39Chaser Flyaway, We'd make a good movie. I can't read
- 19:42your mind. Whiskey wants me to wonder what I'm going
- 19:45to do after all, Love overdue, I don't think I've
- 19:48cried today and developing my pictures. Next. Tim McGraw named
- 19:54new twenty twenty six Country Music Hall of Fame inductee.
- 20:00M mcgrawl is your twenty twenty six Country Music Hall
- 20:02of Fame inductee in the Modern Era category, and though
- 20:06perusing over his numbers, it's hard to say the accolade
- 20:09is not justified. It comes before the long awaited induction
- 20:12Dwight Yoakum, Clint Black, and other more older artists in
- 20:16the Modern category. It also comes a year after Kenny
- 20:19Chesney went in, signaling that the Hall of Fame voters
- 20:22have now moved on from the eighties and early nineties
- 20:24stars to performers who found their peak in the late
- 20:27nineties and early two thousands. McGraw was revealed as the
- 20:32newest Hall of Fame member in a press conference in
- 20:34the Hall of Fame Rotunda in Nashville. This happened on Friday.
- 20:37He was inducted with the Stanley Brothers as the Veterans
- 20:40Era category and Paul Overstreet in the Songwriters category. Tim
- 20:45McGraw was very emotional in his induction speech. He told
- 20:48the story of arriving in Nashville on a Greyhound bus
- 20:50at one in the morning, going to a bar called
- 20:53the Hall of Fame Bar for last call. That was
- 20:56also the day we learned that Keith Whitley died. McGraw
- 20:59also said he was grateful to receive the honor during
- 21:01Women's History Month since women played such a major role
- 21:05in his career, including his wife and fellow performer Faith Hill.
- 21:09I'm so grateful and so humble. This is just incredible.
- 21:12Thank you, mcrawl concluded. McGraw never had the consecutive string
- 21:16of years when he was the biggest thing in country music,
- 21:19like other Hall of Fame hopefuls and inductees, but McGraw
- 21:22has shown a longevity in his career that few others
- 21:25have matched. McGraw had twenty seven number one hits in
- 21:28a span covering twenty years. This includes some universally recognized
- 21:33classics such as Don't Take the Girl, Live Like You
- 21:36Were Dying, and Humble and Kind. McGraw also won the
- 21:39CMA's Entertainer of the Year in two thousand and one.
- 21:44Because of that commercial longevity that continues to this day,
- 21:47McGraw's Hall of Fame induction is no swan song. Though
- 21:50he is no longer considered securely in the top tier
- 21:53of male country artists in regards to album sales or
- 21:56radio play, McGraw is far from being put out to
- 21:59passion like most artists by the time their plaque is
- 22:02placed in the Hall of Fame rotunda. Four of McGraw's
- 22:05last five singles ended up in the top five on
- 22:08Country Billboard Airplay chart, and he recently appeared with Morgan Wallen,
- 22:12Eric Church and Hardy on the track MacArthur. Tim McGraw
- 22:16also remains a consistent arena draw, even if those sellouts
- 22:20don't come as easily as they did some years ago.
- 22:23His soul to Sole tours with wife faith Hill have
- 22:26also continued to do well. Tim McGraw was born and
- 22:30raised in Louisiana. Was the son of famous baseball player
- 22:32Tug McGraw the New York Mets. Most famously, Tim did
- 22:36not grow up with Tug as a father, though, and
- 22:38Tug did not recognize him until he was eighteen. The
- 22:41two eventually built a strong relationship until Tug passed in
- 22:45two thousand and four. Tim McGraw was living in Florida
- 22:48with his mother on the day as hero Keith Whitley
- 22:50died the death of Whitley in nineteen eighty nine is
- 22:53what directly inspired McGraw to move to Nashville and pursue
- 22:57a career in country music. Eighteen ninety, Tim McGraw had
- 23:01a contract with Curb Records. After releasing a few singles,
- 23:04McGraw released his debut, self titled album in nineteen ninety three.
- 23:08The album did not chart and did not sell well,
- 23:11so they went back to the drawing board for McGraw's
- 23:13second album, nineteen ninety four's Not a Moment Too Soon.
- 23:18The gimmicky and controversial song Indian Outlaws what McGraw released
- 23:21as the album's lead single, and that controversy in conversation
- 23:25around the song propelled it into the top ten. McGraw
- 23:28then followed it up with the iconic and heartfelt ballad
- 23:31Don't Take the Girl, and this shot McGraw to number one.
- 23:35Sixteen of McGraw's next twenty four singles would go to
- 23:38number one. His last number one was the Lourie McKenna
- 23:41penned Humble in Kind from twenty sixteen, illustrating how Tim
- 23:45had a knack for taking meaningful songs to the top
- 23:48of the charts. He had some stumbles along the way
- 23:51as well, though, including twenty twelve's Terrible Truck Yeah, and
- 23:56was never considered much of a traditionalist. Even early in
- 23:58his career, McGraw often came with a more contemporary sound.
- 24:03It's not necessarily the Tim McGraw's career that is not
- 24:07Hall of Fame worthy. It's the austerity the institution practices
- 24:11that makes Tim McGraw feel a bit ahead of his
- 24:13time for this particular honor. In twenty twenty six, says
- 24:16saving country music while others are still waiting their turn.
- 24:20But the decision is made and McGraw is the Hall
- 24:23of Fame's newest member. He will be formally inducted later
- 24:25this year in the medallion ceremony. Now we casually walk
- 24:30on over to the book dot com with the first
- 24:32article dated not September, but March twenty fourth. Sam Hunt
- 24:37reveals frustrating reason he hasn't released more music. If you
- 24:42check Sam Hunt's music catalog, you will notice that although
- 24:45he has had eleven number one songs on the country charts,
- 24:48it's only released two albums over his entire career. Hunt
- 24:53was a guest on Taste of Country Nights, where he
- 24:55was asked career advice that he would give his younger self.
- 24:59His answer a peek into why he's somewhat sluggish with
- 25:02new music. I would tell my younger self to organize
- 25:05my work life in a better way so that I
- 25:07can be more productive. I think that has cost me
- 25:10time and I could have had more music out. Hunt says,
- 25:13I've got songs scattered all over the country. He explains,
- 25:16losing phones and notebooks, and those two years of songs
- 25:19are gone. He adds, I could have done a better
- 25:22job taking the original beginnings of songs and getting them
- 25:25to the finish line so that I can put them
- 25:27out the country. House tells Taste of Country that he
- 25:30finally got his cloud worked out, so I can save
- 25:33those songs now and he won't have to have that
- 25:36problem moving forward. Maybe that means in a couple of
- 25:39years we could get a new Sam Hunt album. He
- 25:41also told Taste of Country. When he writes a song,
- 25:44it usually takes about four to five years for that
- 25:46idea to make it onto a recording, from writing it
- 25:49to deciding if he wants to record it to actually
- 25:52recording it and releasing it. Sam Hunt's last full studio album, Southside,
- 25:57was released on April third of twenty twenty. Before that,
- 26:01his only other full studio album was Matvello, released on
- 26:04October twenty seventh, twenty fourteen. Next, what Ronnie Dunn thought
- 26:10of Casey Musgrave's epic dress up prank. Yes, Brooks and
- 26:15Dun's Ronnie Dunn has seen the videos of Casey Musgraves
- 26:18dressing up as him and hitting the stage to perform
- 26:21Neon Moon in downtown Nashville, and from the looks of
- 26:24it on social media, he thinks the moment was hilarious.
- 26:27Videos of Musgraves performing at Robert Weston's World on full
- 26:31on Ronnie Dun gear, complete with facial hair, sunglasses, and
- 26:35a cowboy forearm tattoo, started circulating on social media this
- 26:39past weekend. Dunn replied with a comment on the Broadway
- 26:42honky Tonk's video post of the moment, writing, Damn I
- 26:45look good. In fact, he was so impressed that he
- 26:48repeated that comment under several different social media posts of
- 26:51Musgrave's performance, and both he and Brooks and Dunn shared
- 26:55the video to their Instagram stories. Safe to say that
- 26:58he's a fan of Musgrave's homage. Musgraves surprised the crowd
- 27:02at Robert's Western World hopping on stage dressed is Done
- 27:05and performing Neon Moon. Her costume was so elaborate it's
- 27:09hard to even tell if it's Musgraves until she started singing.
- 27:13Musgrave's rendition of Neon Moon is unmistakable, especially since she
- 27:16once recorded a version of the song with Brooks and
- 27:19Dunn for their first reboot album back in twenty nineteen. Finally,
- 27:24Keith Urban is trying something new and it's not what
- 27:27you'd expect. Keith Urban is clearly in a different kind
- 27:30of headspace these days, and it's starting to show up
- 27:33in his music. The country superstar has been hinting a
- 27:36new creative direction, one that caught even industry insiders off guard.
- 27:39When he spoke at the country radio seminar in Nashville.
- 27:43At first, it sounded like he might be joking, but
- 27:45he wasn't. Urban told the crowd that he's working on
- 27:49something he's never done before, a full album built around
- 27:52a specific theme, mostly made up of songs fans already know.
- 27:56It's the first time I've done an album of covers,
- 27:58He said. This is one original on the record. It's
- 28:01a thematic record. Then he revealed the theme, yacht rock songs.
- 28:05You think I'm kidding, I'm not kidding, he said. The
- 28:09room reportedly needed a second to process that. To prove
- 28:12his point, Urban picked up the guitar and played a
- 28:14snippet of the original track, along with pieces of classics
- 28:17like Stephen Bishop's on and On and Robbie Dupre's Steal
- 28:21Away and for anyone unfamiliar. Yacht rock leans into the smooth,
- 28:25laid back sounds of the late seventies and early eighties,
- 28:28the kind of music that feels right at home on
- 28:31the water. Well. This concludes the reading of Country Weekly
- 28:35for this week. If you have any comments or suggestions
- 28:37about our program, please call us at eight five nine
- 28:40four two two sixty three ninety. Thank you for joining
- 28:44me and on behalf of everyone here at Radio Eye.
- 28:47This is Ken Dawkins, wishing you a great day.