Hillbilly Live!

Nobody will ever deliver this Townes Van Zandt song as good as Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard did. But these two men definitely didn’t disappoint in their performance of it.

This past Saturday night (2/28/26), a capacity crowd packed into Moody Center in Austin, Texas to see Eric Church on his “Free the Machine Tour” stop there.

Eric has consistently reminded his audiences on this tour, he wants it to be all about the music. And on Saturday night, that’s exactly what it was. While the world was still going insane outside of that arebea, it was all about the music inside and a perfect way to forget about the insanity for at least a few hours.

Eric has had Stephen Wilson Jr. out on his “Free The Machine Tour” to help open shows. And on Saturday night in Austin, Texas he invited him back on stage during his set for something special.

The two performed a flawless cover of “Pancho and Lefty”. The song was originally written in by Townes Van Zandt in 1972 about a Mexican bandit, Pancho, betrayed by his associate, Lefty. The song was then made famous in the 1983 by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard, which was featured on their album of the same name. And it did in fact hit #1 in 1983 as well.

Eric said, “we’ve never done this, and the great thing about music is we’re just going to fucking do it.” They need to go ahead and record this song together. And then release that thing…because this is a damn fine performance of “Pancho and Lefty”.

I don’t where you know where you live, but I’m already sick of the winter weather we didn’t get much of here in Colorado and 5pm sunsets. I’m personally ready for some cold beer and live country music outdoors now.

The Carolina Country Music Festival is set to return to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina from Thursday, June 4 through Sunday, June 6, and this year features a nice powerhouse lineup. They’ve tapped some of the biggest names in country music, including headliners Post Malone, Blake Shelton, Luke Bryan and Riley Green.

In addition to the headlines on this festival, they will be joined by Cole Swindell, Tucker Wetmore, Justin Moore, Chris Janson, Lauren Alaina, Tracy Lawrence, Flatland Cavalry, Chris Lane, Rodney Atkins, Ashley Cooke, Dasha, LOCASH, Drew Baldridge, Drake White, Emily Ann Roberts, Zach John King and a lot more.

If I counted correctly. the Carolina Country Music Festival will feature over 40 artists performing across multiple stages, in the heart of downtown Myrtle Beach. Southern Entertainment CEO Bob Durkin praised the wide range of artists who will be hitting the stage too. He said…

“We’ve got two of the hottest artists in country right now…Post Malone and Riley Green…alongside two of the genre’s biggest mainstays, Luke Bryan and Blake Shelton.

From global superstars to artists on the rise, we’re bringing together an incredible mix of talent for four unforgettable days on the beach.”

General admission tickets start at just $79 per day for four days of non-stop country music. And tickets for the festival are on sale as of now too at carolinacountrymusicfest.com

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March Madness is switching things up in 2026. 

They’re going country y’all. Last year their intro song was “Abracadabra” by Lady Gaga. But this year, it’s the Zac Brown Band.

Their song “Give It Away” will be played before every tip-off…from the first game, all the way through to the Final Four. And in a 68-team bracket, you’re going to hear that song a whole lot.

I ain’t complaining…because March is about to sound a lot more country. And I’m here for it.

"Give It Away" by Zac Brown Band will be this year's anthem for March Madness coverage on CBS/TNT.

Last year's song was "Abracadabra" by Lady Gaga. pic.twitter.com/vpAwFPaBU5

— Sports TV News & Updates (@TVSportsUpdates) February 24, 2026

(Saturday Down South)

We’ve got another tour announcement here y’all!

Jason Aldean announced his “Songs About Us Tour” for 2026, which is a 22-city summer and fall trek across North America in support of his upcoming album of the same name. The tour officially kicks off on July 16, 2026, in Bangor, Maine, and wraps up a with a two-night stop in Gilford, New Hampshire, on September 25th and the 26th.

He’s getting support from Chase Matthew, Mackenzie Carpenter, and Dee Jay Silver on this tour too.

Aldean Army Presale: Begins Tuesday, March 3, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time. Then the general on-sale starts Friday, March 6, 2026, at 10 a.m. local time via Live Nation and Ticketmaster. For everything Jason Aldean, please visit jasonaldean.com.

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The new tv series “Marshals” premieres Sunday March 1, 2026 and the cast kicked off the “Yellowstone” spinoff with an event at The Autrey in Los Angeles.

The star of the show, Luke Grimes, who is reprising his role as Kayce Dutton, was joined on the red carpet by the shows co-stars Ash Santos, Moses Brings Plenty, Brecken Merrill, Arielle Kebbel, Gil Birmingham, Tatanka Mean, and country star Riley Green. The man will be making his acting debut in the new show too.

In a video shared on the “Marshals” official TikTok page, Luke introduced Riley, who played a few songs at the event, and he poked a little at his mustachioed friend. It’s what friends do.

Luke said, “well, I had this whole bit I was going to do, where I met this struggling country musician in Nashville and he needed a job, so I gave him a job on our show. But he’s sitting here already so I can’t do that.”

Riley then chimed in with, “want me to leave and come back?”

I can’t wait to watch this new show. Mainly because I’m a fan of watching law enforcement arrest or kill violent criminals. We need more of that in real life too. Let’s be real.

Cody Johnson has a great story about where he proposed to his wife…and you might have had dinner there once or twice.

He said, “this might be really cheesy. I’ll tell you how I proposed to my wife. On our first date, I took her to a Texas Roadhouse here locally, and we sat in a booth…and I was just so in love, and I could not wait to make her my wife…

A year later to the date, we parked in the same spot…and went to the same booth.”

He did not pop the question inside though. He waited until they walked back to the truck. Then he got down on one knee and asked his then future wife the biggest question of his life.

Now they share three kids. And it all started with some fresh baked rolls and that delicious honey cinnamon butter. Amen

(American Songwriter)

What’s your favorite country music movie of all time?  According to the critics rankings at Rotten Tomatoes, here are the Top Ten:

1. “Blaze”…95%…starring Ben Dickey and Alia Shawkat.

2. “Wild Rose”…92%…starring Jessie Buckley and Matt Costello.

3. “Honkytonk Man”…90%…starring Clint Eastwood and Kyle Eastwood.

4.  “Sweet Dreams”…90%…starring Jessica Lange and Ed Harris.

5. “Crazy Heart”… 90%…starring Jeff Bridges and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

6. “Nashville”…89%…starring Keith Carradine and Karen Black.

7. “Songwriter”…88%…starring Willie Nelson and Kris Kristofferson.

8. “Coal Miner’s Daughter”…84%…starring Sissy Spacek and Tommy Lee Jones.

9. “Walk the Line”…83%…starring Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.

10. “Tender Mercies”…82%…starring Robert Duvall and Tess Harper.

We do have some honorable mentions here that didn’t make the top ten. And they include “A Prairie Home Companion” (81%), “O Brother, Where Art Thou?” (78%), “Falling From Grace” (78%), “Songcatcher” (74%), “Urban Cowboy” (71%) and “Honeysuckle Rose” (60%).

Of course “Pure Country”…starring King George Strait should’ve been number one and “Urban Cowboy” should’ve been number on this list. But I wasn’t in charge of putting together this list.

(Whiskey Riff)

Luke Combs is over it. In a new interview, he opened up about being labeled politically, even though he says he’s never claimed a side.

Luke says the backlash ramped up after he addressed an old video that had the Confederate flag in it. So, then he joined a panel with Maren Morris and made it clear he’s not a racist. But that moment had some critics calling him “woke”. I mean if you’re not something…then why apologize for it.

I also wouldn’t have joined a panel with Maren…unless it was to call her out for being a ridiculous person in running the country music community into the ground.

Luke said, “I’m not liberal enough for liberals and not conservative enough for conservatives. They want you to be this or this. There’s no grey area. There’s no clickbait in being a moderate.”

Luke says that country music should be for everyone. No labels required. I thing all of us who just trying to live life is over over the political stage and the labeling.

(Taste of Country / People)

Welcome to the final Friday in February…as it’s February 27, 2026…and we do in fact have some new country music here again y’all.

Now be sure to do your part in visiting your neighbor liquor store to pair your favorite alcohol with your new favorite country music, because it’s how country music is supposed be enjoyed. Don’t let anyone judge you for it neither.

Here’s what we’ve found…

1. Jon Langston released his second studio album “Thing About Me”.

2. Trey Pendley dropped “Podunk”.

3. Zack Telander released “This Rules”.

4. Donovan Woods released “Squander Your Gifts”.

5. Megan Moroney decided to drop a bonus track to accompany her new album, “Cloud 9”, called “Sorry…I Meant Tonight”.

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6. Gavin Adcock dropped a cover of Waylon Jennings’s “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line”, which is from his compilation covers album called “Country Never Dies” that’s dropping March 13, 2026.

7. Jason Aldean released “Don’t Tell On Me” along with two more other songs from his upcoming album, “Songs About Us”, which due out April 24, 2026.

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8. ERNEST released a “Boat Named After You”.

9. Ty Myers dropped “Morning Comes”, which is from his upcoming album, “Heavy On The Soul”, which is coming March 27, 2026.

10. Jordan Davis dropped “Like God Intended”.

11. Lee Brice released “Time Will Tell”.

12. Warren Zeiders released “Born To Be Your”.

13. Max McNown dropped “Done For”.

14. Avery Anna dropped “Man Downstairs”.

15. Tyler Booth and Jamey Johnson teamed up for a song called “Clean Dirt”…and it’s a damn fine song.

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Dolly Parton’s classic song “Jolene” is getting another makeover. And thank God it’s not Beyoncé this time, because really ruffled some feathers.

An up-and-coming artist named Belles just wrote a sequel to “Jolene” called “Son of Jolene”. It’s pretty damn catchy too.

Here’s the best part though, Dolly loves the song, too. And now she wants to do a duet.

Belles said, “when I wrote this song, I would’ve never in a million years thought that it would’ve gone all the way to Dolly…and now I’m here, but I really couldn’t be more grateful.”

And here’s what Dolly said about it, “when I heard ‘Son of Jolene’, I thought it was very clever. No one had ever thought of it that way.”

And When Dolly told Belles she wanted to sing on it, Belles said, “I could die happy now.”  I get it…as I would too.

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(People)