Hillbilly Live!

Megan Moroney kicked off her “Cloud 9” tour last Friday (5/29/26). It doesn’t end until October so to prepare for the grueling schedule, she was intentional in how she trains.

For starters, she says her glamorous outfits weigh between 10 to 15 pounds. So, to make sure she can maintain stamina and an energetic stage presence, she wore a weighted vest to rehearsals.

Megan would also sing while using a treadmill with a weighted vest. To help with recovery, she’d also use the sauna and do a cold plunge every day.

View this post on Instagram

When Luke Grimes was contemplating a music career and going through Imposter Syndrome, he received some very simple advice from his “Yellowstone” costar and fellow musician Ryan Bingham.

He said Ryan told him, “’hey man, if you got good songs…you know.’ I was like, that’s really cool, that’s a good thing to hang onto…it can be that simple.”

And luckily for the country music world, Luke did in fact release his debut EP, “Pain Pills Or Pews”, in 2023. Now we have three projects from Luke that are solid country songs to listen to on any given day.

Tim McGraw is back with two new songs y’all. 

They’re called “Song for America“ and “Pawn Shop Guitar“. I mean he definitely had a few issues that had him putting everything on pause. He said, “it’s no secret that over the last few years I got sidelined with back and knee issues.  

“That time was challenging on so many levels, but one of the positive things that came out of it, aside from physically being back to 100%, was that it gave me time to reflect on my life and to write songs.”

”Song for America” is perfect timing for America’s 250th birthday this year too. And welcome back, Tim.

Riley Green’s upcoming album, “That’s Just Me”, comes out in September, so naturally he went ahead and extended his tour. 

He announced fall dates with support from Randy Houser, Kashus Culpepper, and Hannah McFarland on select nights. And the fall leg of his tour starts up September 10, 2026 Denver, Colorado at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater. For dates and tickets, please visit rileygreenmusic.com.

View this post on Instagram

And just one day before his new album’s announcement, Riley teased a collaboration with Alabama‘s frontman Randy Owen and performed that unreleased song from the album called “Lookout Mountain”.

Morgan Wallen rolling into Denver, Colorado for a two night stay at Mile High and he got a little upset.

It was all over technical difficulties at his show in Denver Friday (5/29/26) night, that he shoved his piano and flipped it over. He was performing “Sand in My Boots”, and couldn’t hear the piano. 

He finished the song a cappella and with an audience sing-along. Then he went ahead and broke the piano after his final note. 

Morgan made light of the incident at Saturday night’s show. When it was time to perform the song, he said, “let’s see if this piano works tonight.”

When you think of country music, you probably don’t think of angry lyrics. But they exist. And “Taste of Country“ was nice enough to rank the angriest country songs.

Here are the Top 10:

1.  “Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue (The Angry American)”,  Toby Keith

2.  “Gunpowder and Lead”,  Miranda Lambert

3.  “Before He Cheats”,  Carrie Underwood

4.  “Here’s a Quarter (Call Someone Who Cares)”,  Travis Tritt

5.  “Fist City”,  Loretta Lynn

6.  “Not Ready to Make Nice”,  The Chicks

7.  “Watch You Burn”,  Chris Stapleton

8.  “Try That in a Small Town”,  Jason Aldean

9.  “I Hope”,  Gabby Barrett

10.  “Am I the Only One”,  Aaron Lewis

Eric Church’s “Stick That In Your Country Song” is sitting at #20, George Strait and Alan Jackson “Murder on Music Row” came in at #18 and Oliver Anthony’s “Rich Men North Of Richmond” landed at #16. And those should’ve been much higher on this list.

Dolly Parton announced last year that she was partnering with Tennessean Travel Stop to bring her southern hospitality to the highway. Well the time has finally come for the unveiling of her revamped location.

The official grand opening is June 24th. It’s in Cornersville, Tennessee, off I-65, which is one hour south of Nashville. This is just the first spot to receive a Dolly makeover. More locations are expected to pop up across the country.

Some of its amenities include DLY BBQ, Cup of Ambition Coffee, a restaurant, a cafe, and Doggy Parton Dog Park. There’s also, of course, merchandise and a stage and lounge for live music. Guests can also take photos with a custom mural and a tour bus inspired by Dolly’s. Additional details on the grand opening festivities will be announced in the coming weeks too.  

For more information about Dolly’s Tennessean Travel Stop, you can sign up for updates at DollysTravelStops.com. There’s even a spot on there for local musicians who want to play there to submit their information.

https://www.instagram.com/p/DY2DyoxFvkD/?igsh=MWl1ZWZkZ2V3cTgzZg==

The Hondo Rodeo Fest will return to Phoenix, Arizona from November 13 to November 15, 2026, for its third consecutive year at Chase Field.

This massive three-day Western sports and entertainment celebration combines a free daily street festival, an invite-only million-dollar all-star rodeo competition, and a star-studded country music concert series each night.

From 12pm to 1am the Hondo Street Fest is free to the general public with no ticket required. It features shopping, regional food vendors, brand activations, and live music. 6pm to 8pm the Million Dollar Rodeo…an elite, un-sanctioned all-star competition where the world’s top cowboys and cowgirls compete for a massive $1 million purse in events like bull riding, barrel racing, and bronc riding.

Then the concert series itself has a hell of a lineup…Friday, November 13th is Tim McGraw featuring Miranda Lambert. Saturday, November 14th is Blake Shelton featuring the Turnpike Troubadours. And then Sunday, November 15th Parker McCollum featuring Lynyrd Skynyrd will close out the Hondo Rodeo Fest

Tickets officially go on-sale to the public on Monday, June 1, 2026, at 12:00 PM MST. General admission and multi-day packages can be tracked through the official Hondo Rodeo Fest Platform or directly via the MLB Chase Field Events Page. Single-day tickets include both the rodeo events and that evening’s concert series.

View this post on Instagram

Ella Langley just won seven ACM Awards in May of 2026, but she says she’s nowhere close to slowing down. During a new interview with Billboard, Ella shared five goals she still wants to accomplish.

Here’s what’s on Ella’s bucket list:

1. Be the musical guest on “Saturday Night Live”…and then eventually host.

2. Sell out multiple stadiums.

3. Start acting within the next year.

4. Headline Red Rocks Amphitheatre. She’s already opened there, but now she wants to headline.

5. And add a saxophone player to her band.

(The Boot)

Smokey Bear and this man have always been the same person to me.

Some people are just now realizing that Sam Elliott voiced Smokey Bear from 2008 to 2023. In a recent interview, he shared some fun trivia about him and Smokey too. Sam was basically meant to voice Smokey.

He said, “but we were born, I was born on the same day and year that that campaign began. On the exact same day. August 9th, 1944.”

As I also learned growing up. We are all Smokey Bear…because “only you can prevent wildfires.”

View this post on Instagram