Hillbilly Live!

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)

Carly Pearce talked with Taste Of Country and was asked how far you’d have to walk inside her house to know it was hers.

It’s not a long walk at all neither. She said, “you would walk in my hallway and turn the corner into my living room and there’s a shrine of myself…and I’m fine with it.”

Carly said every milestone is proudly displayed. But her dad is not as thrilled. She said. “my dad thinks it’s a little aggressive…but when you’ve worked your whole life, every plaque, every award, everything is there.”

The only problem is now she’s run out of room.

She went on to say, “I’m at max capacity…I have some plaques in my garage, which is a nice feeling. I’ll take it.”

So, I’m seeing about 10 artists who have posted something about this “Country Never Dies” project.

I’ve even seen some other country news publications saying this is a new Gavin Adcock album that’s coming from him. Mainly due to him teasing a cover of Waylon Jennings’ “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line”. Of course he’s only teasing the single and he’s not actually saying this project is his album alone.

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Gavin’s cover of Waylon’s classic…sounds damn good too. And I could be wrong here, but I don’t this is being a Gavin Adcock album alone. I feel we’re about to see a country music classic country cover compilation album y’all.

Jake Worthington’s post about this on his Instagram teasing this new project tagged about 10 different accounts. As of now the only song we actually know here is Gavin’s cover of “Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line” that’s dropping this Friday, February 27th. And the album, “Country Never Dies”, will be released March 13, 2026.

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CMA Fest is coming back to downtown Nashville from June 4th through the 7th…and Nissan Stadium will be the place to be.

The Country Music Association just revealed the nightly lineup, and it’s stacked. Ella Langley, Blake Shelton, Cody Johnson, Bailey Zimmerman, and Riley Green will grace the Nissan Stadium stage this year.

And they’ll be joined by Tim McGraw…HARDY…Luke Bryan…Tucker Wetmore…Zach Top…Stephen Wilson Jr….The Red Clay Strays and a hell of a lot more.

Nissan Stadium is basically the gathering place to wrap up each day with a big country much party. There are still plenty of performers, plus a few surprises still to be announced. And if you can’t attend in person, CMA Fest will also air later this summer on ABC and Hulu.

Four-night stadium passes are currently on sale through Ticketmaster starting at approximately $259. There are also single-night tickets available, which are typically released at a later date. For everything you need to know about CMA Fest, please visit cmafest.com.

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Megan Moroney is making good on her “9 Cities. 9 Days” promise.

She surprised fans at a recent pop-up show by promising to sign something for every single person in the crowd. And fans say she stayed until everyone got their moment.

It was from her “Meet Me on Cloud 9” show this past weekend. And honestly, this is probably why her fans love her so much.

She told the crowd…

“I was gonna play three songs for y’all which I just did, and now, I am going to sign something for every single person here tonight. CDs and vinyl available for purchase, and I’m gonna stay here until I sign something for every single one of y’all. Thank you so much for being the best fans in the world, I love y’all so much, and thank you so much. I love you.”

The whole crowd immediately started screaming. And apparently this wasn’t a one-off. Fans in New York and Richmond say she stayed and made sure everyone got a signed CD or vinyl. Megan knows how to make her happy…and every artist should take notes.

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/7zFo6KzBJ1LDpOERHRwZBA?si=Lq1RWnjkQmiwd4g1KIRE0w&pi=vsw4YztXQmaq_

(Whiskey Riff)

Here we again. And be sure to add this to your calendar y’all, because this festival’s lineup looks badass again. 

The ‘Calf Fry Music Festival’ is set and ready for 2026. Lineup includes Josh Meloy, Flatland Cavalry, Charles Wesley Goodwin, Braxton Keith, Kaitlin Butts, Ole 60 and Waylon Wyatt to name a few. This festival is what red dirt dreams are made of. 

The party goes down in Stillwater, OK April 30th through May 2nd. Tickets are on sale as of now. Everything you need to know can be found at www.calffry.com.

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There’s a documentary series called “They Called Us Outlaws” that’s been in the works for more than a decade, and now it’s officially set to premiere at SXSW on March 15th.

The ten-part series explores how a small group of rebellious songwriters in Nashville and Austin flipped the script on country music in the late 1960s and 1970s. And it was successful as can be to say the least these legends too.

The project features never-before-seen footage and is narrated by Jack Ingram. Which is very fitting considering how Jack is also Texas country music outlaw in his own right as well.

It documentary also includes appearances from Jessi Colter, Kris Kristofferson, Miranda Lambert and Eric Church to name a few.

The 90-minute pilot episode centers on Waylon Jennings and the early Austin scene, including the legendary Armadillo World Headquarters. If you love outlaw country, this will be some must-see TV. 

(Whiskey Riff)