Hillbilly Live!

Lady A’s Charles Kelley shared a health update since sharing his cancer diagnosis.

In case you’re unaware, he has a rare type of blood cancer called multiple myeloma. Charles actually announced the unfortunate news of his diagnosis in September that he’d been diagnosed with multiple myeloma.

In an Instagram stories post on Monday, October 26th, Charles opened up about experiencing both “good days” and “bad days.” He said the treatment is working, but the drugs have been hard on his body.

He said, “it’s kind of constantly achey and really tired…I’m hoping that as the chemo gets in there and fights off these cancer cells that my bones and everything will actually feel a lot better over the next few weeks.”

I hate how the treatments can make people feel miserable…but it’s good to hear the treatment is working for him.

Charles’ wife Cassie also shared an update of her own to her Instagram stories on October 26th and said, “when people ask, ‘How are you doing?’ Honestly, the answer’s not great. We are not doing great over here. But we’re doing our best and one of my favorite sayings in Al-Anon is, ‘Your best is always good enough.’ So like, it’s good enough…today was not great but tomorrow is treatment four and I will find things to be grateful for tomorrow for sure.”

Luke Bryan almost didn’t record his 2012 hit, “Drunk on You”…and he had a good reason too.

He was worried that the line…“girl, you make my speakers go boom boom”…sounded too cheesy. But he didn’t want to be disrespectful and change the lyrics.

He said, “I had people in my world sit me down and go, ‘You got to let go of this ‘boom boom’ thing.'”

Jason Aldean was actually offered the song first, but passed on it because he didn’t think it fit his vibe. Of course, he regrets passing it up now.

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Tomorrow, Saturday (10/31/26), is Halloween!

If you need any last-minute costume ideas, why not use your favorite country star as inspiration? Here are your 10 ideas:

1. Dolly Parton

2. Toby Keith

3. Brooks & Dunn

4. Reba McEntire

5. Ella Langley

6. Morgan Wallen

7. Lainey Wilson

8. Luke Combs

9. Alan Jackson

10. Willie Nelson

Welcome to another new music Friday…October 30, 2026!

PROJECTS (Albums & EPs):

SINGLES:

Koe Wetzel, Stephen Wilson Jr. – “Hard Way”
Dylan Marlowe – “Here Lately”
Jordan Davis – “Steady Flame”
The Castellows – “Mr. Right, Closer Still”
Scotty McCreery – “King Size Bed”
Randy Travis – “Mission Of Love”
Lady A – “Bigger Picture”
Carter Faith – “Still The Sparrow Sings”
Redferrin – “Don’t Slow Down”
Cody Lohden – “Good Ole Boy”
Ingrid Andress – “Snowed In With Me”
Caroline Jones – “Your Wife Is Dead”
Macy Todd – “this life & the next”
SJ McDonald – “Grocery List”
Chase McDaniel – “Pick Mine”
Jackson West – “You’re Coming Back, Right?”
Karley Scott Collins – “When The Moon Turns Blue”
Mackenzie Carpenter – “Be Alright (The Beer Girl Anthem)”
KC Brunner – “You’re Making Me Nervous”
Kasey Tyndall – “White Picket Fence”
Niklas Juritsch – “Stranger”
Ava Liv Mabry – “Crying Wolf”
DELTONA – “Say No More”
Taylor Rae – “Good Without You”
Hailey Hutcheson – “Gethsemane”

I still can’t believe it’s been 25 years since the release of their first album…and I’m still listening to their music proudly.

The Randy Rogers Band has announced their “Songbook Tour” for late 2026 and 2027, launching alongside their companion album project “Songbook”. The tour officially kicks off New Year’s Eve, December 31, 2026 at the Regent Bank Amphitheater in Broken Arrow, OK.

They are hitting up eight cities as of now this tour…annd according to RRB…”more dates to be announced”.

Tickets for the “Songbook Tour” will go on sale Friday 10/30 at 10AM CT, but you can get first access to tickets starting today (10/29/26) at 10AM CT by signing up for the pre-sale at randyrogersband.com/tour.

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Vince Gill said it’s harder than ever to make money as an artist because of streaming.

He said, “the income stream is dried up in a big way. I used to make money for writing songs but also for selling records. You don’t sell records anymore.

What you might make from selling records is gone. In all the times I’ve been streamed on YouTube or any of those formats, I’ve never received anything. So, it’s kind of hard getting paid for what it is that you create.”

Now I get what he’s trying ti say, but this is why it’s extremely important for artists to own their work instead of signing over rights to their work to a label. And that’s because in the age of streaming…labels are becoming more and more useful.

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Florida honored this man perfectly.

Governor Ron DeSantis issued an executive order Tuesday to make John Anderson’s “Seminole Wind” as the official anthem of Florida. There will also be historical markers installed in Apopka, where John was born and raised.

DeSantis will also designate a wildlife drive and trail system as John Anderson Wildlife Drive.

Today I issued an Executive Order designating “Seminole Wind” by John Anderson as the official anthem of Florida.

I have also directed the @FLSecofState to erect historic markers in the City of Apopka depicting John Anderson’s contribution to Florida’s heritage.

In addition,… pic.twitter.com/ZeS8je9qN0

— Ron DeSantis (@GovRonDeSantis) October 27, 2026

A special taping of Alan Jackson’s record-breaking farewell concert last June will air December 8th on NBC. It’s called “Alan Jackson: The Last Show“, and will also be available to stream the next day on Peacock on December 9th.

I’m just hoping they show Alan and King George Strait’s performance of “Murder On Music Row”. The way George literally pointed at music row when he said “they committed murder…down on music row” was priceless…because they did.

There were also performances from Luke Bryan, Eric Church, Luke Combs, Riley Green, Cody Johnson, Carrie Underwood, and Lainey Wilson. I mean everyone in country music showed up in Nashville for Alan’s final show in June of 2026.

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Are you familiar with Miranda Lambert’s song, “Gunpowder & Lead”? I mean you should be, because it’s a certified twanger.

Now in case you’re unaware about the substance of the song…let me remind you. It’s about a woman who’s ready to shoot her abusive husband when he gets out of jail. Which is what abused wives should probably do in all fairness. Well, a fan once told Miranda that the song gave her courage to do just that.

Miranda said, “she’s like, ‘I just want to tell you that I finally had enough and that song gave me the courage, and I did shoot him, and I got off.’ Then we cried together.”

Elsewhere on the “And the Writer Is…” podcast, Miranda said after she split from Blake Shelton, she leaned into her misery and wrote 75 songs. Now I’m not a fan of watching someone go through heartbreak…but it makes for some damn good country music. And God bless it.

After spending three weeks at in the #2 spot behind Taylor Swift, her song rebounded to reclaim the crown, further cementing its position as the longest-running #1 song in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 chart.

Ella Langley’s massive country hit “Choosin’ Texas” has returned to the #1 spot on the Billboard Hot 100, extending its historic, record-breaking run to 25 nonconsecutive weeks.

The song previously shattered the long-standing 22-week record held by Mariah Carey’s holiday staple “All I Want for Christmas Is You”. Which fills my country soul just knowing that too.

By hitting its 25th week at the summit, it continues to widen the gap ahead of other historic chart-toppers like Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” and Shaboozey’s “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”. So, with all due respect. Hopefully it keeps widening that gap.

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