Hillbilly Live!

This is how it’s done.

On August 25, 2026, Dolly Parton unfortunately passed away at 80-years-old in Nashville Tennessee. Dolly had been dealing with undisclosed health issues for the last year or so, and she previously shared that she was having issues with severe kidney stones. Dolly’s reps did in fact confirm that she sadly died following a “brief battle with cancer,” which made my hate for cancer even stronger by the way.

During the 2026 MTV Video Music Awards, country music’s own, Kacey Musgraves, honored the late great icon with an absolutely flawless rendition of Dolly’s iconic hit, “I Will Always Love You.”

Some people were commenting how much better the tribute would’ve been if Whitney Houston had been alive to perform that tribute. God rest Whitney’s soul…because Kacey sang that song exactly the way Dolly performed it. And there was no need for anyone else to deliver that tribute.

Riley Green’s “Cowboy As It Gets Tour” 2026 rolled into Mountain View, California and things got a little wild.

A special moment happened at his show at the Shoreline Amphitheatre. Riley serenaded someone’s grandma over the weekend during his performance of “You Look Like You Love Me”. He said, “this young lady right here, she’s been giving me the eye all night.”

He walked down to her and sang directly to her, and at the end, she gave him a kiss on his cheek.

That lucky lady could be you too in 2027…because Riley announced the “That’s Just Me Tour”, which kicks off in April.

This was too damn good.

Stephen Wilson Jr. was in California for the Ohana Festival 2026 and fans were fortunate enough to see Eddie Vedder him onstage for a Temple of the Dog cover. Stephen Wilson Jr. has been previously referred to as “Death Cab for Country” since he draws inspiration from indie rock, grunge and obviously country music.

I know this song has nothing to do with country music, but has a rock music lover as well here…this song is absolutely amazing. The song is also the most successful track that Temple of the Dog ever released. That’s partly because the 90s rock band, which was led by the late great, great Chris Cornell only ever released one album.

Pearl Jame’s Eddie Vedder (prior to the actual forming of Pearl Jam) provided backing vocals for Temple of the Dog’s “Hunger Strike”.

As the story goes, Chris Cornell wrote the song but was having trouble singing lower portions of the chorus… specifically the “I’m going hungry” parts. A relatively unknown Eddie Vedder at the time happened to be nearby, and stepped up to the challenge when he was asked for assistance.

Here we are in 2026 now and Eddie just happened to be at the Ohana Festival during Stephen Wilson Jr.’s set, and once again stepped up to lend his talent for the Temple of the Dog song.

A TikToker went viral for getting rejected by Ella Langley. In the video, he yelled at her through a parking garage, asking how many likes does he need to get to take her on a date.

Her reply? I mean her face said everything as she said, “there’s not enough in the world.” It was a priceless really.

The fan laughed it off and said, “you miss 100% of the shots you don’t take.” The video was comedy gold.

Ella later commented on the interaction and said, “this was definitely meant as dark humor, and it obviously didn’t land due to my face. I will say, it takes more than likes on a TikTok. I’m still a human.”

So, the fan took that seriously and posted another video with a shopping cart full of flowers.

He said, “Ella, you said there’s no amount of likes in the world that could get me to take you on a date, I hope this amount of flowers is enough. And if not, let me come to your concert and at least just give you a hug.

I’m an Ella Fella forever, I love you.”

As of last night, there hasn’t been a response from Ella.

Luke Bryan stopped by The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon to talk about life a little.

Now Luke recently turned 50 years young on July 17, 2026 celebrated in a big way. I mean when you have Luke Bryan money and you’re tuning 50…you damn right there’s going to be a celebration.

Luke said, “they loaded up tons of friends, tons of couples and we went out west to Idaho. Had a golf course community and there’s a lot of trout fishing out there. So, we did some trout fishing…and golfing…and uh…you know…celebrator cocktails every evening…for too many days in a row.”

He also pointed out something very important if you’re turning 50 and you’re looking to celebrate. Luke also said,“if you drink like you’re 20, you actually feel like you’re 90.”

Basically…getting older ain’t for the weak y’all.

“If you drink like you’re 20, you actually feel like you’re 90.”

–@lukebryan on celebrating his 50th birthday 🤣 #FallonTonight pic.twitter.com/sBFRgmCsPK

— The Tonight Show (@FallonTonight) September 28, 2026

Lainey Wilson released a funny video for her song “Phone, Keys, Wallet“ and it’s dividing fans.

Obviously it’s different and little creepy. Mainly because she’s decapitated in it. There’s even a scene where a headless Lainey chases her head down a hill and into a pond.

One fan commented and said, “staring at Lainey’s decapitated head freaks me out man.” While another said, “honestly, the best music video ever!! Absolutely so hilarious and accurate!” And it really is accurate considering how the song literally says “boy, you know I’d lose my head…if it wasn’t attached” in the chorus.

And no, John Mayer does not make an appearance in the video even though he plays guitar in the song.

This is the kind of morning news I need.

Riley Green announced some beautiful news on his socials. He announced that his 2027 “That’s Just Me Tour” with Muscadine Bloodline and Randy Houser. Randy also has one of the best voices to ever grace country music.

Jake Wortington and Hannah McFarland will also be joining Riley on this tour…on select dates. Jake is country as cornbread too and that man is absolutely needed in country music.

Pre-sale begins tomorrow at 10AM local for Back 40 Duck Club members. Then general tickets will go on sale to the public this Friday, October 2,026 at 10AM local time. Every thing you need regarding tickets and more, please visit rileygreenmusic.com.

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Some phone calls you don’t want to miss.

Reba McEntire revealed that she missed a phone call from Dolly Parton at the end of July and was never able to get back in touch. And that’s not sitting well with her.

She said, “when my buddy called me and said, ‘Dolly’s gone,’ I thought, ‘I’ll never know why she called me.’ I’ll find out one day. What a blessing she was for all of us.”

It’s finally here y’all!

Kenny Chesney’s 21st studio album, “Silver Sands Marina”, finally dropped on Friday, September 25, 2026 via HEY NOW Records. Which is Kenny’s new label home. The was produced by Kenny himself and Buddy Cannon, the record features 12 tracks, including the lead single “Carry On”, which is available wherever you stream your country music.

The album focuses on positive vibes, lifelong memories, and getting rid of things that bring you down. Like politics. Politicians and politics are trash in general. Let’s be real. This project is all Kenny Chesney…and it’s damn good from track one to track twelve.

I was about fourteen years old…but I still remember Kenny’s first album, “In My Wildest Dreams”, that was released in 1994. Track one on the album, “Whatever It Takes”, is still a certified twanger in my humble opinion. As for his first single/debut song released to radio and public recording was “The Tin Man”, it put Kenny on the map.

The hits kept coming after that and now we’re here on album number twenty one, “Silver Sands Marina”.

If you’re celebrating a birthday and you’re in San Antonio, Texas…this is how it’s done.

A mariachi band surprised Zach Top on stage last night to celebrate his 29th birthday. The special moment took place during his live concert on Saturday, September 26, 2026, at the Frost Bank Center in San Antonio, Texas.

While Zach was performing in front of a massive Texas crowd, a full mariachi band walked out on stage and proceeded to sing happy birthday. They also presented the country music savior with a birthday cake while the mariachi band serenaded him with the traditional Mexican birthday song, “Las Mañanitas.”

Hopefully the cake was good…and I now want a mariachi band to perform for my next birthday.