Hillbilly Live!

I don’t mean to say bad things about people I don’t know…but when it comes to celebrities…they are absolutely ignorant.

Zach Bryan made his way to Foxborough this weekend for two sold out shows at Gillette Stadium, home of the New England Patriots. Friday night, night one, he graced the stage with a clear message for Patriots owner Robert Kraft. This was of course after the controversy surrounding Macklemore and his recent comments while on tour with Ed Sheeran…this was basically a big f*ck you to Mr. Kraft.

The controversy started in September when Macklemore was opening for Ed Sheeran at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, and he decided to use his performance to deliver his idiotic thoughts on Israel and Palestine…

“A big part of the reason why I wanted to do this tour in the first place is so I could stand up in stadiums like this and say two words that are very near and dear to my heart: ‘Free Palestine.’

I said, ‘Free Palestine!’ I want those words to be loud and clear so that people all the way in Gaza to the occupied West Bank know that we have not forgotten about them.”

The rant only lasted for about three minutes. But that was enough to get people talking about Macklemore. Which also led to him getting kicked off of Ed Sheeran’s tour.

When you fill stadiums you can say what you want. When you are the opening act for someone who fills stadiums … STFU! Simple rules and etiquette when operating on tour.. It's not that hard kids. 🤷‍♂️ https://t.co/CHFkYQVw3r

— Joe Bonamassa (Official) (@JBONAMASSA) September 9, 2026

Macklemore was scheduled to open on 8 of the 10 shows left on the U.S. leg of Ed’s tour, but it was announced that he had been kicked off the remaining dates. And in a rant posted to his Instagram, he blamed Patriots owner Bob Kraft for his ouster.

Bob Kraft did in fact release a statement citing Macklemore’s comments during the MetLife shows, as well as his prior history of dressing up in an offensive stereotypical Jewish costume mocking Jews, as his reason for not allowing the rapper to appear at Gillette Stadium…

“Based on Macklemore’s recent actions, material shared from the stage during Ed Sheeran’s shows in New Jersey, and a broader history of antisemitic rhetoric and imagery that we believe has been deeply offensive and hurtful to the Jewish community, we determined that his participation in the September 25th and 26th concerts at Gillette Stadium would cross that line.”

If we all believe in free speech…then Bob had every right to tell Macklemore his wasn’t welcomed into his place of business if he wanted to support terrorists. Saying “Free Palestine” is pure ignorance.

It literally means you see the entire Jewish community exterminated. That’s what it has alway meant. People who think they can change the definition of words to fit their narrative of the day to make them look like they really care for people is disgusting. It also makes people look unintelligent.

Now we have Zach Bryan who has inserted himself into the controversy as of Friday, October 2, 2026. During Friday night’s show, the first of two at Gillette Stadium, ZB took the stage wearing a “Free Palestine” shirt, as did some of his band members.

A guy who’s been known to be abusive to women and who told a 14 year girl to “get off my d*ck” for wanting an autograph, is not exactly the spokesperson you want for preaching about human rights. It’s just kind of comical to me.

We really live in a sad world, because we have to get history lessons from guys like Bill Maher now. So, if you’re yelling “Free Palestine”…please pay attention to your stupidity and think before you speak.

Whatever your motivation is to get healthy…be proud of it.

This man found his and this is a good one. Luke Combs says he’s down 30 pounds, and one of his big motivators was getting in better shape for hunting season. There can be a lot of walking involved in hunting and a little less weight is to haul is definitely helpful.

So to celebrate…Luke just went on an elk hunting trip and finally tagged a six-point bull after coming up empty on a New Mexico hunt last year.

Luke has been open about his struggles with weight and says his long-term goal is simple. He wants to stay healthy enough to take his sons on an elk hunt of their own someday. That’s a beautiful father and son goal too.

Real country music is still in a damn good place.

Riley Green’s new album “That’s Just Me” debuted at #3 on the Billboard 200 all-genre chart.  That’s the biggest debut of his career, and his first-ever Top 10 on the chart.

“That’s Just Me” features collaborations with Brooks & Dunn, Randy Owen, Jake Worthington, and Hannah McFarland. And that Randy Owen collaboration on “Lookout Mountain” is as good as a country song comes. It’s song about life and wherever the hell it takes you.

Even though Riley is now one of the biggest names in country music, he said he still makes a point of writing from the perspective of his small-town Alabama roots.

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Boo y’all! And welcome to October…and it’s anothernew country music Friday, October 2, 2026.

PROJECTS (Albums & EPs):

Gavin Adcock – “The Day I Hang It Up”
Dexter & The Moonrocks – “Friends That I Don’t Like”
Flatland Cavalry – “Work of Heart – Heartstrings”
Miranda Lambert – “Crisco”
Lee Brice – “Sunriser”
Just Jayne – “A Lil More Jayne”
Paige Fish – “Midnight Crisis”
Blake Proehl – “Hearts Don’t Break”
Ella Hooper – “Overnight Success”
Maddie Lenhart – “Why in the World”
Wild Horses – “The In Between”
Slagheap – “Stupid Dreams”

SINGLES:

Kameron Marlowe – “Take You Down With Me”
Bayker Blankenship – “Make Trouble”
Cody Jinks and Alice Cooper – “Moving Mountains”
Conner Smith – “Fall Down”
Colin Lynch – “In Due Time”
Cigarettes @ Sunset – “Carolina Shakedown”
Dustin Lynch & Ashley Cooke – “How You Been”
Brendan Walter – “Model Maniac”
Clay Walker – “All Wrapped Up In You”
Thelma & James – “Good By Now”
Ian Harrison – “30 or 21”
The Band Loula – “Other People”
George Arbuckle – “Good Luck”
Colin Stough & Kenny Wayne Shepherd – “Bone Dry (Revisited)”
DELTONA – “Party’s In The Back” (feat. Billy Ray Cyrus) – Remix
Timmy McKeever – “Drove Her Away”
HARDY – “Man In The Box”
Joe Noto – “Gotta Know About That”
Hailey Benedict – “Chem History”
Josh Mirenda – “Outta Dodge”
Becca Bowen – “If Grandpa Could See Me Now”
Kalsey Kulyk – “Your Side of the Bar”
Carlisle Wright – “Born In A Dive Bar”
Payton Sullivan – “F150”
Antwane Tyler – “Polaroid”
Braxton Hamblen – “Super 8”

We are grateful for this news.

The Red Clay Strays announced that they are in fact extending their “Grateful Tour” into 2027. The expanded 2027 North American road trip kicks off on January 22, 2027, at the Lenovo Center in Raleigh, North Carolina. And it wraps up on September 19, 2027, at the Moody Center in Austin, Texas.

The tour of course supports their Dave Cobb-produced album, “Greatful”. The band is bringing Avery Anna, The Bends and St. Paul & The Broken Bones who will be rotating in and on the tour as openers.

The diehard/fan presales begin October 5th through the 8th. Then the general public sales will begin Friday, October 9, 2026, at 10:00 AM local time. For everything Red Clay Strays, please visit redclaystrays.com.

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Tracy Lawrence and Wheeler Walker Jr. recently crossed paths for an unfiltered and a highly entertaining conversation on Episode 130 of Tracy’s podcast, TL’s Road House.

Wheeler talked about his plan to retire from country music. He explained that he wants to walk away while he is still having fun rather than being on stage when he no longer wants to be there. He announced his final upcoming show at the Ryman Auditorium on May 15th.

Wheeler asked Tracy a question saying, “I have a theory that I just think country dudes are wilder than any of the rock and roll dudes. Two questions. One…do you agree with me?”

Tracy answered by saying, “I believe that is a very true statement for a lot of us from the 90s.”

He cited the Mötley Crüe documentary, “The Dirt”, as being mild compared to what went down in country music before the era of smartphones and social media. That led Wheeler to his next question where he asked Tracy if he could write a tell-all autobiography. Tracy countered saying he would have to wait for a few people to die first so he wouldn’t end any careers.

Before selling millions of records and packing arenas, Darius Ruckerand Hootie & The Blowfish were just a college band trying to make it work in South Carolina.

Darius was recently on the “Bussin’ with the Boys” podcast, and he got talking about the band’s early days. You know…from the late 1900s. When Hootie & The Blowfish were young and broke.

Darius said, “our first probably 10 gigs, 15 gigs, were strictly for beer.” But when they got more popular the compensation went up from two cases of beer to three.

And money was so tight, they didn’t even have all their own equipment.  He said, “we had to steal the PA from the university because we couldn’t afford a PA.”

Hootie & the Blowfish played their first 15 shows for one form of payment: cases of beer 😂 pic.twitter.com/87XvLfiE1t

— Bussin' With The Boys (@BussinWTB) September 29, 2026

A music sales and chart tracker called Chart Data released a list of the 10 highest-selling songs released in 2026 so far. And country music is doing very well.

Country music actually dominates half the list including the top spot.

Here they are:

1. “Be Her”, Ella Langley

2. “I Just Might”, Bruno Mars

3. “Janice STFU”, Drake

4. “Boston”, Stella Lefty

5. “E85”, Don Toliver

6. “I Can’t Love You Anymore”, Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen

7. “Be by You”, Luke Combs

8. “drop dead”, Olivia Rodrigo

9. “Risk It All”, Bruno Mars

10. “Sleepless in A Hotel Room”, Luke Combs

Best selling songs released in 2026 so far by total units (US):

#1 Be Her
#2 I Just Might
#3 Janice STFU
#4 Boston
#5 E85
#6 I Can't Love You Anymore
#7 Be By You
#8 drop dead
#9 Risk It All
#10 Sleepless In A Hotel Room

— chart data (@chartdata) September 28, 2026

And if you’re wondering, “Choosin’ Texas” has now logged its 24th week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100.

This week's top 10 on the Hot 100 (chart dated Oct. 3, 2026).

Details: https://t.co/g8FQxiRwWs pic.twitter.com/N4lqb4dNv8

— billboard charts (@billboardcharts) September 28, 2026

This not what you want to happen when you come home.

If this happened to me…there would be divorce proceedings happening after my hospital stay. I would’ve thought my spouse was trying to kill me by not waning about the door to the basement/crawlspace was open. Especially when that hole to the door is right when you open the front door.

This looks painful. And thank God America’s Funniest Hone Videos posted this video. It’s almost like a national PSA for people coming home from work.

I get the point of this…but this play on words is in the wrong place.

As a parent, I would be having a parent teacher and an administrator who can actually make decisions meeting. This shouldn’t be post in a damn middle school.

Is it comical? Absolutely. But it’s also wrong. Very f*cking wrong.