In honor of college basketball’s craziest month, I created a bracket with 16 of the hottest acts in country music. I seeded them based on the strength of their current “season,” which ran from the ACM Awards in April 2016 to the Grammy Awards in February 2017. Now they are pitted against each other in…… MORE
Country Radio Seminar attendees got an extra serving of dessert at Universal Music Group’s lunch show today at the Ryman Auditorium. As Keith Urban finished the final verse of his latest hit, “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” he was joined onstage by Chris Stapleton and Vince Gill for an amazing three-guitar jam session. They each took several turns playing…… MORE
Chris Stapleton announced this morning (Feb. 16) that he will be headed to a city near you on his All-American Road Show Tour. Chris’ tour kicks off on March 9 in Houston, Texas, with stops in Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Denver, Pittsbrugh, New York and St. Louis. Accompanying the Kentucky native on the road, will…… MORE
The Academy of Country Music revealed today (Feb. 9) the musical lineup and additional fan events for the 5th annual Party for a Cause in Las Vegas, March 30–April 2. The four-day country music smorgasbord culminates with the 52nd annual ACM Awards on April 2 in Las Vegas. The Week Vegas Goes Country will feature…… MORE
Don Williams may have announced his retirement from performing last year at the age of 76, but that won’t stop more than a dozen country superstars from paying tribute to the 50-year career of the legendary artist. Dierks Bentley, Brandy Clark, Garth Brooks, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell and Lady Antebellum are just some of the…… MORE
While both album sales (-11%) and track sales (-23%) dipped in 2016 compared to 2015’s numbers, audio/video streaming results increased 57% from 14.1 billion streams in 2015 to 22.1 billion streams in 2016, according to Billboard and Nielsen Music. With more than 175 million streams, Florida Georgia Line’s “H.O.L.Y.” topped the list of the most-streamed…… MORE
In the final revelation of its week-long rollout of new exhibits in 2017, the Country Music Hall of Fame announced today (Jan. 13) that its new American Currents exhibit will open on March 17, 2017, and run though March 2018. The exhibit will provide an annual up-to-date snapshot of the state of country music, featuring…… MORE
According to Billboard and Nielsen Music, 2016 country albums sales were down 11 percent from 2015. Interestingly enough, the top-selling album of 2016—Chris Stapleton’s Traveller—was released in 2015, and so were two other albums in the Top 10: Thomas Rhett’s Tangled Up and Carrie Underwood’s Storyteller. Sam Hunt’s Montevallo was released in 2014. With sales…… MORE
Running from March 7–26—yes, 20 days—Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo is one of the largest rodeo and livestock exhibitions in the world. Rodeo Houston features a carnival, a bar-b-que contest, 10K race and some of the best live entertainment in the country. The event pulled in almost 2.5 million attendees during last year’s festivities and…… MORE
From Maren and Miranda to Sturgill and Stapleton—and everyone in between—2016 was a stellar year for country singles. We managed to narrow our list down to 10 of the best singles, and now it’s up to you to help us decide who has the supreme single of 2016. Keep in mind, the single had to…… MORE
