Music

The 2022 CMA Awards started slow and a little sad, but by the end of the night, the artists involved had proven how cool country can be.Traditional performances from Chris Stapleton and Cody Johnson, fiery moments from Carrie Underwood and (literally) Elle King and a tribute to Alan Jackson were among the highlights from the 2022 CMAs. The Loretta Lynn tribute came first, with Underwood making her first of two CMA appearances.Newcomers like the War & Treaty and Hardy also had a place to shine, and each delivered a sterling performance on...

The 2022 CMA Awards were a mostly predictable affair with a few pleasant little surprises — and we’re so grateful for it. Between the maelstrom known as Ye, the upending of the already chaotic Twitter, and the high stakes of the midterms, there’s enough wacky shit afoot without having to endure some stupid drama unfolding on country music’s biggest night. Sorry Garth, but thank God for answered prayers. With that in mind, the dream of the Nineties (and some even more distant decades) was alive in Nashville on Wednesday, as...

Carrie Underwood and Eric Church were among the contemporary hitmakers to celebrate Toby Keith with a song at the BMI Country Awards on Tuesday (Nov. 8).Singing "Should've Been a Cowboy," Underwood paid tribute to a fellow Oklahoman on a night when Keith became a BMI Icon.He joins an elite group of songwriters who've earned the honor, like Willie Nelson, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams Jr. and more. During his remarks, he talked about why songwriting — and his decision to join BMI — is the foundation of his success.attachment-Carrie...

Christine and the Queens’ frontperson, Chris, has spent most of his life yearning for simplicity — to understand his own sexuality and gender but longing mostly for the simplest emotion: love. Unfortunately for Chris, yearning is what he does best. That anxious feeling is what makes his music so invigorating. Two years ago, Chris captured the quintessence of lockdown loneliness with “People, I’ve Been Sad,” a prayer for human contact with a moving chorus. Two years before that, he rejected gender roles (and maybe gender as a whole) by responding...

Jason Aldean is among the many country stars, fans and friends who turned to social media on Tuesday (Nov. 8) to react to the death of Alabama's Jeff Cook, sharing that he had gotten to play with him several times over the years."So sad to hear of the passing of Jeff Cook," Aldean writes on Twitter. "I spent a lot of my life listening to him play guitar, what an iconic sound he had. I got a chance to perform with him multiple times over the years and I will...

"I have lost my best friend and the world has lost one of the greatest singers who ever lived," wrote bassist Pete Agnew Dan McCafferty, the lead vocalist for the hard rock band Nazareth and who voiced 1970s rock classics “Love Hurts” and “Hair of the Dog,” died Tuesday, Nov. 8, from unspecified causes. He was 76. Nazareth bassist Pete Agnew confirmed McCafferty death in a post on Instagram. “This is the saddest announcement I ever had to make,” Agnew wrote. “Maryann and the family have lost a wonderful loving husband and...

Saturday Night Live alum Chris Redd misses the old Kanye West. It’s not just the one from before the rapper’s recent anti-semitic and anti-Black tirades, but the one from way before he stepped foot on the SNL dress rehearsal stage for the first run through of his unaired pro-Trump rant in September 2018. During a recent appearance on the Daily Beast’s The Last Laugh podcast, the comedian recalled his encounters with West when he appeared on the show as musical guest on an episode hosted by Adam Driver. “He came...

A Luke Bryan fan jumped on stage during his show in Florida over the weekend, and security pounced up to whisk him away. They didn't get the chance.The "Country On" singer and host of the 2022 CMA Awards played MidFlorida Amphitheater in Tampa on Saturday (Nov. 5). As he sang "That's My Kind of Night," a shirtless man jumped up to join him. Typically that's a short-lived cameo, with security taking care of business in ways that can be violent.One guard tried to move the unknown party-crasher along, but Bryan said no, let...

Hall of Fame In a statement, Morissette said that "there is no need for me to spend time in an environment that reduces women." Alanis Morissette took to Instagram to respond to “mis-informed rumblings” surrounding her absence from a performance at Saturday’s Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. Morissette was set to perform “You’re So Vain” with Olivia Rodrigo as a tribute to inductee Carly Simon. While Variety reported that Morissette was at rehearsals on Friday and was listed on all the in-house schedules for the show, it wasn’t immediately clear...

Just before the pandemic, accomplished singer-songwriter Jerry Joseph traveled from his home in Portland, Ore. to Water Valley, Miss. to fulfill a longtime dream of recording a record with his longtime friend, Drive-By Truckers' founding member Patterson Hood. It was there, at Truckers' bassist Matt Patton's studio Dial Back Sound, that they crafted The Beautiful Madness, the celebrated 2020 record from Joseph and the Drive-By Truckers under the moniker The Stiff Boys.Those recording sessions were fruitful, and when all the dust settled, they were left with a treasure trove of tracks...

Spencer Sutherland — the singer/songwriter known for songs like “Wonder” and his soulful TikTok covers — is heading on the road. On Monday, the rising star announced that he’s heading on the In His Mania tour across the U.S. starting next March. “Let me be the FIRST to welcome you to THE IN HIS MANIA TOUR!!!!!” he wrote on Instagram with the tour poster. “Let’s make this a tour to Remember!!!!” Sutherland, who recently starred in Netflix’s Afterlife of the Party with Victoria Justice, will start his tour in the...

The amphitheater shows that Turnpike Troubadours have been performing throughout the year have all included massive bills, and Saturday (Nov. 5) night's appearance at Dailey's Place in Jacksonville, Fla. was no exception."This lineup is a mini-festival," BJ Barham, frontman of opening act American Aquarium, assured after taking the stage promptly at 7 p.m."How y'all doing out there, Duval?" he asked the crowd with the proper accent on the county name before introducing the 2012 track "Jacksonville." "We're American Aquarium from Raleigh, North Carolina," Barham continued. "I might be from North Carolina,...

For Maestro Jason Ikeem Rodgers, the founder and musical director of Orchestra Noir in Atlanta, collaborating with Rick Ross for Red Bull’s global Symphonic series seemed like destiny. The project pairs contemporary musicians with classically trained orchestras, and Rodgers says he grew up on the rapper. When he was younger, he remembers spending two years driving around his native Philadelphia with a broken CD player that looped three songs. One was Ross’s 2013 Jay-Z collaboration “Devil is a Lie.”  “Rick Ross’s music helped me navigate my life and inspired me...

The Houston Astros had a country mega-star in their corner before their game against the Philadelphia Phillies on Saturday (Nov. 5): George Strait stopped by before the game, and even stuck around to give the traditional "Play Ball" call.The legendary country singer made a stop at Minute Maid Park ahead of Saturday's game, and chatted with a few Astros while he was there, according to a report from KHOU 11. Among them were Hall-of-Famer Craig Biggio, and another was pitcher Lance McCuller Jr., who signed an autograph for Strait and...