Music

Dan + Shay weren't originally Dan + Shay. Sure, they were always Dan Smyers and Shay Mooney, but the singers reveal that folders holding their early demos came with a different vision.The pair wanted to pay tribute to one of their favorite artists and influences: Tim McGraw. Fate — or casual common sense — intervened."We would always walk into these publishing houses in Nashville," Smyers tells Taste of Country Nights Evan Paul, "and they would be like, 'Gosh, Dan and Shay is here again.' We were like, 'We'll just call...

Ronnie Dunn's new album 100 Proof Neon arrived Friday (July 29), and with it came a few collaborations, including this one with Texas native Parker McCollum.The Brooks & Dunn star enlisted McCollum for a rueful song titled "The Road to Abilene," in which the two sing of a love they left behind."Oh, the road to Abilene / Way off out there beyond the bright-light beams / I was wild-high crazy on a six-string dream / Like a song in my heart she still sings / I miss that girl in Abilene," they...

Dierks Bentley focuses on the positive and keeps a little pep in his step with the upbeat new single “Gold,” which will appear on the singer’s upcoming 10th album. No date or title have been announced for the project, which is projected to arrive early in 2023. “Gold” is as bright as its namesake precious metal, a jangling country-rock tune that’s big on 12-string guitar and slide licks. “It ain’t a smooth-ride life, it’s a winding road,” Bentley sings in the chorus, which cranks up the energy in a way...

Thirty-three years ago today (July 29, 1989) was a day of celebration for Reba McEntire: It was on that date that her single "Cathy's Clown" soared to the top of the charts.By the time McEntire hit No. 1 with "Cathy's Clown," which was the debut single from her platinum-selling Sweet Sixteen album, it had already been a hit in the pop world, for the Everly Brothers; with them, the song stayed at the top of the pop charts for five weeks in 1960. But it was McEntire's spin on it, almost 30 years later,...

The highly disputed lawsuit claiming Bob Dylan sexually abused a 12-year-old girl in New York in 1965 has been “withdrawn” by the accuser, lawyers for the singer-songwriter said Thursday. The dismissal came just days after the 69-year-old accuser, identified in the lawsuit as J.C., fired her lawyers amid key discovery deadlines in the case. The original lawsuit, filed last August, claimed Dylan “befriended” the accuser and gained her trust by exploiting his status as a celebrity. It claimed the musician plied the girl with alcohol and drugs and sexually abused...

When you begin to ask Google a question about Whiskey Myers, the auto-filled options are informative and hilarious. The six-piece band was rocking long before appearing on Season 1of Yellowstone (four studio albums, including one that debuted in the Top 5 on Billboard's Country Album Chart), but the Kevin Costner series amplified their existence.Apparently, many fans of the show were impressed with the group's performance of a song called "Stone" during a romantic scene between Rip Wheeler and Beth Dutton (their slow dance in Ep. 4), so they asked Google if Whiskey Myers was real."Well,...

Madonna discussed her decision to take her biopic into her own hands and gave an update on the Julia Garner-starring film in a new interview with Variety. It was previously revealed nearly two years ago that the Material Girl herself would co-write (with Diablo Cody) and direct the still-untitled movie. “I have a very long script that is really hard for me to make shorter. I’ve been whittling away at it, but it’s like hacking off my limbs,” Madonna told Variety. “I’ve had an extraordinary life, I must make an...

It is nearly impossible to feel cynical at the Newport Folk Festival. Despite the state of the world during any given year (increasingly bad), the annual festival in Newport, R.I., offers a reliable supply of life-affirming moments and incredible performances. This year saw the festival return to full-scale after last year’s COVID-restricted “Folk On” event, and the sense of joy and gratitude among both the performers and audience members was palpable. From Maren Morris’ solo debut to Joni Mitchell’s surprise appearance, here are the best things we saw at the 2022...

Reps. Jamaal Bowman (D-N.Y.) and Hank Johnson (D-Ga.) on Wednesday introduced the Restoring Artistic Protection (RAP) Act to limit the use of lyrics and “artistic expression” as evidence in criminal cases. The bill’s introduction follows the arrests and charges against Young Thug and Gunna earlier this year, with prosecutors leaning heavily on the musicians’ lyrics. If passed, the bill would restrict the ability of prosecutors in criminal cases, as well as lawyers in civil cases, to use song lyrics as evidence against musicians. That tactic is disproportionately employed against rappers,...

One of the most prolific and beloved artists in country music, Alan Jackson has been delighting fans and critics alike for over 30 years. With 17 studio albums, 10 greatest hits records and even two Christmas cuts, Jackson is one of the best-selling artists of the past few decades, selling over 40 million albums throughout his career.Jackson released his debut album, Here in the Real World, in 1990. Four of that project's singles went to the Top 5 at country radio, and the project also yielded his first No. 1 hit, "I'd Love...

When Brendan Dyer, the multi-instrumentalist and songwriter behind rising noise pop outfit Milly, calls to speak to Rolling Stone on a recent July evening, he does so from the comfort of his car, parked beneath a delicate canopy of trees outside the South Pasadena home he shares with a few roommates. The semi-suburban enclave is located just east of metropolitan Los Angeles — a stone’s throw from the hip Highland Park neighborhood, which used to be home to the city’s working class but is now most closely associated with its...

Twenty years ago today, on July 27, 2002, Kenny Chesney added another No. 1 hit to the growing list of "good stuff" that was happening in his career. It was on that date that the singer soared to the top of the charts with his song "The Good Stuff" and held reign for seven straight weeks."The Good Stuff," which was the second single from Chesney's multi-platinum No Shoes, No Shirt, No Problems album, was written by veteran tunesmiths Craig Wiseman and Jim Collins. The mid-tempo song explains that the "good stuff" is...

When Tupac Shakur’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, filed her blockbuster lawsuit last January claiming trustee Tom Whalley had “embezzled millions” from her late mother’s estate, the accused music executive who had worked closely with Afeni Shakur-Davis and her world-famous rapper son while they were alive called the complaint “offensive” and “legally baseless.” Whalley admitted he had not yet produced a formal trust accounting following Afeni’s death in 2016, but he assured the court a firm was hired to prepare one. The former Warner Bros. Records boss who signed Tupac to Interscope...

Maren Morris was born and raised in Texas but she quickly found a place in Nashville as one of country music's brightest stars. Though she's a prolific writer whose songs have been recorded by Tim McGraw, Kelly Clarkson and more, Morris' raw performing talent has continued to propelled her into the spotlight.Morris signed with Columbia in September 2015; her debut single "My Church" was so popular, it was certified gold by the RIAA. Her debut record, Hero, dropped on June 3, 2016, garnering Morris four Grammy Awards nods -- including one win for Best...