Music

Kings of Leon have released a new song, “Echoing,” with a black-and-white music video. The clip shows members of the band performing in an empty concert space, with erratic camerawork and lighting effects that match the song’s tempo. “Time is often higher learning/I’m still barely making grades/Just about imagination anyway,” frontman Caleb Followill sings. “We are circling the wagons/Lining up in single file/Members of the jury are standing trial.” Kings of Leon will release their eighth studio album When You See Yourself on March 5th via RCA Records, following a five-year...

Kelly Clarkson will soon sit down with Dr. Jill Biden at the White House in what will be the first solo TV interview for the esteemed First Lady and longtime educator since her husband, Joe Biden, was sworn in as the 46th President of the United States on Jan. 20.Clarkson revealed the news on Wednesday (Feb. 17), after her namesake daytime variety program, The Kelly Clarkson Show, teased the previous day that a "very special" revelation was on the way.Of course, lots of TV viewers enjoy the singer, talk show host and American...

Crowded House have announced their first new studio album in more than a decade, Dreamers Are Waiting. The follow-up to 2010’s Intriguer, the LP will be released on June 4th via BMG. The band also dropped a new video for the LP single “To the Island.” The Neil Finn-directed clip was filmed in New Zealand, Los Angeles and Ireland. The visual features each bandmate in different locations before they meet up at a gig. They drive, canoe and rappel their way to a mysterious club, where fairies appear and a...

Progress often comes when people examine their past actions and make changes based on what they've learned more recently. Neither Luke Combs nor Maren Morris contends to be perfect, either in the past or as they're working to grow into more inclusive individuals, but both artists took a public step in their journeys during an hour-long discussion with journalist Ann Powers on Wednesday (Feb. 17).Combs and Morris -- the reigning male and female artists of the year, respectively, at both the ACM and CMA Awards -- were originally booked for a...

In “Viva Nigeria,” one of Fela Kuti’s earliest 45s, the Afrobeat pioneer proclaims, “Men are born, kings are made.” Kuti, who was born a man in 1938 and died a king of music in ’97, transformed his home country and the world at large into something more inclusive and compassionate through driving, dynamic drums, big, funky horns, and scabrous lyrics that skewered the violent military junta controlling Nigeria. He had studied music in London, where he played piano in jazz, R&B, and rock groups — creating a tight bond with...

Tanya Tucker isn't looking to change things up too much after Shooter Jennings and Brandi Carlile helped make her last album, 2019's While I'm Livin', a 2020 Grammy Awards winner for Best Country Album. To wit, both heavy hitters will be back for Tucker's next effort.But that doesn't mean the follow-up LP won't show any progression. While Tucker and the two musician-producers will tee up for another album home run, the singer herself says her voice has markedly improved in the two years since While I'm Livin'. She noticed as much...

Rick Ross returned to his roots for NPR’s Tiny Desk (Home) Concert appearance, which premiered on Tuesday. While he lives in Atlanta, he headed to the city where he was reared and launched his career to film the show. Shot at his friend and collaborator Rich B Caliente’s gallery space complete with a throne, Ross delivered a six-song set. The concert marked the second time in his career he has performed with a live band. Backed by DJ Sam Sneak, bassist Thaddaeus Tribbett, keyboardist Monty Reynolds, drummer Rashid Williams, and...

Eric Church got out of Nashville — and his comfort zone — to make Heart & Soul, his forthcoming triple album. The country superstar says his goal in creating his latest music was to "make people really uncomfortable."The decision was a product of the creation of Church's last album, 2018's Desperate Man. In a new behind-the-scenes video, the singer admits that he and his team felt just a little too comfortable when they were making that record, "and it was hard to get the record because of that."So, in January of 2020, Church, his band...

With its future already unclear due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Nashville’s famed rock venue the Exit/In is now up for sale. In its 50th year of operation, Exit/In has served as a popular concert destination for Music City, hosting national touring acts including Talking Heads, R.E.M., and Lucinda Williams, as well as homegrown artists from the city’s country, rock, and Americana scenes — Luke Combs played their early in his career. Situated on Nashville’s “Rock Block” amid other venues and restaurants, the Exit/In has been embattled as developers buy and...

Kenny Chesney is grieving the loss of a friend of 15 years. A helicopter pilot named Maria Rodriguez was among those killed in a crash on the Virgin Islands, the singer says.The crash on St. Thomas took multiple lives, including that of Rodriguez, a woman the country singer called a dear friend. "I have been flying with Maria for over 15 years and we shared a lot of laughs and a lot of life together," Chesney shares."She was always the first person I saw when I landed and the last...

Megan Thee Stallion has released the new song “Southside Forever Freestyle” along with an accompanying video. “Happy birthday to me #MeganMonday,” the rapper, who is celebrating turning 26 today, captioned an Instagram post sharing the clip In the Mike Ho-directed visual, Megan Thee Stallion pays homage to her hometown of Houston, both in the song and via her attire. Sporting a Houston Rockets hat and bikini top, she drops her verses over longtime producers Juicy J and LilJuMadeDaBeat’s beats. “Please bitch, do not try and cap on me/Like I ain’t...

To commemorate the United States holiday of President's Day on Monday (Feb. 15), George Strait shared a snapshot of his visit to the White House's Oval Office in the early '90s.The country star made his visit alongside his wife Norma and their young son Bubba; both Strait and his son wore jackets and ties for the occasion. The president in office at the time was George H.W. Bush, and the picture shows the Strait family paying their respects to him as he focused on an item on his desk."Happy President's Day!" Strait...

Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists. (Check out last week’s best songs.) Tiera featuring Breland, “Miles” Singer-songwriter Tiera flexes her melodic and vocal muscles on the easygoing new single “Miles,” a duet with the shapeshifting singer Breland, of “My Truck” fame. Rather than trunk-rattling country-trap, it’s blissful folk-pop about falling in love...

After a largely virtual season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, American Idol judges Lionel Richie, Katy Perry and Luke Bryan are back in the studio for the TV singing competitions 19th season. They'll be practicing social distancing as they audition hopefuls in only three California cities, rather than making their usual national rounds,but as Perry dramatically put it during Sunday night's (Feb. 14) season premiere, "Dreams are not canceled."In addition to country-leaning standout Alex Miller, whose audition earned him a golden ticket to Hollywood, viewers also met another country-focused hopeful on Sunday night. Mississippi teen...