It might seem like everybody hates Ticketmaster, but one of the biggest country stars in the world, doesn’t. Garth Brooks would like to call your attention to the real enemy . . . ticket scalpers. He wrote a letter to Congress, asking to have them banned. And he started it off by praising Ticketmaster. He said he’s worked with them for many years, and what he witnessed was “a true concern and care for ticket buyers.” He even said he’s “grown to love and trust the people at Ticketmaster.” And then he presented his case. He said . . . “My question is, as a country, why don’t we make scalping illegal? The crush of bots during an on-sale is a huge reason for program failure no matter who the ticket selling company is. And the one who always pays for this atrocity is the customer. Making scalping illegal eliminates bots, eliminates dynamic pricing controversies, [and] puts less pressure on the system because it puts everyone on a level playing field.”
Remember the time you were overserved and blurted out something really stupid? It happened to Luke Bryan on Saturday when he introduced Dustin Lynch at Crash My Playa. Here’s what he said . . .”The longest-standing representative of Crash My Playa. No one has drank more liquor, no one has vomited more, no one has taken more drugs, no one has taken more IVs, no one has passed more STD tests than this next gentleman.” Perhaps realizing he went too far, he added this. Quote, “He’s got a clean bill, he does not have diseases. Give it up for Dustin Lynch.” Somebody posted it on TikTok, and called him out in the process. Quote, “What Luke said is absolutely uncalled for. Nobody deserves an intro like [that].” As the video made the rounds, so did the comments. Whiskey Riff has a few . . . “Drunk or not, have more respect when introducing someone. So uncalled for. I love Luke, but he sounded like an idiot making that introduction. Good grief. I am beyond disappointed in what Luke said. That was not cool at all. If someone talked about Luke’s nieces like he did Dustin, Luke would destroy their reputation. Remember that stone you roll will come back to you, Luke. Keep it up zero talent, Luke. You’ll be playing to empty stadiums soon. It took a while, but Luke issued an apology yesterday. He said no one respects Dustin more than him, and his “absurd” words were supposed to be taken as sarcasm. He added that he spoke to Dustin and they’re “all good.”
Time flies. The Faster Horses Festival is about to celebrate their 10th year. It’s going down July 14th through the 16th in Brooklyn, Michigan. As usual, it’s a great lineup. Performers include Shania Twain, Zac Brown Band, Luke Bryan, Dwight Yoakam, Dylan Scott, Dustin Lynch, Kameron Marlowe, Tenille Townes, Blanco Brown, and Megan Moroney.
Little Big Town has announced the dates of their “Friends of Mine” tour. It’ll kick-off April 13th in Birmingham, Alabama . . . and run into July. Fairborn, OH – Feb 11 Columbia SC – April 22 Columbus, Ohio – May 27
Reba McEntire is doing a live show TODAY to celebrate the opening of her new restaurant, bar, and live music venue. It’s called Reba’s Place, and it’s located in Atoka, Oklahoma. The event is closed to the public, but it’s being streamed live on Facebook.com/Reba.
If you missed it, Kelly Clarkson covered Chris Stapleton on her show last week. A video of her singing Chris’ single, “You Should Probably Leave” has been making the rounds. If you enjoy Kelly’s covers, her most recent one was Taylor Swift’s “Better Man”.
The Octomom’s Octuplets are 14.
Taylor James is 43. Star of that 2018 “Samson” movie.
Wayne Gretzky is 62.
Ellen DeGeneres is 65.
Anita Baker is 65.
Lucinda Williams is 70. Critically acclaimed country-type rocker. Check out her AMAZING song, “Can’t Let Go”.
Jerry Sandusky is 79.
