Lauren Akins released her new memoir, Live in Love: Growing Together Through Life’s Changes, on Aug. 18. The new book chronicles Lauren’s childhood friendship with husband-to-be Thomas Rhett, explaining how they reconnected as young adults, got married and are now raising three girls. The book also delves into many of the “challenges they faced as…… MORE
Luke Bryan may be busy hitting the talk-show circuit this week to promote his brand-new album, Born Here, Live Here, Die Here, but one month ago he was using his free time to check an item off of his bucket list. In July, Luke loaded up all of his boys—Til, 18, Bo, 12, and Tate,…… MORE
Lee Brice is trying to score his eighth No. 1 single with the release of “One of Them Girls.” Penned by Lee, Ashley Gorley, Dallas Davidson and Ben Johnson, “One of Them Girls” is currently No. 18 on the Billboard Country Airplay chart after 16 weeks. The new tune follows Lee’s previous No. 1 singles, “Rumors,”…… MORE
Thomas Rhett’s 2013 debut album, It Goes Like This, spawned three consecutive No. 1 singles: “It Goes Like This,” “Get Me Some of That” and “Make Me Wanna.” When TR was planning his 2015 sophomore album, Tangled Up, he knew he needed a lead single that wouldn’t crash and burn. Ironically enough, Thomas Rhett chose…… MORE
By sampling Webb Pierce’s 1953 No. 1 hit, “There Stands the Glass,” in his current single, “Hard to Forget,” Sam Hunt has introduced Webb’s iconic song to a new generation of country music fans. While hardcore, old-school country fans may liken Sam’s sampling to blasphemy, the closer truth is that Sam has opened up the…… MORE
When the stars align . . . sometimes the music stars align. Keith Urban shared just such an instance during a recent sit-down with Kix Brooks of American Country Countdown. As Kix was reminiscing about his fun-loving days on the road as part of Hall of Fame duo Brooks & Dunn, he jokingly noted that…… MORE
Like the rest of the music-making world, Jordan Davis was forced to cancel his spring and summer gigs due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But there’s been a silver lining for the Louisiana native, who has scored three consecutive No. 1 singles with “Slow Dance in a Parking Lot” (April 2020), “Take It From Me” (March…… MORE
Garner, N.C., native Scotty McCreery has a special affinity for his home state. To this day, the American Idol winner—who has scored three No. 1 albums and two No. 1 singles—cites an honor from his home state as one of his “prouder moments.” In March 2017, Scotty was honored with the Order of the Long…… MORE
Kip Moore released his fourth studio album, Wild World, on May 29. The 13-song offering features 12 songs that Kip co-wrote, including lead singe, “She’s Mine,” which is currently No. 26 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart after 38 weeks. In addition, Kip co-produced the album with David Garcia, Luke Dick and Blair Daly on select…… MORE
With songs like “Girl Goin’ Nowhere,” “A Little Dive Bar in Dahlonega and “One Night Standards,” Ashley McBryde has proven herself to be one of the most vivid storytellers in country music. Her lyrics are almost as fun to read as listen to—but, of course, she also has a beautiful voice. After breaking out in…… MORE
Toby Keith left us 10 months ago. But his music keeps on keepin’ on in a big way. He just went GOLD and PLATINUM again. His whole catalog has seen a boost since he passed away from cancer in February at the age of 62. The RIAA honored him this week with four more certifications,…
While 2024 certainly had its moments of inspiration and incredible country music . . . we also lost more than a few country superstars. Here are some members of the country music family that passed away this year: 1. Toby Keith. July 8th, 1961 to February 5th, 2024 2. Kris Kristofferson. June 22nd, 1936 to…