Rolling Country 2026

The traditional kick-off with Chuck Eddy: this time, he sez,

Hey Don -- All's I've got is this:

40 (+5) Best Country Singles of 2025

https://chuckeddy.substack.com/p/40-5-best-country-singles-of-2025

Still finalizing the writing for my 2025 best-of and will share here when that's live.

In the meantime, definitely think it's worth highlighting how massive a single Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" is turning out to be. It's currently at #5 on the Hot 100 on the strength of both streaming and terrestrial radio, and it's turned up on a bunch of the 2025 year-end lists for country.

Also mentioned on BlueSky that it's far and away the highest peak on the Hot 100 for one of its songwriters... Miranda Lambert.

ella langley 2026 takeover let's go

Good post-Xmas x New Year's winter music, country adjacent, broody and sparkly (from recommend me some country music thread, with a few more words)

Listening now to Annahstasia's Tether, rec so far to fans of Brandi Carlile, Patty Griffin, with emphasis on voice x acoustic guitar, some distinctive melodic and other turns eventually, so evident influence of early Joni Mitchell, though not that much vocally: https://annahstasia.bandcamp.com/album/tether Nice!

can be a bit gritty, like snow.

Tyler Childers making many rock critic 2025 lists (lists that tend to be mainly rock albums )

Just posted this on Rolling Obit:

On his Substack, Chuck has now posted an amazing eulogy for, vivid bio of his gifted and accomplished son---also links to Will's YouTube channel and much more:
https://chuckeddy.substack.com/p/william-linus-eddy-1985-2025

ENTERPRISE, Ala. – Tiny living…it’s the hot new trend that many people are embracing! It’s also a good alternative to overnight hotel stays with more amenities. Now, in Enterprise, Alabama, which is located in the middle of a 75-mile corridor where 12 million cars pass through annually on their way to the Florida panhandle, Darryl Worley’s “Awful Beautiful Life” Luxury Tiny Home Resort has broken ground and scheduled to open in late Spring 2026.

Located within miles of Fort Rucker, Darryl Worley’s “Awful Beautiful Life” Luxury Tiny Home Resort will offer short-term/convenient lodging for government contractors, flight graduation class family members and guests, as well as those visiting the Army Aviation Museum.

“I won’t forget getting that phone call from my dear friend Ronnie Gilley as he shared this incredible vision with last year. I’ve done lots of good things with Ronnie, but this one sparked something in me as I knew we could help the families of those stationed at Fort Rucker,” says country music star Darryl Worley. “We’re building a project that’s a two-for-one for the military. One, there is a constant need for short-term lodging due to the constant in and out flow to and from the base and, two, we are building a lifestyle community with 5 star amenities, while also delivering a home option for the military at an incredibly affordable price.”

Darryl Worley’s “Awful Beautiful Life” Luxury Tiny Home Resort will include 75 tiny homes, a resort lagoon pool, dog walking park, and more! Though the floor plans are compact, guests won’t have to sacrifice having friends over or entertaining. The unit is designed for comfort with a bedroom downstairs, kitchen, sitting area and a covered porch with large overhang meaning guests can utilize outdoor living spaces during different weather conditions. Other specific amenities will include an event center, fully equipped fitness center, pickle ball court, cornhole court, a clubhouse and a chill lounge. The entire area will have a 24/7 security gate entrance for privacy and safety.

“You know, the previous administration drove home prices and interest rates through the roof. That prompted Ronnie to come up with a very special, unique and different product that is going to be a perfect fit for our military!,” adds Worley. “I might also add, the lifestyle Awful Beautiful Life Resort is creating will also be very inviting to the massive migration of retirees that are moving south in record breaking numbers!”

For more information or investment opportunities visit: www.darrylworleyawfulbeautifulliferesort.com

# # #

About Darryl Worley:
Worley debuted on the country charts with a trio of top-15 hits in 2000-01, “When You Need My Love,” “A Good Day to Run” and “Second Wind.” His breakthrough year was 2002 when Worley’s touching ballad “I Miss My Friend,” the title tune to his second CD, became his first No. 1 hit. After he spent Christmas 2002 entertaining America’s troops in Afghanistan, Kuwait, and Uzbekistan, he came home and wrote the patriotic anthem “Have You Forgotten?,” which became his second No. 1 song and remained at the top of the charts for six weeks. In the summer of 2004, “Awful Beautiful Life” was released and soon rocketed up the country music charts to become a multi-week No. 1. Darryl has continued to release albums and participate in philanthropic endeavors.

Chuck in a group discusion of Frank Kogan's dental appointment:

By the way, I agree with your dental assistant that Megan Moroney is an excellent singer. (She only put out a couple singles in 2025, if I remember right, but I liked her version of Toby Keith's "Who's Your Daddy" quite a bit.)

Megan Moroney, and I say this with my whole chest and had been for three years, is completely fucking tone-deaf. She's the worst singer I can recall attaining her level of status in any genre in my lifetime, and there are so many people who ought to see through her entire persona for what it is.

*have been, etc.

As someone who's just getting into some of Moroney's songs, I'm intrigued by how intense your reaction to her is! I feel like her voice has a kind of weary/melancholy sound--I haven't dug into a whole album of hers, but I'm at least into "6 Months Later" and "No Caller ID". I hear a bit of Kelsea Ballerini in her voice too, though I think Ballerini has more range. What do you think of her?

I've come up with a Country & Adjacent list based on (and adding to) my Fol Alley and No Dep ballots, as posted on the Americana thread, doing the same w my comments on those picks. The ones here are the most RC relevant, I think:

Country & Adjacent
Top albums

Annahstasia: Tether
Ashley Monroe: Tennessee Lightning
Brandi Carlile: Returning to Myself
Cam: All Things Light
Grey Delisle & Friends: It's All Her Fault: A Tribute To Cindy Walker
James McMurtry: The Black Dog and the Wandering Boy
Jason Isbell: Foxes in the Snow
Joe Ely: Love and Freedom
Joshua Ray Walker: Stuff
Kieran Kane & Rayna Gellart: Volume 4
Lukas Nelson: American Romance
Margo Price: Hard Headed Woman
Mavis Staples: Sad and Beautiful World
Michael Hurley: Broken Homes and Gardens
Patty Griffin: Crown of Roses
Tommy Talton: Seven Levels
Tony Joe White: The Real Thang
Tyler Childers: Snipe Hunter
Willie Nelson: Oh What A Beautiful World
Willie Nelson: Workin' Man: Willie Sings Merle

also good: Brennan Leigh: Don’t You Ever Give Up On Love, S.G. Goodman: Planting By The Signs Mackenzie Carpenter: Hey Country Queen, Hot Club of Cowtown: Limelight, Rodney Crowell: Airline Highway

About Half Good Sunny Sweeney: Rhinestone Requiem

Ace EP! Summer Dean, Live AF

Singles/Favored Tracks incl. Mackenzie Carpenter: “Don’t Mess With Exes,” Ella Langley: "Wish I Didn’t Know Now,” Big Thief: “How Could I Have Known,” :Willie Nelson: “What Kind of Love?,” Kaitlin Butts: “Red Wine Supernova,” “The Middle” (both versions from The Yeehaw Sessions EP)

Comments, maybe more later:

Annahstasia's Tether is sparkly and broody, sometimes crunchy like snow, rec to fans of early Joni Mitchell, Patty Griffin, Brandi Carlilie, current Cam ( necessary details of topography in the atmosphere).

ssshhhh: Ashley Monroe's afternoon views and fly-away plastic castles are wrought with the same cool intensity as several more outright oops upside the head (it's her alright).

It’s All Her Fault: A Tribute to Cindy Walker: for one thing, it was a good balance of singers new to me---Summer Dean, Kimmie Bitter, Jolie Holland, Ginny Mac, Mazzy Dee, Gail Davies--and (mostly) my favored knowns: Kelly Willis, Katie Shore, Amythyst Kiah, Brennen Leigh, Rosie Flores, Melissa Carper, Mandy Barnett---did not know, 'til I heard Barnett rocking it, that Walker wrote "Dream Baby.” Hats off to Grey Delisle for putting it together (she duets well w Leigh too):
https://greydelisle.bandcamp.com/album/its-all-her-fault-a-tribute-to-cindy-walker?search_item_id%3D288252752%26search_item_type%3Da%26search_match_part%3D%253F%26search_page_id%3D4958483242%26search_page_no%3D0%26search_rank%3D1
Willie Nelson did a good tribute too: You Don't Know Me: The Songs of Cindy Walker
http://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_lLOj5TR_MCMUfxYItqVg98t5s9IsibhmI

Joe Ely, from Ex-Flatlanders thread:
New one, from stash of tracks recorded over quite a few years, is refreshingly sung and played, with Lloyd Maines doing some more polishing, and Ely provides continuity, as writer, interpreter of well-chosen covers, and compiler of well-sequenced tracks. He does a Guy Clark show-stopper that Clark never released, also "Deportee," "Waitin' Around To Die," and "For The Sake of the Song," another TVZ, which goes with several (sometimes Dylan-y) originals re pushing and twisting verbosity into agreeably melodic word-balloons, though as w some previous Joe of recent decades, I had to listen a couple times to get into some of those. Hope there's more.

Joshua Ray Walker: "Yes, I'm still workin' on the cancer, but also I can still do this, heee!" (It's him alright.

Kieran Kane and Rayna Gellart: Volume 4—-their latest has even more low (1975 East Nashville coffee table)-key sound, but I got used to it within first listen: original ballads, with some hooks, even, interspersed w perky trad instrumentals:
https://kanegellert.bandcamp.com/album/volume-4

Mavis Staples: Sad and Beautiful World (eventually just trying to convince herself that it'll be a little better or something, which makes the whole orbit even more poignant and relatable)

McMurtry's set is playful and ugly, esp guitar and words, nostalgic monster aholes on trampolines etc., c'mon along!

Tommy Talton: Seven Levels—-RIP TT was, with Scott Boyer, co-founder of the somewhut misleadingly named Cowboy, whom I've posted about on the Southern Rock thread---here, with early cohorts like Randall Branblett and Chuck Leavell, he delivers a swan song with characteristic discipline x warmth.
https://tommytalton.bandcamp.com/album/seven-levels

Re Tony Joe. from an email response to Chuck E.:
Your "sounds like his understanding of rap music ends around 1980, which I always appreciate,"
goes with Tony Joe's early 80s (maybe 80?)-as-hail "Swamp Rap," which kicks off a sled team of uptempo country hybrids, also "Even Trolls like Rock 'N' Roll," and a version, maybe the hit one, of "Polk Salad Annie." but it seems faster than the hit, mebbe cos of context----all this following a first half of mellow yet candid candle post-Outlaw songs---"Pour me another memory, before this one is gone," also taking women " too lightly...one day you go to the Bank of Texas and you're overdrawn." Until he seems to experience ego-death in an ambient fried-egg sunset(of cumulative memories) ----but then: "Swamp Rap." "I Get Off On It.": and other new adventures. That's The Real Thang, which finally came out this year. PS: Since I brought up this Tony Joe Thang, should add that the post-Outlaw first half usually gratifies the appetite for apt detail as "Swamp Rap" and subsequent tracks.

Willie Nelson: Oh What A Beautiful World---
Exemplary vocal poise clarifies, w/o flattening, the jittery, horny, memory/dream-infested, philosophical (sometimes prolix) chronicles of Rodney Crowell's songs, bringing out their own melodic poise and shrewds (also, Willie picked a lot of the right ones, and it's far too late for early classick "I Ain't Livin' Long Like This."). Strong opener: the disturbed "What Kind of Love?," which is not a rhetorical question: a Crowell-Orbison collab, reminding me that (increasing Crowell influence?)Dylan said in Chronicles that Orbison influenced him by demonstrating a right way to break the rules.

Willie Nelson: Workin’ Man: Willie Sings Merle—-singn' & pickin' with Big Sister Bobbie (apparently her last record, but that there pianner's up front on pert near ever track). Good grove w his band, o course, and he’s in the pocket, leading the way through the job, after initial vocal frailty (not evident on Oh What a Beautiful World: when were these recorded?)(Merle’s writing, incl. Esp. the deepest, “If We Make It Through December,” and springing “Ramblin Fever,” is so to the point, so razory at times, that I had to get used to the relatively messy, wistful realness and such of Crowell’s approach all over again, as covered by Willie and on his own album.)

Brennan Leigh’s honky tonk kitchen sink is growing on me:going for a Loretta Lynn Lysol lucidity, she’s still got that sometimes whiplash turn of phrase like when moving out of retro on Obsessed With The West, but I’m spoiled by that ‘un’s faceted flair and fun.

Likewise, S.G. Goodman’s latest is not bad but not wild.

Hot Club’s set exhibits all the things they’re good at, except outstanding, self-defining, or frame-pushing originals: if they wrote any of these (not seeing credits), those blend in a little too well with the vintage gold and semi-precious lights, in and under Western skies (but I’ll take it all).

I gotta have at least one big loud pop hat country album every year: women usually do it better, and Mackenzie Carpenter is goin’ back in like George Costanza, to the night life whirl and daylight stabs, wailing through her nose and thus shredding bar napkin valentines, also her fairly frequently flimsier material, doing some kinds of justice to it all. Love the dramatic pauses in “Don’t Mess With Exes,” and it’s one of those “why have I never heard a song about this?” songs. More please, for her and me.

Also thanx yall for tips about Ella Langley, Mackenzie Carpenter, and the Summer Dean EP.

New Ella, "Dandelion": on first listen, video seems like a home furnishing showroom, gilding the inert dandelion, better to have had her driving a pickup, moseying down by the crick----track maybe overproduced too, or maybe I played it too loud---anyway, here are the options (I think the audio-only will grow on me)https://ellalangley.lnk.to/dandelion-single

I got my wife a Summer Dean shirt. Hope she (Dean) doesn't go all MAGA or some shit.

Oh yeah, heard a four-song rerun of Sturgill's solo Tiny Desk Concert last night, from 2014: voice and guitar sounded good, maybe 12-string? Fave was "Water From The Well," which I'd like to hear Willie cover--maybe more songs here, haven't listened yet:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5cMqD0WqYE

Rolling Country 2014 is thataway

Super belated, obvs, but will share here for posterity all the same: Top 40 Country Albums of 2025.

Thanks, Jon! Will check it out, was looking fwd.

I never go around awards shows, so didn't know, as yall prob did, that Childers won for "Bitin' List." Just now got the memo, and also so learned:

In addition to Childers, the record features his band The Food Stamps: James Barker (guitar, pedal steel), Craig Burletic (bass), CJ Cain (guitars), Kory Caudill (keyboards), Rodney Elkins (drums), Matt Rowland (keyboards) and Jesse Wells (guitar, fiddle).
In celebration of the new music, Childers will return to the road this spring with 2026’s Snipe Hunt, which includes stops at Chicago’s Wrigley Field, Dallas’ Dos Equis Pavilion, Birmingham’s Coca-Cola Amphitheater, Boulder’s Folsom Field, Seattle’s Climate Pledge Arena and Portland’s Moda Center among others. See below for complete itinerary.
TYLER CHILDERS CONFIRMED TOUR DATES
March 3—Dublin, Ireland—3Arena^
March 6—Glasgow, U.K.—OVO Hydro^
March 8—Manchester, U.K.—AO Arena^
March 10—Brussels, Belgium—Ancienne Belgique^
March 13—Paris, France—Salle Pleyel^
March 15—Berlin, Germany—Uber Eats Music Hall^
March 17—Copenhagen, Denmark—K.B. Hallen^
March 21—Amsterdam, Netherlands—AFAS Live^
April 23—Dallas, TX—Dos Equis Pavilion*
April 25—New Orleans, LA—New Orleans Jazz & Heritage Festival
June 4—Birmingham, AL—The Coca-Cola Amphitheater~
June 5—Greenville, SC—Bon Secours Wellness Arena~
June 7—Lexington, KY—Railbird Festival
June 10—Darien Center, NY—Darien Lake Amphitheater†
June 11—Hershey, PA—Hersheypark Stadium†
June 13—Columbus, OH—Buckeye Country Superfest
July 9—St. Louis, MO—Hollywood Casino Amphitheater‡
July 12—Chicago, IL—Wrigley Field#
July 14—Kansas City, MO —Morton Amphitheater§
July 15—Des Moines, IA—Casey’s Center§
July 18—Boulder, CO—Folsom Field# (presented by AEG)
September 30—Sacramento, CA—Golden 1 Center§
October 2—Seattle, WA—Climate Pledge Arena§
October 3—Portland, OR—Moda Center‡
^with special guest Molly Tuttle
*with special guests Robert Earl Keen and Scott T. Smith
~with special guests Evan Honer and Scott T. Smith
†with special guest Evan Honer
‡with special guests Wednesday and Scott T. Smith
#with special guests Jon Batiste and Wednesday
§with special guest Wednesday

xpost wow---Top Ten incl. several albums & some artists I'd never heard of, must catch up.

Still can't get into or through that latest Tami Neilson album, keep losing the thread, as it gets to seeming several shades of bombastic above all---much prefer Kingmaker, where she seems to take over and make over big Lee Hazlewood-associated production moves.

I totally agree, dow. Major disappointment.

This morning I'm listening to the new Emily Scott Robinson record Appalachia. Produced by Josh Kaufman, it's maybe more folk than country, but she's a criminally underrated songwriter worth your time. Her track "The Dress" from 2019 about the experience of being sexually assaulted, as well as "The Time for Flowers" from 2020, a hopeful rumination during the height of the pandemic, are good starting points.

Here's the title track from the new one:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=K3aXlQxR8CY

I mean, I'm on record that Tami's KINGMAKER is one of the best country albums of the last 20 years, so no argument here that it's the superior album. It's superior to *most* albums!

Fully co-sign on the new ESR. An immediate candidate for 2026's best.

Exciting news about ESR, will check it out, thanks yall!
Will try again w Tami.

I really like that ESR track above but found the second single a little maudlin. Her voice is amazing but I don't know if a full album in a relatively solemn style is going to be a good fit for me.

Kid Rock will be joined by country artists Brantley Gilbert, Lee Brice, and Gabby Barrett, for the racist Turning Point alternative Super Bowl halftime show for those who can’t handle Bad Bunny

Yes, but

Shinedown have become the fourth artist to pull out of Kid Rock’s MAGA-leaning “Rock the Country” music festival, the band announced on social media Friday.

The group is the fourth artist to pull out of the festival, following Ludacris and country artists Morgan Wade and Carter Faith.

“Shinedown is everyone’s band,” the group wrote. “We feel that we have been given a platform to bring all people together through the power of music and song,” the message began. “We have one BOSS, and it is everyone in the audience...

yes, but glad to see they're bailing and that Carter Faith and others did also.

After Carter Faith and Morgan Wade dropped out, Maren Morris-- who has been fully exiled from the genre since she called out Jason Aldean's bigot wife on social media-- posted this additional context:

"I don't know all the details, but I will say sometimes as an young opener on a tour, your tour route loops in festival dates between normal shows, so occasionally artists don't have eyes on every festival because they're at the mercy of the headliner/tour package they're opening for. I ended up playing at a festival in 2018 and didn't realize until I was there how sus it was because I was opening on tour for someone who was headlining the bill. either way, good for them for taking a stand!”

Which is a pretty reasonable explanation for how they ended up on the undercard for this bill, given how at-odds it was with the content of their music and their respective public personae.

South Carolina date canceled

glad to know carter faith isn't doing that shit. saw her last night at an uncomfortably packed mercury lounge in nyc (show had sold out in like three minutes) and she was great. played most of her debut album with a really good five-piece band -- with a solo acoustic bit in the middle that included her very amusing ditty about wanting to hook up with billy bob thornton -- plus her very good cover of addison rae's "fame is a gun," which she released that morning. she's got an amazing voice, with maybe a touch of dolly in it, and she radiates crazy ex-girlfriend energy on steroids (the album has a better song-by-song batting average than miranda's first couple albums, imho). she's very chatty. she packed the rockers ("grudge," "betty," "sex, drugs & country music" into the first half of the set, and encored, back onstage with just her pianist, with a stunning take on the ballad that closes the album, "still a lover." A-plus.

Thanks for Maren's clarification and spotlight on Carter Faith yall.

Carter Faith's dc show in a 300 or so person venue sold out quickly too.

90s COUNTRY HITMAKERS TAKE THE STAGE TO PERFORM THEIR HITS FOR UPCOMING TELEVISION SPECIAL

Pictured L-R

Front row: John Berry, Deana Carter, Carlene Carter, Lee Roy Parnell, Paulette Carlson, Bryan White

2nd row: Keith Bilbrey, Lee Greenwood, Rick Trevino, Tony Rich, Eric Blankenship, Ty Herndon, Michelle Wright, T. Graham Brown, Lorrie Morgan, Ken Mellons, Janie Fricke, Jamey Johnson

3rd row: Richard Young, Fred Young, Doug Phelps, Greg Martin, Mark Wills, Andy Griggs, Paul Overstreet, Terry McBride, Christy Forester, June Forester, Kathy Forester, Kim Forester

4th row: Billy Dean, Lionel Cartwright, Wade Hayes, Rhett Akins, Neal McCoy, Heath Wright, Darryl Worley, Tracy Byrd, Michael Peterson, Aaron Tippin, Larry Stewart, Tim Rushlow, Richie McDonald

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. – The Von Braun Center in downtown Huntsville, Alabama, hosted the ‘All-Star Salute To ‘90s Country: Honky Tonk Time Machine’ this past Thursday night, February 5, 2026, with over 30 artists performing hit after hit for a sold-out crowd. The audience ranging in ages from 5 to 85 were on their feet most of the night dancing in the aisles and singing every word to songs that helped shape their lives. The event was filmed for an upcoming television broadcast, which many are already waiting for the air date.

Set list:

Aaron Tippin – Ain’t Nothin’ Wrong With The Radio - #1 in 1992

Paulette Carlson – Whose Lonely Now - #1 in 1990 (Highway 101)

Terry McBride – Sacred Ground - #2 in 1992 (McBride & The Ride)

Bryan White – Sittin’ On Go - #1 in 1997

T. Graham Brown – If You Could Only See Me Now - #6 in 1990

Lee Roy Parnell – On The Road - #2 in 1992

Lee Roy Parnell – What Kind Of Fool (Do You Think I Am) - #6 in 1993

The Forester Sisters – I Fell In Love Again Last Night - #1 in 1985 (THOWBACK)

Ken Mellons – Jukebox Junkie - #8 in 1994

Andy Griggs – You Won’t Ever Be Lonely - #2 in 1998

Lionel Cartwright – Leap Of Faith - #1 in 1991

Wade Hayes – Old Enough To Know Better - #1 in 1994

Billy Dean – Somewhere In My Broken Heart - #3 in 1991

Carlene Carter – Every Little Thing - #3 in 1993

Darryl Worley – Hard Rock Bottom Of Your Heart (Randy Travis) - #1 in 1990

Rick Trevino – Bobby Ann Mason - #6 in 1995

Janie Fricke – It Ain’t Easy, Bein’ Easy - #1 in 1982 (THROWBACK)

Ty Herndon – What Mattered Most - #1 in 1995

Larry Stewart – When She Cries – #9 in 1992 (Restless Heart)

Richie McDonald – Amazed – #1 in 1999 (Lonestar)

Tim Rushlow – God Blessed Texas – #4 in 1993 (Little Texas)

The Kentucky Headhunters – Dumas Walker - #15 in 1990

Michael Peterson – Drink, Swear, Steal and Lie - #3 in 1997

Paul Overstreet – Daddy’s Come Around - #1 in 1990

Michelle Wright – Take It Like A Man - #1 in 1992

John Berry – Your Love Amazes Me - # 1 in 1994

Neal McCoy – Wink - #1 in 1994

Jamey Johnson – Choices (George Jones) - #30 in 1999

Lorrie Morgan – Except For Monday – #4 in 1991

Lee Greenwood – I.O.U. - #6 in 1983 (THROWBACK)

Lee Greenwood – God Bless The USA - #7 in 1984 (THROWBACK)

Heath Wright – Daddy’s Money – #1 in 1996 (Ricochet)

Tony Rich – Nobody Knows (Kevin Sharp) – #1 in 1996

Mark Wills – I Do (Cherish You) - #2 in 1998

Rhett Akins – That Ain’t My Truck - #3 in 1995

Rhett Akins, Mark Wills, Andy Griggs, and Wade Hayes – Too Much Fun (Daryle Singletary) - #4 in 1995

Deana Carter – We Danced Anyway - #1 in 1996

Deana Carter – Strawberry Wine - #1 in 1996

Tracy Byrd – Keeper Of The Stars - #2 in 1995

Tracy Byrd – Watermelon Crawl - #4 in 1994

The night included 17 chart-topping performances with special tributes to Daryle Singletary, Kevin Sharp, Randy Travis and George Jones; as well as three historic throwback moments from award-winning artists Janie Fricke (Female Vocalist of the Year), Lee Greenwood (Male Vocalist of the Year), and The Forester Sisters (Group of the Year).

“This event was a reunion of sorts for so many of these artists. Some still continue to tour while others not so much, however, backstage was nothing short of a love-fest and provided a much-needed reunion for everyone,” says executive producer Bob Romeo.

“This show is going to be one that is talked about for years to come. Watching the audience sing the words to practically every song back to the artists as they were performing proved what an impact 90s Country music had on those that grew up listening to it,” adds executive producer Frank Matassa of LMA Productions, Inc. “The songs, the artists, the memories, and the final television show is going to be something very special for the television audience no matter what age is watching.”

The pre-show entertainment provided by Eric Blankenship included songs by Joe Diffie, Toby Keith, and Gary Stewart. Previously announced artists that were not able to attend included Tanya Tucker (health issues), Danny Shirley of Confederate Railroad (health issues), Doug Stone (health issues), Collin Raye (health issues) while Tracy Lawrence, Aaron Lewis, and Michael Ray all had tour booking conflicts.

Broadcast information will be announced in the coming weeks.

# # #
Media Contacts:
Jeremy Westby, jpw at 2911 dot us,
Scott Sexton, scott at 2911 dot us,
Samantha Nielsen, snielsen at vonbrauncenter dot com

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YdNWzAUBXe8

Carter Faith’s cover of Addison Rae “Fame is a gun” mentioned upthread

Holy shit -- "Choosin' Texas" is #1!

“We have one BOSS, and it is everyone in the audience...

not to nitpick. but that sounds like a lot of bosses

Interesting bit of trivia to see that "Choosin' Texas" is apparently the first country single to top the Hot 100 and country airplay charts concurrently; typically, crossover happens much later in the cycle to drive the #1 on the Hot 100. Will be interesting to see the single's staying power since it's actually just now getting a proper push to CHR and Adult T40 formats.

I hadn't heard that song at all until a bit ago, so I asked my wife about it last week (since she dips into mainstream country), and she had never heard or heard of it! I was shocked. She did know and like "You Look Like You Love Me," though. Anyway, pretty sure she'll be hearing "Choosin' Texas" more now.

One of 2025's best.

Catchy song

Catchy song

Catchy song

Oops .

Now I got a song stuck in my head that goes "Catchy song, catchy song, catchy song ...oops!"

I like this Texas Monthly consideration of "Choosin' Texas" in the lineage of songs-about-Texas and songs-that-contrast-Texas-and-Tennessee.

https://www.texasmonthly.com/arts-entertainment/brief-inquiry-into-choosin-texas-ella-langley/

Also, yeah, catchy song.

Also Miranda Lambert's biggest hit, in case she needed one.

That fact is so confusing to me. Good song and all but not near top tier Miranda

And Langley tells the story that the two of them wrote the bones of it in under an hour. Ya just never know.

Per Langley's telling of the writing, it grew out of an anecdote Lambert was telling about getting pulled over by a cop with two kangaroos (?) in her car. At some point the cop noticed the Texas license plates and said something about it, which prompted Langley to say, "She could tell you were from Texas." And then she just started singing, "She's from Texas I can tell ..." and they were off to the races. Charming story. I'm guessing the other two writers polished it a bit one way or another, but sounds like they mostly wrote it on the spot.

It is a bit of a funny song to be such a huge crossover smash, because it's a ballad not a banger. But it sure does have hooks for days, and her delivery is great.

aside from ella just having the juice overall as a new country star i’m not entirely sure why it’s become a crossover smash either except that it’s just an instant classic song as could be recognized by anyone with working ears, such as myself, who bumped the miranda thread the night the song dropped

My question is not, is this a good worthy song. It’s, why does Miranda never seem to crossover

Production could have been more emphatic, to show why singer-narrator's bf swept away by TX music-muse-temptress: this sounds kinda Miller Lite & Merits, like back when country stopped being hot for a while---or so it seemed; I wasn't really keeping up til xpost Chuck started paying me to, in late 90s, but pretty sure pool turned to billiards and banjos were banned from big singles for a while oh well Columbia just sent link to more Ella, "Be Her" (choose yer stream, also another vid, prob overproduced again, and do they still charge these against royalties?)
https://ellalangley.lnk.to/BeHer

It's a very '80s country sort of song, a retro vibe which I feel Miranda Lambert hasn't tried for.

i like this song and enjoyed "weren't for the wind" even more. didn't realize there was any miranda lambert involvement

Chart-wise, Lambert's own biggest hit on the Hot 100 was a #19 peak with "Somethin' Bad," the (dreadful, one of her *weakest* singles) collab she did w Carrie Underwood almost entirely to squash their respective fanbases' idea that the two of them considered each other rivals

while i totally agree on the creative merits of that song (always skipped it on platinum which is obv otherwise an excellent album) its peak being her highest does not mean it was stronger than her other hits in overall/year-end chart performance. when it comes to that, "the house that built me" (#28 peak), "mama's broken heart" (#20), "over you" (#35) and arguably even "white liar" (#38) were bigger. "somethin' bad's" peak was a big spike around the music video's release (i think), it only spent 2 weeks in the top 40 and was otherwise charting modestly for most of its run

I mean, that strikes me as a little pedantic and Inside Baseball when it comes to chart watching, but I suppose I can get on board with whatever metrics suggest something other than the Underwood collab as Miranda's biggest Hot 100 hit.

ur right i'm sry

My sister, who listens to country as much as I do but no Lambert fan, can name "Crazy Ex-Girlfriend," "The House That Built Me," and "Bluebird" among the hits.

Re "Be Her": a couple notches below "Choosin' Texas," though I suspect we'll hear the “I just wanna be her so bad, it hurts so bad" hook all spring. The best part of the production: when handclaps replace drums.

P.S. It's got banjo.

because the large majority of miranda's career took place pre-streaming, it's hard to compare it to whatever is going on right now. i don't think it's very useful to do these kinda 1:1 chart position comparisons from now vs 15 or 20 years ago. so much about music consumption and chart tabulation has changed that you have to talk about a lot of contextual factors to actually draw meaningful comparisons. i feel very confident in saying that if miranda lambert in her 20s had access to the social media environment and streaming capabilities of today's artists she would have had a bunch of billboard hot 100 top 10s

i feel like "gunpowder & lead" is often among her best remembered songs as well

Also worth noting: she was a slow burn on the country chart too until "The House That Killed Me."

My fave Ella so far, as writ, produced, performed (others more one than t'other, but she always sings good): "Wish I Didn't Know Now"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pzhByjC_Qds

Publicist is encouraging me to go Julianna Riolino @ Songbyrd in DC tonight but I have a conflict. She's ok - alt-countryish, Americana indie rocky a bit folky

part of the Daniel Romano universe ... only time i saw her on stage she was an absolute rock star in the traditional sense of the term.

because the large majority of miranda's career took place pre-streaming, it's hard to compare it to whatever is going on right now. i don't think it's very useful to do these kinda 1:1 chart position comparisons from now vs 15 or 20 years ago. so much about music consumption and chart tabulation has changed that you have to talk about a lot of contextual factors to actually draw meaningful comparisons. i feel very confident in saying that if miranda lambert in her 20s had access to the social media environment and streaming capabilities of today's artists she would have had a bunch of billboard hot 100 top 10s

― slob wizard (J0rdan S.), Sunday, February 15, 2026 12:56 PM (two days ago) bookmarkflaglink

Not only pre-streaming but in peak bro-country era, pre-Kacey, Lainey, Megan Moroney, Carly Pearce, et al. You're far more an expert than me, but I'm not as confident that if you transport social media and streaming back in time, she's any more successful; however, I think if her first few albums were released 10 years later, they'd be bigger hits.

Miranda has always had an audience outside the mainstream. It's a sea of middle-aged women at her shows, 35-50, though perhaps these are just the fans she's always had aging along with her? I don't know how much she's ever appealed to younger demographics that really drive the zeitgeist and streaming numbers for acts like Wallen, Zach Bryan, Zach Top, etc.

Natalie Weiner on the new Megan Moroney:

Cloud 9, Megan Moroney: Not shocked that I love this album given how much I've loved the singles, but I am shocked generally that I'm so into a Moroney project after how cool I was on her (quite critically acclaimed!) debut and sophomore releases. Cloud 9 is jam-packed with bright, conversational, witty country-pop bangers; the ballads (of which there are still too many, as noted by friend of the newsletter Andrew Unterberger) still mostly avoid overly sentimental cliché. The best of it is a blend of Kacey, Taylor via Ballerini, and just a smidge of Lilith Fair/'90s rock edginess – the latter mostly via Moroney's lightly vocal fried, always sharp and conversational delivery. "Medicine," "Stupid," and "Change Of Heart" — along with the singles — are windows-down, volume-up anthems the likes of which I haven't heard from a country star in way too long. Even the Ed Sheeran collab is listenable (though it would obviously be better without him). Early AOTY contender, and she just dropped a disco-country bonus to boot! — NW

https://www.dontrocktheinbox.com/put-a-record-on-3/?ref=dont-rock-the-inbox-newsletter

She had me until

Kacey, Taylor via Ballerini, and just a smidge of Lilith Fair/'90s rock edginess –Ed Sheeran

I'm on record as being in no way impressed by the album outside of some of the production choices, as much as I adore my DrtI pals.

For posterity, my take on the Moroney album is here. Far better-- and I'd imagine to the liking of many folks here-- is the Sophie Gault album, which more than just nods in the direction of Miranda's Crazy Ex-Girlfriend and Revolution.

Natalie Weiner also just wrote something for Billboard on the history of women and the country charts; women in the current charts

https://www.billboard.com/music/country/ella-langley-megan-moroney-country-gender-rules-women-1236191695/

...Ella Langley has two of the top three songs on the Hot Country Songs chart dated March 7, where you can find 14 of the 15 songs on Cloud 9 as well. Four of the five top Country Songwriters this week are women, with Moroney and Langley joined by Jessie Jo Dillon and Joybeth Taylor. The Country Producers chart, perhaps the most male-dominated of them all, features Langley and Lambert (both credited on “Choosin’ Texas,” as well as on follow-up hits “Dandelion” and “Be Her” off Langley’s upcoming sophomore album). Even country radio, which still lags behind when it comes to any kind of gender parity, got “Choosin’ Texas” to No. 1 on the Country Airplay chart in just 16 weeks, lightning fast by that chart’s pace. It’s Langley’s first solo entry in the top spot; she previously held No. 1 with her Riley Green duet “You Look Like You Love Me,” which, when it bested the chart in December 2024, was the first No. 1 by a female artist on Country Airplay that year.

It’s still hard to be too optimistic about sweeping change in Nashville given that, for example, in spite of all the energy behind Cloud 9, Megan Moroney has just one song on Country Airplay and has still never had a No. 1 there. And beyond these two new leading lights, there’s hardly a slew of women artists on deck that have the full weight of Music
Row’s marketing power behind them, in contrast to the booming middle class of male country stars responsible for the majority of hits on the Country Airplay chart.

.

I'm blasting that Sophie Gault album.

i've only heard one megan moroney song and i found it really terrible, don't listen to much country now anyway tho

the one where she implies but won't say "good in bed" or whatever

On The Opry, saw a rerun of Jamey Johnson hosting his birthday concert: b. July 14, 1975, he's the oldest-looking man of his age I've seen this side of Jerry Garcia, but he seemed to have it together (though so did Jerry, as last recorded on Dylan-produced The Songs of Jimmie Rodgers: A Tribute, which is really good).
He did a couple of his own songs, then Randy Houser seemed a bit strained by himself, much better in a slower one, a groove with Johnson's guitar and backup vocals. Likewise, Megan Moroney mumbled and rushed through the one about "What doesn't kill you, calls you six months later," then settled into "Angel From Montgomery," splitting the verses with Johnson, but only the right ones (he turned some mentions of the old lady's old man into "I" lines. Ernest brought out his own guest, Lukas Nelson, for some vocal and guitar lines (Lukas solo debut alb is wine fine, btw: folk-country ballads, but not that rustic((he didn't do anything on his own here, other than wave his hat at the audience while leaving the stage to Ernest. Whole thing is worth looking around for online.

Thanks for the Sophie Gault rec, Jon

On first few listens, Ella Langley really delivered on her new album. "Be Her," the official second single, is maybe the weakest track on the whole set, but it's already streaming huge as the follow-up to "Choosin' Texas."

I appreciate that her knowledge of the genre's women extends back farther than her own childhood: Janie Frickie and Juice Newton are all over the sound of this in a very cool way, and she nails the Kitty Wells cover.

Carter Faith also scored a surprise nomination for Album Of The Year at the ACMs yesterday, and that's just a tremendous thing to have happened.

very glad to see that carter nom. weird that she isn't also nom'd for new female artist of the year.

Will check Ella, Sophie, and Carter albs, thanks.
What did the aforementioned Juice Newton do besides "The Sweetest Thing"? That one seemed mainly about matching Ronstadt's lungpower, minus everything else. And God it got played a lot (on the radio).

Queen of Hearts is the Juice Newton song I remember most from my childhood. And her cover of Angel of the Morning.

it is astounding to me that after 100 years of country music songwriting, the conceit of the truly breathtaking "Choosin' Texas" had never been used before. Or has it? The opening guitar figure has brought me to tears several times in the past week; this thing knocked me on my ass upon first hearing it, like Jojo "Too Little too Late" or aaliyah "Are you that Somebody."

I like the rest of the record; there's a recurring theme re: how blue eyed blondes make it really hard for extremely hot brunettes like Ms Langely.

Does this song's reign augur well for an end of the drought of female country stars at the top of the genre?

while the conceits aren't quite the same, i think there's at least a dotted lyrical line between "choosin' texas" and george strait's "all my ex's live in texas," which finds the singer choosin' tennessee to avoid all those texas women he used to love. and of course ella's ex is in love with a certain other song by mr. strait. she should've taken that as a warning.

both amazing songs, obviously.

(but ella's is better)

Fox News website headline and subheading

Ella Langley surprises Stagecoach crowd by bringing out Theo Von instead of expected Morgan Wallen
The comedian and podcaster appeared during Langley's Stagecoach debut after she was recently a guest on Von's podcast

Yeah, she just released a new song with Wallen on Friday, right?

Yep

Kinda wondering about this---any of yall listened to them lately?
https://mcusercontent.com/8d86ab2262d01b730a12b56df/images/8a034e0e-5b51-0e0a-47d5-21c65ab39fd8.jpg

Open To Beauty
Best of the 21st Century - Out Now!

Our look back at the past 26 years of Cowboy Junkies.

These songs come from a time when we stepped away from the major label system and found our own path as an independent band. Each track holds a piece of that journey, where we were, and how we got here.

Available on transparent yellow 3-LP & 2 CD featuring a collection of songs from our 21st century albums to date.

*USA LP & CD releases 5th June*

My wife liked Cowboy Junkies a lot back when. Neither she nor I have listened much since then.

Anybody have access to the paywalled Craig Jenkins April 2026 article for New York Magazine/Vulture site -"Country Music’s Middle Road” about which popular country musicians have embraced MAGA and which may have once done so but are now trying be neutral, and which ones have always been neutral ?

you can always try https://archive.ph/

Just heard re-run of 2025 Mountain Stage feat. Kelly Willis: voice a tad dry on some turns of tune, but cheerfully effective (likewise when she mentioned being "a mother of four" getting unexpectedly and tirelessly flirted with, also in song intros mentioning "my ex-husband Bruce Robison" and ex-in-law Charlie R.)---also, she mentioned something somehow totally unknown to meee: Wonder Women of Country's 2024 EP, Willis, Carper,Leigh, yow.
Will check that, meanwhile here's the show:
https://mountainstage.org/kelly-willis-sierra-green-the-giants-john-doyle-michael-mcgoldrick-sarah-klang-craig-bickhardt-michael-g-ronstadt/

I remember Kelly Willis as a teenager singer rockabilly and old school country in DC before she moved to Texas, and I gradually lost track of her. Glad she's still out there singing.

x-post- oh yeah, thanks Alfred.

https://archive.ph/irTDZ

here's part of the Craig Jenkins article-

The overconfidence of the pro-Trump push in country music pre- and postelection is backfiring on many of its most enthusiastic emissaries. Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, Nate Smith, Cody Johnson, and others have pledged allegiance to an ailing movement. Recently, Smith said he’s focusing more on “unity” over his “political stance” after talking to a fan who was upset he wore a MAGA hat at his concert last fall. The faith-based jingoism of February’s Turning Point Super Bowl halftime special, where Rock, Gilbert, and Brice performed, was the joke of the internet. That same month, the washed-up Kid Rock and the still commercially viable Aldean’s upcoming Rock the Country festival tour came under scrutiny from country fans as well as detractors intense enough to chase a handful of artists, including Morgan Wade and Carter Faith, off the tour. Shrewder artists on the rise are pivoting to the center. Langley is still playing Rock the Country (for the second time, as is Lambert) but eschewing party affiliation. A shirt she wore in 2020 that encouraged fans to vote for country music over Democrats or Republicans is all the clarity we have on her political beliefs...

(Zach) Bryan straddling the political center reflects the disjointed desires of a nation that polls consistently inconsistent on issues, one that in 2024 yearned for both universal health care and the removal of hardworking longtime residents. But when Jelly Roll dodged a question about immigration at the Grammys, where ICE OUT pins were everywhere, he played to an older mentality. That night, he called himself a “dumb redneck” who shouldn’t be consulted on such matters. He wants what Reba McEntire has: the ability to shake Bad Bunny’s hand on-camera at that same ceremony and have the gesture reverberate as a message of love. But the politically demure country giants of the ’80s and ’90s weren’t targeting as much of America as someone like Jelly Roll; the evenhanded “Jesus is not owned by one political party” line in his Grammy acceptance speech failed to build the ideological bridges he might’ve had in mind. He hasn’t given a clear answer on where he stands on ICE in two months, but he has had time to put out a song for the World Cup and square off with Randy Orton on WWE SmackDown. He’s not figuring out the parameters of a confusing worldview in public...

...There’s a common thread among all these artists. Few in this generation care to draw smoke like the Chicks, Maren Morris, and Kacey Musgraves, whose unsubtle aw-shucks liberalism made them lightning rods in country. Bryan and Jelly Roll split hairs to keep from being objectively at odds with the government (and a White House social team that loves a celebrity opponent). But they also know that appeasing state interests is a red line for a growing swath of the planet. Many of today’s mainstream-country stars are seeking a life more like Dolly Parton’s — she’s someone whose politics boil down to a love so resolutely unpartisan that people who hate each other respect Dolly equally. She’s a guiding light for the self-described heavily moderate Luke Combs, the North Carolina singer-songwriter and “Hot Country Songs” regular who thrives on not seeming “liberal enough for liberals” or “conservative enough for conservatives.” He rejects the left-wing label he’s received for his support of Black Lives Matter and 2024’s sweetly pro-LGBTQ+ “Whoever You Turn Out to Be”; he doesn’t think standing against bigotry should communicate political orientation. Country is still very much ideologically entangled with MAGA and its pipe dream of a return to the 1950s. But the savviest country stars are able to argue for basic respect for others while brushing off whatever political coding comes with it.

Never heard Zach Top before, but he was playing in the kitchen when I came in and it sounded pretty solid. Not what I expected from, well, any (apparently) popular country singer these days.

xetcpost: curm. I haven't kept up with Willis's solo albums very well, but he duos w now-ex Bruce Robison are amazing (certainly better than most of his solo stuff). Hope they do some more, despite the break-up (they could do an amazing break-up album, I'm sure: lot of life's ups and downs on their duo albs to date).

second the rec for the Willis-Robison collabs. All great.

Willis is one of my all-time favorites. She's never put out a bad record. Her three major label albums all should've made her a massive star, and her pre-"Americana" pivot when that didn't actually pan out are all somewhere between strong to essential. 1999's What I Deserve, which includes multiple Robison cuts, and her self-titled set on Mercury / MCA are probably her best.

There were a couple of albums that came out back-when where she seemed primed for big success - at one point I want to say People even put her on some "most beautiful people" list - but this is back when "Americana" (as such) was code for "alternative," and then she followed it up with a pretty long hiatus. Maybe she had a family? But "What I Deserve" and "Easy," I remember really liking those. One of her albums has a fun, sly cover of Iggy's "Success."

Wrote this up on Willis several years back, for an overall career retrospective feature, fwiw: http://www.countryuniverse.net/2018/03/19/100-greatest-women-92-kelly-willis/

Also interviewed her for Slant ages ago, when she was promoting her album Translated From Love, which is the one with that great cover of "Success" and an also great cover of Adam Green's "Teddy Boys."