Music

Lainey Wilson represents everything I love about country music. She was recently honored with the Billboard Women In Music’s Rulebreaker Award, becoming the first country artist to ever receive it, and very deservedly so. The category celebrates female acts who spread a positive message in their work, while going against the grain and norms in

Grab the tissues. Last week, Parker McCollum took the star-shaped stage at RodeoHouston, kicking off the rodeo’s three-week run of concerts which features a ton of other incredible headliners like Turnpike Troubadours, Cody Jink, and Ashley McBryde. Before hitting the stage, McCollum also surprised his hometown Raising Cane’s by giving away tickets, autographs, and of

Man, Charles Wesley Godwin is on a tear. The West Virginia native has skyrocketed over the past couple years, thanks in part to his 2021 How the Mighty Fall album, which was our Album of the Year here at Whiskey Riff. And with the fame CWG has received from that album alone, the guy is packing out

Where has this been hiding all my life? Johnny Cash certainly had his share of iconic moments throughout his career, from getting banned from the Grand Ole Opry, to refusing to record until then unknown Kris Kristofferson was allowed to sit in on the session. Of course, there’s plenty more, including a few legendary concerts

Mark your calendars, people… Koe Wetzel’s new bar and restaurant, Riot Room, has an opening date. The soft launch is slated for less than two weeks from now, on Thursday, March 16th… though according to their post on TikTok, it’s gonna be “anything but soft.” I mean, do you really expect anything less from Koe? Though

Shania Twain is quite an open book these days. Since she released her first album since 2017, Queen of Me, last month, she’s been doing all sorts of press and telling some really great stories — my favorite is still about the time she turned Prince down when he asked her to collaborate. And this

From the Austin City Limits archives of 1985, Mr. Merle Haggard. There is no denying that Merle Haggard’s discography is filled with hit song after hit song, ones that cover all the emotions. It is as well-rounded as a file house we have in country music. One of my all-time favorite Merle Haggard tunes is

Alabama native Jessie Wilson’s show-stopping vocals and thoughtful lyricism have been winning over listeners with a recent stream of stellar cuts from her upcoming debut EP. Today, the rising talent is giving The Boot an exclusive first listen to a tune that taps into the magic and mystery of a slow-burning attraction ready to spark. Set for

Megan Moroney’s debut studio album is coming soon. On the heels of signing a record deal with Sony, she just announced her project Lucky will be out everywhere on May 5th. In the announcement on social media, she also included the album cover, adding that the title track is dropping next Friday: “MY DEBUT ALBUM ‘LUCKY’

Over the decades, music lovers have been enchanted by the stories and harmonies of talented trios, from Dolly Parton, Linda Ronstadt and Emmylou Harris (who released their iconic Trio album on this day 36 years ago) to Phoebe Bridgers, Julian Baker and Lucy Dacus, who perform and record together under the moniker Boygenius. That type of shared creative synergy comes

Is there a hotter ticket in country music right now than Morgan Wallen? Morgan is dropping his new 36-song album, One Thing At a Time, tonight at midnight. Then early this morning he announced that he would be performing a free album release show tomorrow at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville. And before the box office

It’s time for a fresh edition of The Boot’s Weekly Picks, which highlights great new tracks from the world of country, Americana, folk and everything in between. This week’s edition features a rock-edged ode to rural living from Jericho Woods, a painfully beautiful tale of unrequited love by The Storm Windows, and a Western swing gem from The Shootouts joined

Some people are just shitty. If you’ve ever been to Nashville to enjoy the live music, you’re probably aware (or at least you should be) that all of the musicians on stage in these bars work for tips. Sure, some bars may pay them a little bit. But it’s nowhere close to enough to make

What a story. San Francisco 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey sat down on the Bussin’ With The Boys podcast during Super Bowl week to talk all things football and his career thus far, which was a really fascinating conversation. Being that his father, Ed, was a wide receiver in the NFL and won three rings

Something about Ryan Bingham at a rodeo make sense. The Yellowstone star and former rodeo cowboy himself took center stage at the San Antonio Rodeo to give one hell of a performance. It’s no secret that Ryan Bingham has become a heartthrob in middle America thanks to his character, Walker, on Yellowstone. But let’s not forget that

LET’S GO. The news is finally out, and 49 Winchester just announced that they’re slated to open for none other than superstar Luke Combs on the European leg of his forthcoming world tour, starting at the end of September. The band shared the news in a post on Instagram, saying it’s “the biggest thing to

It was a big weekend for Billy Strings in Nashville. He sold out Bridgestone Arena two nights in a row and ended his stay in Music City with an intimate show at the Mother Church, the iconic Ryman Auditorium. It’s times like these that I kick myself for leaving the city… And it looked… insane. During

Morgan Wallen scored his 8th career #1 last week. “Thought You Should Know,” which was a co-write by Miranda Lambert along with Nicolle Galyon, topped the Billboard Country Airplay chart, as well as Mediabase this week, which are the two charts labels use to officially track their songs performance. The song is also featured on the

Can we start a petition to bring back country music television shows? I mean The Dolly Parton Show, The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour, The Johnny Cash Show, and even into early 2002, The Marty Stuart Show.  One of my favorite past times is watching clips from old TV recordings… country music TV is my definition of