Republic NashvilleCassadee Pope scored a top-10 country hit with her debut single, "Wasting All These Tears," and the track eventually went platinum. Now she's gearing up to release a brand-new single, "I Am Invincible," as the first release from he...
Capitol RecordsDon Henley's long-in-the-works country album, Cass County, will be released September 25, and the Eagles singer/drummer will support it with a North American tour that kicks off in October. The record, which features guest appeara...
Dick Clark/ABCLuke Bryan is releasing his first fan app on July 24 through the iTunes App Store and Google Play. The app is designed to give you "in-the-moment" fan experiences with Luke as well as exclusive video and audio content and more.
Luke says, "I really see it as the perfect opportunity to connect with my fans in a very meaningful and direct way.”
Luke's app will be available with a monthly subscription fee or with a flat fee for the year. You can check it out for free for the first month.
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Show Dog NashvilleToby Keith will release his new album, 35 mph Town, on October 9 featuring the title cut, which is his latest single, along with his previous single, "Drunk Americans." Toby co-produced the project with his longtime collaborator, B...
Comstock/ThinkstockAlan Jackson released his debut album in 1989. What was it titled? ANSWER: Here in the Real World. Copyright © 2015, ABC Radio. All rights reserved.
Capitol NashvilleLittle Big Town's Jimi Westbrook is in great spirts as he recovers from his recent vocal cord surgery. In fact, he could just leave the band to start a comedy career according to his band mates. LBT's Phillip Sweet says, "He's gotte...
ACR/EMIAlan Jackson's first new studio album in three years, Angels and Alcohol, is out Friday featuring his latest single, "Jim and Jack and Hank," and the title cut. Both of those songs deal with turning to the bottle to deal with heartache, and t...
Burke/Triolo Productions/ThinkstockRosanne Cash and "Live Like You Were Dying" songwriter Craig Wiseman are going into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame this October. Tim McGraw performs his Concert for Sandy Hook Promise Friday night at the XFini...
Republic NashvilleBrantley Gilbert has posted a video recapping his Rolling Odyssey bike tour last Memorial Day. The ride helped raise money and awareness for The Wounded Warrior Project's Rolling Odyssey therapy program to help veterans dealing with...
CMALuke Bryan is on the other side of the backlash surrounding his comments about outlaw country in an interview last week with HITS Daily Double.
In the interview, Luke said he isn't an "outlaw country" artist along the lines of Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and the late Waylon Jennings. While each one of those artists has admitted to past drug use and/or infidelities in their respective memoirs, Luke drew criticism for saying, "I don’t do cocaine and run around. So I’m not going to sing outlaw country. I like to hunt, fish, ride around on my farm, build a big bonfire and drink some beers -- and that’s what I sing about."
Waylon Jennings' daughter-in-law, Kathy Pinkerman Jennings, posted a YouTube video denouncing Luke's choice of words, and several media outlets painted Luke as disrespecting country legends. That response came totally out of the blue for Luke and left him extremely upset for days.
He says, "I will never be able to vocalize how disturbing and how heartbroken you can get over a situation like that. Obviously, I'm about to dang cry right now saying it. I've never toted it that hard."
Since he is the reigning ACM and CMA Entertainer of the Year, Luke has become the de facto poster child for everyone who prefers classic country music to modern country sounds. He's learned that having your words taken out of context comes with the territory of being a superstar act.
"You're gonna say stuff in this business," Luke says. "You're not gonna be where I'm at and it doesn’t happen. If it ain't gonna happen, there'll be people that force it to happen."
While Luke admits he's had a trying week, he's also learned a lot as a result of the situation. After Waylon's son, Shooter Jennings, complimented Luke in the Los Angeles Times for reaching out to him and his mother, Waylon's widow, Jessi Colter, to explain the situation, Luke felt a big weight lifted off his shoulders.
He says, "It was as if, like, I was kinda set free from it, and the page was turned."
The situation may even lead to an unlikely collaboration between Shooter and Luke at some point. They've been texting about getting together for coffee to discuss music, which Luke says is "the neatest thing."
He adds, "It just tells you that there's just something to be taken out of every situation."
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