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Thomas Rhett: A Sucker for a Good, Sad Song

“Marry Me” is sad enough as a song. But then the video? I can barely get one minute in — when Thomas Rhett reveals that she wants to get married, but just not to him — before the tears kick in. Embedded from www.youtube.com. So when I talked to Thomas Rhett about the video after... Read more »

Kelly Clarkson Doesn’t Seek Validation Through Likes

As if we all needed another reason to absolutely adore Kelly Clarkson — now the singer and superstar mom is getting brutally honest about life lived through apps and social networks. In People’s “Most Beautiful” issue, Clarkson just laid it all out there, her feelings on a world obsessed with posting online. “I am one... Read more »

Hot 20: Rodney Atkins Details First New Album in Seven Years

When Rodney Atkins sat down with CMT Hot 20 Countdown’s Katie Cook, it had been a while since the two had talked about new music. “Caught Up in the Country” is the lead single from what will be Atkins’ first collection of new music in seven years. The project started in 2014, and he says... Read more »

Carrie Underwood Isn’t Immune to Life’s Ugly Moments

She sings about it in her new song “Cry Pretty,” but now Carrie Underwood is also explaining what the emotions behind the song mean for her. “As humans, we’re expected to have our crap together all the time. And being a mom and a wife and trying to navigate all that we do, every once... Read more »

PHOTOS: Shooting Pool with John Prine

Only a legend like John Prine could bring Chris Isaak, Shooter Jennings, Dan Auerbach and Nashville’s former mayor Megan Barry together for an evening of shooting pool. On Wednesday (April 18), Prine, 71, and his label Oh Boy Records took over the city’s Melrose Billiard Parlor for a private party to celebrate the April 13... Read more »

Brothers Osborne’s Serendipitous 4/20 Moment

Looking back, Brothers Osborne’s T.J. Osborne believes it was a risky move performing the duo’s new song “Weed, Whiskey and Willie” for the first time live on the Grand Ole Opry. That night T.J. and his brother John Osborne thought it would be their final Opry performance due to the song’s take on self-medication. “We... Read more »

What Maren Morris Loves About Her Early Songs

I knew that Maren Morris had a backstory; that she’d started writing poems before she was even a teenager, and that those poems turned into songs once she got a guitar. What I didn’t know is that Morris looks back fondly at those first attempts at writing. And while that appreciation for her early works... Read more »

What Was Dierks Bentley Thinkin’?

Even Dierks Bentley didn’t believe it. After his ACM Awards rehearsal last weekend, when I caught up with him backstage, I congratulated him on the 15-year anniversary of his debut. “Seriously,” he asked in disbelief. I assured him that, yes, his first single “What Was I Thinkin’” had come out in mid-April of 2003. In... Read more »

ACM Awards: Backstage and Upfront with Old Dominion

The five guys that makeup Old Dominion have won awards before. But never like this. After they picked up their ACM Award for vocal group of the year on Sunday (April 15), they came backstage to share how it felt to be able to sprint up to the show’s main stage. “To stand there at... Read more »

AmericanaFest 2018 Books Brandy Clark, Lee Ann Womack and More

The Americana Music Association announced its initial lineup for Nashville’s 2018 AmericanaFest: The Americana Music Festival & Conference on Thursday (April 19). Brandy Clark, Jaime Wyatt, the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band and Lee Ann Womack are among first 74 acts confirmed to perform during the six-day event, which has more than 250 acts participating. Embedded... Read more »