Gretchen Wilson's new single, "Redneck S***," will arrive May 1. It's the first release in her new partnership with Thirty Tigers.
CMA vocal group of the year The Red Clay Strays will launch their Grateful Tour '26 on July 30 in Columbia, Maryland. Presales start Tuesday, before tickets become available to the public on Friday.
Braxton Keith's "Don't No More" is out now, ahead of the May 15 release of his first album, Real Damn Deal. He's set to make his Stagecoach debut on Saturday.
CBS' multiple-hour musical special from Nashville will continue to be the network's signature New Year's Eve event for years to come, thanks to a new deal that's just been announced.
The Music City country music-centric night first aired on CBS in 2021.
“[Executive Producer] Mary [Hilliard Harrington] and I are thrilled to continue our partnership with CBS and the City of Nashville to bring New Year’s Eve Live: Nashville’s Big Bash to audiences across the country,” fellow Executive Producer Robert Deaton says. “There’s nothing quite like ringing in the new year from Nashville, surrounded by the energy, heart and incredible talent of country music. We’re proud to keep growing this celebration into one of the biggest nights of the year for fans everywhere.”
The 2026 edition of New Year's Eve Live: Nashville's Big Bash will air Thursday, Dec. 31, at 8 p.m. ET on CBS and Paramount+.
Look for more news about hosts and performers in the coming months.
Ella Langley & Morgan Wallen's "I Can't Love You Anymore" (SAWGOD/Columbia Records)
"I Can't Love You Anymore," the new duet from Ella Langley and Morgan Wallen is out now, along with confirmation Ella teased it in the "Choosin' Texas" video.
In the video, which has been viewed more than 18 million times, Ella and Miranda Lambert drive away in a vehicle with a tag that says "ICLYA."
"Ella and I have been talking about doing a song for a little while now,” Morgan says. “We have been on tour together and I’m a huge fan of what she does. She wrote and sent over this song and from the beginning riff, it was hard to deny. I’m honored she wanted me to be the one to do it with her.”
To mark the occasion, the two superstars have put out a limited-edition T-shirt that shows an "ICLYA" license plate that's half from Alabama and half from Tennessee, in a nod to their home states.
The Band Perry's "Buzzards" (Nashville Harbor Records & Entertainment)
When it comes to their first new music in nine years, you probably can't accuse The Band Perry of picking titles you typically hear on country radio. They put out their single "PSYCHOLOGICAL" in February, and now the new track "Buzzards" is here.
"Buzzards is 'Better Dig Two''s crazy cousin — same bloodline, but born in 2026,” Kimberly Perry says. “It's about the omens: the ones in the house, and the ones written in the sky. The signs that love is already gone before you've said it out loud."
"In the video I'm playing Love's Widow, Johnny's playing Love's Undertaker, and Love - of course - is playing the roadkill. Can't you see them buzzards flying?" she adds.
With Kimberly's brothers Neil Perry and Reid Perry no longer in the group, The Band Perry now consists solely of Kimberly and her husband, Johnny Costello.
They take their Psycho Rodeo Tour to New Philadelphia, Ohio, on Friday, ahead of their return to CMA Fest's main stage at Nashville's Nissan Stadium in June.
Hudson Westbrooks' "Backwards" (Warner Records Nashville)
At the start of a big weekend, everything is "Backwards" for Hudson Westbrook.
The "House Again" hitmaker co-wrote the new track, which he called his "favorite song yet" on Instagram.
"You left me high up in where rock bottom is/ I never knew your silence could say so much/ I sleep on the other side of this cold king-size/ So maybe I’ll stop reaching for your touch," he sings on the heartbreak tune. "Since you ain’t been around/ I’ve been upside down/ And backwards."
"Backwards" continues the steady stream of new music that started with his EP, Exclusive, in January and continued with "Hey Dallas" in March.
The ACM new male artist of the year nominee also happens to be in the studio now.
On Saturday, Hudson opens a hometown show with George Strait at Jones AT&T Stadium in Lubbock, Texas. On Sunday, he plays Stagecoach.
Jackson Dean's 'Magnolia Sage' (Blue Highway Records)
Jackson Dean's third album, Magnolia Sage, paints a picture of two different parts of the country.
The Magnolia half represents the Southeast and the East Coast, while Sage is oriented toward the West.
So where does the "Heaven's to Betsy" hitmaker fall on the map?
"I was born and raised about 20 minutes outside of Annapolis, Maryland," Jackson explains. "The town I grew up in is called Odenton. You’ve got a whole bunch of corn fields and you’ve got a whole bunch of crabs. The only thing city about Maryland is Baltimore and D.C."
If you're still wondering where he gets his country cred, Jackson points to his father.
"My dad was big into the blues and funk, but at heart he was [into] old country and stuff," he says. "So, that’s where that part of it came in, you know."
"I was born on a dead-end street with a gun range at the end of it that backed up to a swamp. And I spent more time in there than I did with people. So, that’s where that comes from," he adds.
Magnolia Sage is out now, featuring Jackson's latest hit, "Make a Liar."
You can check out Ashley McBryde's performance of her latest hit, "What If We Don't," from Wednesday's The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon on YouTube.
The new album from CMA vocal group of the year The Red Clay Strays, titled Grateful, will arrive June 5. You can check out the music video for the opening track, "Demons in Your Choir," now.
Thursday is the 50th anniversary of Don Williams becoming a member of the Grand Ole Opry. He played his first single that night, "The Shelter of Your Eyes," plus his #1 from 1975, "You're My Best Friend."
To pay tribute to the late Country Music Hall of Famer, Keith Urban and Trisha Yearwood are set to play Opry 100 Honors Don Williams June 10 at the Opry House.
The Aussie superstar counts Don among his greatest influences, remembering his father playing his music from childhood. Keith would go on to duet with Don on "Imagine That" from 2012's And So It Goes.
Trisha and the "I Believe in You" hitmaker shared the same longtime producer, Garth Fundis. She also recorded his 1984 hit "Maggie's Dream" for 2017's Gentle Giants: The Songs of Don Williams tribute album.
The Opry show will follow the May 29 release of a collection of recently discovered never-before-released recordings titled Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes.
Live Nation Summer of Live admat (Courtesy of Live Nation)
How does a $30 ticket to see Riley Green, Luke Bryan or Parker McCollum sound?
Live Nation is once again giving fans a chance to enjoy live music this summer without breaking the bank.
The concert promoter is set to launch what it is calling the Summer of Live, offering $30 all-in concert tickets to over 4,000 shows.
The promotion includes tickets for country artists like Thomas Rhett, HARDY, Jason Aldean, Tim McGraw, Dierks Bentley and Hank Williams Jr.
James Taylor, The Black Crowes and Whiskey Myers, Chicago & Styx, Guns N' Roses, John Fogerty, John Mellencamp, Lynyrd Skynyrd & Foreigner and Motley Crue are also on the list.
The promotion runs from April 29 to May 5 at LiveNation.com/SummerofLive. After picking a show, there will be the option for tickets labeled "Summer of Live Promotion" to add to your cart.
There’s also an option for early access for Live Nation All Access members starting Thursday, April 23, and T-Mobile members starting Tuesday, April 28, at 10 a.m. local time.
You'll get a glimpse of the next generation of Lee Brice's family in the video for his new song.
"This one hits a little harder with our son Takoda playing the main character in the video," Lee posted on his socials, along with a preview.
In the clip, we see the teen, who was born in 2008, doing manual labor to earn cash to buy a truck.
“‘Truck Bed Mixtape’ is one of my favorite songs on this whole record," his dad says. "We had great day creating it and then recording it couldn’t have been more fun."
“Of all the songs over these years, shooting this video was extra special for me," Lee continues. "I got to co-direct this one and had my oldest son Takoda step in as the main character. I swear, he was such a natural and acted better in front of those cameras than I ever have. So excited for y’all to see him in action and to hear this song. It still gets me every time!”
"Truck Bed Mixtape" arrives May 1, ahead of Lee's Sunriser and Sunriser (All Nighter) albums on Oct. 2.
Old Crow Medicine Show's 'Union Made' (Hartland Records via Firebird Music)
Luke Combs leans into his roots in a new song he co-wrote for Old Crow Medicine Show, the band who gave us "Wagon Wheel."
"Molly Tuttle and I got together with Luke Combs to write this song," bandleader Ketch Secor says. "Both Luke and I owe a lot to the scenic town of Boone, high in the hills of westernmost North Carolina where the song is set."
"Another musician with deep roots in the area is Bluegrass legend Del McCoury," he continues. "'My Side of the Mountain' celebrates the distinct culture and sound of the Appalachian people of [Western North Carolina], some of our country’s most self-reliant folk. This song is for them."
Both Del McCoury and Ronnie McCoury are featured on the track, which is the lead single from Old Crow's Union Made album, which comes out June 5.
The band's 2004 version of "Wagon Wheel" is triple Platinum, while Darius Rucker's 2013 cover is 11-times Platinum.
Carly Pearce (Tibrina Hobson/Getty Images for ABA)
Carly Pearce is celebrating her 36th birthday on Friday by giving her fans a present.
"surprise… for my birthday this year, I wanted to give y’all a little something early," she wrote on Instagram Thursday. "'You Can Have Him' song and music video out at 11pm ct!"
"If he's looking at you that way with a look on his face that says I can whisk you away, go get him/ If you can take him, you can have him," she sings in the sassy performance video. "If you make him want to flirt in your denim mini-skirt and he's working up the nerve/ If it's looking like he loves you, you should ask him/ If you can take him, you can have him."
"You Can Have Him" is the latest preview of Carly's upcoming fifth studio album, following "If I Don't Leave I'm Gonna Stay" with Riley Green, "Church Girl" and "Dream Come True."
Thomas Rhett & Niall Horan perform on stage on day one of the C2C Country To Country 2023 Festival at The O2 Arena on March 10, 2023 in London. (Joseph Okpako/WireImage)
Thomas Rhett kicked off his 2026 concerts supporting Morgan Wallen on his Still the Problem Tour April 10 in Minneapolis.
TR has a couple more stadium dates with Morgan in May, but in July, he sets his Soundtrack to Life trek in motion with a stadium show of his own, this time at Nashville's Geodis Park.
"I can only imagine how awesome it's gonna be to play a concert here," he told reporters during a news conference at the venue. "We get to kick off our tour here, which is awesome. Hometown shows are always amazing and full of pressure because every cousin that you've ever known — or did not know — shows up and is in [the] meet and greet."
He's not a cousin, but a longtime pal — this one of One Direction fame — will join him to co-headline the night.
"My buddy Niall Horan, who I've been buddies with for a decade now — I think a lot of people thought, 'That's so interesting. Why would they tour together?'" TR said. "We've been friends for a while and been talking about touring together for a minute."
"And so to be able to kick our tour off here in Nashville, getting to co-headline this spot is gonna be just such a blast," he continues. "So I'd encourage anybody who wants to come to a show, come on out July 9. It's gonna be a blast. "
TR and Niall previously collaborated on "Old Tricks" for TR's About a Woman (Deluxe) album.
They're also set to play July 18 at Pennsylvania's Hersheypark Stadium, with Kashus Culpepper and Emily Ann Roberts opening both nights.
Ashley McBryde's set to play her latest hit, "What If We Don't," Wednesday on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. You can tune in to watch at 11:35 p.m. ET on NBC.
ERNEST's new track, "Time Is a Thief," features Lukas Nelson. It's from the singer/songwriter's third studio album, Deep Blue, which arrives May 1.
Jessie Murph has been added to the Thursday, May 28, lineup at the 14th annual Gulf Coast Jam. She'll take the stage in Panama City Beach, Florida, just before headliner Keith Urban.
Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" is proving to have incredible staying power, hanging on atop the Billboard Hot 100 for its seventh week.
At the same time, her follow-up radio single, "Be Her," is coming on strong, checking in at #4 on the all-genre tally, making the Alabama native the first female country artist ever to have two songs in the top five simultaneously.
Ella's finding similar success on Billboard's Country Airplay chart, with "Texas" at #3 and "Her" at #10. That makes her the first woman ever to have two solo songs in the top 10 at the same time.
Make no mistake, Ella's done it before, she just had some help from Riley Green. Starting in December, their duet "Don't Mind If I Do" spent five weeks together with "Texas" in the top 10.
Lainey Wilson's also had two songs in the top 10 twice before, but each time one was a duet. First was "Heart Like a Truck" and "wait in the truck" with HARDY, followed by "Watermelon Moonshine" and "Save Me" with Jelly Roll, all in 2023.
CMA Fest will take a trip back to the '90s, as Clay Walker, Jo Dee Messina, Rhett Akins and Sara Evans open the nightly concerts June 4-7 at Nashville's Nissan Stadium.
Rising stars Vincent Mason, Zach John King, Emily Ann Roberts, The Jack Wharff Band, Kaitlin Butts, Kat Luna, Laci Kaye Booth, Maggie Antone, Scoot Teasley and Willow Avalon will also get the chance to play the Platform Stage at the home of the Tennessee Titans.
Caylee Hammack is set to sing "The Star-Spangled Banner" on Thursday night.
Christian singer and country collaborator Brandon Lake is also confirmed to lead Cowboy Church on Sunday morning on the Riverfront Stage.
You can access complete info about the lineup and tickets at CMAFest.com.
Kenny Chesney is about to "Carry On" with his first new music in more than two years, as his new track arrives May 8.
“It felt great in the studio,” he says of the song he co-produced with longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon. “Sometimes when you’re running down a song, it all just falls into place because it just feels good."
"‘Carry On’ was fun," he continues, "because of all the different genres we drew from. Plus, I love a chorus that throws life wide open – and reminds you how to find the light no matter what’s happening.”
“Carry on karaoke, it don’t matter if you can’t carry a tune in a bucket anyways," Kenny sings. "Carry on, who cares what the naysayers say. If it’s Saturday night get carried away. Carry on, carry on, you can’t carry nothing with you and it won’t be long 'til it’s six carrying you home. 'Til then you gotta carry on."
Described as reminiscent of hits like “American Kids,” “Save It for a Rainy Day” and “Get Along,” "Carry On" is the first taste of the new studio album Kenny's busy mixing now.
Lee Brice's new album, Sunriser, won't come out June 5 as planned, he explains in a statement.
“Y’all, I’ve got some good news and some bad news," he says. "The good news is, even after finishing Sunriser, I just kept writing and now I’ve got a whole lot more songs I can’t wait to share with you. The bad news is, we’re gonna have to push the album release back so we can finish it the right way including a Sunriser (All Nighter) deluxe."
"New date for both albums is October 2nd," he continues. "I appreciate y’all being patient with me and we’re not gonna leave you hanging - more new music is coming your way this summer! Can’t wait for y’all to hear all these songs!”
Lee's next piece of new music, "Truck Bed Mixtape," will arrive May 1.
The regular edition of Sunriser features 16 tracks, while Sunriser (All Nighter) doubles that number to a mammoth 32 songs.
Shania Twain will host the upcoming Academy of Country Music Awards, as the show returns to MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 17.
“I’m thrilled to be hosting the 61st ACM Awards in Las Vegas, a place that feels like home," Shania says. “It’s such an honor to be part of this incredible night celebrating country music’s biggest stars, especially with so many talented women leading nominations this year. I can’t wait to welcome all of the fans and artists out for this unforgettable night.”
The Canadian pop/country superstar took home the coveted entertainer of the year trophy at the 35th ACMs, later picking up the ACM poet's award for her songwriting, as well.
Cody Johnson, Kacey Musgraves, Lainey Wilson, Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert and Riley Green are already set to perform on the show, which will stream live on Prime Video.
Look for more performers to be added in the days to come.
