As she gears up for the release of her next album, Subject to Change, Kelsea Ballerini already has plans to take her new batch of songs on the road.

This week, she announced her Heartfirst Tour, a 10-show string of dates that will run from September-October. She’ll kick off the trek in New York, making stops across the U.S. in cities like Atlanta, Denver, Los Angeles and Kansas City before wrapping in Mashantucket, Connecticut on October 14.

Kelsea announced the news on Instagram, with a special video clip that takes aesthetic cues from the pastel, sky-blue themes she’s already established in the cover art of Subject to Change.

“I’ve really missed you,” she wrote in the caption. “Let’s jump right back in together for these 10 special nights.”

Kelsea’s new tour takes its name from “Heartfirst,” which is the lead single off of Subject to Change. She also recently released another song called “Love is a Cowboy.”

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Jon Pardi hides his heartache behind a good-timing smile in “Mr. Saturday Night,” the just-released title track of his upcoming new album.

“I feel like everybody wants to be ‘Mr. Saturday Night’ at one point on the weekend and have a good time,” the singer reflects. “But then you hear the song and — the way it’s so well-written — it’s a sad song, but you don’t go there right away, because it’s also a fun song.”

He adds, “That’s the thing about ‘Mr. Saturday Night,’ it’s more than meets the eye. It’s all fun until you get to the chorus.”

A steel-and-fiddle-soaked waltz, “Mr. Saturday Night” is a mournful ode to anyone who self-medicates their loneliness with alcohol and casual flings — then feels more alone than ever when the morning comes.

“So I buy a round and shut it down and never leave alone / But then Sunday comes and they get up and they go,” Jon sings in the chorus. “That’s why they call me Mr. Saturday Night / Mr. Always In, Mr. Never Missed a Good Time…”

In addition to dropping his new song, Jon shared the full track list of Mr. Saturday Night, which consists of 14 songs. It includes previously released singles “Last Night Lonely” and his Midland duet, “Longneck Way to Go,” plus a slew of as-yet-unheard tracks.

Mr. Saturday Night is due out September 2.

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Just days after they announced their 10th studio album, Mr. Sun, Little Big Town is treating fans to a new song off the not-yet-released project.

“Rich Man” is a tender ballad about finding perspective and gratitude in life, with the understanding that true wealth doesn’t come from money but rather from love, good friends and family.

“Yeah, in my soul, one thing I know / I ain’t lookin’ for a pot of gold / That ain’t what this life means to me,” the four artists sing in the chorus. “I keep my head up high, feet on the ground / Love the ones I’m living ‘round / Life is just that simple to me.”

The quartet’s Jimi Westbrook wrote the song and also handles lead vocals, with a boost from LBT’s signature rich, soaring four-part vocal harmony.

“Rich Man’ has a special place in my heart, and it feels like the most honest me song I’ve ever written,” Jimi reflects. “It is about my love of family and their role in laying the foundation that anchors me.”

In a lyric video for the song, the bandmates compile personal family footage, lending a sweet, autobiographical touch to “Rich Man”’s message.

“Rich Man” is the third new song LBT has released ahead of their next album. They previously put out the lead single, “Hell Yeah,” as well as another breezy bop called “All Summer.” Mr. Sun drops in full on September 16.

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Kane Brown’s current single, “Like I Love Country Music,” may be on his upcoming new album, but he actually wrote it three years ago.

“I wrote this song in 2019,” the star says. “I remember it was, like, a little writer’s retreat thing on the road. We had two different songs going, one in the back of the bus and one in the front of the bus, and I was in the back.”

But he switched groups when he caught wind of what the songwriters in front were up to. “The writers had this great idea, and they already had some of the first verse,” Kane continues. “And I just remember thinking, ‘This could be a smash.’”

So he started working on the song that would go on to become “Like I Love Country Music,” and though he didn’t put it out for a few more years — “the song just wasn’t ready,” he explains — he never lost that early enthusiasm for it.

His favorite part of the song is its homage to classic country, Kane says. “One of the things I love about it is all the country icons that we listed,” he recounts. “And Brooks & Dunn even jumped on the song.”

That song — complete with a vocal boost from the legendary country duo — is the lead single off Kane’s recently announced next album, Different Man. That project will be out September 9.

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Dolly Parton joins Bill Anderson for “Someday It’ll All Make Sense,” off his new collection, As Far As I Can See: The Best Of. The music video, co-starring the two country legends, is available to watch now.

Brett Young has added some new tour dates to his schedule for this fall. Check out his full calendar over at his website.

Brian Kelley put a powerful real-world spin on his patriotic new song, “American Spirit,” this week, welcoming veteran Michael Monk to a special locals-only event in Florida, and performing the song as a tribute to Michael and his family.

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Luke Combs is celebrating a big milestone today: It’s his wife Nicole‘s 30th birthday.

To celebrate, Luke posted a carousel of photos of Nicole, many of which were taken with pets or on hiking and fishing trips. “Welcome to the dirty 30 club,” he wrote in the caption. “You have amazed me more times than I thought was humanly possible.”

He also included a recent snapshot of Nicole at home with the couple’s infant son, Tex, who was born last month. Tex is their first child, and Luke has kept pretty quiet on social media since he was born, but he posted a sweet photo of Nicole cradling baby Tex in their bedroom, as their dog curled up on the bed behind her.

“Watching you become a mother, your positive outlook on life, your love for others, your honesty, your fierce loyalty and 1000 other traits that make you so perfect,” Luke continues. “I love you so much and I’m thankful for you Every. Single. Day.”

Luke and Nicole got married in August 2020. She’s been the inspiration behind several of his songs, and the music video for his “Forever After All” features footage of their wedding day.

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Thomas Rhett’s newest out-of-the-box collaborator is Nashville-based singer-songwriter Ben Rector. The two singers are teaming up for Ben’s next single, “What Makes a Man,” which will be out August 5.

“I’ve always been a fan of Ben’s, so when he reached out wanting to collaborate, I jumped at the opportunity to work with him,” says Thomas. “He’s an incredible artist, writer and performer and this song hit me as something I could immediately connect to.”

Ben’s foray into the country genre doesn’t stop there: He’s also gearing up to make his Grand Ole Opry debut on August 9, just days after the release of “What Makes a Man.”

TR’s new duet with Ben is available to pre-save now. Meanwhile, the country singer is currently making waves on the charts with another duet: “Half of Me,” his current single with Riley Green.

Thomas’ Bring the Bar to You Tour kicked off last month.

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Jimmie Allen, Dolly Parton, Alabama and Rascal Flatts are just a few of the country stars whose hits are getting revamped as reggae songs in a new compilation album, Country Goes Reggae.

Produced by The Berman Brothers and featuring Jamaican band Positive Vibration, Country Goes Reggae spans a cross-generational selection of country favorites over an 11-song track list.

Dolly’s “Two Doors Down” is featured on the collection, as is Alabama’s “Pass it on Down” and Uncle Kracker’s “Smile.” Toby Keith gets the reggae treatment with a revamped version of his “Red Solo Cup,” and “I Like the Sound of That” by Rascal is featured, too.

Along with country classics, Country Goes Reggae also samples the genre’s newer hits. Chase Rice’s “Eyes on You” makes an appearance, as does Jimmie’s “Make Me Want To” and Lainey Wilson’s “Things a Man Oughta Know.”

Country Goes Reggae will be available on Friday.

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Garth Brooks has been teasing the release of the second part of Anthology for a while now, and he’s finally ready to share some concrete details about the project. Anthology Part II, The Next Five Years is coming out on November 15.

Part II picks up where the first Anthology installment left off in 1996 and follows Garth through the releases of projects such as Fresh Horses, Sevens, The Limited Series, Double Live and Scarecrow.

It also recounts career milestones between ‘96 and 2001, such as his famed 24-hour autographing session in ’96 at Fan Fair (now known as CMA Fest) in Nashville.

“I learned a lot,” Garth says, according to People, who exclusively premiered the cover art for Anthology Part II.

That artwork features a close-up, black-and-white shot of a young Garth with the American flag cast across his face, set against a dramatic black backdrop.

Part II of the Anthology series follows the already-released parts I and III, which detail Garth’s early years in the country genre and his more recent presence live on tour. The forthcoming Anthology is now available for pre-order as a six-part CD collection.

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CMA Fest 2022 may be over, but the fun’s just beginning for Elle King and Dierks Bentley, who are co-hosting ABC’s upcoming CMA Fest television special.

The show, which will revisit some of the festival’s best and most exciting performances, gets an extra boost from Dierks and Elle’s fun, easygoing onscreen dynamic. Their chemistry comes from a real-life friendship, Elle explains, which developed over collaborations like 2016’s “Different for Girls” and this year’s new duet, “Worth a Shot.”

“I mean, anything that Dierks and I do together is fun and funny, because we’re just kind of, in the nicest way, idiots. In the best way,” Elle says with a laugh.

For a first-hand look at that goofiness she’s talking about, check out the music video for “Worth a Shot,” where they star as a couple on the rocks in the Wild Wild West. Even though the song’s subject matter is serious, Dierks and Elle’s playful friendship shines through, and it’ll be even more front-and-center when they take the stage for CMA Fest.

“We just make each other laugh. So nothing we do feels like work,” Elle explains.

CMA Fest — which was filmed at Nashville’s Nissan Stadium — airs August 3 on ABC. It’ll be available to watch the next day on Hulu.

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