Scotty McCreery is going to be a dad! He and his wife, Gabi, are expecting their first child this year.

The hit country singer says that after they wed in June 2018, the couple wanted to spend a few years traveling and experiencing life before welcoming children. Gabi is now pregnant with a baby boy that’s due in November.

“We got a little man on the way,” Scotty tells People. “We’ve gotten to live a lot of life and do some cool things, so seems like now’s a good time to settle down a little and expand the family.”

Gabi says it took her a few tries to inform her husband of the exciting news because her original plan of telling him on the car ride back home after picking him up from the airport didn’t pan out, as his flight was delayed. She ended up telling him the next morning after they’d attended a hockey game. 

“I’m over there drinking beers, having a good time, and she’s like, ‘I think I’ll just lay low tonight,’ so I was like, ‘Okay.’ I didn’t think anything of it,” the singer recalls. 

Gabi, who is a pediatric nurse in their home state of North Carolina, says that her job has helped prepare her for motherhood.

“Even just down to changing diapers multiple times in a day, and figuring out how to soothe the baby when they’re upset, for sure has helped,” she explains. “I definitely feel like it’s prepared me in many ways.”

After the baby arrives, Scotty does plan to equip his tour bus with a nursery so his son and wife can join him on the road. “[This is] uncharted waters for us, but we can’t wait to dive in and meet the little man,” Scotty shares.

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Lady A is tapping into a “Summer State of Mind” with their new single. 

The breezy bop references Yeti coolers, Ray-Bans and tiki bars, while paying tribute to the person in one’s life who puts all their worries at ease. “You put the blue back up in my sky/I’m the beach/You’re the breeze/Yeah you put me in my summer state of mind,” Lady A sings in the chorus.

Hillary Scott co-wrote the track with band mate Dave Haywood, along with Laura Veltz and Sam Ellis, in anticipation of summer. The trio debuted it during CMA Fest when they performed at Nissan Stadium, and can be heard when the CMA Fest special airs on ABC on August 3. 

“When we got together and wrote this song a few months ago it almost started writing itself. We were all looking ahead to the warmer months and those easygoing moments that we enjoy most,” Hillary shares in a statement. “When we had a chance to perform the song for the first time during CMA Fest, the fans really got in the spirit. It was the perfect way to kick off the summer.”

Lady A’s Request Line Tour launches on August 13 with two shows at the historic Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.

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It feels good to be country again for Thomas Rhett and Riley Green! 

Since striking up a friendship the past couple of years, the two have grown from hunting companions to musical collaborators with their hit duet, “Half of Me,” which is in the top 40 and climbing on country radio. But Riley says that despite the friendship, he’s still a fan first. 

“It’s crazy for me because I’m not too far removed from just being a fan, and hearing these people on the radio that I’m getting to hang out with now. I’m a big fan of Thomas,” Riley praises. “He’s a Georgia boy, I’m from Alabama, so we grew up pretty well the same way. So we got along well.” 

One of the many ways they bonded is through their mutual love of hunting. The two went on their first hunting trip in 2019; Riley reveals he had to refresh the superstar on tricks of the trade. 

“He’s been doing the dad thing for a while, so I had to coach him up a little bit on the hunting. But he picked up pretty quick, and he has a little fancier camouflage than I do, but I gave him a little hard time about that,” Riley quips. “I’m sure we’ll go back again and he’ll be a hunter before too long.” 

“Half of Me” is featured on Thomas’ latest chart-topping album, Where We Started. 

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Keith Urban will perform on the Today show’s Citi Concert Series on June 30. 

Carrie Underwood is honoring Barbara Mandrell‘s 50th anniversary as a Grand Ole Opry member and will perform two shows at the Opry on July 30. Barbara will be in attendance. 

Tiera Kennedy has officially released “Found It In You” to country radio as her debut single. The song is inspired by her love story with husband Kamren Kennedy. 

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Keith Urban is giving the people what they asked for — a live version of one of his biggest hits. 

In honor of the kickoff of his Speed of Now World Tour, the country superstar is releasing a live version of “You’ll Think of Me.” The new rendition captures the essence of his live performance, including the sounds of the cheering crowd, along with an intro from Keith where he explains that his father, Bob, is a fan of the “grooving songs” while his mother, Marienne, loves ballads, leading into the song’s opening guitar chords and lyrics. When he hits the chorus, the crowd can be heard echoing the lyrics in the background; at one point he says “I love you, too” to a fan.

“This song has become such a special moment during our shows and sooooo many of you have been asking for this version over the years. Now…it’s yours,” Keith shares on Twitter with a clip of him performing the song live. 

“You’ll Think of Me” was released in 2004 as the final single off Keith’s Golden Road album. It became a crossover hit, reaching #1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, the top 30 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 and #6 on the Billboard Adult Top 40 chart.   

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Blake Shelton‘s birthday consisted of two of his favorite things: his wife, Gwen Stefani, and country music. 

Blake was headlining Country Summer Music Festival in Santa Rosa, CA on his 46th birthday, June 18, when his wife surprised him on stage with a cake. Gwen’s appearance sent the packed crowd into an excited uproar as she walked out with a chocolate frosting-covered cake in hand.

“Let’s do this!” she shouted into the mic, encouraging fans to show her husband some “birthday love.” She led them in a group sing-a-long of “Happy Birthday,” Blake laughing all the while before pretending to blow out the unlit candles on the cake.

“Thank y’all for all the birthday wishes this past weekend and for y’all who came out to party at Country Summer!!! What a damn time we had.. also.. I love you @gwenstefani!!!!” Blake raved on Twitter.

The famed The Voice coach also spent his birthday weekend performing back up for his wife when Gwen hopped on stage during his set to perform No Doubt’s smash hit “Don’t Speak,” with Blake playing guitar in the background.   

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Chris Stapleton is using his headlining set at Pilgrimage Festival to draw attention to a cause close to his heart. 

The hit singer and Pilgrimage have partnered with Fandiem for a fundraising campaign in benefit of Chris and his wife Morgane Stapleton‘s foundation, Outlaw State of Kind. Fans can enter the sweepstakes for a chance to win the VIP Journey to Pilgrimage experience that includes two VIP passes to the festival in Franklin, TN along with round-trip travel and hotel coverage, a Gibson guitar signed by the hitmaker himself, a tour of the Gibson Garage in Nashville and more.

Donation levels start at $10, which equates to 100 entries, and goes up to $500, which is worth 10,000 entries. The proceeds go toward Outlaw State of Kind, a charitable fund the couple founded in 2016 that provides grants to a variety of organizations, including MusiCares Foundation, St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital, Habitat For Humanity and more. 

The sweepstakes are open until September 7. Pilgrimage Festival takes place September 24 and 25.  

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Parmalee is taking it to the top.

The group is back at #1 on the country charts with their latest single, “Take My Name,” marking their second consecutive #1 hit following “Just the Way” featuring Blanco Brown. Parmalee frontman, Matt Thomas, co-wrote “Take My Name” with Ashley Gorley, Ben Johnson and David Fanning after his brother and bandmate, Scott Thomas, got married. It’s the third single off their 2021 album, For You.

“It’s OFFICIAL! YOU the fans have taken Take My Name up to #1 on Country Radio!!! Thank you to Country Radio, our label, our team, family, friends, and our fans!!” the North Carolina natives write on Instagram alongside a series of photos posing with members of their team as they each hold up one finger in the air. “We can’t thank you enough for making this happen!” 

Parmalee also topped the charts in 2013 with their first #1 song, “Carolina.”

 

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Kenny Chesney sustained an injury during a show, but he didn’t let that stop the music. 

Over the weekend, Kenny was entertaining a crowd of more than 55,000 fans at Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia when he cut his finger on stage during a performance of “American Kids.” But the multi-time CMA Entertainer of the Year continued to play even as his finger was being treated by one of his crew members.

Fan footage of the incident shows the crew member putting a bandage around the singer’s pinky finger, his hand covered in blood from the cut. Despite the chaos, Kenny continues to sing and doesn’t miss a word of the hit song, one hand on the mic while the other is being tended to.  

In a statement shared after the show, Kenny says it was only a matter of getting the right tape on his finger to stop the bleeding. 

“There was no way I was breaking the momentum of that song. We were in it, and I wasn’t going to stop,” he expresses. “We know how to roll with whatever happens.” 

The superstar continues on his stadium-headlining Here and Now Tour through the end of August. 

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After kicking off his Party Mode Tour early this year, Dustin Lynch’s onstage party is still going strong. He recently announced a fall leg for the trek, which will last until early October.

With a jam-packed set of hits and a high-energy, interactive approach to live performance, Dustin is capturing the attention of the crowd like a pro — but technically, this year marks his first headlining tour.

“It’s about time. I will say that,” Dustin tells ABC Audio regarding his new headliner status. “We’ve been waiting on the right time. We actually, I think, were there, and then COVID hit. So it’s been a two-year wait to get back to this point. And now we’re really ready.”

Of course, the Party Mode Tour takes its name from Dustin’s song “Party Mode,” off his new Blue in the Sky album. The music video features a series of cameos from a colorful cast of Dustin’s pals. That’s actually a fairly accurate reflection of what the singer’s real life looks like when he goes into “party mode,” he reveals.

“I’m a happy drunk, so I’m probably going to have a cocktail, maybe two,” he says, “… and my group of pirates and hillbillies that I hang out with. We’re a good time.”

In fact, Dustin says his group of friends is so good at having fun that they typically pick up some new friends when they go out together.

“I feel like we’re a very magnetic group,” he continues. “It seems like our crew starts out with a certain number and we end up with about double that at the after-party. So something’s going right.”

Tickets for the new dates on Dustin’s Party Mode Tour are on sale now.

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