This December, Laine Hardy has plans for a six-stop tour with a charitable twist. The shows are a partnership with Carolinas-based restaurant chain the Wild Wing Cafe and nonprofit Little Kids Rock. The shows will support music education in schools and include school visits and donations of musical instruments.
Country-flavored Southern rock outfit the Marshall Tucker Band have announced a 50th anniversary tour that’ll launch in January 2022. For dates and ticketing details, visit the group’s website.
Rising trio Restless Road, who are signed to Kane Brown’s 1021 Entertainment, have announced their first headlining run. Called the Bar Friends Tour, it’ll kick off in April 2022 and run through the end of May.
Baseball has always been a big part of Brett Young’s life. As a teen, he even thought he’d pursue the sport professionally, and he was drafted to play on the Minnesota Twins after high school. But he chose to go to Ole Miss instead, where he played baseball for a year before getting sidelined by an elbow injury.
And while the singer’s very happy in his country music career, he’s found a way to incorporate his passion for baseball into his life, too. On Wednesday, he joined Music City Baseball’s Music Advisory Board, People reports. That means that Brett will have a hand in lobbying for a Major League team to officially make its home in Nashville.
“I would absolutely love bringing a team to Nashville that I could get behind and support and be a part of,” he explains. “I think it would be great for the city, and selfishly, it would be amazing for me to have a team here in town.”
Even though he’s not a professional ball player anymore, Brett says he learned a valuable skill set during his time on the field.
“As an adult, I realize that the most important thing that ever happened to me as a result of baseball was the work ethic that I learned,” he reflects. “It’s something that carried over to my music career and has served me very well, and I’ll always be grateful to baseball for that.”
In his new position on Music City Baseball’s Music Advisory Board, Brett’s in superstar company: Darius Rucker, Justin Timberlake and Luke Combs are also board members.
Brad Paisley will head across the pond next summer for a seven-date European run that kicks off in Glasgow, Scotland.
The overseas trip will also take him to cities in the Netherlands, Norway, Germany and more. “Kiss Somebody” hit-maker Morgan Evans, who recently released his new EP The Country and the Coast Side A, will join Brad as an opening act.
A couple months after the tour, Brad will share the stage with Morgan once again — and Kane Brown, too — during a stop in Australia as part of CMC Rocks Fest. That performance will take place in September.
Brad also serves as duet partner on Jimmie Allen’s latest country radio single, “Freedom Was a Highway.” Over the summer, he also shared a new song called “City of Music.”
Elvie Shane’s star continues to rise, as the “My Boy” hitmaker has shared plans to hit the road next year. His first-ever headlining trek, the My Kinda Trouble Tour, will launch February 17 in Chattanooga, Tennessee.
Extending through late April, the run will take Elvie to cities like Chicago, Nashville and Birmingham, and includes two dates in his home state of Kentucky. Police officer turned burgeoning Texas country star Frank Ray will accompany him as opening support.
“I’ve never been more ready to break the chains!” the singer says. “Getting to go out on the road for my first headlining tour is something we’ve been plotting for a while, and feels just like the kinda trouble I could get into. I can’t wait to get out there and play this record live.”
The record in question is Elvie’s full-length major-label debut, Backslider, which came out late in October. It includes his first-ever country radio chart-topper, “My Boy,” a heart-tugging ode to his stepson that went viral over the summer. Not only did the song land Elvie his first number-one hit, but it also earned him some RIAA hardware, as the song was recently certified Gold.
Tickets for the My Kinda Trouble Tour go on sale this Friday at 10 a.m. local time. For dates and details, visit Elvie’s website.
Kelsea Ballerini says these days, she mostly feels healthy and self-confident, and is able to brush off comments or criticism about her appearance.
But it’s been a journey to get here, the singer admits. In fact, in a revealing new interview with People, Kelsea shares that she experienced a bout with bulimia as a teenager, which was triggered in part by some upheaval she was facing in her home life.
“My parents had just gotten divorced, and I think for me, it was a source of control,” the singer reflects, explaining that she also took diet pills and worked out excessively during this time.
That time period of her life is one that Kelsea dives into in more detail in her new book of poetry, Feel Your Way Through. In addition to her complicated past with body image, she also explores themes of relationships, family dynamics and more in the collection.
As for her current relationship with self-love and body positivity? “It’s a journey, and it’s never-ending,” Kelsea says. However, for the most part, she feels like she’s in a “much healthier spot” after years of working to overcome her body confidence struggles.
Chris Lane will have to “Fill Them Boots” — plus a jacket, scarf and perhaps a winter hat — as he heads up to New York City for a performance in the Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.
During the annual event, Chris will perform from the South Dakota Department of Tourism’s Mount Rushmore’s American Pride float. He’s not the only country act putting in an appearance at the parade: Carrie Underwood, Jimmie Allen and Mickey Guyton are all previously announced performers.
The televised appearance is good practice for January 2022, when Chris will hit the road for his headlining Fill Them Boots Tour. Joining him as opening acts are Tyler Rich, Ernest and Lily Rose.
The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade airs live from the streets of NYC. The festive fun kicks off at 9 a.m. ET on Thursday, November 25; you can tune in on NBC.
Good news for Sam Hunt fans: the singer is actively working on his next studio album.
Since the release of his sophomore album, Southside, in April 2020, Sam has been working on the follow up project. He notes that the forced downtime in 2020 during the COVID-19 pandemic allowed him to focus on songwriting, and now he’s ready to head into the studio.
“The good thing is, I’ve had more time around the house this past year and a half, so I got a good jumpstart on this next record,” he reports. “Most importantly, most of the songs are finished as far as being written, now I just got to record them. That’s not necessarily the easy part, but it’s the part that I don’t overthink. It’s just a matter of getting in the studio and singing it and doing it.”
Sam admits that he’s hesitant to offer a time frame for its release, seeing as it’s been difficult to lock in time with his frequent collaborators he worked with on earlier projects, as many of their careers have taken off as well.
“I’m reluctant to talk too much about dates because I’ve learned over the years that best laid plans can be harder to put together nowadays because a lot of the folks that I work with, who I came up with when none of us had anything to do but work on my first project, they’re now producing other records or writing all the time or traveling,” Sam explains. “So it’s interesting getting the band back together to get the records finished, but I just have to make sure to get on the books in advance.”
But fans may not have to wait too long for new music, as Sam is in the final stage of the album-making process, offering fans a taste with his current single, “23,” which is climbing toward the top 20 on the country charts.
“I decided to go ahead and go with a new song off the next project, even though technically I haven’t wrapped it up yet,” he remarks. “I’m in the fourth quarter, so hopefully I can get it done sooner than later.”
Kelsea Ballerinisits down with Reese Witherspoon to talk about her new book of poetry, Feel Your Way Through, available now.
Callista Clark has released the video for “Real to Me,” the title track of her debut album released earlier this year. Her current single, “It’s ‘Cause I Am,” is inside the top 20 on country radio.
Alan Jackson has co-written a new song, “Racing the Dark,” with his daughter, Mattie Jackson Selecman. The song was released in conjunction with her book, Lemons on Friday, that chronicles the devastating loss of her husband, Ben, who died from a traumatic brain injury.
Blake Shelton, Gwen Stefani and Mickey Guyton are performing as part of the Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest. The three-day event takes place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles February 10-12.
Kane Brown is set to perform on the 23rd annual A Home for the Holidays at the Grove TV special, which shines a spotlight on adoption and foster care.
The special will profile the inspiring adoption stories of four families, including the Rodriguez family, which is adopting Marjorie, who by the time she was 5 years old had lived in six different households and been subjected to abuse. Kane will introduce the Rodriguez family for a special live adoption on air. The event is filmed at the Grove, a shopping complex in Los Angeles.
Justin Bieber, Alessia Cara and Glee star Darren Criss are also slated to perform when A Home for the Holidays at the Grove airs on CBS December 5 at 9:30 p.m. ET.
Maren Morris and Chris Stapleton are spreading Christmas cheer and singing loud for all to hear with a performance at The National Christmas Tree Lighting.
The annual event officially kicks off the Christmas season with the lighting of the National Christmas Tree in President’s Park in Washington, D.C. The two country stars will perform holiday classics alongside a range of music artists including Patti LaBelle, Kristin Chenoweth, Keb’ Mo, Pose star Billy Porter, H.E.R. — with whom Chris collaborated at the 2021 CMT Music Awards — and Juanes. LL Cool J will serve as host.
News of Maren and Chris’ performances at the holiday event comes as Maren’s duet with husband Ryan Hurd, “Chasing After You,” is #1 on the country charts, and Chris picked up four wins at the CMA Awards last week.
The National Christmas Tree Lighting airs on December 5 at 8:30 p.m. ET on CBS.
