Diamonds is coming soon… get excited. For the last few months, the people behind the archival Waylon Jennings vault records have been teasing the next one, which we now officially know is called Diamonds and will be out soon. Of course, Waylon’s incredibly talented son Shooter, who is an artist and Grammy award-winning producer, is the man behind it all, and he put out the first installment of this three-part series of sorts last year, which was called Songbird. It was an album full of archival songs that Shooter discovered just laying around, which were all recorded in the prime of Waylon’s career but never totally finished or release on an album. Shooter explained at the time that it was the first of a three-part project, and of course, Shooter who is Waylon’s son with the legendary Jessi Colter, produced it at Sunset Sound Studio 3, renamed by Jennings as “Snake Mountain,” where he produces all of the music he’s currently working on. When he initially announced the album, Shooter said they actually didn’t need too much work, but he did add some background vocals and other instrumentation just to polish it up and make it ready to be put on a professional album in the modern world of 2025. You’ll hear gorgeous backing vocals from two current country artists in Elizabeth Cook and Ashley Monroe. The music on Songbird was incredible, all songs that were recorded in some form or fashion between 1973 and 1984, but didn’t make the final cut on any albums at the time for various reasons. And the fans were ready for it, because Waylon notched his first top 10 on Billboard’s Top Album Sales chart with Songbird, which came in at No. No. 6 on Top Album Sales chart, while also entering the top 10 on four more charts including the: “Top Current Album Sales (No. 6), Indie Store Album Sales (No. 7), Americana/Folk Albums (No. 8) and Vinyl Albums (No. 9). It also starts at No. 17 on Top Country Albums, No. 18 on Independent Albums and No. 116 on the all-genre Billboard 200.” Throughout his legendary career, Waylon scored 16 No. 1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs ranking, and 11 No. 1s on the Top Country Albums chart. Songbird marks Waylon’s first top 10 on the 34-year-old Top Album Sales chart, with nearly 9,000 copies sold in the United States according to Luminate data. Shooter considers all three albums a gift to Waylon’s fans that have kept his music and legacy alive for so many years after his death in 2002: “This project has given me an entirely new chapter in my relationship with my father and working on this music has brought a whole new understanding about how, when and why my dad made music. The hard work is there on the tapes and the passion and the soul within is as alive today as it was the day it was recorded.” The music truly was great, it sounded exactly like everything Waylon actually did release in the prime of his career in the 70s and even 80s. Not long ago, Waylon’s official Instagram account teased title and what looks to be the album cover, and reads: “Two billboards… 50 years apart… some things never change. 2026 is gonna be a good time.” View this post on Instagram And during interview with CBS Sunday Morning that aired this past weekend, Shooter showed the viewers around his iconic Sunset Sound studios, where artists like Dolly Parton, Fleetwood Mac and Prince recorded songs, where he was rumored to have had a bed and slept there during the recording of Purple Rain. Shooter got teary-eyed talking about his dad, and he spoke about how influential his was as a musical icon: “I’m proud of him, and I’m proud of the work that I’m doing, and I’m proud of the legacy he has left behind, because he just was a good guy.” He also played a few snippets of the forthcoming songs, and Shooter says they’re very much on-brand in terms of Waylon always writing songs that are abut “love and life”: “It’s like he’s saying something, That was what was so weird about it. It felt like he was having a conversation with the listener. Talking to anyone that knows and loves his voice. It’s emotional, beautiful material about love and life. That’s what he connected with was the music and the lyrics and the dream.” Of course, Waylon grew up in the tiny town of Littlefield, Texas, which is not too far from the New Mexico state line in west Texas. But Shooter says Waylon always wanted out, though I don’t think he ever had intentions on becoming one of the most iconic country singers of all time when he first started out: “Texas played a big role in it because he wanted to get out of there so bad, you know. He grew up in this little town that’s right between Lubbock and New Mexico, and it’s flat in every way, like he says in his book, ‘If your dog ran away, you could watch for two days.” Shooter also admitted that, as his dad said many times, the whole “outlaw country” title was made up by suits in Nashville to market him and Willie, and I will give it to them just this one time… it really worked: “No, it was a marketing took. They came up with it in Nashville, it was a way to package Waylon and Willie.” Shooter got emotional when speaking about all of this, saying he of course misses him, but he feels that everything he’s doing is “deeply important” to continue to preserve his father’s legacy, and he is so thankful to be in a position to not only hear this music, but put it together and get it out to people, saying it “should be his purpose”: “I do miss him, of course I miss him. But that’s not why I cry. I get emotional just because I feel how important this all is. I want everybody to know the guy I know, I think I’m in a place where I’m in the studio and I’m able to out this out there, and people will get it and hear it. So I feel like that should be my purpose, in a way. Shooter is an incredible talent in his own right (he gets it honest, of course), and he has already outdone himself with the first part of this project. There have been so many archival albums of country legends, and music legends in general, released over the years, though for country music specifically in the modern era of music, Songbird was easily one of the most successful from a chart standpoint, and the way Shooter went about the production and putting it all together was just incredible. He put so much effort into doing everything the way they would have done it in the 70s in terms of recording any new parts that needed to be added to the songs, and it really shows because the final product in terms of Songbird was spectacular. In the full interview, you can hear a taste of the next batch of songs, and they sound amazing so I’m even more excited to hear it all now (as if I wasn’t already… you get the point). The full interview with Shooter is available here and it’s well-worth a few minutes of your day: And if you haven’t checked out Songbird yet… well, you’re sorely missing out: “I’d Like To Love You Baby” “I’d Hate To Go Searchin’ Them Bars Again” “After The Ball” “Wrong Road Again” Songbird tracklist: 1. “Songbird” 2. “The Cowboy (Small Texas Town)” 3. “I’d Like To Love You Baby” 4. “I’m Gonna Lay Back With My Woman” 5. “Wrong Road Again” 6. “I Hate Searchin’ Them Bars Again” 7. “Brand New Tennessee Waltz” 8. “(I Don’t Have) Any More Love Songs” 9. “After The Ball” 10. “Dink’s Blues”The post Shooter Jennings Confirms Waylon’s Next Archival Album, ‘Diamonds’ Is Coming Soon first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

You won’t hear Kenny Chesney preaching about politics at any of his shows. The country music superstar and gifted island-style-hit-maker is known for many different things. Whether it be for his countless No. 1 hits (like “Summertime” and “When The Sun Goes Down”), or being the leader of “No Shoes Nation,” the Knoxville native wears many different hats. But one thing he doesn’t ever want to be known for is pushing a political agenda. In a recent interview with Bill Maher on his Club Random podcast, Chesney and the political commentator got to talking about the place that politics has in entertainment… if it has one at all. The country star kind of got the conversation going by asking Maher if he was a “Bruce Springsteen guy,” since the comedian and TV host is from New Jersey. Maher answered by saying it’s a bit complicated, since “The Boss” has a tendency to make everything political. That prompted Chesney to briefly share how he feels about bringing politics into his shows: “See, I just refuse to do it. I was very thankful when I came on your show in November that you knew I didn’t want to talk about that. Because I’ve never, ever (wanted to talk politics).” Maher and Chesney agreed that it’s fine to talk about politics, but just in places where it’s appropriate (A.K.A. not a concert, when most people are just trying to have a good time). Both of them said they are “multi dimensional” and not married to the idea that politics have to interject into every space. More than anything, Kenny Chesney feels like it’s not his place to tell people how they should think, or who they should vote for: “I’ve just never felt like it was my place. There’s a certain ego that lives in there, a certain box inside your head and your soul that you have to check for some reason to think that you can make a difference. And I (just don’t know)… I’ve never saw it to be my place, and use my stage or platform, no matter where I’m playing, to tell people how to think or how to vote. They hear that and get that everywhere else. On every device, on every network. They are there as an escape from all of that stuff.” KENNY CHESNEY: “I've never saw it to be my place to use my stage or platform, no matter where I'm playing, to tell people how to think or how to vote.” pic.twitter.com/4XOi9Xd6yO — Chief Nerd (@TheChiefNerd) June 22, 2026 That’s exactly right. Music is very powerful and incredibly healing. Like Chesney said himself, there are a whole lot of people that go to concerts to escape from the real world for a while. As soon as an artist starts going off on a tangent about politics, that bubble of “not now real world” can be popped rather quickly. The good news is that members of No Shoes Nation don’t have to worry about political rants when Chesney is up on stage. In fact, I’m sure all fans are worried about right now is getting to Sin City to watch the “American Kids” singer play at the Sphere. He’s already knocked out his June 19 and June 20 shows at the Las Vegas Sphere, but if you want to catch Kenny Chesney – and hear him NOT talk about politics – you can take a look at his I Go Back residency dates that are left for this year below: I Go Back 2026 Dates Wednesday, June 24 Friday, June 26 Saturday, June 27 Wednesday, July 1 Wednesday, July 8 Friday, July 10 Saturday, July 11The post Why Kenny Chesney Refuses To Use His Platform To Push Politics first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

New music from Morgan Wallen is coming SOON. It’s hard to imagine an artist having a better year than Morgan Wallen had in 2025. Riding the highs of his fourth studio album, I’m The Problem, the Tennessee native broke all sorts of records. In addition to dethroning Garth Brooks and becoming the highest-selling country artist of all time (3rd all-genre), Wallen also scored the most-listened-to album on Apple Music globally, the #1 most-listened-to album in the U.S. on Spotify and became the second male country artist in history to be named Billboard’s Top Artist of the Year, beating out the likes of Taylor Swift, Sabrina Carpenter, Bad Bunny and more. 2026 has been yet another huge year for the “Whiskey Glasses” singer as he’s currently on his massive Still The Problem Tour. Couple that with the debut of his very own radio station on SiriusXM and breaking the internet by teaming up with Ella Langley on “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” there’s a lot to look forward to once again if you’re a fan of the “Whiskey Glasses” singer. Despite the year being another massive success, the question that has been on everyone’s mind lately is, “When is he dropping new music?” Of course, he did release a studio cut of his cover of “Graveyard Whistling” in October of last year, which fans thought could potentially be part of a deluxe edition of I’m The Problem, but that hasn’t proven to be the case, at least not yet. Back in April, Wallen would confirm that he’s sitting on “seven or eight” singles and that he’s ready to start dropping “little sneak peeks.” As it turns out, that first sneak peek came earlier in the month during the weekend of CMA Fest in Nashville when he dropped a teaser for a brand new track. It finds him coming to the realization that he’s in a relationship that’s no longer working… because “if it was meant to be, we’d have been by now”: “No we don’t even fight like we used to We don’t even care enough to cry no more It’s been a hundred nights since I knew you How long we gonna keep looking at that door? If it was meant to be, we’d have been by now We wouldn’t have to keep trying to work things out Yeah baby we’re a freeze when the lights go down It wouldn’t be so hard when we ain’t in the dark If we were in the stars they’d have lined right up Yeah maybe from the start we’ve been trying too much I know you wanna think that it’s what we found But if it was meant to be be we’d have been by now Been by now” View this post on Instagram Over the weekend, Wallen, along with Ella Langley, Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock and Zach John King, made a two-night stop in Chicago at Soldier Field. Other than making a little joke about him canceling his most recently-scheduled show in Pittsburgh a couple of weeks ago due to predicted weather, it looks like he was listening to some of his unreleased new music backstage, as he shared a teaser of him listening to the aforementioned track. This time around, however, he played this time is a different part of the song. View this post on Instagram Shortly after night two in Chicago on Saturday, Wallen would then update his Instagram bio, adding a pre-save link. Though the link does not point to the name of the song or a date itself, simply reading “Be the first to hear new music from Morgan Wallen,” it’s incredibly clear that the reigning Billboard Artist of the Year is gearing up for a new track (or more) incredibly soon. Given the pop-heavy, summer vibe of the song, it feels like a bit of a no-brainer for the “What I Want” singer to go ahead and pull the trigger on a release with both the season itself and the 4th of July coming incredibly soon. For now, however, we’ll just have to wait and see. ‘Still The Problem’ Tour Dates June 26 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat June 27 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High nHeat July 17 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 18 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 24 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 25 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ ​​Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake WhitenThe post “Be The First To Hear New Music”: A Pre-Save Has Appeared On Morgan Wallen’s Instagram As He Continues To Tease New Track first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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