She’s not okay… A Texas judge was recently kicked out of a Megan Moroney concert at the Houston Rodeo after what sounds like an attempt to use her position to secure a spot close to the stage. Moroney headlined the annual rodeo’s main stage concert on Tuesday night at NRG Stadium. But yesterday, Harris County judge Lina Hidalgo released a statement accusing the rodeo of sexism after she was kicked out of the concert for trying to access the “chute” area of the floor without a pass during the concert. According to the statement from the judge (in Texas a county “judge” isn’t a judicial officer, but rather an elected official who presides over the county commission), Hidalgo attempted to take some guests – including a fellow elected official and her children, as well as the parents of a recently-deceased veteran – to the chute area, which she says she has “always done.” But security at the rodeo stopped Hidalgo and told her and her party that they couldn’t be there because they didn’t have wristbands: “I have always been allowed on the dirt based on the county’s relationship with the rodeo, regardless of wristband. Nobody has ever told me I needed a special pass to access the dirt.” Hidalgo says that she tried to ask for her guests to be allowed to enter the area, but accuses rodeo staff of “shoving” her and threatening her with arrest: “When I tried to ask that my guests be let in, the rodeo committee members first said the kids could stand in the back, but then proceeded to block the kids and mom from entering, grabbed me, shoved me, and threatened to arrest me. Even after I offered to leave if it meant that my guest and her kids were allowed to stay and finish watching the concert, the rodeo removed her and the kids from the dirt entirely. I had already been removed from the dirt.” Hidalgo claims that she wasn’t trying to use her position for personal benefit, but was simply trying to help her constituents get a better spot at the concert. “In my role as Harris County Judge, I have never accepted anything inappropriately or used my role to personally enrich myself even though many others have… I did not want to prevent the committee members from doing their jobs, nor was I trying to take advantage of ‘privileges’ or call in favors. I was not even interested in seeing the concert. I was only interested in helping community members enjoy an important event.” The elected official then goes on to question whether a male elected official would have been treated the same way: “I felt disrespected, threatened and physically unsafe – as did my guests and the kids. … I wonder, if I had been a male county executive, would they have reacted the same way? Would they have thrown a male Harris County executive’s guest with their young daughter and son out of the Harris County stadium? Would they have gone up to a male guest’s children and yanked them out of a seat? I will not go near that area again. But I have never felt so unempowered as a woman as I did yesterday.” After posting the letter, Hidalgo posted video and audio showing her conversations with security. In the first video, the judge can be heard arguing with security as they’re kicking her out of the arena: And in another video, a security officer can be heard telling Hidalgo that she had wristbands for the next five nights of shows but would have to leave, while the judge protests that she was “manhandled” and pushed and demands to be allowed back in to get proof: She also shared two short video clips, but neither appear to show any contact between rodeo officials and Hidalgo or anyone in her party. And unsurprisingly, the Houston Rodeo is pushing back against the judge’s allegations. In a statement released today, the rodeo claims that Hidalgo had requested chute tickets for Moroney’s show but because the show was sold out (and because they had given her chute tickets for five shows already), they weren’t able to accommodate her request. “Judge Lina Hidalgo has attended the 2026 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo on three occasions prior to March 10, each time with wristbands provided by the Rodeo for her and her guests to watch from the chute seats. In total, 21 tickets were provided to her across those visits, including for the J Balvin, Forrest Frank and Luke Bryan concerts with a total value of close to $9,000. … On March 10 we received information that the Judge wanted to attend the Megan Moroney concert, along with Creed, Chris Stapleton and Shaboozey concerts, all on the dirt. Because the Megan Moroney concert was sold out and she’d already had chute seats several times prior, we had multiple conversations with members of her team and the Houston County Sports and Convention Corporation informing them that she did not have wristbands and was not authorized to access the dirt or chute area that evening. She was aware of this prior to arriving and did not have the required wristbands to enter the area.” The rodeo says that Hidalgo is the only elected official who requested ANY tickets to the rodeo, and instead of chute tickets had tickets in a suite for the Megan Moroney concert. Despite not having chute tickets, the rodeo says Hidalgo still attempted to enter the area and was stopped by security who told her to return to her suite: “Our team respectfully addressed the situation, but the interaction became difficult for staff and security. There were numerous law enforcement officers who were present and none saw any physical harm including “manhandling.” Ultimately when she would not go back to her designated seats in the suite, she was escorted out.” The rodeo also pushed back on any suggestion that she was treated unfairly because she’s a female or Hispanic: “As Chairwoman of the Board, the idea that she was treated this way because she’s a woman or Hispanic is absolutely false and insulting.” NEW: "We are very disappointed in Judge Hidalgo's actions…" | RodeoHouston has just released new details on the dust up with Harris County Judge Lina Hidalgo, which resulted in her removal from the Megan Moroney concert earlier this week. pic.twitter.com/boSbCjzeWm — KPRC 2 Bryce Newberry (@KPRC2Bryce) March 12, 2026 Now, obviously we haven’t seen any video of the initial confrontation or the alleged “manhandling” of Hidalgo, but from what we’ve seen so far it definitely sounds like an elected official trying to use her position to get to the good seats, and getting upset when flexing her power doesn’t work… Of course we’ll have to wait and see whether any more evidence of Hidalgo’s claims comes out, but I have a feeling she probably won’t be there for the Chris Stapleton or Shaboozey concerts this week.The post Texas Judge Accuses Houston Rodeo Of Sexism After Being Kicked Out Of Megan Moroney Concert first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Wade Forster knows a thing or two about surviving Australia. Australian country music artist Wade Forster recently stopped by the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast, and it was one heck of a ride.The Aussie talked to us about the first time he played in Nashville (thanks to winning an Australian talent competition), living a 22 hour drive from the nearest major city in Australia, being bullied for listening to country music when he was younger, and let us in on his theory as to why his thick, Aussie accent goes away when he sings. Forster even let us in on some things his home country does a bit differently. He personally thinks Australians and Texans get along quite well, though he pointed out that those from “Down Under” actually tailgate after events instead of before. Pretty brilliant, right? The “Cigarettes” singer also cut through the lies of Australian stereotypes, talked about his former life as a rodeo cowboy and rugby player, and gave his go-to advice for avoiding lethal creatures in his homeland. Hailing from Queensland, Australia, Forster grew up and lived in a remote location for most of his life. How remote, you might be asking? The closest city was barely a day trip in the car, and the biggest city nearest to Forster and his family was basically a full day away: “The closest city is probably 7 or 8 hours, but it’s not a big city. The (biggest) major city is two full days of driving. So probably about 22 or 23 hours. Australia is the size of America, it’s just a different shape.” That’s a whole lot of driving if you want to stay connected to the bigger cities. For Forster, he did want to… only so that he could make his music career work. The “Fighting Tears” singer told us that his interest in music was twofold. One, he really loved country music and the opportunity a career in songwriting could give him. Two… his body had become worn down by all of the other jobs he had done up until pivoting to country music: “I wanted it to work. I had lived a hell of a life before that. I was a rugby player and a rodeo cowboy, and a HVAC technician and a ranch hand. I had done it all, but I really wanted music to work.” And eventually it did. Forster’s career was jumpstarted after he won a Toyota Star Maker Quest at the Tamworth Country Music Festival in 2024. That led him to performing for the first time in Nashville, and getting well on his way to making a living by playing music. Now, he shares his country anthems all across the world… and uses his platform to inform others on how to survive Australia. The Australian artist said, from his experience, the only two things that you need to worry about when traveling “Down Under” are snakes and goannas (predatory lizards). And the sole thing you need to remember if you ever come across either is this: “You don’t look at them, they won’t look at you. They will kill you. But don’t look at them, and they won’t look at you. The only thing (to worry about) are snakes and goannas – which are like a big, big, big iguana. They’ll come find you. Snakes and spiders, they are fine. Kangaroos are d***s.” @whiskeyriff @Wade Forster @Shelby McCarthy #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff The more you know. To hear more from Wade Forster, make sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or by clicking here. We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts. Cheers, y’all. Audio Video The post Australian Country Artist Wade Forster On How To Avoid The Creatures That Can Kill You “Down Under” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

It was really over 400 days.. but who’s counting? Kacey Musgraves released the lead single to her forthcoming sixth studio album Middle of Nowhere yesterday called “Dry Spell,” produced by Kacey alongside longtime collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. She wrote it with longtime collaborators Luke Laird, Shane McAnally, and Josh Osborne, and it’s a hilarious song full of innuendo that has made me giggle every time I’ve listened to it. The girl has had a “real long 335” days, and she desperately resorted to “sitting on the washing machine”: “It’s been a real long three-hundred and thirty-five days And the last time, it wasn’t good anyway I’m so lonely, lonely with a capital ‘H’ If you know what I mean, I’ve been sitting on the washing machine Ain’t nobody’s tool up in my shed Ain’t nobody’s boots under my bed Ain’t nobody’s truck up in my drive For a late night call, for a real good time Ain’t no new notches on my belt And I’m tired of keepin’ my hands to myself 911, it’s officially a cry for help Y’all, I’m going through a dry spell, yep” I mean, some may clutch their pearls, and that’s totally fine, but I have to laugh because the writing is so smart and clever, which is something I can always count on with Kacey and love about her as an artist. And during an appearance on Apple Music’s Zane Lowe radio show yesterday, Kacey joked that considering she wrote the song in Spring of 2024, she might have to update the number from 335 days… because it ended up being over 400 days. Of course, everyone got a good laugh out of that, and Kacey admitted she actually was counting, and really going through it for a while… “We wrote the song, like, Spring of 2024. So it’s been a couple years that I’ve been living with all of this music… they’re like, ‘How is the dry spell?’ In the lyric, I’m like, ‘It’s been a real long 335 days.’ I’m like, do I update this number as we’re going?’ No, it really did end up being, I think did the math yesterday and it ended up being like 400 and something days… but who’s counting? I guess I was. You know, hey, it’s hard out there, y’all. I was really going through it at one point, and I was like, I feel like I would look over and there would be a pair of flies doing it on the table next to me, and I’m like, oh great, awesome.” One thing about Kacey… she’s always going to keep it 100% real. It’s a good laugh if you need one today at someone else’s expense, and I think Kacey herself finds it pretty funny or else she wouldn’t have put out “Dry Spell” as the lead single to her next highly-anticipated album: Kacey Musgraves with Zane Lowe https://t.co/FiSC2KpPqC pic.twitter.com/CIgWq25XT3 — We Are Country Music (@wecountrymusic) March 12, 2026 The music video pretty much says it all… if you need a good laugh today, this should do the trick: I can’t wait to hear the entire 13-song album, which also includes features from Willie Nelson, Billy Strings, Gregory Alan Isakov and Mrs. Miranda Lambert herself. Middle of Nowhere is due out everywhere on May 1st: Middle of Nowhere Tracklist: 1.Middle of Nowhere 2.Dry Spell 3.Back on the Wagon 4.I Believe in Ghosts 5.Abilene 6.Coyote feat. Gregory Alan Isakov 7.Loneliest Girl 8.Everybody Wants To Be a Cowboy feat. Billy Strings 9.Horses and Divorces feat. Miranda Lambert 10.Uncertain, Texas feat. Willie Nelson 11.Rhinestoned 12.Mexico Honey 13.Hell on MeThe post “It’s Hard Out There, Y’all” — Kacey Musgraves Jokes That She Might Have To Update The Number Of Days In Lyrics From “Dry Spell” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

These songs sound pretty carefree, right? Listen a little closer. Continue reading…

The news is good for fans of 'Marshals'! Continue reading…