Wasting no time. Despite only releasing two singles, “Surrounded” and “Werewolf,” 2025 proved to be a pretty huge year for Koe Wetzel. Riding the highs of his 2024 album, 9 Lives, he would score his first-career #1 hit on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with “High Road” featuring Jessie Murph. In case that wasn’t enough for the Texas native, “High Road” would also go on to be named iHeart Radio’s #1 song of 2025 and furthermore, top Mediabase’s year-end chart, capturing the year-end #1 spot there as well. As 2026 progressed, it was clear that something big was on the horizon for the “February 28th, 2016” singer. He’d start the year by teasing a new album with the simple caption, “Ready for this new chapter to start.” Wetzel would then follow that up with a brand new song to close January, the reflective “Time Goes On.” Adding more fuel to the fire after confirming a new album was coming in the summer, Wetzel would then plot a massive, 45-city headlining tour, featuring the likes of Shane Smith & The Saints, Ole 60, Wyatt Flores, Corey Kent, Wade Bowen and more. With a tour that extensive, the final step was to finally announce the album. Luckily for dedicated fans of the Texas rocker, he finally released his sixth studio album, The Night Champion, on June 12th. View this post on Instagram Teaming up once again with Gabe Simon, who produced 9 Lives, The Night Champion ultimately felt like a natural progression for Wetzel, who has undoubtedly changed a lot over the past few years after getting married to Bailey Fisher and becoming a father. As promised, the record still contained some classic Koe tracks like “Hurts Like You,” “Time Goes On” and “The Man,” while continuing his exploration into a new, R&B-esque sound on “When I’m Gone” and “I’ll Lock Up.” It would also be remiss to talk about The Night Champion’s standout, “Circus,” which serves as the centerpiece of the record, being a reflection on his time in the music industry at this point in his career. Though some are still longing for the “old Koe” to come back, it was undeniably another rock-solid outing from the Texas native, and it looks like it’s going to be expanded very soon. This morning, a text was sent out in Koe’s text message chain, linking to an exclusive look at five new tracks. When opened, a title reading, “The Night Champion Continued,” pops up along with the text: “For the Konvicts — You’ve been blasting the music and buying the tickets, so I wanted you to hear these first…” From there, you get a slide for five tracks, all in their entirety, which sound pretty damn great, feeling like a worthy extension to the record. As of now, there’s no official confirmation of when the deluxe version of the album is coming. With that being said, however, it looks like we’ll be getting an official extension of The Night Champion containing the five new tracks incredibly soon. You can take an early listen to the new songs HERE. The Night Champion Continued Expected Tracks “Rolling and Smoking” “Ronnie Ray” “Meet You There” “Bad Decisions” “Magnet” “Circus” Koe Wetzel Tour Dates July 8 | Edmonton, Alb. (Canada) | Rogers Place July 10 | Penticton, B.C. (Canada) | South Okanagan Event Center July 11 | Abbotsford, B.C. (Canada) | Abbotsford Centre July 23 | Nampa, Idaho | Ford Idaho Center Amphitheater July 24 | Stateline, Nev. | Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic July 25 | Las Vegas, Nev. | The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas July 30 | Airway Heights, Wash. | Northern Quest Casino July 31 | Bend, Ore. | Hayden Homes Amphitheater Aug. 1 | Tacoma, Wash. | Dune Peninsula Aug. 6 | Bonner Springs, Kan. | Azura Amphitheater Aug. 7 | Evansville, Ind. | Ford Center Aug. 8 | Nashville, Tenn. | Bridgestone Arena Aug. 12 | New York, N.Y. | Pier 17 Aug. 13 | Reading, Pa. | Santander Arena Aug. 14 | Gilford, N.H. | BankNH Pavilion Aug. 19 | Boston, Mass. | Leader Bank Pavilion Aug. 20 | Washington, D.C. | The Anthem Aug. 21 | Pittsburgh, Pa. | Petersen Events Center Aug. 26 | Buffalo, N.Y. | Outer Harbor Live at Terminal B Aug. 27 | Cleveland, Ohio | Wolstein Center Aug. 28 | Rochester Hills, Mich. | Meadow Brook Amphitheatre* Sept. 3 | Austin, Texas | Moody Center Sept. 4 | Baton Rouge, La. | Raising Cane’s River Center Sept. 5 | Bossier City, La. | Brookshire Grocery Arena Sept. 10 | Knoxville, Tenn. | Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center Sept. 11 | Greensboro, N.C. | First Horizon Coliseum Sept. 12 | Wilmington, N.C. | Live Oak Bank Pavilion Sept. 17 | Alpharetta, Ga. | Ameris Bank Amphitheatre Sept. 18 | Columbia, S.C. | Colonial Life Arena Sept. 19 | Richmond, Va. | Virginia Credit Union LIVE! Sept. 24 | Pikeville, Ky. | Appalachian Wireless Arena Sept. 25 | Huntsville, Ala. | The Orion Amphitheater Sept. 26 | Brandon, Miss. | Brandon Amphitheater Sept. 30 | Rogers, Ark. | The Walmart AMP Oct. 1 | North Little Rock, Ark. | Simmons Bank Arena Oct. 2 | Tulsa, Okla. | BOK Center Oct. 3 | Wichita, Kan. | INTRUST Bank Arena Oct. 8 | Chicago, Ill. | Salt Shed Fairgrounds Oct. 9 | Fishers, Ind. | Fishers Event Center Oct. 10 | Milwaukee, Wis. | Fiserv Forum Oct. 28 | Morrison, Colo. | Red Rocks Amphitheatre Oct. 30 | Lubbock, Texas | Cook’s GarageThe post Koe Wetzel Teases Deluxe Edition Of New Album, “The Night Champion” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

We’ve got another artist crossing over into the country music space… this time The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers. Artists from all different walks of the music industry have traded in their regular form of music making to try their hand at country music. Post Malone, Beyoncé, and Lana Del Ray are probably the most famous names… and you can throw former Beatles member Ringo Starr in there too. Then there’s a laundry list of non-musicians who have ventured into the realm of country in the past couple of years. NBA star Jimmy Butler says he’s got over 200 country songs in the bag and ready to go, and another former NBA player, Meyers Leonard, announced his retirement from the sport with an original country song. Even Kelso himself – Ashton Kutcher – said he had a country album on the way. Needless to say, everyone apparently wants a slice of the country music pie in the 2020s. The latest is one of music’s most talented vocalists: Brandon Flowers. The frontman for The Killers – a Las Vegas based band formed in 2001 with countless hits like “Mr. Brightside” and “Somebody Told Me” – apparently got an itch to record some country songs, and explained in a video announcement today that the time was finally right: “The fact that I love new wave and rock and roll has been well-documented. But a life is long enough to allow for more. Walt Whitman said it best, ‘I am large, I contain multitudes.’ Well, I’m larger now than I was 20 years ago, and I’ve unlocked a room that feels like it’s been waiting for me all along: country western music, my father’s music. It has offered itself to me and the stories I have to tell at the moment with a breezy enthusiasm.” Flowers and the producers on the forthcoming album titled THRASHER – Shawn Everett and Jonathan Rado – assembled a team of well-respected and esteemed Nashville musicans to play on the record that he’s named Thrasher. 85-year-old Charlie McCoy, who played on Bob Dylan’s Nashville Skyline record, is part of the team, as well as guitarist David Rawlings and pedal steel player Bruce Bouton. The Killers lead singer revealed that they all got together and recorded the project last summer in Music City, and now in 2026, it’s nearing its release. Flowers also made sure to get ahead of the worry from rock fans… no, he’s not moving over to country full time: “We recorded ‘Thrasher’ last July in Nashville, Tennessee, playing with the seasoned and extremely capable musicians that Rado and Shawn assembled was one of the highlights of my career. I hope you hear the joy in the record, because we sure had a blast making it. Oh, and this is not me running away from rock and roll. I don’t want to replace my old songs. I simply found room for more.” Been circling above now for so long. I'm ready to come down. THRASHER will be released on August 21. The first single, “Plans,” arrives this Friday. Pre-save and pre-order THRASHER now. pic.twitter.com/CqARjTBE3U — Brandon Flowers (@BrandonFlowers) June 23, 2026 If you want a taste of the new album, Flowers is allowing for a sneak peak when the single “plans” releases this Friday, June 26. You actually hear a bit of it in the trailer above: “Gold and silver God and glitter Lights that flicker on hubcap chrome On the road to heaven Is Strauss and Stetson Swimming pools of horsepower Take me back, take me back home.” So keep an eye out for “Plans” when it releases later this week. As for the full album, it’ll be a little bit longer of a wait. THRASHER is set to release in its entirety on August 21. Here’s a look at the track list: THRASHER Track List: 1) Does It Ever Cross Your Mind? 2) One of Us 3) Tiger’s Blood 4) Plans 5)  Paradise 6) Miss America 7) Angel 8) The Red Ground 9) In a Heartbeat 10) An American DreamThe post The Killers Frontman, Brandon Flowers, Is Going Country With New Record, ‘Thrasher’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Working on making things right. Bailey Zimmerman has issued his first statement since news broke yesterday that charges were filed against the country singer for allegedly destroying a hotel room in New Mexico. The “Rock and a Hard Place” singer was charged in Bernalillo County with one felony count of criminal damage to property over $1,000 and one misdemeanor charge of falsely obtaining services, with the arrest warrant alleging that Zimmerman caused $16,000 in damages to his hotel room following a canceled concert at the Sandia Resort and Casino in Albuquerque. In a statement issued through his attorney, Zimmerman apologized to the community and to the resort, claiming that he “never meant for any of this to come across as disrespectful” and saying that he’s taking the matter seriously: “I want to address the events surrounding my canceled show in New Mexico in May and the reports that have followed. First things first, I want to apologize to the Pueblo of Sandia and to everyone at Sandia Resort & Casino. I never meant for any of this to come across as disrespectful. I am deeply sorry for my actions that transpired. I respect your community and the hospitality and appreciate the opportunity that was given to me to perform on Native Land. I take full accountability for everything that happened and I am sorry to anyone who feels hurt or disrespected. To my fans who bought tickets and showed up expecting a performance, I am so sorry, you deserved better from me. I understand that being a musician comes with big responsibilities, both on and off stage, and I know that I fell short that day. I am reflecting on the disappointment and concern that I caused. I am taking this legal matter seriously. I am committed to doing the work necessary to learn and grow. Thank you to my fans for holding me accountable and for understanding that I am human. I do not take your support for granted.” It doesn’t appear that Zimmerman has been booked on the charges as of right now, though attorney Kathryn Fischer entered a notice of appearance in the case yesterday and requested a speedy trial on Zimmerman’s behalf, a move that’s largely procedural to preserve his rights in court. The Allegations The incident transpired last month when Zimmerman canceled a show at the resort hours before show time on May 27. At the time, Zimmerman said in a statement that he wasn’t feeling well and was not able to give fans the show that they deserved: “Y’all know there’s nothing I love more than getting out on the road and playing these shows for you, so it’s so hard for me to have to say this, but I have to reschedule tonight’s (5/27) and Saturday’s (5/30) shows. I have not been feeling well and have tried to power through, but I’m not able to give you all the show you deserve. I hate letting y’all down and was really looking forward to these shows, but I gotta take care of myself so I can get back out there stronger. We will be announcing the rescheduled dates as soon as possible, and all tickets will be honored for the new dates. Love y’all so much, and I appreciate the prayers and understanding — I’ll see you real soon.” After the show was canceled, rumors quickly began swirling that there was more to the story. And that was confirmed when charges were filed by the state of New Mexico against the artist for allegedly destroying his hotel room while intoxicated. As first reported by TMZ, and confirmed by Whiskey Riff via court records, Zimmerman was charged by Bernalillo County with a felony for criminal damage to property and a misdemeanor charge of falsely obtaining services, stemming from an unpaid bar tab of $400 at the hotel he was staying in. But the affidavit for an arrest warrant gives much more detail on the incident that led to charges being filed. According to the affidavit, Zimmerman spent the day on the golf course before arriving back at the resort. Cameras then captured Zimmerman and his band get out of a van and stand around the outside of the hotel room smoking a cigarette. And according to the affidavit: “Zimmerman was intentionally burning other members of the band with the cigarette. The band members did not appear to mind and were laughing.” The group was then taken up to their hotel rooms, where Zimmerman and another member of the band appeared to be “play fighting” in the hallway: “Zimmerman pushed the male against the hallway wall twice, and then they moved to the opposite wall.” Later, the group exited the hotel and got into an SUV for soundcheck when security at the resort reportedly advised that the country singer “appeared to be under the influence of alcohol and was very angry with his band and manager.” Things apparently escalated at soundcheck, when it sounds like Zimmerman went on a rampage, swinging a guitar and striking the ground, throwing cymbals, knocking over drums and microphones and walking off stage multiple times. And after returning for a third time, his band apparently attempted to intervene before the singer reportedly shoved his guitarist: “The band members attempted to intervene, but Zimmerman yelled at them and walked off the stage for a third time. Zimmerman was met by [his tour manager] where he exited the stage. He was seen swaying and angrily gesturing as he spoke with her. After almost a minute of talking, Zimmerman angrily walked back on stage and kicked the drum cymbals, knocking them over. He then shoved one of his guitarists, causing the male to jolt forward. The band members again attempted to talk with Zimmerman.” As they were leaving the venue, Zimmerman reportedly spit towards a resort security officer who was standing nearby, and refused to get in his SUV because it was white instead of black. But eventually his team was able to get him back to the hotel, where he reportedly fell and had blood visible on his knee. The concert for that evening was ultimately cancelled, and resort staff informed Zimmerman and his team that they needed to leave the premises. This apparently upset Zimmerman, who refused to leave in the vehicles provided by the resort. Police were called to escort him off the premises, and housekeeping staff then discovered the damage to the hotel room that reportedly totaled over $16,000 and included “damage to a TV, a broken phone, damage to a coffee table, damage to two chairs, and two chairs missing from the room.” There was also reported to be a hole in a wall as well as damage to other walls and stains on the carpet. His most recent show was on Saturday in Ottawa, Canada on his Different Night Same Rodeo Tour, and he’s currently scheduled to perform this coming Thursday, June 25 at the Country Drive Music Festival in Ashland, Nebraska. Of course this isn’t the first time that an incident has raised concerns about Zimmerman’s relationship with alcohol. A couple years back, Zimmerman got too drunk to perform well at Luke Bryan’s Crash My Playa festival in Mexico. He issued an apology for the drunken performance, which let’s be honest, has happened to a number of artists over the years, and will probably happen to many more. But the more pressing matter is that Zimmerman has now had multiple instances where alcohol has either ruined a show or canceled a show, and now will lead to an eventual arrest in New Mexico. Bailey is young and talented, but it seems pretty clear that he hasn’t had the best relationship with alcohol over the past few years… hopefully he can get the help that he needs before he does even more damage to his career.The post Bailey Zimmerman Issues First Public Statement Following Criminal Charges For Allegedly Destroying Hotel Room first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Go ahead and preach, Mr. Wallen. Back in April, Morgan Wallen, launched his very own radio station on SiriusXM, aptly titled “Morgan Wallen Radio.” With this, he joined the likes of Chris Stapleton, Willie Nelson, Carrie Underwood and Kenny Chesney, all of whom have their own stations on the broadcasting corporation. Since debuting on April 7th, Morgan Wallen Radio has aired a plethora of different segments, and recently, his father, Tommy, spearheaded “Family Tradition With Tommy Wallen,” where he shares memories from the Wallen family, stories from Morgan’s childhood, his proudest moments from Morgan’s life and career and more. And as of this past week, Tommy added another segment to his son’s radio station called “Tommy’s Sunday Seven,” which will serve as a seven-minute devotional each and every Sunday morning. Tommy is a preacher and Morgan grew up in the church, so it’s a very fitting new segment to add to his radio station: View this post on Instagram As for what to expect from “Tommy’s Sunday Seven,” the Wallen patriarch would describe it as a journey for those who don’t have any knowledge of the Bible. Additionally, he’d be incredibly transparent and note that he wanted to share the Scripture that brought him out of the “hopelessness” of his alcoholism and drug addiction. “Each week, our time will be spent looking into the Bible. I’m not going to try to force what determines how I live on you. I just want to share with you what brought me out of a life of hopelessness because of alcoholism and drug addiction. We will approach this as if none of us have any knowledge of the Bible, so we can begin this journey together.” And this past Sunday, he shared a lot about his own personal journey to salvation, explaining that he was given a “general other than honorable circumstances discharge” two years into his four years of service in the Marine Corps following a DUI he got on base at Camp Lejeune in Jacksonville, North Carolina. He called it the one of the things he’s “most ashamed of” in his past, and after he was forced to leave the service, he spent years either “drunk or high” every day: “After two years of dead-end jobs and more dumb decisions, I enlisted in the Marine Corps. The 13 weeks of bootcamp were the longest period of time that I had of sobriety from 1979 to 1991. And as soon as I was able, the day I graduated boot camp, I began drinking again. My drinking got worse and worse, I got my first DUI on Camp Lejeune base. I was given a general other than honorable circumstances discharge two years into my four years of service. This is one of the things that I am most ashamed of of my past. This was December of 1987. I immediately went to work for a construction company that did work in several states. We traveled weekly and would come home on weekends. This was fertile ground for my alcohol and drug use to completely take over my life. I ended up with three more DUIs, for a total of four, and I was either drunk, high or both every day for the last three years before my salvation in July of 1991.” He began attending church, met his wife Leslie, and got saved on the first Sunday night of July in 1991. He was called into the ministry in 1993, ordained into the ministry in 1995, and he pastored three churches for a total of 3 years: “I was 25-years-old when the Lord saved me, and I was blessed to have three Godly men to take me under their wing to replace the friends that I did not need to have in my life. It’s not that we think we become better than people, it’s just that we have an old nature to fall back to. Unsaved friends don’t have that new nature. The three friends that taught me the importance of what I call my three stranded chord that’s not easily broken, Bible study, prayer and fasting. They also held me accountable. God also gave me a Godly wife, and she is the person god used to get me into a church that taught the Bible in a was that I could make an informed decision about where my life was, and where I was headed. I began attending the church in April of 1991, I took an honest look at my life and realized it was out of control, headed for destruction, and I needed a drastic change. On the first Sunday night of July 1991, I became a follower of Jesus Christ. Leslie and I were married on August 3rd, 1991. We  know have four kids, five grandkids, and blessed life together. I was called into the ministry in 1993, ordained into the ministry in 1995, and I pastored three churches for a total of 3 years.” It’s an incredible platform to share his inspiring story, and even with all of the fame and success that his son has brought to his family, Tommy comes across as such a nice and humble man: View this post on Instagram Of course, he’s now in a completely different chapter of life, as a grandfather to five young grandkids, though he still works full-time in the ministry. He is a staff member of a local church, where serves in their prison ministry, going to prison three days a week to share the gospel with people who are in prison, similar to what he plans to do with this new segment: “I’ve been in the jail ministry as a volunteer for 11 years, and as of June 2025, I now serve as a full-time staff member of a local church here in our area in the prison ministry. I go into prison three days a week, and share with them what I will share with you each Sunday. I realize that there’s no way to know for sure, but I truly believe that if I had not made an honest comparison of my life, and where it was headed, to the way, the Bible tells us how God has designed to be, I would not be alive today. That’s my true desire for this brief seven minutes each Sunday you and I are taking a walk through the Bible together, taking an honest look at where we are, and where we’re headed.” He wants to give people the opportunity to hear the Gospel and find their true purpose, and in addition to sharing from the Bible each week, he will share a gospel song with the world: “As I said, I will not try to force what I believe on you, just give you the opportunity to listen and decide for yourself. Some quick information for those of you that have no idea about the Bible. It contains 66 books that make up the one book we call the Bible, or God‘s word. And as a follower of Jesus Christ, I believe it is one of the ways that God is decided to talk to us and help us to live a truly fulfilling life. Mark Twain said the two most important days of a person’s life are the day that we’re born, and the day that we find out why. I believe the Bible gives us the information to do just. That the book of Proverbs says in chapter 12 verse 15, ‘The way of the fool is right in their own eyes, but a person who listens to advice is wise.’ That’s all I’m asking for, just listen for seven minutes each week. Thanks for tuning into Tommy Sunday seven. I’ll be back next Sunday with a new message and a song to share.” You can listen to “Tommy’s Sunday Service” on Morgan Wallen Radio every Sunday at 9 a.m., 11 a.m., 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. ET. It’s already an incredible way to share the Gospel, and I have to imagine Morgan is proud to use is his platform to let his dad witness to so many, as he’s done for decades now. This week, he shared Alan Jackson’s beautiful rendition of “Old Rugged Cross” too: @morganwallenfanclub4all “Tommy’s Sunday Seven” Part 3 of 3 [6-21-2026] This airs on SiriusXM’s Morgan Wallen Radio (Ch. 64) every Sunday at 9 AM, 11 AM, 1 PM, and 3 PM ET (& stream it via the app any time) #morganwallen #siriusxm #tommyssundayseven 十： #countryradio ♬ original sound – Club Wallen “Old Rugged Cross” The post Morgan Wallen’s Dad Shares Powerful Testimony Of How Jesus Transformed His Life first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Thank goodness we don’t have to hear that song after every game. The US Men’s National Team has already made quite a statement in the 2026 World Cup, blowing out Paraguay in their first match and then shutting out Australia to clinch their spot in the knockout rounds. While it’s not necessarily a Cinderella run, I don’t think it’s unfair to say that nobody expected the United States to be this dominant this early on in the tournament. And after the US beat Australia last Friday, videos quickly began going viral of the entire stadium celebrating by singing the 1971 John Denver classic, “Take Me Home, Country Roads.” The @USMNT faithful serenade their team with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in Seattle pic.twitter.com/XI3Q3EkxhK — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2026 Of course, many were wondering how a song about West Virginia (yes, it’s about West Virginia and not western Virginia, but we’ll deal with that later) became the celebration song for the US Men’s National Team. And as it turns out, it actually beat out a couple of other songs – including one of the most overplayed and annoying songs in the world) to become the team’s victory anthem. According to CBS Sports, FIFA asked all 48 teams in the World Cup to select a song that could be played in the stadium after a potential win. U.S. Soccer wanted to pick a song that would be representative of American artists while also inspiring a sing-along in the stadium (they were clearly already thinking about the atmosphere and the videos that would be posted to social media), and after consulting with players and clubs the list was narrowed down to three songs: “Country Roads,” Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer,” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline.” Now, I have no problem with “Livin’ On a Prayer,” but I just have to say: Thank GOD we didn’t go with “Sweet Caroline.” When it comes to overplayed songs, the Neil Diamond hit is up there with “Wagon Wheel” (and honestly it might be even more overplayed). And I get it, it’s a catchy song that’s fun to sing along to, but man…after hearing it thousands of times, it just gets annoying. Well, luckily “Sweet Caroline” was the first song that was axed, because as it turns out England chose the Neil Diamond song as their victory anthem. (Choosing a song from an American artist, once again proving our dominance). As for “Livin’ On a Prayer,” it was used as the anthem for the team’s second half hydration break, which left “Country Roads” as the celebration song for the team. And it’s one that the team and fans have fully embraced. According to USMNT defender Auston Trusty: “I think ‘Country Roads’ is a very American song. To hear that in the stadium, everyone singing along – everyone. If you’re American, you probably know that song so everyone’s singing and celebrating the win and you’re smiling and happy with the teammates. It’s a dream come true. It’s feelings that you can’t really describe. It’s just a dream come true.” Of course the song also serves as the victory anthem for the West Virginia University Mountaineers, with WVU fans belting out the song after every home win. The song is also an official state song of West Virginia, despite the fact that some pretentious a–holes love to claim that the song “is actually about western Virginia.” That’s bull—-, of course, and easily disproven by…the song’s lyrics that quite literally say “West Virginia.” The claims arise Blue Ridge Mountains and Shenandoah River that are mentioned in “Country Roads” are largely located in the state of Virginia, though there are parts that run through the eastern panhandle of West Virginia. And then there’s the story from songwriters Bill Danoff and Taffy Nivert that the song was written while driving through Maryland. Well a couple of years ago Danoff set the record straight on the song’s meaning: “I’m a songwriter. I was looking for words. The words that I loved in that song were Blue Ridge Mountains, Shenandoah River. They’re songwriter words, so that got me to West Virginia.” West Virginia…not western Virginia. Straight from the songwriter’s mouth. (If it sounds like I take this debate personally, it’s because I’m from West Virginia myself). Regardless of the song’s origins, it’s become an anthem that resonates far beyond the Mountain State. Walk into any piano bar or karaoke bar in the country and there’s a good chance that you’ll hear “Country Roads” throughout the course of the evening, and it’s also apparently a massive hit in…Japan: Everyone in Japan knows "Take Me Home, Country Roads" by John Denver. We cover it all the time so I hope our American friends can appreciate it. pic.twitter.com/ldIEfGZLBW — 鈴森はるか 『haruka suzumori』 (@harukaawake) March 29, 2026 Let’s hope that we get to hear “Take Me Home, Country Roads” many more times during this World Cup after wins from Team USA.The post John Denver’s “Take Me Home, Country Roads” Beat Out One Of The Most Annoying Songs In The World To Become The World Cup Victory Song Of US Men’s National Soccer Team first appeared on Whiskey Riff.