Here’s to the Hag. When it comes to a Mount Rushmore of Country Music, it’s pretty hard to have a conversation about it without mentioning the name Merle Haggard. Born in a converted boxcar in Depression-era California, Haggard had a turbulent youth marked by petty crimes and escapes that eventually culminated in a stint at San Quentin State Prison. It was there, however, that his life trajectory shifted after watching Johnny Cash perform for the inmates on New Year’s Day in 1960. Inspired to turn his life around, Haggard leaned heavily into his musical talents upon his release, channeling his lived experiences of poverty, rebellion, and incarceration into his songwriting. He transformed his troubled past into deeply relatable stories that would eventually earn him the title of the “Poet of the Common Man.” With a staggering 38 number-one hits on the US country charts—including legendary tracks like “Mama Tried,” “Okie from Muskogee,” and “Workin’ Man Blues”—he gave a voice to the blue-collar working class, the outlaws, and those living on the fringes of society. A Grammy winner, a CMA and ACM Awards Entertainer of the Year winner, and a Country Music Hall of Famer, Haggard passed away on his 79th birthday in 2016, leaving behind a massive, fiercely independent catalog that remains the ultimate gold standard for honesty and grit in country music. But with today marking what would have been Merle Haggard’s 89th birthday, a number of country music stars paid proper tribute. And a couple went as far to release full studio recordings of Merle Haggard hits. Cody Johnson released a surprise cover of the Hag’s “Footlights,” the first track on Merle’s 1979 album, Serving 190 Proof. And Jamey Johnson paid homage to the country music legend as well, recording and releasing a cover of “Pretty When It’s New,” a cut from Merle’s 2010 album, I Am What I Am. When it comes to a Mount Rushmore of modern day country music singers who carry on the legacy of the greats that came before them, it’s hard to have that conversation without mentioning Jamey Johnson. He’s just an absolutely phenomenal ambassador for everything that is traditional country music. “Honoring the legacy of Merle Haggard on his 89th birthday. Jamey Johnson’s “Pretty When It’s New” is out now.” Check it out: Jamey Johnson Tour Dates Thu May 7: Atrium Health Amphitheater, Macon, GA Sat May 9: Coca-Cola Amphitheater, Birmingham, AL Fri Jul 10: The Wind Creek Event Center, Bethlehem, PA Wed Aug 5: WE Fest Country Music Festival at Soo Pass Ranch, Detroit Lakes, MN Thu Aug 6: WE Fest Country Music Festival at Soo Pass Ranch, Detroit Lakes, MN Fri Aug 7: WE Fest Country Music Festival at Soo Pass Ranch, Detroit Lakes, MN Sat Aug 8: WE Fest Country Music Festival at Soo Pass Ranch, Detroit Lakes, MN Sat Aug 15: The Exhibition Hall at French Lick Resort, French Lick, INThe post Jamey Johnson Honors Country Music Icon, Merle Haggard, With Cover Of “Pretty When It’s New” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The more the merrier, I guess. Though there has been plenty of conversation and subsequent criticism over Post Malone’s venture into country music over the past few years, as time passes, it’s become clear that he’s here to stay in the genre for the foreseeable future. Of course, Post started his country music journey with 2024’s massive, 27-song album, F-1 Trillion, which called upon some of the biggest stars, ranging from Hank Williams Jr. and Dolly Parton to Luke Combs and Morgan Wallen to Sierra Ferrell and Billy Strings. Over the past year and a half since F-1 Trillion’s release, Post has made himself a frequent flyer in both Nashville and the country community at large, headlining massive festivals, opening his own bar, Postys, on Broadway and making even more appearances with the likes of Brooks & Dunn, Zach Top, Lainey Wilson and more out on the road. Given the fact it’s been quite some time since we’ve received new music in any form from the “Pour Me A Drink” singer, many fans have speculated whether he would return to the genre, return to his hip-hop/alternative roots or potentially do both heading into 2026. At the end of 2025, on a livestream, Post would tell the chat that he was hoping to release two records in 2026, adding that it’s his goal should “everything go my way”: “Chances are, chat, we are getting two albums in 2026. If everything goes my way.” Since then, he’s been radio-silent regarding new music. However, that all changed today. Taking to Instagram minutes ago, Post would upload a photo of a blank tracklist for his upcoming album, titled The Eternal Buzz, with the simple caption: “coming soon ” View this post on Instagram What will immediately stand out is the simple fact that Post is seemingly aiming for a forty — yes, 40 — song record with The Eternal Buzz. Though we’ve seen plenty of hefty albums in the genre over the past few years, with Morgan Wallen’s I’m The Problem (37), Zach Bryan’s American Heartbreak (34), Aaron Watson’s Horse Named Texas (26), Luke Combs’ The Way I Am (22) all carrying a massive tracklist lately, a 40-song, standard project would be undoubtedly ambitious. In fact, it’s something that we still haven’t really seen lately, even in an era of albums getting longer and longer every year. As of now, there is no other information surrounding the album, whether that be a release date, any songs or even what genre it will be. Of course, it’s pretty safe to assume that a record titled The Eternal Buzz will end up being Post’s second country outing following F-1 Trillion; however, it’s still not a 100% guarantee. Regardless, it’s pretty safe to assume that there will be new music from the rapper-turned-country star coming incredibly soon. For now, however, we’ll just have to wait and see what’s up Post’s sleeve. Before you go, fire up one of the standout tracks from F-1 Trillion, “Never Love You Again.” Big A** Stadium Tour Part Two Tour Dates Fri Apr 10 – Fort Lauderdale, FL – Tortuga Music Festival* Sun Apr 26 – Indio, CA – Stagecoach Music Festival* Wed May 13 – El Paso, TX – Sun Bowl Stadium Sat May 16 – Albuquerque, NM – Boots In The Park Festival* Tue May 19 – Waco, TX – McLane Stadium Sat May 23 – Baton Rouge, LA – Tiger Stadium Tue May 26 – Birmingham, AL – Protective Stadium Fri May 29 – Tampa, FL – Raymond James Stadium Sun May 31 – Panama City Beach, FL – Gulf Coast Jam* Fri Jun 05 – Oxford, MS – Vaught-Hemingway Stadium Sun Jun 07 – Myrtle Beach, SC – Carolina Country Fest* Tue Jun 09 – Charlotte, NC – Bank of America Stadium Fri Jun 12 – Indianapolis, IN – Lucas Oil Stadium Tue Jun 16 – Toronto, ON – Rogers Stadium Sat Jun 20 – Wildwood, NJ – Barefoot Country Music Festival* Mon Jun 22 – East Hartford, CT – Pratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field Thu Jun 25 – Cleveland, OH – Huntington Bank Field Sat Jun 27 – Milwaukee, WI – Summerfest* Tue Jun 30 – Nashville, TN – Nissan Stadium^ Sat Jul 11 – Fayetteville, AR – Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium Wed Jul 15 – Kansas City, MO – Kauffman Stadium Fri Jul 17 – Ames, IA – Jack Trice Stadium Tue Jul 21 – Missoula, MT – Washington-Grizzly Stadium Fri Jul 24 – Edmonton, AB – Commonwealth Stadium Tue Jul 28 – Salt Lake City, UT – Rice-Eccles Stadium *Festival appearance ^ Without Jelly Roll The post “Coming Soon”: Post Malone Teases Massive, 40-Song Album Titled “The Eternal Buzz” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The Glenn Powell-led country music comedy now has a name. Ever since it was announced that the Hollywood star and director Judd Apatow were teaming up for a comedy focusing on the country genre, people have been awaiting news about the project. Until today, all we had gotten was casting updates and a rough estimate of when the movie would hit the big screen. For the longest time, it was just referred to as the “untitled country music comedy starring Glenn Powell.” Though the name apparently eluded Powell and Apatow for a while, they knew from the jump that the film would be a comedy. Will the country music itself be the punch line? You can’t rule it out. But considering the proposed premise of the movie – with Glenn Powell playing a country music artist who’s “career is in free fall” – it seems like the fictional country music star that the project will focus on will probably be the thing that brings the laughs. Judd Apatow is set to direct the film, and in case you didn’t know, he’s the mind behind some of the best comedy movies and TV shows since the turn of the century. His directorial credits include The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007), and his producer credits include Anchorman: The Legend of Ron Burgundy (2004 ), Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby (2006), and Superbad (2007), just to name a few. Powell and Apatow actually wrote script for the feature together, and there’s apparently a lot of faith in the idea. Universal Pictures reportedly fast-tracked the original comedy, and they’ve been able to fill out the cast with some big names. Cristin Milioti (The Penguin, How I Met Your Mother) and Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story) are also set to star in the movie, and comedian Stavros Halkias has also been attached to the film. He’s set to play the agent of Glen Powell’s character. And there won’t just be star power on the screen in this upcoming comedy. The country music movie is going to have some star power in the songwriting department as well. Judd Apatow shared with The Wrap that he’s enlisted two of country music’s best songwriters to help out with original songs for the country comedy. “The songwriting is being led by Lukas Nelson and ERNEST, and we’ve had a lot of fun.” Bringing in the big guns. For those wondering if Glenn Powell will be performing his own songs in the film, he recently told reporters on the red carpet that he was “warming up the pipes” for his role. Though we don’t know how he’ll sound, or the name of the fictional country star he’ll be playing, we do know that the movie will be titled The Comeback King. And it’s set to hits theaters February 5, 2027: View this post on Instagram Like I floated out earlier… it’ll be interesting to see how they approach the country music storyline. Could it play out a lot like Talladega Nights, where a feel good, comeback story is presented with the backdrop of country music being poked fun at the whole time? Or will Glenn Powell and the surrounding characters themselves be the ones that bring the laughs, and the setting just so happens to be the country music world? I’ve got a feeling that the genre itself will be joked about throughout the film, and I’d imagine that country music artists and fans will be able to take the joke. All in all, it’ll be just great to see country music at the center of what could be a blockbuster movie if Glenn Powell and other established actors and actresses are attached to it. At the very least, we already know that Powell has got some stage presence thanks to country music singer Carter Faith. View this post on Instagram The post Glenn Powell-Led Country Music Comedy Announces “The Comeback King” As Its Official Title first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The generational run continues. There’s simply no denying that Ella Langley is the hottest country singer on the planet at the moment. In addition to scoring massive success from her Riley Green collaboration, “you look like you love me” in 2024, which netted the duo a staggering seven ACM and CMA awards in the past two years, Langley blew all expectations out of the water with the release of the lead single (and song of the year so far), “Choosin’ Texas” from her upcoming album, Dandelion. If you haven’t been paying attention to just how successful it’s been, let me give you a quick rundown of all the history it’s made over the past three months. Upon its release on October 7th, the track debuted at #37 on the Billboard Hot 100, also launching all the way to #7 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart, both of which were career-highs for the “hungover” singer. Flashforward to December 2nd, it became Langley’s first career #1 hit on the aforementioned Hot Country Songs chart. In turn, it became the fastest solo female song to reach the top 10 at US Country Radio this decade, taking just eight weeks to crack the Top 10. Thanks to an incredible amount of buzz online and a last-minute push by fans, on Monday, February 9th, she went #1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 with the monster track. Additionally, she became the first woman ever to triple up and score #1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 chart simultaneously. In case you were wondering just how rare the feat was, Langley became just the seventh female artist IN HISTORY to go #1 on the Hot 100 with a country song. Making even more history back on March 2nd, the “weren’t for the wind” singer would team up with Megan Moroney to become the only female country duo in history to top both the Billboard Hot 100 and 200 charts simultaneously, a feat that legends such as Dolly Parton, Reba McEntire, Shania Twain, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert and many more all-time greats in the genre have never done. This was thanks to “Choosin’ Texas” spending its second week at #1 on the Hot 100 and Moroney’s junior album, Cloud 9, debuting at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart. Though it was briefly dethroned by Bruno Mars’ “I Just Might” in mid-March, “Choosin’ Texas” would rebound back to #1 for two straight weeks to end the month. Spending its fourth week at the top of the Hot 100, Langley would cement herself in country music history. After tying Taylor Swift and her 2012 hit, “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together,” Langley and “Choosin’ Texas” would pass it on March 23rd to become the longest-running #1 hit on Hot 100 by a female country singer in history. After falling to #2 last week, thanks to the massive success of Korean supergroup, BTS, and their new single, “Swim,” this week, “Choosin’ Texas” returned to #1 once again, drawing 23.9 million streams, 43.2 million radio airplay audience impressions and selling 8,000 units from March 27-April 2 in the U.S. Additionally, the track spent its 19th week atop the Hot Country Songs chart and 6th week on the all-genre Streaming Songs chart. View this post on Instagram The smash hit has now spent five weeks atop the Hot 100, extending Langley’s lead for the longest-running hit by a female country singer. Additionally, Langley is now just the second woman this decade to hold a #1 hit on the Hot 100 this decade, joining Olivia Rodrigo’s “Driver’s License,” which spent eight weeks on top in 2021. Overall, the “weren’t for the wind” singer is now one of just 27 female artists in the history of the Billboard Hot 100 to have a 5+ week #1 hit, joining the likes of international superstars such as Beyoncé, Madonna, Adele, Katy Perry, Jennifer Lopez, Alicia Keys and more. Though Morgan Wallen has blown expectations through the roof in terms of all-genre hit songs over the past few years with the likes of “Last Night” and “Heartless,” the massive success of “Choosin’ Texas” over the past few months has it primed to become one of the most successful country songs we’ve seen over the course of the past few decades. It’s hard to even understate its impact for a female country artist at this point in its run up the charts, especially considering the fact its projected to spend its sixth frame at #1 next week. Before you go, fire up the brand new music video. The Dandelion Tour Dates 5/7/2026 Toledo, OH Huntington Center (+,&) 5/8/2026 St. Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena (+,&) 5/14/2026 Estero, FL Hertz Arena (@, &) 5/15/2026 Savannah, GA Enmarket Arena (@, &) 6/18/2026 Oklahoma City, OK Zoo Amphitheatre (+,&) 6/19/2026 Independence, MO Cable Dahmer Arena (+,&) 6/25/2026 Salem, VA Salem Civic Center (+,&) 6/26/2026 Wilmington, NC Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park (+,&) 7/23/2026 Pikeville, KY Appalachian Wireless Arena (#, %) 7/24/2026 Cary, NC Koka Booth Amphitheatre (#, %) 7/25/2026 North Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum (#, %) 7/30/2026 Gilford, NH BankNH Pavilion (@, %) 7/31/2026 Canandaigua, NY CMAC (@, %) 8/13/2026 Austin, TX Moody Center (#, &) 8/14/2026 Corpus Christi, TX Hilliard Center (#, &) 8/15/2026 Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena (#, &) @ Kameron Marlowe + Dylan Marlowe # Kaitlin Butts & Gabriella Rose % Laci Kaye Booth The post Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” Spends Its Fifth Week At #1 On The All-Genre Billboard Hot 100 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

One legend helping out another. Today marks the 10th anniversary of the death of outlaw country pioneer Merle Haggard, who passed away on April 6, 2016 at the age of 79. It’s impossible to overstate the impact Haggard had on country music. He was at the forefront of the “Bakersfield Sound,” a style of country music that blended influences of honky tonk country and rock and roll at a time when country music was dominated by the smooth production and orchestral instrumentation of the “Nashville Sound.” Of course there’s not much to be said about Haggard’s resumé and career that hasn’t already been said. A member of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, the Oklahoma Music Hall of Fame, a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award winner, 38 number one hits…Haggard is simply one of the greatest country artists of all time. Merle was diagnosed with lung cancer in 2008 and underwent surgery to have part of his lung removed, but less than two months after surgery was back on stage and continuing to tour. And in fact, he toured right up until just months before his death, though back in December 2015 he was diagnosed with pneumonia and forced to cancel several concerts. Haggard returned to the stage on February 6, 2016 for a performance at the Safari Club International’s annual convention at the Mandalay Bay Events Center in Las Vegas. And Toby Keith happened to be in town for the Super Bowl – so when he heard Merle was performing, he knew that he had to go see his ailing friend. As Toby recalled, he quickly realized that Haggard was in no shape to perform, and was only there because he was worried about paying his band: “They paid him like 3 times what he’s used to getting. And he showed up for that one day, and I said ‘Why are you working? You’re sick.’ He was on an oxygen hose. And I said, ‘Why are you here?’ He said, ‘I was about to lose my band because we’ve been off the road so long. This was such a big date, if I can get through this thing it’ll hold my band until I get well.'” Haggard was determined to get through the show, but admitted to Toby that soundcheck had been “a wreck” and knew that it wasn’t going to be easy. He asked Toby if he would get up and sing with him, and according to Merle’s friend and actor W. Earl Brown, the Big Dog Daddy assured Haggard that he would be ready to go: “Merle would not take charity from anyone, but he did turn to Toby and say, “How many songs of mine do you know?” “All of ’em” answered T. “All of ’em?” “Yep. And I won’t need a teleprompter.” “Well, stay nearby.”” Sure enough, Toby recalled Merle getting through about 8 songs before he needed help to make it through the rest of the show. So Toby took the stage to give Haggard a break, but instead of performing one of his own hits, he told Merle to just continue with his own setlist: “He said, ‘What do you wanna play?’ I said, ‘Whatever’s next.'” Toby performed the rest of the show with Haggard, and recalled the country legend’s words to him after walking off the stage: “Walked out and hugged my neck, told me he loved me and said ‘Thanks for helping me get my check.'” That turned out to be the last time Toby would see his friend Merle Haggard, though Merle would go on to take the stage two more times that month, at the Saban Theater in Beverly Hills and what turned out to be his final concert, at the Paramount Theatre in Oakland – both in his home state of California. As Brown recalled about that show: “Never speak ill of Toby Keith to me; thanks to him, Merle exited the stage with his dignity intact.” There’s no doubt that show is even more special for those in attendance now that we’ve lost both Merle and Toby. Two country legends, one helping another out, on one stage for the final time together. The post “Merle Exited The Stage With His Dignity Intact” – How Toby Keith Saved The Day At One Of Merle Haggard’s Final Concerts first appeared on Whiskey Riff.