If you love country music, and are in need of a pet name, you came to the right place. It’s very natural for pet owners to name their furry friend after something they love. For those that wish to stray away from classic names like Fido and Spot, a favorite movie character or professional athlete might instead be the inspiration for a pet name. Or you can always look to your favorite genre of music to try and find the perfect moniker for your new pooch or feline companion. The online forum known as Reddit used to have the slogan of “The Front Page of the Internet.” Though it’s not known as that anymore, it’s still true in the sense that a lot of wild and wacky viral stories first appear there, before they wind up on Daily Mail or New York Post. But they probably separated themselves from that tag line because the site also acts as a community hub and forum for just about anything topic and interest you could think of, and some you don’t want to think of. Seriously, some of the stuff on Reddit will scar you for life… But some country music-loving Redditors are currently discussing the perfect, country-music adjacent name for a dog. The Redditor started the conversation by explaining that they just adopted a new white cattle/pit bull mix and wanted to go with a name from (or inspired by) the country music world: “We recently adopted a sweet girl who came to us with the name Camila, but we’d love to give her a fresh start with a new name. She’s a white cattle dog/pit mix. A little background: she was found in Texas, and we’re big country music fans, so we’re drawn to names with a Southern or country music vibe — whether that’s inspired by artists, songs, or just that classic Southern charm… Does anyone have any ideas?” Any names come to mind? Some the easier names to think of would just be the female greats of country music, or any of the many women that are pushing country music forward in the modern day. There’s also the song-title route, where you could dive into the country music catalogue and pull out songs like “Adeline” (Shane Smith & The Saints) or “Maria” (from Brooks & Dunn’s classic “My Maria”). Reddit did its thing and started naming off just about every female pet name you could think of, and there were some really good ones. There were even suggestions for names that would clearly work better for a male pet… but remember, in brainstorming sessions, there are no bad ideas: “Loretta.” “Lucille? Kenny Rogers and Turnpike have a song called Lucille and it’s got a similar vibe to Camilla.” “No suggestions besides Elvira.” “Adalida.” “Jolene.” “Whiskey.” “Winona.” “Miranda or Ella.” “Reba.” “Poncho.” “Waylon.” “Tanya, Shania, Martina, Carrie, Emmylou, June.” “If you like Chris Stapleton, Maggie.” “Chattapoochie, Garth Barks, Travis Pitt, or Tim McPaw.” Alright… I’m starting to feel like it’s got to be one of those puns, even though the owner did say they were looking for female names.The post Country Music Fan Asks The Internet for Best Genre-Inspired Dog Names, & the Replies Are Golden first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Is there any records left to be broken? Fresh off a record-breaking night at the 61st annual ACM Awards in Las Vegas on Sunday, which saw Ella Langley sweep each and every one of her nominations and break a plethora of different records along the way, the Alabama native just made more history today. In case you missed it, Langley won a staggering seven awards last night, including Single and Song of the Year for “Choosin’ Texas,” Artist-Songwriter of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and Music Event of the Year for her second collaboration with Riley Green, “Don’t Mind If I Do.” With seven awards on the night, she not only broke Garth Brooks, Chris Stapleton and Faith Hill’s record of six awards in one night, Langley also broke Hill’s long-standing record across two award shows, winning a staggering 12 different ACMs in both 2025 and 2026. Of course, the success at the ACMs last night was thanks in part to the absolute powerhouse that “Choosin’ Texas” has been since its release back in October. As it stands today, it’s the longest-running #1 hit by a female country artist on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, the only country song by a woman to triple up and go #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, Hot Country and Country Airplay chart simultaneously and just the seventh country song solely recorded by a woman to go #1 on the Hot 100 in the history of the chart. Additionally, it’s also helped her become the second woman in history to hold the #1 album and song in the U.S. simultaneously with a country song/album and the first female country singer to capture the top two songs in the U.S. with “Be Her” sliding up to #2 last week. This week, “Choosin’ Texas” spent its 10th week at #1 on the Hot 100, and she made even more history. View this post on Instagram Like last week, “Choosin’ Texas” and “Be Her” remain the #1 and #2 songs in the country. With this multi-week run, Langley is now the first country artist IN HISTORY to hold the Top 2 songs in the United States simultaneously for more than one week. This broke her out a tie with Morgan Wallen, who became the first country artist to do so upon the release of I’m The Problem last May when he owned the top three songs with “What I Want,” “Just in Case” and “I’m the Problem.” Additionally, “Choosin’ Texas” is now just the fourth country song in history to spend 10+ weeks at #1 on the Hot 100 and simultaneously land in the Hot Country Top 5. She joins the rare company of Shaboozey, who spent 19 weeks at #1 in 2024-25 with “A Bar Song (Tipsy),” Morgan Wallen, who spent 16 weeks at #1 in 2023 with “Last Night,” and Debby Boone, who spent 10 weeks at #1 in 1977 with “You Light Up My Life.” In case you were wondering just how rare a 10+ week #1 hit on the Hot 100 is, only 49 songs — 4% of #1 hits — in its 67-year history have done so. In other words, “Choosin’ Texas” has cemented itself as one of the biggest hits not only in country history but in music history. While Morgan Wallen has all but blown the expectations through the roof in terms of all-genre hit songs over the past few years, Langley has captured lightning in a bottle unlike anything we’ve ever seen recently and is actively passing records set by him in the meantime. It’s truly hard to understate just how big of a moment this is not only for Langley but for women in country music as a whole. “Choosin’ Texas” “Be Her” The Dandelion Tour Dates 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 BoothThe post Ella Langley Makes More History As “Choosin’ Texas” Spends Its 10th Week At #1 On The Billboard Hot 100 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Ashley McBryde's ACM Awards speech was not like the others. Here's what — and who — inspired this moment. Continue reading…

Some of the biggest names weren’t even at the show. The 61st Annual ACM Awards took place last night in Las Vegas, with Ella Langley having a massive night and taking home seven trophies total – a record for one artist in the history of the show. The night’s top prize, though, went to Cody Johnson, who took home his first ACM for Entertainer of the Year (in addition to winning Male Vocalist of the Year). CoJo beat out a stacked field of nominees including Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Jelly Roll, Megan Moroney, Lainey Wilson and Chris Stapleton for the award. But of the seven nominees, only three were actually in attendance at the show. Moroney announced beforehand that she wouldn’t make it because she was serving as Maid of Honor at her best friend’s wedding. And Morgan Wallen skipping out was no surprise, given the fact that he usually doesn’t attend awards shows (and has even thrown shade at them in the past). Clearly he doesn’t really care about them too much. Luke Combs and Jelly Roll were also absent from the evening, although no reason was given by either artist for not being there. Luke is currently on his My Kinda Saturday Night stadium tour and played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Friday and Saturday night, while Jelly Roll performed at Boots in the Park in Albuquerque, New Mexico on Friday night. Maybe they just wanted to get back to their families, which is completely understandable, but also raises a bigger question: Do artists really care about awards shows anymore? Over the past few years it’s clear that fans don’t pay as much attention to awards shows as they used to. Gone are the days when fans relied on awards shows to tell them who to listen to: Morgan Wallen, one of the biggest artists in the world, has consistently outstreamed…well, everybody else in country music, despite getting virtually no recognition at awards shows. Artists like Tyler Childers, Sturgill Simpson, Turnpike Troubadours and Cross Canadian Ragweed are selling out massive venues, and they’ve never even gotten a mention on any awards show. Being seen on the red carpet of an awards show seems like it’s lost a little bit of its prestige, when it’s not necessarily an indicator of success or lack thereof. And artists clearly don’t feel the need to be in attendance, even when they’re nominated for some of the biggest awards of the night. The ratings would also seem to reflect the declining influence and popularity of awards shows: The CMA Awards, which are broadcast on ABC, hit an all-time low last year, which was down from 2024’s previous all-time low, which was down from 2023’s previous all-time low…you get the picture. And while the ratings for the ACM Awards aren’t released due to streaming on Amazon Prime, the fact that they were moved from network television to streaming surely doesn’t speak well for the number of eyeballs tuning into the yearly event. Now, credit where it’s due: This year’s show wasn’t terrible. There were some great performances from artists like Ella Langley, Zach Top and Red Clay Strays, and it was great to see artists like Parker McCollum and Cody Johnson take home some big awards. It’s also great that the show is finally recognizing artists from outside the mainstream, with 49 Winchester, Flatland Cavalry and Muscadine Bloodline finally getting some well-deserved nominations. But the point remains: Some of the biggest artists in the genre decided not to attend the awards show. And when the artists are the main draw for fans to tune in, that seems like a bad sign for the importance of these shows.The post Four Out Of Seven Entertainer Of The Year Nominees Weren’t At The ACM Awards – Is That A Bad Sign For Awards Shows? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

He doesn’t miss. If you gathered together 50 or so of the most dedicated fans of the alternative country scene, chances are at least a dozen will tell you that Charles Wesley Godwin is one of the best artists working today. With three albums and an EP’s worth of what can only be described as brilliance, the “All Again” singer has proven time and again why he’s one of today’s premier songwriters and voices in the genre. Though it’s hard to ignore his wholly unique vocals, it’s his writing ability that is one of Godwin’s defining characteristics. From murder ballads such as “Cranes Of Potter” and “Blood Feud” to gorgeous tributes to his family on “Gabriel,” “Dance in the Rain” and “It’s The Little Things,” there’s truly not a song the West Virginian can’t write. Of course, these stellar songs are all backed by some killer production that draws upon traditional country, Appalachian folk and Americana stylings. He’d turn heads a few weeks back at Stagecoach when he’d announce that the highly-anticipated “Better That Way,” was coming, featuring none other than superstar Luke Combs. During the performance, Godwin would acknowledge the fact the new album has been in the works for quite awhile at this point before ultimately dropping the bomb that Combs is featured on the track, drawing a huge roar from the Stagecoach crowd. “It’s been two and a half years since our last album; I know that’s too long. But this has been a labor of love, and we turned a new one in in the wintertime. We have the first single on that album coming out on May 15th. It’s called “Better That Way.” I got my buddy Luke Combs on it.” As it turns out, Godwin didn’t just have the single drop incoming last Friday, he’d go ahead and announce the release of his fourth studio album, Christian Name, which is coming out Friday, July 24th. View this post on Instagram Discussing the album, Godwin would admit that the writing process was one of the most difficult yet fulfilling experiences he’s ever gone through. Additionally, he’d give some insight into why he chose the title, Christian Name, explaining that he’s always viewed creating music as his way of glorifying God. “Writing and recording this album over the last two and a half years has been one of the most difficult, yet at the same time, most fulfilling experiences of my life. Music and songwriting have always been my escape. This time, they became a path to healing and a means of glorifying God. I truly cannot wait to share this album with the world, and I hope it helps someone out there the same way it helped me.” As for “Better That Way,” it looks to be a hit for Godwin, especially with one of the biggest artists in the genre, Combs, being featured on it. Though it might be a little more streamlined than the likes of “Cranes of Potter” and “Seneca Creek,, it’s an incredibly fun, rock-solid track that serves as a beautiful ode to both Godwin and Combs’ wives as well as a stellar prelude to the rest that Christian Name has to offer. In fact, Godwin and Co. have already serviced the track to country radio, so here’s to hoping it takes off and gives him the attention from a mainstream perspective he desperately deserves. Just in case the official drop with Combs wasn’t enough for fans of the Appalachian star, he went ahead and dropped a solo, acoustic version on his YouTube channel live from Mountaineer Roasting, a local coffee shop in his hometown of Morgantown, West Virginia. Though the official version is a far cry from being anything close to pop country, I think longtime fans of the West Virginian will prefer this version better. Featuring just Godwin and guitarist/producer, Al Torrence, both on acoustic guitars, the performance harkens back to the early, more stripped back days of Seneca Creek. Like any performance from the “Temporary Town” singer, it’s an absolute stunner and nothing short of a must-watch if you’re a longtime fan. Watch here: The post Charles Wesley Godwin Shares Stunning, Solo Version Of New Luke Combs Duet, “Better That Way” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.