That’ll do it. Trace Adkins has been around since his breakout 1996 debut album Dreamin’ Out Loud, which featured his first top-five hit, “Every Light in the House,” and his first number-one single, “(This Ain’t) No Thinkin’ Thing,” Adkins was an instant country music star. Winning the ACM Award for Top New Male Artist the following year, Adkins solidified his seat at the table and continued to deliver country music gold as the years went on. He’s best known for late ’90s and early 2000s hits such as the infamous “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” and “Swing,” as well as other popular tracks such as “Every Light In the House,” “You’re Gonna Miss This” and “Ladies Love Country Boys.” Beyond the patented baritone vocals and deep, southern drawl, however, is a long history of near-encounters with death throughout his life… but that’s another conversation for another time. He has five daughters too, two with his first wife, Barbara Lewi; Sarah Adkins (1985) and Tarah Adkins (1983), and three with his second wife, Rhonda Forlaw; Mackenzie (1998), Briana (2001) and Trinity (2004). And as you can imagine, having five daughters made for some pretty funny dating stories in the Adkins household, and during a recent interview with radio hosts Big D and Bubba, he recalled telling one of their boyfriends he should just get out of the relationship on his terms, because he knew it wouldn’t last: “This one guy, I felt bad for him, you know, so I was just like, ‘Dude,’ and I kind of took him aside, and was like, ‘You’re not gonna make it, man.’ He’d been around long enough that I just knew, he’s not going to stick around. She’s going to get rid of him. And so I just told him, I was like, ‘Man, you know, I don’t know how invested you are in this whole thing, but you need to get out on your terms. Because this ain’t gonna last. I can see what’s coming.'” A total dad move… He also recalled a little hunting trip with one of his daughter’s boyfriend he didn’t like, and how he had wanted to go hunt on his land. The two of them went together, and Trace pulled another classic dad move and told this boy that he could kill him out there and “nobody would ever know” or find him”: “One of them, one time, he wanted to hunt out on my place, and I was like, I guess so. But I didn’t really like him that much, and so we get out there in the middle of the woods, and we’re standing there looking around, and I was like, ‘You know what, man, I could kill you right now and nobody would ever know, they’d never find you.'” He says he just laughed and they continued hunting, but of course, that boyfriend was scared straight and called things off. When his daughter came back from college later that day, she was livid at his comments, as you can imagine, and he told her he did her a favor: “Yeah, he was kinda nervous and I just laughed… and then my daughter came home from  school that day, she was in college, and she came home, and I was sitting at the dinner table, and she walks in the house and just starts screaming at me, ‘You’re insane! He says he doesn’t want to see me anymore!’ And I was like, ‘Hey, I did you a favor.'” Honestly, that whole story sounds like it has the makings to be a great country song, but I can’t say I blame whichever daughter this was for her reaction. He summed up his experience raising five girls like so: “Five girls and, man, none of them ever went on the poles.” I mean, he did is job and it sounds like he did it well… @bigdandbubba Imagine going to meet your girlfriend’s dad, and it’s Trace Adkins… #traceadkins #fypシ #fyp ♬ original sound – bigdandbubba The post “They’d Never Find You”: Trace Adkins Recalls the Hilarious Way He Intimidated His Daughter’s College Boyfriend first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Kip Moore wants to help the songwriters. You’d be hard pressed to find someone as unique and true to themself as Kip Moore. And I always have to mention that he just might be the most interesting man in the country music world. He loves to ride a wave surfing out on the ocean just as much as he likes to ride a hit onto the country charts, and he appreciates keeping life exciting… like when he ran into the cartel during a motorcycle trip through Mexico. The “Damn Love” singer loves to live life differently than everybody, and in a recent interview on the God’s Country podcast, he revealed that he’s going to do something different than any other artist out there. Kip Moore feels responsible for taking care of the songwriters that have helped build Nashville into what it is today. Though he writes most of his own stuff, he recognizes that the way the music industry has shifted has not benefited career songwriters even in the slightest: “Songwriters are just starving out. When I think about their gig now, and the difference that it was with mine when I was coming through – and it wasn’t like I was coming through that long ago. It’s just changed so rapidly in the last few years. You’re only thinking, ‘Single, single, single’ and that’s it, because of the way that the streams don’t really pay the same. The mechanicals are gone. For the ones that write the songs and make it all possible for everybody to have these careers, and the fans to find the joy in going to shows. When you are going to hear George Strait perform ‘Run’ and you love that song, he didn’t write that song. Those are two other guys that are pros. Even though I write my own stuff, I’m still connected to songwriters and the community that I care about. They help me get my vision through there.” Simply put, country music wouldn’t be where it is today without its songwriters. So Kip Moore has a plan. With where he’s at in his career, he feels very fortunate. The country star is deciding that, from now on, he’s going to give any songwriter that helps him craft a song a piece of his masters. He’s doing so because, in his mind, that’s the only way to make the songwriter’s current situation a livable situation: “If I wait on the machine to fix the machine, I might be dead and gone before then. I’m in a position now to where when I think about if someone would have told me when I was 29 years old, ‘This is where you are going to be sitting in your mid 40s.’ I would have said, ‘For real?’ So I think about how greed can come into play where I’m like, ‘I’m doing it, this is my thing. What the industry says is mine. They’re my masters.’ But I just think about what built Nashville, and the sacrifices that songwriters make, and I think about the sacrifices that songwriters I know invest time in me. So I’m going to try, this time around, to give every single writer a little piece of my masters moving forward. I hope to try to get a little trickle effect. If you are getting a six or seven thousand dollar check at the end of the year just from streaming, your mindset changes as writers.” Generally, songwriters only have a cut of the publishing… which is owning the composition of the song (melody, lyrics, etc…) and not the actual recording of it. And long complicated story short, they get a fraction of a fraction of a penny for every stream on it. They get paid in other ways (when an album is purchased or downloaded, when a song is used in a movie) but with streaming being a primary driver of music consumption these days, it’s tough to make a lot of money solely as a songwriter. And the more songwriters you have on a song, the more you have to split the pot. Morgan Wallen can record one of your songs, and if it is a deep cut without any radio play, you can still only wind up with few thousand bucks out of it. Masters, on the other hand, are the other side of the musical coin. They are the actual, official recording of the song, which is usually owned by the label, or maybe the artist and the label. And they can earn money in some of the same ways as publishing, but on Spotify for example, master owners receive the vast majority of the streaming royalty (roughly 80/20). So again… it’s just hard for songwriters to make a good amount of money unless they’re writing hit singles every other week. That’s a very cursory glance at how it works, but overall, splitting masters is something that no other artist is doing right now, it would be a game changer for songwriters. And like Kip Moore said, he’s hoping that he can create a movement where it becomes commonplace, and songwriters are, in turn, taken care of. You can hear more from the country music star in the interview below: Kip Moore – God’s Country Podcast The post “They’re Starving Out”: How Kip Moore Is Taking a Massive Stand for Nashville’s Struggling Songwriters first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

'You can hear me now, or you can pay me later,' Scott Borchetta told the new grads. Continue reading…

The final song before Reason To Believe is released this Friday. Today, Kip Moore released a new song called “The Darkness,” which is part of the tracklist for his forthcoming 7th studio album Reason To Believe. The record is named for an unreleased song he’s played for years that fans have been patiently waiting on a studio version of for a long time now. The record comes on the heels of his 2025 album Solitary Tracks, which served as his sixth studio album and first under Virgin Music Group. Kip says this album encompasses his “daily thoughts” that come straight from the heart: “I felt like I was describing more of who I am as a human. This album is my daily thoughts. In here. It’s an ‘in here’ kind of thing.” Themes for the record find him opening up about grief, faith and the weight of time, and during the recording process for this album, Brett James, who was a mentor to Kip, tragically passed away. Brett was a part of writing what are still some of Kip’s biggest hits in “Hey Pretty Girl,” “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck,” “Beer Money,” and “Running for You,” so Kip felt it was only right to name the album “Reason to Believe,” because of how much James loved the song, which Kip wrote with Dan Couch and Scott Stepakoff. Moore produced the entirety of the album with Andrew DeRoberts, marking the first time he worked with the DeRoberts. He has already released the lead single “Levee,” as well as one called “Faith In The Wind,” and “The Darkness” was written by Kip along with DeRoberts and Luke Preston. It finds Kip struggling with a lot of dark and depressing thoughts and feelings, as he recalls a conversation with Janie, a recurring figure in some of his songs, and how she tells him she can’t “pull him out of that river” and is cutting his “anchor” from her rope: “Janie asked If I’d ever seen the light If ever heard the sound of Saint Cecillia’s Choir I was dumbstruck Standin’ with my hands in the fire Tryin’ to stay warm in the winter She leaned in across a thick cloud of smoke She said boy you’re an anchor and I’m cuttin’ rope Try to look on the bright side, have a little hope But I can’t pull you out of that river” He goes on to say in the chorus that the “darkness just likes me too much,” and he admits Janie is right because he would “lose his voice before I call for help”: “I guess the darkness just likes me too much Every time I find the light I feel that touch Down a long black hole And I’m lookin’ around Tryin’ to find the door but I can’t get out And if I fall too deep I scare myself I think I lose my voice before I call for help Damn this darkness just likes me too much” It’s a very honest and raw reflection of how many of us have probably felt at one point or another, and I think we’re in for some really great stuff on this album that we don’t have to wait too much longer to hear, as it is out everywhere this Friday. He doesn’t hold back when it comes to being incredibly truthful with any given subject matter, even when it’s hard, and even though it’s tough, “The Darkness” is a great example of that and you should definitely check it out here: “The Darkness” “Levee” “Faith In The Wind” Reason To Believe Tracklist: 1. Levee (Kip Moore, Luke Preston, Hank Born) 2. Get What Ya Give (Kip Moore, Luke Preston) 3. The Darkness (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts, Luke Preston) 4. Heartbreaker (Kip Moore, Jaren Johnston, Casey Beathard) 5. Headlights (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts) 6. You & Me (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts, Hillary Lindsey) 7. Faith In The Wind (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts, Luke Preston) 8. Reason To Believe (Kip Moore, Dan Couch, Scott Stepakoff) 9. Lonely Tonight (Kip Moore, Casey Beathard) 10. Long Time Coming (Kip Moore, Andrew DeRoberts, Luke Preston) 11. Wild Things Like You (Kip Moore, Dan Couch) 12. Sober (Kip Moore, Manny Medina, Dave Nassie, Erich Wigdahl, Hank Born, Will Lynde) 13. Josephine (Kip Moore, Manny Medina, Dave Nassie, Erich Wigdahl, Hank Born, Will Lynde)The post Kip Moore Struggles With “The Darkness” On Incredibly Raw New Single From Forthcoming Album, ‘Reason To Believe’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

“Don’t cry for me down here.” There were plenty of tears shed at the Coca-Cola 600 over the weekend, the first NASCAR Cup Series race since the sudden and shocking passing of two-time champion Kyle Busch last Thursday. Ahead of the race, NASCAR CEO Steve O’Donnell welcomed Busch’s family, including his wife Samantha and children Brexton and Lennix, to pit road for an emotional tribute during their first public appearance since his death: “No one ever feels fully prepared to speak at a moment like this, and I think we can all agree that this was Kyle Busch’s home. Every racetrack was Kyle Busch’s home. He competed like he had something to prove every single race, when in reality, he’d already proven everything. What I think we’ll miss most isn’t the wins. It’s the guy who quietly wanted to help a teammate or give some advice. It was the husband, the father, or the guy who quietly did things for others when no one was watching.” In loving memory of Kyle Busch. pic.twitter.com/UvcB5C0oMn — NASCAR (@NASCAR) May 24, 2026 And during the pre-race concert, Brad Paisley delivered a heartbreaking performance of one of his most emotional songs in honor of the late NASCAR legend. (It still feels so weird to write “the late” when talking about Kyle Busch). Brad dedicated his song “When I Get Where I’m Going” to Busch, something that he told the crowd he never expected to have to do. But the speedway fell silent as he performed the emotional song: @ashtonsadventures25 When I’m Get Where I’m Going by: Brad Pasiley 5-24-26 #countrymusic #racecar #Charlotte #racetrack #Rowdy ♬ original sound – ashtonsadventures25 @t.goldschmidtIncredible moment from Brad Paisley’s pre race concert yesterday, his song When I Get Where I’m Going. In honor of the late great Kyle Busch.♬ original sound – TannerG The song was, of course, first released back in 2005 as the second single from his Time Well Wasted album as a duet with the legendary Dolly Parton. And it serves as the perfect tribute to Kyle Busch and anyone else we’ve lost: “When I get where I’m going There’ll be only happy tears I will shed the sins and struggles I have carried all these years And I’ll leave my heart wide open I will love and have no fear Yeah, when I get where I’m going Don’t cry for me down here” Still hits hard. The loss of Busch obviously hung heavy over the Coca-Cola 600, but it seemed like an almost-storybook ending when Daniel Suarez won the rain-shortened race in the #7 car for Spire Motorsports – the team that bought Kyle Busch Motorsports back in 2023 and still operates out of the race shop built by Busch for his Craftsman Truck Series team. After his death, Richard Childress Racing announced that they would no longer be using Busch’s #8, and would instead renumber his car to the #33 for the rest of the season and beyond. Austin Hill drove the car at Charlotte, but it has yet to be announced who will be replacing Busch for the rest of the season. Not that anybody will ever be able to… The post Brad Paisley Pays Tribute To Kyle Busch With Heartbreaking Acoustic “When I Get Where I’m Going” Performance At The Coca-Cola 600 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.