Zac Brown let the world know how he feels about kids in America. The 47-year-old artist has been in the music industry for quite some time now. Zac Brown Band’s debut album, The Foundation, came out in 2008, and they’ve been riding the wave of their hit song “Chicken Fried” ever since. Zac’s group has taken chances and changed things up multiple times throughout the past 10-plus years, and just recently paired up an album release – Love & Fear – with a Las Vegas Sphere residency. That wrapped up earlier this year in January, so now, Zac Brown and his band have a little free time before they embark on their Love & Fear Tour later this year (more on that in a bit). Interestingly enough, the “Knee Deep” singer found himself on the set of Survivor, and was a guest star in the show’s 50th season. Why, you might be asking? He served as somewhat of a reward for the episode’s winning team. Zac Brown spent a lot of time fishing, then cooked the fish for all of the Survivor contestants before treating them to an acoustic performance. And somehow, he found some time to speak with Rolling Stone while he was in Fiji. One of the topics – entitled kids – was a little unexpected, but it came about as he discussed his own upbringing. He didn’t have the greatest childhood, and he’s been around long enough – and has five kids of his own – to know about the state of America’s youth. He very strongly stated that children in the modern day are entitled: “There’s a poverty of spirit with a lot of American kids. When you don’t know how to appreciate anything you have, when you haven’t had to work for it or struggle or wait — it just creates entitlement. Some of the most affluent kids are some of the saddest ones.” I wonder how many of you just nodded in agreement reading that statement. Zac Brown has a point, and he touched on how he and his family went through a lot of adversity when he was young. Because of his mother’s mental health struggles, Brown felt like he had to grow up fast. Though he missed out on being a kid, he was able to learn a lot about serving others: “Usually empathy comes from trauma. A lot of people miss out on the real joy in life, which comes from serving other people. That’s what really makes you happy at your core.” Zac Brown created his own summer camp – Camp Southern Ground – to help others discover that serving mentality. And the country star will be out and about later this year serving his fanbase on the Love & Fear Tour, which could be looked at as a sequel to he and his band’s run of shows at the Las Vegas Sphere. The Zac Brown Band will be covering a lot of ground from July through November, and you can view all of his tour dates below: “Time to take this show on the road! Love & Fear Tour presented by Margaritaville at Sea is coming to a city near you this year. We’re so excited to keep playing these new songs along with your favorite hits for one big party every night. We’ve got some incredible artists joining us along the way to kick things off.” View this post on Instagram Love & Fear Tour Dates Friday, July 17, 2026 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena – % Saturday, July 18, 2026 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena – % Friday, July 31, 2026 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena – # Sunday, August 2, 2026 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park – # Thursday, August 13, 2026 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena – # Friday, August 14, 2026 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena – # Saturday, August 15, 2026 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion – # Thursday, August 27, 2026 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium – * Friday, August 28, 2026 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium – * Saturday, August 29, 2026 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann – * Thursday, September 10, 2026 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center – ^ Friday, September 11, 2026 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center – ^ Thursday, September 17, 2026 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium – ^ Friday, September 18, 2026 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena – ^ Saturday, September 19, 2026 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Thursday, October 8, 2026 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center – * Friday, October 9, 2026 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena – * Saturday, October 10, 2026 – Greensboro, NC – First Horizon Coliseum – * Monday, October 19, 2026 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – * Tuesday, October 20, 2026 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – * Friday, October 23, 2026 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center – ^ Saturday, October 24, 2026 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford PREMIER Center – ^ Thursday, November 5, 2026 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center – ^ Friday, November 6, 2026 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena – ^ Thursday, November 19, 2026 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena – * Friday, November 20, 2026 – Des Moines, IA – Casey’s Center – * Saturday, November 21, 2026 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena -* Grace Potter – * Brothers Osbourne – ^ Old Crow Medicine Show – # Fitz and The Tantrums – %The post “It Just Creates Entitlement”: Zac Brown Says A Lot Of American Kids Don’t Have To Work Or Struggle For Anything first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Stephen Wilson Jr. felt like he had done enough to walk away… until one song brought him back. The “Holler from the Holler” singer has lived a couple of different lives in his lifetime. Hailing from Southern Indiana, Wilson Jr. has certainly made waves in country music over the past couple of years. Wilson Jr. first introduced himself with his EP Bon Aqua in 2023, and then really established himself with his masterful son of dad album he released later that same year. Fans of his are anxiously awaiting more music from the late-blooming artist, and considering he’s really been pushing a single titled “Gary,” there’s reason to believe a bigger project is just around the corner. Wilson Jr. actually confirmed that he’s working on a new album in a recent interview with The Bluegrass Situation. That’s obviously some exciting news, but the more intriguing quote from the country music star was that he almost walked away from music altogether after he released his debut album when he was 44-years-old: “Well, I’m working on a whole new record, which is more just the continuation of conversations and observations from where I left off. Because it would’ve been really easy to never make another record again after ‘Søn of Dad’… I never was trying to be an artist in the first place. And there was a big part of me that was, I mean, honestly, when I was making that record that’s what I was thinking, if I’m going to be perfectly honest with you. ‘I’m going to make this and then I’ll never make another record again,’ because why would I?” That’s actually a feeling that is captured by a lot of artists. They say that a person spends their entire life preparing for their very first album. The sophomore album is usually churned out in just a year or so. For Stephen Wilson Jr., he had over four decades of life to draw off of for son of dad, and because it came together so well, and was so widely praised, it’s understandable that he’d entertain not ever releasing music again. But the good news? Once the idea for “Gary” was dropped into his lap, the country singer changed his tune: “Then the story of ‘Søn of Dad’ just was so much a God thing. It was so divinely orchestrated that I just had a hard time thinking, ‘What would I do from here?’ Everything I ever wanted to do was already done. But that was my own stuff, and I don’t believe God put me in this position for me to do that. It took me some time to figure that out. I’ve got to give ‘Gary’ the credit for that because when ‘Gary’ showed up, that’s when I knew I wasn’t done. If ‘Gary’ hadn’t showed up to show me that, I’m not sure I would’ve ever recorded another song ever again.” Shoutout to “Gary” for keeping the Stephen Wilson Jr. train rolling. Now, the “Calico Creek” singer is planning to go full-steam-ahead with his next album – and his career as a whole. Wilson Jr. is grateful for where he is now, and is fully embracing that the music industry is where he’s supposed to be: “Like I said, I’m not supposed to be here. None of this was supposed to happen. So for me to have any expectation of what is down the road is pretty comical. My dreams outdreamed me a long time ago. I really just want to focus on being there for people and being where I’m supposed to be. That’s one thing I learned from being a scientist and doing all these things over the years: There’s where you can be and then there’s where you’re supposed to be. And there’s nothing wrong with being in either place. There’s no guilt to be had in being where you can be because, man, we’re all just trying to survive. But then there’s where you’re supposed to be, and that can be a very difficult place to be. But I’ve chosen to be there and for whatever reason, I intend to stay there until the day I die.” And we’re all better off because of it. Here’s “Gary” in case you haven’t had a chance to check it out: “Gary” by Stephen Wilson Jr. The post Stephen Wilson Jr. Thought About Never Making Another Album After “Divinely Orchestrated” Debut, ‘Son Of Dad’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Luke Combs represented the country music genre well in the latest episode of the unique interview series Hot Ones. If you’ve never tuned into the show, host Sean Evans sits down across from some of the biggest celebrities and artists in the world and almost always has them in tears by the end of the interview. Is Evans just that good at his job? Admittedly, he preps well and delivers questions that provide interesting answers. But the tears are more so brought on by the “Wings of the Death.” It’s a simple premise that’s really landed with viewers since it’s debut in 2015. Evans interviews someone while they eat wings, and as the conversation goes on, the sauce on the chicken gets hotter and hotter. Hot Ones has had some big time guests, but shockingly, they’ve never had a country music artist on (unless you count Post Malone). So Luke Combs was the first ever for Sean Evans and Hot Ones, and I’ve got a feeling they’ll be inviting more country stars on sooner rather than later because of how well it went. The “Hurricane” singer was incredibly entertaining, and even showed off his comedy chops. There was one moment where he likened the heat level of a wing to a home invasion, which got a ton of laughs from the Hot Ones crew: “I’m not there yet, which is really freaking me out. Because I know it’s gonna be there. It’s like someone is in your house and you don’t know it yet. Then you just… I just heard something in the kitchen. Now I’m going to check it out. There’s somebody there for sure. There’s definitely somebody there. He’s not friendly.” Probably one of the most perfect metaphors for eating spicy wings that I’ve ever heard. As Combs chowed down on wings, he fielded questions about his new album, The Way I Am, how he learned to sing by listening to the Backstreet Boys, putting all of his money on “Hurricane,” and some of the saddest, most competitive rooms he’s ever played in. There was also an interesting moment where the country star said that the modern era of country music might be the greatest ever, and can only be rivaled by the success the genre had in the 90s: “There’s a huge contingency of people – I’m probably guilty of it sometimes as well – going ‘Well that’s not country’ or ‘This is too country.’ I think country music is enjoying a moment of relevancy that it maybe has never had, outside of that early 90s era. The Shania Twain, Garth Brooks, Randy Travis, Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn (moment). That was a huge moment. But I feel like we’ve crossed over into the pop culture zeitgeist. There’s three country artists selling out multiple nights at stadiums right now. That’s as many as have ever done it in the history of country music, and it’s all happening at the same time.” He makes a good point… and that was all while he was eating some of the spiciest wings that exist. All in all, it’s a great interview, and I don’t think it’s a stretch to say that Luke Combs was the perfect person to have on as the “first ever country music artist.” He even mentioned that he was the first to ever be on Hot Ones during the interview (while he was insisting he go all out on the wing eating and sauce consumption). It could even help non-country-fans give the genre a try. Hot Ones – Luke Combs The post Luke Combs Goes To War With Wings & Shows Off Comedy Chops As First Country Artist To Ever Be On ‘Hot Ones’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

It did some big “s***,” and it’s continuing to do some big s***. This week, Ella Langley and Miranda Lambert celebrated their success with the phenomenon that is Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas.” Written by Lambert, Langley, Luke Dick and Joybeth Taylor, the track has become nothing short of a cultural phenomenon at this point, going #1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 for three weeks now and allowing Langley to become just the seventh female artist IN HISTORY to go #1 on the Hot 100 with a country song. It’s truly incredible, and for an artist like Ella to get to work with someone as established and successful as Miranda, it’s a dream come true, and Ella has talked at length about what Miranda means to her as both a mentor and friend. Of course, the song is the smash lead single from Ella’s forthcoming sophomore studio album Dandelion, which was co-produced by Miranda, and they seem to have formed a special relationship that is also positioning Ella to have a monster release with this album. And when asked about her part of the song, Miranda had the perfect response, saying how proud she was that “a little song about Texas did some big s***.” She also thanked Ella for trusting her, as someone who clearly knows what it takes to score hits and have longevity in the industry (my words), adding how thankful she is for their friendship, too: “I’m so thankful to be part of it, I’m so thankful that a little song about Texas did some big s***. So thank you, I know what it takes to do this, and I appreciate you leaning on me and trusting me with not only the music, but the friendship. I’m here all the time, and I love you.” They make a heck of a pair, that’s for sure, and it’s really cool to see Miranda in this new phase of her career, still making her own music, but using her decades of experience and success to lift up the next generation of country artists. That’s much harder to come by in this business than you can probably imagine, unfortunately, and Miranda deserves major props for it: @mirandalambert We got to celebrate our little song that did some big sh!t last night #ellalangley #countrymusic #choosintexas #mirandalambert ♬ Choosin’ Texas – Ella Langley Miranda has been a mentor to so many up-and-coming artists, that aren’t so up-and-coming anymore, including Ella and Lainey Wilson, and during this press conference, she went into talk about why it’s so important to her to help guide the next generation of female country stars. In particular, she’d explain how the generation ahead of her, including the likes of Faith Hill, Shania Twain, Jo Dee Messina, Martina McBride and others, were off doing their own thing. “I didn’t really have that. I had some great guy friends, but I came up [when] there wasn’t a lot of girls at the time. The ones that were a generation ahead of me were kinda doing their own thing, so I didn’t really have like that 3:00 a.m. meltdown call person. I wish I did, and I think it would have helped me earlier on.” She’d then go on to express how she makes it a point to build trust with younger artists, letting them know they can call on her to talk about the highs and lows of the music industry. “Nobody truly understands what it feels like unless you’ve lived it, so it means a lot to me. And then they trust me with calling me with the good, bad and ugly. I learn a lot from them. I’m learning from the girls that are just working their a** off and so inspired and so sure of who they are. It’s inspiring to me. It reminds me to stay true to that thing that I had too.” It might look like sunshine and rainbows for these ladies, but the music business is an incredibly cutthroat industry, and I’m sure the girls are as happy to have Miranda there as someone to lean on, and really a friend who understands exactly what they’re going through, as she is to do it. I have a feeling there’s a lot more hits to come from this Miranda/Ella duo, and I’m here for it… “Choosin’ Texas” The post Miranda Lambert Praises Ella Langley For Making “Choosin’ Texas” A Certified Hit: “A Little Song About Texas Did Some Big S***” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Pulling from one of the greats. There’s simply no denying that Ella Langley is the hottest country singer on the planet at the moment. Unless you’ve been living under a rock the past few months, you’re well aware that her October single, “Choosin’ Texas,” has been taking the world by storm lately. It’s hard to even state the importance of the track at the moment. Not only did it allow Langley to become the seventh woman in history to top the all-genre Billboard Hot 100, but she also became the first woman ever to triple up and top Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 charts simultaneously. Of course, there’s a lot more on the horizon for Langley. In the middle of “Choosin’ Texas'” massive climb up the charts, back on January 27th, the Alabama native would officially announce that her highly-anticipated sophomore album, Dandelion, would be released on April 11th. Undoubtedly becoming one of the most high-profile album drops of the year in the genre, Langley would note that she wanted it to feel like “the best kind of Sunday afternoon,” and the record really serves as a love letter to her childhood memories and that feeling of nostalgia and freedom: “This record has so much growth in it. I’ve never poured more of myself into a project, into a song, into an idea, and it’s fallen out so beautifully. It’s about learning yourself, making mistakes, and realizing that it’s all just part of life. I want this record to be something that fans can relate to, but also something they want to get up and dance to at the same time. To me, this record feels like fireflies in the summertime. It feels like windows down on a red dirt road. It feels like the best kind of Sunday afternoon.” In the months following, she’s delivered on the promise of a breezy, timeless project with some pre-released tracks such as the carefree title track and the 70s, disco-esque “Be Her.” From the aforementioned tracks to Langley’s overall aesthetics in general, it became abundantly clear that she was going to be leaning pretty heavily into a 70s-inspired sound for Dandelion. And by the looks of it, one of the biggest country stars of the 70s and 80s was a driving force for the project. Celebrating “Choosin’ Texas” going #1 on both country radio, Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart and the all-genre Hot 100, Langley sat down for a press conference. During the round of questions, the “weren’t for the wind” singer was asked about the inspiration behind Dandelion. She’d confirm that she has been listening to a lot of 70s, 80s and even late 60s country lately. In particular, she’d note that the “(There’s) No Gettin’ Over Me” singer himself, Ronnie Milsap, was one of the biggest influences on the record. “I was listening to a lot of 70s, 80s country, even some late 60s. Ronnie Milsap was a big inspiration for this record. If you show anyone a Ronnie Milsap song today and you ask them, ‘What genre is this?”, everyone would say, ‘That’s country.’ But back in the day, Ronnie Milsap wasn’t really considered country, and he kind of fought that a little bit.” She’d go on to note how much he respected Milsap for leaning into his sound, which was criticized at the time for incorporating pop and soul elements, and ultimately producing the music he wanted to make. The thing I think was so awesome about him that he dared to do is he just loved making music. I got to meet him a couple weeks ago, and I asked him that question. He said, ‘I was just making music.’ And to me, that’s what music is about. That’s what I want to do for a living; I just want to make music — music that I love singing, too.” Langley would finish by reconfirming that Dandelion will be filled with plenty of fun, groovy tracks such as “Be Her” before expressing how she feels that it’s her most confident record to date. This next record is a lot of that groovy, fun — it’s definitely a summer record. We picked our timing well… It’s more confident than I’ve ever put myself in a record. Though it received plenty of criticism at the time, when you take a look back at Milsap’s discography, it becomes pretty clear that he was way ahead of his time. Of course, you’ll still have your staunch traditionalists who will write off his genre-blending nature, but you can’t deny his musical prowess and the overall quality of his biggest hits. In many ways, he’s the gold standard for experimentation between genres, and Langley is looking to follow in his footsteps here on Dandelion. “Be Her” 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 Says Ronnie Milsap Was The Biggest Influence On Her Upcoming Record, ‘Dandelion’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.