Carrie Underwood isn’t the biggest fan of the negative, internet discourse. The world wide web was invented to connect all of us together. It didn’t take long for the invention to become villainous, and most point fingers to the advent of social media. I’m sure we’ve all had experiences or run-ins with hateful comments online. Even the beloved Carrie Underwood has had her fair share of negative online interactions, and from her perspective, they’ve only gotten worse and worse as time has gone on. In an interview with Cody Alan on Sirius XM’s The Highway, the “Jesus Take The Wheel” singer touched on the hellscape that social media has become for artists and American Idol contestants. She recalls that even when she was on the singing competition series back in 2005 (when she was crowned the winner of the show’s fourth season), there were message boards that are comparable to the feedback that American Idol contestants get through social media in the modern day: “I mean, it’s evolved over time. My time on ‘American Idol,’ you know, we kind of had like message boards and things like that, and it was kind of the beginning of just meanness online, I guess. And I feel like they have to deal with so much more of that now. And we just kind of are in a world right now where we forget that we’re watching human beings do things, you know, and it’s so easy to talk about that. But it’s now, it’s so easy for them to see that. It’s no longer like water cooler chats I never would have known about what people were talking about in school or whatever, and now you can just say it online. So, that’s a thing that everybody’s got to have to navigate.” Yeah… many people argue that social media – and having the ability to say whatever you are thinking in real time and it going out to the entire world – is something that we humans were never meant to experience. There’s a good case for that being true. And as Underwood went on to say in the interview, navigating the rough waters of social media can be exhausting. Mole hills are made into mountains on a daily basis on platforms like X, and one example of that hitting close to home for Carrie Underwood was the internet’s assumption that her and Nikki Glaser, the female comedian who guest judged on American Idol last month, did not like each other. It wasn’t surprising for Carrie Underwood when she saw that fan speculation taking off online: “I’m very used to that. Because I feel like if you have two ladies in the same room together, somebody’s going to try to make something of it. And she was wonderful. And I think she did such a great job because it’s not an easy thing to come sit behind that desk and try to think of constructive things to say. And I don’t know, I feel like she did everything wonderfully. But no, there’s no beef. I have no beef.” The only beef Carrie Underwood has is probably with social media in general. Of course, since her performance at Donald Trump’s Presidential Inauguration in early 2025, she’s been branded as “MAGA” by a ton of people on social media. Even her looks and makeup recently made headlines for being akin to the so-called “Mar-a-Lago face.” Twitter trolls gave the post below a whopping 28,000 likes… but as they say, empty cans make the most noise. You can tell Carrie Underwood is really a MAGA pic.twitter.com/1YQGhKHhCm — y2k (@y2kpopart) April 27, 2026 The post Carrie Underwood Talks About The Evolution Of Online Hate: “It’s No Longer Water Cooler Chats” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

It was a full circle moment. Earlier this week, Kacey Musgraves and Miranda Lambert reunited onstage at Gruene Hall in Texas, where Kacey played a run of shows in support of her recent album Middle Of Nowhere, which featured the long duet with Miranda called “Horses and Divorces.” It marked not only a huge moment in the country genre from a purely musical standpoint, but a turn around in their personal relationship, too, as the two had a years-long feud that stemmed from Miranda’s song “Mama’s Broken Heart,” which was released as the fourth single from Lambert’s 2011 Four the Record album in 2013, and was written by Brandy Clark, Shane McAnally and of course, Kacey Musgraves. The song peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Country Airplay chart and has since been certified 3× Platinum by the RIAA, which means it has moved over 1,960,000 units. The simple version of the story goes that Miranda really wanted the song, and Kacey was reluctant to give it up, clearly knowing that it was a hit, and it was apparently pitched to Miranda without Kacey’s knowledge. Kacey wanted to use it as the lead single to her debut album, but she ended up giving it to Miranda (though she does sing background vocals on it), mostly for the sake of her co-writers because Miranda was the much bigger artist at the time. But being forced to give up her song created some resentment, understandably, that lasted for years. Their beef also led to an iconic internet moment, which resulted from Miranda’s 2013 speech at the CMA Awards, when she won Female Vocalist of the Year, a category Kacey was also nominated in. That same year, Kacey won the CMA Awards for New Artist of the Year, and they were both also nominated for Single of the Year and Song of the Year with the aforementioned “Mama’s Broken Heart.” During the speech accepting her trophy for Female Vocalist of the Year, Miranda congratulated Kacey on her New Artist win, and it the camera panned to a young Kacey looking very much less than thrilled by that comment: “Kacey, congratulations on New Artist, that was awesome.” Her reaction went mega viral at the time, and you’ll still see this meme online from time to time, and if you scroll to the second slide, you can see Kacey’s very funny reaction to that which I’m sure was because she was not happy with whatever had transpired that led up to this moment with Miranda and her song: View this post on Instagram After years of keeping their distance, Kacey decided it was time to bury the hatchet, so to speak, and in speaking with NPR Music’s Jewly Hight, Kacey explained what went down back then and how the two of them ended up working together for this album. They lost touch at that point and definitely “wouldn’t consider each other friends,” but when Kacey saw a photo of Miranda riding one of her horses on Instagram one day, it sparked an idea… because they have two things in common: “horses and divorces,” and a song was born. Kacey says she randomly reached out and asked Miranda if she wanted to write it with herself and Shane McAnally, and Miranda was eager to do it. She said it was a “very full circle” moment, adding that they aired out any past laundry, had some laughs, and wrote the song in a matter of hours. The girls have known each other since 2000, being raised in towns not too far from each other and being into music from a young age, and their issues were very much real, as Kacey described their beef as “grade A, grass-fed,” so their making up and writing this song came from a very real place, and it their performance together was a true burying of the hatchet, so to speak, and Kacey certainly brought it full-circle with her introduction. She actually brought up that hilarious, and now-iconic, CMA Awards moment, because when Kacey brought Miranda out at Gruene Hall, she referenced Miranda’s CMA speech, pretty much quoting her verbatim, saying: “Well, you know, us East Texas girls gotta stick together, right? Right, Miranda?” Couldn’t have said it better myself… It might take 13 years and a couple of divorces, but eventually, that statement holds up one way or another… @lovelikecheyenne 2013 2026 my cvnty queens #kaceymusgraves #mirandalambert #horses #gruene #fyp ♬ Horses and Divorces – Kacey Musgraves & Miranda Lambert I truly never, ever thought I would see this day, and Kacey herself said it felt surreal: “Is this a dream? Is this really happening?” Miranda responded over cheers from the crowd: “Tonight we bury the hatchet right here in Gruene Hall, y’all.” Some dreams really do come true: @arnoldaruelas @kaceymusgraves brought out @Miranda Lambert at Gruene Hall night 3! #kaceymuskgraves #mirandalambert #gruenehall ♬ original sound – Arnold / Pilates + Raver / ATX The full performance is just everything: @choosingwasnot Kacey Musgraves brings out Miranda Lambert (who was slated to headline Kid Rock’s MAGA concert, btw) at the final night of her Gruene Hall residency in New Braunfels, TX #kaceymusgraves #middleofnowhere ♬ original sound – mandy Turn it up… “Horses and Divorces” The post Kacey Musgraves References Viral CMA Awards Meme While Introducing Miranda Lambert At Gruene Hall first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The Dandelion Tour is finally here. As time passes, it’s becoming increasingly clear that 2026 will go down as the year of Ella Langley. As of writing, it’s pretty safe to say that she’s not only the hottest country artist on the planet right now but also one of the hottest artists in all of music. Thanks to the success of “Choosin’ Texas,” the buzz surrounding her sophomore album, Dandelion, which received a lot of critical and commercial love upon its release on April 10th, and continued popularity nationwide, Langley is not only becoming a torchbearer for women in country music but also a force to be reckoned with in the music industry as a whole. In case you haven’t been keeping up with “Choosin’ Texas’” success, it just spent its eighth non-consecutive week at #1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100. Along the way, she’s broken a plethora of records, including becoming the first woman ever to triple up and score a #1 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 chart simultaneously, breaking Taylor Swift’s record and having the longest-running #1 hit on the Hot 100 by a female country singer (seven weeks and counting), matching Swift to become the second female country artist in history to have the #1 song and album (Dandelion) in the U.S. simultaneously and becoming just the third artist ever to hold the top three songs on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. Riding the highs of “Choosin’ Texas” and Dandelion, Langley is plotting her biggest run of shows to date on the Dandelion Tour, which kicked off last night in Toledo, Ohio, at Huntington Center with openers Gabriella Rose and Dylan Marlowe. With so much hype surrounding her over the past six months, all eyes were on the Alabama native as she kicked off her first-ever arena tour. The setlist is finally here, and if you’re a fan of Dandelion, you’re definitely in luck. Unsurprisingly, she’s leaning heavily into the new record, performing 11 of the 16 tracks (excluding “Froggy Went A Courtin'” which serves as her intro song). Fittingly, Langley opened the show with “Dandelion” before diving into other fan favorites from the album, such as “I Gotta Quit,” “Loving Life Again,” the red-hot “Be Her” and “Bottom of Your Boots.” The opening night in Ohio also saw live debuts of “You & Me Time” and the standout Miranda Lambert collaboration, “Butterfly Season,” with Gabriella Rose replacing Lambert for the performance. @ellalangleyarchive I’ve lost count how many times this song has had me bawling @Ella Langley @Gabriella Rose #countrymusic ♬ original sound – Ella Langley Archive Obviously, Langley is still leaning on setlist staples over the past year, including the likes of “weren’t for the wind,” “you look like you love me” (with opener Dylan Marlowe), “20-20,” “girl you’re taking home” and “paint the town blue.” Additionally, her usual covers, such as Toby Keith’s “Wish I Didn’t Know Now” and Gretchen Wilson’s “Here for the Party,” make appearances, with her standout cover of Kitty Wells’ “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” also making the cut. @ellalangleyarchive Dylan nailed it @Ella Langley #countrymusic ♬ original sound – Ella Langley Archive Langley will most likely be mixing it up a bit throughout the tour, but for now, this will be the template for a majority of the shows throughout the summer. You can view the full setlist from night one below. The Dandelion Tour Night One Setlist “Dandelion” “I Gotta Quit” “Here for the Party” (Gretchen Wilson cover) “Bottom of Your Boots” “paint the town blue” “girl you’re taking home” “20-20” “You & Me Time (live debut) “Broken” “Something Simple” “Butterfly Season” (live debut with Gabriella Rose) “Wish I Didn’t Know Now” (Toby Keith cover) “It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels” (Kitty Wells cover) “Be Her” “you look like you love me” (with Dylan Marlowe) “Loving Life Again” “Choosin’ Texas” “weren’t for the wind” The Dandelion Tour Dates 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 Kicks Off Her Dandelion Tour: Here’s The Full Opening Night Setlist first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

A very well-deserved honor. Luke Combs is a global country music superstar, who racks up #1 single after #1 single, sells out venues all over the world, right up there with Morgan Wallen and Zach Bryan, he’s the biggest thing in the business. But he got his start in the college town of Boone, North Carolina, when he was in college at Appalachian State University back around 2011-ish. That’s when he met his now close friend, local musician Adam Church (who was featured in his ‘Doin’ This’ music video), and they stared playing as a duo around town. The rest, as they say, is history, and Luke returned to Boone yesterday to receive an honorary degree of music from Appalachian State University during Spring 2026 Commencement ceremonies. The honor recognizes him for his historic achievements in the music industry, as well as his commitment to using his platform as a catalyst for service and community impact, according to the Watauga Democrat. Luke attended Appalachian from 2008 to 2012, and he left just 21 or 22 credit hours shy of completing his Criminal Justice degree to pursue his career in country music… and it has all worked out incredibly well for him, and he has a degree now too. I’ve heard him remark before that, understandably, his parents weren’t too thrilled about him not finishing school, so I’m sure they were very happy about too, and they were in attendance as well as Nicole’s wife, Luke, who shared some behind-the-scenes phots from the day: You can see Luke in the full cap and gown regalia, and its very well-deserved and it looked like Luke was very happy to be there and get a degree from the school he loves so much: View this post on Instagram He also shared a photo from the ceremony, captioning his picture with a simple: “Hell yeah.” App State Chancellor Heather Norris said during the ceremony. “In every sense, Luke Combs represents the character and heart of a Mountaineer. His story inspires our students to dream big, work hard, and always remember where they came from. He represents the very best of our university community: a life lived with purpose, driven by a commitment to excellence and a genuine care for others.” A native of North Carolina, Combs was born in the Charlotte area and raised in Asheville, where he attended A.C. Reynolds High School, and his love for music was born in Boone as he was inspired by another app state graduate, Eric Church. In addition to his country career, Luke has continued to give back to his hometown community, as he put together the “Concert for Carolina” Hurricane Helene benefit concert at Bank of America stadium in Charlotte, alongside Eric Church, and they raised of $24 million for the Western North Carolina community which was devastated by the storm. Combs has also done a lot to put Appalachian in the spotlight, notably returning to campus to serve as the celebrity guest picker for the first-ever appearance of ESPN’s College GameDay in Boone. He often speaks about his time in college and how much his time in Boone meant to him, and as a fellow App grad, I can tell you that we’re all incredibly proud of him and it’s awesome to see the University honoring him in this way. He’s one of our absolute best, and he certainly makes the rest of us Mountaineers look good because of all he’s accomplished and how much he’s done to give back. Congratulations, Luke, you earned it. View this post on Instagram The post Luke Combs Receives Honorary Degree Of Music From Appalachian State University first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

She doesn’t miss. The “girl goin’ nowhere” herself, Ashley McBryde, has hardly lived up to her self-proclaimed nickname over the past few years. After breaking out with Eric Church back in 2017 with her performance of “Bible and A .44,” the Arkansas native has become one of the premier female artists in the genre, scoring a Grammy win for Best Country Duo/Group Performance (“Never Wanted to Be That Girl”) along with multiple ACM and CMA Award wins. Despite being a mainstay in the mainstream, awards and all, it’s always felt like McBryde has always flown under the radar compared to some of her contemporaries. Taking a look at her discography, you have one of the most consistently great ones over the past decade. From her brilliant debut in 2018 on Girl Going Nowhere to the severely underrated, cinematic concept album, Lindeville, in 2022, the Arkansas native has continued to push the boundary from release to release. From the get-go, it was clear that we were in for something special with today’s release of her fifth studio album, Mud. Upon its announcement, McBryde would note that it was not an easy project to record, explaining that it encapsulates the fear, chaos and hard truths that she had to face in its creation. “Sometimes going with your gut is the scariest thing you can do… and the most necessary. This record felt like building a tree fort from some pieces we’d been needing to put to good use and some building materials I had to go scout out and look for. And piece by piece, trusting it would all hold together in the end. I’m so ready for y’all to hear it. Wild is the name. That’s the spirit of the record. The fear, the chaos, the hard truths, and the little kid in me who always kept dreaming big.” She’d also note that Wild is a collection of songs that she “refused to let go quiet,” essentially saying that these tracks were released out of necessity to tell her true, unfiltered story. From her sobriety journey to childhood trauma, there’s no place she didn’t want to go here on the album. The reality of making this record is that it is so much work, so much doubt and so much drama. We are supposed to walk into PineBox, set that down and make magic? Yes. That’s the gig. And we do. And we DID. And we NAILED it. Wild is a collection of songs I’ve refused to let go quiet. Songs that were running breathlessly into the dark because they knew if they could just get to me, they’d be safe and they’d be heard. There’s no fictional trailer park on this record. Wild documents the things that made me… good and bad. Stopping drinking wasn’t the cure. It was merely what had to happen to live long enough to completely rebuild my entire self. And turns out, to make WILD. I am so grateful that my life purpose is to make sure the songs don’t go unheard.” What results is McBryde’s most personal album to date. There’s truly no stone unturned here on Wild. Whether it’s tracks like “Ten to Midnight” and the album’s standout, “Bottle Tells Me So,” which take a deep look into her former struggles with alcoholism and newfound sobriety, or “Rattlesnake Preacher” and “Hand Me Downs,” which take a deep, honest look at the shortcomings of her parents and the effects they had on her growing up, McBryde is not afraid to be vulnerable throughout the record. When you take a look at Wild as a whole, it’s an album full of intentional contradictions. You get flashes of McBryde reflecting on being a scared little girl grappling with the shortcomings of her parents, trying to find comfort by drowning herself in addiction and finally being reborn by accepting herself and all the struggles she’s faced on her journey. This is best shown on the title track, which was written by Jeremy Spillman, Makayla Lynn and Matraca Berg. Here, she reflects on the days when there was nothing keeping her from being “wild.” Despite what the title suggests, it’s actually an incredibly slow ballad that serves as a bit of a dichotomy between McBryde’s younger days and where she is today. “Does the wild call out to you from a distance? Do the razor-wire white-picket fences Keep you from running for miles? Wild, do you miss the fire and the freedom When there wasn’t anything keeping You from being wild?” Ultimately, Wild is a stellar effort from McBryde. In a time where mainstream and commercialized country music becomes less and less personal, it’s incredibly refreshing to see an artist lay it all on the line and not be afraid to go to uncomfortable places. She does that and then some here, touching on everything from addiction to trauma. What results is one of the best releases of the year and arguably the “Girl Going Nowhere” singer’s best album to date. “Arkansas Mud” “Hand Me Downs” “Bottle Tells Me So” Ashley McBryde Tour Dates June 11 – Jackson, MS – Thalia Mara Hall June 12 – Biloxi, MS – IP Casino Resort and Spa June 19 – Rockton, IL – Settler’s Park June 25 – Belfast, UK – Custom House Square Belfast June 27 – London, UK – Hyde Park July 3 – Calgary, AB – Calgary Stampede July 9 – Deerfield, MA – Tree House Brewing Company July 10 – Bar Harbor, ME – 1932 Criterion Theatre July 11 – Cavendish, PE – Cavendish Beach Music Festival July 17 – Colorado Springs, CO – Phil Long Music Hall July 18 – Gypsum, CO – Lundgren Amphitheater July 24 – Larchwood, IA – Grand Falls Casino Resort Event Center July 30 – West Fargo, ND – The Lights Amphitheater July 31 – Plymouth, MN – Hilde Performance CenterThe post Ashley McBryde Delivers Her Most Personal Album To Date On ‘Wild’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.