There were so many. I think we can all admit that country music itself is no stranger to tropes, clichés and the like. Of course, you have your classic beer, trucks, dirt roads, dogs and mama clichés that have invited critics and haters to subsequently dunk on the worst the genre has to offer. That’s not to say that songs with any or all of those cannot be good — look at Chris Stapleton’s “Maggie’s Song” or his penned Luke Bryan hit, “Drink a Beer.” With that being said, I think that anyone who has closely followed the genre over its history would be kidding themselves if they haven’t found a particular trope or trend a bit annoying at times. The 2010s, which many (myself included) consider the dark ages for the genre, brought about a lot of different trends. Dominated by both the rise of bro-country and its softer, nauseatingly romantic offshoot, boyfriend country, it spawned some of the worst country had to offer and ultimately inspired a whole lot of copycat artists. With names like Florida Georgia Line, Thomas Rhett, Dan + Shay, Sam Hunt, Kane Brown and more rising to the top of the genre from roughly 2012-2018, that six-year period saw the genre arguably hit an all-time low. While many like to rightfully harp on both the bro-country and boyfriend-country era, one trend that was also pretty prevalent in the 2010s was the odd obsession with simply writing a song by naming and referencing older, significantly better tracks and building around them. Of course, this isn’t an entirely new concept, but it was brought to a ridiculously higher level throughout the time period. Tracks like Old Dominion’s “Song For Another Time,” Walker Hayes’ “90’s Country,” Lauren Alania’s “Ladies In The ’90s,” which were some of the worst the trope had to offer, were these odd amalgamations of simply writing lyrics around massive, hit songs. Sure, this could be a fun songwriting exercise; however, I personally never really understood the appeal of simply listing off old songs, which are undeniably better. I should probably preface this by saying that not all of these types of songs are inherently bad. As you’ll see later, there are actually some incredibly solid tracks that name-drop classics throughout. With that being said, however, a majority of the good ones have a key feature that the bad ones lack: an actual through line. With all of that being said, let’s take a look at some of the best and worst this rarely-talked-about trend had to offer. Good Examples “Hippie Radio” – Eric Church In typical Church fashion, he elevates this trope tenfold. Instead of simply vomiting out as many classic songs as he heard on the titular hippie radio, he crafts a narrative of how classic tracks such as “Carry On My Wayward Son,” “Rebel Yell” and “Cat’s In The Cradle” have impacted him at different times in his life. Going on a journey from childhood in his father’s Pontiac to his first love to becoming a father, “Hippie Radio” is an expertly crafted journey through Church’s life that is more than just name-dropping songs for the sake of it. Songs Referenced: “Carry On My Wayward Son” – Kansas “White Wedding” – Billy Idol “Rebel Yell” – Bon Jovi “Werewolf in London” – Warren Zevon “Lady Marmalade” – Labelle “Cat’s In the Cradle” – Harry Chapin “Nashville Without You” – Tim McGraw While not an incredible song by any means, “Nashville Without You” has some groundings that both acknowledge the history and importance of Nashville as well as the most influential songs in country music history. Packaged as a love letter to both the genre and Music City itself, it sounds great production-wise and ultimately is one of the better examples of this type of song out there. Songs Referenced: “Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain” – Willie Nelson “Ring of Fire” – Johnny Cash “Crazy” – Patsy Cline “Stand By Your Man” – Tammy Wynette “Hey Good Lookin'” – Hank Williams “Mama Tried” – Merle Haggard “The Gambler” – Kenny Rogers “Jolene” – Dolly Parton “Smoky Mountain Rain” – Ronnie Milsap “A Country Boy Can Survive” – Hank Williams Jr. “Galveston” – Glen Campbell “He Stopped Loving Her Today” – George Jones “Fancy” – Reba McEntire “Old Alabama” – Brad Paisley Though it can be argued that Paisley’s doing exactly what I harped on earlier, there’s an inherent amount of charm with this one. Couple that with the fact that Alabama themselves hop on the track and even add in the bridge of “Mountain Music,” it feels much more reverent and respectful to the songs (and band) referenced here. The breakdown at the end goes pretty hard too. Songs Referenced: “Dixieland Delight” “Feels So Right” “Love in the First Degree” “Why Lady Why” “Tennessee River” “Mountain Music” “After the Music’s Stopped” – Jake Owen Though this one is bordering on egregious, given the 27 songs listed throughout, Jake Owen delivers this reference-filled track, penned by Tom Douglas and Jaren Johnston, marginally better than other songs of its type. Owen and Co. really covered all their bases, giving nods to everyone from Brad Paisley and Johnny Cash to Pink Floyd and The Beatles. It should also be applauded that the theme of never getting over a heartbreak is further added to by listing a seemingly never-ending list of songs, making “After the Music’s Stopped” a smarter song than meets the eye on a first listen. Songs Referenced: “Wish You Were Here” – Pink Floyd “Be My Baby” – The Ronettes “Heartbreak Hotel” – Elvis Presley “I Heard It Through the Grapevine” – Marvin Gaye “Comfortably Numb” – Pink Floyd “Highway to Hell” – AC/DC “(Sittin’ On) The Dock of the Bay” – Otis Redding “Hound Dog” – Elvis Presley “American Pie” – Don McLean “Tangled Up In Blue” – Bob Dylan “Dancing In the Street” – David Bowie & Mick Jagger “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” – The Beatles “The Tracks of My Tears” – Smokey Robinson “The Sound of Silence” – Simon & Garfunkel “Set ’em Up, Joe” – Vern Gosdin “Fire and Rain” – James Taylor “Born to Run” – Bruce Springsteen “Thunder Road” – Bruce Springsteen “Dazed and Confused” – Led Zeppelin “Purple Haze” – The Jimi Hendrix Experience “I Walk The Line” – Johnny Cash “Whiskey Lullaby” – Brad Paisley & Alison Krauss “I Fall to Pieces” – Patsy Cline “You Can’t Always Get What You Want” – The Rolling Stones “What a Friend We Have In Jesus” “Ain’t No Sunshine” – Bill Withers Bad Examples “Song for Another Time” – Old Dominion Arguably the most egregious of these, numbers-wise at least, is none other than Old Dominion’s 2016 #1 hit, “Song for Another Time.” Referencing a total of 20 hit songs across genres, it simply smashes you over the head with classic, infinitely better songs throughout the decades. Songs Referenced: “Marina Del Rey” – George Strait “Yesterday” – The Beatles “I Can’t Make You Love Me” – Bonnie Raitt “Brown Eyed Girl” – Van Morrison “Sweet Caroline” – Neil Diamond “Free Fallin'” – Tom Petty “Small Town Saturday Night” – Hal Ketchum “You’ve Lost That Lovin’ Feelin'” – The Righteous Brothers “Dancing on the Ceiling” – Lionel Richie “Teenage Dream” – Katy Perry “Paradise City” – Guns N’ Roses “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – Hank Williams “One More Day” – Diamond Rio “Oh, Pretty Woman” – Roy Orbison “Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down” – Kris Kristofferson/Johnny Cash “Take Me Home, Country Roads” – John Denver “Pink Houses” – John Mellencamp “Candle in the Wind” – Elton John “Always on My Mind” – Willie Nelson “I Will Always Love You” – Dolly Parton/Whitney Houston “What’s Your Country Song” – Thomas Rhett* Though this one technically came out in 2020, all the problems present on the other songs still remain. Building a song around framing iconic songs and lyrics as questions simply isn’t that interesting and ultimately just makes me want to listen to them instead of this Frankenstein’s monster of a song. Songs Referenced: “Drive (For Daddy Gene)” – Alan Jackson “Whiskey Bent and Hell Bound” – Hank Williams Jr. “Mama Tried” – Merle Haggard “Cruise” – Florida Georgia Line “Dixieland Delight” – Alabama “Chattahoochee” – Alan Jackson “Barefoot Blue Jean Night” – Jake Owen “All My Ex’s Live in Texas” – George Strait “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry” – Hank Williams Sr. “That Ain’t My Truck” – Rhett Akins “Friends in Low Places” – Garth Brooks “Neon Moon” – Brooks & Dunn “I Was Country When Country Wasn’t Cool” – Barbra Mandrell/George Jones “Strawberry Wine” – Deana Carter “Family Tradition” – Hank Williams Jr. Abhorrent Examples “90’s Country” – Walker Hayes Mr. Applebee’s himself crafted a song about 90’s country that feels neither ’90s nor country. It’s truly incredible how Walker Hayes even made somewhat of a career for himself despite releasing some of the most abhorrent singles year-in and year-out. Unsurprisingly, “90’s Country” is another example of this. Songs Referenced: “Strawberry Wine” – Deana Carter “Amazed” – Lonestar “Cowboy, Take Me Away” – The Chicks “Wink” – Neal McCoy “I Like It, I Love It” – Tim McGraw “Check Yes or No” – George Strait “She Thinks My Tractor’s Sexy” – Kenny Chesney “Jukebox Junkie” – Ken Mellons “Vidalia” – Sammy Kershaw “Queen of My Double Wide Trailer” – Sammy Kershaw “Shut Up and Kiss Me” – Mary Chapin Carpenter “John Deere Green” – Joe Diffie “I Cross My Heart” – George Strait “Walkaway Joe” – Trisha Yearwood “The Church on Cumberland Road” – Shenandoah “Dust on the Bottle” – David Lee Murphy “Sold (The Grundy County Auction)” – John Michael Montgomery “She Don’t Know She’s Beautiful” – Sammy Kershaw “Chattahoochee” – Alan Jackson “Daddy’s Money” -Ricochet “Don’t Be Stupid (You Know I Love You)” – Shania Twain “Friends in Low Places” – Garth Brooks “Ladies In The ’90s” – Lauren Alania Somehow worse than Walker Hayes’ disaster that is “90’s Country,” Lauren Alania’s “Ladies In The ’90s” is even less country than the aforementioned track. I guess you can argue that Alania was simply talking about the nineties in music as a whole. With that being said, however, it doesn’t excuse the track from being as aggressively terrible as it is. Songs/Artists Referenced: “Strawberry Wine” – Deana Carter “…Baby One More Time” – Britney Spears “Man, I Feel Like a Woman!” – Shania Twain “Breathe” – Faith Hill “Say My Name” – Destiny’s Child “No Scrubs” – TLC “Cowboy, Take Me Away” – The Chicks “Fancy” – Reba “Genie in a Bottle” – Christina Aguilera “Vogue” – Madonna “Wannabe” – The Spice Girls “You Oughta Know” – Alanis Morissette The post Looking Back at Country Music’s Bizarre 2010s Obsession With Name-Dropping Old Songs first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

I guess this is really happening. At this point it seems like a Florida Georgia Line reunion is pretty much inevitable, four years after the duo called it quits back in 2022. The group’s official Instagram account has remained dormant since May 26, 2023, when Brian Kelley used the duo’s account to promote his then-upcoming single “See You Next Summer.” But now, three years since that last post, there are signs of life once again. Fans quickly noticed that their social media accounts have changed their profile pictures to a new logo that simply says “FGL LFG,” which obviously stands for “Let’s F—ing Go.” They’re back! @FLAGALine Will we see a surprise appearance at #CMAFEST this week? #FGL #LFG pic.twitter.com/ebED9o1CoO — EF Country (@EFCountry) June 2, 2026 And fans who were signed up to receive text messages and emails about the group also received an automated message: “Turns out, some things are just better together. Much more to come. FGL LFG.” FGL Fridays coming back? @TyeTheGolfGuy pic.twitter.com/yZdvu8C3G4 — Wes Busby (@WBusby13) June 2, 2026 I guess it’s really happening… Of course Florida Georgia Line is one of the most successful heroes in the history of country music. But they were also a driving force behind one of the darkest periods of country music with the “bro-country” era. While they weren’t the only offenders, their shallow lyrics and pop-heavy production, as well as their success, made FGL the target of a lot of criticism and the face of a genre of country that often served as a punchline to critics of the genre. But back in 2022, after years of declining sales of their new music and a changing sound in country music, Tyler Hubbard and Brian Kelley announced that they were bringing an end to FGL and would instead continue making music as solo artists. At the time, there was a lot of speculation that the duo split due to political differences between the two after Hubbard unfollowed Kelley on social media during the 2020 election. (Hubbard and his wife Hayley supported Joe Biden, while Kelley and his wife Brittney supported Donald Trump). The duo denied that their split had to do with politics, but it became clear that it was a nasty breakup between the two when both began telling their side of the story. Hubbard, the “Georgia” half of FGL, made an appearance on the Bussin’ With the Boys podcast featuring Will Compton and Taylor Lewan last year, where he confirmed that he wasn’t speak much with his former bandmate and saying that the split caught him by surprise: “For me it was really unexpected. But BK came to me and said, ‘Man I’m really feeling like I want to do a solo thing.’” He also revealed that he tried to talk Kelley out of it, with the duo even going to therapy together to try to work through their issues. But turns out Kelley was adamant about it, though he still wanted to keep Florida Georgia Line together. Hubbard wasn’t going to do that though, and basically gave him an ultimatum: It was either FGL or solo, but not both. “I don’t have capacity to do two careers. And also it’s going to get super sticky. When we’re writing songs, who are we writing for? When we got two show offers, an FGL date and a solo date, what are we taking? I’m like, I don’t even logistically see how that would work, much less emotionally.” Well, those comments didn’t sit well with Kelley, who was then given his own appearance on the podcast to tell his side of the story. During his interview, Kelley confirmed a lot of what Hubbard had said: He wanted to release solo music, Hubbard didn’t see how it would work if they tried to have solo careers while also being a duo, and they ended up splitting. But there were a lot of disagreements too. Kelley says that there had been talks about doing solo music as far back as 2016, but that the two had agreed that they would wait until the end of their contract, and after the release of FGL’s fifth album, before pursuing these other avenues. Well it turns out that, although Hubbard said he didn’t want them to pursue solo careers apart from FGL, he had actually gone behind Kelley’s back and recorded a song with Tim McGraw amidst the social unrest of 2020 – and when he told Kelley about the song, he also informed him that they would be performing it at Biden’s inauguration. “Tyler had solo music out before I even did. Before we even got our fifth album out, he had released a couple songs, he had played Biden’s inauguration which was a huge look to be a solo act with Tim McGraw. He released another song. I didn’t start releasing music ’til April… He was rockin’ at radio immediately, top of January of 2021 and I didn’t get music out ’til April and then the album in June.” And Kelley says he was blindsided by Hubbard’s decision to make the first step to go solo with “Undivided,” the duet with Tim McGraw: “Surprised. Shocked for sure. I thought we had a deal about what the plan was. Going back to my main thing, is protecting FGL. I didn’t think that was a good look, if I’d have done it or if he did it.” All that to say, it wasn’t an amicable split and there were plenty of hurt feelings on both sides of the Florida/Georgia line. But over the past few months, there have been signs that the two have been working on healing their relationship. Hubbard and Kelley were spotted together at the CMA Awards last year for the first time, and during an appearance on the Human School Podcast late last year, Hubbard revealed that the two were actively working to repair their friendship and even had a hike planned together. Then earlier this year they shared photos from the hike, and have shared pictures of themselves getting together a couple times since then. The rumors reached a fever pitch when the duo reunited for the first time since the split to honor Jason Aldean during Broken Bow Records’ annual late night bash during Country Radio Seminar. And last month, Hubbard confirmed that a reunion was in the cards and likely to happen next year: “We have been toying around and flirting with the idea of playing a handful of shows next year … No new FGL music at the moment… I do know that we’re kind of (excited about) the idea of playing shows together. Sounds like a lot of fun. We want to keep it low stress, and nothing but a good time… I think for the world to experience a little taste of the emotion and healing that we’ve gotten to feel, it’s really special. It’s bigger than just us. It’s bigger than just the music, and it’s actually a story and a powerful testimony to grace and forgiveness and healing.” It could also be the power of neither of them having much success on their own as solo artists…but hey, maybe that’s just the cynic in me. Ready or not, it sounds like FGL is back.The post Florida Georgia Line Just Updated Their Social Media For The First Time In Years first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Artists like Ty Herndon, Brothers Osborne and Brandi Carlile share their experience in this list of songs sung from an LGBTQ+ perspective. Continue reading…

New music from Channing Wilson is on the horizon. The Georgia native joined the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to talk with us about why he shifted from a songwriter to an artist, how “Bro Country” was a dark time in Nashville, the influences that have helped to shape his music over the years, and not being a fan of the social media upkeep that most artists have to endure. Wilson actually went on to tell us that, in order to avoid social media, he agreed to do the new singing competition series called The Road. He discussed his experience as a part of the show, told us about how his Landman and Yellowstone connections helped him get on it, and shared that he’s got a new album on the way. If you consider yourself a fan of Wilson’s first record, Dead Man, then you’ll be excited to hear that his upcoming project is once again a collaboration with producer Dave Cobb. Channing says that Cobb is so good at what he does because he’s a genuine music fan, and tends to help the artists rather than directing them in a certain direction: “That first record I did with him was literally a dream come true to get to record with that caliber of band and everything. I’ve seen become friends with them all.” And funny enough, Wilson says that he’s recently revisited his debut album as he prepares to release his sophomore project. He said that he’s using his first go at an album as a road map for what to do and what not to do… and Wilson also added that every song that was featured in Dead Man was cathartic for him to get out into the world: “I was listening to that record not long ago because I just went in and made a new record. I was listening to that record not as a reference as much as a reminder of what to do and what not to do again. A lot of those songs were very therapeutic for me to get out. Those were the songs that came from my frustrating music career years.” So what can we expect from Channing Wilson’s next album? The country music singer and songwriter is very excited to get the new music in front of fans. He says that it’s the best music he’s ever recorded, and even though it’s still in the mixing process, Wilson can already tell its something really special: “This next record is different. I’m still mixing it. I recorded it three weeks ago with Dave again. I’m happy to say that… we recorded it here (in Nashville) at RCA, and mixed it in Savannah where he’s at. I’m really proud of it. I think it’s the best stuff that I’ve done. I’m really pumped.” @whiskeyriff @Carolina Country Music Fest @channingwilsonmusic #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff Channing said that coming off the singing competition series The Road with momentum, and with a new appreciation for the fans, he felt like it was a great time to release a new record. Speaking of connecting with fans, the “Blues Comin’ On” singer also touched on his upcoming festival date at the Carolina Country Music Fest during our sit down. Some of the best artists in country music – including Riley Green, Tucker Wetmore, Flatland Cavalry and Post Malone – will be there in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina June 4 through June 7. It’s four days of great country music, right on the shores of Myrtle Beach. Make sure to get your tickets while you still can! Channing Wilson will be there, and you can hear more from the country singer by checking out the interview on YouTube or making sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or by clicking here. We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts. Cheers, y’all. Audio Video The post Channing Wilson Says There’s A New Album On The Way & It’s The “Best Stuff” He’s Ever Done first appeared on Whiskey Riff.