Growing up country meant farm chores, back-of-the-truck rides, loud summer nights, and the kind of hard-earned life lessons today’s kids may never know. Continue reading…

Coca Cola not playing by the rules? The beverage company, which owns a wide breadth of other brands like Dasani, Fairlife, and Costa Coffee, is currently in the midst of a lawsuit. The estate of one of the most recognizable names in all of music, Johnny Cash, has sued Coca-Cola because they believe they’ve mislead consumers into thinking that a song sung by the “Man in Black” is featured in one of their commercials. Cash’s estate has officially filed the lawsuit in the state of Tennessee underneath the ELVIS Act, which actually just went into effect this past July. The act serves as protection from nonconsensual exploitation for a person’s voice, and it should work perfectly into this dispute. Basically, Coca-Cola hired a Johnny Cash tribute artist to sing a tune (it doesn’t appear to actually be from Cash’s catalogue) that they could play over their college football commercial. Many have just assumed that it’s Johnny Cash’s voice, when in reality, it’s an impersonator. Tim Warnock, a lawyer for Cash’s estate, stated this in the complaint: “Coca Cola is pirating Johnny Cash’s voice in a nationwide advertising campaign to enrich itself – without asking for permission or providing any compensation Stealing the voice of an artist is theft. It is theft of his integrity, identity and humanity. The trust brings this lawsuit to protect the voice of Johnny Cash – and to send a message that protects the voice of all of the artists whose music enriches our lives.” The estate of the late country music singer is seeking unspecified monetary damages, and is asking for a court order to keep Coca-Cola from running the commercial. The flip side of this? A Johnny Cash impersonator by the name of Shawn Barker was getting work through this project, and now, if the Cash estate wins this lawsuit, the ad could be pulled from television altogether. Barker’s manager, Joey Waterman, told Billboard magazine that his client (who has been performing as Cash for over 20 years) and his team were thrilled by the opportunity: “We were thrilled when we were approached to have Shawn sing vocals for this commercial. Shawn Barker has been performing with his Cash tribute ‘The Man in Black: A Tribute to Johnny Cash’ for over two decades, touring the world sharing his love of Johnny Cash’s music and stories with fans both old and new.” And credit to Shawn Barker… he does have Cash’s vocals down pat. But it just might have been a little too good, as you can hear in the video below: Coca-Cola – Fan Work is Thirsty Work If I’m being completely honest, when I first heard that, I just assumed that it was Johnny Cash’s voice. That probably means that Johnny Cash’s estate has a case here. If you hire a “Man in Black” impersonator rather than actually paying for the rights to Cash’s voice, and then pass it off as the actual work of the late, great country music legend, you’re probably going to run into some problems. And this is just the latest snafu that Coca-Cola finds themselves in. Earlier this year, the beverage brand was caught up in some internet controversy when they rolled out a AI-generated Christmas commercial for the second year in a row. Coca-Cola must have a “too big to fail” mindset, because it certainly seems like they haven’t been worried about the little things as of late.The post Johnny Cash’s Estate Is Suing Coca-Cola… Here’s Why first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Post Malone had himself one hell of a Thanksgiving. The pop star has experienced a lot of success since he ventured into the country music side of things. Not to say that Posty wasn’t already doing well in his music career. It feels like he’s been at the superstar level ever since he broke onto the scene in 2015 with White Iverson. And he continues to build on his superstardom with things like stadium shows, and most recently, being the headliner of The Salvation Army’s Annual Red Kettle Kickoff Halftime Show. At the break during the Dallas Cowboys-Kansas City Chiefs game (where the Cowboys got the best of the Chiefs 31-28), Post Malone took center stage and delivered a solid Thanksgiving Day show. It was no Dolly Parton Thanksgiving show, but I don’t think anyone will ever top that. Post’s performance was extra special because a) he’s a Texas native and b) he’s a gigantic Dallas Cowboys fan. Here’s what he had to say about the meaning of the opportunity to headline The Salvation Army’s Annual Red Kettle Kickoff Halftime Show: “I’m from Texas. I grew up a Cowboys fan and have been watching this halftime show for years. It’s a real honor to be part of the Red Kettle Kickoff with The Salvation Army and the Dallas Cowboys and help bring hope to so many people.” You could tell that he truly cared and was genuinely grateful throughout his performance: View this post on Instagram And while he put on a tremendous show at AT&T Stadium, it’s what he did after the game was over out on the field that’s making waves on social media. Following his halftime performance, and the Cowboys upsetting Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs, Post Malone got out on the field and chucked around the football with some fans. He’s getting a lot of credit for his impressive throwing motion, and the joy that he appeared to be experiencing as he played catch out on turf of America’s Team (they were yesterday, at least, since they beat the Chiefs): “Game ended a few hours ago, but Post Malone has been tossing the pigskin out here for a while with some fans.” Game ended a few hours ago, but Post Malone has been tossing the pigskin out here for a while with some fans pic.twitter.com/EKrLa8Ar7S — Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) November 28, 2025 Nick Harris, who shared those initial pictures, followed it up with a video posted about an hour later that still showed Post Malone out on the field having the time of his life. Later on in Post Malone’s post-game (and post-Thanksgiving-halftime-show), on-field workout, he switched to defense and was trying to stop others from hauling in goal line touchdowns: “I’m telling you, he’s been out here for like two hours.” I’m telling you he’s been out here for like two hours https://t.co/OKbJg0Yr3S pic.twitter.com/aVEjOkI8d6 — Nick Harris (@NickHarrisFWST) November 28, 2025 I’m happy that he’s happy. The entirety of Post Malone’s Thanksgiving Day probably meant that much more because he used to sleep in the Dallas Cowboys stadium when he was a kid, according to Jerry Jones. The Dallas Cowboys owner recently said that for four or five years, his dad, Rich, would bring him to work when he had late nights and let him go to bed so he could get enough sleep. He said there was about a half-decade stretch that he would sleep there every night: “You know his background. He used to come over every night and sleep in Texas Stadium. And he slept over there for years, because his mother was working. And then she would finish her work and then he’d go home. Oh, yeah, for several years. Probably four or five (years). Had a cot for him and he slept.” Considering that, throwing on the Dallas Cowboys field after they win and after you perform the Thanksgiving halftime show is one hell of a full circle moment for Post Malone.The post Post Malone Spent Hours Tossing The Football Around At AT&T Stadium After The Dallas Cowboys Game first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Even before the Red Clay Strays won Vocal Group of the Year at the 2025 CMAs, this band already had a massive grassroots fan base in their corner. Continue reading…

IT’S HERE. The West Texas rockers, Treaty Oak Revival, promised fans a record this year, but given that we are in the final stretch of 2025, many feared their timeline had been pushed back. At the start of 2025, the group shared an image of themselves in the studio working on their third LP. Fans were hoping new music would come near spring or summer, given the January teaser, but the months kept passing, and there was no announcement of an album or any other information about its status. Fans then became nervous that they would not get a new TOR album in 2025 after the sudden departure of their bass player, Andrew Carey. However, despite these challenges, this year, they followed through with their promise, announcing their third studio album, West Texas Degenerate, last month. Today, West Texas Degenerate was gifted to fans, and the two-year wait between this record and their last LP, Have A Nice Day, was well worth the wait. “The point of this record was to show growth and what that means. Overcoming addiction, finding love, just stuff we haven’t really talked about in our songs. We come from a small town where, when you were young, it was drinking and partying and having a good time, and not really caring about the world or having any responsibility. Eventually, you get thrown into the real world, and you realize that the real world doesn’t care about your plans. You’re going to assimilate whether you want to or not.” Frontman Sam Canty shared with Rolling Stone. The new album features Muscadine Bloodline, William Clark Green, and more, and contains 14 tracks, including the previously released singles “Bad State of Mind” and “Happy Face.”  “Happy Face” has already earned over 73 million streams on Spotify alone, and “Bad State of Mind” has 57 million streams on the same platform. Fans were thrilled to see the cult favorites on the tracklist, which Canty was very intentional about. The two songs represent the split of the record, from a heavy A-side to a more lighthearted, growth-focused B-side.  The first side features “Port A” which discusses Canty’s last spring break, getting into trouble and indulging in illicit substances: “This is a song I wrote about my last spring break. I didn’t have enough money to go somewhere cool, so I went somewhere called Port Aransas, Texas.” The heavier side of the album also features the title track, a gritty ode to West Texas by William Clark Green, highlighting the blue-collar way of life that much of the band was living. The money they were making came with a list of issues that led them to become a “West Texas Degenerate.” The second half of the record highlights that feeling of being thrown into the adult world, with tracks like “Misery” featuring Muscadine Bloodline, “Naders,” and the heartbreaker “Blue Star.” Treaty Oak Revival struck gold with West Texas Degenerate, flawlessly expanding upon their gritty southern rock twangs and highlighting their co-writing ability by collaborating with some of their friends. This record will quickly find itself on repeat. I can’t wait to see the energy in these songs on stage. Fire up a few early favorites while you’re here: “Port A” “Blue Star” “Misery” “West Texas Degenerate”  The post Treaty Oak Revival Throws Down On New Record, ‘West Texas Degenerate’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.