The Creekers insist that they aren’t your “papaw’s bluegrass” band. Tanner Horton (lead guitar, vocals) and Ashton Bowling (cajon) recently sat down with us on the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast and talked about their former jobs before they started to take off, how they found out that Luke Combs is a big fan of theirs, and why they often find themselves dealing with imposter syndrome. Horton and Bowling also detailed a wild story about how their banjo player, Scott Sutton, had a heart attack before their debut show and still played through it, then later discuss how they handled getting stuck in Nashville during the nasty ice storm that hit earlier this year. All that to say… there’s a lot packed into this hour-long sit down with The Creekers. But something that really stood out from the conversations was the bluegrass band saying they aren’t actually a bluegrass band. Bowling says it really comes down to the instruments that make up the six-piece band, and suggested that The Creekers don’t have any bluegrass songs: “We just have the instruments to be called a bluegrass band. I don’t think we have any bluegrass songs, if that makes sense.” Horton, his band mate, was quick to jump in and clear up any confusion “We do (have bluegrass songs), but I say we’re not your papaw’s bluegrass. That’s how I usually say it. We do a lot of old stuff, but all of our original stuff is… I wouldn’t call that bluegrass. We all love it, or I do anyway. It’s the only thing I ever played for years.” @whiskeyriff @The Creekers #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff If a bluegrass band has a strict, instrument allowance, Ashton Bowling says it’s his instrument – which earned him the nickname “Thumper” – that sets them apart from being a traditional bluegrass band. And while we are at it, I’ll mention that the cajon is pronounced “ka-hon.” I’m pointing that out to hopefully help out Bowling in the future, because he says he hears some crazy pronunciations of the percussion instrument: “You should hear the way people pronounce it… most of the time I just call it a box. It’s a lot easier to explain than it is cajon.” Both Horton and Bowling explained that bringing the cajon into their band makes them more of a contemporary country act, even though their catalogue probably fits best into the bluegrass box. In a way, it seems like Bowling and the band just try to avoid calling themselves bluegrass so that they don’t upset the bluegrass traditionalists out there, as the band’s cajon player explained: “To me, most bluegrass bands… we’re more contemporary because we have a cajon. I feel like OG bluegrass people would frown upon that.” That being said, Horton believes that “OG bluegrass people” are softening up on the cajon inclusion (probably because The Creekers are helping to bring the genre into the mainstream). The lead guitar player and vocalist for The Creekers says that he’s actually included in the grouping of people who weren’t crazy about the instruments… but then had their mind changed: “I thought that too, but we’ve played some more traditional-type festivals and everybody’s loved it… I ain’t going to lie, I didn’t like the cajon idea at first. He won me over pretty fast.” @whiskeyriff @The Creekers #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff And regardless of however you want to define the music The Creekers are bringing into the world, there’s no doubt that they are winning over people too. You can hear more from The Creekers 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 Why The Creekers Don’t Consider Themselves a Bluegrass Band first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

It’s better than the original in my humble opinion. Lainey Wilson delivered a very country cover of “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out”  by singer-songwriter Role Model, which is a song from the deluxe edition of his 2024 album, Kansas Anymore (The Longest Goodbye). You might have heard it before through its viral success, which helped boost the online listening first, and it ultimately became the artists breakout single and has been certified Gold in the United States by the RIAA. As part of Nova’s Red Room Studio Session, Lainey certainly chose a song I don’t think anyone would have picked for her to cover, and honestly, it’s hard to imagine her singing anything but country because of her thick Louisiana twang, but she did such a great job with this and of course, she definitely made the production a whole lot more country with the added fiddle and acoustic guitar. While I’ve never heard Lainey do much pop, she used to do a ton of rock covers which were always incredible and I think you can hear a lot of that influence in her music, even for as country as she is, but to hear her do a pop song like this is actually really cool and I’m into it. We all know she is as country as they come, but she’s a lot more versatile than some might think, and I think fans will be pleasantly surprised with this one. Check it out: “Sally, When The Wine Runs Out” Lainey is gearing up to open some stadium shows for Chris Stapleton here soon, and she just got married a little over a week ago to her now-husband, Duck Hodges. They celebrated with a beautiful event at The Ruskin Cave in Dickson, Tennessee on May 10th, and they shared all of the details with Vogue. Lainey says they selected the venue because of the “simplicity” of the property. They worked with Hugh Howser and Kate Steele with H Three Events to plan everything, and of course, Lainey had to bring in some of that Cajun flair, so they had a 12-piece jazz band and Cajun meal prepared by the chefs at her Nashville bar, Bell Bottoms Up”: “We wanted it to be special and beautiful, but really welcoming and comfortable for our guests. We tried not to take ourselves too seriously. Being from Louisiana, I wanted to bring in a little bit of Cajun flair, so naturally we hired a 12-piece jazz band called Rebirth and had a Cajun meal from the chefs at my bar, Bell Bottoms Up.” Of the ceremony, Lainey says it was a beautiful spring day, and she came in on a white horse-drawn carriage, of course walking down the aisle with her dad. They were married by friend Wes Williams, and Lainey and Duck also took communion together during the ceremony. She’s shared some photos on Instagram, and for all the girls wondering, she wore a custom Oscar de la Renta gown that features gorgeous Japanese cherry blossoms around the neckline and throughout the dress, which represents living in the moment, Lainey says. It’s not often we see her in a dress, I’m not sure we ever have, honestly, and it was just breathtaking: View this post on Instagram “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out” Lainey Wilson 2026 Tour Dates: May 23—Nashville, TN—Nissan Stadium* June 13—Tampa, FL—Raymond James Stadium* June 20—Charlotte, NC—Bank of America Stadium* June 28—Calgary, AB—Country Thunder Alberta July 10—Chicago, IL—Windy City Smokeout July 12—Craven, SK—Country Thunder Saskatchewan July 17—Pasa Robles, CA—California Mid-State Fair August 1—Cincinnati, OH—Paycor Stadium* August 6—Detroit Lakes, MN—WE Fest August 7—Oshkosh, WI—Xroads41 August 8—Detroit, MI—Ford Field* August 9—Canton, OH—Concert for Legends August 12—Sturgis, SD—The Sturgis Buffalo Chip August 15—Springfield, IL—Illinois State Fair August 16—Des Moines, IA—Iowa State Fair August 21—Atlanta, GA—Mercedes-Benz Stadium* October 2—Ocean City, MD—Country Calling Festival *with Chris StapletonThe post Lainey Wilson Delivers Country Cover Of Role Model’s “Sally, When the Wine Runs Out,” & It Just Works first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

All hail the Chief. Arguably the most influential country artist of the 21st century, the Chief has a long history of delivering some of the most captivating work in the genre since his debut in 2006. From his experimental new release, Evangeline vs. The Machine, to his magnum opus, Mr. Misunderstood, in 2015, Church has proven time and time again that there truly isn’t anyone who can match him, especially in the mainstream. When talking about Church, it’s hard to even point to where he peaks. From his smash hits such as the 8x platinum, “Springsteen,” “Record Year” and “Drink In My Hand” to his severely underrated deep cuts like “Lightning,” “Knives of New Orleans,” and “Those I’ve Loved,” his discography is filled top-to-bottom with some of the most introspective songwriting that has been released over the past two decades. And just for clarity, a “deep cut” is a song that wasn’t a radio single or big hit. It’s a song you’re only gonna hear if you’ve dug into the full album, and in some cases, a “deep cut” won’t even get played live very often. It has nothing to do with the content of the lyrics. Anytime we write about “deep cuts,” there seems to be a lot of chirping in the comments about what that means. There really isn’t any ambiguity… the definition is agreed upon. Despite being recognized as one of the best and most influential country artists of the 21st century, the “Springsteen” singer only has seven solo #1 hits on both of Billboard’s country charts (Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay). It should be noted that he has 11 in total if you count his four collaborative #1 singles: “The Only Way I Know” with Luke Bryan and Jason Aldean, “Raise ‘Em Up” with Keith Urban, “Does To Me” with Luke Combs and most recently, “Man Made A Bar” with Morgan Wallen. Even if you boost the total with collaborations, it still feels shockingly low for an artist of Church’s stature. Of course, you can chalk most of it up to him not playing the radio game, focusing on albums over singles and generally doing whatever he wants artistically, but it still makes you think about which songs could have had a chance to be big hits that weren’t released as singles. We’ve already looked at songs that were released but shockingly did not go #1, as well as his unreleased collection that contains some hidden gems that never saw the light of day. Today, we’ll be looking at some deep cuts that, looking back, feel like they had #1 hit written all over them. 1. “Where She Told Me to Go” Album: Carolina (2009) Looking back at Church’s discography, I always find myself coming back to this one. Despite how diverse and all-encompassing his discography is, “Where She Told Me to Go” stands out as one of his best and most straightforward heartbreakers. Perfectly encapsulating the devastation that comes with heartbreak, Church simultaneously makes you feel empathetic towards him despite clearly taking blame for the breakup. “I was going with my change of heart And wanted no part of forever I was looking for a blessing When I said baby, it’s all for the better Yeah what do you know, I think I wound up Where she told me to go It’s an incredibly relatable feeling that a lot of people have experienced at least once in their lives. Couple that with some incredibly traditional production (for Church’s standards) and you have a track that could have done well on radio upon its release back in 2009. 2. “Hippie Radio” Album: Desperate Man (2018) There was a time back in the 2010s and early 2020s when building a song all around iconic tracks was all the rage. While some did it better than others, Brad Paisley’s “This Is Country Music” comes to mind; you had a lot of cringe-inducers such as Old Dominion’s “Song For Another Time,” Thomas Rhett’s “What’s Your Country Song” and Walker Hayes’ “90’s Country.” 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 should have been pushed for radio play. 3. “Knives of New Orleans” Album: Mr. Misunderstood (2015) In my opinion, there’s no better genre of song in country music than the classic murder ballad. From Johnny Cash’s “Folsom Prison Blues” to Reba McEntire’s “The Night the Lights Went Out in Georgia,” there has been a fair share of murder ballads that have done well at radio. In this case, I think “Knives of New Orleans” could have done the same. Though many point to “Lightning” as Church’s best murder ballad, “Knives of New Orleans” arguably does it better. What sets it apart from many other murder ballads is that Church never details what he did. He never explicitly states who he killed or how he did it; he simply leaves it up to the listeners’ imagination, making it even more terrifying as he wails, “I did what I did,” in the outro. 4. “What I Almost Was” Album: Sinners Like Me (2006) Coming-of-age stories have always been hits in nearly every medium of art and entertainment. “What I Almost Was,” which serves as a bit of a biography for Church, serves as a stellar one. Detailing the fact that he had dreams of playing football before injuring his knee and almost took an office job at his ex-girlfriend’s father’s company before making the decision to move to Nashville to pursue music, it’s an incredibly personal reflection on his life. With that being said, however, the central theme of being thankful for past decisions that may have looked like mistakes and reflecting on where they led you to is a sentiment that many can relate to and further champion. 5. “Russian Roulette” Album: Heart (2021) “Russian Roulette” was always envisioned to be a single off his first installment of the 2021 triple album, Heart & Soul. There was only one catch: the word Russian. Just a day before he was planning on releasing the track to radio, Russia invaded Ukraine, and if you can remember, at the time, stores were pulling Russian vodka and anything associated with Russia from their shelves, bars were renaming “White Russians,” and pretty much the entire world (for the most part) was condemning Russia and their attack. All of a sudden, anything that mentioned Russia was off limits – and Church had to pull the song. This recently came to light this past October at a show in Grand Rapids, where he recalled his disappointment at not being able to send the song to radio: “This next song we’ve not done on this tour. It was my favorite song off the Heart project, ‘Heart & Soul.’ It was going to be a radio single, I think it’s a hit. And the night before we were going to release it, THE night before, Russia invaded Ukraine, and all of a sudden, anything that had Russia in it was not awesome. So I always send this out to Vladimir. He can f–king spin on it.” Incredibly understandable, but it’s a shame the track never got its shot, given it had #1 hit written all over it. 6. “You Make It Look So Easy” Album: Carolina (2009) Though Church is no stranger to love songs, with tracks like “Like Jesus Does” and “Love Your Love The Most,” “You Make It Look So Easy” has always stood out as his most poignant and earnest. A track that has “first dance” written all over it due to the Chief’s honesty and reference he has for his wife, it’s a bit surprising that this song wasn’t pushed to radio. Country radio has clearly never shied away from embracing love songs, especially when they’re as open as this one, and it’s always felt like a missed opportunity not to promote this one as such. 7. “Lovin’ Me Anyway” Album: N/A The fact that “Lovin’ Me Anyway” never got an official release will always be a head-scratcher to me. Easily being one of the most radio-friendly and overall fun songs in his discography, it’s one of those songs that simply had “#1 hit” written all over it. As it turns out, “Lovin’ Me Anyway” was originally intended to be on Church’s breakthrough 2011 record, Chief, but instead was scrapped and became a free reward/bonus track for those who promoted the album on Facebook. Though the Facebook post is still up, the link to download the track is currently dead. Luckily, there’s still a YouTube video up with the song available today. The post 7 Eric Church Deep Cuts That Should Have Been Hit Singles first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Not holding back. The White House has responded after Natalie Maines, lead singer of The Chicks, posted a vulgar rant on Instagram taking aim at President Donald Trump earlier this week. The outspoken Maines called the president a “fugly sl-t,” and claimed that “democracy is disappearing” under his presidency. “Our democracy is disappearing right before our eyes. This fugly slut is using your gas money to pay the insurrectionists. But don’t worry about it. I’m sure posting selfies will fix everything. My last post that called him a fugly slut got removed. We’ll see how long this one lasts. Repost and help the message live.”   View this post on Instagram   A post shared by @1nataliemaines (At one point the post appeared to have been removed, but at least for now it’s back up). Well the White House was asked by Fox News Digital about her comments, and didn’t hold back: “Natalie Maines is a despicable nobody who clearly suffers from a severe case of Trump Derangement Syndrome that has rotted her peanut-sized brain.” Obviously Maines is no stranger to political controversy. The lead singer of The Chicks famously set off a firestorm back in 2003 with comments on the Iraq war and then-President George W. Bush, telling a crowd during a concert in London that she was “ashamed that the President of the United States is from Texas.” The backlash back then was swift and severe, with radio stations pulling their music and blacklisting the Dixie Chicks (as they were known at the time) from their playlists, fans burning their albums in protest, and members of the band even receiving death threats over the comments from Maines. Now, obviously times are different now, and with country music artists as politically divided as the rest of society is these days, I think it’s safe to say that her comments wouldn’t spark near the backlash today as they did back in 2003 when our country was less than two years removed from the 9/11 terror attacks. One thing that hasn’t changed, though, is that Maines still isn’t afraid to give her opinion. And back in 2024, The Chicks even performed at the Democratic National Convention to support then-presidential nominee Kamala Harris. Country music fans and artists are obviously as politically divided as the rest of the country, so there are plenty who support Maines in her comments against Trump. But many also took to the comments of her latest post to criticize her too: “I thought liberals didn’t judge people by their looks. Also, should you really be criticizing anyone’s looks?” “There’s a reason you only have 135k followers…. And you officially lost me with this post.” “Get it, Natalie! You were right in 2003 and you are today.” “Please provide proof of democracy disappearing.” “Shouldn’t you be thanking Trump for giving you the attention you so desperately need? I had no idea who you were until he posted about you” “He’s literally the only reason anyone is thinking of you right now.” “Yes Queen! You were right in 2003 and you’re nailing it again!” Seems like some things haven’t changed much since 2003.The post White House Calls Natalie Maines A “Despicable Nobody” Following Vulgar Rant On President Trump first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Morgan Wallen and Hardy appeared to take subtle jabs at the ACM Awards on social media, after both of them skipped the show. Continue reading…