Who wouldn’t be a little star-struck talking to Chris Stapleton? Over the past year or so, Mumford & Sons have been making waves in country music. Of course, they’ve remained one of the staples in modern folk over the past two decades. Scoring massive hits such as “I Will Wait,” “Little Lion Man” and “White Blank Page,” they’ve cemented themselves as an essential in the genre, up there with the likes of The Lumineers, Gregory Alan Isakov and the Fleet Foxes. Recently, they’ve made a plethora of different appearances with some of the biggest stars in country music. Not only did they make multiple appearances with Sierra Ferrell and reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year, Lainey Wilson, throughout their 2025 tour, but Mumford and Co. were also featured predominantly during the Grand Ole Opry’s historic, first-ever international show in London at the Royal Albert Hall. Joining the likes of Combs, Darius Rucker, Ashley McBryde and more, frontman Marcus Mumford joined the “Hurricane” singer for a cover of Willie Nelson’s “Always On My Mind” at the event. With so many appearances with country superstars recently, especially over the past few months, many (myself included) were wondering if Mumford and Co. were signaling a potential full crossover into the genre due to the prominence and subsequent fusion of both country and folk over the past few years. As it turns out, they didn’t dive into country music fully on their last record, Prizefighter. Instead, they called on the living legend himself, Chris Stapleton, on the album opener, “Here.” Unsurprisingly, the track was one of the standouts from the record, which sees Mumford and Stapleton grapple with a broken relationship, telling the unknown subject of the song to essentially take everything from his past, knowing it will help them find peace. Recently, Mumford appeared on the TODAY Show to dive into how the collaboration came to be. @todayshowMarcus Mumford explained the backstory behind getting Chris Stapleton to feature on “Here,” the first song of Mumford & Sons’ latest album “Prizefighter.” Mumford says that the band had existing relationships with most of the features on the album, including Gracie Abrams and Hozier, but Stapleton received a cold call. “I was just sort of gushing about how much I love him. And I think he’s a generational voice, and I just am, I’m obsessed with him,” Mumford said. He added it was always his “dream” to have Stapleton on “Here,” specifically. “It was kind of (Chris Stapleton) to come on board.” Sponsored by Citi ♬ original sound – TODAY Show Here, he would reveal that Stapleton was the only artist he didn’t have some form of relationship with, noting how he had already worked with the likes of other collaborators such as pop star Gracie Abrams. “He was the only cold call on this record. Everyone else we already had relationships with, even like Justin Vernon, who is involved in the record, Rob Moose, who did some strings and Gracie Abrams. People like that, we already had friendships with.” Mumford would then dive into the specifics of his “cold call” with Stapleton. Calling it a bit “gross,” he recalled how much he gushed over the “Starting Over” singer’s artistry, calling him a “generational voice” and explaining how it was always his dream to have him on the track. “With Chris, I got his number, and I called him. I was a bit gross for the first few minutes of the call, because I was just sort of gushing about how much I love him. I think he’s a generational voice, and I’m obsessed with him. That was always my dream with the song ‘Here,’ which is the first song on the record, to have him sing the second verse. Graciously, he did it.” Finally, the “Rubber Band Man” singer would detail the brief phone call with Stapleton, recalling that the two talked about family and work before he pitched the song. Once again, he’d express how thankful he was for the collaboration. “We talked about family and work for a while first. I warmed him up and then got into the record. It was brief. He’s got lots of children, so we found a window. He plays a lot of shows, but it was kind of him to come on board. Before you go, fire up the track. Chris Stapleton Tour Dates August 1 – Cincinnati, Ohio – Paycor Stadium with Lainey Wilson & Allen Stone August 6 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Stadium with Zach Top & Allen Stone August 8 – Detroit, Michigan – Ford Field with Lainey Wilson & Allen Stone August 14 – Boston, Massachusetts – Fenway Park with Zach Top & Allen Stone August 18 – Virginia Beach, Virginia – Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater with Maggie Rose August 21 – Atlanta, Georgia – Mercedes-Benz Stadium with Lainey Wilson & Ashley McBryde August 26 – Wantagh, New York – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater with Carter Faith August 28 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion with Carter Faith October 2 – Bristow, Virginia – Jiffy Lube Live with Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs October 7 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Pinnacle Bank Arena with Nikki Lane October 9 – Kansas City, Missouri – Morton Amphitheater with Nikki LaneThe post “Gushing About How Much I Love Him”: Marcus Mumford Says He Cold Called Chris Stapleton To Pitch Collaboration, “Here” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Parker McCollum cleared his calendar for the weekend as wife Hallie Ray Light went into labor. Continue reading…

Another day, another record for Morgan Wallen. It’s pretty safe to say that the release of Morgan Wallen’s fourth studio record, I’m The Problem, last year will go down in history as one of the most successful album cycles in country music history. Upon its release on May 16th (and the weeks following), I’m The Problem broke Wallen’s previously set record of most songs charted on the Billboard Hot 100 in a single week at the time (37). Additionally, he became the first artist ever to spend at least 10 weeks atop the all-genre Billboard 200 chart with three consecutive albums and even skyrocketed all the way up to eighth-most weeks spent on the chart by any artist in its history. Additionally, he also became the first solo act in history to score multiple 20-week #1 hits on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart with “What I Want” featuring Tate McRae. Of course, this isn’t even mentioning the fact that I’m The Problem’s monster success also allowed Wallen to become the the highest-selling country artist of all time (4th all-genre), score the most-listened-to album on Apple Music globally as well as the #1 most-listened-to album in the U.S. on Spotify and become the second male country artist in history to be named Billboard’s Top Artist of the Year in 2025. With all of that being said, his most impressive accomplishment with I’m The Problem might just be the success he’s had on the radio, scoring a staggering seven #1 hits from the album, with “Lies Lies Lies,” “Love Somebody,” “I’m The Problem,” “Just In Case,” “I Got Better,” “20 Cigarettes” and “Don’t We” all reaching the top of Billboard’s Country Airplay chart. The seven #1 hits on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart are particularly historic for Wallen. Now, with “Don’t We” topping the chart this week, the Tennessee native holds the record for most #1 hits on radio from a single album, excluding deluxe editions, on any of Billboard’s airplay charts. Even if you include albums that received deluxe editions, Wallen still ties both Luke Combs’ What You See Ain’t Always What You Get and Katy Perry’s Teenage Dream: The Complete Collection, both of which snagged seven radio singles. In case you were wondering how rare a feat crossing six-plus #1 hits on radio with a single album (deluxe or not) is, only five records in history have ever done this with Wallen’s very own One Night At A Time (6) and Luke Bryan’s Kill The Lights (6) rounding out the elite batch of projects. Obviously, the “Chasin’ You” singer is now the only artist in history to own two albums that have scored six or more #1s as well. Just when you thought that I’m The Problem‘s shelf-life had come to a close, with Wallen himself confirming that the era is coming to an end this past weekend at Michigan Stadium, it’s projected to return to #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart next week, over 14 months since its initial release. In other words, there’s truly no slowing down the record in any way, shape or form. Albums With The Most Airplay #1 Hits I’m The Problem – Morgan Wallen (7) Lies Lies Lies” “Love Somebody” “I’m The Problem” “Just In Case” “I Got Better” “20 Cigarettes” “Don’t We” Teenage Dream: The Complete Collection – Katy Perry (7)* “California Gurls” (feat. Snoop Dogg) “Teenage Dream” “Firework” “E.T.” (feat. Kanye West) “Last Friday Night (T.G.I.F.)” “The One That Got Away” “Wide Awake” * What You See Ain’t Always What You Get – Luke Combs (7)* “Beer Never Broke My Heart” “Even Though I’m Leaving” “Does to Me” (feat. Eric Church) “Lovin’ on You” “Better Together” “Forever After All” * “Cold As You” * Kill The Lights – Luke Bryan (6) “Kick the Dust Up” “Stript It Down” “Home Alone Tonight” (feat. Karen Fairchild) “Move” “Fast” One Thing At A Time – Morgan Wallen (6) “You Proof” “Thought You Should Know” “Last Night” “Man Made a Bar” (feat. Eric Church) “Thinkin’ Bout Me” “Cowgirls” (feat. ERNEST) * — deluxe edition “Don’t We” ‘Still The Problem’ Tour Dates July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ ​​Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake WhitenThe post Morgan Wallen’s ‘I’m The Problem’ Sets Record For Most #1 Radio Hits From A Single Album first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

One of the strangest headlines I’ve ever written. Thanks to the rise of TikTok over the past decade, we’ve seen some classic, sometimes forgotten country songs go viral. Whether it’s Keith Whitley’s “Miami, My Amy” going mega viral back in 2022, Mel McDaniel’s “Baby’s Got Her Blue Jeans On” recently experiencing some newfound popularity and David Allan Coe’s “If This Is Just a Game” receiving a lot of love prior to his death earlier in the year, there have been plenty of lesser-known songs that have, for some reason or another, appealed to the TikTok crowd. Of course, this fails to mention newer tracks that spawned trends for some of the buzziest artists in the genre today, such as Ella Langley and Riley Green’s “you look like you love me,” Kaitlin Butts’ “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me),” Sam Barber and Avery Anna’s “Indigo” and Whiskey Myers’ “Broken Window Serenade,” which recently entered the Top 20 on Spotify a staggering 15 years after its release thanks to the continued virality of the track on the platform. With that being said, one of the biggest country songs throughout TikTok’s lifespan has been none other than Brooks & Dunn’s 1992 megahit, “Neon Moon.” Originally, the song went viral back in the fall of 2021 when users began posting a dance routine with an admittedly strange, trap remix of the song playing in the background. The trend got so popular over the following months that Kix and Ronnie themselves took to social media to post themselves doing the viral routine — even though Kix was not having it at first. @brooksanddunn It’s crazy cool to see all your videos, keep ‘em coming ! #brooksanddunn #sungoesdown #neonmoon #neonmoonremix #countrymusic ♬ Neon Moon – DJ Noiz Over the past year or so, “Neon Moon” has spawned an entirely different trend. Instead of a dance routine to accompany the song, users began posting videos of the iconic “I spend most every night beneath the light of a neon moon” line to pretty much anything and everything that has a neon sign. Of course, these included everywhere from Chili’s, Taco Bell and Texas Roadhouse to Buc-ee’s and even the strip club from Grand Theft Auto V, Vanilla Unicorn (which seems to be a favorite amongst TikTok users…) @jalent0225 Bottomless Chips and Salsa @Chili’s Grill & Bar #fyp #chilisbarandgrill #blowthisup #neonmoon ♬ original sound – ;) Following in the footsteps of the aforementioned videos, the official White House account posted its own version of the “Neon Moon” trend, and it is truly bizarre to say the least. Being set in what looks to be an AI-generated world from the popular video game, Minecraft, Puss in Boots from the Shrek films walks towards the White House with a giant, light-up American flag (which has 11 stripes and well over 60 stars by the way…) hovering over it. If you think I’m making any of this up, take a look yourself. @whitehouseOur kinda neon moon ♬ original sound – ;) Obviously, it’s playing off the trend, but I have so many questions. One, why is it set in an AI-generated Minecraft world? Two, why Puss in Boots? Third (and most importantly), who thought this was a good idea to post? Beyond the typical partisan fighting that is found in nearly every video the Trump admin or White House posts, many comments seemed just as confused, wondering why the hell Puss in Boots is featured and criticizing the account for posting more AI slop. “Genuinely wtf is this I’m so embarrassed” “White House making AI videos now“ “This is so embarrassing” “AI slop instead of doing anything better“ “Leave my Brooks & Dunn alone“ “WTFdoes this even mean” “We aren’t a serious country” “Ok I’m maga but wtf even is this video” “What a f***ing timeline” “Imagine having an entire communications team and THIS is what made it through” Of course, the Trump admin, DHS and the White House itself has gotten plenty of criticism over the past two years for their posts on social media, with Noah Kahan, Sabrina Carpenter, Olivia Rodrigo and more blasting the president and admin for using their songs without permission. Theo Von even publicly denounced the DHS’s use of an audio clip of him on a video promoting mass deportations. While I don’t exactly see Brooks and Dunn denouncing this particular use, it just feels like the most bizarre and ultimately most confusing out of all of the strange posts that have been made recently. It also seems super easy to find an actual neon American flag somewhere and captures the sentiment in a way that makes actual sense.The post Brooks & Dunn’s “Neon Moon” Featured In Bizarre Puss In Boots White House Video first appeared on Whiskey Riff.