There’s another star in the making in the Bryan family. Whether you like Luke Bryan’s music or not, he’s been a critical piece of the country music puzzle for the past two decades. Sure, he’s one of the names closely associated with the “Bro Country” movement of the 2010s. But through it all, he’s been a steward of the genre, and someone who has helped country music work its way into the mainstream. And I don’t want to make you (the reader) feel old, but Luke Bryan has a son that’s about to enter into college. Luke and his wife, Caroline, have two boys: Thomas “Bo” and Tatum “Tate” Bryan. The older of the two, Bo, is currently a junior in high school, and all signs point towards him being quite the athlete. He’s currently enrolled at the Battle Ground Academy in Franklin, Tennessee, where he plays baseball, football and competes on the wrestling team. He’s set to graduate next year in 2027, and it’s looking like Bo Bryan is going to try and continue his football career at the collegiate level. Video is currently circulating online of the Battle Ground Academy quarterback participating in a Under Armor Next Football Camp in Atlanta, Georgia. Bo was out on the field showing off his quarterback skills while his country music star dad watched nervously from the sideline: “At 6’1, 210lbs – It might be too early to tell, but Bo established himself as a first in line performer this past weekend.” View this post on Instagram Looks like he’s got an arm on him. Bo Bryan has already taken unofficial visits to both South Carolina and Georgia. Luke Bryan is known to be a big time Georgia Bulldogs fan, so there could be a connection there. Then with South Carolina, Bo could have an in thanks to Battle Ground head coach Bobby Bentley, who used to be an assistant for the Gamecocks. There’s still plenty of time for Bo Bryan to get offers, take visits and figure out where he might be able to continue his football playing career. And it’s cool to see that the son of Luke Bryan decided to carve out his own path, rather than follow in his dad’s footsteps and pursue music. It’s also great to see the country star carving out time in his busy schedule to support his son. That’s actually something that he’s very intentional about, and previously explained on Country Countdown USA that he preferrs to leave the Friday’s of his concert schedule open, and it’s all because Luke wants to put being a father first. With both of his sons being involved in sports (Bryan’s youngest, Tate, plays golf), he wants to be there for them as much as he can be. Those Friday night lights at a football stadium are more important than Friday night concert lights would be for Luke Bryan, as he explained: “Bo is playing high school football. I try to take every Friday off so I can see him play. Tate is playing golf too. Bo has been driving, so we don’t see him as much any more. I don’t know what we’re going to do when he goes off to college.” So don’t expect to see Luke Bryan playing a concert on a Friday night… at least during football season. And keep an eye out for Bo Bryan, who could be making the jump to college football in the next couple of years.The post Luke Bryan’s Son, Bo, Is Working To Become A College Football Quarterback first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Doesn’t want to be known for his politics. Country music has always touched on political themes, going as far back as the working-class themes touched on by Jimmie Rodgers and the Carter Family, or Woody Guthrie’s “This Land Is Your Land” or Elton Britt’s patriotic World War II anthem “There’s a Star Spangled Banner Waving Somewhere” from the early 1940s. From artists like Johnny Cash and Merle Haggard in the 1960s through the anti-establishment songs of Willie Nelson and Waylon Jennings in the ’70s, and more recently the post-9/11 boom of patriotic country songs, politics has always been woven through the fabric and history of country music. And that shouldn’t be a surprise: Country music is, as is often said, three chords and the truth. When you’re singing about real life, politics are naturally going to be a part of it. These days there are plenty of artists on both sides of the aisle who like to jump into politics not only with their music but with their platforms, whether that’s on social media or making endorsements or even appearing with political candidates at rallies. But Luke Combs says he has no plans to join them in their political activism, on either side. Of course over the course of his career so far, there have been occasions where Luke has either chosen to insert himself into the political conversation, or he’s been dragged into it by something in his past. Combs caught a bit of heat during the height of the Black Lives Matter movement after the internet dug up a music video from 2015 that featured the Confederate flag. In 2021, Luke joined a panel discussion about racism in country music with Maren Morris where he essentially apologized and said he wasn’t a racist. But as a result of that conversation, many labeled him “soft,” “woke”, and if nothing else, a “liberal.” And as he explained in a recent interview with the New York Times’ Popcast, he still comments on his social media to this day because of it: “There’s always something on my videos like, ‘I can’t believe you like Luke Combs, he’s a liberal.’ One, I’ve never said what I am. That’s the thing that blows me away the most about it. Basically seven years ago, me saying that I was not a racist led to people saying, ‘Well he must be a liberal.’ I’ve been accused of a million things. I would consider myself heavily moderate in everything. That’s to the point where I’m not liberal enough for liberals and I’m not conservative enough for conservatives. I kind of like it that way. I also kind of like people not really knowing what I have going on politically.”  Combs, though, has no interest in being a standard-bearer for one side or the other, and denied in that same interview that he tries to push an agenda for either side of the political aisle: “I’m not a guy that feels like I need to push some sort of agenda. I’m a musician. No one is calling Donald Trump and asking him how to write a song. No one is calling AOC and saying, ‘How do I make my album better?’ Why do we care what Chris Stapleton thinks about politics?” Now, Luke obviously isn’t the only artist who chooses to stay out of politics. And as it turns out, he wants to follow in the footsteps of another country legend in being known more for being a good person than for being political. Dolly Parton is well-known for her charitable works, but has always refrained from speaking on politics or taking sides on political issues. And Luke Combs said during a recent interview with GQ that he hopes to follow her lead in keeping politics out of his music and his career: “That’s the space that I would like to operate in, you know what I mean? Basically, just being a good person, and doing what you believe is right, and not getting involved in the minutiae of labeling it. Why can’t you just be a good person and just be loved? It does take some massaging to do it all in a way that doesn’t come off as, like, deceitful or trite. It’s a delicate balance, but she has done a masterful job of it.” Honestly, it’s refreshing to hear artists say that they have no interest in being political. In our hyper-partisan society, everybody feels like they need to give their opinion and take one side or the other. And it gets exhausting. People judge others based on who listen to because simply being a fan of an artist’s music is seen as a political statement, when it should be about the music. It becomes an echo chamber where one side of the political aisle won’t listen certain artists simply because they disagree with who they vote for, and we’re all worse off for it. Good for Luke Combs for not wanting to get involved in that.The post Luke Combs Says He Wants To Be Like Dolly Parton When It Comes To Politics: “Just Be A Good Person” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Smart move. It was a WILD weekend down under over the weekend for Riley Green. In case you missed it, he’s been in Australia the past week on his Cowboy As It Gets Tour. After shows in Sydney and Melbourne, the “Worst Way” singer would return to Melbourne once again on Friday and leave the show bloodied. During a performance of “I Wish Grandpas Never Died,” an unruly fan decided it was a good idea to chuck their phone onstage, which ended up hitting Green on the side of his face, and blood quickly started running down his neck. Immediately, he stopped the show and had his crew turn the house lights up, and after quickly identifying the fan that threw it, Riley threw him out and told security to get “his fat a** out of here”: “This one right here? Get his fat a** out of here. Go on.” View this post on Instagram Though it was downright ridiculous, the Alabama native took it on the chin shortly after getting the fan kicked out. Not realizing he was bleeding, he kept talking to the crowd for a moment. Shortly after, a crew member walked up to him with a towel and started wiping the blood from his neck, and he then joked that he’s glad the fan didn’t throw an “iPhone 12” because “that would have really hurt.” He also joked the Australian crowd could see “how tough he is” because he didn’t even know he was bleeding… and he also asked them to get their phones out and turn the flashlights on for the rest of the song, but asked them not to throw them at him: “I’d like to take a moment while I’ve got everybody’s attention to thank each and every one of you for coming out tonight. Hang on, am I bleeding? Y’all see how tough I am? Thank god h didn’t have an iPhone 12, that would have really hurt. I was gonna get y’all to sing this song one time, y’all want to try it? Do me a favor right here, get your phones out, and you can turn the flashlight on, just don’t throw it at me.” Despite all the jokes, it turned out the phone ended up doing a little more damage than Green realized. On Sunday, he’d take to his Instagram story to share that he ended up getting five stitches near his earlobe: “5 stitches later… sewed up.” Obviously, the moment dominated the country world over the weekend. With many rightfully condemning the ridiculous behavior from the fan (and fans at concerts in general lately) and others playing along with Green making light of the situation, there was another darkly hilarious moment from the concert from tourmate Jake Worthington. Just one song after the phone-throwing incident, Green would bring out Worthington, along with Randy Houser and Braxton Keith, to perform a cover of Alabama’s classic, “Dixieland Delight.” Though Houser and Keith were dressed in their usual concert attire, Worthington decided to not take any chances on stage, somehow finding and wearing a hard hat on stage. @hesemloh Absolute legend for continuing to play whilst bleeding @Riley Green @Jake Worthington #rileygreen #jakeworthington #cowboyasitgetstour ♬ 11 Binaural Beats 1 Hz – August Son Productions I’m honestly not sure where in the hell he would have just found a hard hat lying around backstage, but you can’t deny it’s a hilarious bit. Fans in the TikTok comments of various videos were also having a field day with Worthington’s getup. “Good thing Jake had a hard hat on” “Comedy gold” “Jake with a hard hat to keep him safe from flying phones is hysterical” “Jake and the hard hat wins 2026” “When Jake finds a stagecrew hard hat” “Icon behavior” It should go without saying that the whole incident is downright ridiculous and has no place at any concert, but you have to respect both Green and Worthington for making light out of a pretty sh*tty situation. Riley Green Tour Dates April 16th, 2026 – Southaven, MS – Landers Center#~$ April 17th, 2026 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center#~$ April 18th, 2026 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena#~$ May 7th, 2026 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion#~• May 8th, 2026 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre#~• June 18th, 2026 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center#~• June 19th, 2026 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center#~• June 20th, 2026 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater#~• June 25th, 2026 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center#$* June 26th, 2026 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake#$* July 16th, 2026 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center#~• July 23rd, 2026 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre#~• August 6th, 2026 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater#/• August 7th, 2026 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center#/• August 8th, 2026 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live#/• August 13th, 2026 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion#/• August 14th, 2026 – Hartford, CT – The XFINITY Theatre#/• August 15th, 2026 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheatre#/• August 21st, 2026 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford#$*^ August 22nd, 2026 – Grand Forks, ND – Ralph Engelstad Arena#$*^ #Justin Moore ~Drake White $Mackenzie Carpenter •Hannah McFarland *Adam Hood /Zach John King ^Not A Live Nation ShowThe post Jake Worthington Wears Hard Hat On Stage Shortly After Riley Green Was Hit In The Face With A Phone first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Amen to that, Kacey. Kacey Musgraves announced her sixth studio album Middle of Nowhere last week, which was produced by Kacey alongside longtime collaborators Daniel Tashian and Ian Fitchuk. Kacey is a proud Texas girl, and so the album draws on plenty of inspiration from her home state, and considering there’s a sign in her tiny, unincorporated, no-stoplight hometown of Golden, Texas, with a population of under 300 that reads “Golden, TX: Somewhere in the Middle of Nowhere,” that sparked the idea for the title track and much of the theme for the entire album. View this post on Instagram Middle of Nowhere features some all-star collaborations, too, including bluegrass phenom Billy Strings, and South African musician Gregory Alan Isakov, and yes, that long-awaited, seemingly improbable duet with Miranda Lambert is coming on a song called “Horses and Divorces.” Aside from the song with Miranda, the one I’m most looking forward to hearing is her duet with icon Willie Nelson, which is called “Uncertain, Texas,” because anytime they work together it results in pure magic. Maybe it’s their shared Texas soul, but when they duet, it’s always stunning, and during a recent interview with NPR Music’s Jewly Hight, Kacey shared some about what the song will be, and it’s certainly intriguing. In addition to calling Willie “the patriarch of truth,” Kacey explained that the song is about a “town full of f***boys,” and the nature of transient modern dating behavior where Willie helps her throw some shade. She knows he might even be a “great-great-grandpa” at this point, but he’s still a gangster”: “I had to have Willie on this song. He’s like the patriarch of truth in so many ways. It was important for him to be the narrator, because that song, ‘Uncertain, TX,’ while it is about a real town in East Texas, I had fun imagining that it’s this place where people can never really actually make up their minds. Is it a town full of f***boys where accountability is optional and you just swipe, swipe, swipe and slide to the next option? The song is an acknowledgement of that very transient modern dating behavior after what I went through, and the perfect person to help throw a little bit of shade to that is everybody’s favorite grandpa, Willie Nelson. He might even be a great-great-grandpa, but he’s also a gangster.” Consider me HIGHLY intrigued… though that doesn’t sound like a made up town… unfortunately, it sounds all too real. And if you’re unfamiliar with their previous duet “Are You Sure,” you’re missing out… Kacey sang it with Willie for her iconic 2015 Pageant Material album, but it was originally written by Willie and Buddy Emmons and first released by Ray Price in 1963. They’re my favorite duo, and “Uncertain, Texas” already sounds like a banger… Middle Of Nowhere is out everywhere on May 1st. “Are You Sure ft. Willie Nelson”  They previously performed “Rainbow Connection” together on the 2019 CMA Awards: “Dry Spell” Middle of Nowhere Tracklist: 1.Middle of Nowhere 2.Dry Spell 3.Back on the Wagon 4.I Believe in Ghosts 5.Abilene 6.Coyote feat. Gregory Alan Isakov 7.Loneliest Girl 8.Everybody Wants To Be a Cowboy feat. Billy Strings 9.Horses and Divorces feat. Miranda Lambert 10.Uncertain, Texas feat. Willie Nelson 11.Rhinestoned 12.Mexico Honey 13.Hell on MeThe post “He’s A Gangster” — Kacey Musgraves Says Her Upcoming Willie Nelson Duet Is About “A Town Full Of F***boys” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

It’s the tough decision that every artist and celebrity has to make, whether they realize it or not. Luke Combs is currently on a press tour for his upcoming album The Way I Am, which is set to release March 20. The forthcoming project is expected to be a return to the old Luke Combs, musically, and will deliver 22 songs to a fanbase that’s been waiting for new music (outside of Fathers and Sons) for quite some time. One of the media stops along the way was with comedian Bert Kreischer on his Bertcast podcast. The pair had a very relaxed conversation, and at one point, the country singer and the comedy star got to talking about how they wanted their careers to end. It all came up when Luke Combs touched on Garth Brooks stepping away at the height of his career, and the conversations he’s had with the country music legend about why he did so: “That decision is such a selfless decision, regardless of what anyone were to say about him. That decision alone proves a lot to me of the person that’s really there… Can you imagine stepping away? It’d be like Taylor Swift leaving music today and being like, ‘I’m just gonna go and teach ballet at my kid’s dance studio down the road in Kansas.” To be clear, Taylor Swift doesn’t have any kids… but you get the point that Combs was trying to make. When Kreischer asked Combs if he ever thinks about the end of the road, the “Where The Wild Things Are” singer admitted that he’s struggled with that looming thought a lot. The more he’s delved into it, the more Combs has become comfortable with the feeling. But it’ll still be a hard thing to accept when it comes, and interestingly, the country star said it could be coming sooner rather than later: “That day is rapidly approaching. That will happen at some point. I think you have to accept that, and I think it’s okay to not want that to happen. And be afraid of that happening, and wondering how you are gonna feel when that happens… Even when it wasn’t happening, I was like, ‘Well this is it, this is the best I’ll ever be and no one will ever care as much as they care right now.'” Considering Luke Combs and his wife, Nicole, now have three kids under the age of four years old, there might be a part of him that want to follow in Garth’s footsteps. Putting his career aside and focusing on his family sounds alluring to Combs, but it sounds like he’s still not sure what route he wants to take: “I wonder if I want to do the slow decline thing and be okay with it. Which I would be if that’s what I decided to do. Or do you just (cut it off and) hit delete? And you’re just kind of like, ‘I’m out for a while.’ And I’m just gone for the next five years.” Combs and Kreischer went on to fantasize about going out like Garth Brooks and or actor Rick Moranis (just leaving their career abruptly and getting out of the spotlight), and even talked about having jobs that aren’t tied to their dreams. It was all a very interesting discussion, and you can hear more from the country star and comedian in the interview below: Bertcast #713 – Luke Combs The post “That Day Is Rapidly Approaching”: Luke Combs On Whether He’d Ever Pull A Garth Brooks & Retire On Top, Or Ride Out A Steady Decline first appeared on Whiskey Riff.