There’s a good reason why Brandon Lake is always open to collaborating with artists outside of Christian music… and specifically in the country music space. With all of this talk about artists switching over to country (Beyoncé, Post Malone, etc.), not much has been said about Brandon Lake. I suppose Christian to country isn’t a huge move musically, but nonetheless, the artist behind the hit song “Gratitude” has been working with plenty of country artists lately – and has even made some country music of his own. Christian music in general is having a huge moment in the mainstream right now. Just last year, there were two Christian songs that made the Hot 100 chart – the first time that’s happened in over a decade. One was Forrest Frank’s viral smash “Your Way’s Better,” and the other was Lake and Jelly Roll’s collaboration: “Hard Fought Hallelujah.” “Hard Fought Hallelujah,” which went platinum, was Lake’s first venture into the country music landscape. Because of its success, it wasn’t his last either. Not too long after the collab with Jelly Roll gained traction, Lake and country music superstar Cody Johnson got connected. Brandon Lake and CoJo got together and recorded “When A Cowboy Prays,” and fans gravitated to it after its release. It once again proved that country and Christian music work well together, and also showed that Lake’s entry into country wasn’t just a one-off. As if any more proof of that was needed, Lake also worked with Lainey Wilson earlier this year to release “The Jesus I Know Now.” The song’s message of Jesus being a loving and incredibly forgiving savior connected with the masses, and became yet another hit for Brandon Lake. When he was asked about all of his recent collabs with country artists by CBS Mornings, Lake said there’s one, overarching reason why he never turns down an opportunity to work with another artist: “Here’s the thing… the songs are cool, but I think God loves collaboration.” Amen to that. Brandon Lake has already made a mark in his short time in the country music world. I’m sure there are more collaborations to come, and later in the interview, when he was questioned about why he does what he does the way he does it, the Christian artist beautifully described his art and songs as invitations: “The best thing I can do is offer my story and what God has done in my life and allow God to do the rest. I’m not out here trying to beat people with a Bible with fire and brimstone. I don’t think that’s effective. I think my songs are offerings, and they are open doors.” And if you’d like to hear some of those offerings and open doors that Brandon Lakes sees his songs as, check out the three country music collaborations that the Christian artist has provided to the world below: “Hard Fought Hallejuah” by Brandon Lake & Jelly Roll “When A Cowboy Prays” by Brandon Lake & Cody Johnson “The Jesus I Know Now” by Brandon Lake & Lainey Wilson The post “God Loves Collaboration” – Brandon Lake On Why He’s Always Willing To Work With Country Artists first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Two icons. Dolly Parton and Paul McCartney are probably the two most recognizable living musicians on this planet, and they go way back, all the way back to the 70s, when they first met in Nashville when he met Dolly for the first time. In an interview with Far Out, he recalled meeting her back in the mid-70s, as she was just starting to see some huge commercial success with songs like “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene.” And  around that time, McCartney was in the thick of working with his band Wings (which he was part of from 1971 to 1981). They had a tour stop in Nashville, and he remembers meeting her at the Third Annual Grand Masters Fiddling Contest, believe it or not. He explained that it was actually Porter Wagoner’s band playing at the event, and Dolly was there singing with him. She formally left his show in 1974, so this had to have been right before that, and McCartney remembers how young Dolly was, saying she was “very vivacious and full of bubbly joy,” just like the Dolly we all still know and love today: “While we were there, the band of Porter Wagoner played, and the girl vocalist he had with him was this girl called Dolly Parton. She was very young and very sort of innocent, very sweet. She was very vivacious and full of bubbly joy, like she still is.” From that point on, they built a friendship, and of course they both loved and respected each others musical artistry, and just five years after meeting, Dolly recorded an incredible bluegrass rendition The Beatles classic song “Help!,” which was included on her Dolly Parton recorded her 1979 album Great Balls of Fire. Decades later, in 2023, Dolly, recruited the surviving Beatles members to be part of her Rockstar album on a rendition of “Let It Be,” and of course, he was happy to do it: “She’s one of the greats. She has a great voice, and that was a plus, but she’s a really great writer. If Dolly’s asking me to do it, how can I say no?” Exactly… Ringo Starr was also featured on the song, and it ‘s really incredible that it took all of them that long to work together from the time they met. Of course, they’ve all been busy with their respective, iconic music careers, and it’s always better late than never, in my humble opinion… It actually was one of the rare collaborations that Starr and McCartney have teamed up outside of one of their own projects. In 2020, they worked on Ringo’s tune “Here’s to the Nights” from his Zoom In EP together, and the year prior, Starr was a surprise guest on the final show of McCartney’s Freshen Up tour. This version of “Let It Be” has McCartney playing piano, Starr on drums, Peter Frampton on guitar and Fleetwood Mac drummer Mick Fleetwood on percussion, making it an all-star single and really incredible group of talented, legendary musicians all featured on one song… something only Mrs. Dolly could pull off, I’m quite certain. Check it out: “Let It Be” Here’s her rendition of “Help!”, which is simply stunning: The post “Vivacious & Full of Bubbly Joy” – Paul McCartney Swears Dolly Parton Hasn’t Changed a Bit Since They First Met in 1974 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Riley Green made sure to get approval from Toby Keith’s estate before rolling out “Think As You Drunk,” and they were so happy with the tip of the cap to the Big Dog Daddy that they wanted his vocals on the track. The 37-year-old country music artist has been a part of countless hits in the past couple of years, including “You Look Like You Love Me” and “Worst Way.” Both of those songs were released in 2024, and now that he’s gearing up to release a new album – That’s Just Me – in September, Green has another hit up his sleeve. If you haven’t had a chance to listen to it, the track is called “Think As You Drunk.” The title is a bit of a tongue twister, but everything gets cleared up when you listen to the song: “But I ain’t as think as you drunk I am, Don’t pay no mind to the smell of those crushed up cans No I can’t say my CBA’s But I can sing you every song that jukebox plays I know I can’t stand or sit But if I was hammered, could I dance like this? Might have a cold one in each hand But I ain’t as think as you drunk I am” Pretty clever, right? And if anyone reads through those lyrics and finds it reminiscent of the work of the late, great Toby Keith, Riley Green would be really happy to have you think that. In an interview with Today, he revealed that he and his frequent songwriting collaborators (Erik Dylan, Wyatt McCubbin and Jessi Alexander) wanted to write a song in the style of Toby Keith, and once they got it all down – in only 20 minutes – they put it together and sent it over to Toby Keith’s manager and family. Everyone from their camp loved it so much that they insisted Keith’s vocals be placed in it in some way: “We did sit down to write a Toby Keith kind of song. So we sent it to his manager. He played it for the family, and they loved the idea of him being a part of the song, and having that little line ‘As Good As I Once Was’ at the end.” It’s a very fitting way for the song to close. And Riley Green is honored to have Toby Keith featured in his song that he penned to honor the Big Dog Daddy. He say’s it perfectly wraps up the track, and even tugs at your heartstrings a bit: “It’s cool too because you’ve got something that… it is a moment that will pull at you a bit, but it’s also in a moment that’s very happy.” Always great to see the younger generation of country music artists carrying on the tradition that is left behind by giants like Toby Keith. Here’s the full “Think As You Drunk” in case you wanted to take it in in it’s entirety:   And if you want to hear that song live, then you’ll have to get out and see Green while he’s still out on his Cowboy As It Gets Tour: Cowboy As It Gets 2026 Tour Dates: 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 KingThe post Riley Green Says Toby Keith’s Family LOVED The Idea Of Featuring Him In “Think As You Drunk” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Safe to say it worked out pretty well. The last two years have been nothing short of a whirlwind for Riley Green. Though you can attribute some of that to Ella Langley, thanks to the success of their monster collaborations, “You Look Like You Love Me” and “Don’t Mind If I Do,” the Alabama native has launched himself into superstardom pretty handily on his own. Even ignoring “You Look Like You Love Me’s” massive success, Green has now scored back-to-back #1 singles on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart with the aforementioned “Don’t Mind If I Do” and his steamy, viral track, “Worst Way.” In case you were wondering just how rare that feat is, “Worst Way” became just the 39th song in the chart’s history (and the second in 13 years) to go #1 solely written by the artist who recorded the track. With “Don’t Mind If I Do” also going #1 just six months later, Green became the first artist since Taylor Swift to score back-to-back solo-written #1 hits on the chart. Couple all of the success in the studio with getting a nod as one of People’s “Sexiest Men Alive,” his recent acting debut on Taylor Sheridan’s Marshals and being named as a judge for season 30 of The Voice, Green has cemented himself as one of the biggest stars in the genre recently. Unlike most stars in the genre, however, Green never thought that he would ever have a music career. Of course, it’s pretty well known that the “Think As You Drunk I Am” singer always dreamed of being an athlete, playing football and soccer growing up. Famously, Green was also the starting QB at Jacksonville State University from 2007 to 2009 after walking on in his freshman year. Because of his passion for sports growing up, he never really thought of paving his way in the music career; however, that all changed after he tried his hand at playing at local bars after dropping out of college. In a recent conversation with Willie Geist on the Today show, the Alabama native would once again confirm that he never really dreamed of being a musician. “I don’t remember any point through high school or even college thinking like, ‘I might have a music career.’ When I stopped playing ball in college and I was kind of just working construction, I started playing in bars.” Additionally, Green would admit that he quickly learned that many of his fellow inspiring artists could “sing circles” around him, which forced him to focus on his songwriting to set him apart from the pack. “I’m playing cover shows at these bars, and somebody else would get up after me. And they could sing circles around me. So the only thing I could do to set myself apart was to write, because nobody can write the exact story that I’m going to come up with. When people started to tell me that this meant something to them or that line reminded them of this or whatever, that was when I kind of became passionate about it.” With an Artist-Songwriter of the Year nod at the ACMs this past May, seven #1 hits on country radio, all of which he either solo or co-wrote, and his status as a star even beyond country music, I think it’s pretty safe to say Green’s late transition into a musician worked out pretty damn well. Watch here: Riley Green Tour Dates 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 “They Could Sing Circles Around Me”: Riley Green Says He Never Thought He’d Have A Shot At A Music Career first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The couple got married in a quickie wedding back in 2016. Continue reading…