Wasting zero time. For all intents and purposes, the 61st annual ACM Awards were a hit. Though there were your standard snubs, with Turnpike Troubadours absent from the Group of the Year nominees and Eric Church getting left off the Album of the Year list for Evangeline vs. the Machine, it was a bit of a refreshing list of winners. Notably, Ella Langley made history by taking home a staggering 7 awards for Female Artist of the Year, Artist-Songwriter of the Year, Single and Song of the Year (“Choosin’ Texas”) and Music Event of the Year (“Don’t Mind If I Do” with Riley Green). Additionally, Texas had a huge night with Cody Johnson, who not only won his first Male Artist of the Year award but also took home the most coveted prize of the night, Entertainer of the Year. Parker McCollum also added to the Lone Star state’s success by winning Album of the Year with his stellar self-titled record. Despite bouncing around quite a bit over the past decade, being held in Nashville, Frisco, Texas, and Las Vegas recently, it looks like the ACM Awards have found their home in Sin City for the time being. Today, the Academy has officially announced that the 62nd annual ACM Awards will once again be held at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas on Sunday, May 16, 2027. View this post on Instagram The return to Vegas should not come as a huge surprise, given the economic success of the show last month. According to Greyhill Advisors, a leading economic analysis consulting firm, the 61st ACM Awards generated an estimated $53 million in total economic impact for the Las Vegas region, which was an 85% increase in comparison to the impact generated in Frisco, Texas, during the show in 2025. From an engagement perspective, the 2026 ACM Awards were also a success, garnering over 153 million video impressions across Instagram, TikTok, X (formerly Twitter), Threads and Facebook, which is good for a 35% increase from 2025. Additionally, streaming numbers increased for a plethora of different winners, including the likes of Ella Langley, Parker McCollum, Avery Anna and Carter Faith. In particular, Anna, who won New Female Artist of the Year and delivered an electric cover of Cher’s 1966 hit “Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down),” saw the biggest increase in streams directly following the show. While Las Vegas and country music don’t quite mix together the same way Texas or Nashville do, it’s pretty clear that the transition back to the entertainment capital of country paid dividends for the ACMs. In turn, it feels like a bit of a no-brainer to roll the dice (no pun intended) on Sin City for a second straight year heading into 2027. The quick turnaround on a location compared to last year (Vegas wasn’t confirmed until December) signals quite a bit of confidence for another successful outing. As of now, a host has yet to be chosen. Before you go, check out some of the performances from the 2026 ACM Awards. “Demons In Your Choir” – The Red Clay Strays “Honky Tonk Till It Hurts” – Zach Top “If I Had Never Lost My Mind” – Carter Faith The post The ACM Awards Are Returning To Las Vegas In 2027 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Giving Charles Wesley Godwin a run for his money. Though there are plenty of songs throughout the history of the country and folk scene that have been deemed classics in the modern era, ranging from the likes of “Folsom Prison Blues” and “Amarillo By Morning” to “Wagon Wheel” and “Jolene,” John Denver’s 1971 classic, “Take Me Home, Country Roads,” has remained one of the great unifiers for just about everyone over the decades. Personally, I’ve heard this song just about everywhere across the country — frat parties in the Midwest, bars on the East Coast, concerts down south — and every single time, everyone’s sang along. On the surface, you think it would be played out by now, nearly 55 years later, but that’s simply not been the case. Recently, “Take Me Home, Country Roads” has taken on even more life. A few weeks ago, West Virginia native and alt. country star, Charles Wesley Godwin, made headlines by getting fired up (which is incredibly rare if you’ve ever met him) over the long-standing myth that the track is about western Virginia, NOT West Virginia. Just days after Godwin sparked some further debate about the track’s real locational meaning, it would make even bigger, national headlines when it beat out Bon Jovi’s “Livin’ On a Prayer” and Neil Diamond’s “Sweet Caroline” to become the victory song of the US Men’s National Soccer Team at this year’s World Cup. This was highlighted after the U.S.’s 2-0 victory over Australia on June 19th when the squad serenaded the Seattle crowd after the win. The @USMNT faithful serenade their team with "Take Me Home, Country Roads" in Seattle pic.twitter.com/XI3Q3EkxhK — FOX Sports (@FOXSports) June 19, 2026 Keeping the buzz surrounding the track going, during their recent stop in Denver, Colorado, at Fiddler’s Green Amphitheater, two of the best bands in the business right now, Flatland Cavalry and Shane Smith & the Saints, decided to perform their own version of the track. Just in case that wasn’t enough, the rising powerhouse trio, The Castellows, were also bouncing around on stage during the performance of the track. Given the fact that Flatland has covered the track (incredibly well, I might add) in the past, it was a pretty standard affair. With that being said, I’ve never heard Smith lend his vocals on the Denver classic. It’s pretty safe to say it was everything you’d want and more, with his haunting, powerhouse vocals absolutely dominating the second verse. Fans in the comments couldn’t get enough as well, with many begging the two bands to release the recording ASAP. “Didn’t expect a duet but that sounds damn good” “Oh Shane we are going to need this recorded!” “This. Is. Magic.” “A Recording?“ “Sooooo good”  Watch here: View this post on Instagram Flatland Cavalry Tour Dates 6/25 – Albuquerque, NM – Revel Entertainment Center 6/26 – Lubbock, TX – Cotton Festival 7/9 – Tulsa, OK – Paradise Cove at River Spirit Casino 7/10 – Wichita, KS – WAVE 7/11 – Norman, OK – Riverwind Casino 7/16 – San Angelo, TX – Bill Aylor Sr. Memorial River Stage 7/17 – New Braunfels, TX – Whitewater Amphitheater 7/18 – The Woodlands, TX – The Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion 7/23 – Little Rock, AR – The Hall 7/24 – Hochatown, OK – Choctaw Landing Hochatown Hotel & Resort 8/6 – Detroit Lakes, MN – WE Fest 8/7 – Oshkosh, WI – XRoads41 8/8 – Manhattan, KS – Rock The Plains 8/10 – Harrisonburg, VA – Rockingham County Fair 8/15 – South Bend, IN – Boots On The Bend 8/20 – Chesterfield, MO – The Factory 8/21 – Kansas City, MO – Starlight Theatre 8/22 – Lincoln, NE – Memorial StadiumThe post Flatland Cavalry and Shane Smith & The Saints Team Up For Killer Performance Of “Take Me Home, Country Roads” In Denver first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Whoops… Garth Brooks is pointing to a mistake from the woman accusing him of sexual assault as proof that her request to remain anonymous should be denied by the courts. The oversight from the woman comes as the two sides battle in the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals after a lower court ruled that she could not proceed in the litigation under the pseudonym “Jane Roe” and that the country star was entitled to use her real name in the litigation. If you’ll recall, the litigation actually consists of two cases: A lawsuit filed in California by a former hairdresser for the country accusing him of raping and sexually assaulting her on multiple occasions; and a lawsuit filed by Garth against the same woman a few days before she filed her complaint, attempting to block his accuser from filing her lawsuit against him, denying her allegations and accusing her of a “shakedown.” Garth had used pseudonyms for both parties when filing his case in Mississippi, identifying himself and his accuser only as “John Doe” and “Jane Roe” to prevent their identities from becoming public. But when she filed her lawsuit in California, she used Garth’s name in the complaint, which obviously made her allegations against him public – while protecting her own identity. After he was named in the court filings, Garth went back and amended his complaint in the Mississippi case to include the names of BOTH parties, arguing that his accuser had forfeited her right to remain anonymous and proceed under a pseudonym because she had included identifying information in the California case. This obviously upset the woman, who asked the judge in Mississippi to sanction Garth and to issue a ruling allowing her to remain anonymous and continue to use “Jane Roe” in court filings instead of her real name. But last September, Judge Henry Wingate denied her motion to proceed under a pseudonym and also denied her request for sanctions against Garth – which would pave the way for the singer to publicly name his accuser in court documents. In his order, the judge ruled that the woman had already been publicly identified on several occasions, including when Garth used her name in court filings, online through publicly available information, and inadvertently in court filings from the woman herself. The court found that, basically, the cat was already out of the bag while also pointing out that the woman was not in favor of sealing the record in the case until her identity became public: “Ms. Roe was more concerned with airing Mr. Doe’s identity to the public than preserving her own confidentiality.” The court also pointed out that when he filed his case in Mississippi, Garth had filed a motion asking permission for BOTH of the parties to remain anonymous – but before the judge could rule on that motion, the woman filed her California lawsuit and named Garth as the defendant, outing him publicly and rendering the issue moot. It was only then that Garth named her in the Mississippi suit, which he had not done to that point. Obviously the woman wasn’t happy with the court’s ruling, and has since filed an appeal to the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which bring us to the latest developments. Both sides are in the process of filing their respective briefs to argue their positions. The court allowed the woman to redact their filings to protect personal information – but apparently when attorneys filed the woman’s brief and accompanying exhibits, they inadvertently failed to redact some personally identifying information. According to a motion filed by her attorneys, which has been reviewed by Whiskey Riff, requesting the opportunity to correct their mistake: “Unfortunately, counsel for Appellant inadvertently failed to redact personally identifying information from the record excerpts that were filed in conjunction with her opening brief.” Well needless to say, Garth’s legal team took notice of the mistake, and quickly pointed it out in their own brief while arguing that her failure to protect her own identity should be a reason for the court to deny her request to remain anonymous: “Ms. Roe revealed her own identity in the very appeal where she seeks anonymity. On May 20, 2026, Ms. Roe filed Record Excerpts containing her and Mr. Doe’s full legal names.” He also pointed out the irony in the fact that she failed to protect her own anonymity in an appeal over whether or not she can remain anonymous: “The Record Excerpts have remained publicly available on this Court’s docket for more than a month, and Ms. Roe has taken no steps to seal or redact them. Even if inadvertent, Mr. Doe respectfully submits that this manifest anonymity waiver—in an appeal over anonymity and in violation of the sealing order Ms. Roe alone requested—is itself grounds to reject Ms. Roe’s appeal.” (Whiskey Riff has chosen to wait for the court’s ruling on the issue before using her name publicly). The appeals court has yet to rule on the issue, so we’ll have to wait and see whether or not the mistake could cause her to lose her appeal and allow Garth to reveal her identity.The post Garth Brooks Accuser Accidentally Reveals Her Own Identity In Appeal Over Whether She Can Remain Anonymous first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

This song brings back memories of the early days for Alan Jackson and his wife Denise. Continue reading…

Jimmie Allen owes one of his accusers nearly $2 million. The country music star who was on the rise prior to his fall from grace continues to be haunted by sexual assault allegations. It all started back in May of 2023 when his former manager sued Allen for sexual assault and sexual battery. Not long after that, everything in his life fell apart, as he was dropped from his record label, divorced by his wife, welcomed twins with another woman (who was also married), and faced other serious allegations from other women who came out accused him of sexual assault as well. While he eventually settled the lawsuit with his former manager, the other lawsuit remained open, and it’s about to cost him big time. In the other case involving sexual assault allegations, a federal judge has ordered Allen to pay “punitive damages” and “compensatory damages” to an accuser recognized as “Jane Doe 2.” That accuser originally brought the lawsuit to Allen in June of 2023, and judge Aleta A. Trauger ruled on June 18 of this year that “Jane Doe 2” is awarded almost $2 million in damages (assault, invasion of privacy, intentional infliction of emotional distress) because Jimmie Allen never responded. The $1.8 million number come from $1.2 million in punitive damages and around $597,000 in compensatory damages, according to court documents obtained by Whiskey Riff. The federal judge that made the ruling for the 41-year-old artist to fork over close to $2 million because they believed the evidence suggested that Allen’s actions were reprehensible and severe, and said it like this in the court filing: “The evidence shows that Mr. Allen intentionally and surreptitiously filmed his sexual encounter with plaintiff without her consent, and that he ejaculated inside of plaintiff without wearing a condom when plaintiff did not consent to him doing so and asked him not to do so. These intentional acts caused plaintiff to suffer extreme emotional distress and trauma.” It’s also important to point out that Jimmie Allen denied all of the accusations (he even countersued) when they were first made against him in 2023, and in a statement said that he looked forward to clearing his name in court. Fast forward to 2026, and one of the lawsuits against him has been settled, and the other has reached a point where he’s being ordered to pay $1.8 million after he never responded to the lawsuit. Following the initial answer, Jimmie failed to respond to multiple court orders and seemingly gave up on the case altogether. Allen appears to be trying to move past the messy last couple of years. He released a contemporary country album earlier in 2026 titled Hold On Loosely, and just last month, Allen shared a single called “Shaking In My Boots.” Up until those releases, the country artist had stayed quite on the music release front. His previous project before that was Tulip Drive, which came out in 2022. As I mentioned earlier, it’s been quite the fall from grace for Jimmie Allen. In 2021, he won New Male Artist of the Year at the ACM Awards and New Artist of the Year at the CMA Awards. He was on the rise from then until 2023, when all of the sexual assault allegations came out and soiled his image and caused irreparable damage to his career.The post Jimmie Allen Ordered By Federal Judge To Pay Almost $2 Million To Sexual Assault Accuser first appeared on Whiskey Riff.