Wade Forster has no sympathy for those making music with artificial intelligence The Australian country music artist recently joined the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast and talked to us about the first time he played in Nashville (thanks to winning an Australian talent competition), living a 22 hour drive from the nearest major city in Australia, being bullied for listening to country music when he was younger, and let us in on his theory as to why his thick, Aussie accent goes away when he sings. Forster even let us in on some things his home country does a bit differently. He personally thinks Australians and Texans get along quite well, though he pointed out that those from “Down Under” actually tailgate after events instead of before. Pretty brilliant, right? The “Cigarettes” singer also cut through the lies of Australian stereotypes, talked about his former life as a rodeo cowboy and rugby player, and gave his go-to advice for avoiding lethal creatures in his homeland. Oh, and Forster absolutely ripped into artists that use AI… which sounded especially good in an Australian accent. During the wide-ranging discussion, we briefly landed on the impact of technology and social media on discovering music in the modern day. When we mentioned that the future of music – both discovery and creation – seems to be unknown, since everything seems to be progressing so quickly, Forster used that as a jumping off point to bash AI: “With AI becoming a big thing, that’s scary. I don’t like AI at all. I liked AI at the start when you were making your friends into Fortnite characters and funny stuff like that. Now it’s recording songs and making fake news articles.” Forster is absolutely right. You probably remember the uproar that was caused by an AI-generated song topping the Billboard Country Digital Songs Sales chart late last year. Whiskey Riff reported that a track titled “Walk My Walk,” by an artist called Breaking Rust, had seemingly fooled the masses. It was a complete AI creation all around – from the artist, to the music video, to the song itself. From Wade Forster’s perspective, AI artists like Breaking Rust are ruining music and art: “It’s ruining art. I don’t care what anyone says. They can go, ‘Oh it’s a beautiful AI track, it’s my lyrics but I made it through AI.’ I’m like… why bother? Why bother wasting it? Why don’t you go do it for real? Even if you can’t play guitar that well, look at the way I did ‘Cigarettes.’ It’s not a very well written song but people love it because it’s real. You can’t fake authenticity.” Amen to that. Real music fans actually appreciate productions that aren’t perfect. The human element is incredibly important to music, and like Forster said (in his wonderful Australian voice), why even bother if the song is being churned out by something non-human? To hear more about Wade Forster’s anti-AI stance, make 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 “It’s Ruining Art”: Wade Forster Is Disgusted By Anyone Who Uses AI To Create Music first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Zach Bryan utilizing the power of social media. The country music superstar has an interesting relationship with his online presence. He’s been known to go on spurts of increased social media activity, just to follow those up with deleting all of his social accounts. And though he’s had some bright, interactive moments with fans through Instagram and X, there’s also been a fair share of low points. Like when Bryan clapped back at a 14-year-old on TikTok. To be fair, I’m sure he didn’t know it was a 14 year old, but still, he caught some heat for it. But as they say, the past is the past. This time around, the “Something In The Orange” singer had a positive interaction with a fan, and probably made their entire life by responding to their post. Someone named Marcus Russell reached out to the country star via X, tagging Bryan and including a “Zach Bryan hashtag” to get the country star’s attention. It worked. Russell shared a video and captioned it with “I really hope he sees this tweet,” and in the footage, the young man held up a poster that read like this: “Zach Bryan, I have a speech impediment, but your music helps me find my voice. It would be an honor to sing ‘Don’t Give Up On Me’ on August 7.” I really hope he see this tweet @zachlanebryan #zachbryan #RT #utah #fyp #zachbryanmusic #slc pic.twitter.com/GumgHGgPG0 — Marcus Russell (@MarcusORuss) March 14, 2026 Bryan is currently on his With Heaven On Tour, and his August 7 show is at Rice-Eccles Stadium in Salt Lake City, Utah (you can see the rest of his tour dates at the bottom of this story). Now, you might be thinking… we’ve got quite some time before the calendar flips to August. That specific date is just under five months away. I always say that it never hurts to ask for the favor early, and in this case, it worked out tremendously for Marcus Russell. Bryan did, in fact, see the post, and replied with this: “See you August 7th brother.” See u August 7th brother https://t.co/Thtb9pIZHO — Zach Bryan (@zachlanebryan) March 14, 2026 How cool is that? Shoutout to Bryan for probably making this fan’s year, and promising some time to shine in the spotlight later on in his With Heaven On Tour. Based upon this response from Russell, he’s counting down the days until he gets to play “Don’t Give Up On Me” with Bryan: “BRUH NO WAY!!! Can’t wait to see you soon.” BRUH NO WAY!!!!!!!! can’t wait to see you soon — Marcus Russell (@MarcusORuss) March 14, 2026 So make sure to be on the lookout for that special moment when August rolls around… we here at Whiskey Riff will certainly be looking forward to that moment too. Here’s “Don’t Give Up On Me” in case you wanted to listen: Zach Bryan “With Heaven On Tour” Dates March 14 – Tampa, Florida – Raymond James Stadium – Caamp & J.R. Carroll March 21 – San Antonio, Texas – The Alamodome – Caamp & J.R. Carroll March 28 – Baton Rouge, Louisiana – Tiger Stadium – Caamp & J.R. Carroll April 3 – Tulsa, Oklahoma – H.A. Chapman Stadium – Trampled By Turtles & J.R. Carroll April 4 – Tulsa, Oklahoma – H.A. Chapman Stadium – Trampled By Turtles & J.R. Carroll April 11 – Louisville, Kentucky – L&N Federal Credit Union Stadium – Kings of Leon & J.R. Carroll April 18 – Charlotte, North Carolina – Bank of America Stadium – Caamp & J.R. Carroll April 25 – Lincoln, Nebraska – Memorial Stadium – Kings of Leon & J.R. Carroll May 2 – Starkville, Mississippi – Davis Wade Stadium – Dijon & J.R. Carroll May 9 – Cleveland, Ohio – Huntington Bank Field – Dijon & J.R. Carroll May 27 – San Sebastian, Spain – Donostia Arena- Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara May 31 – Berlin, Germany – Waldbühne – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 3 – Oslo, Norway – Unity Arena – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 6 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Parken – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 9 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Philips Stadium – Ben Howard & Keenan O’Meara June 12 – Liverpool, United Kingdom – Anfield Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 14 – Edinburgh, United Kingdom – Scottish Gas Murrayfield – Dijon & Fey Fili June 16 – London, United Kingdom – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 17 – London, United Kingdom – Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – Dijon & Fey Fili June 20 – Cork, Ireland – Páirc Úi Chaoimh – Dijon & Fey Fili June 21 – Cork, Ireland – Páirc Úi Chaoimh – Dijon & Fey Fili June 23 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Boucher Playing Fields – Dijon & Fey Fili June 24 – Belfast, Northern Ireland – Boucher Playing Fields – Dijon & Fey Fili July 24 – Eugene, Oregon – Autzen Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili  July 31 – San Diego, California – Snapdragon Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 1 – San Diego, California – Snapdragon Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 7 – Salt Lake City, Utah – Rice-Eccles Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 13 – Denver, Colorado – Empower Field at Mile High – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 14 – Denver, Colorado – Empower Field at Mile High – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili August 22 – Arlington, Texas – AT&T Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili September 5 – Glendale, Arizona – State Farm Stadium – MJ Lenderman & Fey Fili September 18 – Dover, Delaware – The Woodlands – Kings of Leon, Fey Fili & Gabriella Rose September 19 – Dover, Delaware – The Woodlands – Alabama Shakes, Fey Fili & Gabriella Rose September 21 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Center – Trampled By Turtles & Gabriella Rose September 22 – Toronto, Ontario – Rogers Center – Trampled By Turtles & Gabriella Rose October 2 – Foxborough, Massachusetts – Gillette Stadium – Gregory Alan Isakov & Gabriella Rose October 3 – Foxborough, Massachusetts – Gillette Stadium – Gregory Alan Isakov & Gabriella Rose October 10 – Auburn, Alabama – Jordan-Hare Stadium – Gregory Alan Iskov & Gabriella RoseThe post “See You August 7th”: Zach Bryan Promises Fan With Speech Impediment He Can Sing On Stage At Upcoming Utah Concert first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The death of traditional country music may have been overstated. Continue reading…

Jelly Roll’s bride, the one and only Bunnie Xo, has struck gold with the recent release of her memoir Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic. The novel revisits some of the most raw and vulnerable parts of Bunnie’s life in Las Vegas, how she pulled herself out of the depths of sex work, addiction and abusive relationships to become the strong woman she is today. The novel also touches on the hardships they’ve endured in their relationship, how they’ve rebuilt and are stronger than ever, and their hope to welcome twins into the world through a surrogate. Bunnie Xo’s story has captivated the public so much that it’s being turned into a movie. Yep, if reading’s not your thing, Stripped Down: Unfiltered and Unapologetic will eventually be on our screens as a biopic. Bunnie Xo shared the news via social media, posting snippets of the call confirming that 101 Studios has purchased the rights to the book and plans to fast-track a movie. View this post on Instagram Shortly after receiving this news, Bunnie Xo appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live and shared how excited she is that people found her story so compelling. While I’m sure this movie is a ways away from beginning filming, Jimmy Kimmel made sure to ask the hard-hitting questions while he had Bunnie on set. He came out of the gate asking her who she’d like to star as her in the biopic. Bunnie Xo replied without hesitation with a name I am sure no one expected. “Jack Black.” Jimmy repeats the name to Bunnie, confirming he heard her correctly, but then sees the vision and tells her it’s a great idea. “That’s a great idea. That’s a great idea. Now, he’s gonna have to shave… Jack Black (Chuckles). I think if you pitched that to Jack, he might like it a lot.” Bunnie Xo then chimes in: “Listen. Jack Black is daddy, okay?” While I don’t think Jack Black could have even had it on the bingo card that he’d be on the short list for this role, after sitting with it for a second, I’m not mad at this. The shaggy hair and a very bold personality… maybe he is the leading man for this role. But not only would he have to be okay with shaving, but he’d also have to get down with some serious eyeliner and fake lashes. After the interview went live, Bunnie Xo hilariously shared that portion of the conversation to her social media pages, captioning it: “Ayyyy, Jack, holler at your girl.” View this post on Instagram Only time will tell whether Jack Black is up for this role, but no matter who plays Bunnie Xo, I am very excited to see her story brought to the big screen. Her novel was exactly as the title described it, and her story is powerful. Check out the entire interview while you’re here: The post Bunnie Xo Reveals Who She’d Want To Play Her In Newly Announced Biopic, & It Will Definitely Surprise You first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The actor admits landing a role on Taylor Sheridan’s new series 'The Madison' wasn’t easy — and he nearly took a very bold approach to make it happen. Continue reading…