Divorce documents show Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo took steps to avoid a contentious split. Continue reading…

Ella Langley’s first career Grammy may be coming soon. Unlike the ACMs and CMAs, the Grammys have had a long-history of nominating and subsequently awarding some of the best and brightest stars in country music. Though last year had some head-scratchers, primarily Jelly Roll and Shaboozey scoring multiple wins, there were still plenty of highlights. Of course, this was spearheaded by the fact that the likes of Tyler Childers, Charley Crockett, Margo Price, Lukas Nelson, Jason Isbell, Billy Strings and more were nominated despite being all but ignored by the likes of the aforementioned ACM and CMA Awards. Out of all the emerging storylines from this year’s Grammys, in the country community, the biggest was undoubtedly the creation of the Best Traditional Country Album category. The previously titled Best Country Album category has been changed to Best Contemporary Country Album, marking the first time in Grammy history that two country albums received awards. In turn, Zach Top rightfully became the first-ever winner of Best Traditional Country Album, winning it with Ain’t In It For My Health and beating out the likes of Charley Crockett, Margo Price and Lukas and Willie Nelson. In a rare miss, Jelly Roll took home the first Best Contemporary Country Album, winning it with Beautifully Broken and beating out Eric Church, Tyler Childers, Kelsea Ballerini and Miranda Lambert. This morning, the Recording Academy announced an additional five brand new categories. The most notable change in the country/folk world is the addition of the Best Traditional Folk Album category. Identically to country, now folk is split into two categories: Best Traditional and Best Contemporary. Additionally, the Academy made a significant change to the all-genre Best New Artist category, which may open the door for one of country music’s biggest stars, Ella Langley. In a slight alteration to the nomination process, artists can now be entered to be nominated for Best New Artists four times (originally three) before being deemed ineligible. Given the fact that Langley has been entered but not nominated three times, she is now eligible entering 2027. Of course, this also opens the door for the likes of fellow female country star, Megan Moroney, as well as other all-genre stars such as Ken Carson, Ravyn Lenae and other artists who have been entered three times without a nomination. With all of that being said, it seems incredibly likely that Langley will at least score a nomination for Best New Artist. And with the critical and commercial success of “Choosin’ Texas” and Dandelion, she should, by all means, be a frontrunner to win. Even putting a country music bias aside, it’s truly hard to ignore the quality and subsequent record-breaking success Langley has experienced with the aforementioned single and album. As it stands today, “Choosin’ Texas” is the longest-running #1 hit by a female country artist on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 (10 weeks), the longest-running #1 hit by a female artist on the Hot Country Songs chart (29 weeks), the only country song by a woman to triple up and go #1 on Billboard’s Hot 100, Hot Country and Country Airplay chart simultaneously and just the seventh country song solely recorded by a woman to go #1 on the Hot 100 in the history of the chart. Additionally, it’s also helped her become the second woman in history to hold the #1 album and song in the U.S. simultaneously with a country song/album and the first female country singer to capture the top two songs in the U.S. with “Be Her” sliding up to #2 last month. It’s no stretch to say the Grammys have been pretty hesitant to award country music in all-genre categories. With that being said, however, Langley’s success in the past year and subsequent status as a phenomenon could very well force the Recording Academy to finally recognize a star in the genre. “Choosin’ Texas” The Dandelion Tour Dates 6/18/2026 Oklahoma City, OK Zoo Amphitheatre (+,&) 6/19/2026 Independence, MO Cable Dahmer Arena (+,&) 6/25/2026 Salem, VA Salem Civic Center (+,&) 6/26/2026 Wilmington, NC Live Oak Bank Pavilion at Riverfront Park (+,&) 7/23/2026 Pikeville, KY Appalachian Wireless Arena (#, %) 7/24/2026 Cary, NC Koka Booth Amphitheatre (#, %) 7/25/2026 North Charleston, SC North Charleston Coliseum (#, %) 7/30/2026 Gilford, NH BankNH Pavilion (@, %) 7/31/2026 Canandaigua, NY CMAC (@, %) 8/13/2026 Austin, TX Moody Center (#, &) 8/14/2026 Corpus Christi, TX Hilliard Center (#, &) 8/15/2026 Fort Worth, TX Dickies Arena (#, &) @ Kameron Marlowe + Dylan Marlowe # Kaitlin Butts & Gabriella Rose % Laci Kaye BoothThe post A New Grammy Rule Change May Open Up The Door For Ella Langley To Win A Major All-Genre Award first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Sounds like the divorce is going to be amicable. Though we haven’t heard from either of them yet, we’re learning more about the sudden and shocking split between Jelly Roll and Bunnie Xo after a decade of marriage. As first reported by TMZ, Jelly Roll, whose real name is Jason DeFord, filed for divorce from his wife Bunnie Xo, whose real name is Alisa DeFord, back on May 18 in Williamson County Chancery Court, just outside of Nashville. Neither of the two have publicly addressed the separation, though TMZ reported that it was a “mutual decision” and a “private family matter.” Whiskey Riff obtained a copy of the divorce complaint that was filed by the “Save Me” singer, which reveals that the couple separated on May 9, a week and a half before the request for a divorce was filed. He cites “irreconcilable differences” as the grounds for the divorce, which in Tennessee is a no-fault grounds for divorce that means that the parties agree on the terms of the separation. According to the complaint: “The Husband would respectfully show unto the Court that these parties are unable to live together successfully as Husband and Wife. Plaintiff charges that the parties have suffered irreconcilable differences as would entitle either of them to a divorce. …” Interestingly, Jelly Roll also asks that Bunnie not be required to answer the complaint as would normally be required in a contested divorce, which would seem to indicate that the two have already worked out the details of their separation like division of property, and will instead be filing a Marital Dissolution Agreement to make the process as quick and easy as possible. Jelly Roll has hired Rose Palermo, a high-profile divorce attorney to the stars who has represented other celebrities like Kelsea Ballerini, Kristin Cavallari, Conway Twitty, Wynona Judd, and many, many more. For her part, Bunnie is represented by Neil Campbell of Campbell Perky Johnson, PLLC, a Nashville-based divorce firm. The couple were married back in 2016 before renewing their vows in 2023, and have been incredibly transparent about their relationship, including their struggles along the way. As Bunnie has discussed in the past, the two separated not long after getting married when she discovered that Jelly Roll was having an affair with an ex of his: “We got married in 2016. The affair was started with an ex in 2017, and then I think I found out about it early on in 2018.” During an appearance last year on the Human School Podcast with Miles Adcox, Jelly Roll also opened up on the affair, saying that it led him to question whether he would ever be able to clean up his act: “I don’t talk about this publicly at all, but one of the worst moments of my adulthood was when I had an affair on my wife. Because it was the first time that I was like, ‘I really can’t get this right at all.’ Like, I know I’m in love with this woman. It was just such a – like it just really, really, really blew me back.” If you’re not familiar with Bunnie, she’s actually got a pretty incredible story herself. The host of the Dumb Blonde Podcast who’s built up a massive following of her own, she actually started out as a high-end escort in Las Vegas, which is what she was doing when her and Jelly Roll first met. During an appearance on The Joe Rogan Experience podcast a while back, Jelly Roll discussed being homeless when he first met his wife: “My wife grew up in Las Vegas, Nevada. My wife was a high-end escort her whole life. That’s what she did when I met her. I was broke. I was living in a 1996 van. Literally. Didn’t have a house. And this woman has like two condos and a few sports cars. She’s f–king BALLING.” More recently, the couple had been open about their struggles trying to conceive a child through IVF, with hopes of conceiving twins through a surrogate: “Now that we’re finally stable financially and somewhat emotionally after all the healing we’ve done over this decade together, we’re talking about the future—­including growing our family. J and I have a surrogate, the sweetest woman ever, and soon I’ll be starting my IVF stims.” And last fall, she even clapped back at trolls who questioned why she hadn’t been seen publicly with her husband: “Somebody said the other day, they’re like, ‘They used to always be together. Now you never see them together. I’m like, do you guys not know for the past six months I’ve been trying to make a baby? Like, my husband has to work to f***ing bring home the bacon. Luckily, I have the luxury of being able to work from home. So he doesn’t. He has to make appearances. But I literally have been on IVF meds for f***ing six months and going through heartbreak and f***ing so much s***.” Neither Jelly Roll nor Bunnie have commented on the divorce filing, so we don’t know what happened to lead to the separation. Jelly Roll is currently on the road with Post Malone for his Big Ass Stadium Tour while also headlining his own Little Ass Shed Tour. But before news broke of the divorce, Bunnie shared a video of herself singing along to Nickelback’s “How You Remind Me.” View this post on Instagram You hate to see that they’re splitting after everything they’ve been through together, but hopefully they can both find happiness one way or the other.The post Jelly Roll Cites “Irreconcilable Differences” In Divorce Complaint Against Bunnie Xo: “Unable To Live Together Successfully As Husband And Wife” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Oh, yes please. Mike Campbell, legendary guitarist and co-songwriter for Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers, has had his band The Dirty Knobs for over 25 years, having formed the group in 2000. They have put out four albums in that time span, most recently released one called Mission of Mercy. And it features one very talented country lady on a song called “More Than Gold,” which he sings with the one and only… Morgane Stapleton. Of course, you probably know her as Chris Stapleton’s backup singer and wife, but Morgane had a well established singer/songwriter career of her own before she married him, and as most fans know, she’s been featured on background vocals for tons of songs, written plenty of others, and nowadays, she’s featured on nearly all of Chris’ music. She was an instrumental part of Chris’ iconic 2015 Grammy-winning album Traveller that made him a household name, and top of that, she’s written for some of the biggest names in business, including Chris, Alan Jackson, Reba, and Trisha Yearwood. She was even a co-writer on Carrie Underwood’s huge 2005 single “Don’t Forget To Remember Me.” There was only one way to hear her older music, though. A small collection of songs live on through her old MySpace profile. Yeah, that’s how old they are. It’s listed under her maiden name “Morgane Hayes,” and under the tab titled “countrykickass.” Need I say more? Unfortunately, the songs don’t seem to be available publicly anymore, but we all know she can sing like nobody’s business, and I’ve always hoped she would release her own solo album, though Chris also explained in a previous interview that Morgane doesn’t necessarily love being in the spotlight… and she also has five children she’s taking care of at home, too: “Morgane doesn’t like the attention necessarily, and she does it because I do it. She likes to do it with me because I enjoy doing it. She would be very happy staying home and doing mom stuff, and she likes music and she is very passionate about music, but some of the other things that are the work of music are not her favorite, but she’s invaluable as well, and she knows that as well, and we make sure that she knows that.” But even if that never happens, we still get to hear her sing regularly with her husband, and every now and then she’ll surprise us with something like this song with Mike Campbell, which is a beautiful tune about how love and emotional connection is worth “more than gold,” as the title suggests. The production is much more folk-leaning than their usual stuff, and the more simple nature of the song made Stapleton the perfect choice because her voice is just stunning on this kind of song. It’s not a pairing I could’ve dreamed up, but they’re obviously both immensely talented and it just works so well. Do yourself a favor and check it out: “More Than Gold” The post Morgane Stapleton Joins Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs For Beautiful Song, “More Than Gold” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Tyler Childers can pull off an on-stage, mid-concert rant like no one else. The country music star recently played the Buckeye Country Superfest at Ohio Stadium, and as you might imagine, Childers’ setlist was chock-full of songs from his most recent album, Snipe Hunter. “Snipe Hunt,” “Oneida,” “Eatin’ Big Time,” and “Down Under” were all a part of the show. But the biggest Snipe Hunter performance of the night was undoubtedly the fan-favorite, incredibly viral song “Bitin’ List.” It’s been the runaway hit of the album since it was released last year, and has sparked plenty of TikTok videos and millions of streams since its release. The deranged, hate-fueled anthem has really found a home within Childers’ live shows. And as he introduced the track and explained who it’s about during his Ohio concert, it was almost like he was opening up for a therapy session: “I’m not talking about those people in your life that aggravate you. Those people that throw their bubble gum wherever they want to with no regard for the bottom of your shoe, or anyone else’s for that matter. People that don’t pick up after their dogs. What is their problem? You’ve got to do that. That’s kind of part of the thing… People that ride their bicycles on the sidewalk. People that don’t their shopping cart back to where its supposed to go. Lazy. You picked it out, you pushed it around maybe for an hour and a half. You got it all the way out to your car, and you can’t go even go the extra little bit? It’s not even extra, it’s the last part of the process. You’ve got to take it back where it does.” Love a little “Shopping Cart Theory” talk. Tyler Childers didn’t stop there. The pre-performance before the actual singing of “Bitin’ List” continued with the country music star calling out other lazy, someone-else-will-take-care-of-it minded people, and the crowd was absolutely loving the rant that ran on for quite some time. But to be clear, Tyler Childers wasn’t focusing on those type of people with “Bitin’ List.” The song is reserved for people who are somehow even more aggravating and irritating than the examples he listed. If fans at Ohio Stadium were in need of more clarification, the singer hailing from Eastern Kentucky put it like this, and then explained how he channeled all of his anger through his hobby of songwriting: “Those aren’t even the people that I’m talking about. Those are aggravating people. Those are people that kind of get on your nerves. I’m talking about those people in your life that you really can’t stand… There’s a way to process that (hate) for each and every one of us. Take up a hobby. Crochet. Scrapbook. Take up riding your bicycle. I’ll tell you what I did. I write songs… and when I wrote this song about hypothetically weaponizing rabies against the people I don’t like, I felt a lot better.” @codychilds285 #tylerchilders #fyp #introbitinlist #buckeyecountrysuperfest #part1 ♬ original sound – Codychilds285 That right there is a legitimate, beautiful, five-minute-long rant from Tyler Childers. It’s honestly just as good as his actual performance of “Bitin’ List.” It was as if Tyler was laying down on a therapist’s couch, and the Ohio Stadium crowd was his counselor. Make sure you do yourself a favor and get out to see Tyler Childers soon. His concerts are worth attending solely for his “Bitin’ List” rant and performance. Oh, and you might as well fire up “Bitin’ List” while you are here, eh? “Bitin’ List” The post Tyler Childers Intros “Bitin’ List” With An Epic, 5-Minute, Therapy Session Rant at Ohio Stadium first appeared on Whiskey Riff.