When it comes to social media rants, Charley Crockett never lets up. The “Hallelujah Trail” singer released two albums in 2025 (Lonesome Drifter and Dollar A Day), and another two in 2o26 (Age of the Ram and Clovis). The latter of 2026, along with it’s delay and then return, had a lot of fans talking… as did his recent spat with the satanic Twin Temple. But funny enough, what keeps the Grammy-nominee in the headlines – and now the memes – again and again is yet another online rant about the current state of the world and country music. That’s not out of the norm for Crockett. In fact, it’s come to be expected. In one of Charley’s latest tirades, the country music singer first targeted all of the “Disney kids” and “TikTok stars” that have shot to the top without struggling as artists. That led him to bring up his Clovis project, and why it meant so much for him to record at the New Mexico studio with so much history. Crockett got into a little bit of that history, and wandered upon a thought about the late, great Waylon Jennings: “I do take issue with the business folks standing behind them though. The ones that feel threatened when somebody comes around that they can’t corral. The entertainment media who cares nothing for the truth, only traffic. That’s why I went to Clovis. To record where Buddy Holly disrupted popular music permanently in a small cattle town. He died at 23 on a plane Waylon Jennings was supposed to be riding in. Imagine what Holly might’ve done if he lived even as long as Elvis did? Buddy believed Waylon was a star and for that reason his first recordings were also in that little Clovis recording studio. I’d argue nobody influenced the sound of country music more than Waylon in the 1970s. They better put ol’ hoss in the Rock Hall and it needs to be right quick.” Amen to that. In the midst of the rest of Crockett’s sprawling thoughts, he makes a great point about Waylon Jennings. He’s undoubtedly one of the greatest influences on country music ever, and its wild to think that the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame hasn’t ushered the “Mammas Don’t Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys” singer in with the rest of the greats. Of course, there’s only a handful of country artists in it, and most reached their prime 50 years ago or more, while 90s and early 2000s stars in other genres have made it in (White Stripes, Oasis, Soundgarden, Outkast, etc…). Charley finished off his thoughts though by getting back to his own work: “We went out there on that Llano Estacado searching for something more and I believe we found it. The suits love to treat mules like thoroughbreds and work thoroughbreds like mules. It’s all about who plays by their rules. People say nobody reinvents the game. But sometimes you can change it. I’ve ridden stack trains through the desert and wandered China Town at night. They hate to see you comin’ when you just can’t be thrown off.” View this post on Instagram This latest post is a little all over the place, but regardless, Charley Crockett clearly appreciates country music history, and will always go to bat for Waylon. And before we go, I mentioned the memes earlier in the story, right? Charley even shouted out one of them by resharing one on his official social media page: “Not gonna lie. This one goes hard, jack.” View this post on Instagram The post “Nobody Influenced The Sound of Country Music More”: Charley Crockett Demands Waylon Jennings’ Induction Into The Rock & Roll Hall Of Fame first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Bryan Andrews wants to play country music's biggest stages. But if those opportunities come at the expense of his message, then he says it's not worth it. Continue reading…

The show just got a whole lot more country. Continue reading…

Have you recently discovered a new country artist? And now you can’t get enough of them? If so, you aren’t alone. It’s that very conversation that’s being explored over Those are the questions that are currently being explored over on the r/countrymusicstuff page of the online forum known as Reddit. Reddit is a wonderful place to share opinions. It’s really just an online soundboard (often referred to as the “Front Page of the Internet”) where you can get unbiased and often helpful information. Right now, some country music-loving Redditors are currently discussing which artists they’ve discovered as of late, and why they can’t get enough of some of their new favorites. Music discovery looks a little different than it used to. Gone are the days where the radio station is the main avenue for finding new artists (it still happens from time, I suppose). Now, there’s a lot of algorithm and social media involved. The jury is still out on whether or not that’s the superior way to go about things. I, for one, still prefer the word of mouth method. I’ll always welcome a recommendation, and there are plenty to go around on this Reddit thread. One user asked: “Who’s an artist you discovered and now you can’t stop listening to?” It didn’t take long for the replies to start pouring in. From what I can tell, a lot of people went from discovering a new artist or band to seeing them live as soon as they could. That’s undoubtedly a brilliant way to navigate your music fandom. Nothing can replace seeing a band and hearing new songs live, and I can attest (as can many others) that hearing a song live just might flip it from skippable to repeat. Every artist and group that was shouted out in this discussion seems to be on repeat for each and every Redditor: “49 Winchester. Popped up on my Spotify in 2022. Seen them three times now. They’re incredible.” “Silverada. Great music.” “I’m currently hyper fixating on Muscadine Bloodline. One of their songs played on my Apple Music station and I was immediately hooked.” “Colby Acuff. Seeing him in the fall!” “Colter Wall.” “Carter Faith. I had a few songs of hers pop up over the last couple years then Cherry Valley came out last year and now like all I can listen to is that album.” “Stephen Wilson Jr.! He’s amazing live!” “Larry Fleet.” “I like Cody Jinks a lot.” “Kat Hasty – her last record’s been on heavy repeat for me for more than a year. Same with SG Goodman.” “Corey Kent.” “Jackson Dean, Turnpike Troubadours, Randy Rogers Band, Randall King. I’ve only seen the first two live, but they were both phenomenal!” “Charles Wesley Godwin.” “Jake Worthington is the real deal.” “Blackberry Smoke. Southern rock!” “Miles Miller.” “Wyatt Flores, JR Carroll. Could listen to them on repeat all day long.” There might not be anything better than discovering a new artist (or at least new to you) and diving into their entire catalogue. Well… the only thing that improves on that experience is then showing someone else the artist you just found. Getting someone else on board feels pretty good too.The post From Charles Wesley Godwin To Stephen Wilson Jr.: Country Fans Reveal Their New Favorite Artist Discoveries first appeared on Whiskey Riff.