Braxton Keith was a music-making machine in 2025, gifting fans with numerous singles like “Wind Blows,” “Baby You Do,” “Bye In Goodbye,” and his collaboration with fellow Texas honky tonker Randall King for “Cheatin’ On My Honky Tonk.” Keith also gifted fans with two additional songs during the fall, the honky tonk heartbreaker “Prescription” and a stellar cover of George Strait’s “The Chair.” The Texas native has carried that momentum into 2026, first releasing a highly teased Western swing tune, “I Ain’t Tryin’.” The ditty transports you back in time to a dance hall, where couples spin around the dance floor. The steel guitar’s upbeat tempo has you instantly tapping your foot, wanting to get out on the dance floor to boot scoot. Keith is back today, February 20, with a new single that slows things down compared to “I Ain’t Tryin’.” The “Cozy” singer is bringing on the blues with his new single “I Own This Bar.” View this post on Instagram Staying true to his neo-traditional roots, Keith does it again with this single, telling a tall tale of how he’s getting back at a woman who is talking a big game to him. Penned by Keith, Liz Rose, and Phil O’Donnell, the song is the perfect response to when a person tries to name-drop to you. “This song was really fun to write. It just gives you that bar feel. You’re in a bar, everybody’s kinda fibbing. Nobody’s telling the truth.” The narrator finds himself talking to a little lady who has no issue flaunting the expensive clothes she wears or how she is tied to country music royalty. But instead of falling for her antics, Keith plays right into her game and begins spouting off false facts about himself as well. “You say you got them boots in Paris And you’re cousins with George Jones Drinkin’s against your religion But that wine is just an act of when in Rome You say you’re savin’ yourself for marriage And your daddy, he’s a movie star I’m Billy Graham, honey I own this bar Talkin’ lock, stock and barrel Hard wood floor under neon lights Girl, if we ain’t careful We could go to hell for lyin’ You swear you’ve never been here Ain’t ever heard no steel guitar Well, I’m George Strait, and honey, I own this bar” Sonically, the tune follows more of a Western waltz pattern, incorporating elements of blues and jazz into the melody, yet still stays true to Keith’s honky tonk roots with killer steel guitar licks. The end product is silky smooth and goes down the ears as easily as a nice pour of whiskey. Braxton Keith is on a roll, and “I Own This Bar” proves he has no plans of slowing down soon. Turn this one all the way up. The post Braxton Keith Is Telling Tall Tales With New Single “I Own This Bar” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Dierks Bentley is playing chess while the rest of us are playing checkers. Soon, the “Drunk On A Plane” singer will hit the road once again for his bluegrass-heavy Off The Map Tour. It’s basically a continuation of his Broken Branches Tour from last year, which shared and celebrated the artist’s 2025 album release of the same name. In fact, the Off The Map Tour gets inspiration from a song that was included on Broken Branches. I actually wrote last year that “Off The Map” could be one of the best songs of Bentley’s career, and it’s nice to see that an entire tour is being built around the idea of that track. And Dierks is bringing plenty of talent along with him out on the road… for both the audience’s enjoyment and his own (more on that later). Bluegrass legend Ricky Skaggs, the uberly talented Kaitlin Butts, and the rising Mountain Grass Unit (along with Cole Goodwin and Owen Reigling) are all joining Bentley on the Off The Map Tour. It’s set to hit 11 cities in just six weeks, with dates spread throughout June and July. Bentley and Skaggs made the tour announcement together in a unique way: a performance of Skaggs’ “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go).” Pretty cool, eh? I’ve got a feeling a lot of country and bluegrass fans are going to be excited to get out there to see the Off The Map Tour. And you know what’s funny? There might not be anyone out there more excited about it all than Dierks Bentley himself. In an interview with Variety, the country star talked about how the openers for this tour came to be, and it’s pretty straightforward: “I love live music and don’t get out to go see as much as I would like to, so I always try to pick tour mates who I love and want to watch over and over again. It’s great for the fans, but also selfishly for me. I wanna go watch their show, maybe drink a beer with, before or after, or who inspire me or are heroes. This year is an eclectic mix of people, but all folks I’m hugely respectful of.” What a smart move by Dierks Bentley. That’s something you don’t really think about that much, right? Often times, your favorite country music artist can’t go out and see other country music artists because they are all usually busy touring at the same. So the solution if you are someone like Dierks Bentley? Get some of your favorite artists to open for you, so you can see them every night. Later on and elsewhere in the interview, Dierks had nothing but great things to say about Skaggs, Butts, Goodwin and Reigling. But he’s really looking forward to getting the four piece bluegrass group Mountain Grass Unit (made up of all college kids who have played together since they were young) out in front of fans: “Also on this tour, we got the Mountain Grass Unit coming out that’s just unbelievable. These guys are so great. It’s kind of that Billy Strings vein a little bit, or just that hard bluegrass sound, somehow just taking three-chord bluegrass and reinventing it in a way where the kids think it’s something totally new.” View this post on Instagram Off the Map Tour Dates 6/12 – Rogers, AR < ~ 6/13 – Kansas City, MO < ~ 6/25 – Bonner, MT ! # 6/26 – Airway Heights, WA * # 7/2 – Colorado Springs, CO < # 7/9 – Gilford, NH < * 7/10 – Bridgeport, CT < * 7/11 – Canandaigua, NY < * 7/16 – Wilmington, NC < # 7/17 – Charleston, SC < # 7/18 – St. Augustine, FL < # < Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder * Kaitlin Butts # Cole Goodwin ~ Owen Riegling ! Mountain Grass UnitThe post Dierks Bentley Has One Simple Approach To Picking Openers first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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