If you didn’t like how Luke Bryan’s “Fish Hunt Golf Drink” sounded already… I’m honestly not sure how you’ll feel about this “slam poetry” version of the song that a band called The Doohickeys recently laid down. Say what you want about Bryan, but he’s got over 30 No. 1 hits throughout his career. He’s found the formula, cozied himself into it, and keeps delivering music that he knows his fanbase is going to like. If the goal as a country artist is to make your fans happy, Luke Bryan is nailing it. In “keep it coming” fashion, Bryan rolled out a new song titled “Fish Hunt Golf Drink” earlier this week. It’s the third single from his forthcoming album, and it’s reminiscent of some of his previous hits that tackle similar topics, like “Huntin’, Fishin’ and Lovin’ Every Day” and “Sunrise, Sunburn, Sunset.”  The kind of easy-listening, summertime, radio friendly hit he’s delivered over and over throughout his career. If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, eh? “Fish Hunt Golf Drink” has been labeled as “AI-slop,” among other things, and it’s easy to see why many country fans are giving Bryan a hard time. There’s not much depth to the lyrics, as you can see below: “If it wasn’t for the tax man, wasn’t for the bills If it wasn’t for the traffic in my windshield If it wasn’t always somewhere to be And my life was really up to me If I could have it my own way, you know Let me tell you how every day would go Wake up, coffee Camo, climb tree Wet line, eighteen Fish, hunt, golf, drink All fall, all spring, all summer long I’ll be livin’ it up and livin’ it on A country boy’s dream Fish, hunt, golf, drink.” It might sound like AI slop, but it manages to become an earworm. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve tried to stop myself from singing it. “Fish Hunt Golf Drink” gets stuck in your head rather quickly. And the track even got the attention of a “cheeky country band” that call themselves The Doohickeys. The duo from Los Angeles, California likes to sarcastically “shine a light on under appreciated modern-day poets,” and in the latest example, they honed in on Bryan’s catchy-and-controversial country tune. The delivery the song – which can best be described as “satirical drama” – allows for country fans to really digest the lyrics like they never have before (and probably haven’t ever wanted to). They slowed it down, still had some pedal steel, and made sure to turn the “make fun of Luke Bryan” all the way up. Check it out: “At our live shows, we like to shine a light on the under appreciated, modern-day poets in country music. At our recent show we showcased the brilliant work of Luke Bryan with his composition: ‘Fish Hunt Golf Drink.’ We hope Mr. Bryan and his team of writers to finally receive their much deserved accolades.” View this post on Instagram I’d love to know what Luke Bryan thinks of this… he’s responded to trolls coming after him about “Fish Hunt Golf Drink” already, and something tells me he’d have a great sense of humor about this.The post California Country Band Turns Luke Bryan’s “Fish Hunt Golf Drink” Into Hilarious Dramatic Reading first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Who's got your vote this week? Continue reading…

She sounds just like her mom. Continue reading…

Blue dot fever strikes again? Kacey Musgraves has quietly canceled three concerts on her upcoming Middle of Nowhere Tour, including what was scheduled to be the opening night in Chicago. The canceled shows include August 20 at the United Center in Chicago, Illinois, August 29 at TD Garden in Boston, Massachusetts, and September 2 at Madison Square Garden in New York City. While no announcement was made, ticket holders were informed of the cancellations via email and informed that refunds would be issued automatically. All three of the canceled shows were added after the tour was initially announced, during the artist presale due to high demand. There are still currently shows scheduled for all three three cities (including two shows at Madison Square Garden) and tickets available for the remaining shows in those cities. In addition to the three canceled concerts, Kacey also added additional dates in Austin, Texas on October 8 and Dallas, Texas on October 11. Obviously we don’t know for sure why the shows were canceled, but looking at ticket sales for the remaining shows it appears that there are plenty of seats still available in each city. While the new opening night in Chicago appears close to a sell out, the newly-added date in Austin seems to be struggling with ticket sales. And the new date in Dallas, which is also in her home state, doesn’t appear to be selling much better: The cancellations are just the latest in a string of artists we’ve seen pulling the plug on shows – or entire tours – apparently due to low ticket sales. Back in the spring, Post Malone announced that he would be postponed the start of his Big A– Stadium Tour, canceling the first six scheduled stops before kicking off in June. While Post said that he was pushing back the start of the tour so he could focus on finishing up his new album, plenty of people pointed out that the cancelled shows all appeared to be struggling with ticket sales, with some stadiums appearing to be on track to be more than half empty when they pulled the plug. But Posty is far from the only tour cancellation we’ve seen so far – and it’s not just in the country world. Pop star Meghan Trainor cancelled her entire tour, just months after welcoming her new son, citing her desire to spend time with her family. And the Pussycat Dolls cancelled the North American leg of their reunion tour – and in a rare move, they straight up told fans that it was due to low ticket sales: “After taking an honest look at the North American run, we’ve made the difficult and heartbreaking decision to cancel all but one of the North America dates.” Actor-turned-country singer Kiefer Sutherland also recently canceled his upcoming tour, also admitting that it was due to low ticket sales: “With great disappointment I am going to have to cancel the US leg of my tour due to very low ticket sales. I don’t think it’s fair to the people who have bought tickets, or the venues, to play half empty houses.” The problem has become so widespread in the music industry that it’s gotten its own name, being dubbed “blue dot fever” because of all the blue dots showing available seats when you go to buy tickets. And it’s hard to say what’s causing it, whether it’s the economy or simply a weakening of the massive demand for concerts that we saw over the past couple years post-COVID. And to be clear, I guess it’s possible that Kacey had other reasons for canceling her shows. But it certainly appears likely that she too fell victim to the blue dot fever. Nothing that a quick sit on the washing machine can’t fix.The post Kacey Musgraves Cancels Three Shows, Including Opening Night, On Upcoming ‘Middle of Nowhere’ Tour first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Ben Chapman has lived in Nashville long enough to tell you all of the great places the city has to offer… and how much Music City has changed. The “Don’t You Dare” singer joined the Whiskey Riff Raff to talk about how he and his wife – fellow artist Meg McCree – juggle music and raising their little one, the music that helped shape who he is, having Channing Wilson as a mentor, and his latest album, Feet On Fire, being called “funky tonk.” Ben also talked about how he approaches songwriting, trying to have songs that jam but avoiding being a “jam band,” and his concern that no cool music will be made in 20 years. Chapman went on to say a lot of modern artists are making “phone in” records, called out a lot of young artists that don’t know the history of country music, and entertained the thought of country stars from the 60s and 70s living in the modern, social media age of music. It was a wide-ranging conversation, but one portion that’s sure to get Nashvillians and those planning to visit to lean in was when Chapman – a Nashville resident for over seven years now – started throwing out his Music City recommendations. There are plenty of spots around town that he likes, but there’s only a select few that earn “favorite” status: “I would say, for like a beer and honky tonk vibe, you’ve got Bobby’s Idle Hour. I love Santa’s Pub on a Sunday. You’ve got the ice cold pickers. Kind of a new spot, Skinny Dennis. Sometimes that get’s a little too yuppy for me. But I like it, it’s cool. Seems like a really cool crowd is there on Fridays and Saturdays. For food, Wendell Smith’s is my favorite, all-time spot. It’s the best meat and three. Best breakfast in town, I think. They have the best fried chicken. I could go on and on about them. I could be a spokesperson.” @whiskeyriff @Ben Chapman #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff Wendell Smith’s should get in touch. Chapman also shouted out all of the guitar shops he frequents, like Carter’s. And he also couldn’t help but to say the thing that many people living in Nashville has been saying lately: it’s changed a ton. The country artist remembers how cool it was coming to Music City as a kid, and just wait until you hear him describe what Broadway used to be like: “Just in the time I’ve been here, (it’s changed). I was coming up as a kid. I kind of knew music was what I always wanted to do… coming up at 10-years-old, it was like a ghost town. You would go to Broadway and do whatever you wanted to at 10-years-old. They weren’t stopping you from getting in. You could park on the street. Literally we’d pull up, my grandparents would take me, we’d come up and park right on the street and walk in. Hear the coolest sh*t ever playing, get in the car, drive a half mile down the road, pull over again. It was awesome.” The parking portion alone of the Nashville of yesteryear sounds wonderful. But that was a long time ago. Even when Chapman moved to Nashville almost a decade ago, it was unrecognizable from the times he visited as a kid: “When I moved to town, it had already changed. It had that boom feel to it. Then year 5, right after COVID, everyone was coming in from California and Austin, Texas. It kind of did what Austin did, had that huge boom.” The jury is still out on whether that boom was truly good for Nashville. You can hear about all of that and more from Ben Chapman by checking out the interview on YouTube or making sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff.” We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts. Cheers, y’all. Audio Video The post Ben Chapman Details His Go-To Places In Nashville: “I Could Go On & On” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.