The generational run continues. As time passes, it’s becoming increasingly clear that 2026 will go down as the year of Ella Langley. As of writing, it’s pretty safe to say that she’s not only the hottest country artist on the planet right now but also one of the hottest artists in all of music. Thanks to the success of “Choosin’ Texas,” the buzz surrounding her sophomore album, Dandelion, which received a lot of critical and commercial love upon its release last Friday, and continued popularity nationwide highlighted by her American Eagle partnership, Langley is not only becoming a torchbearer for women in country music but also a force to be reckoned with in the music industry as a whole. Though many country fans knew that Langley was bound to break out in a big way, I don’t think anyone could have truly predicted just how successful the past six months have been for her. As we know by now, “Choosin’ Texas” has been nothing short of a megahit, but when you take a deep dive into how many records it’s broken lately, it’s almost hard to believe. When the track first went #1 on the all-genre Billboard Hot 100 on February 9th, she became just the seventh female artist IN HISTORY to go #1 on the Hot 100 with a country song and also became the first woman ever to triple up and score #1s on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs, Country Airplay and Hot 100 chart simultaneously. Teaming up with Megan Moroney on March 2nd, she’d make more history. With “Choosin’ Texas” spending its second week at #1 on the Hot 100 and Moroney’s junior album, Cloud 9,debuting at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 albums chart, the pair became the only female country duo in history to top both charts simultaneously. In the weeks following, “Choosin’ Texas” has continued to its record-smashing success. On March 23rd, it spent its fourth week at #1 on the chart, becoming the longest-running #1 hit on Hot 100 by a female country singer in history, subsequently passing Taylor Swift’s record of three weeks with “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together.” This week, she’s back with yet another major career accomplishment. With Dandelion a week removed from its release on April 10th, the album would debut at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 on Sunday, selling 169,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week. In turn, it became Langley’s first-career #1 album on the chart and the largest week for a country album by a woman in two years. View this post on Instagram Adding to the huge week for the 26-year-old singer/songwriter, “Choosin’ Texas” would spend its seventh non-consecutive week at #1 on the Billboard Hot 100 this week, with the smash hit drawing 30.7 million official streams (up 15% week over week), gaining 42.5 million radio airplay audience impressions and selling 10,000 units. In turn, Langley now holds the #1 album and song in the U.S. simultaneously for the first time in her career. In case you were wondering just how rare this accomplishment is, she is now just the second woman in country music EVER to reach this, joining only Taylor Swift who went #1 with Red (Taylor’s Version) and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version).” In case that piece of history wasn’t enough, with “Be Her” rebounding from #8 to #4 this week, Langley is now the first woman artist who has primarily recorded country music to chart two songs in the Top 5 on the Hot 100 simultaneously. View this post on Instagram When it’s all set and done, it’s looking very likely that “Choosin’ Texas” is primed to be one of the biggest country songs of all time commercially. Though Morgan Wallen has all but reset expectations regarding how well hit country songs perform on all-genre charts such as the Hot 100, Langley is looking to blow them off the hinges and she’s setting record after record in the meantime. The Dandelion Tour Dates 5/7/2026 Toledo, OH Huntington Center (+,&) 5/8/2026 St. Louis, MO Chaifetz Arena (+,&) 5/14/2026 Estero, FL Hertz Arena (@, &) 5/15/2026 Savannah, GA Enmarket Arena (@, &) 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 Ella Langley Has The #1 Song AND Album In The Country – Debuts At The Top Of The Billboard 200 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Giving it some time to rest. Billy Strings wrapped up a two-night run in Charlottesville, Virginia’s John Paul Jones Arena on Saturday night, delivering mind-blowing shows for the Billy Goats. However, the show was cut short after an unfortunate event forced Strings to close out his set before returning for his encore. Upon cutting the show short, many fans speculated that he was riding a skateboard backstage. On his board, the “Gild The Lily” singer was making his way back onto the stage when he attempted to do a kick flip, resulting in him falling and seriously injuring himself. After the show, superfans were quick to find the 911 dispatch call, which noted that an artist had a broken leg. The call was uploaded to the conversation platform, and you can hear various dispatch personnel detailing how they should get Strings out of the arena. He’d take to Instagram on April 19th to confirm the rumors were true, sharing an image of his X-ray, which appears to show both a broken fibula and tibia, along with the setlist from the night. View this post on Instagram Fans were quick to wish him a speedy recovery in the comment section while also begging for an update, and we finally got one this afternoon. Taking to at noon today, Strings would confirm that the rumors of a broken due to a skateboarding accident were true. Explaining how he was “all zazzed up from a really fun show,” he tried to do a back 180 trick (which he’s done a “million times” before) and landed awkwardly, breaking his leg. Gruesomely, he’d also add that he heard his leg snap over the screaming crowd. “Well, can’t say y’all didn’t warn me about screwing around on my skateboard!! Saturday night I walked off stage right before the encore I was all zazzed up from a really fun show. I grabbed my board and tried to do a trick I’ve done a million times (back 180) and landed awkwardly and broke my leg. I heard it snap over the screaming crowd!! Sounded like a damn 2×4.” The Michigan native would give a major shoutout to the medical team at UVA Hospital in Charlottesville, calling them “absolute angels on Earth” and letting fans know that the surgery to repair his leg was successful. “It’s been an interesting couple days to say the least complete with the most extreme pain and crazy ketamine trips and operations stuff but the staff here at UVA rules. They screwed me all back together. They are absolute angels on Earth.” Finally, he’d add that he had every intention to grind the tour out and even spoke to Dave Grohl, who famously broke his fibula back in 2015 and finished the Foo Fighters tour out on a throne, about doing the same. With that being said, however, he’d announce that he’s going to take the rest of April off to let himself heal and further recover from the surgery. “I had every intention of carrying on with the tour and Dave Grohling it. He even texted me and offered me the throne! I really don’t want to let anybody down, but after some long talks with these doctors, my friends, band and colleagues, my wife etc.. I should probably let this thing heal. I don’t believe that I could give you guys the show you deserve coming right out of this surgery and these first few days are really important as far as keeping this thing elevated and letting it heal. Plus I’m all messed up on pain killers and stuff. It’s a dumb a** mistake and it’s all my fault .. I feel like such an idiot. But what are ya gonna do , ya know? At least I didn’t hit my head or break my wrist or something.” View this post on Instagram With that being said, his upcoming show in Charleston, West Virginia, on April 22nd will be moved to Tuesday, August 4th. Additionally, his three-night run in Fishers, Indiana, April 24-26th will be moved to April 24-26th. All tickets for the aforementioned shows will be valid for the rescheduled dates. He’d end the post by apologizing for the mistake and promising that he will make it up to fans in the summer. “Again, I’m really sorry and I promise I will make it up to you. See you this summer. Continue to heal up, Billy. Before you go, check out part of the streamed show from the fateful night. The post “I Should Probably Let This Thing Heal”: Billy Strings Gives Update After Breaking Leg At Charlottesville Show, Reschedules Remainder Of April Tour Dates first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Mark Chesnutt is doing well now… but he’s had a handful of health scares in the past half decade or so. You’ve likely seen a number of stories and announcements where the 90s country singer has had to postpone or cancel tour dates because of his health. It’s been quite the up-and-down health journey for Chesnutt, who has been hospitalized or forced to have surgery multiple times since 2021. Here’s a quick run down of all the medical events the country music star has gone through: Late 2023: Hospitalized for an unknown illness Summer of 2024: Emergency quadruple bypass surgery Late 2025: Hospitalized with low sodium and high blood pressure Chesnutt also broke his back in 2021, and suffered nerve damage, which has prompted him to have multiple surgeries since. That period of his life also led to some very heavy drinking, as the country singer revealed to Big and Bubba recently in an interview: “A lot of friends of mine, they still drink. But they don’t drink like I did. I got real bad with it. I took it to the extreme. I went through a period there that was really bad after my back surgery. I just sat around and drank all the time. It was all I could do. I drank beer and some whiskey every now and then. Then I got to drinking wine. Then I graduated to the vodka. Me and ol’ Titos were best friends for a long time. I’d go through about a handle (a day).” A handle a day (1.75 liters) is truly hard to fathom, but clearly Chesnutt was doing all he could to ease the pain he was feeling from his back injury – and the multiple surgeries that followed. Fortunately, Chesnutt was able to get his drinking back under control. He’s actually been sober since November of 2023, and he’s closing in on three years without alcohol. He said later in the interview that he doesn’t really miss it all, nor does he ever feel pressured to drink. He’s just happy that he’s still around to enjoy life, and made it through the dark times: “My friends now that drink, we don’t have a problem, I don’t have a problem with it right now. I can be sitting in a bar and every person is in there drinking but me. It don’t bother me. I don’t crave it. I don’t need it. I feel so good man. Now, I wake up every day and thank the good Lord that I’m still kicking.” View this post on Instagram That’s great to hear from Mark Chesnutt. We here at Whiskey Riff are happy to hear that the country star that brought the world 14 number one hits, including “Bubba Shot the Jukebox” and “Goin’ Through the Big D,” has gotten his health and sobriety back to a place where he can continue to share his gift with his fans. I’m sure all country music fans feel the same way. He’s one of the icons of the 90s, and it’s great to see that Chesnutt feels happy and healthy in 2026.The post Mark Chesnutt Says He Drank A Handle Of Vodka A Day After His 2021 Back Surgery: “It Was All I Could Do” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

I mean, I’m glad they did… Last night, Riley Green appeared on the first of four episodes he will star in of Marshals, where he plays a character named Garret, who is a former Navy SEAL teammate of Kayce Dutton (Luke Grimes). He arrives at the ranch unexpectedly, hoping to lean on his friends Kayce and Cal (Logan Marshall-Green) to help “put the demons of his past to rest.” Riley’s character has “extreme PTSD,” which viewers got a glimpse of last night, and it will be interesting to find out why he and Cal have such a bad relationship, where he was the boss in the SEALs and ultimately got Garrett kicked out for an unknown reason. They’ve hinted at a fourth friend of theirs who didn’t make it, and so I’m guessing something went down with all of that, but I’m sure all will be revealed as the episodes go on. Riley will also perform his new song “My Way” during next week’s episode, which is a song he’s been teasing since last year. When he found out he would be performing on the show, as Garrett is also an aspiring artist, he knew that would be the perfect song for this particular episode. Considering Kayce’s wife Monica (Kelsey Asbille) passed and she is not featured on the show at all, Riley felt this was the right choice. During an interview with USA TODAY, he explained that he felt it was a “very cowboy-type song” and perfect for the show: “When I was told I was performing, and I didn’t know I was at first, I thought 100% this song was so perfect for that moment. There are some songs that are very cowboy-type songs. Obviously, Kayce’s wife is no longer with us.” “My Way” finds Riley reminiscing on a long lost love, and while I don’t think he originally wrote it about someone who is passed, the missing someone part is so relevant for that situation, and we might even see Grimes get teary-eyed listening to Garrett play it. Fans will also notice that Garrett looks strikingly similar to Riley in real life, and producers apparently told him not to change anything… including his signature mustache. Riley will shave it off on occasion, and he says it was “tough” during those two months of filming to not wake up and shave it, because he’s known to randomly do that, especially when it’s hot outside. But they wanted Garrett to have a similar look to Riley in real life, which meant he had to have a mustache, obviously: “I guess I look sort of Western with the mustache, the scruffy beard and I cut my own hair half the time when I’m on the road. It isn’t much of a stretch from me what Garrett looks and dresses like. The tough part for me through these two months of filming was I couldn’t wake up and shave in the morning if I wanted to. I’m pretty bad. If it’s hot out, I just shave it off randomly.” Riley has already expressed interest in acting more, and when most actors are starting out, an early goal becomes joining the Screen Actors Guild (SAG-AFTRA). It’s a major union representing actors, broadcasters, voice artists, and recording artists, and they help protects members’ rights, including against unauthorized commercial use of their image. From what I understand, actors become eligible by working on a union production, and there are specific guidelines that go along with that, and once you join, you become eligible for residuals and the SAG-AFTRA Health Plan and pension plans, among other things, so for a struggling actor, it means you’ve really started to make it, in a sense. Of course, Riley’s situation is much different considering he already has a successful music career and doesn’t need all of that other stuff, so when someone from the SAG office called him and wanted his Social Security number, he was not having it: “Somebody called me from the SAG office trying to give me a check for some show that I was on one time, and they wanted my Social Security number. I wouldn’t give it to them over the phone. They said, ‘We need to validate it’s you.’ I said, ‘Hell, you called me.'” I mean, I wouldn’t have given it to them either… So far, we’ve only seen Riley in one episode, and I was impressed considering the only other acting he’s done is in a few of his music videos. They threw him into it with a tough character, and I’m excited to see how the rest of his story plays out. “My Way” The post Riley Green Says ‘Marshals’ Producers Told Him He Couldn’t Shave Off His Signature Mustache first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Making the most out of the situation. After booking the likes of Sturgill Simpson, Alan Jackson, Turnpike Troubadours, Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers and more over the past few years, 2026 was set to be another killer year for Georgetown, Texas’ Two Step Inn. Coming off the heels of Simpson and Jackson as headliners in 2025, this year, they went ahead and snagged Brooks & Dunn and Chris Stapleton to front the festivities. Additionally, they booked some of the hottest up-and-comers in the alt. country scene, The Red Clay Strays, Wyatt Flores, Muscadine Bloodline, Brent Cobb and Evan Honer, Texas legends, Wade Bowen and Randy Rogers Band, ’90s legends, Tracy Lawrence, Shenandoah, Clay Walker and Randy Travis (featuring James Dupré as a guest vocalist) and other buzzy names like Elizabeth Nichols, Bayker Blankenship, Avery Anna and Wade Forster. Despite the killer lineup, Saturday ended up being a bit of a letdown for attendees. Though the festival started off just fine, with artists such as Nichols, Cobb, Muscadine Bloodline, Bowen, Honer and more performing on Two Step’s three stages, at 5:30 a cold front blew in, bringing severe rain as well as lightning and hail in the area. With both Butts and Shenandoah on two of the festival’s stages, fans were told to take shelter before the first night of Two Step was outright cancelled before the likes of Goo Goo Dolls, Flores, Lawrence and headliners Brooks & Dunn could take the stage to close out night one. In response to the cancellation, Two Step would proceed to offer full refunds for tickets purchased for Saturday’s show and 50% refunds for those who purchased two-day passes, providing a bit of levity for the unfortunate cancellation of the first night of the festival. View this post on Instagram After the first delay, which sent fans to shelter on the festival’s grounds, Evan Honer, Wyatt Flores and Kaitlin Butts took to Instagram live to play some songs in their greenroom trailer. Before the second round hit that cancelled Two Step outright, however, the trio returned to deliver an intimate performance with some of the fans who stuck around. Performing off the stage near the barrier, Honer, Flores and Butts led a singalong of the 90s country staple, “Two Dozen Roses,” from fellow Two Step performers, Shenandoah, as well as the late, great Joe Diffie’s classic, “John Deere Green.” It didn’t just stop at Honer, Flores and Butts, however. Though they weren’t leading the singalong with the fans, The Castellows and Elizabeth Nichols could also be seen singing along behind the barrier as the trio performed with fans. “Two Dozen Roses” @kai_austin_tamez_25 @Evan Honer @Wyatt Flores Rain delay didn’t hurt us @Two Step Inn #fyp #wyattflores #evanhoner #kaitlinbuttsmusic #thecastellows ♬ original sound – Kai Tamez “John Deere Green” @emiley.c @Wyatt Flores @Evan Honer @kaitlinbutts ily forever, thank y’all!!! #twostepinn #countrymusic #countryfestival #musicfestival #rain @Two Step Inn ♬ original sound – Emiley Though you might not be seeing them grabbing awards and nominations at the CMAs or ACMs, it’s becoming more and apparent that the likes of Butts, Flores and Honer are the heartbeat of the current generation of the alternative country scene. Many artists could have simply waited it out in their buses/trailers, but they didn’t and created an unforgettable moment for the fans that stuck around and braced the weather. You truly love to see it.The post Kaitlin Butts, Wyatt Flores & Evan Honer Lead “Two Dozen Roses” Singalong At Two Step Inn After Severe Weather Cancelled The First Day Of The Festival first appeared on Whiskey Riff.