GET READY. It’s safe to say it’s been nothing short of a wild six months for Cody Johnson. If you recall, back in October, the Texas native suffered a huge blow when he blew out his eardrum. Just a month later, however, the “Dirt Cheap” singer would shock the country music world by taking home his first-ever CMA Male Vocalist of the Year award, snapping Chris Stapleton’s four-year winning streak. Luckily for Johnson, his recovery process has been nothing short of a success, going as far as to say it’s the fastest his doctors have seen an eardrum heal, and he’s already off to a hot start in 2026. From a release standpoint, he’s been keeping singles coming early and often, dropping back-to-back Monday morning surprise releases the past two months with a brand new ode to his home state, “Blame Texas,” as well as an incredibly personal cover of Merle Haggard’s 1979 deep cut, “Footlights.” Johnson has also been scoring some major career accomplishments as well. Not only did he receive four nominations at the upcoming ACM Awards (Entertainer of the Year, Male Artist of the Year, Single of the Year for “The Fall” and Visual Media for “The Fall”), but he also broke George Strait’s Rodeo Houston’s concert-only attendance record, performing to a crowd of 80,203. The lingering question that has been surrounding Johnson, despite all the success, is just when he’s going to announce his next album, which has been nearly three years in the making at this point. If you recall, back in February, the “Dirt Cheap” singer confirmed to Katie Neal that he was sitting on a bunch of new music and even revealed he cut duets with both Luke Combs and Brothers Osborne. “Me and Luke Combs cut one together. We finally got that done… Brothers Osborne, that was kind of a last-minute deal. I heard the song, and I was like, ‘This sounds like John and TJ.’ They happened to be reaching out at the same time. [They were like], ‘Hey, when we do our next project, would you do this song with us?’ And I was like, ‘Yeah, absolutely. Would you do this with me on my project?’ So it was kind of a trade-off.” The “Human” singer would also tease the fact that even more collaborations are set to appear on the album. With that being said, however, he wouldn’t name any names, noting he’s still in the process of getting some set up. “There’s a couple of collabs that haven’t happened yet. It’s still just a lot of cellphone conversation… There’s gonna be some cool surprises on here.” Additionally, CoJo would turn heads shortly after confirming Combs and Brothers Osborne duets by teasing that he had also recorded a rock project with “one of his rock idols.” Between the buzz around a traditional new album, a potential rock project and the release of “Blame Texas” in March, fans have been clamoring for more music — an album specifically — from Johnson, and it looks like we’re one step closer to an official announcement. Taking to Instagram this afternoon, Johnson would not only tease a brand new song, presumably written by Tom Douglas, Tony Lane and Matt Rogers, titled “I Want You,” but he’d also send fans into a frenzy by noting that it’s time to start the next chapter of his music: “Feels like it’s about time to start the next chapter…” View this post on Instagram Sensing that an album announcement is on the horizon, fans would quickly flood the comments to express their excitement while simultaneously begging him to release the never-before-heard song. “‘I Want You’ to release this ASAP!!!!” “STAY CALM EVERYONE” “YES NEW COJO ASAP” “Omgg it’s happening finally“ “We are ready!!!” “NEED IT ALL RIGHT NOW” “ITS HAPPENING” “COJO’S COMING FOR THE SUMMER” I’m right with them in all honesty. Though CoJo has been teaming up with a lot of artists the past few years, “Blame Texas” is the only true new song we’ve gotten from him (excluding covers) since the deluxe edition of Leather, which was released in November 2024. With so much momentum after last year’s CMA Male Vocalist of the Year win, it only makes sense to pull the trigger on an album release. As of now, there is no release date set for “I Want You” or Johnson’s upcoming album, but it’s safe to say we’re going to get one VERY soon. Before you go, fire up his latest release, a stellar cover of Merle Haggard’s “Footlights.” Cody Johnson Tour Dates April 24 – Indio, California – Stagecoach May 2 – Clemson, South Carolina – Death Valley (Clemson Stadium) May 9 – Des Moines, Iowa – Casey’s Corner May 30 – Rosemont, Illinois – Allstate Center July 11 – Cavendish, Prince Edward Island – Cavendish Beach Music Festival July 17 – Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Arena with Drew Baldridge July 18 – Columbus, Ohio – Nationwide Arena with Ian Munsick & Walker Montgomery July 25 – Jacksonville, Florida – Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena August 8 – Oklahoma City, Oklahoma – Paycom Center August 22 – Knoxville, Tennessee – Food City Center August 29 – Saint Paul, Minnesota – Grand Casinoa Arena September 12 – Tacoma, Washington – Tacoma Dome The post “Time To Start The Next Chapter”: Cody Johnson Teases An Album Announcement & Fans Cannot Wait first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Glenn Powell doing a little bit of method acting for his upcoming film The Comeback King? In case you haven’t heard, the Hollywood star from movies like Top Gun: Maverick and Twisters is teaming up with comedic director Judd Apatow (the mind beind The 40-Year-Old Virgin (2005) and Knocked Up (2007)) to take a stab at a country music comedy film. Powell and Apatow actually wrote script for the feature together, and there’s apparently a lot of faith in the idea. Universal Pictures reportedly fast-tracked the original comedy, and they’ve been able to fill out the cast with some big names. Cristin Milioti (The Penguin, How I Met Your Mother) and Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks, Glass Onion: A Knives Out Story) are also set to star in the movie, and comedian Stavros Halkias has also been attached to the film. He’s set to play the agent of Glen Powell’s character. And there won’t just be star power on the screen in this upcoming comedy. The country music movie is going to have some star power in the songwriting department as well. Judd Apatow shared with The Wrap that he’s enlisted two of country music’s best songwriters to help out with original songs for the country comedy: “The songwriting is being led by Lukas Nelson and ERNEST, and we’ve had a lot of fun.” Bringing in the big guns. For those wondering if Glen Powell will be performing his own songs in the film, he recently told reporters on the red carpet that he was “warming up the pipes” for his role. Though we don’t know how he’ll sound (more on that in just a bit), or the name of the fictional country star he’ll be playing, we do know that the movie will be titled The Comeback King. And it’s set to hits theaters February 5, 2027: View this post on Instagram The film is currently under production, and a recent casting call from a company called Catrett Casting & Associates revealed that the project is filming in southeast Georgia – specifically in the Claxton, Macon and Savannah areas. The casting company is looking to fill all kinds of roles, and it appears that at least one scene for the film may have been an impromptu shoot. Either that, or Glenn Powell is just getting some extra practice for his character. As you’ll see in the video below, the movie star dropped into a college bar in Savannah, Georgia and got up on stage with guitar in hand. A TikTok user captured the moment on camera, and shared the footage online, freaking out that Glenn Powell was randomly playing at their college bar on a Monday night: @makayla.darden Still freaking out #glenpowell #savannahga #fyp ♬ original sound – Makayla Darden He’s got a little bit of a Riley Green look going on, eh? Granted, I’m not a huge fan of the song choice. Hopefully he played some others while he was on stage at the Savannah, Georgia bar. “Wagon Wheel” is one of the easiest songs to learn, and is undoubtedly one of the most overplayed tracks out there. But hey… I’ll give Glenn Powell the benefit of the doubt. He didn’t sound too bad, and it’ll be exciting to see him like this in full, country-music-artist form when The Comeback King hits theaters in 2027.The post Glen Powell Spotted At Savannah, Georgia, Bar Performing “Wagon Wheel” For His Upcoming Role In ‘The Comeback King’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Pretty cool marketing move by the Red Clay Strays. The band from Mobile, Alabama has already released two, stellar albums (Moment of Truth, Made By These Moments), and there’s another on the way that’s supposed to drop sometime in the summer of 2026. Fans of the band have been waiting for any sort of update on that front ever since they shared their first single from the project – “People Hatin’” – back in October of last year. In February, they shared another single just in time for Valentine’s Day – “If I Didn’t Know You.” And earlier in April, the Red Clay Strays shared this video below to let people know that something was coming soon. The video featured a church choir singing and ends with a simple message of: “Stay tuned…” View this post on Instagram It didn’t take long for fans to find out that the thing they needed to stay tuned for was another single from the Red Clay Strays titled “Demons In Your Choir.” The track is set to release on April 23, and it’ll be another song by the Red Clay Strays that explores religious themes (if you haven’t noticed, they have a trend of crafting songs that you could hear in church). I’ve got to applaud Brandon Coleman and the band… the promotional rollout for the single has been very well done, and this latest marketing move is deserving of a chef’s kiss. I’m sure you’ve been on a road trip before and you’ve driven past a billboard on the side of the highway that reads “Jesus is alive,” “In the beginning, God created” or the more aggressive ones that mention how you are going to hell. There’s an actual name for that kind of stuff, and it’s called “Billboard Evangelism.” Because of the subject matter of “Demons In Your Choir,” the Red Clay Strays decided to tap into the Billboard Evangelism market. They apparently put up this billboard on the side of the road with their band name on the top, a number to call on the bottom, and a middle message that reads: “You know the Devil keeps his company with all his bright and shiny things.” Those two sentences happen to be included in the lyrics of their forthcoming song “Devil In Your Choir.” And what’s great is that if you call 667-BGR8FUL (667-247-8385), you actually hear a snippet of the track, along with a message from the band’s bass player – Andrew Bishop – telling fans to be on the lookout for the song’s release: “Hey guys this is Andy with Red Clay Strays. Hope you liked what you heard. That’s gonna be our new single, ‘Demons In Your Choir,’ and it drops on April 23. We’re letting you know earlier. So after this call, we’ll shoot you a text. We’ve got a big year ahead of us.” I called the number, and sure enough, I got a text a minute or so afterwards with a link to “Community,” where you can add your contact info in to get the latest information from the Red Clay Strays. All in all, it’s a pretty clever way to get fans engaged, and just another example of why the Red Clay Strays are one of the best, rising bands in the business. So make sure to circle April 23 on your calendar, and don’t be afraid to give the Red Clay Strays a call. View this post on Instagram The post Red Clay Strays Use Billboard Evangelism To Give Fans A Sneak Peek Of New Song “Demons In Your Choir” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Big news for fans of the late legend. When you think of country music from the late 70s and early 80s, there are probably a few different artists and movements that come to mind. In the 70s, you’ll probably automatically think of the rise of the Outlaw movement spearheaded by the likes of Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings, Kris Kristofferson, Jessi Colter and more, as well as the continued success of the likes of Johnny Cash, Loretta Lynn and the rise of Dolly Parton. In the 80s, of course, you’ll most likely think of massive debuts and decades-long success from the likes of George Strait, Randy Travis, Alabama, Keith Whitley and Reba McEntire, late-career resurgences from Hank Williams Jr., Conway Twitty and George Jones and the continued success of acts like Parton, Nelson and Ronnie Milsap, among others. One artist, however, who doesn’t quite get the same amount of attention, looking back, is Don Williams. As we know, Williams tragically passed away in 2017 due to emphysema. Throughout the course of his five decades in the genre, one can argue that he built up one of the most impressive, oftentimes overlooked careers of the era. It should go without saying that most country fans know his 1978 #1, “Tulsa Time,” given the fact that it’s become a staple at this point. However, he would additionally score major hits with the likes of “I Believe In You,” “It Must Be Love” and “You’re My Best Friend.” In fact, he charted 56 singles, including 50 Top 20 hits, 45 Top 10s, and 17 No. 1s throughout his storied career. That’s not even mentioning his induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010, a Male Vocalist of the Year win at the 1978 CMA Awards, a Single of the Year award for “Tulsa Time” at the 14th ACM Awards and his ACM Cliffie Stone Pioneer Award, which is given to artists who progressed the genre, in 2007. Following in the footsteps of fellow 70s legend, Waylon Jennings, there is new music on the way from Williams coming straight from the archives. Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes will contain 12 previously unheard tracks from the late legend and will be released on Friday, May 29th. View this post on Instagram As the story goes, the collection is derived from an old batch of work tapes that were found in Williams’ family home, miraculously still in working condition. The tapes themselves are from William’s most successful years, 1979-1984, an era where hits like “It Must Be Love,” “I Believe In You,” “Lord, I Hope This Day Is Good,” “Stay Young” and many more were recorded. Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes will be produced by William’s longtime co-producer, Garth Fundis, who collaborated with him for more than four decades. Discussing the album, Fundis would note that Williams loved each and every song in the collection; however, they never fit inside the albums he released at the time. Additionally, he’d add that he’s certain that Don himself would be proud of the record. “Don liked every one of these songs. I remember recording all of them… He was very particular about the songs he recorded and the sound we created for each of them. But, if a song didn’t make in to an album, it wasn’t necessarily because he didn’t like it. Moreover, it was because of how songs fit together to create an album. I think he’d be thrilled to know that people could hear him sing these new songs they didn’t know existed. I’m certain Don would be proud of this album.” Tim Williams, Don’s son and a fellow musician, is also involved in the record as an executive producer. He’d also add that he and Fundis’ main goal of the album was to preserve the nature of the “Tulsa Time” singer’s original compositions. “These songs Dad recorded are—as music can be—a time machine. Obviously, I grew up always hearing what he was doing. He’d bring home three to four songs at a time from the album he was working on at different stages. In working on this project, we tried above all to stay true to how Dad approached production, made much easier for me with Garth’s involvement, and then just to stay out of the way of the music.” Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes is available for pre-order now on vinyl, CD and digital download and will be streaming on all platforms on May 29th. Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes Tracklist 1. Try Me Again 2. You Came True 3. I’m The One (Alternate Version) 4. Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight 5. I Wish I Was Crazy Again 6. I’m In Love For My Last Time 7. Spinning Around 8. A Matter Of Time 9. I’m The One (Original Version) 10. How Can I Miss What I Never Had 11. Goldy’s Gone From Golden 12. Growing On Me Before you go, listen to the first track of the album that was released last month, “Leaving Louisiana In The Broad Daylight.” The post New Music From Late Country Legend, Don Williams, Is Coming Soon first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Both Kurt Russell and Michelle Pfeiffer are expected to return for Season 3 of 'The Madison.' Continue reading…