Joshua Slone just might be the next big thing in country music… and he’s got a sold-out tour to prove it. The young artist hailing from Kentucky burst onto the scene in 2025 after gaining quite the following on TikTok and other social media platforms. Slone appeared in numerous collaborations with Zach Bryan, which helped to put him on the map. But it’s his unique, country and folk sound that’s really landed with fans and fellow artists. So when Slone announced that he’d be sharing his debut album, Thinking Too Much, last year, the anticipation was through the roof. And that hype translated into a near chart topper on iTunes. It reached as high as number two on the charts, falling just behind Morgan Wallen. That’s quite the accomplishment for someone’s first ever project. Needless to say, Slone is a rising star in the genre. He’s got the stamp of approval from plenty of other artists in country music, and the way he’s been able to build up a loyal following at such a young age is close to unprecedented. So it’s not all that surprising that he sold out his debut, headlining tour in a matter of hours. It was just two days ago that he announced the Thinking Too Much Tour. In the same post, the rising country star also said that he’d be releasing his Thinking Too Much (Live) album at the same time that tickets became available. Once fans were able to grab their tickets, the tour sold out almost immediately. Slone thanked his fans and shared that he’d be adding another, big time venue to the tour: “Thank you for selling out the tour in only a few hours. I’m adding one more show this year at a dream venue of mine. RED ROCKS on November 4th. Tickets on sale now.” View this post on Instagram Red Rocks being a stop on your very first tour? That’s pretty impressive. And those tour dates feature plenty of other, sizable, historic venues. But selling out every single date was nothing that Joshua Slone fans couldn’t handle. In a TikTok posted shortly after the “Adeline” singer found out his debut tour was sold out, he admitted that he was nervous about selling tickets. That anxiousness didn’t last long though… and now Slone says selling out his tour feels like a fever dream: “I just wanted to say thank you guys for selling out this tour so quickly. I can’t lie, I was a little nervous. I don’t know if anyone else was – as far as the size of these venues and the little amount of shows I’ve played in my life. Thank you guys so much for selling this out. It feels like a fever dream.” @joshslonemusic Love you guys so much. Red rocks tickets on website #fyp #joshuaslone ♬ original sound – Joshua Slone Now, fans just have to wait for Slone to actually get out there and play in front of fans. He’s one of the many, younger artists in the modern day that has been able to skip the “road dog” part of their career and get right to headlining. And though that can often be seen as a negative thing, Joshua Slone seems to be the type of talent that’s ready to jump right in at larger venues… and he’s clearly got the support from fans and fellow artists. “Your Place At My Place” “Regret It” “Thinking Too Much” The post “It Feels Like A Fever Dream”: Rising Star Joshua Slone Sells Out Debut Headlining ‘Thinking Too Much Tour’ Immediately first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Tyler Halverson is a proud South Dakotan… but he’d never tell you to move to the “Mount Rushmore State.” The singer-songwriter (and “Amerijuana” trademark owner) recently joined the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast to discuss how he didn’t feel pressure putting together his sophomore album, In Defense of Drinking, revisited his dream blunt rotation, talked about his goal to sing at the NFR opening ceremony, and revealed why he wanted to keep his most recent album “less polished.” Halverson then gave his take on modern country music albums being 25 songs long, how he never passes up a thrifting opportunity, and said that one of his favorite genres of music to listen to is… big band music from the 1940s. There was really no stone left unturned in the conversation with the “Beer Garden Baby” singer. He even touched on some of his favorite places to play – and least favorite places (*cough* NASHVILLE *cough*). After Halverson said Texas was probably his ideal state for performing, he did give some credit to the music scene in South Dakota and the surrounding area: “South Dakota is an interesting music scene. I feel like there’s a lot more of a folk scene there. There’s a whole thing. I feel like that’s a whole thing in Minneapolis, and as you get out west, there’s a lot more folk festivals. There’s a lot more of a bluegrass and folk scene in South Dakota… to go play a show there, there’s really not many places to go.” Once he mentioned South Dakota, we started to ask him some more questions about the state that not everyone knows that much about. And funny enough, Halverson prefers to keep it that way. He hilariously became somewhat of a South Dakota gatekeeper, and shouted out some not-so-pleasant things about his home state: “We can’t talk about South Dakota too much. I don’t want people to know about it. It’s desolate and we love it. (It’s freezing in the winter). Absolutely. You go home and it’s like -30 without wind chill. It hurts to smile.” @whiskeyriff @Tyler Halverson @rockthecountry #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #rockthecountry ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff Not to be rude towards South Dakota and its residents… but why would you have a reason to smile in weather like that? Halverson said that the best way to handle the harsh weather that South Dakota experiences is to a) stay inside b) go to the bar or c) drink. Obviously, “b” and “c” can be grouped together there… and though that might sound appealing to some, I’d say Tyler Halverson is doing a good job of convincing others to not move to his home state. To listen to the full interview, check it out on YouTube or make sure to download the podcast on Apple Podcasts by searching “Whiskey Riff Raff” or by clicking here. We’re also available on Spotify and wherever else you can listen to podcasts. Cheers, y’all. Audio Video The post “I Don’t Want People To Know About It”: Tyler Halverson Is Doing His Best To Gatekeep His Home State Of South Dakota first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Thomas Rhett and his wife Lauren have been married 13 years. Continue reading…

Charley Crockett will soon be completing his Sagebrush Trilogy when Age of the Ram releases on April 3. Fans of the country crooner have been patiently waiting for the third installment of Crocket”s trilogy. Not that they’ve actually had to wait all that long for the “Son of Davy” to release new music. His previous album, Dollar A Day, came out in August of last year. And Crockett also released Lonesome Drifter in early 2025, so in other words, his fans have been well-fed with new music. That’s always how Charley Crockett has operated. The Texas native has released an astonishing 17 albums (including his live record from the Ryman) over the past 11 years. Thanks to this Sagebrush Trilogy, the artist has been really staying on that almost incomparable pace, and we’re now less than a week away from his next project dropping. In a recent video posted by Crockett, he explained why he set out to release this three-part story, and also shared the existing project that inspired the Sagebrush Trilogy: “I had been wanting to make a country concept album for a long time. The first time I tried my hand at it was ‘Man from Waco,’ and I didn’t quite all the way around. I went to Island Records and one of the guys there came up with the idea. He said, ‘You ought to release three records in a series like the Cormac McCarthy Border Trilogy.” For the uninitiated, Cormac McCarthy’s Border Trilogy was actually a series of novels that told the story of young cowboys out on the American frontier. The three books were titled All The Pretty Horses, The Crossing, and Cities of the Plain. Like Crockett’s Sagebrush Trilogy, the trio of novels all connect more so in theming than shared characters. And Crockett went on to say that he actually had the first third of his three-parter cut before the actual idea went into motion. He feels as though the forthcoming Age of the Ram really completes the concept: “‘Lonesome Drifter’ we cut before I did the deal, and they signed me never having heard the record. It was Shooter (Jennings) and I’s first time making an album together. The first record was just us feeling each other out in the studio. Then ‘Dollar A Day’ I felt was a stronger record overall. Not knowing what was going to happen in the future with the third installment, that’s where I was really trying my hand at completing the concept. I feel good about it. I think it’s a complete idea… the story of ‘Age of the Ram.'”  View this post on Instagram Fans are certainly excited to see how this trilogy comes to a close. And as I mentioned earlier, though each of the focuses and characters present in Crocket”s previous two projects may have been different, all three albums will come together to tell a full story. The country music artist actually shared more on the specific thematics in a Substack post: “The ‘Sagebrush Trilogy’ has always been about a man trying to find his name in this world. ‘Lonesome Drifter’ was the wanderer. Boots full of highway dust, chasing a song and a dollar. ‘Dollar A Day’ was the rustler. A man learning what hunger will make you do. Now the ‘Age of the Ram’ tells the story of the outlaw. The kind that don’t set out to be a legend, but winds up one anyway.” The upcoming album, Age of the Ram, will dive into the story of a protagonist named Billy McLane. Crockett says the man  represents an outlaw mentality, and those who take pride in fighting the power: “This record follows Billy McLane, a field hand out of West Texas, raised up in cotton rows and hard weather. He heads north chasing cattle and horses, thinking honest work might buy him a little peace. Colorado turns to Montana, and somewhere between driving cattle and counting somebody else’s money, he crosses a line he can’t uncross. He rides straight into the range wars and the Santa Fe Ring. Into a world run by men who shake hands with one hand and steal with the other. Billy don’t figure himself no criminal. He’s just trying to stay free. But when the game’s rigged, even an honest man can wind up outlawed. That’s how it goes. The unknown man against the machine. David and Goliath. Fighters swinging up at giants. Coal miners standing their ground. A ram lowering his head and charging anyway. Billy runs for the high country, and somewhere up there in the cold and the quiet, the story outgrows the man. His life’s short. The legend ain’t. And that’s the way of it. This is the life and times of Billy McLane. This is the ‘Age of the Ram.’” The 20-track album will drop in it’s entirety on April 3. Charley Crockett has already shared a couple of singles from the project, including this country earworm about spending too much time in the “Bluegrass State.” Check it out if you haven’t already: “Kentucky Too Long” The post Charley Crockett Reveals The Inspiration For ‘Age Of The Ram’ & The Sagebrush Trilogy As A Whole first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The country music icon tells Taste of Country that she’s done chasing her past as she heads out on the Raised on Radio Tour with Melissa Etheridge. Continue reading…