I guess he was the problem… A police investigator from Hamilton, Alabama has turned in his resignation after an embarrassing incident at a Morgan Wallen concert that saw the officer in handcuffs and facing charges himself. According to WBRC, Cody McCullar was arrested during the show back on April 18 at Bryant-Denny Stadium in Tuscaloosa, Alabama after police received a call for someone who was under the influence of alcohol. (Imagine how drunk you have to be for someone to report you for being “under the influence of alcohol” at a Morgan Wallen concert). When officers found McCullar, who was reportedly stumbling and bumping into others around him, they walked him into the concourse to have a chat. He reportedly struggled to walk, and once they got him out of the seating area, began insisting that he was fine while telling law enforcement that he was also a police officer. One of McCullar’s friends reportedly offered to take him home, but the off duty officer apparently had a little too much liquid courage and decided to instead…get mouthy with the cops. According to police, they tried to reason with him after he started cursing at officers, asking whether he would tolerate one of his own officers being talked to that way. But when he “began walking aggressively toward officers,” they made the decision to take him into custody. After being taken to a holding room, McCullar apparently realized that he screwed up and offered to leave, but by then it was too late. The officer was taken to jail and charged with misdemeanor public intoxication and resisting arrest before eventually being released on a $600 bond. After the arrest, McCullar resigned his position with the Hamilton Police Department, saying that he doesn’t want to be a distraction for the office: “I have a lot of respect for this city and agency. I want them to move forward so they won’t have to deal with this situation, my situation to deal with. I am going to do so and go from there.” Hamilton Police Chief Jordan Carter expressed support for McCullar while acknowleding that he screwed up: “The incident reflects a lapse of judgement. I believe it does not define the entirety of Cody’s character as I know it. He has served his community with dedication and I believe his understanding of those standards played a role in his decision to resign.” However, he still has jobs with two other police departments, and his bosses are asking a judge to allow him to continue to serve in those positions and carry a firearm while out on bond. So far the court hasn’t ruled on the issue, and his next court hearing is scheduled for June. Morgan, meanwhile, is scheduled to continue his Still the Problem Tour this weekend in Indianapolis. So if you’re heading out to Lucas Oil Stadium, just make sure that you don’t do something that will end in a court case. Still The Problem Tour Dates May 8 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Zach John King May 9 || Indianapolis, Ind. || Lucas Oil Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Flatland Cavalry, Zach John King May 15 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King May 16 || Gainesville, Fla. || Ben Hill Griffin Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King May 29 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 30 || Denver, Colo. || Empower Field at Mile High w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason June 5 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 6 || Pittsburgh, Penn. || Acrisure Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 19 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 20 || Chicago, Ill. || Soldier Field w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Zach John King June 26 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat June 27 || Clemson, SC. || Clemson Memorial Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 17 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 18 || Baltimore, Md. || M&T Bank Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Gavin Adcock, Jason Scott & The High Heat July 24 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 25 || Ann Arbor, Mich. || Michigan Stadium w/ HARDY, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten July 31 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ ​​Brooks & Dunn, Hudson Westbrook, Blake Whiten August 1 || Philadelphia, Penn. || Lincoln Financial Field w/ Ella Langley, Hudson Westbrook, Blake WhitenThe post Alabama Police Officer Resigns After Being Arrested During Morgan Wallen Concert first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Charley Crockett has a message for his fans amidst some confusion surrounding the disappearance of his latest album. It was just last week when Charley Crockett surprise dropped an album titled Clovis. Why was it surprising? Well, even for a prolific writer like Charley, it came just three weeks after the conclusion of his Sagebrush Trilogy – Age of the Ram. Artists typically like to allow for their projects to breathe for a bit, which led to speculation that Clovis – an album he released independently – was dropped to overshadow his final record with Island Records. If you are reading this, then you are likely aware that Clovis is no longer available, and the reason for its removal from streaming is currently unknown…. but Charley might have hinted at the reasoning in his only post that’s left standing on Instagram. It was May 6 when Clovis started to go dark on streaming services, which means the 14-track album was only available to fans for around a week. Hopefully other Charley Crockett fans were like me and listened to it over and over again while it was still up on Apple Music and Spotify. As of this afternoon, there’s no option to buy it through iTunes, and the album is not listed under the “Music” tab of Crockett’s website (it’s unclear if it ever was). When I went to check back in to see if the country singer had provided any updates, it was interesting to see that Crockett had wiped his Instagram clean (his X and Facebook pages still have older posts), and left only one thing that was shared earlier today. The image included in that sole post is a retro “Please Stand By” message that used to come up on televisions, and the song that Crockett chose to pair with it was undoubtedly intentional. What song did the “Son of Davy” go with? That’d be The Bobby Fuller Four’s “I Fought The Law.” Those familiar with the song – which has been covered plenty of times (even by Hank Williams Jr.) – know that the catchy tune sings about testing authority and paying the price. If you are in need of a refresher, here’s a line that’s repeated over a dozen times within the song: “I fought the law and the law won.” Crockett also put the location of the post as “Clovis, New Mexico,” which is where he recorded the now vanished album. But judging by that song selection, one could assume that there’s some sort of legal tie up with Island Records in regards to Clovis being released so close to Age of the Ram. “Please stand by.” View this post on Instagram Only right that an outlaw would be fighting the law. All we really know about Clovis – besides the fact that it’s no longer available – is that Charley Crockett recorded it at a studio in New Mexico, and that he paid to publish it himself. That’s only public information because of a video that he shared shortly after he dropped the project last week: “I paid for it. I think I spent about $300,000 on it. And I cut it at Clovis, New Mexico at the old Norman Petty studio where Buddy Holly started out, and Waylon Jennings had his first recording… just released the full record. Completely independent of the label system I’ve been tied up in for 10 years. Every time I find I signed a deal I don’t like, and I go to these f***ing business people, and I tell them, ‘I don’t like the deal, I don’t think it’s fair.’ They say, ‘Tough luck kid, shouldn’t have f***ing signed it.’ As soon as I hold them to that same standard, I’m the f***ing bad guy.” pic.twitter.com/4LaVnMBtv3 — Charley Crockett (@CharleyCrockett) May 1, 2026 All signs are pointing towards the very deal that Charley is alluding to there being what’s complicated the release of Clovis. I’d imagine there is some kind of language in the contract that would prevent Charley from releasing new music within a certain timeframe after his final release with Island Records. If that is the case, it’s probably not all that long, and it’s also unclear if Charley was even aware of it, but that would make sense as to why the surprise drop was available… until it wasn’t. Here’s to hoping Charley Crockett figures out whatever situation he’s in and get’s Clovis back into the hands of the fans. If you ask me, it’s quite possibly the most important and impressive album of his entire career.The post Charley Crockett Hints At Why His Album ‘Clovis’ Disappeared From Streaming first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

So much music, so little time. As we’ve seen so many times the past few years, 2026 has been filled to the brim with stellar album after stellar album from week to week. Despite the controversy as of late, Zach Bryan officially kicked things off on January 9th with the release of his stellar sixth studio album, With Heaven On Top. Later that month, we also saw brilliant debuts from the likes of Kashus Culpepper on Act I and the severely underrated duo Low Gap on Geneva. The rest of the winter months would be highlighted by the likes of Megan Moroney snagging her first all-genre #1 with her junior record, Cloud 9, Clay Street Unit proving why they’re one of the most underrated bands on Sin & Squalor, Luke Combs continuing his hot streak with the release of his “comeback” album, The Way I Am, and Flatland Cavalry and Drayton Farley ending March on a high note with brilliant albums of their own on both Work of Heart and A Heavy Duty Heart. Of course, you can’t not mention the convoluted rollout of Sturgill Simpson’s latest outing as Johnny Blue Skies on Mutiny After Midnight, Ella Langley’s record-shattering release of Dandelion, Ernest setting sail on Deep Blue and Kacey Musgraves’ feature-filled outing on Middle of Nowhere. Simply put, it’s been a massive year already for country music, both commercially and critically, and it’s honestly just getting more jam-packed from here. In particular, June is looking to be one of the busiest months from an album-release perspective in recent memory. On June 12th alone, we have Koe Wetzel dropping his recently-announced album, The Night Champion, Midland returning to their roots on their new album, Stages and Keith Urban making the bold move to release a yacht rock cover album. Throw in the likes of Colby Acuff planning to release his seventh album since 2020 on HANDMADE HORSEPOWER, reigning CMA Group of the Year winners, The Red Clay Strays releasing their junior album, Cody Johnson closing the month on his long-awaited return, Banks of the Trinity, you have a month for the ages. And that’s not even accounting for Sierra Ferrell’s live album, John R. Miller’s physical release (digital coming in July), Bella White, Lee Brice, Caleb Caudle, Breakfield, The War & Treaty, Jason Eady, Jo Dee Messina, Old Crow Medicine Show, Rodney Crowell, and others who will also be releasing new projects. All that being said, here’s a quick rundown of the most notable albums dropping in this jam-packed month of June HANDMADE HORSEPOWER – Colby Acuff (June 2nd) Simply put, Colby Acuff is one of the most underrated and overlooked songwriters of this current generation. Since his debut in 2020 with Life of a Rolling Stone, the “If I Were the Devil” singer has proceeded to drop an album each and every year since then. Despite the incredibly high volume of musical output, much like his contemporaries, Zach Bryan and Charley Crockett, it seems as if the Idaho native has simply gotten better with every release. Though Acuff has made a career on introspective songwriting with a wholly Americana sound, HANDMADE HORSEPOWER marks a much more grungy, southern rock-inspired entry, judging by the pre-released tracks, “LIPSTICK ON A PIG” and “WHITE FLAG.” Like any album from the “Dying Breed” singer, it’s shaping up to be another stellar outing and a shoo-in for many Album of the Year shortlists. Grateful – The Red Clay Strays (June 5th) There’s no doubt that The Red Clay Strays have been red-hot over the last year. Riding the highs of their sophomore album, Made by These Moments, in 2024, the Alabama group broke out into the mainstream back in November. Not only did they deliver a killer performance of “People Hatin’” at the 59th annual CMA Awards, more importantly, they also dethroned Old Dominion as Vocal Group of the Year en route to their first-ever CMA win. After dropping some more stellar tracks such as “If I Didn’t Know You” and their gospel-inspired “Demons In Your Choir,” the Strays finally gave an official release date for their junior album, Grateful. There’s no denying that Grateful is shaping up to be the most anticipated album of the summer in country music. And if the quality of the first three singles released off the project is any indication of Revival itself, I think it’s pretty safe to say it will end up being on many “Albums of the Year” lists once it’s finally released on June 5th. The Night Champion – Koe Wetzel (June 12th) Just announced on Tuesday, Koe Wetzel is officially returning with his sixth studio album, The Night Champion. Another one of the most highly-anticipated albums of the year, the “Good Die Young” singer would tell us here at Whiskey Riff that it serves as an ode to his grandfather, a reflection on his rapidly-changing life and ultimately one of his most personal albums to date. “It was kind of an ode to him and everything that he taught me. I switched it from nite to night, but it kind of goes back on everything that I’ve been through… making music and the party era and the rough, rowdy life that I’ve lived so far. Then kind of coming out on the back end of it now to where I’m a father.” Despite focusing on his maturity, Wetzel promises that The Night Champion will still carry over the rowdy nature from his past hits in sections, meaning there will be a little something for everyone. Stages – Midland (June 12th) Like Wetzel’s The Night Champion, Midland’s Stages was also just officially announced this week. Though they’ve caught some flak for the admittedly strange backgrounds of two-thirds of their members, as well as their dedication to keeping an incredibly flashy, 70s aesthetic seemingly constantly, I’d go as far as to say that Midland has remained the best country band in the mainstream over the past decade. As for what to expect from Stages, Mark Wystrach, Midland’s frontman, would add that the record, at its core, is about bringing together their Texas and California roots, noting that the marriage between the two is what really matters to them. “And the more you dig into country’s roots, the more there is to work with. We’ve always had real respect for the original Texas and California country, so this album lets us pull all that through the songs we’ve written and found to really focus on what matters to us.” So far, the pre-released tracks from the album do just that, with tracks like “Shooting Memories With Tequila” and “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey” capturing that glitzy, ’70s style sound Midland has made a name for themselves with over the past decade. Flow State – Keith Urban (June 12th) Out of all the storylines emerging from the first quarter of the year in country music, Keith Urban’s proposed journey into yacht rock was undoubtedly one of the most fascinating. After teasing an album full of covers from the genre back in March, Urban confirmed the project at the end of April, dropping one original track, “We Go Back,” featuring yacht rock legend Michael McDonald and a cover of Seals & Crofts’ “Summer Breeze.” As for the tracklist, the 58-year-old singer/songwriter is set to deliver a plethora of classics in the genre, ranging from Player’s “Baby Come Back” and Grover Washington and Bill Withers’ “Just the Two Of Us” to Robbie Dupree’s “Steal Away” and Stephen Bishop’s “On and On.” Even more excitingly, Urban is calling on fellow guitar legend, John Mayer, for a cover of Bread’s “Guitar Man” as well as Little Big Town for a cover of Walter Egan’s “Magnet and Steel.” I think it’s pretty safe to say Urban’s track record has been a little questionable (to say the least) over the past decade or so. With that being said, I was able to listen to Urban play the entire album from front to back live a few weeks back. While I won’t spoil anything, I think some will be in for a surprise; he does the tracks justice. Banks of the Trinity – Cody Johnson (June 26th) An album three years in the making, there’s no doubt that Banks of the Trinity is one of the most anticipated country releases of 2026. It’s pretty clear that Johnson recognizes this, not only slating a hefty 16 songs for the album but also confirming that long-awaited collaborations with both Luke Combs and Brothers Osborne will also be featured. Additionally, Johnson would explain that Banks of the Trinity is one of his most personal albums to date, noting it’s a reflection of his roots back home in Sebastopol, Texas. “When I heard the song “Banks Of The Trinity” for the first time, it was like a portrait flashed in my head of memories I thought I’d forgotten. It took me straight back home to Sebastopol, Texas, where I grew up on the river… This record is my way of going back to those dirt roads. I can’t wait for you to come with me on that journey back.” So far, CoJo has released two incredibly traditional tracks, “Hello Lonesome” and “I Want You.” And if they’re any indication of how the album ends up shaping out, it’ll be his best record in years. Pink Pocket Pistol – Willow Avalon (June 26th) In case you’re somehow not familiar with Avalon, she has firmly placed herself atop the ranks of today’s new generation of female country acts, along with the likes of Maggie Antone, Kaitlin Butts, Sierra Ferrell, Kat Hasty and many more. Sounding somewhere between Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn with a modern edge, the “Homewrecker” singer released her debut album, Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell, back in January to incredibly high praise, recently being named as one of our top country albums of 2025 here at Whiskey Riff, coming in at #31. After teasing the potential of two records in 2026 and dropping some stellar, traditional tracks earlier in the year, “Easy On The Eyes” and “Cardinal Sin” with the legendary Jason Isbell, Avalon officially confirmed her sophomore album, Pink Pocket Pistol, at the beginning of April. As for what to expect from the album, Avalon would confirm it’ll still have a strong ’60s vibe that she’s made a name for herself with over the last two years. “Pink Pocket Pistol is a mix of the lyricism and sassy storylines I’ve continuously written, with more darkness, mystery and a ‘60s country feel. I went in with an idea in my head, and we walked out a week later with it fully executed. Every single person in the room was on the exact same page. It felt wonderful hearing the record out of speakers—after really, intensive, hard work—exactly what I heard in my head.” The post Cody Johnson & Koe Wetzel Lead a Massive Month of June Country Album Releases first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

One of the great country performances of the National Anthem at the Super Bowl. Eric Church performed The Star-Spangled Banner as a duet with R&B singer Jazmine Sullivan at Super Bowl LV on February 7, 2021 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. It was during the COVID pandemic, and Eric has said before that the 2021 Capitol riot also prompted him to want to do it. Singing the Anthem is always a risk, especially at an event as massive as the Super Bowl, because if you screw it up you’ll likely never live it down, and considering this was a duet, it only heightened the stakes to get it just right as Church and Sullivan blended two different genres in the country’s most iconic song. That’s hard enough to do as it is, let alone with the Anthem, and they ended up delivering a soulful and really beautiful rendition, and while really no country artist can compare to Chris Stapleton’s version, Eric did a great job during what was a very challenging time for the country. And he explained on the Hometown Titans podcast with Taylor Zarzour that he really wanted to stress a message of unity while performing with Sullivan, and they knew it was a massive opportunity to bring the country together considering the Super Bowl is the biggest event of the year: “That was a weird time. But it was also a good time, at least for doing that, because the country didn’t… the Super Bowl was still the thing the country was gonna watch when we did not know what was happening anywhere else. And I knew that. The way we crafted the performance, and the way we tried to do it was make it a unifying thing of, I don’t know where we’re gonna go, but we’re gonna go there together, and it’s gonna be okay.” He also says he thinks Nashville will get the chance to host a Super Bowl in the not-too-distant future, and I completely agree… maybe we’ll finally get another country halftime show if and when that time comes, too: “I feel very comfortable that… and a lot of it comes down to, if you look at what makes great Super Bowls and great Super Bowl cities, Nashville checks every box. What they’ve been waiting on is enough of the growth that you had the hotels and you had the infrastructure to support it, right? Getting the Super Bowl, or Final Four, or college football playoff, that’s a big, big thing for a city. And Nashville has proven over the last few years with the growth, and how they handled just a weekend. I mean, it’s lit when the Predators are playing… they’ve shown that there’s a big appetite for it, and they’ve shown there’s infrastructure for it.” It’s been speculated that 2030 is the year for Music City, but we’ll have to wait and see on an official announcement because tons of cities bid on getting to host the Super Bowl every year and Nashville has never done it before. I feel like Eric’s halftime often gets glossed over when we talk about great country performances that have occurred in relation to the Super Bowl, mostly because Stapleton delivered such an iconic performance just a couple years after Eric in 2023, but Eric’s duet with Jazmine has aged so well and they really met the moment in a powerful way. Check it out: The full podcast is available below. The post Eric Church Wanted His Super Bowl National Anthem Performance With Jazmine Sullivan To Be A Unifying Moment For The Country first appeared on Whiskey Riff.