You know what, hell yeah. Rock the Country kicked off this past weekend with their first festival of the season in Bellville, Texas. And despite some challenges from the weather, it looked like a packed crowd and a helluva time. @rachalfam The turnout celebrating 250 years of America was amazing at @rockthecountry ! Even after all the stormy weather! First time seeing Kid Rock and it was one of the best shows we’ve seen, ever! #rockthecountry #america #usa250 #rachalfam ♬ original sound – rachalfam By all accounts, the crew did an amazing job getting the festival site back in shape and ready to go despite the torrential downpours, and the festival went forward with performances from Ella Langley, Jason Aldean, Brantley Gilbert, and a ton more. And while it seems like everybody had a great time, there’s one couple who apparently had an extra special weekend. Video from Saturday shows one couple on stage with Kid Rock when the guy gets down on one knee and pops the question in what was clearly a surprise for his now-future bride. @rachalfam Popped the question during Kid Rock at @rockthecountry love it ! #rockthecountry #kidrock ♬ original sound – rachalfam You love to see it. Over the weekend, Kid Rock also debuted a patriotic intro video featuring himself and Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, riding around in military helicopters. The country artist started trending after reports said that he was flying around the Washington D.C. area in an Apache helicopter. TMZ later confirmed that Kid Rock was flying around in the military helicopter, and that there were actually two choppers in the air. According to their sources, Kid Rock sat in the gunner’s seat of the aircraft, and the ride was a part of the celebration of America’s 250th birthday. Cameras were apparently rolling not only for Kid Rock’s intro video, but also for Memorial Day and the July 4th event. Secretary of War, Pete Hegseth, was reportedly in the other Apache helicopter and was sitting shotgun as well. Pete Hegseth took to X later that day to confirm that he and Kid Rock went for rides with the U.S. Army: “Joined my friend Kid Rock – and some of our U.S. Army Apache pilots – for a ride this morning. (More to come on that!) Kid Rock is a patriot and huge supporter of our troops. The War Department is wasting no time celebrating America’s 250th – home of the free because of the brave.” Joined my friend @KidRock — and some of our great @USArmy Apache pilots — for a ride this morning. (More to come on that!) Kid Rock is a patriot and huge supporter of our troops. The War Department is wasting no time celebrating America’s 250th — home of the free because of the… pic.twitter.com/7EyhlaCeUj — Secretary of War Pete Hegseth (@SecWar) April 28, 2026 Pretty badass. Rock the Country rolls on this summer with its next stop in Bloomingdale, Georgia on May 29-30, with a jam-packed lineup featuring Kid Rock, Miranda Lambert, Jelly Roll, Treaty Oak Revival, Shenandoah, Josh Turner, Ian Munsick, and many, many more. Tickets are available at RocktheCountry.com, though some packages are already sold out so if you’re planning on waiting until the last minute it’s probably better to go ahead and get your tickets now. And who knows, maybe you’ll get to see another engagement on stage with Kid Rock. ‘Rock the Country’ Tour Dates May 29-30 – Bloomingdale, GA June 27-28 – Sioux Falls, SD July 10-11 – Ashland, KY August 8-9 – Hastings, MI August 28-29 – Ocala, FL September 11-12 – Hamburg, NYThe post WATCH: Couple Gets Engaged On Stage During Kid Rock Performance At ‘Rock The Country’ first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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Another massive week on the charts for Miss Langley. 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 on April 10th, and continued popularity nationwide, 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. 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.” In case that wasn’t enough, thanks to the success of her sophomore album, Dandelion, which debuted at #1 on the all-genre Billboard 200 and sold 169,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week, Langley became just the second woman in history to hold the #1 album and song in the U.S. simultaneously with a country song/album. Of course, Taylor Swift was the first, going #1 with Red (Taylor’s Version) and “All Too Well (Taylor’s Version)” back in 2021. After briefly departing the #1 spot on the Hot 100 last week, thanks to Olivia Rodrigo’s “Drop Dead,” which was in part aided by the pop star using Taylor Swift’s method of releasing multiple versions of the track to boost sales, “Choosin’ Texas” is back to the #1 spot for its eighth non-consecutive week. This was thanks to another incredibly solid week commercially, drawing in 26.6 million official streams, grabbing 44.7 million radio impressions and sellling 8,000 units digitally. View this post on Instagram In case that wasn’t enough, Langley has THREE songs in the Hot 100’s Top 10, marking the first time a female country artist has charted three or more songs inside the chart’s Top 10. Of course, this is thanks to “Be Her” holding strong at #5 and the internet-breaking collaboration with Morgan Wallen, “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” debuting this week at #7. “I Can’t Love You Anymore’s” debut is particularly historic. Breaking Kenny Rogers and Dolly Parton’s long-standing record with “Islands in the Stream,” it is now the highest-charting debut by a country collaboration on the Hot 100 in history and the only one to premiere in the Top 10. Of course, tracks like Zach Bryan and Kacey Musgraves’ “I Remember Everything” as well as Post Malone and Morgan Wallen’s “I Had Some Help.” The distinction between these and “I Can’t Love You Anymore,” however, is the fact that the track is billed as a lead role for both Langley and Wallen, not a feature. Either way you look at it, it’s yet another testament to the absolute phenomenon that is Ella Langley at the moment. For years, it felt like country music was in desperate need of another superstar. With Langley, it looks like we have found it and then some. “Choosin’ Texas” “I Can’t Love You Anymore” 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 “Choosin’ Texas” Spends 8th Week At #1 As Ella Langley Charts 3 Songs Inside The Hot 100 Top 10 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Charley Crockett thinks there’s one thing – and one thing only – that can keep artificial intelligence at bay. Ever since AI infiltrated the music industry, there’s been talk about how the two things would work together. The use of artificial intelligence continues to be a real concern for the songwriting community. In recent years, AI-generated music has become more and more commonplace, and creating it has become more and more accessible. Music created with artificial intelligence is already running rampant on social media platforms like TikTok. We here at Whiskey Riff reported on an AI song taking the top spot on the Billboard Country Digital Sales chart last year. And as AI continues to advance, music made solely by machines is becoming harder to distinguish from songs made by real people. A study shared in 2025 stated that 97% of people can’t tell the difference between music made by real people and music made by artificial intelligence. Considering AI is still somewhat in its infant stages… that could spell trouble for the the music industry. When Charley Crockett was asked how artists can continue to be authentic when AI advances further and further every day in his documentary A Cowboy In London, the “$10 Dollar Cowboy” singer responded with just one word: “Touring.” The country music artist, who just surprise dropped an album days ago (and just three weeks after his previous record release), feels that’s the only true way to combat AI making it’s way into the music industry. In fact, he feels like the writing is on the wall for AI to really tap into its potential: Bringing deceased artists back to life: “You can’t stop what’s coming. Sometimes it feels like the harder you try, the faster it takes over. It is inevitable that the estates and the machine behind legends like Johnny Cash and Tupac and Elvis and Michael Jackson… you better believe there’s too much money in it. It’s coming, it’s just coming.” It’s always about the money. Though that sounds like a surreal, dystopian future to live in, Charley Crockett is probably right. Estates who have the rights to catalogues of the greats of yesteryear could be persuaded to hand over the reigns for the right price. And Crockett admitted that he’d at least be slightly intrigued by what AI could do in those situations: “I could probably be won over by a believable enough performance. I’ve already heard a ton of Hank Williams Sr. AI recordings that are indistinguishable. They do something to you. That’s the thing. They can make a Johnny Cash hologram. I’m not going to lie to you. I might be convinced to go see something like that. Because I like the idea that Johnny Cash would still be somehow walking the Earth. I like that idea… but there’s nothing quite like the real thing.” Bringing the greats back is certainly an idea, but there’s definitely a moral and ethical grey area there. Like Charley said, there’s nothing quite like the real thing… and maybe after the real thing isn’t there anymore, that should be respected rather than resurrected. You can hear Crockett talk more about it all in his A Cowboy In London documentary: The post Charley Crockett Believes AI Is Inevitable & There’s Only One Way To Combat It first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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