Sounds like one heck of a way to lay out your tour schedule. On the latest episode of the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast (which was actually a double episode), Leon Majcen talked to us about being raised by Bosnian refugee parents, almost quitting music altogether during 2020, his ambitious plans for future music releases, and one of his career goals being that he does well enough to give back to his parents. Majcen was born in the Czech Republic to Bosnian and Croatian parents who had fled there from Bosnia during the Yugoslav War in mid-90s. Before he turned two, he and his parents relocated to Clearwater, Florida. Once they made the move, they wished the best for their son, and encouraged him to pursue whatever he felt passionate about. Majcen (whose last name is pronounced “might-sin”) was passionate about music. So he set off on trying to make a name for himself as a country music artist. And in classic, grind-your-way-there fashion, Leon started living the road dog life. He started driving all across the country by himself, and booking bar gigs wherever he could. Well… he actually chose to book bar gigs a bit strategically, as he explained to us: “I do kind of miss the early days of me touring. I was pretty much just booking shows around places that I wanted to fish. It was just me and my truck. It was like bar gigs. I was still booking myself. I knew I wanted to fish this spot, this spot and this spot. So I’d just book these bars in those towns and sleep in the back of my car and fish when I wasn’t playing. Those days were really simple, and I do kind of miss touring that way.” @whiskeyriff @Leon Majcen #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff Sounds like the life. Fishing by day, and playing by night? Like Leon Majcen said himself, it’s a simple life, but an enjoyable one… that he now misses. Last year, the “I Have Found My Love Today” singer brought his band out on the road with him for the very first time. That’s been enjoyable in it’s own right, though naturally, it’s complicated the travel aspect of touring a bit. Translation: he can’t just pick and choose fishing destinations anymore. That being said, he still tries to fish – both fly fishing and conventional – and enjoys wetting lines and ripping lips when he has the time. And fortunately for Leon, he can technically work while he’s fishing: “Sometimes (songwriting works) going fishing… fishing for me, especially fishing alone. I just like going out to the Caney, and just being out there and wading through the water. You’ll hum stuff to yourself.” So his tour schedule might not be based on desired fishing spots and honey holes anymore… but fishing is still very much connected to his rising country music career. To hear more from Leon Majcen, 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 “Those Days Were Really Simple”: Leon Majcen Used To Plan His Early Gigs Around Where He Wanted To Fish first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Nashville getting no love from our northern neighbors. Music City continues to be one of the premiere tourist destinations in the United States. 16.9 million people visited Nashville in 2024, and that annual visitor number crept up to 17 million tourists in 2025. That’s not a substantial increase, but it’s an increase nonetheless. People evidently can’t get enough of the pedal taverns, artist-owned bars, hot chicken, and $15 beers. Though millions flock to “Music City” to immerse themselves in the country music and “culture” of Nashville, those that used to visit a decade ago barely recognize what the city has become. It’s safe to say that much of the Broadway strip and surrounding Downtown Nashville area have gone corporate, and the charm that used to draw in the masses has been replaced with charmless establishments (that often have a country music star’s name slapped on the outside). Why is that happening? Well, a lot of it has to do with “Old Nashville” establishments being priced out. Rent for properties continues to rise in the area, and thanks to new property appraisals that have raised property taxes tremendously in Nashville, there’s a concern that a lot of the bars and restaurants located on Broadway and elsewhere in Downtown Music City could soon shutter. That’s a real concern for locals… but doesn’t seem to be bothering Nashville Mayor Freddie O’Connell all that much. At the end of the day, millions of visitors are still traveling to Middle Tennessee to see Broadway and take in all of the country music culture that it has to offer… regardless of what buildings are or are not open. Could that change over the next decade or so? Sure, it could, but the numbers don’t seem to be affected in the modern day. In fact, according to WTVF 5, a recent Metro Nashville Tourism and Convention Commission meeting spoke about the slight uptick in visitors from 2024 to 2025. The Nashville Convention and Visitors Corp (NCVC) noted that the annual visitor numbers had gone from 16.9 million in 2024 to 17 million in 2025… but there was just one issue. And it had to do with Canadian visitation statistics: “The NCVC reported to the commission that international visitors have dropped 13%. Visitation for Canadians, which make up nearly half the city’s international tourists, is down 20%. A spokesperson for NCVC confirmed geopolitical issues, like tariffs and other political tensions, may be among the reasons why.” So much for Canadians being the polite type, eh? Over the past couple of years, the friendly relationship between the United States and Canada has slowly but surely shifted into a heated rivalry. Whether it be the tariffs, Team USA beating Canada in hockey, or the whole “51st state” thing that President Trump was floating there for a little while… there’s been a lot of love lost between the two countries. And that love lost has apparently also translated into Canadians not having much interest in visiting Nashville. Could that just be summed up by Canada residents not wanting to visit the U.S. in general? Or could it have something to do with a lot of country music leaning into the pro-America messaging? I’d say it’s a mixture of both… but it doesn’t sound like the NCVC is too worried about it. The post Nashville Tourism Is Slightly Increasing… But One Country Isn’t Flocking To Music City Like They Used To first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Is Kelsea Ballerini sending a subtle message or just living her best life? Maybe both… Earlier this week, Chase Stokes, the actor best known for his role as John B. in the popular Netflix series Outer Banks, called out Morgan Evans in a bizarre social media outburst that now has the country singer trying to show off his masculinity. For some backstory here, Australian country singer Morgan Evans is the ex-husband of fellow country star Kelsea, and the two were married in 2017 before announcing their divorce in 2022. And it’s safe to say that the two didn’t exactly split on good terms, because they’ve both taken some not-so-subtle shots at each other in their music over the past couple years. After the divorce, Morgan released a song called “Over For You” that pointedly questioned when Kelsea decided that their marriage was over, after he had said that he was “blindsided” by the divorce: “I would have searched the whole world over for you Took a flight through the night to be that shoulder for you.” Ballerini responded by adding a new verse to her song “Blindsided.” “Now you’re singing it loud on the radio You couldn’t say it to my face You would have searched the whole world over? Yeah, sure, okay” She also released her Rolling Up the Welcome Mat EP that really seemed to call out her ex for the issues in their relationship, while Evans debuted a new song called “What Does That Say About You?” and introduced it by throwing some shade at his ex-wife: “I’d like to dedicate this one to anyone with an ex that won’t stop talking sh*t about them.”  Overall though, it seems like Evans has been fairly lowkey since the divorce, despite taking a lot of heat from his ex-wife’s fans – though he did say during a 2023 interview that it was “sad” to see Kelsea talking about him in public while he had hoped to keep their issues private. “It’s really sad for me to see this person, who I spent so much of my life with, and loved with all my heart, saying things that aren’t reality that leave out what really happened. She knows I’m not the type of guy to speak on those things publicly. If this is what she needs to heal, I hope it helps. All I ask is that if you’re on pages, please don’t be mean. Don’t be mean to Kelsea, don’t be mean to each other. Life’s too short.” Well shortly after the divorce, Ballerini began dating Chase Stokes, and the couple have seemingly been on-again/off-again over the past couple of years. It was reported over the last month or so that the couple had once again gone their separate ways – but it seems that Stokes is still a bit overly-sensitive about his recent ex-girlfriend. The recent beef between exes started when Evans appeared on an episode of The Bobbycast, where he discussed opening up about the divorce on his new album Steel Town, which drops later this month. Well apparently Ballerini is the only one who’s allowed to write songs about her divorce, because in a since-deleted comment, Stokes came at Evans for his masculinity while telling him to move on: “This is about the most pathetic excuse of masculinity ive ever seen. Get a f—ing life.” What a bizarre response. First of all, Morgan didn’t say anything bad about Kelsea in the interview – and honestly, he never really has. He’s also never really opened up on the divorce, at least nowhere near to the extent that his ex-wife has, so what’s the problem with writing a few songs about such an important chapter in your life? I don’t get it. But the really weird part was Stokes coming at Evans by implying that he’s…not masculine? What? Well despite the fact that Stokes deleted his comment, Evans got wind of it and had a hilarious response that pretty much put an end to any of the “masculinity” debate: View this post on Instagram In my head there’s really no competition… but I digress. While Kelsea hasn’t said anything outright about this feud, if that’s even what we should call it (it’s all so dumb, honestly), it seems like she still wants to send a message to both of her ex’s, but in this case, I imagine it’s aimed more at Stokes. She shared the following video on TikTok with footage of her travels and everything she’s been up to lately with Lady GaGa’s song “Telephone” playing in the background, which is basically just about ignoring a phone call because she’s so busy. I doubt Ballerini will say anything more explicit in terms of getting involved in this stupid drama, but this pretty much says it all… @kelseaballerini♬ sorry i can’t hear you i’m kinda busy – life illustrated Her fans obviously loved her subliminal response, and they also noticed Tucker Wetmore in the video (who fans were just linking to Ella Langley), so there’s that now, too, I guess… “Kelsea and Tucker Wetmore?” “Kelsea said ‘Stop calling I don’t wanna talk anymore’ without saying it.” “The song choice we love an unbothered queen.” “Dude ur so iconic lol.” “So here for KB and Tucky.” “It’s giving call a car hop a plane.” “Timing of this is amazing.” “Busy and unbothered slay queen.” “Yes queen we are busy.” “You are inspiring me more every single day to be my most unbothered self. It’s liberating.” “TELL EM.” “She is booked and busy.” “Unbothered and iconic.” “Queen behavior.” “Queen response.” I feel like Chase Stokes might want to get the last word on this one, based on his track record… stay tuned.The post Kelsea Ballerini Seemingly Responds To The “Masculinity” Beef Between Her Ex-Husband And Ex-Boyfriend first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

'From time to time, I'll see a clip of him singing and it just breaks my heart for him and his family,' Bryan admits. Continue reading…

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