A Christmas classic. It’s hard to believe that Christmas is just eight days away. As the clock slowly ticks down to the big day, it’s hard not to feel the stress of all that comes with the holidays. Whether it’s searching for last-minute gifts, wrapping said last-minute gifts, coordinating plans with friends and family or simply preparing yourself to give your year-in-review to all your relatives you haven’t seen all year, there’s plenty of anxiety that comes during the most wonderful time of the year. Of course, one way to remove some of that stress is to listen to some stone-cold country-Christmas classics. And though I’ve gone on record before by saying I’m not the biggest fan of Christmas music in general, there’s absolutely no denying that there have been some truly great songs in the genre throughout the years. Whether it’s Dolly Parton’s “Hard Candy Christmas,” Alabama’s “Christmas in Dixie,” Merle Haggard’s heartbreaking “If We Make It Through December,” Randy Travis’ “Meet Me Under The Mistletoe” or Tyler Childers’ severely underrated “Luke 2:8-10,” there have been some classics created by some of country music’s greatest. When talking about country-Christmas classics, however, you simply cannot forget about Texas legend, Robert Earl Keen’s, legendary track, “Merry Christmas from the Family.” Appearing on Keen’s 1994 album, Gringo Hooneymoon, the song quickly became an instant classic in the Texas scene, thanks in part to its utterly hilarious depiction of a dysfunctional, alcoholic family trying to spread some Christmas cheer during the holidays. Undeniably being a song that could not be written and released today, Keen opens the first verse with the iconic lines: Mom got drunk and Dad got drunk At our Christmas party We were drinking champagne punch And homemade eggnog Little sister brought her new boyfriend He was a Mexican We didn’t know what to think of him Until he sang, “Feliz Navidad, Feliz Navidad” From there, the hijinks only continue with the narrator’s brother bringing his third, chain-smoking wife, while Fran and Rita, blow out the Christmas lights trying to plug in their motor home in something reminiscent of the Chevy Chase classic, Christmas Vacation. Ultimately, “Merry Christmas from the Family” has remained the quintessential Texas Christmas song. Additionally, it also received some mainstream attention when Montgomery Gentry covered it back in 2000 and charted it all the way up to #38 on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart. With all of that being said, one of the most underrated versions of the song, for my money, is none other than Whiskey Myers‘ frontman Cody Cannon’s acoustic cover, which was posted to the band’s YouTube channel back in December 2020. It’s safe to say that Cannon has one of the most versatile voices in the country/southern rock scene, having the ability to effortlessly traverse everything from acoustic classics such as “Broken Window Serenade” to pure rock songs like “Icarus,” which appears on their stellar new album, Whomp Whack Album. And it sounds phenomenal here on “Merry Christmas from the Family.” If you’re a fan of both Whiskey Myers and Robert Earl Keen’s Christmas classic, you won’t want to miss this underrated gem of a cover. Watch here: And while you’re here, fire up REK’s original.  The post WATCH: Whiskey Myers’ Cody Cannon Delivers Stellar Acoustic Cover Of Robert Earl Keen’s Christmas Classic, “Merry Christmas From The Family” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Well, it makes for a good story. This week, Riley Green appeared on the Like A Farmer podcast to talk about his huge year, songwriting, hunting, and he also answered some fan questions, and someone wanted to know who the coolest person he met was and where it happened. Just last month, Riley took home three awards at the CMA’s for his viral duet with Ella Langley “You Look Like You Love Me,” and he met Landman star Billy Bob Thornton on the red carpet, which he says was really cool. But best part of that story was when Riley recalled he had met Thornton’s Landman co-star Sam Elliott several years ago at the CMA Awards when he was there promoting his Netflix show The Ranch with Ashton Kutcher. He recalled seeing him somewhere backstage and saying hello and asking Elliott how he was, though he didn’t get much of a response… Elliott just “growled” at him and didn’t say anything: “Billy Bob Thornton the other day at the CMA’s. That was cool. I met Sam Elliott several ears ago at an award show, him and Ashton Kutcher were there promoting ‘The Ranch’ show on Netflix. And we spoke, but he didn’t say  a word. I just said, ‘Hey, how are you doing?’ when I walked by… he just growled at me. Which was awesome, but we didn’t really meet, so I’ll just say Billy Bob Thornton.” It sounds pretty on-brand for Elliott, who has a booming, incredibly unique voice but comes across as a man of few words in many ways, but like I said, it makes for a great story. If you scroll to the last slide of the carousel below, you can see that photo of Riley with Billy Bob: View this post on Instagram Over the weekend, Riley Green scored his fourth Country Airplay #1 with his second duet with Ella Langley, “Don’t Mind If I Do.” It’s Ella’s second on that chart, and they’re now just the second pair since the list launched in January 1990 to have earned multiple collaborative #1s, after Blake Shelton and Gwen Stefani led in 2020 with “Nobody but You” and “Happy Anywhere.” For Riley, he becomes the first artist since Taylor Swift to land back-to-back Country Airplay #1s with songs written entirely on his or her own. One of his other solo writes, “Worst Way,” led the chart for two weeks in June. He has been saying that he’s working on new music, and has already been in the studio cutting new songs, which he says they’re even more raw and stripped back than his aforementioned recent album. He explained that all of the new cuts are built around an acoustic track, and are much less produced than anything he’s done before… which is saying a lot, because I think Riley tends to keep it pretty simple all the time, which is what I love about his music. He’s been vague on when we might expect to hear some of them, but I would guess he will probably release a new album, or at least several songs, before he hits the road on his 2026 Cowboy As It Gets tour. The full podcast is available below. The full list of dates for 2026 is available below. Cowboy As It Gets 2026 Tour Dates: April 16th, 2026 – Southaven, MS – Landers Center#~$ April 17th, 2026 – Louisville, KY – KFC Yum! Center#~$ *ON SALE 10/3 April 18th, 2026 – Nashville, TN – Bridgestone Arena#~$ May 7th, 2026 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion#~• May 8th, 2026 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre#~• June 18th, 2026 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center#~• June 19th, 2026 – Saratoga Springs, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center#~• June 20th, 2026 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater#~• June 25th, 2026 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center#$* June 26th, 2026 – Burgettstown, PA – The Pavilion at Star Lake#$* July 16th, 2026 – Green Bay, WI – Resch Center#~• July 23rd, 2026 – Salt Lake City, UT – Utah First Credit Union Amphitheatre#~• August 6th, 2026 – Darien Center, NY – Darien Lake Amphitheater#/• August 7th, 2026 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center#/• August 8th, 2026 – Bristow, VA – Jiffy Lube Live#/• August 13th, 2026 – Camden, NJ – Freedom Mortgage Pavilion#/• August 14th, 2026 – Hartford, CT – The XFINITY Theatre#/• August 15th, 2026 – Bangor, ME – Maine Savings Amphitheatre#/• August 21st, 2026 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford#$*^ August 22nd, 2026 – Grand Forks, ND – Ralph Engelstad Arena#$*^ #Justin Moore ~Drake White $Mackenzie Carpenter •Hannah McFarland *Adam Hood /Zach John KingThe post Riley Green Recalls Hilarious Story Meeting Sam Elliott At The CMA Awards: “He Didn’t Say A Word… Just Growled At Me” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Troubador Festival is dropping a great lineup and announcing that it will be held in a brand-new location. But for fans that love the BBQ and music festival, which has been held in Celina, Texas, in years past…Have no fear because in 2026, music and BBQ will be enjoyed in BOTH locations. For the past three years, the festival has always been held in the East-Central part of Texas. The festival was previously held in the heart of Aggieland in College Station, but due to its popularity, it had to relocate to a larger venue. So they are taking it down the road to Bryan, Texas. And as for patrons who love the event in Celina, they will see y’all in 2026. A month ago, Troubadour Festival held its 2025 Celina, Texas edition and brought some stellar acts to the North Texas town. The lineup included Clay Walker, Braxton Keith, Cody Canada & the Departed, Randall King, Silverada, and more, along with 30 of the best BBQ joints in Texas. Given that the festival took place very recently, on November 15, we can expect a waiting period before they announce their 2026 Celina lineup. But they dropped the lineup for Bryan, Texas, today, and it does not disappoint. Taking place on Saturday, March 28, at Midtown Park in Bryan, Texas, the event will feature a stellar lineup of performances. Robert Earl Keen and Flatland Cavalry are the headlining acts for the day, and supporting them include Waylon Wyatt, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, Taylor Hunnicutt, and more. View this post on Instagram Just like in Celina, the festival will host over thirty BBQ pitmasters. Some of the names in attendance include Bar-A-BBQ, North Texas Smoke, Hutchins BBQ, Stanley’s Famous Pit BBQ, and Rossler’s Blue Chord BBQ. Of course, that barely scratches the surface of the BBQ that will be featured on the festival grounds. If you’re a fan of BBQ and red dirt music, this is not a festival that you’ll want to miss. Ticket presale begins at 10 AM CST on Wednesday, December 17. General onsale will follow in the following days, kicking off on Friday, December 19 at 10 AM CST. Fire up a few tunes from some of the acts while you’re here: “Mountain Song” “The Road Goes On Forever” “Trail Of A Broken Heart” The post Troubadour Festival Heads to Bryan, Texas in 2026 With Flatland Cavalry, Robert Earl Keen & More To Perform first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

At 9PM eastern tonight, President Trump will address the nation and tout his accomplishments over the past year. According to White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt, he will even ‘tease’ some coming . . .

The House just passed a ‘test vote’ on new healthcare legislation, passing 213–209 and clearing the way for a final floor vote later today. The legislation would allow people to buy insurance . . .

Looking back at when the phrase was coined and why social media users are now finding comfort in it.