The first country artist with a bar at sea? Over the past few years we’ve seen a ton of country artists slap their names on their own bars. Walk down Broadway in downtown Nashville and you’ll see bars from Morgan Wallen, Jason Aldean, Kid Rock, Garth Brooks, Eric Church, Dierks Bentley, Alan Jackson, Hank Williams Jr., Miranda Lambert, Lainey Wilson, Blake Shelton, and a ton of other artists. The trend isn’t only in Nashville though. Blake Shelton has opened Ole Red locations in Gatlinburg, Tennessee, Orlando, Las Vegas, and his hometown of Tishomingo, Oklahoma. Luke Combs recently announced that he has a new location of his Category 10 bar opening in Vegas, and Reba skipped Nashville altogether and opened her bar and music venue in her home state of Oklahoma. All that to say, there’s no shortage of country artist bars. But there’s never been one on a cruise ship – until now. Zac Brown announced that he’s teamed up with Margaritaville at Sea to create his very own venue on their upcoming ship, Beachcomber. The “new” ship formerly belonged to Costa Cruises and sailed as the Costa Fortuna, but was sold and is being rebranded as the third and largest ship in the Margaritaville at Sea fleet. The ship is scheduled to make its inaugural sailing out of Miami in January 2027, and will feature the Zac Brown-inspired venue Same Boat, named after the 2021 Zac Brown Band hit featuring Jimmy Buffett. According to the cruise line, the bar and music venue will be “the go-to destination… for live music, elevated cocktails, and front-row access to world-class performances,” with Zac working closely alongside the cruise line to curate details such as artwork and the music programming. Same Boat will be the largest music venue on the ship, with Zac saying that his goal is to capture that “Margaritaville” spirit: “When we started talking about this partnership, I knew I didn’t just want to design a room — I wanted to create an experience that truly captures the spirit of Margaritaville at Sea. Designing Same Boat has been about bringing that easygoing energy that’s always guided my music to life. Every detail reflects pieces of my own journey — from the stage to the sea — all coming together to create a place where people can connect, share a drink, listen to great music, and feel that incredible sense of freedom you only find at a show or out on the open water. That’s my kind of medicine.”  And Margaritaville at Sea CEO John Cohlan said that the Grammy-winning artist was the perfect choice to bring the music venue to life thanks to his relationship with Jimmy Buffett: “Zac has long been a member of the Margaritaville family and had a special relationship with Jimmy over many years. This partnership celebrates that legacy and will bring to life yet another reason to cruise on the “Same Boat” with Margaritaville at Sea.”  Margaritaville at Sea was founded as Bahamas Paradise Cruise Line back in 2016, but rebranded in May 2022 after the partnership with Buffett’s iconic brand. The cruise line currently operates two ships, the Margaritaville at Sea Paradise and the Margaritaville at Sea Islander, out of Tampa Bay and Palm Beach, Florida. View this post on Instagram The post Zac Brown Becomes The Latest Country Artist To Announce That He’s Opening A Bar – But This One’s At Sea first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The woman accusing Garth Brooks of sexual assault has filed an appeal in her attempt to remain anonymous during the lawsuit against the country music singer. The latest move comes after a Mississippi judge denied a motion from the woman that requested a protective order in the case, allowing her to proceed under a pseudonym in the litigation to keep her name from being made public. The accuser had requested an emergency protective order after the country singer named her in an amended complaint back in October of 2024. If you’re not caught up on the case, it’s actually one of two ongoing lawsuits related to the woman’s allegations that were made in a bombshell lawsuit in California. A few days before Jane Doe filed her lawsuit in California state court, Garth had also filed a lawsuit in Mississippi against his accuser in an attempt to keep her from filing her lawsuit against him. In that lawsuit, which was initially filed under the name John Doe and naming the woman only as “Jane Doe,” Garth asked a court for a judgment declaring her allegations untrue and an injunction preventing her from “further publicizing” her claims against him, and also compensation and punitive damages for the “intentional infliction of emotional distress” and defamation. Garth had asked for permission from the court in Mississippi for both parties to proceed under a pseudonym, which his accuser opposed. But before the court in Mississippi had ruled on his motion, “Jane Roe” filed her lawsuit in California, making her allegations public and exposing Garth as the celebrity in the Mississippi lawsuit. In response to the lawsuit being filed in California, Garth returned to court in Mississippi and withdrew his motion to proceed under a pseudonym, since at this point it was moot anyway. But he also filed an amended complaint which publicly named his accuser, revealing her identity to the public for the first time. Well naturally, her attorneys weren’t happy. The court ordered the case record sealed, meaning that the documents aren’t able to be viewed by the public, and in a motion filed in November of 2024 attorneys for Jane Roe asked the court for the protective order allowing the woman to proceed under a pseudonym (basically, they wanted her to be identified only as “Jane Roe” and not her real name), and also asked the court to impose sanctions on the country singer for what her attorneys called “appalling and malicious behavior.” And it took a while, but in September the court finally ruled, with Judge Henry Wingate denying Jane Roe’s motion for a request to proceed under a pseudonym and also denying her motion to seal the amended complaint filed by Brooks. The court also denied an earlier motion from Garth to file a document under seal. The case file remains sealed at this point, so we’re not able to view the entire order. But after the court ruled against her, the unnamed hairdresser filed a notice of appeal with the court, signaling her intention to appeal the order. And last week, she notified the Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals, which covers Mississippi, that she planned to appeal the lower court’s order allowing Garth to reveal her name in the suit. In the Notice of Appeal, which is available on the court’s website and has been reviewed by Whiskey Riff, the woman states that she is appealing the part of the order “pertaining to her motions to maintain the confidentiality of her name and proceed using a pseudonym,” though she is not challenging the part of the court’s order related to sanctions against the country star (which were presumably denied). (A quick note her: While her name has been previously revealed in the lawsuit, Whiskey Riff is choosing not to publish her name, at least until the court rules on the issue going forward). What’s Happening In The California Case? Meanwhile, Garth filed early on to have the California case moved from state court to federal court, which was clearly a strategic move on his part, because he then filed a motion to dismiss the case in California and force his accuser to re-file her case as a counterclaim to the lawsuit that was already pending in Mississippi. Garth alleged that the California case was what’s known as a “compulsory counterclaim,” meaning that it arises out of the same set of facts as a lawsuit that has already been filed, and therefore can’t be filed as a separate lawsuit but must be brought up in the case that’s already ongoing – in this case, the case that he filed in Mississippi. The alleged victim, however, claims that Garth only filed the Mississippi case in an attempt to beat her to the courthouse and force her to file her complaint in Mississippi, which he may see as a more favorable court for his case. She argues that because the Mississippi lawsuit was Garth’s attempt at “forum shopping,” her case in California should be allowed to proceed. At the same time, the accuser also filed a motion to dismiss the case in Mississippi. The judge in the California case denied Garth’s motion to dismiss the case without prejudice, meaning that he can re-file that motion at another time. And he also ordered that the California case (remember, this is the case that was filed by the accuser against Garth) be stayed – basically meaning that nothing will happen in the case – until the Mississippi judge rules on the accuser’s motion to dismiss in Garth’s case that he filed against her. What Has Garth Said About The Allegations? It’s been a while since Garth addressed the lawsuit publicly, but after it was filed he warned his fans that they expected the situation to drag on for up to two years. He also issued a statement indicating that he intends to fight to clear his name: “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face. Hush money, no matter how much or how little, is still hush money. In my mind, that means I am admitting to behavior I am incapable of – ugly acts no human should ever do to another. We filed suit against this person nearly a month ago to speak out against extortion and defamation of character. We filed it anonymously for the sake of families on both sides. I want to play music tonight. I want to continue our good deeds going forward. It breaks my heart these wonderful things are in question now. I trust the system, I do not fear the truth, and I am not the man they have painted me to be.” As always, we’ll keep you updated with anything that happens in the ongoing lawsuit.The post Garth Brooks Accuser Files Appeal In Her Attempt To Remain Anonymous In Sexual Assault Lawsuit first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

I see people on social media claiming that justices on the Supreme Court were asking very skeptical questions this morning about President Trump’s authority to issue tariffs. And they use this as . . .

The colder it gets outside, the more tempting it is to marathon some comforting romance movies.

The following article, Warning to Republicans: Takeaways from Democrat Election Wins, was first published on Conservative Firing Line. There are several takeaways from the Democrat election wins last night, and Republicans absolutely must pay attention. The election results were not a surprise: all were in Trump-hating blue states. Trump-hate lives in the hearts of nearly all Democrats (with the one exception of John Fetterman D-PA). And as long as that exists, the trajectory … Continue reading Warning to Republicans: Takeaways from Democrat Election Wins ...

Leaving his home in Ontario to work at a food bank Thursday morning, Carlos Jimenez pulled over to warn a group of federal agents that they should wrap up their stop of a car quickly because school-age children would soon gather there to take the bus, his lawyers said Sunday. In the following moments, the attorneys said an ICE officer shot Jimenez, a U.S. citizen and father of three, from behind. Tricia McLaughlin, a spokesperson for the Department of Homeland Security, said at the time that Jimenez had “attempted to run officers over by reversing directly at them without stopping” and that the shots were “defensive.”