He did it his own way, he never wavered, and that’s the secret to a lot of Eric Church’s success. Last month, Morgan Wallen released a limited-edition I’m The Problem CD zine, which features exclusive interviews with the likes of Wallen himself and other collaborators, articles reflecting on the record penned by the “Whiskey Glasses” singer, exclusive lyric sheets of all 37 songs and, of course, the highly anticipated letter from Morgan’s father. Morgan also spoke about two of the most influential artists in terms of his personal singing style, which includes the legendary Keith Whitley and the late, great Chris Cornell, who was the lead singer of rock bands Soundgarden and Audioslave. Morgan called the two “the pinnacle” when it comes to vocalists: “I think Keith Whitley has one of the best voices ever. I mean, if we’re talking country music, I don’t know that anyone compares to his vocals. He’s also from Appalachia. Growing up, my great uncles had a quartet, and they would travel and sing at churches, singing Southern gospel. I think Whitley just sounds familiar to me in such a beautiful way. In terms of vocalists who influenced me as far as vocals, Keith Whitley and then Chris Cornell. Those two guys are the pinnacle for me.” I couldn’t agree more, because they’re generationally talented vocalists, and of course, if you’re a fan of Morgan’s, then you probably also know how much Eric Church has influenced him as well: “Later, I got into Eric Church, and I didn’t really ever get into country music until I listened to him. What struck me most was how I could just picture all his lyrics. I started digging deeper and listening to all of his catalog. I mean, I knew every bit of his first three records. I could sing them all.” But the first Church song he ever heard was from Eric’s Carolina album, a song called “Love Your Love The Most,” which Morgan immediately connected with because of Eric’s “off-the-wall” and unique lyrics. Eventually, his love for country also lead him to discovering artists like the aforementioned Keith Whitley, as well as outlaw icon Waylon Jennings: “The first Eric Church song I heard was ‘Love Your Love The Most’. He painted such a vivid picture in that song with off-the-wall lyrics like ‘mustard on my fries.’ All the hooks were cool, and it was so unique – just genuine songwriting. It wasn’t like any other country music that I’d heard at the time, and I just started digging into country as a whole, eventually exploring the older stuff, too, like Keith Whitley and Waylon Jennings.” Morgan went on to describe how much he loves how Eric gave “the middle finger to the industry” in terms of doing things his own way and very much carving out his own lane in the genre, while still managing to put out songs that also showcase his softer, more sensitive side as an artist too: “With Eric Church, I just saw a different type of edge. He’d give the middle finger to the industry, but at the same time, he had a soft, sensitive side. There were different angles he took with his music that I thought were cool too. I think I’ve definitely followed along in his footsteps. Take a song like ‘Just In Case.’ It shows a sensitive side, but it still has an edge. It’s kind of all-encompassing and not just this one feeling about breaking up with a girl. With a song like that, I’m trying to get multiple feelings across about one subject.” It’s really the secret sauce, so to speak, as to how Eric has been able to build such a successful career that is very much within mainstream country music, while still being viewed as an outsider and doing it largely without a ton of radio play. It puts him in a very unique position among most hugely successful country artists, and I think that aspect of both his personality and music is what so many fans love about him. They of course now co-own Field & Stream together, and Eric has been featured on several Morgan Wallen songs, some of his best songs in my opinion, in “Quittin’ Time,” “Man Made a Bar” and most recently, “Number 3 and Number 7.” I can’t imagine what it’s like now to be close friends with the person who made you fall in country music, considering Morgan is now the biggest country star, and one of the world’s most famous musicians, all because he heard an all-time Eric Church classic, “Love Your Love The Most.” Turn it up… “Number 3 and Number 7” “Man Made A Bar” Still The Problem Tour Dates April 10 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason April 11 || Minneapolis, Minn. || U.S. Bank Stadium w/ HARDY, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason April 18 || Tuscaloosa, Ala. || Saban Field at Bryant-Denny Stadium w/ Ella Langley, Vincent Mason, Zach John King May 1 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Brooks & Dunn, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason May 2 || Las Vegas, Nev. || Allegiant Stadium w/ Thomas Rhett, Gavin Adcock, Vincent Mason 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 WhiteThe post “A Middle Finger To The Industry”: How Eric Church’s Rebellious Attitude Changed Country Music For Morgan Wallen first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

What do we have here? Eric Church hit the road this past week to kick off the second leg of his Free the Machine tour with two nights at The Anthem in Washington D.C. And during both shows, he dropped a teaser for the crowd for something coming this week. Of course Church is also gearing up for the release of Evangeline vs. the Machine Comes Alive in IMAX, a full-length concert film recorded during his shows at The Pinnacle in Nashville last May. The movie will be in select theaters on February 11 and 14, and he’s also releasing a live album of the show to go with it on February 13. But it seems like Church, as well as several other country stars, have something else in the works too. According to the recaps posted to his website, during the show at The Anthem last Thursday, Church teased something coming this week: “On January 30, we’ve got a surprise coming. It’s the s–t.” And the following night, he once again told the crowd about the as-of-yet-unannounced surprised: “On January 30, something is going to happen and you’re going to f–king love it.” So what’s it going to be? Many fans online speculated that Church would be announcing a residency at the Las Vegas Sphere. Over the past year we’ve seen Kenny Chesney and Zac Brown Band both head to the Sphere for extended stays, and Church seems like one of the few artists who would be a fit for the high-tech venue. But it seems like some sort of collaboration between Eric, Morgan Wallen, Tim McGraw and Hardy is in the works and coming very soon. Just minutes ago on Instagram, Chief posted a photo on Instagram with a simple graphic that has the following in writing: “Junior McArthur. b. September 2, 1945. d. April 4, 1967.” View this post on Instagram And Morgan shared the following on his Instagram stories: “Hunter McArthur. b. May 3, 1993.” Hardy also shared one that says: “Jones McArthur. b. June 5, 1968. d. January 5, 2025.” View this post on Instagram Lastly, we have Tim McGraw sharing this: “John McArthur. b November 2, 1920. d. November 22, 1963.” View this post on Instagram Of course, it already has fans in a frenzy trying to figure out what this means, and the obvious guess would be that the four of them have some sort of collaboration in the works in the form of a song, and that this will make a lot more sense once that is revealed. The theories of course are flowing in on their posts, and I think some of them could very well be on the right track in terms of the multiple generations: “Vietnam era album ,hell yeah.” “Eric Church plays in St. Paul next weekend. These dates coordinate with the end of WWII and the beginning of MLK day.” “The new Highwaymen?!?” “A song or album about personal transformation or phases of life as junior dies young, jones has a full lifespan and hunter is still alive. Could be a generational arc or a single soul across time…” “Jones and Junior are no longer alive and Hunter is still kicking it. All last name McArthur. A song about generations?!” “Love that everyone is missing the fact that Morgan’s is his birthday lol” “Could be a mini series?” “They all have death dates besides Morgan.” “What kind of shenanigans is this? Colonel Mustard in the library with the candlestick.” It’s definitely an interesting way to tease whatever this is, so stay tuned… whatever it is is coming out soon, on January 30th, so at least we’ll know sooner rather than later.The post Morgan Wallen, Eric Church, Tim McGraw & More Send Country Fans Into A Frenzy With Cryptic Teasers first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

What an opening lineup. It’s safe to say that it’s been a pretty interesting last two months for Zac Brown Band. If you recall, back in December, they not only released their eighth studio album, Love & Fear, but they also became just the second country act ever (along with Kenny Chesney) to headline the state-of-the-art Sphere in Las Vegas. And while the residency’s first show itself was quite the spectacle, not only being sold-out but fully utilizing the Sphere’s status as being a technical marvel, it proved to be one of, if not, the most controversial country concerts of 2025. In one of the most ridiculous controversies in country music the past year, Brown and Co. sparked what can only be described as a classic case of 80s-era Satanic Panic thanks to them opening each and every one of their shows with their 2015 deep cut with the late, great Chris Cornell, “Heavy Is The Head.” Given that it was at the Sphere, the “Goodbye In Her Eyes” singer went all out with the visuals that featured what appeared to be a descent into Hell, with Brown taking the stage flanked by images of the devil and wearing a crown that resembled devil horns while performing. Of course, this led to an incredible amount of controversy that prompted people on the internet jumped to call the concert a “Satanic ritual” among other insane comparisons. In fact, things got so bad that the Church of Satan (I wish I was joking) had to come out and deny the fact that Brown was performing a ritual. Thankfully for Brown, after addressing the controversy at his second round of shows on December 15th, both the second and third weekend of the residency went off without a hitch (or online panic). Now that the dust has settled on the whole Satanic imagery controversy, Brown and Co. are hitting the road across the country on the brand-new Love & Fear Tour, which was just announced this morning. View this post on Instagram Presented by the Jimmy Buffett-affiliated, Margaritaville at Sea, the Love & Fear Tour will feature a hefty 27 shows from July through November. Kicking off on July 17th in Grand Rapids, Michigan and concluding on November 21st in Rosemont, Illinois, ZBB will hit some of the most iconic venues in the country. This is highlighted primarily by their Fenway Park show in Boston on August 2nd and their back-to-back nights at Red Rocks Amphitheater in Morrison, Colorado on October 19th and 20th. Throughout the tour, Brown is calling upon one of the most interesting set of openers for a country tour this year. Beginning the tour with indie pop band, Fitz and the Tantrums, the “Chicken Fried” singer will also be bringing along the likes of Brothers Osborne, Grace Potter and Old Crow Medicine Show, best known for being the original singers behind Darius Rucker’s smash hit, “Wagon Wheel.” Reflecting on his time at Sphere, Brown would express how excited he is to get back on the road on a full-fledged tour, noting that it’ll be all about “big energy” throughout. “I can’t wait to get this back on the road after an epic experience at Sphere. Every night we play is a chance to turn it up, mix things around, and share an unforgettable night with our incredible fans. The Love & Fear tour is all about big energy – our new album, entertaining covers, the hits you know and love, a few unexpected curveballs, and a whole lot of fun. We’re ready to bring it!” Registration for presale is open now with access for Brown’s fan club, Zamily, beginning on Wednesday, January 28th, at 10 a.m. local. Additionally, ZBB Community presale begins on Thursday, January 29th, at 10 a.m. local. Finally, public onsale starts on Friday, January 30th, also at 10 a.m. local. Love & Fear Tour Dates Friday, July 17, 2026 – Grand Rapids, MI – Van Andel Arena – % Saturday, July 18, 2026 – Cleveland, OH – Rocket Arena – % Friday, July 31, 2026 – Albany, NY – MVP Arena – # Sunday, August 2, 2026 – Boston, MA – Fenway Park – # Thursday, August 13, 2026 – Pittsburgh, PA – PPG Paints Arena – # Friday, August 14, 2026 – Columbus, OH – Nationwide Arena – # Saturday, August 15, 2026 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion – # Thursday, August 27, 2026 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium – * Friday, August 28, 2026 – Forest Hills, NY – Forest Hills Stadium – * Saturday, August 29, 2026 – Philadelphia, PA – TD Pavilion at Highmark Mann – * Thursday, September 10, 2026 – Kansas City, MO – T-Mobile Center – ^ Friday, September 11, 2026 – St. Louis, MO – Enterprise Center – ^ Thursday, September 17, 2026 – Charleston, SC – Credit One Stadium – ^ Friday, September 18, 2026 – Tampa, FL – Benchmark International Arena – ^ Saturday, September 19, 2026 – Hollywood, FL – Hard Rock Live at Seminole Hard Rock Hotel & Casino Thursday, October 8, 2026 – Knoxville, TN – Thompson-Boling Arena at Food City Center – * Friday, October 9, 2026 – Greenville, SC – Bon Secours Wellness Arena – * Saturday, October 10, 2026 – Greensboro, NC – First Horizon Coliseum – * Monday, October 19, 2026 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – * Tuesday, October 20, 2026 – Morrison, CO – Red Rocks Amphitheatre – * Friday, October 23, 2026 – Minneapolis, MN – Target Center – ^ Saturday, October 24, 2026 – Sioux Falls, SD – Denny Sanford PREMIER Center – ^ Thursday, November 5, 2026 – Buffalo, NY – KeyBank Center – ^ Friday, November 6, 2026 – Detroit, MI – Little Caesars Arena – ^ Thursday, November 19, 2026 – Lincoln, NE – Pinnacle Bank Arena – * Friday, November 20, 2026 – Des Moines, IA – Casey’s Center – * Saturday, November 21, 2026 – Rosemont, IL – Allstate Arena -* Grace Potter – * Brothers Osbourne – ^ Old Crow Medicine Show – # Fitz and The Tantrums – %The post Zac Brown Band Announces 2026 ‘Love & Fear’ Tour Featuring Brothers Osborne, Old Crow Medicine Show & More first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

True friends are hard to come by. On March 16th, 1991 seven of Reba’s band members, as well as her tour manager, were tragically killed in a plane crash flying from a show near San Diego, California. They had performed for a group of IBM executives, and had planned to go straight from there to Fort Wayne, Indiana. Her tour manager Jim Hammon, keyboardist and bandleader Kirk Cappello, fellow keyboardist Joey Cigainero, drummer Tony Saputo, guitarists Michael Thomas and Chris Austin, bassist Terry Jackson and backup singer Paula Kaye Evans, as well as the two pilots, Donald Holmes and Christopher Hollinger, were all killed that day. Reba almost ended up on the plane, as well, but had decided last minute to stay the night in San Diego because she was still dealing with a bout of bronchitis. Her then-husband, Narvel Blackstock, and stylist, Sandy Spika, stayed the night with her. The rest of her crew left in two separate planes from a private airport, but the first of the two that took off crashed just 10 minutes from the airport. The tragic incident led her to write an album, For My Broken Heart, dedicated to her beloved band and crew members, which she added in the liner notes was: “A form of healing for all our broken hearts.” In her 1994 autobiography Reba: My Story, she says that she was jolted awake at 2AM by her hotel phone ringing. At first, she thought an excited fan had gotten the number to her room, or that someone possibly had the wrong number. But it was Roger Woolsey on the other line, Reba’s pilot, who wanted Narvel to come up to his room immediately. Roger quickly got dressed to go up there, and he couldn’t even answer any of Reba’s questions about what was going on as he hurried up to get more details. She recounted some of the details from that night in her book: “I sat upright in bed. I wouldn’t lie down again until the next night at my home in Tennessee. Later, Narvel would describe Roger as being white as a sheet when he walked into his room. ‘I watched everybody get on both planes,’ Roger said to Narvel. ‘Both planes taxied to the end of the runway and I got in my car to come back to the hotel.’” Ultimately, the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) reported that Holmes, the main pilot, had called an FAA service specialist to find out how long he needed to wait to take off. He was told he could take off immediately if he used if he used “visual flight rules,” which means he was required to know the area and terrain. He called back two more times before they took off, but mainly because he wanted to confirm he wouldn’t cross into the complex map of controlled air space in the region. According to Biography.com, he was told it was fine to direct the plane northeast and remain below 3,000 feet. A few minutes after takeoff, around 1:45AM, they were flying at 3,300 feet when the left wing clipped an outcropping of 3,500-foot Otay Mountain, sending it into the rocky peak with a massive explosion. It was an awful tragedy that still deeply affects Reba to this day, and shortly after the crash, Reba would go on to win ACM Female Vocalist of the Year in 1991, and she dedicated that win to her band: It was an extremely traumatic situation, obviously, and though Reba went onto have a legendary career, two of Reba’s closest friends in the music industry stepped up when she needed them the most to In a new interview with Garden & Gun, Reba talked about how much two artists in particular stepped up, and that would be Dolly Parton and Vince Gill. Reba has previously explained how Dolly called her right after the crash to offer comfort, and also offered to let Reba use her band and do anything else she needed to try to keep her career obligations going as best as she could during that awful time. She explained how hard it obviously was to get back onstage after that, but the support of those two meant everything: “It was really hard for me to get back onstage, but Vince Gill called and said, ‘Buddy, I’ll be there for you. Here, take my band.’ It was such a gift to see how many people stepped forward to help, and to reassure, because so many of us had hearts that were broken.” I can’t even imagine how hard that time was, but Reba showed incredible strength and resilience, which has served her well in so many aspects of her life, including her divorce from her longtime husband Narvel Blackstock. They divorced in 2015 after 26 years of marriage, and Reba says she prayed about it and knew she had to keep moving forward: “You have to look at it as something that has happened—now, how are you going to deal with it? I was out walking one time when one of these situations happened in my life. I said, ‘Lord, what am I going to do? What do I say?’ And it came to me. It said, ‘Oh, well. There’s nothing you can do about it.’ You might as well move forward, and find something to occupy your time. Go work, go do something else.” Reba has always had incredible confidence about her in order to handle these very hard and heartbreaking situations, and she attributes that to the encouragement, and sometimes tough love, of her mother: “I wouldn’t say I’m cocky, but I’m confident. Mama always said, ‘You can do anything you set your mind to.’ I’d be like, ‘Ugh, I have to drive to Dallas, and that’s two and a half hours, and it’s snowing…’ And I’d just dread it. Mama would say, ‘Reba, you can do anything for twenty-four hours. You said you would do it, so get down there, do the best you can, and get back home. Put your big-girl panties on.'” That advice has served her well of the years, clearly, and Reba is continuing her legendary country career with an NBC sitcom called Happy’s Place, in addition to continuing her work as a judge on The Voice, and of course, in her personal life, wedding bells are ringing as she got engaged to actor Rex Linn in 2024. Notably, her single “Trailblazer” with Lainey Wilson and Miranda Lambert became her highest streaming debut, so she shows no signs of slowing down anytime soon and I have a feeling this might be one of her best years yet, as she continues to prove that age is just a number and good country music is truly timeless. “Trailblazer” The post “It Was Really Hard To Get Back Onstage”: Reba Names The Two Country Legends Who Pulled Her Through The 1991 Plane Crash Tragedy first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

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