President Donald Trump, who has often drawn comparisons to royalty, received a fitting — if symbolic — accolade during his visit to South Korea: a replica of an ancient golden crown from the Silla Kingdom. The gift came from South Korean President Lee Jae Myung during a ceremony at the Gyeongju National Museum on Wednesday. […]

With a market cap of $5 trillion, Nvidia is now worth more than the aggregated stock markets of all countries, apart from the United States, China and Japan.

Simply powerful. Despite all the criticism surrounding his music, Luke Bryan has remained a key piece in country music for nearly two decades at this point. As the fifth-highest-selling country artist of all time, according to the RIAA, the “Rain Is a Good Thing” singer has undoubtedly experienced success that few artists can even dream of having. With that being said, however, it’s never come easy for the Georgia native. While, of course, you have your standard internet trolls that like to criticize Bryan for just about everything from his musical output to his on-stage personality, it’s the real-life tragedies he’s faced throughout his life that have defined him as a person. In what can only be described as a long string of misfortune, Bryan has lost his older brother, Chris, who died in a motorcycle accident at the age of 26 in 1996, his older sister, Kelly, who died suddenly at the age of 39 in 2007 and Kelly’s husband, Ben Lee Cheshire, who also died suddenly at the age of 46 in 2014. The loss of both Kelly and Ben would also prompt the 49-year-old singer to adopt their three kids, Til, Jordan and Kris. The incredible amount of loss throughout his life was most famously highlighted during his emotional performance of the Chris Stapleton-penned “Drink A Beer” at the 2013 CMA Awards as a tribute to both Chris and Kelly, which has remained one of the most memorable moments of his career to this date. Given the fact that Bryan has experienced so much loss throughout his life, he recently made an appearance on CNN’s All There Is Live with Anderson Cooper to discuss his music, faith and grieving process. Early in the interview, Cooper would note how open Bryan has been about the losses in his life and ultimately asked him what has made him so open about it over the years. The “Do I” singer would go on to explain that one of the key moments for him was a touching moment with a nine-year-old fan years ago at a meet and greet. As Bryan explains, during the meet and greet, the nine-year-old came up to him with tears in his eyes and asked him how he gets through life after the loss of a loved one, given that he had just lost his sister a couple of months ago. “One of my most beautiful moments I ever had as a country singer is [when] I was in North Carolina, and I’m doing a meet and greet. You’re meeting fans and taking pictures, and there’s a lot of chaos. But this boy, he was nine years old. He looked up at me, and he had these big tears in his eyes. He looked at me, and he goes, ‘Mr. Luke, I lost my sister a couple of months ago, and I want to know how you get through life?'” And when that nine-year-old told me that, I just dropped down on my knees and did the best job I could in that moment to help that young man. I said, ‘Buddy, you talk to your sister like she is still here. You treat her like she is here, every day of your life. You talk to her when you go to bed.” Hearing the young fan’s story and bravery, Bryan would tell Cooper that the boy reaffirmed his need to talk about his losses and share his story with the public, hoping that he could help those who’ve experienced similar losses with their grieving process. “When that boy did that, it really affirmed my need to talk about my loss. I mean, when you’re able to touch a kid that age, I was like, ‘Yeah, anytime I can talk about this, it’s the right thing to do.’ And there’s just so much of that going on in the world, and I think, I think some people have been insulated from it, thank God. But then the people that have tragedy, I hope they can hear our stories and, and understand they’re not alone in their journeys with it.” You know, I looked up at his parents- and his parents, they went there knowing that he wanted to ask me that- and gosh, there wasn’t a dry [eye]. I mean, it was one of the most powerful things that I’ve ever been a part of, and I just did my best in the moment, and it really, really changed me a lot, too, in that moment that I was able to help him.” During the interview, Bryan would also reveal the details surrounding Kelly’s sudden death in 2007 and the impact the tragic loss had on him and his family. You can read that here. Watch the full podcast here: The post Luke Bryan Says Comforting A Teary-Eyed, 9-Year-Old Fan Who Had Just Lost His Sister Was One Of The “Most Beautiful” Moments Of His Country Music Career first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Worried about her friend. It’s no secret that country stars are on a never-ending hamster wheel when they are in the thick of tour life. They are constantly on the move, going from one city to another, meeting fans, putting on a performance that night, and then washing off the day to do it all over again. It’s a grueling lifestyle that leads to many nights spent on a bus or a van and a few nights in your own bed. But all that time away makes the moments at home feel more special, and that kind of rest and recovery hits differently. Lainey Wilson knows this feeling all too well, and once needed some R&R that led her good friend, Miranda Lambert, to grow seriously concerned about her. The “Good Horses” singer recalled how her collaboration with Miranda Lambert came to be on a Southern Living‘s Biscuits & Jam podcast episode released earlier this month, and it’s a wild story. Wilson was having a wild year, hardly spending a night at home, when Miranda Lambert called wanting her to come spend some time out at her farm. “This was also the year that I was just crazy busy. I think that year I slept in my bed 15 nights. And one of those times that I was here in Nashville, I remember Miranda calling me and being like… ‘I want you to come out to my farm where there’s hardly any cell phone service, and I want you to take a nap, and we’re gonna feed you.’ Cause her husband is a great cook.” Wilson agreed to the offer and headed out to her farm for some songwriting and recovery; however, more recovery than songwriting took place during her visit. Wilson recalled that she went to bed and ended up sleeping 13 hours, leading Miranda Lambert to grow concerned about her friend’s well-being. “They had to go knock on the door. They’re like, ‘Is she alive?'” At least Wilson knows she has folks who care about her. Once she was up and moving, “Good Horses” came to be. Wilson shares that she had the idea in her head for a bit and was inspired by an episode of the famed Taylor Sheridan western Yellowstone: “And… I had had this song idea for quite some time, and I think I had gotten the idea from watching an episode of Yellowstone. I was a fan of the show before I was ever even involved with it.”  Despite sleeping through much of her time at Lambert’s farm, the two women and Luke Dick wrote a stellar song that appeared on Wilson’s last LP, Whirlwind. “‘Good Horses’ is about all the people that love the comfort of home, but also need to be free. Lainey and I wrote this song at my farm with Luke Dick. Lainey is a genuine and authentic human. I love watching her dreams come true right in front of our eyes, and it’s so cool to be a little part of it.” Miranda Lambert said. Later in the conversation, Wilson touched on how much she admires Miranda Lambert and how well they get along, sharing many common interests, including a love of the western way of life. Wilson said the two also bond over enjoying filling their cups at home so they can later pour it out on the road — which clearly Wilson was doing while visiting Lambert. Wilson added that Lambert has always been a cheerleader for her career: “But she’s always been that voice over here just being like, ‘You can’t do it all. You can’t do it all. You gotta come home and you gotta saddle your horse, and you gotta make sure that you’re scooping the poop on the farm and doing all the things that make everything else worth it.’” These two women are powerhouses of the industry, no questions asked, and it’s incredible to see the clear bond that they have as champions of each other’s careers. Check out the entire interview while you’re here: And fire up “Good Horses” before you go: The post Lainey Wilson Says Miranda Lambert Was Worried About Her After She Slept 13 Hours Straight At Her Farm: “Is She Alive?” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Wanted to make sure everybody was safe. The tragic death of University of Missouri college student Riley Strain shook Nashville last year after the 22-year old was found dead in the Cumberland River. Strain went missing last March after being asked to leave Luke Bryan’s lower Broadway bar, Luke’s 32 Bridge, and then for some reason walked in the opposite direction of his hotel. Authorities said at the time there was no sign of foul play, and Luke’s bar released a statement during the search clarifying that he was served only one alcoholic drink and two waters at their bar before being asked to leave. Investigators with the Tennessee Alcoholic Beverage Commission determined that Strain was not visibly intoxicated or overserved at Luke’s, but security at the bar said that the student was “verbally aggressive with staff” and was not allowed to re-enter. After being kicked out of the bar, Strain’s friends continued partying and said they would meet him back at their hotel that night – but he never made it back, and wasn’t in the room when his fraternity brothers returned at 1:00 AM. When he hadn’t returned the next day, the friends finally called police to report him missing, setting off a furious search for the student that would end two weeks later when his body was discovered in the river. The death was ruled an accident, and Nashville Metro Police have since closed their investigation. And as it turns out, even as he was being arrested, Morgan Wallen still had Strain’s death on his own mind. Not long after Strain passed away, Morgan was set to open his own bar in downtown Nashville, called Morgan Wallen’s This Bar & Tennessee Kitchen. The bar is located on 4th Avenue, just off of Broadway, and only a few blocks from where Strain went missing. Of course Morgan’s bar faced pushback from some members of the Metro Nashville City Council, who voted to deny a sign permit for the venue after Morgan was arrested in early April of 2024 on felony charges of reckless endangerment for throwing a chair off the rooftop of his friend Eric Church’s downtown Nashville bar, Chief’s. (Morgan eventually pled guilty to two misdemeanors and was sentenced to probation, as well as two days in a DUI education center). But during his arrest, Morgan expressed concern for the security of his own upcoming bar, and his insistence that precautions be taken to prevent a tragedy like Strain from happening again. In recently released body cam footage from the April 2024 arrest, Morgan can be heard talking about his venue, including his partnership with hospitality company TC Restaurant Group – the same company that owns Luke Bryan’s bar: “They just paid me for my name, you know?” And he asked the officer’s opinion of TC Group, revealing that he expressed concerns about security after Strain’s death: “I was just talking to my lawyer, I was like, ‘Hey man, you saw that Riley guy.’ I was like, ‘Hey, we gotta make sure that does not happen at our bar.'” Now, I’m sure some people will dismiss his comments as only worrying about liability or the effect on his reputation that a similar incident would have. But even if that’s the case, it’s commendable that Morgan saw an incident like that and wanted to do his part to prevent it from happening again. The post Morgan Wallen Wanted Security At His Nashville Bar To Be A Priority After Tragic Death Of Riley Strain: “Make Sure That Does Not Happen At Our Bar” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Taking a page out of the Willie Nelson playbook. While it’s unclear whether this was the intention in buying a golf course, Jamey Johnson could have followed in the footsteps of the famed Willie Nelson. For those who are not familiar, the red-headed stranger actually bought his own golf course back in the day, so that he could go play some in the middle of his studio sessions while the sound engineers were mixing his songs after he laid down the vocals. Pretty epic, right? During a recent conversation with Joseph Hudak for an episode of Rolling Stone‘s Nashville Now podcast, the two discussed the significant amount of time Johnson spent away from releasing albums. This break may have been due to a head injury sustained years ago, but Midnight Gasoline proved he’s still got a lot of gas in the tank. In fact, we’re not that far off from hearing more from this new era of Jamey Johnson, as he’s shared he’s been making music at the historic Cash Cabin and has over 50 songs in the bank during a recent sit-down with the Whiskey Riff Raff podcast hosts, Shelby and Quinn. “I’ve got so many songs recorded. Over 50 still unreleased just from the past couple of sessions. We’ve got more sessions coming. I don’t know… at some point we’re gonna have to just start throwing songs out. All this stuff, we recorded over at Johnny Cash’s cabin – the Cash Cabin Studio. There’s a presence out there, and there’s an immediate reverence from the band when we get there. But there’s also this open avenue for anything goes. Grab your guitar, your keyboard, whatever you’re playing, and let’s give it hell. We’re out there making some of the best music I’ve ever gotten to record right now.” @whiskeyriff “There’s a presence out there, and there’s an immediate reverence from the band when we get there.” // Check out the latest Whiskey Riff Raff podcast with @JameyJohnsonOfficial available now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #jameyjohnson #countrymusic #johnnycash ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff However, Midnight Gasoline marked his triumphant return to the studio and to writing songs. Johnson shared with us that a big reason he was not making new music was that he gave up smoking after his head injury. However, once he was on a trip with many of his songwriting friends, he relapsed on the herbal medicine, and the songs came flooding back to him. “I didn’t smoke again until we wrote ‘What A View.’ When we sat down to write that song, I told you, we all knew a song was coming. The first thing I did was sit down and start thinking of reasons this song ain’t ever gonna fly. If you listen to the wrong voice, you are gonna get the wrong information. And I was sitting there coming up with reasons why I didn’t want to write this song. I looked over and one of my dear friends had put a joint in an ashtray. I could see where this session was going anyway. So I went ahead and smoked one and started writing songs again. They came in like a flood after that.” @whiskeyriff “All the inhibitions had been lifted. There were no more restrictions.” // Check out the latest Whiskey Riff Raff podcast with @JameyJohnsonOfficial available now on Spotify, Apple, and YouTube. #whiskeyriff #whiskeyriffraff #jameyjohnson #countrymusic #whataview ♬ original sound – Whiskey Riff While the mental block of writing seemed to be a massive factor as to why he didn’t record music all of those years, apparently, there was another factor. During an appearance on the God’s Country podcast, Johnson shared that there was no money in recording solo records. “The end result was making records didn’t make me any money. It didn’t move the needle for me financially. When it got down to fight or flight, and I was stuck in fight mode, I was just like, man, that’s the last thing I need to be messing with right now. It was just like leave that alone.” While Jamey Johnson was not writing and recording his own music during his decade-plus hiatus, he was experimenting with other ways to bring in income. Johnson was still touring heavily at this time, which was his main stream of revenue, but he experimented with a few side-hustles, if you will. However, he told Joseph Hudak that one business venture was far from a money-maker for him. “Yeah, it damn sure wasn’t in golf.”  Hudak then asked Johnson if he owned his own golf course, to which Johnson confirmed he once owned one in Montgomery, Alabama. “Yeah, you don’t make money on those… My partner and I, we really hoped better for it. But it wasn’t in the cards.” While Johnson no longer has the golf course in his possession, the business venture finally started bringing in revenue during a time when all other businesses were suffering: “Well, after COVID (we sold it). During COVID, it made its own money for the first time… since I was down there.” I am sure that owning a golf course had many perks, like free rounds, but at the end of the day, if it’s sucking money out of your bank account, it was probably best to part ways with it. However, it would have been super cool if Johnson had turned into a Willie Nelson-style golf course, where he could play a round between studio sessions. Maybe it’s a blessing that the golf course didn’t pan out for Jamey Johnson, because he eventually moved past his mental blocks, and now we are getting new music from the outlaw legend. Check out the whole interview while you’re here. The post Did You Know Jamey Johnson Once Owned A Golf Course? first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

In a great video, Senator Ted Cruz explained this morning why the ‘stupidest’ government shutdown is really nothing more than ‘performative art’ from Chuck Schumer. Watch below: I love the way Ted . . .

Speaker Johnson said this morning that he’s completely given up on appealing to both Chuck Schumer and Hakeem Jeffries, calling them “irredeemable” and explained his strategy for trying to get the government . . .