The Finnish company said in September that it has sold 5.5 million smart rings to date.

Honestly, brilliant. Kaitlin Butts has really made a name for herself in the country genre, coming from the Texas scene and putting out fantastic albums like 2024’s Roadrunner! and 2022’s What Else Can She Do. And if her name sounds familiar and you can’t quite place why, it might be because her song “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me)” went viral on TikTok last year, which was included on her aforementioned Roadrunner! album. She will be opening for the likes of Ella Langley and Brooks & Dunn this year, and she’s really starting to crossover into the mainstream which is really fun to watch. And during a recent appearance on the Girls In Low Places Podcast, Kaitlin spoke about some of her early days playing in small bars just trying to get by and do enough to get through to the next show. And she had a very unconventional, yet genius, strategy. Kaitlin is married to Flatland Cavalry frontman Cleto Cordero, they tied the knot in 2020, but before she found him, she was on Tinder, but it wasn’t strictly romantic, she explained. She would invite all of the guys she was talking to on the dating app to her shows… but she wouldn’t just give them the tickets for free, explaining that if ten of them paid $10 for their ticket, that totaled up to be $100, and obviously, this was a time when every ticket she sold really mattered: “I would get on Tinder and invite all the boys from Tinder to my shows. $10 of pop, honey, that’s $100! And I would see all of them like hanging out at the bar, and I’d be like, they have no idea. They have no idea.” Just brilliant… And of course, my first question was, what would she do at the end of the show when they were probably all expecting to hang out with her, or at least meet her… and she says she would just leave without a word or explanation: “I would leave!” I very much respect the hustle, and it makes for a hilarious story now… she ultimately met her husband through music, but at least she made her time on Tinder worthwhile. Kaitlin was just featured on Willow Avalon’s brand new single, “Hypothetically Speaking,” which you should definitely check out here: “Hypothetically Speaking” “You Ain’t Gotta Die (To Be Dead To Me)” The post “$10 A Pop, Honey”: Kaitlin Butts Says She Used To Invite Guys From Tinder To Her Shows With No Intention To Ever Hang Out With Them first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Another batch of killer nominees. Unlike the ACMs and CMAs, the Americana Awards have had a long history of nominating and subsequently awarding some of the best and brightest stars in both the alt. country and folk scene. With Sturgill Simpson, Charley Crockett, Billy Strings, The Red Clay Strays and Tyler Childers (who famously criticized the award show) all winning awards over the past five years, it’s clear that the Association has its finger on the pulse of what many consider the heart of today’s budding country, folk and Americana landscape. Last year was no different as we saw Sierra Ferrell take home her second-straight Artist of the Year trophy, becoming just the third artist and first female artist ever to win in back-to-back years at the 24th annual Americana Music Honors & Awards. Yesterday, the Americana Music Association (AMA) announced this year’s batch of nominees, and once again proved why they’re one of the best in the business. View this post on Instagram Artist of the Year is jam-packed with talent, including the likes of Brandi Carlile, Molly Tuttle, Margo Price, Jesse Welles and Charley Crockett, who is fresh off the release of his sixth album, Clovis, over the past two years. Though he’s clearly had his qualms with the ceremony and genre as a whole, Tyler Childers is once again nominated at the 25th Americana Awards, scoring an Album of the Year nod for Snipe Hunter. Here, he’s joined by the likes of Margo Price, Kathleen Edwards, S.G. Goodman and Ken Pomeroy. Unsurprisingly, Duo/Group of the Year is arguably the most jam-packed with Turnpike Troubadours and Flatland Cavalry scoring nominations alongside Mumford & Sons, I’m With Her and Gillian Welch & David Rawlings. Though Flatland has been receiving love at mainstream country award shows, notably receiving three-straight Group of the Year nominations at the ACM Awards, it’s always great to see Turnpike receive some love for their generational work over the years. Another fan-favorite in the alt. country scene, Kashsus Culpepper, scored his first-ever nomination, receiving a nod for Emerging Act of the Year alongside Pomeroy, Boy Golden, Crowe Boys and Mon Rovîa. As one of the most exciting new voices in the genre, complete with a blend of country, soul and blues, it’s a well-earned nomination for Culpepper. It would also be remiss not to talk about Pomeroy and her two nominations for Album of the Year (Cruel Joke) and Emerging Artist. Though she hasn’t quite grabbed the attention compared to some of her contemporaries, she’s quickly proven herself to be one of the most underrated artists in today’s growing crop of talented female artists in the alternative scene. The 25th Americana Honors & Awards will be held on Wednesday, September 16th at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. Like years previous, it will take place during Americanafest, which runs from September 15-19. A full list of nominees is as follows: Album of the Year Snipe Hunter – Tyler Childers Billionaire – Kathleen Edwards Planting by the Signs – S.G. Goodman Cruel Joke – Ken Pomeroy Hard Headed Woman – Margo Price Artist of the Year Brandi Carlile Charley Crockett Margo Price Molly Tuttle Jesse Welles Duo/Group of the Year Flatland Cavalry I’m With Her Mumford & Sons Turnpike Troubadours Gillian Welch & David Rawlings Emerging Act of the Year Boy Golden Crowe Boys Kashus Culpepper Ken Pomeroy Mon Rovîa Song of the Year “Returning to Myself” – Brandi Carlile “Snapping Turtle” – S.G. Goodman “Wild and Clear and Blue” – I’m With Her “Heavy Foot” – Mon Rovîa “The World’s Gone Wrong” – Lucinda Williams (feat. Brittney Spencer)The post Turnpike Troubadours, Tyler Childers, Flatland Cavalry & More Score Nominations At 2026 Americana Awards first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

President Trump just reminded people what could have happened with the money in the anti-weaponization fund, in that could have gone to him if he’d chosen to settle his lawsuit. Instead, he’s . . .

President Donald Trump announced Thursday on social media that the United States would be sending an additional 5,000 troops to Poland, an apparent reversal of Pentagon announcements of troop reductions to the central European country.  Secretary of War Pete Hegseth had paused deployment of 4,000 troops to Poland as a part of broader troop removals from Europe including another 5,000 from Germany.  The president cited the “successful Election of the now President of Poland, Karol Nawrocki” as a reason for the additional troops. Nawrocki was elected last June. The scheduled withdrawals were slated to return the American troop presence to its level before Russia’s war in Ukraine began in 2022. Undersecretary of War Elbridge Colby reemphasized in Thursday meetings with his Polish counterparts the Pentagon’s goal to see further European leadership in continental defense.  Republican lawmakers, including House Armed Services Committee Chair Mike Rogers (R-AL), had expressed their displeasure with the lack of consultation on the original withdrawal plans. Rogers told reporters Thursday the forthcoming NDAA would place “guardrails” on the Pentagon’s ability to withdraw troops from Europe. The post Trump Sends 5,000 Additional Troops into Poland appeared first on The American Conservative.

Acting Navy Secretary Hung Cao said Thursday that the United States is pausing a $14 billion arms sale to Taiwan to preserve munitions for the Trump administration’s war with Iran. Testifying before the Senate Appropriations Defense Subcommittee, Cao told Sen. Mitch McConnell (R-KY) that Washington still has “plenty” of missiles and interceptors but is reviewing supplies for the Persian Gulf theater before foreign military sales continue. The U.S. has expended a significant portion of its munitions stockpiles, notably interceptor missiles, during the war. Previously, President Donald Trump suggested that the weapons deal could be the subject of negotiations with the People’s Republic of China, a prospect that alarmed China hawks in the U.S. The Taiwanese government has pushed for the sale to go through, suggesting that the deal will increase the island nation’s deterrence capabilities against potential Chinese aggression. The post U.S. Suspends Taiwan Weapons Sales Due to Iran War appeared first on The American Conservative.