This could change everything.

Drummer was the lone member of the band who was able to attend the ceremony. Continue reading…

Fans can also see their documentary celebrating Joe Cocker and Leon Russell starting this week. Continue reading…

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I recall when then-President Barack Obama was planning to send troops to enforce his “Assad must go” policy in Syria, many Republican US Senators passionately argued that the US President must come to Congress for approval before sending US troops into combat overseas. At the time, they portrayed themselves as brave defenders of the US …

Shaboozey educating other artists on the history of country music. When it comes to historical venues in country music, there’s nowhere more important to the genre than the Ryman Auditorium. Step inside the doors and you can feel the history in the building, a landmark that’s hosted the biggest legends in country music on its stage. It’s my favorite building in Nashville, a place that leaves me in awe every time I step inside and see the sun shining through its stained glass windows. The building was constructed in the late 1800s by Thomas Ryman, a riverboat captain and saloon owner who wanted a place for the famous preacher Sam P. Jones to hold his revivals in Nashville. Named the Union Gospel Tabernacle, the historic building first opened its doors to worshipers in 1892 – before it even had a roof. Total construction costs were around $100,000, or almost $3 million in today’s money, and the Tabernacle held 6,000 people after the addition of a balcony. (The capacity was later reduced to 3,000 after a stage was added). After Thomas Ryman passed away in 1904, Sam Jones proposed that the building be renamed in Ryman’s honor – something Ryman had resisted when it was first proposed. The Ryman continued to host religious events after its namesake’s death, but it was also rented out for non-religious events as well so that it could remain open and operating. And one of those events was the Grand Ole Opry. The Opry had bounced around from venue to venue after starting out in the studios of WSM, the radio station started by the National Life & Accident Insurance Company in an attempt to boost their insurance business. And in 1943, it was asked to leave its current home at the War Memorial Auditorium after rowdy crowds kept damaging the upholstered seats. So when Opry management went looking for a new home, the Ryman – with its wooden benches that would be safe from destruction – was the perfect home. The Ryman hosted its first Grand Ole Opry performance on June 5, 1943. And for the next 31 years, the Opry continued to host the biggest names in all of country music from the Mother Church of Country Music – everyone from Hank Williams and Roy Acuff to Johnny Cash, George Jones and Loretta Lynn. Elvis even made his first – and only – appearance at the Grand Ole Opry on the stage of the Ryman Auditorium. The Opry moved to its new home in 1974, leaving the Ryman largely vacant for the next two decades. There were plans to tear the building down, something that was even supported by Roy Acuff. But critics fiercely opposed its destruction, and the Ryman was ultimately spared from the wrecking ball. A new chapter for the Ryman started in 1991, when Emmylou Harris used the then-dilapidated building to record a live album, which reignited interest in the historic stage. The Ryman was renovated (at the time Harris recorded her album, audience members couldn’t even sit under the balcony, which limited the capacity to about 200 people), and the Ryman reopened in 1994, serving as the centerpiece of entertainment in downtown Nashville. It’s impossible to name all of the legends who have performed at the “Mother Church of Country Music” in its history, from Hank Williams and Johnny Cash to Aretha Franklin and Louis Armstrong. It’s been memorialized in songs and recordings, and was officially designated a National Historic Landmark in 2001. But before he performed there, BigXthaPlug wasn’t aware of the history inside the walls of the old church. The Dallas, Texas native, whose real name is Xavier Landum, recently released his first country-inspired album, I Hope You’re Happy, which included features from country stars like Jelly Roll, Ella Langley, Luke Combs and Thomas Rhett. And on October 1, he performed a sold-out show at the Ryman for Apple Music Live. Leading up to the show, however, BigX admits that it wasn’t until a conversation with Shaboozey that he realized how much it meant to play the Ryman. During a conversation with Ebro Darden for Apple Music Live, the rapper was asked whether he understood the magnitude of performing at the iconic venue. “I wasn’t until last night.” BigX says that he had attended Shaboozey’s show at The Pinnacle in Nashville, and couldn’t understand why the “A Bar Song (Tipsy)” singer was impressed that he was headlining the Ryman: “Shaboozey had a show last night. I went to it and after the show we was talking and he was like, ‘Man, you performing at the Ryman, man. That’s crazy.’ I’m like, ‘You didn’t just see what you just performed here? THIS was crazy.’ He like, ‘Nah, bro. It’s like, it’s historical. Do you know the history behind it?’ I’m like, ‘Nah.’ He like, ‘Man, it’s this old church…’ He just gave me the whole rundown. And by the end of it I was like, man, I’m doing something that you can tell the greats do, you know what I’m saying what? The fact that, like I said, I was chose to step on a stage that greats have been on and a place that’s not my home, but that’s accepting me. You know what I’m saying? So, it’s just crazy.” While Shaboozey may get some criticism for his music not being “traditional” country, I’ve always respected the way he knows and appreciates the history of the genre, so it’s good to see that he’s educating other artists on it too. The post BigXthaPlug Says He Didn’t Understand The Significance Of Playing Ryman Auditorium Until Shaboozey Explained It To Him first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

Spreading some positivity in a terrible situation. If Drew Baldridge’s name doesn’t ring a bell, you’ve most likely heard his hit song, “She’s Somebody’s Daughter,” which was first released in 2019 before getting re-released and flying all the way to #3 on Billboard’s Country Airplay chart and #1 on Country Aircheck/Mediabase in 2023. Beyond scoring a major hit with “She’s Somebody Daughter,” the Illinois native has toured with the likes of Cody Johnson and Bailey Zimmerman. Recently, Baldridge has been on the road with none other than Jelly Roll and Shaboozey throughout the “I Am Not Okay” singer’s international tour in Australia and New Zealand, Down Under 2025. Though the Down Under 2025 tour wrapped up for the three artists this past Saturday in Auckland, New Zealand, Baldridge has been going viral online recently after he shared a harrowing moment he and his bandmates captured while on traveling in Australia. In a video posted to all his social media accounts last Wednesday, November 5th, Baldridge would share footage of a group of Australian men confronting and further pinning down a customer at a Melbourne McDonald’s they were dining at who was allegedly verbally abused and later spit at a female employee. View this post on Instagram The video uploaded by Baldridge begins with the men physically restraining the abusive customer. While on the ground, one man tells the alleged abuser: “Wrong country if you want to abuse women.” Baldridge would then explain how the events leading up to the footage took place. As the “Tough People” singer explained it, the man would go up to the woman working at the McDonald’s register, calling her a “dumb b*tch” repeatedly. As Baldridge tried to diffuse the situation, the man would then spit on the woman. Shortly after he spat at her, the men would restrain her. “So the other night, we were at Melbourne McDonald’s. This dude comes in. I don’t know what he was on. But he goes up to the girl at the desk taking the order, and he just said, ‘F you, you dumb B.’ He probably said it like five times, and I was starting to get frustrated. I was like, ‘Bro, you need to calm down. Like, you don’t talk to women like that.’  Then he spit on her. Spit on a woman just because his order wasn’t right. I don’t know what it was. And about that time, this other dude came over. He said, ‘Hey bro, we don’t talk to women like that. And before I know it, these dudes got this dude on the ground. And the guys were holding him down saying, ‘Wrong country to abuse women.’  He’d wrap up by saying that he realized in that moment reminded him of his latest single released just two weeks ago, “Rebel,” which centers around standing up for his traditional beliefs in the face of the world turning against them. He’d also note that it inspired him, before hoping the video would raise awareness for those who are still standing up for what is right. “And in that moment, it just hit me this is what my song, ‘Rebel,’ is about. It’s about standing up for what is right. But it was just so inspiring to watch these dudes stand up for this woman. I just think our country needs more of that, and a lot of people are not going to talk about this. And you’re gonna see [people say], ‘That’s the wrong way to do it. You shouldn’t fight.’ But sometimes you need to know when to fight. And if the whole wide world wants to dance with the Devil, I guess you can call me a rebel. And those guys were real rebels.”  Luckily for Baldridge, the moment and the discussion around the video did not go unnoticed. As of writing, the video has 2 million views, 143,000 likes and 4,500 comments on Instagram alone. Additionally, on Facebook, it has an extra 131,000 views, 6,800 likes and 747 comments. In particular, the video went viral in Australia, with many Australians taking to the comments to praise Baldridge and the men who stood up for the woman in the video. “Those are real men, I’m proud of them.” “We DO need more of this! Men do not listen to us – we need MEN to stand up to other ‘men! Proud Aussie here.” “Love it! ” “I’m Australian… What you experienced then mate was real Australian men.” “Love our real Aussie blokes!” “OH YEAH!!!!! SO PROUD of these Aussie LEGENDS. God bless them. More of this please!! How encouraged this young woman and her fellow workers must feel to see men defending her!!” “We need more of this.” It should go with out saying, good on both the men in the video and Baldridge for spreading light on the situation. The alleged assault over something as simple as a McDonald’s order quite obviously has no place in a civilized society, and it looks like the 34-year-old singer/songwriter got his wish to highlight the atrocious actions of the man through the virality of the video. While you’re here, check out “Rebel.” The post Country Singer, Drew Baldridge, Captures Viral Video Of Two Men Restraining A Violent McDonald’s Customer Who Spit At Female Employee – “Our Country Needs More Of That” first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

The Supreme Court said this morning that it would hear a challenge to a law in Mississippi that allows officials to count mail-in ballots they receive AFTER election day. The 5th Circuit . . .