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Doing it BIG for America’s 250th birthday. Back in 2024, the organizers behind one of the most successful country music festivals in America, Rock the South, decided to take the show on the road and expand to small towns across the country with a brand new concept, Rock the Country. The idea behind Rock the Country was to do what they had done in Cullman, Alabama and bring a festival featuring some of the biggest names in country music to small towns that otherwise don’t have the opportunities for live music that big cities do. At the time, Rock the South founder Shane Quick spoke to Whiskey Riff about the inspiration behind Rock the Country: “We’re taking that same mentality of celebrating small town America, celebrating people helping people, and the good nature of small town people.” Well it’s safe to say that over the past two years, Rock the Country has been a massive success. And in 2026, to celebrate America’s 250th birthday, the festival is back and bigger than ever – and that may be an understatement. Today, Rock the Country unveiled a STACKED lineup for 2026, which includes 8 small towns across the country and a lineup that includes headliners Kid Rock, Jason Aldean, Blake Shelton, Miranda Lambert, Jelly Roll, Creed, Brooks & Dunn, Riley Green, Hank Williams Jr., Ella Langley, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Jon Pardi, Brantley Gilbert, Treaty Oak Revival, Ludacris, Nelly, and MANY more. The festival will hit towns like Bellville, Texas; Bloomingdale, Georgia; Sioux Falls, South Dakota; Ashland, Kentucky; Anderson, South Carolina; Hastings, Michigan; Ocala, Florida; and Hamburg, New York. The lineup varies by city, but each stop features some incredible headliners with a ton of great support acts, names like Aaron Lewis & the Stateliners, Diamond Rio, Gretchen Wilson, Ian Munsick, Josh Meloy, The Creekers, Morgan Wade, and more. If you want to check out the full lineup for each city, you can find all of that below. And new in 2026 will be the Raised Rowdy stage, as well as daily throwback happy hour DJ sets. The lineup is so big it’s hard to include everybody, but if you want to get a look at who will be appearing during the tour take a look: Tickets for Rock the Country go on sale this Friday, January 16 at 2 pm local time, but are available for presale on Friday at 11 am local time if you use the presale code ROCKRIFF to help you get them a little early. To buy tickets, head on over to RockTheCountry.com for all the information about the festival you need…but all you really need to know is this is going to be one hell of a party for America’s 250th birthday. Rock the Country Schedule May 1-2 – Bellville, TX May 29-30 – Bloomingdale, GA June 27-28 – Sioux Falls, SD July 10-11 – Ashland, KY July 25-26 – Anderson, SC August 8-9 – Hastings, MI August 28-29 – Ocala, FL September 11-12 – Hamburg, NY Rock the Country Lineups: Bellville, Texas Bloomingdale, Georgia Sioux Falls, South Dakota Ashland, Kentucky Anderson, South Carolina Hastings, Michigan Ocala, Florida Hamburg, New York The post Jelly Roll, Miranda Lambert, Kid Rock, Creed, Riley Green & MANY More To Headline Multi-City ‘Rock The Country’ Festival In 2026 first appeared on Whiskey Riff.

HUGE. This morning, it was announced that Chris Stapleton’s hit version of “Tennessee Whiskey” has been certified RIAA Double Diamond with over 20 million units sold, making it the first country song ever to reach this milestone. Of course, the song was made most popular by the great Chris Stapleton when he included his powerful rendition on his amazing 2015 Traveller album, but “Tennessee Whiskey” was actually originally recorded by David Allan Coe as the title track to his 1981 album. Written by the great Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove, it peaked at just #77 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart in 1981, though George Jones’ 1983 cover peaked at #2 on the U.S. Billboard Hot Country Singles chart the year of its release. I’m sure we all remember his draw-dropping performance of it with Justin Timberlake at the 2015 CMA Awards, which launched the song and his solo career into the stratosphere, and the song is so popular, in fact, that it is still in Apple Music Top 100 Songs list, recently coming in at #89 in the all-genre list, ten years after he first released it. It’s iconic, it’s timeless, and I can’t think of a better song to be the first to reach this milestone. RIAA Chairman & CEO Mitch Glazier says the RIAA is “proud” to have Stapleton be the reason for this huge moment: “Chris Stapleton’s undeniable vocal grit and storytelling have connected deeply – driving chart successes, earning major awards, and most importantly, resonating with fans. RIAA is proud to celebrate him alongside MCA as ‘Tennessee Whiskey’ today makes history, becoming the first Country single ever to earn a Double Diamond certification with two million units in the U.S. alone. It’s a remarkable achievement and another defining moment in Stapleton’s career.” There are only 18 Diamond-Certified songs in the country genre, so even just making it to that milestone is incredibly difficult, just to give a little context as to how truly impressive this is. Stapleton is a once-in-a-generation artist, and he very much deserves this, and it certainly makes country music look good to have this incredible song be the first one to ever be certified Double Diamond. Simply put, his rendition resonated for a reason, or several reasons, from his powerhouse vocals to the incredible songwriting that paints a lovely story so many can relate to, and it was the perfect storm, so to speak, to have him debut it on such a big stage. It was perfect, and it’s one of, if not the greatest, country song ever. I’m sure it won’t be much longer until it goes Triple Diamond… RIAA Criteria When a single or album has sold at least 500,000 units, it is then eligible for a Gold certification; when it hits 1 million, it is eligible for Platinum certification. And finally, a song or record must sell 10 million units for it to be certified Diamond. There’s only been 18 Diamond-Certified songs in country music history. And keep in mind that the RIAA doesn’t just keep a running tab on these awards and hand out plaques; an artist’s label will actively pursue certification by applying, submitting statistics, and paying a few hundred dollars to undergo an audit to verify the sales. And then… You must purchase a plaque for each person involved. Well, only if you want to… As for what constitutes a “unit,” there are distinctions between sales regarding both singles and albums. Starting with singles, one paid download or 150 on-demand streams constitutes a unit. Albums, on the other hand, are a bit different. Given how popular streaming is in today’s age, there are three different ways an album can sell a single unit: 1) a permanent digital album or physical album sale, which basically means someone bought the record; 2) 10 permanent track downloads from the album, which laughably wouldn’t even be 1/3 of a Morgan Wallen album these days; or 3) 1,500 on-demand audio and/or video streams from the album. Of course, streaming is how a bulk of the units are earned these days. Turn it up: “Tennessee Whiskey” And of course, I’ll leave you with the performance that started it all… Stapleton will once again hit the road for his All-American Road Show tour, which just kicked off this past weekend in Florida. Chris Stapleton 2026 Tour Dates January 10—Hollywood, FL—Hard Rock Live (SOLD OUT) January 11—Hollywood, FL—Hard Rock Live (SOLD OUT) February 4—Las Vegas, NV—Dolby Live at Park MGM (SOLD OUT) February 5—Las Vegas, NV—Dolby Live at Park MGM (SOLD OUT) February 7—San Francisco, CA—Bill Graham Civic Auditorium (SOLD OUT) February 20—Thackerville, OK—WinStar Lukas Oil Live (SOLD OUT) February 21—Thackerville, OK—WinStar Lukas Oil Live (SOLD OUT) February 27—Uncasville, CT—Mohegan Sun Casino (SOLD OUT) February 28—Uncasville, CT—Mohegan Sun Casino (SOLD OUT) April 19—Georgetown, TX—Two Step Inn May 23—Nashville, TN—Nissan Stadium* May 29—Panama City, FL—Gulf Coast Jam June 11—Jacksonville, FL—Vystar Veterans Memorial Arena† June 13—Tampa, FL—Raymond James Stadium* June 17—Burgettstown, PA—The Pavilion at Star Lake† June 20—Charlotte, NC—Bank of America Stadium* June 24—Hershey, PA—Hersheypark Stadium# June 26—North Charleston, SC—North Charleston Coliseum# July 8—Mountain View, CA—Shoreline Amphitheatre‡ July 10—Chula Vista, CA—North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre‡ July 14—Paso Robles, CA—California Mid-State Fair‡ July 17—Portland, OR—Providence Park# July 19—Whitefish, MT—Under The Big Sky Festival July 22—Vancouver, BC—Rogers Arena% July 24—George, WA—The Gorge# July 29—Shakopee, MN—Mystic Lake Amphitheater† August 1—Cincinnati, OH—Paycor Stadium* August 6—Toronto, ON—Rogers Stadium+ August 8—Detroit, MI—Ford Field* August 14—Boston, MA—Fenway Park+ August 18—Virginia Beach, VA—Veterans United Home Loans Amphitheater at Virginia Beach~ August 21—Atlanta, GA—Mercedes-Benz Stadium^ August 26—Wantagh, NY—Northwell at Jones Beach Theater** August 28—Philadelphia, PA—Freedom Mortgage Pavilion** October 2—Bristow, VA—Jiffy Lube Live†† October 7—Lincoln, NE—Pinnacle Bank Arena‡‡ October 9—Kansas City, MO—Morton Amphitheater‡‡ *with special guests Lainey Wilson and Allen Stone †with special guest Allen Stone ‡with special guest Molly Tuttle #with special guest Grace Potter +with special guests Zach Top and Allen Stone %with special guest The Teskey Brothers ~with special guest Maggie Rose ^with special guests Lainey Wilson and Ashley McBryde **with special guest Carter Faith ††with special guest Mike Campbell & The Dirty Knobs ‡‡with special guest Nikki LaneThe post Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” Becomes First Country Song EVER To Be Certified Double Diamond first appeared on Whiskey Riff.