Luke Combs, Tyler Childers, Lainey Wilson & More Featured On Stacked ‘Twisters: The Album’

A stacked lineup for this film's album. The backing music can often make or break a movie, but a good album can send a film into a cultural phenomenon, like the last Hunger Games album did. Twisters is the follow-up to the 1996 blockbuster Twister, and this secondary film features Daisy Edgar-Jones starring as Kate Cooper and Glenn Powell starring as Tyler Owens. The film is set to hit theaters on July 19th, and today, the album that accompanies the film revealed its complete artist list. Luke Combs previously announced that he has a single in the tracklist, “Ain’t No Love In Oklahoma," which was an explosive rollout for the album's sound. The entire song and music video drops tomorrow, and the teasers are making it seem like it will be an absolute heater. https://www.instagram.com/p/C67LdT5yTeT/ Today, the full album artist list was released, proving that this film is well on its way to becoming a cultural phenomenon. The lineup is absolutely STACKED. From heavy hitters like Jelly Roll, Tyler Childers, Lainey Wilson, Megan Moroney and Charley Crockett, the album will also feature some of the hottest up-and-coming names like Wyatt Flores, Red Clay Strays,  Sam Barber, Jake Kohn, Tanner Usrey and Tyler Halverson. I mean, COME ON! I am stoked to hear what this album has in store, and I will be patiently waiting until July 19th, when we can listen to it in full. https://www.instagram.com/p/C6_k01cu1Cn/

FULL ARTIST LIST:

Luke Combs Miranda Lambert Lainey Wilson Jelly Roll Megan Moroney Kane Brown Bailey Zimmerman Thomas Rhett Shania Twain Tyler Childers Leon Bridges Benson Boone The Red Clay Strays Warren Zeiders BRELAND Dylan Gossett Tucker Wetmore Wyatt Flores Sam Barber Conner Smith Mason Ramsey Flatland Cavalry Tanner Adell Alexandra Kay Wilderado Tanner Usrey Jake Kohn Charley Crockett Nolan Taylor Tyler Halverson Lanie Gardner

Check out the movie trailer while you are here. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jm27YjLnPHc&t=1s

Country Music Hall Of Fame Announces New Exhibit, ‘Luke Combs: The Man I Am’

A spotlight on the life and career of Luke Combs. The Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum just announced a new exhibit called Luke Combs: The Man I Am, which will open on July 11th of this year and run through June 15th, 2025. It will focus on Luke's early life in the mountains of North Carolina, to his journey in Boone playing bars in his college town at Appalachian State University where he got his start, and of course, his meteoric rise to the top of the charts and becoming one of the genres biggest superstars. The exhibit will include artifacts important to his career, including instruments, awards, pictures and other personal items from his collection. And of course, that also includes a CD of Combs’s debut EP The Way She Rides, which was released independently in 2014, signed to the parents of his best friend Adam Church, the cassette of Tracy Chapman’s self-titled 1988 debut album that includes “Fast Car,” one of Luke's early favorites, as well as the iconic black Columbia PFG shirt Luke wore in the breakout 2016 music video for “Hurricane," and much more: "Few artists have experienced the kind of meteoric rise and sustained success Luke Combs has since signing his first recording contract in 2016, two years after he moved to Nashville. From his blue-collar North Carolina roots to his place at the top of the country charts, the exhibit will trace Combs’s life and career by way of musical instruments, song manuscripts, stage wear, tour memorabilia, and more." In addition, to celebrate the exhibit's opening, Combs will make a visit to the museum for a songwriters round alongside some of his closest collaborators in Ray Fulcher, Drew Parker, Rob Williford and more to share stories and perform some of their hits on July 11th (opening day). Tickets to see the exhibit are on sale now, and if you’re as big of a fan of Luke as I am, then this is certainly a must-see stop next time you’re in Nashville: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6_lqK2tXe7/?img_index=1

Lil Wayne Recalls The Time Willie Nelson Taught Him “Sweet Home Alabama” On Guitar Seconds Before He Performed With Kid Rock

What do Willie Nelson, Kid Rock, Lynyrd Skynyrd and Lil Wayne have in common? Pretty much just this, I think... Back in 2008, hip-hop and rap star Lil Wayne was scheduled to hit the stage with Kid Rock to play guitar at the CMA Awards during a performance of his smash hit "All Summer Long. The only problem was, Lil Wayne got there maybe five minutes before they were scheduled to perform, and didn't have any time to practice or actually learn the song. The tune was released in 2008 as the third single from Kid Rock's 2007 seventh studio album Rock n Roll Jesus, and I guess Kid Rock and the production crew just assumed Wayne knew the track and could play it on guitar... mainly because it heavily sampled chords from the Lynyrd Skynyrd classic "Sweet Home Alabama," and who doesn't know that, right? Well, Lil Wayne didn't, I guess, because he told fellow rapper 2 Chainz the hilarious story in a video a few years back, saying that he really didn't even know how to play guitar at all: "I got a real funny story about Kid Rock. I did the Country Music Awards with him before. I showed up five minutes... I'm gonna tell you exactly how soon it was when I showed up. They weren't in their dressing rooms, they was behind the curtains. That's when I showed up... the curtains were about to go up. I was like, 'What are we doin'?' They're like, 'We're playin' 'Sweet Home Alabama... I know you know that, right?' I was like, 'I'm Black...' LOL... "Listen, the story gets better... I had my guitar, I was gonna play the guitar. He wanted me to play the guitar on stage with him on 'Sweet Home Alabama.'" Lil Wayne had come out with a song called "Leather So Soft" a couple years prior, which featured him on the guitar. But needless to say, he didn't have a single clue how to play "Sweet Home Alabama" or any other song besides that one in particular, and was trying to figure something out seconds before the live performance: "What he don't know is, I don't know how to play the guitar. I just made a song called 'Leather So Soft' and it worked. That's all I know how to play is 'Leather So Soft,' you feel me? Is that gonna work for 'Sweet Home Alabama'? I'm not sure. So somebody sees I'm like, I still don't know, bro... he's like, 'You'll be fine, don't worry.' And who waltzes up backstage right on cue to save the day? None other than Shotgun Willie himself, the great Willie Nelson.  Overhearing the conversation about Lil Wayne not actually knowing that particular song on guitar, Willie tells him it's pretty basic, and if he just keeps his hands on a couple different chords, he really can't mess it up: "Wille Nelson walks up. He comes up, he says, 'Let me show you.' He plays it within two seconds. He says, 'Keep your fingers right here on these two strings, you'll be alright. The whole song, two strings. I played it with him." And right about that time, the curtains went up, and they throw Wayne a Tennessee Titans jersey as he takes the stage to play song he really has no clue about at all: "They throw me a Tennessee Titans jersey, I put it on, and we're all out thee in a Tennessee Titans jersey... here we go. I got to play 'Sweet Home Alabama' with Kid Rock and Willie Nelson." But Lil Wayne wasn't totally out of place, and has heard a lot of the same, legendary stories about Willie out-smoking literally everybody that we all have, saying to the red headed stranger upon their first little guitar lesson: "And I told Willie Nelson, I said, 'I heard you smoked Snoop under the table.' He said, 'Right under that mother****er.' I said, 'I ain't Snoop... Know that. Know that.'" You really can't make this up. What a story.

@whiskeyriff One of the best unexpected trios. // Read more at WhiskeyRiff.com #whiskeyriff #countrymusic #kidrock #willienelson #lilwayne ♬ original sound - Whiskey Riff

And actually, Wayne became the first hip-hop artist to ever play the CMA's back in 2008, and I'd say he was a pretty quick learner, because I would've never known about that whole fiasco one way or the other based on watching their performance. They put on quite a show, thanks in large part to Mr. Wille Nelson, and the whole performance was introduced by Carrie Underwood, no less... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ge-qlgj--2Q Do yourself a favor and watch Lil Wayne tell it himself, it's hysterical: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aZowdq5fCrc

Netflix Lands NFL Christmas Day Games, But Fans Aren’t Thrilled About Adding Another Subscription Service To Watch Football

Well done here by Netflix to secure the rights to this year's NFL Christmas Day games. I still don't know how they manage to keep their whole operation afloat given how far in the red they are. Investing gazillions of dollars in original content and acquiring splashy preexisting IPs has certainly added up. Although Netflix's profits have spiked after their password sharing crackdown, there's still conservatively well over $10 billion in debt. But hey, picking up a cash cow like the NFL is about the best move they could've made as far as dipping their toes into the sports media market. https://twitter.com/albertbreer/status/1790745340045304036 https://twitter.com/FOS/status/1790759291005333779 It really is incredible how much the NFL is king these days. The NBA used to own Christmas Day. Only in 2022 did the NFL decide to make the holiday a showcase for themselves by scheduling three games. Up until then, Christmas Day games in pro football were just by happenstance more or less. Now? They're stepping on the throats of the NBA, and there's nothing Roger Goodell's rival commish Adam Silver can do about it. Things get a little weird this particular year when it comes to scheduling logistics, as the holiday happens to fall on a Wednesday. It'll probably require some shuffling around of bye weeks and what not. When the NFL forces its players to play on suboptimal rest, it really irks me. Adding at least one extra bye week during the regular season — even before it likely expands to 18 games — is such a no-brainer solution to increase the chances that the league's biggest stars stay healthy for the whole year and through the playoffs. OK mini-rant about player safety over. The meat of this Christmas Day/Netflix issue is the fan experience, and how many are dismayed by the fact that they'll have to shell out for another streaming service in order to see every game this coming season and beyond. https://twitter.com/SleeperNFL/status/1790744278538576238 https://twitter.com/HardRockBet/status/1790746154100994070 https://twitter.com/DraftKings/status/1790745255127527790 https://twitter.com/hughart_michael/status/1790744396356595830 https://twitter.com/MichaelCoffey1/status/1790746946749026325 https://twitter.com/Jacob_Homec/status/1790749793414955116 https://twitter.com/Stop_Hammerzeit/status/1790744876843413589 https://twitter.com/scar179nyc/status/1790746608092483986 https://twitter.com/HunterSleppy/status/1790746623238136047 https://twitter.com/Davethe_King1/status/1790746759540727945 https://twitter.com/PghPrinny/status/1790749616624816472 Odds are about -10000 that Netflix will introduce a price hike right leading into November or December in anticipation of a subscription surge just so that folks can enjoy football during the holidays. On the other hand, Netflix already has the largest streaming subscription base in the world. Most people already have it. Not like it's some obscure platform. Some of the outraged feels a little phony to me. Plus, this is where things are headed. Right? I won't be surprised if everything is streaming-based in a handful of years or so. Can't you see the ManningCast getting its own hub at one of the major streamers? Disney+, Hulu and Max just launched a bundle subscription package. Netflix, Apple TV+ and Peacock are aiming to follow suit. If you can just get in on those two bundles going forward, it's a win for everyone. As far as the NFL is concerned, the only hurdle for mass viewership is NFL Sunday Ticket, which resides on YouTube TV nowadays. The NFL and Netflix are the tip of the spear when it comes to forward-thinking paradigms about streaming and entertainment consumption. Whatever blowback there is in the near future about this Christmas Day partnership will blow over in short order. Because like, come on, everyone is going to subscribe to Netflix — if only to watch the NFL on Christmas. Another point of proof about why the NFL is king: Many of us will be on the edge of our seats tonight for the schedule release — despite some games already being revealed — waiting to find out which teams will play this Christmas Day.

Is Dale Earnhardt’s Widow, Teresa Earnhardt, Trying To Make Peace With Dale Jr?

Is this her way of extending an olive branch? The widow of the legendary Dale Earnhardt, there might not be anybody more hated by NASCAR fans than Teresa Earnhardt - and she hasn't even been involved in the sport in a decade. "The Wicked Witch of the South" hasn't done much to win over her late husband's fans - or his family - since the Intimidator's passing in the 2001 Daytona 500. Teresa was the third wife of Dale Earnhardt, and the stepmother to Dale Earnhardt Jr. And when Earnhardt tragically lost his life in the final turn of the Daytona 500, Teresa also inherited another role: NASCAR team owner. Dale Earnhardt had started his race team, Dale Earnhardt, Inc., in the 1980s to field cars for himself in the then-Busch Series. The team eventually grew into the Cup Series, and in 2000 he began fielding a car for his son, Dale Jr. Longtime NASCAR fans know how the story ends: With the sport’s most popular driver, Dale Earnhardt Jr., leaving the team his father built after a bitter (and public) battle with his stepmother over ownership in the company, and the team folding just a few years later (after Teresa said they would just "make another Dale Jr." if he left the team). It’s a saga that’s left many in the sport unwilling to even discuss Teresa Earnhardt. And when the fans discuss her, they usually don’t have many nice things to say. Teresa and her stepsons, Dale Jr. and his half-brother Kerry, have had a turbulent relationship to say the least. Aside from Dale Jr.’s battle with his stepmom over his dad’s race team, Teresa also filed a lawsuit against Kerry over his use of the Earnhardt name when Kerry announced plans to roll out a line of homes and furniture called “The Earnhardt Collection.” Then there was the commercial that Budweiser released to honor Earnhardt Jr. before his last race in the Cup Series. Fans quickly noticed that the commercial didn’t feature Jr.’s #8 on the car, or any of the trademarks of Dale’s DEI car that are still owned by Teresa, leading many to assume that Teresa refused to allow Budweiser to use the DEI trademarks in honoring Dale Jr. So yeah, Teresa hasn’t exactly endeared herself to Earnhardt’s sons – or their fans. But is she ready to finally try to make amends? Since Earnhardt's death, Teresa has controlled all things DEI, even after the race team folded after merging with Chip Ganassi Racing. And she still tightly polices the use of the intellectual property owned by the former race team, which now serves as basically a merchandise company. A few years ago Teresa did abandon the trademark to the #15 logo, the car driven by Michael Waltrip, that was owned by DEI. But until now she's kept the trademarks to the #1 and the #8, the other two car numbers that the race team put out onto the track. In fact, back in 2022 when Ross Chastain (who currently drives the #1 car) sported a Dale Earnhardt throwback paint scheme, his team was forced to change the font of the number on the car because it infringed on Teresa's trademark.

I mean saying it this way, Trackhouse in 2022 when Chastain drove the Dale Jr. No. 1 Coke Throwback... They tweaked the no. 1 to have their iconic Trackhouse slash on a DEI font which I find unique, and cool. But yet, it's unnecessary to sue the teams for using a font. Stupid. pic.twitter.com/T3KlKZXgva

— Steven Watters | Don't Tread on Me 🐍 (@SWattersRacing) April 25, 2024

So petty. Of course there's some history there too: Chastain drives for Trackhouse Racing. The president of Trackhouse is Ty Norris, a longtime NASCAR executive who served as the president of DEI until being unceremoniously dismissed by Teresa. So there's a lot of speculation that there's still some bad blood from Teresa towards Norris. Which brings us to today. The trademarks for both the #1 and the #8 logos used by DEI were set to expire next month, meaning that if they weren't renewed, Teresa's control over those logos would finally be released - and Dale Jr. could sell his own #8 merch featuring the car he's most famous for driving, or teams could run Dale Jr. throwback paint schemes without having to worry about a lawsuit. Well Teresa did file to renew the trademark...for the #1. Now, I'm not sure how much Steve Park merch is still flying off the shelves these days. But apparently Teresa wanted to keep the trademark for the #1, in what seems like a petty shot at Ty Norris since he's the president of the team that currently runs the #1 car. But even more interesting, Teresa has not yet filed to renew the trademark for Dale Jr.'s iconic #8. https://twitter.com/JackhammerJT/status/1789744108199673910 The current registration for the trademark is set to expire on June 3. After that time, DEI's registration of the mark will be cancelled and Dale Jr. will be free to use the number and font however he wants. Is that what she's planning on doing? Is this her way of extending an olive branch to her stepson? It's obviously a little odd that she wants to hold on to the #1 trademark but not the #8, considering Junior's number is much more valuable than the #1 of Steve Park. I mean, Dale Jr.'s #8 car was iconic, and he still remains one of the most popular figures in the sport. There's plenty of demand for Dale Jr. #8 merch, even though it's been 15 years since he drove the car. Of course she could also still be planning to renew the trademark before the deadline, which would be a pretty shitty move to make everybody think that she's going to let Junior have it and then file to renew it at the last minute. But then again, if she's willing to sue her own stepson over the use of his own name, I wouldn't put anything past her at this point. I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

Shed Hunter Looks Up To Find Monster Mountain Lion Staring Him Down

They say you can tell by what a predator is thinking by the look in their eyes. It’s a crazy thing to think about, being close enough to a notorious killer and being able to see the look in their eyes that tells you that you are possibly on the menu. Mountain lions operate like a thief in the night. They will come out of nowhere, quiet as a mouse, and wait for the right opportunity to absolutely ruin your life. They say don’t take your eyes off them because that’s when it's all over. Watching them hunt however is incredible in the few rare videos that pop up. They take down their prey almost instantaneously, grabbing ahold of their neck and going for a quick kill. They are massive and incredibly elusive, rarely being seen by humans, and that's purely by choice. The fact something can remain so hidden is scary on its own right. Typically, they avoid human interactions as much as they can. But, every once in a while, they come out and will even target us... Yikes. They also say if you do spot one, it's already seen you, and this man unfortunately had one of the most freighting encounters out there. He was out searching for deer sheds and setting up trail cams near Campbell River, British Columbia, Canada, when he felt like something was watching him. He was right... He looked up and spotted a cougar staring directly at him only about 60 feet away. The video shows the monster tom staring him down with a clear look of interest in its eyes. If you look close enough you can almost see the dinner bell ringing inside them. The cougar gets with 50 feet at certain points during this standoff, and the shed hunter attempts to scare the cougar off multiple times before he can finally sneak away completely unharmed. "I was out on a walk looking for shed antlers and setting trail cameras. I looked down at a shed antler and was taking pictures when I felt something watching me. I looked up to see the cougar starring at me at 20 meters. I attempted to scare the cougar away 3 times. The cougar returned and finally, after a 3rd attempt I was able to slowly walk out of the area to safety, no cougars were harmed." This one makes the old skin crawl a little bit just thinking about what could have happened. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=loYDhdNKw6U

Randy Travis To Return To The Ryman For One-Night-Only Show Featuring His Original Band

Back at the Ryman. On the heels of releasing a brand new single "Where That Came From," which was generated using AI technology, Randy Travis will return for a show at the historic Ryman Auditorium. Travis suffered a stroke in 2013 that almost entirely took away his voice, and severely limited his ability to walk, so when he does appearances like this, guest vocalist James Dupre sings many of his hits as a "stand in." And while James does a great job and is a talented singer in his own right, nothing quite compares to the iconic baritone of Randy Travis. He will still sing words and phrases when he can, like the last "Amen" in his classic hit "Forever and Ever, Amen," and for this particular Ryman show, Randy's original band will join them on stage too. Slated for June 15th, seeing him back at the Mother Church of Country Music will surely be a sight to behold as they perform all 16 of his legendary and timeless #1 hits: "JUST ANNOUNCED! Randy Travis returns to The Ryman for one night only on JUNE 5 with his original band and guest vocalist James Dupre." Tickets go on sale Friday, May 17th: https://www.instagram.com/p/C6_d543uaIG/

Randy Travis Scores First Charting Single In Nearly 20 Years

For the first time in 15 years, Randy is charting on the Billboard Country Airplay chart with his new AI-generated single, “Where That Came From.” Travis suffered a stroke in 2013 that almost entirely took away his voice, and severely limited his ability to walk, so it’s pretty wild to hear his voice again on a brand new song in 2024. The single debuted at #45 today, which was written by real people (not generated with chat GPT) in Scotty Emerick and John Scott Sherrill. Travis’ last time on this specific chart was in 2009, when he teamed up with Carrie Underwood for a duet of “I Told You So.” This also marks the first solo charting single for Randy since “Angels” in 2005 (which debuted #45 on Mediabase and #48 on Billboard), according to chart inside Chris Owen. https://twitter.com/USRadioUpdater/status/1788994147086381320?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1788994147086381320%7Ctwgr%5Ea8c08ee68ef24fa39781bd1e423f81629924f752%7Ctwcon%5Es1_&ref_url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2F2024%2F05%2F10%2Frandy-travis-scores-first-charting-solo-radio-single-for-the-first-time-in-20-years-with-where-that-came-from%2F The song has of course stirred up a more serious conversation about the use of AI and music, because in this particular situation, Travis was able to not only consent to it, but be part of the process, though that obviously won’t be the case for artists who have either passed away, for example, should an estate decide to put out a fully AI-generated album In order to perfect and mimic Randy’s distinctive baritone voice for this new song, producer Kyle Lehning thad his work cut out for him. Randy’s vocals were isolated from over 40 of his original tracks, and after the music was stripped away leaving only Randy’s voice, it was then overlaid onto the track from Dupre to create the final product. They had to go “syllable-by-syllable” to get the sound right, and like I mentioned, many fans of Travis, as well as music in general, are divided on not only this song, but the future of what something like this means for music in general. I guess we could potentially be looking at the first AI-generated #1 hit in music, too, if this one does well at country radio and fans continue to listen… stay tuned. "Where That Came From" https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rh8-g8seeig&embeds_referring_euri=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.whiskeyriff.com%2F&source_ve_path=MjM4NTE&feature=emb_title

Zac Brown Reveals Plans For 2025 Residency At The Las Vegas Sphere

Who is booking their trips to Vegas? Since its opening, Las Vegas Sphere has been quite the attraction. U2 opened the unique concert experience, and their opening residency was followed by a residency by the jam band Phish. The Sphere is not your typical concert since the amp system is all built into the seats and around the arena, and, of course, the massive screens that display visuals that move to the music, it is a full-body experience (or sensory overload). Our Slack channel filled up with dream artists they'd like to see right after the venue's opening. While many of us thought that country music was far from seeing The Sphere, we might have spoken too soon. Zac Brown recently appeared on Theo Von's This Past Weekend podcast and disclosed that he will be gracing the stage of the massive arena. Zac Brown announced on the podcast that he and his band will be doing a residency in 2025. He opened up that he was able to attend U2 and Phish's shows at the location and drew a lot of inspiration about how to work their shows afterward. U2 did the same show with the same visuals every night, but Phish did a completely different set each night with a new set of visuals. Brown drew from these two styles to brainstorm the best way to amplify their sound on stage. "That's the greatest canvas that has ever been created, so far. And to get to be one of the first bands to go in there and do it...this is our masterpiece, man."  Zac Brown noted that he has been working with a team for over a year, which is the longest time he has spent composing a show. "It's going to be the biggest spectacle we have ever done. I am very excited because this puts us in another league. And the goal is for our band to just keep going, man, and be like The Rolling Stones or the Grateful Dead...yeah, Jimmy Buffett. Be in that legacy act thing. This is really our first thing that I am putting a year plus work into for making one show." Brown also noted that he is making it a point to attend a show by every artist who performs there until their residency to see how everyone utilizes the space and the visual component of the venue. "I'm so excited, and I just wanna make something that...people that know me and know the full...like creatively what I'm capable of. But I've never had a place where I can fully utilize all of that and pull favors from all of our incredible people that we know and everything to pull something together and make something where it's like you go and see this thing, and you leave there, and you go, 'What just happened.' So, that's my baby. That's my dream...and it's happening. So now it's like we've just got to grind all the details like every single thing getting it right." Brown also disclosed that he is bringing in a 40-piece orchestra, and he is working on getting those players and singers in to film their parts while also incorporating a "Vegas" element with dancers and acrobatics. He notes that some of the best shows create some tension and that this show would be a story, not just a display of American country music. This will be a show that is unlike what we know from Zac Brown. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aS9vGPqKEPo