Country music and entertainment news, including updates from Brantley Gilbert and Morgan Wallen.
Join Hook & Barrel for a tour around the music scene as we get the lowdown on EP and album releases, as well as a new TV project.
The stars of the country music scene tell us what has been their inspiration for their latest work and the stories behind the songs.
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Heartwreckers Release Debut EP, “Shut Up And Drink”
Heartwreckers, featured in Hook & Barrel Magazine’s original series “Lights Out,” released “Shut Up And Drink,” the duo’s highly anticipated 5-track EP.
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The EP caps a hot few months of the duo, having been featured on “The Paul Finebaum Show,” and in “Toledo Blade,” “Today’s Country Magazine,” on top of earning a spot on Spotify’s New Music Friday Country, COUNTRY, and Next from Nashville playlists.
Heartwreckers, on Hook & Barrel’s Spotify playlists, hit the road back in May, with stops in the US before heading abroad to Denmark and the UK. Now, you can catch them running across the nation with Tim McGraw in his “Standing Room Only” tour alongside Carly Pearce.
2024 AMERICANAFEST Announces Lineup
A new slate of artists has been announced for the 2024 AMERICANAFEST lineup, running September 17-21, 2024, in Nashville, TN. The Americana Music Association, the event’s host, also announced plans to unveil the special event, “Songs of Yellowstone,” which will feature artists whose songs were featured on the iconic TV series.
AMERICANAFEST will host more than 200 performances and will be featured over five days, alongside conference panels and special events.
“Songs of Yellowstone” will be an event exclusive to attendees with wristbands. Yellowstone music supervisor Andrea von Foerster will serve as the event’s moderator, leading discussions with individual artists, followed by a performance.
Dustin Lynch's “Chevrolet” Music Video is a Nod to the Underdog
In his latest single, “Chevrolet,” Dustin Lynch pays homages to the classic underdog love story.
“It’s a storyline that everybody can relate to, especially us kids from small towns,” shares Lynch. “There always seems to be some kind of divide in friend groups as kids grow up, and there’s inevitably an underdog. I’d like to think everyone pulls for the underdog, and this video shows that.”
Brantley Gilbert Announces 7th Album, “Tattoos”
“Tattoos,” Brantley Gilbert’s seventh album, is set for release on September 13, inspired by the idea that “his tattoos tell a story.”
“All my albums capture a chapter of my life,” Gilbert explains. “If somebody wants to know who I am, what I’ve been through and where I stand, they can start at the beginning and listen through, and that’s why it was undeniable that Tattoos should be the title – because my tattoos do the same thing.”
The album comes after the lead single, “Over When We’re Sober,” a duet with Ashley Cooke that has been climbing the country music radio charts. It features a total of 10 songs, all co-written by Gilbert.
To kick off the release, Gilbert will be headlining “Brantley Gilbert’s World’s Largest Album Release Party on Broadway in downtown Nashville on the release day - Friday, September 13. For more information, visit brantleygilbert.com.
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Eli Young Band Releases Their Cover of “Learning to Fly”
Eli Young Band joined a slew of top country artists on the “Petty Country” album with their cover of “Learning to Fly.”
“Tom Petty’s influence on Eli Young Band runs deep, as he has always been, in one way or another, a road map for us,” says Eli Young Band frontman Mike Eli. “‘Learning To Fly’ has long been a fixture in our show as well as many of his other songs. We are so pumped to be part of such an incredible salute to one of the masters!”
FULL TRACKLIST:
1.“I Should Have Known It” by Chris Stapleton
2. “Wildflowers” by Thomas Rhett
3. “Runnin’ Down A Dream” by Luke Combs
4. “Southern Accents” by Dolly Parton
5. “Here Comes My Girl” by Justin Moore
6. “American Girl” by Dierks Bentley
7. “Stop Draggin’ My Heart Around” by Lady A
8. “I Forgive It All” by Jamey Johnson
9. “I Won’t Back Down” by Brothers Osborne
10. “Refugee” by Wynonna Judd & Lainey Wilson
11. “Angel Dream No. 2” by Willie Nelson & Lukas Nelson
12. “Learning To Fly” by Eli Young Band
13. “Breakdown” by Ryan Hurd feat. Carly Pearce
14. “Yer So Bad” by Steve Earle
15. “Ways To Be Wicked” by Margo Price feat. Mike Campbell
16. “Mary Jane’s Last Dance” by Midland
17. “Free Fallin’” by The Cadillac Three feat. Breland
18. “I Need To Know” by Marty Stuart And His Fabulous Superlatives
19. “Don’t Come Around Here No More” by Rhiannon Giddens feat. Silkroad Ensemble and Benmont Tench
20. “You Wreck Me (Live)” by George Strait
“Hold My Beer, Vol. 4” Released by Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen
With just about a decade of collaborations under their belt, Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen released “Hold My Beer, Vol. 4,” a six-track EP.
“I’m so excited to have Hold My Beer, Vol. 4 officially out in the world,” Bowen said. “Randy and I have a blast with these records, and I hope fans can feel that energy when they listen.”
Rogers added, “Proud of Wade for taking the reins on this project. I just sat back and popped cold ones. Seriously though, his ear and direction fueled this album.”
Just like the previous EPs, Rogers and Bowen wrote and produced this new volume, with pop-ins from co-writers Wyatt McCubbin, David Lee Murphy, Aaron Raitiere and Jim Beavers.
Out Now: “You Get Me” from LECADE
LECADE recently released a new single, “You Get Me,” a song that goes along with his trend of showing vulnerability and shedding light on truth.
“I’m super excited to be able to put out this track, and I think a lot of the OG LECADE fans are going to enjoy it,” shares LECADE. “We worked really hard bringing this one together, and I’m so happy it’s making its way out into the world.”
The song, displaying LECADE on the lonely side of a breakup and leaning on vices to cope, delivered in his signature sound - “raw, tell-it-like-it-is storytelling with pop-infused beats.”
The young artist is just getting started with 3M monthly listeners and 10M global streams. Catch more from LECADE: visit lecadeofficial.com.
Morgan Wallen’s Single “Lies Lies Lies” is Out Now
Fresh off the hot new track cut with Post Malone (“I Need Some Help” - 2024’s longest-running No. 1), Morgan Wallen released “Lies Lies Lies.”
The release of the track celebrates the 1-year anniversary of the artist's record-breaking third studio album, “One Thing At A Time.” The track has already become a staple on Wallen’s tour, rated by Billboard at Country Tour of the Year.
Wallen has been teasing more new tunes, on the coattails of his most recent album ranking 5x Platinum and spending 53 total weeks on the top of Billboard’s Country Album chart. His collaboration with Post Malone follows suit, being declared a contender for Song of the Summer by both Spotify and Variety.
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Koe Wetzel Releases 4th from Album 9 Lives
Hot off the release of “Sweet Dreams,” pushing Koe Wetzel to his Billboard Hot 100 debut, he is out with a new song off the same album, “High Road.”
“‘High Road’ is a good example of how this album shows a different side of me than people might expect. Every record’s almost turning a new leaf, always a left turn because of how honest I am,” he admits with a laugh. “But this? It’s what the people have been expecting from me, but we hadn’t gotten there yet. It’s a grown-up version of me.”
The song quickly became a fan-favorite on social media, ahead of its release. It embodies Wetzel’s mature vulnerability mixed with a hard-rocking nature that fans have come to expect. And, he’s got plans to take it abroad with his “Damn Near Normal World Tour.”