Author: Brennen Kelly

Hailing from the Chicagoland area, Brennen graduated from Valparaiso University with a BA in Communication and a minor in Cinema and Media Studies. After covering Arts & Entertainment at his university's newspaper, he began writing for Country Chord in March of 2023. Known for his love of independent country and authentic songwriters, Brennen has a long-history of championing the likes of Zach Bryan, Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers and many others.

After establishing himself as a bonafide star in the independent scene in 2024 through the release of his debut album, Welcome to the Plains, Wyatt Flores just announced that he’s hitting the road again in 2025 on his upcoming, Welcome Back to the Plains Tour. Minutes ago, Flores took to Instagram to announce the tour with the caption, “There’s so many of y’all we haven’t gotten to play the new record for so we’re loading back up and coming y’alls way to play some headlining shows and a bunch of festivals this spring.” Flores is bringing out some heavy hitters throughout…

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After nearly a full year of rumors of whether or not Riley Green and Ella Langley were dating due to their extended tour together, the success of “you look like you love me” and appearances seemingly everywhere, it seems as if internet detectives have now shifted their focus to Riley Green and another one of the genre’s biggest stars. Three days ago, Megan Moroney took to Instagram to share a selfie from her trip to Saint-Jean, Saint Barthélemy, in the Caribbean. Seems like a fairly innocuous post right? Well, not to some fans. Around the time Moroney made her post,…

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Coming off a huge 2024 that included the release of The Coastal Plain and an opening spot on Post Malone’s F-1 Trillion tour, Muscadine Bloodline is not wasting any time in the new year. Employing none other than Josh Meloy, the duo dropped an early standout with the release of “Ain’t For Sale.” The duo teased a collaboration back on January 3rd on Instagram with the caption, “Putting out a new song, And sometimes the feature leaves the porchlight on. Any guesses who it is???” Fans were quick to connect the dots to Meloy given the success of his 2022 single,…

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After primarily spending 2024 on the road with George Strait, Chris Stapleton is flying solo in 2025 on a brand new iteration of his patented All-American Road Show along with a plethora of different opening acts. Minutes ago, Stapleton took to Instagram to announce the tour: The 2025 All-American Road Show will begin on June 4 in Greenville, North Carolina before wrapping up on October 10 in Hollywood, Florida, hitting St. Louis, New York, Denver and more in between. As previously mentioned, Stapleton is employing a revolving door of openers throughout the tour which includes the likes of Marcus King,…

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After more than a decade of successful festivals which included the likes of Zach Bryan, Megan Moroney, Willie Nelson and many more, the creators behind Chicago’s ACM Award-winning Windy City Smokeout recently announced their expansion to Texas in their brand-new Lone Star Smokeout music festival. After being announced back in May, today, they took to Instagram to announce the full lineup: Lone Star Smokeout will feature Jon Pardi, Cody Jinks and Midland as headliners. Hot up-and-comers, Dylan Gossett and Kashus Culpepper, will join the likes of Texas favorites, Randy Rogers Band as well as indie darlings, Kaitlin Butts and Wyatt…

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When you talk about the current state of independent/alternative country, there are a few names that instantly pop into mind. While, of course, Zach Bryan, Sturgill Simpson and Tyler Childers have become sort of the poster boys for the subgenre, you’d be hard-pressed to not hear the names of Wyatt Flores and Charles Wesley Godwin get brought up in terms of who’s the best of the best. A collaboration between the two has been a dream of many (myself included), and Flores gave us a little taste of the magic that’s present when the two collaborate on YouTube with the…

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