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 announcing their brand-new festival last month, St. Pete Country Fest is coming out of the gate swinging with a stacked lineup featuring the likes of The Red Clay Strays, Parker McCollum and Treaty Oak Revival as headliners in their first-ever event. Minutes ago, St. Pete took to Instagram to announce the festival’s full lineup: St. Pete Country Fest will be held at Vinoy Park, which sits on the downtown waterfront of Saint Petersburg, Florida, on November 21-23 and will feature over 30 acts across its two stages. As previously mentioned, the festival will feature Parker McCollum, The Red Clay…

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History. Less than two weeks after scoring his first-ever billion-stream song on Spotify with “When It Rains It Pours,” Luke Combs has made history with his 2018 #1 hit, “Beautiful Crazy,” also reaching the billion-stream mark today. With this achievement, Combs is now the first country artist in history to possess two separate billion-stream songs on Spotify. “Beautiful Crazy” becomes the eighth country song overall and the sixth solo track to reach the highly exclusive billion streams mark, joining the likes of Morgan Wallen’s “Last Night,” Chris Stapleton’s “Tennessee Whiskey” and Zach Bryan’s “Something in the Orange.” A full list…

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It’s becoming more and more apparent by the day that Zach Top is here to stay as a star in country music. Between scoring a CMA Best New Artist nomination and earning an all-genre Billboard chart placement with “I Never Lie,” the Washington Native has quickly risen as the new “it” artist in the genre. Appearing on Dale Brisby’s podcast, Rodeo Time, back in January, Top talked about everything from life as a touring musician and his current success to his musical upbringing and influences on his patented 90s sound. Discussing influences, Brisby brought up the fact that the “I…

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After taking the genre by storm in 2024 with the success of “Worst Way” and “Jesus Saves” along with his appearance on Ella Langley’s smash hit, “you look like you love me,” it seems more evident that Riley Green is well on his way to being country’s next superstar. It looks like he’s trying to keep the momentum going heading into 2025 in the writing room. Minutes ago, Green took to Instagram to share a brand new song, “Make It Rain,” and it sounds like another heartbreak heater from the “Don’t Mind If I Do” singer. In the caption, Green…

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Despite battling an illness, Koe Wetzel powered through a private show with Audacy at Hard Rock Cafe in Nashville last night. At the concert, the “High Road” singer not only confirmed that a new album is currently being recorded but also debuted a brand new song, seemingly titled, “Surrounded.” Early in the show, Wetzel said, “I’ve been under the weather the last couple of days, so if I sound like sh*t, it won’t be different than any other night. We are excited to be here. Thank all of y’all for coming out and listening to some Texas music. Here lately,…

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“We were built for the road and the stage. This is what we were born to do.” Fresh off of the confirmation that their seventh studio album is in the works, Whiskey Myers is looking to make 2025 a memorable year with the announcement of their sprawling summer tour, What We Were Born To Do. Minutes ago, the band took to Instagram to announce the tour, adding “We’re just gettin’ started. It’s going to be a badass year we can’t wait to see y’all out there.” Whiskey Myers is bringing out a star-studded group of up-and-comers throughout the tour, employing…

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