Author: Brennen Kelly

Only 34 more days ’till SNF… The NFL season officially kicked off this weekend in Canton, Ohio with the Chicago Bears defeating the Houston Texas 21-17 in the first preseason game of the year on Thursday. The weekend festivities continued with the induction of superstars such as Patrick Willis, Devin Hester, Julius Peppers and Dwight Freeney into the NFL Hall of Fame on Saturday. On Sunday, none other than Carrie Underwood closed out the busy weekend in Canton with a concert at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium. The 8x Grammy Award-winner played a plethora of hits, including “Undo It,”…

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Before Tyler Childers was the indie powerhouse he is today, he was a relatively unknown independent singer/songwriter from Lawrence County, Kentucky. With only one studio album, Bottles and Bibles, under his belt, the release of Purgatory on August 4th, 2017, sent shockwaves through the independent country scene. It’s no stretch to say that Purgatory is a modern-day classic from the Appalachian singer/songwriter. Coming in at 10 tracks and 37 minutes, Purgatory is arguably a perfect record. It traverses plenty of ground in the tight tracklist, containing songs about murder, religion, love, loss and even cocaine. Not a single song, lyric or even note feels wasted throughout the album’s 37-minute runtime. For Childers,…

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After four months of anticipation, 49 Winchester is back with their fifth studio album, Leavin’ This Holler. The Virginian band has been on a bit of a hot streak over the past year, most notably opening up for Luke Combs on his world tour last year, and the release of Leavin’ This Holler seems to continue their well-deserved success. The tight 10-track album is already receiving plenty of critical praise across the internet, with most noting frontman Issac Blaine Gibson’s songwriting and how successful the band’s patented blend of country and rock is throughout the record. Obviously, the praise is…

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Ever since the explosion in popularity of the likes of Zach Bryan, Tyler Childers and most recently Wyatt Flores and Dylan Gossett, everyone is looking for the next big artist to pop up from this new generation of independent country artists. And while it might be a little too early to crown him the next big thing, Hudson Westbrook is certainly making a strong case for himself with the release of his brand-new song, “5 to 9,” and a cover of Jacob Stelly’s “Johnny Walker.” Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve probably heard Westbrook’s infectious breakout song, “Two…

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Following the success of 2017’s Purgatory, Tyler Childers returned with his third studio album, Country Squire, on August 2, 2019. Coming in at a tight nine songs and 35 minutes, Country Squire is filled top-to-bottom with incredible, bluegrass-inspired tracks. One thing that will stick out to keen listeners who listen to the album from start to finish is that every song transitions perfectly into one another. It’s little details and production choices like these that make Childers‘ records stand head and shoulders above his contemporaries. Like Purgatory, Country Squire is also produced by fellow independent star, Sturgill Simpson, and David R. Ferguson. In an interview with GQ, Childers contrasted and compared his…

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Bringin’ out the big guns for night one. Morgan Wallen has been no stranger to bringing out stars during his walkouts on his current One Night At a Time tour. Over the past few months, Wallen has brought out everyone from Pat McAfee and Theo Von to Deandre Hopkins and Tyrese Haliburton, just to name a few. Tonight, while walking out to his sold-out show at Arrowhead Stadium in Kansas City, Missouri, Wallen was joined by none other than the most legendary duo in country music history, Brooks & Dunn. Dressed in Kansas City Royals legend, Bo Jackson’s jersey, the…

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