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.

Riding the momentum of his 5.6 million monthly listeners on Spotify as well as his inclusion on the star-studded Twisters movie soundtrack, Sam Barber is back with a brand new tour, Restless Mind, kicking off this fall. Minutes ago, the “Straight and Narrow” singer took to Instagram to announce the tour as well as a brand new song, “Better Year” which will drop on Friday, August 23. The Restless Mind Tour will begin on September 26 in Springfield, Missouri before wrapping up on December 7 in Charlottesville, VA. The tour also features three November shows in Texas, hitting Lubbock, Dallas…

Read More

Add Riley Green to the growing list of artists with their own bars in Nashville. In a time where it seems like all of today’s biggest country stars are getting their own bars in Nashville, it seems that Riley Green is the next artist to receive his own venue, “Riley Green’s Duck Blind,” which will take over for the popular Midtown bar, Winners Bar & Grill. According to The Nashville Business Journal, the “Different ‘Round Here” singer is set to be involved in a revamp of Winners Bar & Grill, which is located at 1913 Division St, Nashville, TN. A…

Read More

After a successful year in the outlaw country scene in 2023 which included an extended run on Eric Church’s Outsiders Revival tour and five separate RIAA certifications for hits such as “Loud and Heavy,” “Hippies and Cowboys” and “Must Be the Whiskey,” Cody Jinks continued his success in 2024 with the release of the his 11th studio album, “Change the Game.” Today, Jinks decided to give fans a little extra this year and broke the news that he is re-releasing his 2012 album, 30, as Backside of 30, a remastered version with an additional song, “When the New Wears Off,”…

Read More

Fresh off of the release of his highly-anticipated single, “Lies Lies Lies,” back on July 5th, Morgan Wallen is back to teasing new music. Just minutes ago the “Last Night” singer took to Instagram to post a lengthy one-minute teaser of a brand-new, unreleased song. The track begins with a fairly different production style compared to Wallen’s past work, featuring an acoustic guitar picking over some background vocals harmonizing together. The verses’ lyrics are as follows: “I can’t remember the last time 
You looked as happy as you did tonight Your tipsy friend grabbed that bartender Gave him your her…

Read More

Somehow, some way, we are over two-thirds into 2024, and there have been a plethora of huge releases throughout the year. From Sturgill Simpson’s return as Johnny Blue Skies in Passage Du Desir, to Zach Top’s buzzy debut album, Cold Beer & Country Music, to Zach Bryan’s fifth studio album, The Great American Bar Scene, there have been serious Album of the Year contenders coming out nearly every month. It should go without saying that this is a subjective list; these are simply my favorite albums released this year. It should also go without saying that this isn’t a definitive…

Read More

An unexpected crossover. Tonight during her sold-out show at Ascend Amphitheater in Nashville, Tennessee, pop star Tate McRae treated fans to hits such as “greedy,” “run for the hills” and “10:35.” It seemed as if it was going to be a pretty standard concert for the 21-year-old singer. That was until McRae took a break in-between songs to note how much she loves country music, “I, myself, am a huge fan of country music.” At this point, the minds in the crowd were probably racing wondering who could pop up for a performance given that she was in the Mecca…

Read More