Conner Smith, one of the fastest-rising stars in mainstream country, has been steadily climbing up the ranks with hits such as the certified gold, Take It Slow and the viral hit, I Hate Alabama. With only two weeks remaining before his debut album, Smoky Mountains, drops on Jan. 26, the 23 year-old singer/songwriter released the fifth and presumed final lead-up single, Meanwhile In Carolina. Smith took to Instagram on Monday to announce the song’s release. Written by Smith and Blake Pendergrass, Meanwhile In Carolina is inspired by the relationship between him and his fiancé, Leah Thompson. This results in a…
Author: Brennen Kelly
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.
Being put smack dab in the middle of the 2000s, 2005 was a year full of debuts from legendary artists with Miranda Lambert, Jason Aldean and Carrie Underwood all releasing their debut albums in the year. 2005 also had a lot of familiar faces in the genre with stars such as Blake Shelton, Toby Keith and Keith Urban all snagging multi-week #1s. The year saw 20 unique songs and 17 unique artists reach the top spot. Eight of those songs went #1 for three or more weeks with Rascal Flatts (Bless the Broken Road & Fast Cars and Freedom) and…
On the road again… Coming off of the massive success of his 2023 major label debut, Family Ties, Charles Wesley Godwin has taken the independent and alternative country world by storm. With the album seemingly making every single “Best of 2023” lists, it’s no surprise that Godwin would take the record on the road. Godwin took to Instagram today to announce a brand new batch of shows for April of 2024. The tour dates are as follows: 4.4 – Richmond, VA – The National4.5 – Charleston, SC – Charleston Music Hall4.6 – Gainesville, FL – Heartwood Soundstage4.11 – Minneapolis, MN…
“She’s always gonna leave, but she’ll leave you smiling.” In anticipation for their upcoming album, Somewhere Down the Road, Josh Abbott Band has released their third and final single, She’ll Always Be. She’ll Always Be joins Barstool Boys and What Were You Thinking as the three pre-released tracks off of the new release. Abbott took to Instagram last Friday to announce the song’s release, noting how the song is for “all the daughters out there.” While discussing his writing process for the album, Abbott noted how he wanted to focus more on writing from his personal life and less on…
It’s no stretch to say that Chris Stapleton is a legend in the making. From his jaw-dropping vocals to his diverse songwriting history, it truly seems like there’s nothing that the Parachute singer can’t do musically. The reigning ACM Entertainer of the Year winner released his fifth studio album, Higher, back in November. Now that some time has passed and Higher has been given time to digest, there’s no better time to rank all of Stapleton’s albums. Without further ado, here is my ranking. 5. Higher I’d like to preface this ranking with the fact that Higher has the disadvantage…
“But I know the present will not last, tomorrow will be kinder.” Kaitlin Butts, frequent Flatland Cavalry collaborator and wife of their frontman, Cleto Cordero, is back with a brand new cover of the Secret Sisters’ Tomorrow Will Be Kinder. Butts took to Instagram on Dec. 20 to announce the song’s release. The track was first released by the Secret Sisters in 2012 for the first The Hunger Games film soundtrack. It wouldn’t be surprising if Butts decided to cover this song given that Flatland Cavalry recently appeared on the soundtrack for the most recent film in the franchise, The…