Sam Hunt‘s latest smash, “Outskirts,” is making its way to the top of the country charts, and it’s just recently vaulted up the charts in the last two months after he released it last July. Sam says he can’t explain why, but he sure is grateful.

“I wrote that song on the same writing retreat – which is a two-three day getaway north of Nashville with co-writers – I wrote ‘Kinfolks’ on that same trip. So, it’s been a while since that song was written, and I sat on it for a long time and finally finished it up last year and put it out, and it has been a slow burn,” he says. “We played it live all last summer, and it felt like it got a good reception at the live show, but it really caught steam, I’d say, in the last month and a half or so, for whatever reason, and has been rolling ever since, and now it’s sitting right up at the top of the charts, which I’m grateful for. And I can’t explain why it caught steam in the last six or eight weeks, but I’m glad that it has.”

Written by Sam with Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne and Jerry Flowers, the Georgia-native pines over a could-have-been life with a could-have-been wife as the loneliness is amplified by sorrowful guitar.

Sam just wrapped up the latest leg of his Outskirts trek, and he’s set to launch his summer amphitheater Locked Up Tour kicking off June 28th in Bend, Oregon. The 20-city Locked Up Tour continues through September with dates across the U.S. and Canada, and features support artists Russell Dickerson, George Birge (U.S.), and Dalton Dover (Canada).

Anne Wilson is set to release her new album, REBEL, on Friday (April 19th). She co-wrote all 16 tracks on the album, including her current country radio single, “Rain In The Rearview,” and the title track. Anne describes herself as a REBEL because she doesn’t fit in any singular box, and she embraces the differences that make her unique. She also considers herself a REBEL because she’s not afraid to sing (or talk) about her faith.

“For me, I think it started when I sent a song to Christian radio that was very like faith-based, but it got a lot of push back because it sounded too country, and so it kind of lit a fire in me to go, ‘Well, I’m not going to fit in anymore. I wanna be who I am authentically,’ and I want that to be my message,” says Anne. “So, that’s where it really came in, but on the other end, just being a person of faith in the world that we live in today, it feels like you’re an outsider if you have faith, especially for my generation. You know, my generation struggles a lot with feeling like we have permission to talk about our faith. We can come out and say it without being judged, you know? So, I think for me, I’m gonna be a REBEL. I’m gonna stand up for what I believe in. I’m gonna love my country. I’m gonna love God. I’m gonna stand up for the things that I believe in. I’m not gonna follow the world or the ways of the world, but I’m gonna follow Jesus and my faith, and that’s what makes me a REBEL.”

She’s set to perform the album’s title track, “REBEL,” live from the heart of Times Square during the 3rd Hour of NBC’S TODAY Show.

REBEL Track List:

1. “REBEL” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West)
2. “Rain In The Rearview” (Anne Wilson, Matthew West, Zach Kale, Jaren Johnston)
3. “Strong” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West)
4. “God & Country” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Trannie Anderson)
5. “Praying Woman” (with Lainey Wilson) (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Lainey Wilson, Trannie Anderson)
6. “Songs About Whiskey” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Lauren Hungate)
7. “Sinner’s Prayer” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Lauren Hungate)
8. “The Cross” (with Chris Tomlin) (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Jonathan Smith)
9. “My Father’s Daughter” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Emily Weisband)
10. “Red Flag” (Anne Wilson, Jonathan Smith, Casey Beathard)
11. “Country Gold” (with Jordan Davis) (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West)
12. “Southern Gospel” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West, Lauren Hungate)
13. “Dirt Roads In Heaven” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Nicolle Galyon, Matthew West)
14. “3:16” (Anne Wilson, Jeff Pardo, Matthew West)
15. “Milestones” (Anne Wilson, Nicolle Galyon, Lauren Hungate)
16. “Out of the Bluegrass” (Anne Wilson, Nicolle Galyon, Emily Weisband)

Luke Bryan is set to kick off his 2024 “Mind Of A Country Boy Tour” tonight (April 17th) in Canada at Calgary’s Scotiabank Saddledome with Chayce Beckham and Tenille Arts opening. The tour is currently expected to run through mid-September.

Luke will also feature multiple special guests throughout the trek, including Tenille and Chayce, as well as George Birge, King Calaway, Dillon Carmichael, Larry Fleet, HunterGirl, Ella Langley, Tracy Lawrence, Kameron Marlowe, Chase Matthew, Meghan Patrick, Lily Rose, Josh Ross, Alana Springsteen, Zach Top and DJ Rock. For many years, Luke has lifted up and mentored new artists by offering them the opportunity to perform in front of his concert audiences. The tour boasts two stadium dates this year, Truist Field in Atlanta on August 17th with Bailey Zimmerman, Kameron Marlowe and Chayce Beckham and Wrigley Field in Chicago on August 25th with Bailey Zimmerman, Tracy Lawrence and Chayce Beckham.

The five-time Entertainer of the Year is excited about bringing a lot of new acts on the road with him, since he remembers when he first started and Brooks & Dunn took him out when he only had one single on the radio.

“Last year was kind of the first year that I brought out a rotation of young acts that most of them had their first single going up the charts, and what was cool is one of those artists were Chayce Beckham who is celebrating his first number-one and like Jackson Dean was out there,” says Luke. “So, getting to know these artists while they’re in the infancy of their career and letting them get out there in front of my audiences and play big…I never will forget where I didn’t have really maybe ‘All My Friends Say’ had just came out, and I got to open for Brooks and Dunn in Pittsburgh. I didn’t sleep the whole night. And the fact that I can kind of reciprocate and pay it forward to some of these new acts is pretty special stuff and had a blast doing it last year, and this year it’ll be the same thing.”

Luke recently released his new single, “Love You, Miss You, Mean It.”