Chris Stapleton earned three new heavy metal certifications from the Recording Industry Association of America (R.I.A.A.). His latest single “White Horse” and “The Devil Always Made Me Think Twice” from his Starting Over was certified Gold, while “I Was Wrong” on his 2017 From A Room: Volume 2 has been certified Platinum.

Little Big Town‘s “Boondocks” is now three-times Platinum. The foursome co-wrote the song with Wayne Kirkpatrick and released it in 2005 as the first single from their second album, The Road To Here, and it became their first Top 10 hit.

Sam Hunt‘s current single, “Outskirts,” is certified Gold. The Georgia native co-wrote the song with Zach Crowell, Josh Osborne and Jerry Flowers.

Kacey Musgraves‘ “Rainbow,” “High Horse” and “Butterflies” have all been certified Platinum.

Maddie & Tae just released the Extended Version of their We Need Christmas EP earlier this year with three new songs, including “It’s Beginning To Look A Lot Like Christmas,” “The Christmas Song” and “White Christmas.” These three new songs round out the track list for the nine-song project, that features both holiday favorites and festive original songs.

Since Maddie Font has been together with new husband Jonah Font, whom she started dating in high school, the pair have a handful of Christmas traditions already. “We always get a real tree every year, because Jonah’s a stickler for a real tree thing. We always shave off a little part of the bottom of the tree and make an ornament out of the little thing, so we’ll put the year on all of them and collect them,” says Maddie. “We’ve actually just started collecting nutcrackers, which is super weird, but we name them all. Oh, and White Elephant. We play White Elephant on the Font side of things, and I always end up with the best gift somehow, because Jonah and I tag team White Elephant.”

Taylor Kerr (Tae) says her parents – especially her father – would make Christmas so special for her and her two brothers. “My family has always done Christmas to the nines. My dad is a very big Christmas decorator. He would have the entire house decorated. We had this like life-sized, giant nutcracker, and at one point, we had like a talking Santa at our front door that my dad would talk through,” says Tae. “But the decorations were always just like so much fun, really got us all in the Christmas spirit. And every Christmas, one of our traditions was the kids – me and my two brothers – we would all stay in the same room on Christmas Eve and then we’d wake up when it was time to wake up, and we’d go down the stairs my parents would have a sheet at the bottom of the stairs so we couldn’t see all the presents; not that we weren’t going to see them in two seconds, but to them it was just the magic of the big reveal, them showing us all the gifts that Santa had gotten us. I’m just so thankful that my parents really kept that magic alive. And for me, I’m already thinking about Elf on the Shelf. I’m going to do all of the fun stuff.”

Tae is also very excited to see the magic of Christmas through her daughter Leighton’s eyes. “Leighton is such a happy, energetic, like cheerful child, and so just to even think about her at Christmastime, it’s going to be so special to see it through her just wonderment eyes, that new lens of life through her,” she says. “I’m excited to experience that, and you know, just to wake up and have a Christmas with us as a family. This is our second Christmas as a family, but this is the first Christmas that Leighton is really like aware and she’ll be able to help open her presents, she’ll get to play with her toys and really understand what’s going on. It brings a whole new level of excitement for me and my husband.”

Especially with the release of the Extended Version of their We Need Christmas EP, Christmas music has always played a big part in their lives. “Christmas music is so joyful without even trying,” says Tae. “I think, for me, listening to it personally, it reminds me of sitting around the piano at my Nanny and Papa’s house and my Nanny would play on the piano and sing Christmas carols and all of us grandkids would sing along, and my Papa was a fantastic singer, as well. So, it really just brings up a lot of great nostalgic memories and makes me think of my family. And with the very busy, crazy, chaotic life that we lead, Christmas is always a place for home, for rest, for those traditions, and it feels so good.”

Both Maddie and Tae have their favorite Christmas movies, and they are planning a Christmas movie night sometime soon, so Tae can see one of Maddie’s favorites. MADDIE: “Favorite Christmas movie? I know Tae’s.” TAE: “What?” MADDIE: “Polar Express!” TAE: “I do love me some Polar Express. Every time the kids do the duet, my heart breaks.” MADDIE: “I would say my favorite Christmas movie – I love Polar Express. I love Arthur Christmas.” TAE: “Arthur Christmas is great. People sleep on that one.” MADDIE: “And The Holiday! Ahhhhhh.” TAE: “I’ve never seen that one.” MADDIE: “Jude Law-It’s a rom-com, but it’s so heartwarming.” TAE: “Christmas movie night.” MADDIE: “YES!”

If Maddie could play one character in a holiday film, it would be Clark Griswold’s wife Ellen (played by Beverly D’Angelo) from “Christmas Vacation.”  “If we could be any movie character, who would we be? I think I would want to be a part of Clark Griswold’s vibe. Like, he’s so funny. I don’t know. I’d want to be Clark Griswold’s wife ‘cause I feel like Jonah is Clark Griswold, and that would be really funny, and she just allows his Christmas chaos happen and just embraces it.” Tae pipes up and agrees. “And you would totally do the fork thing where ‘Oh, this is so yummy.’ (laughs) It’s so you.” (both laugh)

Check out their favorite Christmas gifts growing up and their must-haves at their holiday meals below.

The duo is climbing the country charts with their smash hit “Heart They Didn’t Break.”

Sam Hunt revealed to PEOPLE Magazine the identity of his second-born child. He and his wife Hannah Lee Fowler welcomed a baby boy named Lowry Lee on October 24th. His name comes from his parents’ middle names — Lowry is Sam’s, while Lee is Hannah’s.

Lowry Lee joined 18-month-old big sister Lucy Louise (Lu).

Sam is making his way up the country charts with his latest single, “Outskirts.”

Mercury Nashville / Range Music recording artist Luke Grimes today released the song “Clay Pigeons,” a cover of famed Texas artist, Blaze Foley’s song “Clay Pigeons,” which originally was released in February of 1989.

LISTEN TO “CLAY PIGEONS” | HERE

“In my opinion, Blaze Foley is one of the more underrated singer songwriters in the history books of country music,” said Grimes. “He truly was outlaw country in every sense, and he practiced what he preached. Clay Pigeons is not only my favorite song from Blaze, but one of my favorite songs of all time. The structure, melody, and lyrics are all so simple, yet they come together to say something so profound. The songwriting is masterful. There has always been something so comforting to me about the melancholy feel of this song.”

Grimes is currently on tour and has more dates throughout the end of the year.

Upcoming Show Dates:

Tickets Available HERE

Rock and Roll and Country Music Hall of Famer Brenda Lee is our own Queen of Christmas, as she celebrates the 65th Anniversary of her signature holiday classic, “Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree.” She recorded and released the song in 1958 when she was just 13 years old. The song, which received a huge resurgence in the ‘90s film Home Alone, has been at No. 2 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart during the holidays since 2019, and it could take over the top spot in the coming weeks.

Songwriter Johnny Marks (Rudolph, The Red-Nosed Reindeer, Frosty The Snowman) wrote the song and Brenda was his first choice to record it. Brenda asked Marks how he came up with the idea of the song, and it was just by watching pine trees sway in the wind on a beach in New York. “It was written by a gentleman who has written just about every Christmas standard,” she says. “His name is Johnny Marks, and I asked him one time, I said, ‘How in the world did you write ‘Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree?’ And he said, ‘Well, I was laying on the beach (in New York) and I went to sleep,’ and he said, ‘I woke up and the pine trees were kind of swaying in the breeze.’ And he said, ‘All of a sudden, I thought about Christmas, and I watched them begin and they were kind of rockin’ and I thought about rockin’.’ And he said, ‘I just thought about a rockin’ Christmas, and then I changed it to where people might want to rock around the Christmas tree.’ And that’s kind of how it was born, and I’m lucky, so lucky that I was able to get that song.”

We asked her what it feels like to have one of the biggest holiday songs ever recorded, and she said, “I don’t know how to answer the question of what’s it like to have one of the biggest holiday songs ever. I’ll tell you what it’s like. It’s a feeling that’s indescribable. It’s a thankful feeling to the writers, to the musicians, to the producers and most of all, to the audience that went out and bought that song and still go out and buy that song, and you all have made it what it is. I sang it, but I had to have you to help me make it what it become, so I thank you from the bottom of my heart.”

Brenda has always been drawn to Christmas music, which dates back to when she was a little girl. “I guess what drew me to creating holiday music was when I was a little girl, that was the time that we got candy,” she says. “I was from a very poor background and my daddy would always bring home these little taffy things with four little things in it called kits, and we loved it, and then we decorated our tree with pictures out of the Sears catalog. And boy, did we have fun, and we played the radio and we listened to the music, and I just thought we were in Heaven.”

Besides her own Christmas recordings, her favorite holiday tunes include those by Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby. “I love to listen to Christmas music, and I’m so fortunate that I was able to have a Christmas song myself. But I love to listen to the classics, like Nat King Cole and Bing Crosby and those people that were first and foremost in having the Christmas hits, so I feel lucky that I’m somewhat in their company.”

Some of her holiday traditions include making new memories and reminiscing about previous Christmases with her husband and daughters…but does NOT include her cooking in the kitchen. “My girls always say, ‘Mom, what are we doing for Christmas? Please don’t cook.’ So… (laughs) And they don’t mean it kindly. They mean, ‘Mom, please don’t,’” she says. “I’m not your greatest cook in the world, but we all get together and we sing, and we talk about our prior Christmases. We talk about people that we’ve lost and loved, and we wished that they were here, and we give thanks to our Lord. It’s a wonderful time. The gifts are secondary. It’s the getting together, and even though you get together the rest of the year, something magic happens at Christmas. And it’s just like, I don’t know what it is because I can’t explain magic, but I can tell you it is magic.”

Her favorite Christmas gifts are her family and friends, but she did say her engagement ring was probably her favorite present, even though she hid the fact she was engaged for several months. “My favorite Christmas gift, I think it was my engagement ring that I carried around in my purse for six months, because I didn’t want my mom (laughs) to know I was thinking about getting married, but it all wound up good. But I’ll tell you what – I think my favorite Christmas gift are my children, my husband, my friends, but most of all my God.”

Check out the official music video for “Rockin’ Around the Christmas Tree” below. She just released the clip, featuring Trisha Yearwood and Tanya Tucker, THIS year.

Mickey Guyton and Maddie & Tae performed during Thursday night’s (November 30th) National Christmas Tree Lighting on the Ellipse, on the grounds of the White House in Washington, D.C. Mickey, who hosted the ceremony, also helped President Joe Biden and First Lady Jill Biden flip the switch to light the tree. The ceremony dates back to President Calvin Coolidge in 1923 to kick off Holiday celebrations in the Nation’s Capital.

Kacey Musgraves performed an achingly beautiful rendition of “Can’t Help Falling In Love” during the NBC special, Christmas at Graceland, in the first-ever live concert from Elvis Presley’s iconic home earlier this week. Other performers included Post Malone, Lainey Wilson, Kane Brown, John Legend and Lana del Ray, and also featured never-before-seen home movies and photos. Elvis’ granddaughter, Riley Keough, hosted the event.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KiypVETI_50

The War And Treaty (Michael and Tanya Trotter) performed a powerfully stunning version of “If I Can Dream” during the special. Elvis performed the song at the end of his famous ’68 Special to honor Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., who was killed in Memphis just a few months prior.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZpboikuKQu4

Graceland, you are so magical for more reasons than one. We were so honored to sing “If I Can Dream” – a song not really known as a traditional Christmas classic, but one that is very dear to our hearts.

Many may not know that Elvis decided to sing this song to close his …

— The War And Treaty (@warandtreaty) November 30, 2023

Alan Jackson, Brothers Osborne, Chris Stapleton, Jordan Davis and others have donated items to The ASCAP Foundation’s annual online auction. The charitable organization is dedicated to supporting American music creators and encouraging their development through music education and talent development programs. Carly Pearce, Old Dominion, Kelsea Ballerini, Olivia Rodrigo, Selena Gomez, Travis Barker, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre and Chicago also donated items to the auction which runs through December 14th. Click HERE to make a bid.

A handful of country artists will be in Las Vegas during the Wrangler National Finals Rodeo (NFR) next month, including Carrie Underwood who will continue her Reflection residency at Resorts World. The NFR returns to the Thomas & Mack enter December 7th – 16th for its 65th anniversary. Garth Brooks will perform seven shows at the Colosseum at Caesar’s Palace beginning November 29th. Also performing in Vegas will be Jon Pardi (December 9th), Toby Keith (December 10th and 11th), Miranda Lambert, Cody Johnson, Lainey Wilson, Ryan Bingham and more.

Mickey Guyton has been added to the list of performers at this year’s All For The Hall benefit show next week. Hosts Keith Urban and Vince Gill will perform, as well as Trisha Yearwood, Patty Loveless, The War And Treaty, Kelsea Ballerini, Brooks & Dunn, Riley Green and Hardy, among others. The theme for the show is “The Song Remembers When,” and each artist is expected to perform a song that is personal to them, as well as one of their own. The event takes place Tuesday (December 5th) at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena.

Luke Bryan and his family have a few different traditions for Christmas, but one of the most enduring one for the Bryan family is dressing up in holiday PJs and having chili dogs on Christmas Eve.

“We have a pajama night and we do chili dogs on Christmas Eve, and we’ve always done that,” says Luke. “My mother comes up and we go shop. She makes me go shop with her, so we have to pick out all the right stuff. We have to get the proper buns, the proper wieners. It’s very important.  All beef wieners for the chili dog cooking. It’s a ritual. So, we’re eating chili dogs in pajamas, and so it’s special anytime you can come up with fun traditions and hold true to them. Yeah, so cooking chili dogs in a onesie is pretty special.”

Luke and his wife Caroline used to pack up the boys and the presents in his tour bus and go back to Georgia for the holidays, but as the boys have gotten older and their family has expanded, they prefer to be at home in Nashville and play host to family and friends. “We used to load ‘em up on the tour bus and we used to take them to Georgia, and it was a lot to travel with kids, and I’m sure there’s a lot of people doing the same,” he says. “And so, now that we’re in Nashville, we’ve had a lot of Christmases here, the kids are getting a little older, but they still get excited about running down the stairs Christmas morning. We tape up a bunch of, in our hallway, we tape up a bunch of wrapping paper and they kind of run through the wrapping paper like a football team to see all the presents and stuff, so it’s fun. We still have a lot of the family come up, try to plan a few hunting trips the day before Christmas and have a big Christmas Eve and let some kids open the presents, but it’s still great to be with my family during the holidays. The kids just get a little older, but we cherish every holiday season together.”

For Luke, there’s nothing like seeing his house decorated for Christmas with the tree and lights to get him in the Christmas spirit. “I guess what gets me in the Christmas spirit is coming home and the house is decorated, and the tree is up and all the lights, all the lights are on,” he says. “The last couple of years doing American Idol, I spend about 10 days of December in L.A. taping, so when I leave L.A., get home, it’s like my time to really settle into Christmas and enjoy the holidays with family. So, yeah, nothing like seeing the tree in the house that gets you going and starting to hear Christmas carols on the radio and starting to see some of our favorite Christmas movies on TV.”

No word on what his wife Caroline will be getting him this year, but he does say her gift a few years ago was the most meaningful — she tracked down his late brother’s truck and presented it to him one Christmas. “By far the best Christmas present I have ever gotten and will ever get was when my wife Caroline went and found my brother’s old pickup truck from 1996 that they found the VIN number and it was down in Louisiana and it was still on the road.  And her and my dad went down, they picked it up, brought it to Nashville and Christmas Eve night pulled into the driveway with it, and let’s just say that yes, the tears were flowing, and it will never be topped. I don’t know how you’ll ever top it. What an amazing moment for me and my family and it was pretty special.  And that truck is where we do our turkey hunting; it’s the turkey hunting truck. So, all my turkey hunting gear stays in there, and when the boys see me pull up in my brother’s truck, they know we’re fixing to go turkey hunting.”

Also, one of his favorite Christmas gifts as a child had wheels and a motor, as well. “My favorite Christmas gift is definitely my first Honda 50 motorcycle that I got back in 1984. It was just an amazing gift to have under the tree, and I never will forget seeing that as I walked out.”

While he has a couple of Christmas tunes out — “Run, Run Rudolph” and “O Holy Night” — he says his very favorite holiday tune is “White Christmas.”

Luke is poised to climb to the top of the country charts with his latest single, “But I Got A Beer In My Hand.”

Darius Rucker will be honored with the 2,766th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame on Monday (December 4th) at 11:30am PT at 7065 Hollywood Boulevard. He’ll receive his star in the category of Recording.

Guest speakers for the ceremony have yet to be announced, but Access Hollywood and Access Daily with Mario + Kit Co-host Kit Hoover will emcee.

The event will be live-streamed exclusively at walkoffame.com.

Darius Rucker first achieved multi-Platinum status in the music industry as lead singer and rhythm guitarist of the GRAMMY Award-winning band Hootie & the Blowfish, who has sold more than 25 million albums worldwide including their Double Diamond-certified (21x Platinum) debut Cracked Rear View, which remains among the top 10 best-selling studio albums of all time. Since releasing his first Country album in 2008, Rucker has earned a whole new legion of fans with four number #1 albums on the Billboard Country chart, including RIAA Platinum-certified Learn to Live and True Believers, plus 10 No. 1 singles at Country Radio and 11 Gold, Platinum or multi-Platinum certified hits.

Rucker was inducted as a Grand Ole Opry member in 2012 and in 2014 he won his third career GRAMMY Award for Best Solo Country Performance with his Diamond-certified (11x Platinum) version of “Wagon Wheel,” one of the top five best-selling Country songs of all time. He topped the charts at Country radio once again with “Beers And Sunshine” in 2021 and his latest single “Fires Don’t Start Themselves” off his brand-new album Carolyn’s Boy , now available everywhere. The project features recent-release “Have A Good Time,” his cover of Rihanna’s “Lift Me Up” from Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, plus co-written songs with Ed Sheeran, HARDY and more.

Hootie & the Blowfish will return to the road in 2024, as the foursome sets out on the Summer Camp with Trucks Tour produced by Live Nation featuring special guests Collective Soul and Edwin McCain, scheduled to tour May 30th through September 28th.

Country music superstar Brad Paisley is set to appear on both the Today Show and The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon this coming Monday (December 4th).

Brad will perform “The Medicine Will” on NBC’s Today and “Son Of The Mountains” on NBC’s Tonight Show. Both songs appear on his Son Of The Mountains: The First Four Tracks released earlier this fall. The new music is available now and also includes previously released tracks “Same Here,” featuring Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky, and “So Many Summers.” Watch the music videos HERE.

Brad’s Son Of The Mountains studio album is anticipated for release in 2024.

About BRAD PAISLEY:
Brad Paisley has earned his place in country music history as one of the genre’s most talented and decorated male solo artists. For more than 20 years, his songwriting and unmatched showmanship have won him numerous awards, including three GRAMMYs, two American Music Awards, 15 Academy of Country Music Awards, and 14 Country Music Association Awards including a highly coveted Entertainer of the Year honor and recognition as the most successful CMA Award co-host in history, alongside Carrie Underwood, for 11 consecutive years. A member of the Grand Ole Opry since 2001, Paisley has written 21 of his 25 No. 1 hits, and in 2008 became the first artist to achieve 10 consecutive Billboard Country Airplay No. 1 singles. The superstar’s past works have amassed nearly 5 billion career streams.

Paisley’s additional endeavors include his “American Highway” Bourbon, his collaborations with Peyton Manning on the national Nationwide insurance ad campaigns, and his partnership with Boot Barn® to develop “Moonshine Spirit by Brad Paisley,” an exclusive line of jeans, hats, T-shirts, jewelry, belts, and woven shirts.