Chris Stapleton made his debut on ABC’s The View Tuesday morning (May 5th), performing “Tennessee Whiskey” from his new album, Traveller.

One of Keith Urban’s favorite records is Eric Church’s Chief, and the two became friends over the course of the past few years. The two started sharing music that the other one may not have heard, which led to their collaboration on Keith’s latest album, Fuse.

“He’d be turning me on to new music, and I’d be texting him about something, ‘You’ve got to listen to (1975’s) Bankrupt by Dr. Hook.’ We’re trying to hip each other to records that we love that the other guy hasn’t heard,” says Keith. “That sort of banter started happening fairly regularly, and I thought I’d really like to do something with Eric on my record, if I find the right song. And this song called ‘Raise ‘Em Up’ came along.”

“Raise ‘Em Up” didn’t start out as a duet, but Keith said it “struck” him as the perfect song for him and Eric to record together.

“There’s a particular theme really in the song, particularly in the second verse that I felt was just perfect for Eric. I sent him the song, and he loved it. And I was really happy that he came in and sang on it.”

“Raise ‘Em Up,” the fifth single from Fuse, is poised to hit the top of the country charts.

The modern game of golf, as we know it now, originated in Scotland in the 15th-century. Just to make sure he had all the details correct, Gary Allan has ventured to the homeland to check it out.

Here are a few pics from his travels from Kingsbarns Golf Links and St Andrews Golf Course, Scotland.

Darius Rucker is beginning to hit the airwaves with his new single, the follow up to his recent No. 1 song, “Homegrown Honey.” The tune reminds him of all of the women in his life.

“I think every woman and family, every woman that’s ever been anything to me just flashes through like from my mom and my aunts to my sisters and cousins and friends from high school,” says Darius. “And that’s what that song is all about to me. It’s trying to describe that, a little bit of everybody, every woman in the world.”

Darius is preparing to kick off his Southern Style Tour May 15^th in Holmdel, New Jersey, and will take Brett Eldredge, Brothers Osborne and A Thousand Horses on the road with him.

Nashville, TN – May 4, 2015 – Dierks Bentley soars to No. one on the Mediabase radio chart and spends a second week atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart today with “Say You Do,” marking his 13th career hit to reach the No. 1 position. The stirring track also becomes the third consecutive single from his CMA, ACM and GRAMMY nominated album RISER (Capitol Records Nashville) to summit the radio charts and park for multiple weeks.

“This album has taken me on such a cool ride over the last year or so,” said Bentley. “Each single has been so different and this one especially because it’s my first No. 1 that I wasn’t a part of writing. This town has of some of the most talented songwriters anywhere and they help guys like me live our dreams every night out on the road with their songs.  I’m really happy to share this with Shane, Trevor and Matt.”

Bentley is currently preparing to hit the road for his headlining 2015 SOUNDS OF SUMMER TOUR launching June 5th in Raleigh, NC with special guests Kip Moore, Maddie & Tae and Canaan Smith.  For more info and for a full list of tour dates visit www.dierksbentley.com.

Chris Stapleton’s highly anticipated solo debut album, Traveller, is available now. Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio A (with additional production at The Castle and Blackbird Studio in Middle Tennessee), Traveller was produced by Dave Cobb (Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell).

“The song ‘Traveller’ and how it ended up being the title of the record, it seemed like a natural thing to call it, because a lot of, certainly the inspiration for this record came from a series of events,” says Chris. “Another reason is that it can mean a lot of different things to a lot of different people. It’s about a journey in a musical sense and in a physical sense and in a spiritual sense. In every way that you can have a journey, this record is kind of that for me, and hopefully for some other folks too.”

In addition to renditions of Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove’s “Tennessee Whiskey” (recorded by George Jones and David Allan Coe) and Don Sampson’s “Was It 26,” the album features twelve original songs, including fan-favorite “Sometimes I Cry,” for which Chris returned to RCA Studio A to record a new version of “Sometimes I Cry” live-to-tape in front of an audience.

Catch him performing “Tennessee Whiskey” on ABC’s The View on Tuesday (5/5), and then performing live on select days on Eric Church’s The Outsiders World Tour.

TRAVELLER ALBUM TRACKLIST:

1. Traveller (Chris Stapleton)
   2. Fire Away (Chris Stapleton and Danny Green)
   3. Tennessee Whiskey (Dean Dillon and Linda Hargrove)
   4. Parachute (Chris Stapleton and Jim Beavers)
   5. Whiskey And You (Chris Stapleton and Lee Thomas Miller)
   6. Nobody To Blame (Chris Stapleton, Barry Bales and Ronnie Bowman)
   7. More Of You (Chris Stapleton and Ronnie Bowman)
   8. When The Stars Come Out (Chris Stapleton and Dan Wilson)
   9. Daddy Doesn’t Pray Anymore (Chris Stapleton)
   10. Might As Well Get Stoned (Chris Stapleton and Jimmy Stewart)
   11. Was It 26 (Don Sampson)
   12. The Devil Named Music (Chris Stapleton)
   13. Outlaw State Of Mind (Chris Stapleton, Ronnie Bowman and Jerry Salley)
   14. Sometimes I Cry (Chris Stapleton and Clint Ingersoll)

Dierks Bentley’s “Say You Do” is spending a second week on the Billboard country chart and has climbed to No. 1 on the Country Weekly chart this week, making it his third time at No. 1 with songs (“I Hold On,” “Drunk on a Plane”) from his current album, Riser, and his 13th career chart-topper. Dierks says the song took him to a new place.

“I just feel like vocally, [producer] Ross [Copperman] was able to wring something out of me that I hadn’t gotten to before, and it feels pretty powerful. I feel like we’re starting to get the ball rolling towards the direction when I heard that song, you know, some sort of thematical thing,” says Dierks. “[It’s] just a killer song.”

Dierks will kick off his Sounds of Summer Tour June 5th in Raleigh, North Carolina. He’s taking Kip Moore, Canaan Smith and Maddie & Tae along for the ride.

A few weeks ago, George Strait released his new single, “Let It Go.” It’s the first new music released by Strait since his No. 1-debuting 2013 album, Love Is Everything, and is the first new music since Strait returned to the studio following his historic, two-year The Cowboy Rides Away Tour.

The Texas superstar says the song is just about being happy with what you’ve got.

“It says a lot. I mean, all that stuff is all just stuff, and then you die,” he laughs. “All that other stuff don’t mean a lot…You just can’t get too wrapped up in all your things, because it’s all just dust like the song says, and you can’t get enough, you know, so just be happy with what you have.”

Written by George, his son Bubba Strait and Keith Gattis, “Let It Go” is the laid-back lead single off Strait’s forthcoming studio album.