Ashley Cooke is wearing her heart on her sleeve as she speaks to the betrayal and consequences of crossing boundaries in a relationship with her new breakup anthem, “xs.”
This is the release fans have been patiently waiting for since the country star began teasing it on social media. This anticipation was only amplified when she brought the cautionary tale to the stage for the first time in London during her return to C2C: Country to Country.
The mid-tempo track was always destined for greatness, especially with the team of sought-after songwriters behind it, including Cooke with Ashley Gorley, Emily Weisband and Will Weatherly, as well as production by the legendary Dann Huff. The result of their creativity is a narrative centered around a relationship that is strained by a dishonesty that was all-too predictable.
Photo Courtesy of Ashley Cooke
The experience Cooke describes is one that can only lead to heartbreak. She sets the tone by reminding her former love interest of some “common sense” warnings she originally sent his way, knowing that he would eventually fall into temptation.
With her raw vocals, she sings, “Some things are common sense/ One leads to the other/ Like if you crack that door open/ You’ll end up under covers/ With a downtown girl you said I didn’t need to worry about/ Warned you this would happen baby.”
Ashley Cooke; Photo by Patrick Tracy
The lyrics chronicle the frustration of someone who saw the hurt coming but still gets blindsided by a partner’s reckless choices and finds herself wrapped up in a “tale as old as time.” Luckily, the Florida-born native is strong enough to stand her ground and feel zero regret when she kicks the two-timer to the curb.
The recurring line, “crossing lines makes xs,” serves as both a warning and a confirmation that once trust is broken, there’s no undoing it, and there’s no coming back.
“Whiskey nights wandering eyes make messes/ Hiding phones, “I don’t knows” make questions/ Towns talk and the truth starts spreading/ And don’t you know crossing lines makes xs/ Oh don’t deny I know you did it/ Oh doesn’t matter how you spin it/ Want me back after that forget it/ Don’t you know crossing lines makes xs,” Cooke delivers on the chorus.
The powerful instrumentation behind the track was brought to life by session players like guitarist Ilya Toshinskiy (Kelsea Ballerini, Tim McGraw) and drummer Jerry Roe (Luke Combs, Cody Johnson), creating an emotionally charged sound that drives every note of betrayal.
“xs” marks the introduction of Ashley Cooke’s next musical era and follows the success of songs like “baby blues” and her current single climbing the charts on country radio, “the hell you are.”
Cooke is hitting the stage tonight at the Appalachian Wireless Arena in Pikeville, KY for the final stop of her run supporting multi-platinum hitmaker Jon Pardi on the HONKYTONK HOLLYWOOD TOUR.
Following this run, she will make her Tortuga Music Festival debut in Fort Lauderdale on April 10, joining a star-studded lineup featuring Post Malone, Riley Green, Kenny Chesney, and more.
The Music City Rodeo is quickly approaching, and excitement surrounding the second annual event is continuing to build.
On Tuesday evening (March 24), rising country artist Mae Estes joined forces with top rodeo talent Rocker Steiner on the Grand Ole Opry stage to announce Music City Rodeo’s Opry Takeover, as well as the official lineup for plaza performances for Music City Rodeo’s Rodeo Plaza at Bridgestone Arena leading into each headlining evening of Music City Rodeo (MCR).
Music City Rodeo’s Grand Ole Opry takeover will take place on May 5 and feature Grand Ole Opry member and 2026 MCR co-headliner Jon Pardi performing alongside artists like Ashley Cooke, Hudson Westbrook, and more. Additional music and rodeo talent will be announced in the coming weeks. Tickets for the Opry takeover are on sale now.
Music City Rodeo
Additionally, it was revealed that ahead of each night of the rodeo on May 28–30, fans can once again take part in the free, family-friendly Rodeo Plaza Pre-Party outside Bridgestone Arena. Opening daily at 2 p.m., the event will feature live music, interactive activities, and a live broadcast of The Cowboy Channel’s RodeoLive on Saturday.
The 2026 lineup includes anthem singers Mae Estes (5/28), Tyler Booth (5/29), and MaRynn Taylor (5/30), along with Rodeo Plaza performers DJ Rio and Mae Estes (5/28), Chris Andreucci and Dalton Davis (5/29), and Patrick Thomas (5/30).
With the buzz continuing to build around the Music City Rodeo, the cowboys made a special stop at a Nashville Predators game, along with several other appearances across the city, to promote the return of the event to Nashville.
Sponsored by TennPop, Music City Rodeo, Nashville’s premier PRCA-sanctioned rodeo, will return to Bridgestone Arena May 28–30, 2026, delivering a three-day celebration that blends world-class rodeo competition with top country music performances in the heart of downtown Nashville.
Rocker Steiner; Photo by Click Thompson
This year’s headlining lineup features Miranda Lambert (May 28), Charley Crockett (May 29), and Jon Pardi (May 30), each set to bring their own style to the highly anticipated event.
Music City Rodeo’s return to Nashville was first revealed by inaugural MCR Grand Marshal and headliner Tim McGraw during the opening night of his 2026 Las Vegas residency. McGraw was joined onstage by top rodeo athletes Tim O’Connell, Rusty Wright, Jace Trosclair, and Cody Custer, along with Music City Rodeo Queen Reagan Caen and trick rider Madison Schalla.
Following a standout inaugural year as the largest rodeo east of the Mississippi, the event has now been named an official Cinch Playoff Series Rodeo for 2026. After selling out its debut run, Music City Rodeo will return with elite competition in bull riding, barrel racing, team roping, and bronc riding, featuring more than $300,000 in prize money up for grabs.
Breland opens up about his new song “In My Truck” and the unusual steps he took to record it. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
From two-foot quesadillas to an eight-pound nacho bucket, these ballparks have upped the ante with their food and drink offerings for the 2026 MLB season.
Members of the Alaska House of Representatives convene on the first day of the second session of the 34th Alaska State Legislature on Jan. 20, 2026 (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
The Alaska Legislature on Wednesday approved a stopgap budget bill amid an ongoing debate among lawmakers around war-driven oil revenues and whether to draw from state savings.
The stopgap budget bill contains $449.6 million in state spending including for disaster relief, construction, education, correctional officer overtime and some public assistance programs — expenses accrued since the Legislature and Gov. Mike Dunleavy adopted the state budget last year.
But the question of how and when all the items will be funded is still uncertain. Lawmakers chose to rely on anticipated oil revenue to fund the bill rather than drawing from savings.
The Alaska Senate passed the budget bill by a 19 to 1 vote on Wednesday, with Sen. Robert Meyers, R-North Pole opposing. The bill was quickly transferred to the Alaska House where it passed unanimously by all 40 members. The bill now moves to the governor’s desk for his consideration.
The Legislature created a select bicameral conference committee to hammer out differences between House and Senate versions of the budget bill over the last week.
The final bill includes $75 million for disaster relief to cover the state’s response to the Western Alaska storms last fall, and almost $100 million for fire suppression. It contains $20 million for the Alaska Department of Corrections for overtime spending, as well as $34.4 million for Medicaid and $12.8 million for other public assistance programs through the Alaska Department of Health. The bill allocates nearly $130 million toward the Alaska Higher Education Fund which provides grants and scholarships to students.
The spending bill also includes a time-sensitive appropriation for Alaska’s construction industry. It contains $70.2 million in state dollars to unlock roughly $630 million in federal grant funding that industry groups have said is essential for the summer construction season.
But how the nearly $450 million budget bill is funded is still in question.
Legislators have been closely watching oil prices since the start of the Iran war, which state forecasters have projected could potentially generate hundreds of millions in state revenue for Alaska.
Lawmakers agreed that if oil-driven state revenues from now until June 30, the end of the fiscal year, are not sufficient to cover the stopgap budget, then the Legislature will draw from state savings. That roughly pencils out to an average of $74 per barrel of oil through June to cover state spending, according to data provided by the House Finance Committee.
But that vote to confirm drawing from savings again failed in the House on Wednesday — the fourth vote held in the House this year. To draw from Alaska’s main $3 billion savings account requires support from three-quarters of the House and Senate.
The Senate approved the immediate draw from savings on Wednesday by a 16 to 4 vote, but it failed to pass the House by a vote of 22 to 18. It takes 30 votes in the House to spend from the savings reserve.
On Thursday, House Speaker Rep. Bryce Edgmon, I-Dillingham, expressed concern at sending the budget bill to the governor with what he said was no “backstop” funding from savings.
“So if the price of oil goes down, the governor may not have the money ultimately, to finish up or to pay for operations,” he said for this fiscal year.
Edgmon said he is concerned with banking on future oil prices to pay the state’s bills.
“It’s the first time, I think maybe perhaps in Alaska’s history, we’ve ever done it this way,” he said. “It’s going to be very interesting to see how this plays out, because oil prices can certainly go up as well, but they can also go down. And it’s not the way that I like to operate in terms of being fiscally responsible.”
Members of the Republican House minority caucus in opposition from drawing from savings expressed confidence in oil revenues providing enough funding to cover state expenses.
“Everything in this bill the state currently projects enough revenues to fund,” said Rep. Will Stapp, R-Fairbanks on Wednesday. “We still have many days in session, happy to revisit in the event oil price changes and we need to structure something in order to meet our obligations. That is not a requirement at this moment.”
The stopgap budget bill now moves to Dunleavy who can sign or veto the bill or let it pass into law without his signature.
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivers the annual State of the State address on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Alaska Capitol. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
By: Sean Maguire, Alaska Beacon
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy delivers the annual State of the State address on Tuesday, Jan. 28, 2025, in the Alaska Capitol. (Photo by James Brooks/Alaska Beacon)
Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy has proposed eliminating property taxes for the Alaska LNG project to incentivize development of the $46 billion gas line and export facilities.
The bill was introduced to the Legislature on Mar. 20 and would exempt the project from local taxes in Alaska, including property and sales taxes. Instead, a volume-based tax would be levied once the pipeline starts producing significant quantities of gas from the North Slope.
In a statement, Dunleavy said his legislation “removes a structural barrier” that would help get the gas line built. The project is expected to create thousands of construction jobs, spur the development of new industries and potentially lower power and heating bills for consumers.
“We bring more gas into Alaska and stabilize supply — that lowers cost for families like yours and businesses,” Dunleavy said Wednesday on social media.
The state of Alaska is expected to collect over $22.5 billion in new revenue from the project over the next 36 years, primarily from production taxes and royalties, according to state economists.
In addition to exempting the project from property and sales taxes during its ramp-up period, the Alaska Department of Revenue estimates Dunleavy’s bill would equate to a 90% reduction in property tax revenue, once the pipeline is at full capacity.
Municipal governments are expected to take the biggest hit from that change. If the project was built under current tax law, they would collect an extra $13 billion in revenue through 2062, or $360 million annually.
Some long-time lawmakers have questioned whether the pipeline will result in reduced gas prices. Others have questioned why such a sharp reduction in property taxes is needed.
‘Industrial renaissance’
An 800-mile pipeline from the North Slope to deliver natural gas to market has been a dream in Alaska for decades. But prior efforts have all fallen short.
Supporters say its prospects have never been stronger. Key permits are in hand, several Asian nations are interested in buying Alaska’s gas, and President Donald Trump has voiced support for the project.
Former Democratic U.S. Sen. Mark Begich has been hired by the Dunleavy administration to help advance the pipeline. He told lawmakers the 1973 oil shock helped spur development of North Slope oil. Now, war in the Middle East has upended LNG production and raised prices, which makes Alaska natural gas more attractive, he said.
“This is our moment,” he said to the House Resources Committee on Monday, calling the gas line “an incredible project.”
Glenfarne, a New York-based company, signed on to develop the pipeline last January. It owns 75% of the project while the Alaska Gasline Development Corp., a state agency, owns the remaining 25%.
But the economics of the $46 billion gas line remain uncertain.
Glenfarne chose to split the project in two. The first phase would see construction of a pipeline for domestic consumption, with delivery of gas targeted for 2029. The second phase would construct a plant and shipping terminal in Cook Inlet for export.
Alaska’s current tax structure means a 2% property tax can be levied on oil and gas infrastructure.
Dunleavy’s tax proposal would impose a volume-based alternative. A new tax would be levied at 6 cents on every thousand cubic feet of gas, which would increase by 1% annually.
The tax would only be imposed once the pipeline delivers an average of 1 billion cubic feet of gas per day or 10 years after gas starts being produced.
Dan Stickel, economist with the Department of Revenue, on Wednesday said reducing property taxes would help with front-end costs. He said the agency is not examining Dunleavy’s bill as a tax cut because it would help spur the pipeline and potentially lead to new state revenue.
Stickel told the House Resources Committee that AGDC and Glenfarne have said the project will not move forward without property tax relief.
At full capacity, the pipeline is expected to deliver 3.5 billion cubic feet of gas per day. Southcentral Alaska’s demand for Cook Inlet gas equates to roughly 70 billion cubic feet of gas per year.
Glenfarne Group CEO and founder Brendan Duval and Alaska LNG President Adam Prestidge stand while Gov. Mike Dunleavy recognizes them during his State of the State address on Jan. 22, 2026. (Photo by Corinne Smith/Alaska Beacon)
Adam Prestidge, president of Glenfarne Alaska LNG, said the project would be an “industrial renaissance” for Alaska. It could create 7,000 jobs during construction and spur new opportunities such as data centers, he said.
Wearing a lapel pin in a House Resources Committee hearing that said “build the line,” Prestidge told lawmakers discussions on gas agreements are ongoing with Alaska utilities. He said agreements could be signed and made public in the next couple of months.
“This is the only way to significantly bring down the cost of energy for Alaskans,” he said.
‘Huge give’
The Alaska Department of Revenue estimates the state would receive $22.5 billion in revenue from the gas line through 2062. The majority of that windfall would come from production taxes and royalties.
Compared to Alaska’s current tax regime, Dunleavy’s proposal would see the state miss out on $200 million per year from property taxes once the pipeline is at full capacity, projections show.
The alternative tax structure proposed by the governor would see $64 million per year collected by municipalities at full gas production and $9 million annually by the state.
For municipalities, there would be a bigger hit.
The gas line is expected to be built through four municipalities that collect property taxes: the North Slope Borough, Denali Borough, Matanuska-Susitna Borough and the Kenai Peninsula Borough.
Under Alaska’s current tax structure, municipal governments would be expected to share in $17.3 billion from the pipeline through 2062. Under Dunleavy’s tax bill, it would be below $4 billion.
Anchorage Democratic Sen. Bill Wielechowski, vice-chair of the Senate Resources Committee, spoke at a Tuesday news conference. He said legislators would look closely at Dunleavy’s proposed tax break and determine whether a 90% cut in property taxes is appropriate.
“I don’t know anybody in the Legislature who doesn’t want a gas pipeline. The question is, what is it going to take to get it?” Wielechowski said.
State projections show that under both tax systems, the owners of the pipeline are expected to collect $60 billion over the next 36 years.
Anchorage Republican Sen. Cathy Giessel, chair of the Senate Resources Committee, estimates Alaska has invested $1.1 billion to build a natural gas pipeline, but nothing has been built.
On Tuesday, Giessel cited costs like public safety that could be borne by communities along the proposed pipeline. She said it would likely take until the second phase of the project before 1 billion cubic feet of gas is produced per day. Meaning, it could take years before municipalities collect Dunleavy’s volume-based tax, she said.
“That’s a long time for these communities to have no property tax,” she said.
State data suggests local governments would take $6.3 billion in property taxes through 2042. Dunleavy’s volume-based tax would net them $1.3 billion over the same period.
“This is a huge give to the company,” Giessel said. “Will it still be enough for them? I don’t know.”
Mayors in impacted communities are set to testify on the governor’s tax proposal on Friday afternoon before the Senate Resources Committee.
Nothing tickles fast food fans quite like an April Fools’ Day prank – something these iconic chains know all too well, judging by the pranks of years gone by.
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Fried fish is a tasty and popular meal, but you need a crunchy coating. There’s a hack that uses a snack that will give the fish that crunch and some heat.
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