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​The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs

Country rock superstar HARDY just dropped the official music video for his album track “Bottomland.” The song is featured on his forthcoming album, COUNTRY! COUNTRY!, which is to release on September 26 via Big Loud.

Directed by Jay Curtis Miller and Caleb Donato, the chilling visual brings the song’s message to life as HARDY is seen lying in a wooden coffin. Adding to the haunting imagery, a figure resembling the angel of death appears in the woods nearby. It’s a chilling look at a man’s final wishes and his connection to his roots, his heritage, and the way of life he loves.

The gravestone in the video says it all: “Here lies country music.” 

And HARDY croons, “Bury me in bottom land / With my grandpa’s rifle in my hand / Lord, just take me as I am / And bury me in bottom land.”

COUNTRY! COUNTRY! lives up to its name, from nods to his Mississippi childhood, like “Bottomland,” named after HARDY’s favorite hunting camo, to his take on the current state of country music. “Bro Country,” the latest track from HARDY’s album featuring ERNEST, debuted at No. 1 on the iTunes Top Songs chart last Friday.

Ahead of the big release day, Rough Trade NYC will welcome HARDY and fans for an album signing event on September 26. 

HARDY is also back on the JIM BOB World Tour, hitting a mix of festivals and headline shows, leading up to his first-ever headline performance at Madison Square Garden during the week of COUNTRY! COUNTRY!’s release. Select dates will feature support from Koe Wetzel, Stephen Wilson Jr., and Sikarus. A complete list of tour dates is below.  

The new album marks another milestone in HARDY’s incredible run. Earlier this year, he made his Grand Ole Opry debut with Metallica’s James Hetfield in attendance, and the first leg of the JIM BOB World Tour was a massive success. In 2024 alone, he released his No. 1 LP Quit!!, toured across North America, including his first stadium show and a headline set at CMA Fest, collaborated with music legends Fred Durst and Chad Smith, appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and Jimmy Kimmel Live!, hit 16 No. 1 songs, surpassed six billion career streams, and so much more.  

HARDY—COUNTRY! COUNTRY!

1. Country Country

2. Favorite Country Song

3. Bro Country (with ERNEST)

4. Luckiest Man Alive

5. Car That Drove You Away

6. Girl With A Gun

7. Buck On The Wall

8. I’d Go Crazy Too

9. Take The Country And Run

10. Goodbye

11. Bedroom In The Sky (with Stephen Wilson Jr.)

12. Bottomland

13. Who Don’t

14. Country In Me

15. Gun To My Head

16. Keep It Country

17. Y’all Need Jesus

18. Dog Years

19. We’re All Gonna Die

20. Everybody Does

HARDY Tour Dates

September 4—Empower Federal Credit Union Amphitheater at Lakeview—Syracuse, NY*

September 5—The Pavilion at Star Lake—Burgettstown, PA*

September 6—Hersheypark Stadium—Hershey, PA*

September 11—Brandon Amphitheater—Brandon, MS†

September 12—Coca-Cola Amphitheater—Birmingham, AL†

September 13—CCNB Amphitheatre—Simpsonville, SC†

September 18—Lakewood Amphitheatre—Atlanta, GA*

September 19—MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre—Tampa, FL*

September 20—iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre—West Palm Beach, FL*

September 24—Madison Square Garden—New York City, NY*

*with Koe Wetzel, Stephen Wilson Jr. and Sikarus

†with Stephen Wilson Jr. and Sikarus

The post HARDY Drops Chilling Video for ‘Bottomland’ Ahead of ‘COUNTRY! COUNTRY!’ Release appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Country superstar Riley Green is riding high after earning his fifth No. 1 single with “Worst Way,” and the Alabama native recently shared insights into his songwriting approach, which keeps things simple and true to his roots.

“I think that’s what it is. I mean, that’s not a really pretty word to describe your songwriting, but I think that’s really accurate,” Green shared this during an appearance on the Zach Sang Show, in response to Sang calling his songwriting “simple.”

Green joked that in Nashville, sometimes writer can get “too songwritery” with their words and from him the key to success has always been simplicity. 

“The storytelling to me, I listen back to Merle Haggard and George Jones and all that and there’s not a lot of complicated stuff in there. They’re just telling a story and that’s what I always did early on,” he explained. “So now I think that when I’m in a writer’s room and I’m with a couple of the guys, I’m kind stingy about that. I go, ‘well, this is how I would say it. This is how that old guy sitting at the Chevron right there down the road from my farm would say it in the morning when my Granddaddies were playing dominoes and smoking cigarettes.’” 

Green has always had a strong sense of what makes a song connect, whether it’s a radio hit or not. Reflecting on his breakout single, “There Was This Girl,” Green said the excitement from his label gave him a clue that the song had real potential.

“Well, when I signed a record deal, the amount of excitement that the label had for ‘There Was This Girl’ told me that it might could [go No.1].. And there is a little bit of that song that sounds like a radio song. I always think about something that sounds like a hit to me as something that makes you want to roll the window down and turn it up. You’re driving down a road on a nice day and that song has that, whatever that thing is,” he said. 

But not every song follows the path of a traditional hit. Green knows that first hand.  

“But then there’s also songs that I didn’t think was going to be a big song. ‘I Wish Grandpa’s Never Died.’ Just again, I wrote as a tribute to my granddaddies and to see the response to that song, still every night, it’s the biggest moment in my show, and it wasn’t a number one at Country Radio, I think it peaked at 11, but it’s triple platinum today,” he pointed out. “So it’s crazy. You measure it that way and you want every song to go number one. But also what really matters is what fans think of it.” 

Riley Green recently expanded upon his 2024 album with the release of Don’t Mind If I Do (Deluxe), featuring six newly-added tracks.  

He’s currently on his largest tour to date, the Damn Country Music Tour, which kicked off in Canada earlier this year and will continue through November with stops in New York, Chicago, Boston, the UK, and more.

The post Riley Green Explains Why Keeping Songs Simple Has Been Key to His Success appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Ella Langley has returned to social media after taking a brief break from performing. The country singer shared her first post since stepping away from the remaining shows in August to focus on her health.

In her new social media post, Langley thanked her friends, family, and friends for sticking by her side to allow her the time she needed away from the spotlight. 

“Couldn’t be anymore grateful to have had some time to slow down and see all of the amazing things happening in my life,” she wrote. “Also, I have the best family and friends a girl could ask for. Truly. Thank yall for allowing me this time too and all of the messages that were sent in love and support. Time to get back to it.”

Along with her heartfelt message to fans, the Alabama native shared photos and videos from her time off the road, showing moments spent horseback riding, reading the Bible, cooking, and enjoying snuggles with her dogs. 

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Ella Langley (@ellalangleymusic)

On August 11, she shared a raw and honest message with fans, revealing plans to cancel all of her remaining August performances after experiencing a challenging few weeks. 

“I’m so sad to be posting this. The past several weeks have been tough. I’ve been fighting sickness and feeling more run down than ever. After a lot of thought, I’ve made the hard decision to take a couple weeks off to rest and focus on my health – Mind, body and heart. I want to be fully present for all the moments ahead, and I know I can’t do that without first taking care of myself,” her statement began.

Though stepping away was a tough choice, Langley emphasized how important it was to take time for her own healing.

“Sometimes we have to listen when our bodies and hearts are telling us to slow down. I’m so grateful for your understanding and your love – It truly means the world to me,” Langley added before writing a Scripture verse from Matthew 11:28 that reads, “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.”

Now rested and refreshed, Ella Langley will return to the road on September 7 in Madison, IL, followed by performances with Morgan Wallen on September 12 and 12 in Edmonton, Canada. After her performances with Wallen, Langley will return to her headlining tour for the remainder of the fall, which includes stops in Houston, Texas, Athens, Georgia, and back-to-back sold out shows at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium.

The post Ella Langley Checks In With Fans After Taking Time Off To Focus On Her Health appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Bailey Zimmerman is celebrating a major milestone, recently earning his fifth No. 1 single at country radio with “Backup Plan,” featuring Luke Combs. 

After hitting the top of the charts, Zimmerman marked the occasion with steak and chocolate milk, sharing a photo of the celebratory dinner on social media. It’s an unusual combo, but whatever makes him happy!

The track, penned by Jimi Bell, Jon Sherwood, and Tucker Beathard, is featured on his new album Different Night, Same Rodeo. The Illinois native recently opened up about hearing the song for the first time during an appearance on Today’s Country Radio with Kelleigh Bannen.  

“First time I listened to it, I’m like, first of all, love that, [beat]. I’m like, ‘Whoa, this feels like we’re about to go into some Johnny Cash or something.’ Some songs like this can feel cheesey and cheesy. It was like, ‘Oh, is this meant for some movie track, title?’ Then when I heard it, there was something about it that just kept– there’s a lot of things that my grandpa used to tell me growing up, and a lot of things my dad used to tell me, especially keep your head down and put on the blinders. Dude, it gives me chills right now, man. My dad, he used to tell me all the time, ‘Nobody’s going to get in your way but everybody else. Don’t let them get in your way. Put your blinders on.’ He would say, ‘When horses are racing, do they look at the other horses on the side of them? No, they look straight ahead and they keep going and they keep putting their freaking head down.’ Don’t care about what people say, keep freaking going, because they’re not living your dream, you’re living it. Keep doing your dream,” he said. “As we’re talking right now, that’s how I felt the first time I heard ‘Backup Plan.’ Man, this gets me amped up, and I feel like other people need to hear this. They need to hear this.”

Zimmerman said he immediately thought of Luke Combs when he heard the song and explained how he landed Combs’ phone number at the right time. 

“The first time I heard it, I thought, ‘Man, Luke Combs would freaking crush this, dude.’ Then I thought, ‘But man, how am I going to get Luke Combs on a song? Luke would be freaking crazy on a song, and I know he’d love it, but how do I even get it to him? Who do I text?,” he explained. 

While he didn’t have his number at the time, things soon changed. 

“Randomly, one day, Luke hits me up to do Concert for Carolina … hung out with him, and we just kicked it off right off the bat, just right away … It just felt like we had been buds for a while. Fast forward, play the show that night, slips me a little note card that’s just a, “Thank you for playing the show. Thank you for doing this, all this stuff. By the way, here’s my number, man, if you want to text me anytime,” Zimmerman revealed. 

Luckily, Combs agreed to join the track, and the rest was history. Zimmerman has shared nothing but praise for his collaborator.

“Luke Combs, bro, is a legend and a goat, and he sticks up to that. He’s as good of a guy as you think he is,” Zimmerman urged. “He stands up to the testament of being a goat and being a legend, and inspiring people and being an inspiration. Just everything about him is like, ‘Yep, there ain’t nothing fake about that guy.’ Every single thing he says is so raw and real, and just freaking legend, dude. Not even that, but his friendship to me, he didn’t have to do any of this stuff. He didn’t have to get on my song. He didn’t have to let me come play it with him at Stagecoach. He didn’t have to do a music video. He did it because he really likes me.”

Fans can re-live their epic Stagecoach performance below. 

The post Bailey Zimmerman Celebrates Fifth No. 1 With Steak and Chocolate Milk appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Jason Aldean and Kane Brown have been friends for years, and their families are close as well. The pair have even surprised fans by popping up at each other’s shows, most recently when Brown joined Aldean on stage at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville to perform “Dirt Road Anthem.” 

Despite their longtime friendship and shared appreciation for each other as artists, an official duet between the two country stars hasn’t happened…yet.

During an interview with Audacy’s Katie Neal, Aldean opened up about the potential collaboration. 

“I know where this is going already,” Aldean began with a laugh. “Kane’s reached out to me a couple times about doing something, and I’ve told him before that I’d love to do something with him. To me, those things are always, it’s all about the song. And obviously, Kane’s music and my music is really, really different, you know what I mean?” 

Aldean made it clear that while a collaboration isn’t on the immediate horizon, it’s something he’d be excited to do when the right song comes along.

“So when he sends a song to me, sometimes it’s just not really what I would normally do. And so I’ve always kind of told him it’s like, it’s about finding the right song, but I would love to do something with him. And I think it’ll happen at some point when the right thing comes along. And we just kind of haven’t found that yet.” 

Of his longtime friend, Aldean joked, “Kane likes to put me on blast.”

Throughout his career, Jason Aldean has teamed up with artists like Kelly Clarkson, Carrie Underwood, and John Morgan, while Kane Brown has collaborated with Brad Paisley, Blake Shelton, and Lauren Alaina.

Fans hoping for a duet between the two country stars may be in luck, as both are working on new music. In May, Aldean revealed he’d been in the studio and is set to release his new single, “How Far Does a Goodbye Go,” this Friday. Meanwhile, Brown hinted that the success of his hit “2 Pair” could lead to an EP or a “quick nine-song album.”

The post Jason Aldean Jokes About Kane Brown Pushing for a Collab: ‘He Likes to Put Me on Blast’ appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now