Category: Music

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After a tough few years that included a very public divorce and eventually finding love again, Morgan Evans can confidently say he is in a much better place and is ready to showcase that through his next album. Now, he’s finally ready to peel back the curtain and talk about that difficult chapter.

The country star and his now ex-wife, Kelsea Ballerini announced in August of 2022 that after five years of marriage, they would be parting ways. The divorce was finalized in November 2022. Evans stayed relatively quiet during this time, refraining from too many public interviews or statements, and instead poured himself into touring heavily as a way to distract him from the pain he was feeling.

“I remember, I think at the end of ‘22, I was like, ‘I want to be so busy next year that I don’t have time to think about my own life.’”

As he found himself in the very center of the pain and confusion he was facing after hearing his former partner say she wanted a divorce, Evans was struggling with who to trust and who to seek advice from. Especially as someone who never saw divorce unfold in his own family, this was completely new territory. So he turned to a friend in Nashville who was familiar with the hardship of being involved in public controversy: Bobby Bones.

This week, the two of them sit down for a conversation on a new episode of Bobby Bones Presents: The BobbyCast, now streaming on Netflix, where they discussed the moment he learned Ballerini wanted a divorce, the emotions that followed, and how he was able to move on and find happiness again in a new relationship.

“It all happened super quick,” Evans recalled. “From finding out that that was what Kelsea wanted to do to getting a lawyer and having a prenup and having three calls or four calls or something with the lawyer and signing the documents in the parking lot of the Ryman in the rain to going home. That all happened in three and a half, four months or something like that.”

He says it all began with a conversation with Ballerni that, from his perspective, came unexpectedly.

“Maybe that was me being naive. I don’t know, but I definitely wasn’t and it took me by surprise. But yeah, that whole time is such a blur. It almost feels like somebody else just from where I’m sitting now,” he admitted.

When word started to spread about the divorce, the Australian singer-songwriter became a target for headlines and hateful comments from fans and strangers online. Bones asked how he was able to deal with everything being said about him publicly. Evans explained he went through different stages of emotions including anger and hurt, until he eventually came to an important realization.

“…In my case, it didn’t feel like it necessarily had a lot to do with me. I think maybe I was presented or made out to be or became an archetype for any guy that had done any woman wrong during that period of time,” he shared. “And some of the stuff was just like, ‘What is this? That didn’t even make sense?’…I’d read stuff like, ‘What? What are you even talking about?’”

Evans shared that aside from “Over For You,” the devastating song that captured his feelings at the time, he didn’t write anything else for about four months while trying to process that his entire world had just changed. This led to a few more songs on his Life Upside Down EP.

“I love that song and the way people have reacted to that song have kind of changed the way that I think about how powerful music can be in a lot of ways,” he explained.

Since everything that unfolded, Morgan Evans has experienced plenty of changes in his life, including finding love again with fellow country singer Laci Kaye Booth. The pair have been together for about two years and now spend their days living together, touring, and traveling between the U.S. and Australia.

Dating wasn’t high up on Evans’ priority list for a long time, but they eventually became drawn to each other in a natural connection. He remained fairly tight lipped about their relationship, noting that he has learned from past experiences to draw a clear line between the level of detail that they choose to share publicly vs keep private.

“It’s not really like a crazy meeting story. We kind of knew each other doing radio shows and festivals and stuff like that, but a couple of years we just kind of, I don’t know, connected on that level and enjoyed each other’s company.”

He added, “I really care about her and I’m really grateful for where we’re at right now too. And I just don’t want to mess with it.”

Fans get to see a glimpse into their love for one another in their new duet, “Two Broken Hearts,” which appears on his upcoming sophomore album, Steel Town. Since it’s been so long since Morgan Evans has put out a full-length album, he says he wanted to make sure his next collection was one he was truly proud of. The product is 11 tracks that were mostly over a time he spent in Newcastle, reflecting on his life and finding himself again in his creativity.

“I was really thoughtful about the songs that I chose for this record from that period of time. Obviously wrote more than 11 songs in the last three years, but these 11 tracks to me, they all say something important on that journey of the last three years. So that was starting back in my hometown…all the way through the kind of stages of it and then finding the ground again and then building from there,” he explained.

All of these songs live under the title, Steel Town, which was written as a tribute to his hometown of Newcastle on Australia’s east coast.

“I named it after my hometown because it’s kind of where the story starts. It’s kind of where I felt like whatever this building of the next phase of my life started going home that Christmas and having that experience with the old mates and the old places and family, and that’s the place that it all built from…to be able to have a song and articulate a love for a hometown like ‘Steel Town,’ and there’s another song on the record called ‘Land I Love,’ which is about Australia as a whole,” Evans shared. “Those two songs particularly I feel like ground the record in a way that was really important and special to me. And so that’s where the name came from.” 

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Between his thriving relationship, his sophomore album dropping on March 20 and his new headline Steel Town Tour throughout Australia and New Zealand on the horizon, Morgan Evans can confidently say that life is looking pretty good at the moment.

“She’s been a rollercoaster or a ride or a haunted house maybe sometimes, but yeah, it’s good. It’s good to be alive right now. It’s good to have an Australian summer and it’s good to be back here with the record that I feel really proud about and the story to tell,” he added sincerely.

Evans opens up to the award-winning radio personality about even more, including the advice Bones offered him that helped him through that difficult time, how Keith Urban has been such an influential figure in his musical journey and more.

Find the full conversation on Netflix. New Episodes of Bobby Bones Presents: The BobbyCast drop every Tuesday and Thursday, with audio versions available on iHeartRadio and all major podcast platforms.

The post Morgan Evans Opens Up About Divorce, Finding Love Again, and His Most Personal Album Yet appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

2026 is shaping up to be the biggest year yet for rising country star Walker Montgomery. The son of country icon John Michael Montgomery recently signed with Jay DeMarcus’ Red Street Records and announced his new single, “Saving The Honky Tonks.” The move marks a major milestone for Montgomery, who has been steadily building his career in Nashville over the past several years.

As the newest addition to Red Street’s country roster, Montgomery is excited to have the label behind him as he continues the path that brought him to Music City. He already boasts 93 million global streams on his independently released songs, proving that he has carved out a significant fanbase even before major-label support. Now, with a team invested in his vision, Montgomery is ready to take the next step in his career.

“Having a single on country radio has always been a dream of mine, just like every artist who moves to town. So we’ve been trying to build those stepping stones to get to that point. And sounds like we found a good partner to do it with,” Montgomery told Country Now while backstage at the Grand Ole Opry during Conservation Aid.

Montgomery has always been drawn to the traditional side of country music, and one of the things he’s most thrilled about with Red Street is that the label recognizes and supports his signature style.

“I mean, the traditional sound is what I do. It’s what I know. My producer, Bart Butler, and I’ve kind of created that little sound in the studio that we’ve been doing, but Red Street, they really liked it and they weren’t trying to change anything,” he explained. “They see the artistic side of it just as much as I do. So it’s been good working with them.”

With a label now fully backing him, Montgomery predicts 2026 will mark a major career milestone. 

“I think it’s gearing up to probably be the biggest year of my career so far,” he said. “So it’s been a wild ride. I’ve been in town for, I think, six years now, or actually even seven. I moved here in 2019. So it’s been lots of ups and downs, but feels like we’re finally on a good track.”

Montgomery’s personal life is also thriving. He’s engaged to Tigirlily Gold’s Krista Slaubaugh, and wedding planning is already in full swing. While he says he’s leaving most of the planning to his bride, Montgomery revealed that he’s taken the reins when it comes to planning their honeymoon.

“2026 is going to be good. It’s the whole wedding planning. I mean, I’m involved in it, but I got put in charge of doing the honeymoon. And I like traveling and planning and getting … I’m a hotel guy. I’ve got all the cards and all that stuff,” he shared. “But yeah, so honeymoon, I think we’re going to Hawaii, which neither Krista or me have ever been, but we’re actually going to Europe this year because they’re out on tour with Carly Pearce and I was like, ‘Well, hell, I don’t have to work, don’t have to pay for hotels, just got to get a flight over there.’ I was like, ‘Well, I guess I’ll go to London.’”

Walker Montgomery’s  “Saving The Honky Tonks” arrives on April 3. Fans can catch him on his Saving The Honky Tonks Tour this spring.  

The post Walker Montgomery Gears Up for Major 2026 with Label Deal and New Single [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

Parker McCollum recently opened up about his longstanding admiration and connection with fellow East Texas artist Miranda Lambert.

During an interview with Danny Murphy and Evan Real on SiriusXM’s Page Six Radio, the “Pretty Heart” singer recalled meeting Lambert during their first tour together and praised her for always staying connected to her Texas roots.

“I was on tour with her right before COVID. That was kind of the first time we’d ever actually met. And we did a run of shows with her and COVID started and we didn’t play a show for I think a whole year after that,” he recalled. “But she’s an east Texas girl. I’m from east Texas, so, you know, and she’s always all through her becoming a bonafide superstar, mega superstar in country music, she’s always really stayed in close contact with kind of the Texas scene. I always noticed that.”

He continued, “And I always thought that was really cool. Like, she was bonafide mega superstar, you know, and when she played in Texas, she still have some of the Randy Rogers bands and the Wade Bowen and all those guys, she’d have them on stage or have them open those shows. And I always was like, man, that’s really impressive that she still feels, you know, that close to those, that to that whole scene.”

McCollum shared that Lambert’s example inspired him to do the same and went on to praise the country superstar for always being in his corner. 

“And so I’ve always made sure to try to do that as well as I kind of went and did the major record deal thing and she’s had some great advice for navigating all of that. I was such a fan of hers. I’ve always just thought her voice is one of my favorite voices in the history of country music,” he said. “And so I really don’t know why she’s so good to me, but I’m certainly super grateful and appreciative. She’s just one of the good ones.”

Parker McCollum and Miranda Lambert recently joined forces to support Texas after the devastating floods last summer with their Band Together Texas benefit, which raised over $8.5 million for flood relief.

The two artists also collaborated musically on Lambert’s Postcards From Texas album, teaming up for the duet “Santa Fe.”

McCollum shared his excitement over the collaboration on social media, writing, “Absolutely honored to be a part of this album. Been a huge fan of Miranda since I was just a kid so to have the opportunity to collab with her is truly a dream come true. One of the greatest talents this business has ever seen.”

The post Parker McCollum Reflects on His Longstanding Admiration for Miranda Lambert appeared first on Country Now.

​Country Now

His message to the rude audience is classic! Continue reading…​Country Music News – Taste of Country

It’s been 10 years since we lost Joey Feek, but her presence in the country world still looms large. Continue reading…​Country Music News – Taste of Country

It’s been 10 years since we lost Joey Feek, but her presence in the country world still looms large. Continue reading…​The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs