In 2025, George Strait predicted he had ‘maybe five good years’ left before stepping away from the stage. But a new announcement makes it seem like he could be moving his retirement timeline up a bit. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
A high school football team has become something of an internet sensation thanks to its unique tradition of honoring Toby Keith following a big win.
Willcox High School in Willcox, Arizona, is home to the Willcox Cowboys, so it’s only fitting that the team has a longstanding tradition of celebrating victories by gathering on the sidelines and singing along to Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been A Cowboy.” That tradition continues this year.
In a video shared by Colby Photography, the team can be seen lining up on the sidelines following a victory. As Toby Keith’s “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” blasts through the loudspeakers, the players get ready for their big moment. The cheerleaders gather nearby to watch, and when the chorus hits, the team sings the iconic song together as the field lights glow red.
Willcox Cowboys
“I should’ve been a cowboy/ I should’ve learned to rope and ride/ Wearin’ my six-shooter, ridin’ my pony on a cattle drive/ Stealin’ the young girls’ hearts/ Just like Gene and Roy/ Singin’ those campfire songs/ Whoa, I should’ve been a cowboy,” they sing in unison.
The crowd can be seen standing in the bleachers as horns, whistles and cheers erupt from the stands when the team finishes their rendition.
The video has racked up nearly 400,000 views on Instagram alone, with the caption reading: “Someone told me when the Willcox Cowboys win a game they all line up to sing a Toby Keith song as part of their celebration. I was skeptical at first but, apparently it was true. What a cool celebration to witness.”
According to another Instagram user, the tradition dates back to the early 2000s.
“Graduated in 2001… can confirm we were doing it then,” she proudly shared.
Another person pointed out just how meaningful the tradition could become for the players, writing, “Imagine doing this as a celebration not even knowing you are creating a core memory for a lifetime!”
One commenter summed it up best: “I think Toby would approve.”
Toby Keith; Photo by Richard McLaren
Released in 1993, “Should’ve Been A Cowboy” remains one of country music’s most recognizable songs. The track served as Toby Keith’s debut single and spent two weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, launching a career that would go on to become one of the most influential catalogs in modern country music. Throughout his career, Keith earned 32 No. 1 singles and sold more than 40 million albums worldwide.
Toby Keith passed away on February 5, 2024, following a battle with stomach cancer. He was 62 years old.
More than two years after his passing, Keith’s music continues to bring people together, create memories and make an impact on fans, including a new generation of country music lovers who are keeping his songs alive in their own way.
Lauren Alaina returns with her new album, STAGES, a deeply personal 17-song collection divided into three defining chapters of her life. The project chronicles the moments that helped shape the woman, wife and mother she is today, beginning with Stage One: The Dreaming, followed by Stage Two: The Breaking and Stage Three: The Becoming.
The first stage takes listeners back to Alaina’s childhood growing up in Rossville, Georgia, surrounded by family and friends. From attending church to eventually making the life-changing decision to audition for American Idol, these early experiences helped shape the person she would become and set her on a path toward pursuing music in Nashville.
One of the songs featured in the first stage of the album is “Babies Raising Babies,” which Alaina co-wrote with Ben Hayslip and Matt Jenkins. A quick glance at the track list reveals a duet partner alongside Alaina’s name: Tyler Suddeth.
Lauren Alaina – Babies Raising Babies
While the album also features recognizable names like Kane Brown on “Never Been In Love” and Chase Matthew on “All My Exes,” Suddeth may not be a name immediately familiar to fans. However, he holds a very special place in Alaina’s life: he’s her older brother.
During a recent appearance on The Bobby Bones Show, Alaina opened up about why she wanted to begin the album with a song featuring her brother and shared the sweet story behind how their collaboration came to life.
“I start the record with a song that I sing with my brother,” she explained. “He sings in his church choir. He sings in church every Sunday. He sang at the Opry with me a couple of times, but he loves to sing. He’s just very shy. I soaked up every bit of the outgoing personality in the house, so he was the quiet one.”
Alaina said her brother had actually approached her a few years ago with the idea of recording together, even if the song never saw the light of day.
“But he came to me a couple of years ago and said, ‘I know I work at Costco and you have a label and all of these things, but I would really love to record a song with you one day, even if we never released it,’” she recalled.
That conversation ultimately inspired Alaina to write “Babies Raising Babies,” a song she originally wrote about her brother and his wife. The timing of the song’s release ended up becoming even more meaningful as Alaina’s own life began to mirror the story she had written about.
“And so I actually wrote, it’s called ‘Babies Raising Babies,’ and I wrote it about him and his wife and we recorded it together,” she said. “And the timing’s kind of crazy because I wrote it four years ago and then I got married and I had Beni and the album release moved significantly. And now that we have this song out and I’m also raising a baby, it’s kind of crazy the way the timing worked out.”
The singer-songwriter said she is “so proud” of the way the collaboration turned out.
Lauren Alaina – Stages
“I say, ‘Sing it, Bubba,’ before the second verse. And that’s my favorite part because then he sings and he’s so good. He’s actually so good. He’s just really shy,” she shared. “So we’re working on that. But he’s been singing in church every Sunday for a couple of years now and it’s really helped him with his stage fright and stuff.”
STAGES closes with another deeply personal moment, the previously released “Heaven Sent,” a heartfelt tribute to her late father that makes the album’s final chapter even more meaningful.
Hot on the heels of the release of her brand-new album,Honest Woman, Carly Pearce is turning heads with the release of the “Same Circus” music video, bringing the brutally honest song about realizing you’re stuck in the same relationship cycle (just with a different clown each time) to life.
The newly released clip places Pearce at the center of a traveling circus, surrounded by colorful characters including a tarot card reader, a juggler and people on stilts putting on a show for the crowd. But at the center of the story is Pearce and her revolving door of lovers, who eventually morph into clowns as she realizes she keeps finding herself in the same troubling situations with the men she dates.
Using the circus as a metaphor for her love life, Pearce moves on to someone new, only to find herself right back where she started, dealing with another “different clown.”
Carly Pearce, Same Circus Video
“Same stage, different show / Different cowboy, same damn rodeo / Oh, I shoulda known / Different boots, different names / They all break my heart the same / ’Fore they pack up to skip to the next town / Same circus, different clown,” she sings.
Written by Pearce alongside Lauren Hungate, Jordan Reynolds, and Emily Weisband, “Same Circus” is a standout on the 16-track collection, which also features Pearce’s chart-climbing single, “If I Don’t Leave I’m Gonna Stay” featuring Riley Green as well as fan-favorites like “Happy For Myself” and “You Can Have Him.”
In just a few days, Pearce will embark on her “Honest Woman: Up Close” tour, bringing the new project to fans across the country in a special way.
“The Honest Woman Tour for me, I’ve gotten to do a lot over the last 10 years. I’ve played pretty much every kind of venue that you can imagine. And so this tour, I wanted to do something really for the fans,” she recently explained to Country Now. “And I think when people come to my shows, what I have realized, they come to hear my stories and they come to hear me sing. They don’t come for a show, they come for those honest moments. And I wanted this album that really does feel like the most me moment of my life in general. I wanted it to feel special. So they are limited shows, two nights in each city and just really about the storytelling and the music and being really like tangible with these people.”
Fans can catch Pearce on the intimate tour beginning September 10 through October 22.
Carly Pearce – Honest Woman
CARLY PEARCE – “HONEST WOMAN: UP CLOSE” ROUTING
Thursday, September 10 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall*
Friday, September 11 – Detroit, MI – Saint Andrew’s Hall*
Wednesday, September 16 – Chicago, IL – Joe’s on Weed*
Thursday, September 17 – Chicago, IL – Joe’s on Weed*
Friday, September 18 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line*
Saturday, September 19 – Minneapolis, MN – Fine Line*
Sunday, September 27 – Los Angeles, CA – The Troubadour*
Tuesday, September 29 – Los Angeles, CA – GRAMMY Museum
Thursday, October 15 – Toronto, ON – Toronto Opera House*
Friday, October 16 – Toronto, ON – Toronto Opera House*
Sunday, October 18 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair*
Monday, October 19 – Boston, MA – The Sinclair*
Wednesday, October 21 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre*
Thursday, October 22 – New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre*
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