He also made a new friend that night who would change his life. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
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She has one of the most iconic names in music — but could Taylor Swift soon become Taylor Swift-Kelce?
That’s the question on the minds of many Swifties today in response to Travis Kelce’s recent social media activity.
As you’re likely aware, Taylor and Travis are engaged, and the wedding planning process has been very hush-hush, but it looks like the couple is planning to tie the knot in the next few weeks.
And according to Page Six, Travis recently “liked” an Instagram post about the possibility of Taylor changing her last name.
The post featured a clip from Barstool Sports’ “Bussin With the Boys” podcast, in which the hosts discussed the possibility of Ms. Swift becoming Mrs. Kelce.
They decided that the most likely outcome would be Taylor changing her name to Taylor Swift-Kelce.
And that conclusion earned Travis’ seal of approval, a fact that’s led many to the conclusion that he and Tay have discussed the matter and come to the same conclusion.
“Travis liking this is hilarious. that’s why he’s perfect for her,” one fan wrote in the comments.
“Love that travis liked this video,” another chimed in.
Of course, even if Taylor legally changes her name, that doesn’t mean that she’ll do so professionally.
So fear not, Swifties, you won’t need to start rebranding yourself as Swift-Kelce-ies, which really doesn’t flow at all.
In other premarital news, several media outlets have been obsessing over Taylor and Travis’ prenup, and while such a document definitely exists (Tay is a one-woman, multi-billion-dollar empire, after all), we will almost certainly never know the details of it.
And then, of course, there are the persistent rumors that Taylor is pregnant, which began even before she and Travis announced their engagement.
Like her legal last name and the terms of her prenup, the state of Taylor’s uterus is for her to reveal when and if she feels ready.
We’re sure she’s used to living under a microscope after so many years at the top of the music industry — but the scrutiny has become even more intense in the run-up to Taylor’s big day.
Travis Kelce Hints That Taylor Swift Might Change Her Name After Wedding was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
Hope springs eternal with every coaching change in the NFL, as fan bases wish the new hire can turn their team around in Year 1. And that could also be a sentiment held by players, who might believe that the right coaching staff can maximize their potential. Just under a third of the league made a change at head coach this offseason, with 10 teams hoping that their change could lead to a winning culture. But which players stand to benefit the most from the coaching changes made over the offseason? In descending order, I rank my top 10, selecting one from each of the teams that have a new coach. New Pittsburgh Steelers coach Mike McCarthy has been talking up Will Howard since his first days on the job. The 2025 sixth-round pick doesn’t have a pathway to start, barring injury — Aaron Rodgers is QB1 — but McCarthy’s extensive experience developing quarterbacks could pay major dividends for Howard, as well as 2026 third-rounder Drew Allar. Buffalo Bills coach Joe Brady has been vocal in his support of Coleman, who’s had two inconsistent seasons to start his career, after getting promoted from offensive coordinator this offseason. While the former second-round pick faces pressure to show growth in 2026, the stakes won’t be as high following the Bills’ acquisition of D.J. Moore from the Chicago Bears. So high-level production from Coleman would be a luxury for Brady’s offense, and maybe that’s the best-case scenario for the former Florida State standout. In his six seasons coaching the Cleveland Browns, Kevin Stefanski featured tight ends prominently in his offense. Harold Fannin Jr., for example, was Cleveland’s leading receiver in 2025 as a third-round rookie. So, Kyle Pitts stands to benefit from the new coaching staff in 2026. He’s coming off his best season since his rookie year — 88 catches for 928 yards and five touchdowns in ‘25 — so his upward trajectory could continue with Stefanski. Under new coach Todd Monken, the Cleveland Browns have loaded up their receiving core, adding two top-40 picks in KC Concepcion (first round) and Denzel Boston (second round) to a group that already included Jerry Jeudy and Harold Fannin Jr. The attention that Cleveland’s passing game should command is expected to open up the box for Quinshon Judkins, who’ll also have a rebuilt offensive line in front of him in 2026. New Arizona Cardinals coach Mike LaFleur’s experience in the pass game and as a wide receiver coach could help Marvin Harrison Jr. finally unlock his potential. A former No. 4 overall pick, Harrison should have plenty of single coverage opportunities downfield thanks to the pass-catching talent around him (star tight end Trey McBride, fellow wide receiver Michael Wilson) and rookie running back Jeremiyah Love’s presence forcing safeties to drop into the box. The run game was a key part of John Harbaugh’s success with the Baltimore Ravens, and that’s already been a priority early in his tenure with the New York Giants. New York signed perennial Pro Bowl fullback Patrick Ricard in free agency and drafted Miami (Fla.) offensive lineman Francis Mauigoa with the 10th overall pick to play guard. That makes Cam Skattebo, whose rookie season was cut short after eight games, a big winner as he returns from Not long after he became the Las Vegas Raiders’ head coach, Klint Kubiak said he envisions a Christian McCaffrey-like role for Ashton Jeanty in the offense. So, the former No. 6 overall pick’s touches could increase from the big workload he had as a rookie (321 touches, sixth in the NFL). Kubiak’s wide zone run scheme should present more opportunities for Jeanty to display his playmaking ability in the open field. The Miami Dolphins cut ties with several core players shortly after head coach Jeff Hafley and general manager Jon-Eric Sullivan were hired this offseason. One player they prioritized, though, was De’Von Achane. The standout running back received a four-year extension earlier in May. The versatile Achane will now be the engine of the Dolphins’ offense, giving new starting quarterback Malik Willis something to work with as the team arguably has the least talented wide receiver room in the NFL. Malaki Starks quickly received praise from new Baltimore Ravens head coach Jesse Minter. Minter said the 2025 first-round pick could be “a household type of name in the secondary” in a conversation with ESPN. It helps that Minter, who was the Los Angeles Chargers’ defensive coordinator the previous two seasons, has an extensive background in coaching defensive backs to guide the second-year pro. Starks played more snaps than any other Baltimore defender last season, positioning him to take a step forward from an encouraging rookie campaign. Tennessee Titans coach Robert Saleh has kept Cam Ward’s development top-of-mind in his first several months on the job. He got Ward much-needed wide receiver help in Ohio State’s Carnell Tate with the fourth overall pick, bypassing the top defenders on the board, and has paired the second-year quarterback with an experienced offensive coordinator in Brian Daboll, who helped develop Josh Allen into one of the league’s best quarterbacks in Buffalo.Latest Sports News from FOX Sports
![<a href="https://countrynow.com/chase-rice-honors-his-parents-love-story-with-new-song-connie-lou-talks-limited-edition-beer-chords-jeans-exclusive/" target="_blank">Chase Rice Honors His Parents’ Love Story With New Song, ‘Connie Lou,’ Talks Limited-Edition ‘Beer Chords’ Jeans [Exclusive]</a>](https://countrynow.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/05/1-35-1024x683.jpg)
Chase Rice first established a partnership with Coors back in August of 2022 when he reached out to the company to get permission to use an old photograph of his late father holding two Coors Banquet beers, as the cover of his I Hate Cowboys & All Dogs Go to Hell album. Now, nearly four years later, Rice is once again teaming up with Coors Banquet, this time alongside Wrangler, to honor another important figure in his life: his mom.
Rice has been a longtime fan of Coors Banquets, and he’s proudly worn Wranglers on stage plenty over the last 15 years, making this new partnership a “natural fit.” When the opportunity came around, he knew he wanted to do something more than just create a jingle type song with no real meaning.
Over the years, the country singer has written several songs inspired by his father who suddenly passed away in 2008. That album cover holds a lot of memories for Rice and while looking at it one day, he realized that he didn’t have any songs for his mom in his catalog. This new campaign felt like just the right time to change that. And so, the idea for his brand-new track “Connie Lou,” was born.
“When I knew they were working together, we talked about a possible song. I wasn’t sure where that would go…I kind of wrote the chorus in my breakfast room, and then I was writing with Dan Couch and Oscar Charles one day. And I said, ‘I kind of got this idea…if we’re ever going to do a partnership that is involved around a song, I don’t want it to be that jingle thing. I want it to be a great song and I want it to tell a story because that’s kind of what I’ve been doing the last three records is telling stories,” he explained to Country Now.
Plus, when it came to writing his first song about his mom, Rice was firm in the fact that it had to be something good.
“It’s got to respect her, and it’s got to respect the two brands as well. And that was a natural, easy song to write once we finally started going down the road. Dan asked me, ‘what’s her middle name?’ And Connie Lou is her actual middle name. I haven’t called her that in years, but when I played it for her at Red Rocks, that was a really special one…”
Rice assured his mom that this song wasn’t slow and wouldn’t make her cry tears of sadness. Instead, it became almost a sequel to Rice’s “Circa 1943,” a previous release inspired by his grandparents, as he tells the story of how his parents first met at a rodeo in 1978 and fell so in love that they were married by the very next year.
“We figured if we’re going to go down the road of Circa and Harold and Bernice are in the song, that’s all the sequel to ‘Circa 1943.’ This was Circa 1978 and they were married in 1979. So it was a natural fit with the brands.”
The tune, arriving May 29, begins by describing Connie Lou as a “raised right Baptist” who was “a little more wild than her sister Katherine.” Rice reveals that her parents, Harold and Berniece always prayed that she would find a “got it together guy” one day. However, instead of falling for a doctor or lawyer, her heart was stolen by a man wearing “a felt hat and Wranglers” who was “sippin’ Coors Banquets.” Throughout the tune, the true story includes effortless nods to the brands and culture that have shaped Rice’s life and music, further proving that this collaboration couldn’t be more fitting for the singer/songwriter.
“Connie fell for a felt hat and Wranglers/ On that Friday sippin’ Coors Banquets / He was the Cool Hand Luke of western Wyoming/ She was the belle of the dance hall/ She saw a wild young mustang ready to tame/ He saw the one that never got away/ Circa 1978 and the cowgirls sang/ Na na na na na na na na na na na na na na na/ They sure sang,” Rice delivers on the chorus.
The story goes on to chronicle their life together, from getting married, owning a house and welcoming their “first little buckaroo.”
Rice was right when he promised his mother that the song would have a more upbeat, positive tone to it. “Connie Lou” is a feel-good, love-filled anthem that captures the joy of finding the right person and building a life together, wrapped in a timeless country sound full of heart and small-town, southern charm.
“I think it took her back to a really happy place of their relationship,” Rice shared of his mom’s reaction to the song. “And that’s what I wanted to be, especially, like I said, with summer festival season coming up, that’s where we’re really going to hammer this song at our live shows. So it’s going to give us a song that’s celebratory during our set as opposed to something sad.”
The singer goes on to note that he was “really excited” that Coors and Wrangler were both open to him putting together an actual story as a way to represent their brands.
“I wanted to stick true to who I am, but also working with these two American heritage brands was awesome for me because that’s what I wore in high school, that’s what I wore in middle school, that’s what I’ve worn on stage for years and the Beers, Coors banquet’s what I’ve drank because of my dad. So I’m really glad that it all came together and they were excited about the song.”
@chasericemusic
This marks the third collaboration between Coors Banquet and Wrangler, further celebrating the shared connection between country music, Western culture and storytelling. In addition to the song, “Connie Lou” also inspired a limited-edition pair of Wrangler’s signature “Beer Chords,” jeans featuring the chords from Rice’s new song printed directly onto the denim using ink infused with Coors Banquet beer, marking a first-of-its-kind design.
“I thought it was pretty perfect because I’ve done a lot of summer festivals over the years. There’s a lot of wranglers in the crowd…So it’s pretty perfect and fitting and there’s a lot of Coors Banquets at summer concerts as well,” he shared. “I think it’s really cool that they did it and you’re wearing the chords and the sound of a song on your jeans to a concert. I don’t think it could be written in the beer that you are drinking, so I don’t think it could be a better combo for summer.”
Alongside the “Beer Chords,” The Coors Banquet x Wrangler Collection will feature 32 unique pieces, including men’s and women’s apparel and co-branded caps. Highlights include the Denim Jersey, Brushpopper Cowboy Cut Work Shirt, Men’s Wrangler 13MWZ Cowboy Cut® Jeans, Women’s Reworked Short and Women’s Printed Vest and Bailey Flare Jeans.
The limited-edition collection will also offer just 250 pairs of the signature “Beer Chords,” released in two separate drops of 125 pairs beginning May 28 and June 4 at 12 p.m. CT at shop.coors.com while supplies last. Meanwhile, Chase Rice’s newest song, “Connie Lou” will arrive tomorrow, on May 29.
This collection marks the latest chapter in the brand’s “Start Your Legacy” campaign, a creative platform inspired by Coors Banquet’s western roots and more than 150-year history. Centered around encouraging people to chase bigger opportunities, the campaign also includes the “Connie Lou” Cover Contest, giving one emerging artist the chance to step into the spotlight and perform the song live onstage with Chase Rice.
In celebration of the collaboration, Chase Rice will debut “Connie Lou” during a surprise pop-up concert in Nashville tonight (May 28) as the brands take over the parking lot of Midtown hotspot Loser’s Most Wanted Bar & Grill for a celebratory block party launch event. Admission is free to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.
The post Chase Rice Honors His Parents’ Love Story With New Song, ‘Connie Lou,’ Talks Limited-Edition ‘Beer Chords’ Jeans [Exclusive] appeared first on Country Now.
Country Now
This fruity and bubbly two-ingredient summer cocktail tastes great whether you make individual glasses fresh or mix up a pitcher ahead of time.
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A video has gone viral after an influencer and athlete shared bodycam footage of her traffic stop.
The bad news — or, at least, the weird news is that she’s accused of something that’s physically impossible.
In the video, the officer accuses her of scrolling through her phone with her right hand while driving. But she doesn’t have a right hand.
She’s an amputee. Instead of apologizing, the officer still issued the ticket, nearly forcing her to come to court months later.
She had a rock-solid alibi
On February 11, a Palm Beach County police deputy pulled over Kathleen Thomas.
Katie is a 36-year-old adaptive athlete. She is also an influencer.
She does not have a right hand. Like many disabled folks, she is still able to do many things — such a drive. She just does it a little differently than someone with two hands might.
Back in February, the deputy explained that his department was doing extra enforcement surrounding distracted driving. He claimed to have seen her holding a phone in her right hand.
Someone holding a phone in their right hand would likely be distracted. However, Katie had a pretty good alibi.
As you can see from the bodycam footage — first released to Katie as discovery, then distributed on social media to widespread laughter — the officer walks up to issue the citation.
Even though Katie shows that she does not have a right hand, the officer was undeterred.
Now, this could have gone worse. Some traffic stops end in deadly shootouts, after all.
But the deputy persisted, issuing a citation — a $116 ticket, under Florida law.
He even bizarrely asked her to swear “hand to god” that she had not been holding a phone. That was a poor choice of words.
I have been uncontrollably wheezing at this all morning https://t.co/o8BLtH7Lcd pic.twitter.com/PkVDApE95D
— Grip Skylark 💕✨ (@talleyberrybaby) May 27, 2026
Case dismissed!
CBS12 has confirmed that Katie will not, in fact, have to pay a fine for a traffic violation that would only be possible through telekinesis.
(Point of order, Florida law doesn’t actually outlaw holding a phone. She would have had to have been using it, such as to text someone, to run into legal trouble.)
As it turned out, she did not even have to make her argument in court.
The officer who made the traffic stop requested that the charge be dropped.
Katie would have had to show up to court this week. Instead, her citation has been dismissed without issue.
Distracted driving does endanger — and end — lives.
That didn’t start with the invention of the cellphone, but mobile devices definitely make it a more widespread phenomenon.
But, obviously, Katie wasn’t endangering anyone. (And if she was distracted, it’s very unlikely that it could be proven in court.)
Changing driver behavior requires publicity and education. Otherwise, an enforcement blitz just looks like a cash grab from a police department.
Katie’s case wasn’t really about driving safety or disability rights. It came down to a particularly absurd example of someone refusing to back down in the moment. That’s a very human thing to do, but it’s also very funny.
Case Dismissed Against One-Handed Woman After Traffic Stop was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.
The Hollywood Gossip
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As Kip Moore grapples with the loss of his mentor, the music world feels the weight of a talented songwriter gone too soon. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country
As Kip Moore grapples with the loss of his mentor, the music world feels the weight of a talented songwriter gone too soon. Continue reading…The Boot – Country Music News, Music Videos and Songs
E-cigarette products, also called vapes, are advertised in the windows of a tobacco shop in Midtown Anchorage, seen May 26, 2026. Lawmakers have passed a bill that would impose Alaska’s first state tax on e-cigarette products. (Photo by Yereth Rosen/Alaska Beacon)
Four years after Gov. Dunleavy vetoed a similar measure, lawmakers passed a bill imposing state’s first tax on electronic cigarettes and related products.
The legislature’s approval of Senate Bill 24 was a victory for Senate President Gary Stevens, R-Kodiak. It was the third such bill sponsored by Stevens, who is retiring this year.
“This bill is about protecting our children from becoming addicted to nicotine,” Stevens said in testimony to the House Finance Committee on May 7.
The bill is intended to counter the multibillion-dollar tobacco industry’s efforts “to addict young people to these substances” in the face of declining use of traditional cigarettes, he said.
E-cigarette products use battery-operated devices to produce vapors that are inhaled, a contrast with traditional tobacco that is burned. They were not widely marketed in 2006, the last time Alaska’s state tobacco tax was adjusted. While many Alaska municipalities have updated their tax systems to include e-cigarette products, the state had not.
If it becomes law, the bill would impose a 25% tax on retail products, as well as prohibit purchases by anyone under 21, the same legal age for traditional tobacco purchases.
Supporters of the bill said the tax and the age restriction would discourage youth use of the product, just as higher taxes and other restrictions contributed to a reduction in youth smoking.
“We know that tobacco and nicotine are highly addictive drugs. The younger you start, the more severe your addiction is likely to be, and if we can delay your introduction to the product, the less likely you are to become addicted. Young people are also price-sensitive,” Rep. Sara Hannan, D-Juneau, who carried Stevens’ bill in the House, said in floor debate on May 19, the second-to-last day of the session.
Opponents objected to the idea of a new tax, and they also argued that vaping should be treated as more benign than smoking.
“My concern is that this isn’t a tobacco bill. This is a tax bill. This is tax, tax, tax,” said Rep. Jamie Allard, R-Eagle River. She added that she believes 18- and 19-year-olds should have the right to smoke or vape.
“My point about this whole thing is freedom. They’re not doing anything wrong, and now you’re imposing a law to take people’s freedom away that doesn’t impair them. So, what’s next? We need to stop. These are adults,” she said.
The bill passed the House 24-16, and the Senate concurred the next day by a vote of 15-5.
Evolution of the bill
During public testimony on the bill, some opponents said that vaping is a safer alternative to smoking, an argument that the industry has made.
Health experts take issue with the claim. While e-cigarettes expose users to fewer toxic chemicals than cigarettes do, they also pose health risks. Along with leading to nicotine additions, they are associated with a dangerous lung condition called EVALI, which stands for e-cigarette or vaping use-associated lung injury.
Stevens’ first bill on the subject passed in 2022 by wide margins, but Dunleavy vetoed it, citing his desire to avoid new taxes. Another version died in 2024 after members of the House, then with a Republican majority, stripped the e-cigarette tax provisions from it and added a reduction in marijuana taxes.
A key difference between the 2022 bill and the new bill is the way the tax is applied. The previously passed bill would have imposed a 45% tax at the wholesale level. The newly passed bill applies a 25% tax on the retail level.
The change reflects the varying types of e-cigarette products. While some are sold as complete units, others are not supplied to retailers as finished products. Instead, they are assembled by retailers from liquids and other components, and it would be very difficult to track down all those suppliers to impose a wholesale-level tax, bill supporters said.
Senate Bill 24 underwent other changes on its way to final passage.
The most controversial was an amendment that allows indoor smoking at designated cigar bars. It was added by Rep. Kevin McCabe, R-Big Lake, during House floor debate on May 19, the second-to-last day of the session.
He said it would help local economies by allowing for specialty cigar bars that can be operated separately from any other food or beverage establishments. He pointed to successful cigar bars operating elsewhere in the nation.
“Frankly, Mr. Speaker, some adults just want a nice quiet place to go enjoy a nice premium cigar,” McCabe said in floor debate.
While anti-tobacco organizations advocated for Senate Bill 24 and previous versions of it, they said the cigar amendment undermines protections for smokefree environments.
“The scientific evidence is clear: there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke, and cigar smoke is no exception. Cigars produce large volumes of toxic smoke that damage the heart and increase the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer and lung disease—for workers and patrons alike. The only safeguard against secondhand smoke is not to allow it,” said a statement issued by the American Heart Association, the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network and the American Lung Association.
A different amendment, approved during the committee process, added synthetic nicotine products to the tax program. Those products are generally sold in pouches and deliver nicotine that is derived through a lab process rather than from tobacco.
Another change dropped the maximum fine for a minor possessing tobacco or nicotine products from $300, as proposed in the original form of the bill, to $100.
Federal policy
The federal government, like Alaska, currently imposes no excise tax on e-cigarette products, even though most states do. Democrats in Congress have tried to impose a federal e-cigarette tax since 2019 through a bill called the Tobacco Tax Equity Act, but the bill has yet to pass.
Among those who opposed it is Sen. Dan Sullivan, R-Alaska. In a 2022 message, Sullivan said he opposed increased tobacco taxes, “even if done to curb tobacco use,” arguing that they are unfair to low-income consumers. And he said e-cigarette use should not be discouraged through taxation. “If taxes are raised on these products, I worry that it could exacerbate smoking issues by disincentivizing the use of these safer products,” he said in his message.
Legislative opponents of Senate Bill 24 cited Sullivan’s position on federal legislation in their arguments against a state tax.
The Alaska legislation comes as the Trump administration is loosening restrictions on e-cigarette products.
President Donald Trump has positioned himself as an ally of the industry. During the 2024 campaign, he pledged to “save vaping.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on May 5 authorized the use of four types of flavored vapes, including mango and blueberry, over public health advocates’ objections. Days before the FDA announced its decision, a subsidiary of tobacco company Reynolds American donated $5 million to MAGA Inc., a pro-Trump political action committee.
The Vapor Technology Association, an industry group, welcomed the FDA decision allowing fruit-flavored products back on the shelves and lauded Trump for it. But the group said it was only a “first step.”
The e-cigarette industry has lost some customers in recent years. Youth use of the products is down from a peak reached in 2019, both nationally and in Alaska, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Alaska Department of Health.
Researchers attributed the decline in part to past bans on flavored products. And the CDC cited education campaigns to discourage youth vaping. The Alaska Division of Public Health is among the agencies involved in such campaigns; it has a youth-focused program called “Not Buying It.”
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Even a country star can’t escape the tight grip of set security. Continue reading…Country Music News – Taste of Country