Kolby Cooper kicks off his latest album, Love You, Goodnight, with the electrifying smash hit “Under My Skin.” Dubbed “Country music’s newest badass” (People), Cooper will release his fiercely passionate and soul-stirring album—a thrill ride where raw emotion meets rebel spirit and unfiltered storytelling, blending gritty authenticity with soaring melodies—on Friday, April 11.

“It just feels like the most ‘me’ album we’ve ever made. I wasn’t even trying to force this sound out,” Cooper shares in anticipation. “I was just sitting down like ‘Let’s write something badass.’ I hope the lyrics carry the weight of how cool the production is, how hard we worked on it, and the countless hours I’ve spent making sure it told a story.”

Establishing himself as a skilled songwriter, Cooper has been recognized as “the current buzzworthy artist in country music” (People) and is making waves with his 2025 headlining tour. At just 25 years old, he has spent the past six years captivating audiences and is “well on his way to headlining shows at Yankee Stadium and Red Rocks Amphitheatre” (Sounds Like Nashville).

The brand-new album arrives as Cooper has amassed over 440 million on-demand streams, made his Grand Ole Opry debut and filled stages across the country, including dates opening for acts like Jelly Roll and Koe Wetzel. The Texas native and father of three presents Love You, Goodnight, featuring 14 incendiary anthems, each showcasing a different facet of life on the road. All written or co-written by Cooper, including a powerhouse duet with fellow Texan Danielle Bradbery, the country outlier has already given fans a sneak peak with previously released heart-pounding tracks like “Running Away,” “Hate You Too,” “Kill Me,” “Mama” and the poignant “Hello From The Road.”

About Kolby Cooper:
As an old-school troubadour whose fans keep him on the road, Kolby Cooper has spent the last six years winning one crowd after another, and slowly building his rep as a rough-around-the-edges, country-rock phenom. But the infinite horizons of the highway come with a cost. Dialing up Love You, Goodnight in response – his second album for BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville with Combustion Music – the burning conflict within his late night calls home becomes a blowtorch of country grunge, as a modern-day outlaw shoots from the sonic hip, pushing his sound to its high-voltage limit. A 25-year-old husband and father of three, the Texas native grew up in the shotgun seat of his long-haul trucking family members, switching CDs between Waylon Jennings and Cross Canadian Ragweed – but also Nirvana, Blink-182, and more. Starting his own career at 18, the singer-songwriter soon reached exit velocity on his orbit through the Texan live circuit, and his grassroots fan base now drives sold-out national headline tours and supporting runs with Jelly Roll, Koe Wetzel and more. Meanwhile, Cooper has racked up over 440 million on-demand streams, a Grand Ole Opry debut, and industry-wide accolades, dubbed “country music’s newest badass” by People. Featuring 14 fuse-busting anthems – each one revealing a different aspect of life on the road, written or co-written by Cooper himself – Love You, Goodnight arrives as a hard-hitting fusion of the Texas country tradition with 2000s-era alt-rock, metal and punk. This ferocious follow up to Cooper’s roughshod Red Dirt beginnings marks a heavy creative turn to match his heavy soul. More than sonic aggression, these tunes depict epic emotionality and an edgy, East-Texan rasp.

One of Nashville’s most promising rising artists, Grace Tyler, has released her debut EP, Everything I Didn’t Say, out now. The emotionally gripping project chronicles in sequence the downfall of a once unshakable relationship. Tyler’s raw and honest songwriting, and impressive vocal, details the heartbreaking reflection of not being able to truly say the things she wished she had to the man who broke her.

“Everything I didn’t say. The words I thought of days, weeks, months after it all ended. Sometimes you think of everything you want to say when it’s too late. This EP allowed me to say it all without having to say it to his face. It was a process of healing – taking the listener along for every step of the process following a breakup. I’m so proud of this project and so excited to finally share it!” -Grace Tyler

Tyler teamed up with Raised Rowdy for a spectacular celebration of talent for her EP Release Party held at Loser’s bar in Nashville. The night included guest performances from Averie Bielski, Ryan Kohn, Olivia Daponte, Carson Wallace, Ben Foster and Kinsley. Tyler then took the stage with her full band to perform the full EP, plus her soon to be released track, “Heal the Heart You Broke” and closed the show with her 2022 track, “Cowboys & Tequila.”

About Grace Tyler:

Born and raised in Frisco, TX, Grace Tyler was indoctrinated at an early age by the melodies of her idols such as Dolly Parton, George Strait and Miranda Lambert. With a vocal presence and songwriting sensibility that harnesses traditional Country music roots with contemporary appeal. Cutting her teeth as a performer in her teens, Tyler performed at venues throughout the Texas Country and Red Dirt music scene. After gaining industry recognition, she moved to Nashville to attend Belmont University and hone her craft – taking mentorship from multi-Platinum recording artist and unequivocal storyteller, Lee Brice. Tyler first felt the taste of fame when publishing “My Mistake,” the viral breakup single which first captured ears and hearts on TikTok. She was awarded the cover of Texas Country Now playlist on Spotify June of 2022, playlist placement on Fresh Finds all genres and Fresh Finds Country. Tyler also performed for Spotify’s Coastal Cowgirls series in Venice Beach, CA (April 2024) and her first CMA Fest performances of her young career (June 2024) via Spotify’s Fresh Finds Stage and Hard Rock Stage at Hard Rock Cafe. Tyler has also been featured on the cover of Amazon’s “Breakthrough Country” playlist for her song, “Lose Me,” currently sitting at #3 (Dec. 2024), and was 1 of 8 multi-genre artists nominated for Spotify’s “Fresh Finds Favorites” with her song, “Weak Man,” (Nov. 2024). At the end of 2024, the rising star hit the road on her first tour, opening for popular Texas act, Shane Smith and the Saints. Tyler’s debut EP, Everything I Didn’t Say, was released on March 14th. The testimonial collection is a raw and honest recounting of all the things one holds back from saying and this is Tyler’s emotional unburdening and marks a path forward to her next chapter.

Veteran hit country singer-songwriter Bill Nash, and his son Jimmy Nash will release their swanky new single “Locked In Your Lovin’ Arms” [pre-save here] on Friday, March 21 from Cloverdale Music. Bill’s son Jimmy has both songwriting and production credits on the new single, along with renowned Nashville music producer Kenny Royster (Luke Combs, Trace Adkins, Craig Morgan) who recorded the EP at his Direct Image Recording Studio in the Broadway corridor.

“Locked In Your Lovin’ Arms” is the first single from their forthcoming new EP – Oh Hank – honoring the musical legacy and artistic singing style of Hank Williams Sr. The five-song EP will be available everywhere digitally on Friday, June 6th.

“I told my son, Jimmy, I wanted to do a Hank tribute, and he had already written this song for me to feature my yodel, just like I do on Hank songs,” Bill said. “It was a perfect fit!”

“Locked In Your Lovin’ Arms” will also be getting a visual treatment, as the Nash’s will be filming a new music video around Houston and Nashville this month, for an anticipated late spring or early summer release. The video will be produced and directed by Tommy Mauser and Jimmy Nash.

“Hank Williams songs were the first songs I sang as a young, aspiring singer-songwriter,” Nash recalled. “Little did I know that those Hank songs would be the start of my Country career, that led me to Houston, and then Nashville, and on to 5 major labels, and a lifetime in music. This EP of songs tributing Hank’s timeless style was a labor of love.”

About Bill Nash:

Bill Nash is a country singer-songwriter whose career spans seven decades, and five major record labels. Along with his wife and songwriting partner, Kim Nash, they have written hit songs for Reba McEntire, Diamond Rio, Eddy Arnold among others. As a solo artist, Bill Nash was the first artist to record the Kris Kristofferson classic song, “For The Good Times,” in 1967. Nash’s song, “You Can’t Say Love Enough,” was recorded by Dolly Parton, Wayne Newton, Larry Gatlin and 16 other stars for the Juvenile Diabetes Association in 2009.

Bill and Kim currently reside in Houston, Texas, and love to travel and spend every minute possible with their grandkids. They also founded Champions Kids Camp, a camp for survivors of traumatic events, in honor of their oldest son’s healing of leukemia.

Multi-platinum-selling Quartz Hill Records artist Joe Nichols was honored Friday evening (2/28) with a Pandora Billionaire Plaque after his performance at SiriusXM The Highway’s weekly Music Row Happy Hour at Margaritaville in the heart of downtown Nashville.

Nichols was surprised with the coveted plaque – which is presented to artists that have achieved OVER ONE BILLION song streams on Pandora – by SiriusXM The Highway host Buzz Brainard. Joining Nichols and Brainard onstage was Bekah Digby, Associate Director of Talent & Industry Relations – Country & Christian at SiriusXM and Pandora, who also represented Johnny Chiang, Vice President of Music Programming – Country at SiriusXM and Pandora.

“Joe Nichols’ music has been a staple for country fans for over two decades,” said Chiang. “Hitting a billion streams on Pandora is a testament to his staying power and the deep connection he has with his listeners. We’re thrilled to celebrate this incredible milestone with him.”

“This means the world to me,” said Nichols. “To the Pandora listeners, thank you for caring enough to engage with my music, which is what I’ve wanted most from the time I was a kid. And to Pandora, thank you for giving me a platform to play my music on and giving me the chance to go out there and meet the fans.”

The Music Row Happy Hour’s live audience enthusiastically sang along to Nichols’ three-song set, which included two of his No. 1 country classics, “Brokenheartsville” and “Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off,” as well as a new fan favorite, “Helpless in a Honky Tonk,” from Nichols’ 11th studio album, Honky Tonks and Country Songs, released this past Fall.

The Pandora Billionaire honor came the same week that the album’s first radio single, “Better Than You,” a powerhouse duet with rising star Annie Bosko, broke into the Top 40 at U.S. Country Radio (Mediabase).

The steamy, emotionally charged “Better Than You” entered the airwaves as a Top 5 Most Added Song at U.S. Country Radio (Mediabase)for five consecutive weeks, including one week before the track’s official impact date. Additionally, the duet has been a Top 10 Most Added Song for nine non-consecutive weeks and has earned triple-digit radio adds to-date.

“Better Than You” has garnered critical praise, including from legendary MusicRow critic Robert K. Oermann, who described the vocal chemistry between Nichols and Bosko as “Goosebump-thrilling sounding” and awarded Bosko his DISCovery Award “for her sterling work alongside the mighty Joe Nichols.” New Music Weekly, meanwhile, gushed that Nichols and Bosko have delivered “what has to be one of the best duets in town.”

Penned by chart-topping songwriters Derek George (Darius Rucker’s No. 1 “For the First Time”) and John Pierce (Zac Brown’s No. 1 “Sweet Annie”), and produced by George with Mickey Jack Cones (Dustin Lynch, Trace Adkins), “Better Than You” is about love at first sight, your last first kiss, and realizing that nothing else could compare with the magic you’ve found in your lover’s arms.

Nichols returns to the road in March with shows in Belle Glade, FL (3/22), Orange Park, FL (3/27) and Tallahassee, FL (3/28) before heading to the Midwest in April.

CMT revealed the seven new artists named to its CMT Next Women of Country (NWOC) franchise, the brand’s celebrated effort to support and promote developing female talent.

The CMT Next Women of Country: Class of 2025 includes:

Alexandra Kay
Dasha
Kaitlin Butts
Kat Luna
Lanie Gardner
Meghan Patrick
MŌRIAH

The 2025 class was surprised by RIAA Diamond-certified singer-songwriter Lauren Alaina (NWOC class of 2014) at CMT Studios where she exclusively sat down with each of rising stars, surprising them with the exciting news and discussing the musical journeys that brought them to this moment. The interviews will air as part of the brand’s annual three-hour CMT Hot 20 Countdown special airing Saturday, March 8th and Sunday, March 9th at 9AM ET/8AM CT. Ahead of the episode, CMT will air an entire rotation of star-packed female videos and support the new class reveal on the Paramount NYC Times Square Billboard, with promos running throughout the entire week.

Over the next year, the 2025 CMT NWOC class will receive cross-brand support for their music and videos on CMT, CMT Music, PlutoTV’s ‘CMT Equal Play’ channel, flagship series CMT Hot 20 Countdown, CMT Digital franchises, @CMT social channels, curated Apple Music and Spotify playlists, the Paramount NYC Times Square Billboard and other cross-promotional opportunities and events within the Showtime/MTV Entertainment Studios & Paramount Media Network brand portfolio.

Earlier this morning, both Billboard and Cody Alan on SiriusXM’s The Highway (channel 56) exclusively revealed the much-anticipated lists of artists. Cody also spoke with new inductee Alexandra Kay about becoming part of the storied franchise.

A staunch advocate for country music’s female artists, CMT launched its “Next Women of Country” campaign in 2013 as a substantial, meaningful effort to support and expose developing female talent, both signed and unsigned, in a male-dominated format. Since its inception, the franchise has expanded to include various digital series and nationwide tours anchored by superstar acts including Jennifer Nettles, Martina McBride, Sara Evans, Tanya Tucker and Maddie & Tae. The prestigious franchise recently marked its milestone 10th anniversary last year, solidifying its stature as one of the longest-running, leading female discovery platforms in country music.

The 2025 class marks a total of 132 female acts named as part of the program, including notable alumni of the franchise who have achieved both commercial and critical acclaim: Ashley McBryde, Brandy Clark, Brittney Spencer, Brooke Eden, Caitlyn Smith, Carly Pearce, Ella Langley, Gabby Barrett, Ingrid Andress, Kacey Musgraves, Kelsea Ballerini, Lainey Wilson, Lauren Alaina, Lindsay Ell, Maren Morris, Megan Moroney, Mickey Guyton, Morgan Wade, Miko Marks, Reyna Roberts, Tanner Adell and Tiera Kennedy, to name a few.