Zack Bennett.

Zack Bennett has been tapped as permanent host of the nationally syndicated weekly radio program Pure American Country and its companion program, the daily 60-second feature Pure American Country Radio Minute.

Bennett has served as interim host since longtime host Bill Cody passed away in June. He has produced Pure American Country since 2024 and continued to write and produce the program while hosting it in the interim. He also guest-hosted the show during periods in 2025 and early 2026 when illness prevented Cody from recording.

“Bill and I worked together for nearly five years, and I had the privilege of learning from him every day,” Bennett says. “When he wasn’t able to be behind the Pure American Country microphone, he trusted me to sit in his chair and take care of the show and its listeners. That trust means even more to me now. Bill was one of the finest broadcasters I’ve ever known, and Pure American Country will always carry his influence. I’m not here to replace him or imitate him. My responsibility is to honor what he built, carry forward the warmth and love of country music he brought to the show, and take it into its next chapter in a way that would make him proud.”

Bennett began his radio career in 1999 at WANT-FM in Lebanon, Tennessee. During his 27-year career, the Nashville native spent six years working on Nashville’s 95.5 Nash Icon, and has spent nearly five years at 650 AM WSM, where he currently serves as Assistant Program Director and an on-air host. For the past four years, he has also been part of the team responsible for planning and producing every Grand Ole Opry show.

First launched in 2003 as the Country Music Greats Radio Show, Pure American Country is aired on 174 rural radio stations, broadcast over 194 transmission towers and frequencies, with coverage exceeding 40.3 million rural Americans, which is more than half of rural America.

“Whether I have an hour, two hours or 60 seconds, the goal is the same,” Bennett continues. “Give people something familiar, tell them something they may not have known, and remind them that everything in country music is connected.”

Drake White. Photo: Zack Knudsen

Drake White is hosting the first-ever Loblolly Fest on Oct. 17 at The Bluff Amphitheater in his hometown of Hokes Bluff, Alabama.

A homegrown festival with a heavy dose of Southern hospitality, Loblolly Fest will feature performances from White, The Marshall Tucker Band, Randy Houser, Kassi Ashton, and more. The festival takes place on a piece of land with deep ties to White’s childhood, as he was raised in a home just behind what is now The Bluff Amphitheater. He first stumbled across the property while exploring the woods as a kid, and today, he’s a co-owner of the newly-revived venue, with dreams of transforming it into a destination centered on music, community, and connection.

“I grew up in the shadows of Muscle Shoals, ’90s Country, and the music that played in my mama’s beauty shop. That music has always been in my soul, and, miraculously, in my backyard,” says White. “After spending years in the music business, I realized that if there wasn’t a festival that felt like home to me, I wanted to build one. So my team and I decided to make our own.”

Named for the loblolly pines that blanket the Appalachian foothills of Northeast Alabama, Loblolly Fest is built to channel the easygoing atmosphere of a fall weekend in the South. Adding another layer to that experience, the festival will feature The Grove — an all-new outdoor sports-bar area where TVs will play that day’s college football games all throughout the afternoon and evening.

“Loblolly Fest is bonfires, bourbon, flannel, cold beer, dancing, and good music. But more than anything, it’s community,” says White. “I want Loblolly to have that wide-open, come-as-you-are spirit: no judgment, everybody’s welcome. If you love music, love people, and want to have a damn good time, come on. We’re building something here that we hope becomes a tradition — a place where we can come back year after year, and make memories worth repeating.”

A portion of proceeds from Loblolly Fest will support The Benefit For The Brain: a nonprofit White founded to raise funds and awareness for charitable organizations devoted to mental and brain health. Four years after suffering an onstage stroke that led to his diagnosis with arteriovenous malformation, White hosted the inaugural “Benefit For The Brain” concert in 2023 that raised over $250,000, with a lineup including Riley Green, Randy Houser, Jamey Johnson, and Colbie Caillat. Fiercely committed to advancing the conversation around mental and brain health, White will host the third installment of “Benefit For The Brain” on Nov. 16, once again bringing the charity concert to the Ryman.

Bryan Martin will release his new album, OD’in On A Dream, on Oct. 30 via Average Joes Entertainment. Martin is giving fans a taste of the upcoming project with his latest single, “Demons Don’t Sleep (feat. Kasey Tyndall),” out today.

The new song illuminates the exhausting battle of fighting against vices and the ways our demons can haunt us in daily habits, temptations and shame. “’Demons Don’t Sleep’ is a pretty personal song for me,” says Martin. “I’ve had some dark days and some things I’ve had to work through. I know what it’s like to lay there at night with your mind running wide open. If you’ve ever been there too, I hope you hear a little bit of yourself in it.”

OD’in On A Dream unpacks the brutal realities of chasing a dream and the weight that comes with finally living it, and finds Martin confronting where he’s been and shedding the skin of who he was with unflinching honesty as he steps into the life he fought to fully live. Martin penned all but two songs on the 14-track project, pulling from deeply personal experiences like the heartache of divorce, the desire to be a better father, the darkness of addiction, and the burnout and complicated reality of living the life he spent years working toward. Produced by Nick Gibbens, the album features songs co-written by Jason Nix, Ben Roberts, Lydia Vaughan, Will Bundy, Jeremy Bussey and others.

“This album came from one of the darkest parts of my life,” says Martin. “I always try to be raw and real with y’all, and this album is a testament to that. This album is for the ones trying to outrun their demons, the ones trying not to pass along their pain to their kids, the ones who are breaking their backs trying to live their dreams, the ones trying to learn from their past mistakes, and the ones who keep going, no matter what. If you can relate to any of that, I hope this album brings you some comfort in knowing you’re not alone. This album closes a chapter for me and will be the last one like it. I hope y’all enjoy it, and I can’t wait for y’all to hear what’s next.”

Martin has already released several tracks from the upcoming album, including “Complex,” “Rather Be The Fire,” “Take It From Me,” and his current radio single “Tug O’ War.”

OD’in On A Dream Track List:
1. “I Ain’t Changed” (Bryan Martin, Ben Roberts, Joey Hendricks, Joe Ragosta)
2. “Real Man” (Martin, Roberts, Steven Champion)
3. “Tug O’ War” (Martin, Lydia Vaughan, Sam Martinez, Will Bundy, Heath Warren)
4. “Take It From Me” (Martin, Roberts, Champion)
5. “Complex” (Martin, Vaughan, Bundy, Martinez)
6. “Last Train To Heaven” (Roberts, Jason Nix, Jason Gantt)
7. “Old Dog New Tricks” (Martin, Warren, Martinez, Chase Matthew)
8. “If Loving Me Was Easy” (Martin, Jeremy Bussey, Ryan Beaver, Kayla Ray)
9. “Home Sweet Living Hell” (Martin, Champion)
10. “For The Better” (Martin, Paul Sikes, Nate Kenyon)
11. “Rather Be The Fire” (Martin, JT Harding, Adam Wood, Scott Sean White)
12. “OD’in On A Dream” (Martin, Ben Chapman, Cary Barlowe)
13. “Demons Don’t Sleep (feat. Kasey Tyndall)” (Cameron Havens, Kasey Tyndall, Patrick Savage)