Lainey Wilson. Photo: Nick Rau

ACM New Female of the Year 2022 winner, Lainey Wilson, will be a cast member on season five of Yellowstone, the hit western show featuring Kevin Costner.

Wilson will play a musician named Abby, a character crafted specifically for her by Yellowstone co-creator Taylor Sheridan.

“I’m such a fan of Yellowstone and Taylor—this is an absolute dream, a dream I didn’t even know was on the menu. Taylor, Andrea [von Foerster] and the entire team over there have been so good to me over the years and for Taylor to create a character aligned with who I am as an artist is just wild,” shares Wilson. “I’m so grateful for the opportunity to not only step outside my comfort zone and explore acting but to share more of my music on such an incredible platform, especially one that fans eagerly look to for music discovery.”

Since its 2018 debut, Yellowstone has not only become a hit television show but also a trend-setting platform for country music. The Emmy-nominated show has featured music from Wilson, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Zach Bryan, Chris Stapleton, Whiskey Myers, Jon Pardi, and many more, solidifying it as a sought-after music discovery opportunity. Wilson’s music has been featured three times over the course of the series and she was selected to do an exclusive performance in partnership with the show and Fritos during the commercial breaks during the season four finale.

Wilson earned her first No. 1 with the Platinum-certified ACM Song of the Year “Things A Man Oughta Know.” In 2021, she was named to a variety of Artist to Watch lists and won MusicRow Magazine’s Discovery Artist of the Year award. The Louisiana native also recently returned to the top of the country radio charts with her two-week No. 1 hit “Never Say Never” with Cole Swindell.

Season five of Yellowstone will premiere on Nov. 13 on Paramount Network.

Carly Pearce and Wynonna Judd perform at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 10 during CMA Fest 2022 in downtown Nashville.

Night two at Nissan Stadium for CMA Fest was full of stellar country music moments.

After night one’s mostly male lineup, CMA Fest attendees heard from of some of the best female voices country music has to offer on Friday night (June 10).

The evening got started with the radiant Deana Carter. She is celebrating the 25th anniversary of her 5x Platinum debut album Did I Shave My Legs for This?, so she sang five hits from that project, including “How Do I Get There” and “We Danced Anyway.” She saved her enduring country standard “Strawberry Wine” for last. Nissan Stadium danced along with her to the titanic hit, and Carter beamed back at them with gratitude.

Kelsea Ballerini performs at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 10 during CMA Fest 2022 in downtown Nashville.

Kelsea Ballerini brought her pop country confections to her set, including “Miss Me More,” “Love Me Like You Mean It,” “Dibs,” “Yeah, Boy,” and her newest tune, “Heartfirst.” The singer-songwriter shined when singing her more vulnerable songs, such as “Peter Pan” and “Half of My Hometown.” She had just sang the latter in Nissan Stadium alongside her hometown hero Kenny Chesney at his Nashville stop on his “Here And Now Tour.” The emotion was still palpable, as Ballerini gazed out into the Music City crowd while singing about her East Tennessee home.

In a standout moment of the night, Ballerini got down on the floor with the crowd and sang an acoustic rendition of her “Homecoming Queen?”

“Since I’ve seen you last, a lot has happened in the world,” she said. “Going into it was hard, but coming out of it has been equally as hard, if not harder.”

Before she played it, Ballerini encouraged concert-goers to take off whatever “filter” they have over their problems during the song. Ballerini has clearly found strength in vulnerability, and desperately wants to share it with her fans.

Another standout moment came later in the night when Carly Pearce took the stage for a rather short set. After singing her new single, “What He Didn’t Do,” Pearce brought out newly-minted Country Music Hall of Famer, Wynonna Judd.

“Let’s go back to the ’80s, shall we?” Judd said before the two Kentucky girls sang The Judds‘ hit “Why Not Me?” Nissan Stadium was electric with excitement, love and admiration for The Judds and Pearce.

Thomas Rhett performs at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 10 during CMA Fest 2022 in downtown Nashville.

The ever-charismatic Thomas Rhett brought a ton of his hits when he took the stage, including “Look What God Gave Her,” “Get Me Some Of That,” “It Goes Like This,” “Vacation,” “Sixteen” and “Slow Down Summer.” The crowd returned the energy, singing back every word.

His best performance, though, came with “Country Again.” Rhett communicates the honesty in that song, that talks about finding his roots again after shoving them away, with conviction—and he sounds great on it, too.

Rhett closed his set with three crowd favorites, “T-Shirt,” “Die A Happy Man,” and the ever-appropriate for CMA Fest, “What’s Your Country Song?”

At other points in the evening, other talented artists took the stage. Gabby Barrett, donned in a cowboy hat with rhinestone fringe, performed her new single “Pick Me Up” as well as her breakout hit “I Hope.” In Cole Swindell‘s two-song set, he brought out Lainey Wilson for their fiery “Never Say Never,” and performed his new “She Had Me At Heads Carolina.” The tune that harkens back to Jo Dee Messina‘s 1996 smash “Heads Carolina, Tails California” is sure to be a big hit for Swindell, as the crowd enthusiastically sang every word to the song he only released in April.

Lily Rose and Maddie & Tae made use of the Platform Stage. Rose sang her breakout hit “Villain,” and Maddie & Tae performed their “Die From A Broken Heart.”

Kane Brown performs at Nissan Stadium on Friday, June 10 during CMA Fest 2022 in downtown Nashville.

Kane Brown closed night two at Nissan Stadium with a fun set and stage presence.

“I want to be the most different artist y’all see while you’re here,” Brown said. And there’s a good chance he was. Throughout his set, he brought his down-the-middle country radio hits, such as “Good As You,” “One Mississippi,” “Homesick” and “What Ifs,” as well as his pop-influenced “Be Like That” and “One Thing Right.”

Brown brought the country heat, too, including fan-favorite “Short Skirt Weather” and his “fastest moving song at country radio,” the new single “Like I Love Country Music.”

Saturday night’s (June 11) Nissan show at CMA Fest will feature Brothers Osborne, Luke Bryan, Luke Combs, Randy Houser, and Carrie Underwood.

Luke Combs & Co-Writers Receive The First-Ever Deer No. 1 Gift

Pictured (L-R): Ryan Beuschel (WCM), Ben Vaughn (WCM), Luke Combs, Randy Montana, and Jonathan Singleton. Photo: David Bergman

At the recent BMI Party for Luke Combs, Ben Vaughn and the WCM team presented Combs and his fellow songwriters with a first-of-its-kind gift to celebrate their Platinum record “Beer Never Broke My Heart,” which rose to No. 1 on Billboard’s Country Airplay Chart back in 2019.

Combs and his fellow songwriters Randy Montana and Jonathan Singleton are all bow hunters, so the team honored the trio by creating custom deer targets to commemorate the record breaking single.

Jameson Rodgers Celebrates Second Platinum Chart-Topper

Pictured (L-R): Sony Music Nashville’s Taylor Lindsey, Jess Wong and Alaina Vehec; Columbia Nashville’s Lauren Thomas; SMN’s Rachel Clogston, Jen Way, Randy Goodman and Ken Robold; River House Artists’ Lynn Oliver-Cline and Zebb Luster; Jameson Rodgers; Red Light Management’s JP Durant; SMN’s Jess Keifer, Meg Kehoe and Nicole Marinake; Combustion Music’s Chris Farren.

Jameson Rodgers celebrated the Platinum certification of his chart-topping single “Cold Beer Calling My Name” featuring Luke Combs at Acme Feed & Seed before his performance at the Chevy Riverfront Stage at CMA Fest on June 9.

“Cold Beer Calling My Name,” which has earned more than 190 million on-demand streams, is Rodgers’ second consecutive Platinum-certified No. 1 single following “Some Girls.”

Chris Young Celebrates Five Billion Streams With Team

Pictured (L-R, front row): Sony Music Nashville executive Taylor Lindsey, Chris Young and Sony Music Nashville executives Ken Robold and Alaina Vehec; (L-R, back row): Sony Music Nashville executives Jennifer Way and Allen Brown, Chris Young band member Ryan Haas, and Sony Music Nashville executives Meg Kehoe, Randy Goodman and Jessica Wong. Photo: Moncell Allen

Chris Young was presented with a special plaque commemorating his surpassing 5 billion streams across his catalog worldwide, which includes twelve No. 1 singles to date. Additionally, Young’s Famous Friends and Losing Sleep albums have been certified Gold by the RIAA, earning an impressive 24 total career certifications of Gold, Platinum, and multi-Platinum certified projects.

He received the special plaque commemorating these achievements from his RCA Records Nashville team during his 21st annual Fan Club party at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl on Thursday (June 9).

The recognition comes on the heels of last week’s release of his Famous Friends (Deluxe Edition).

Crowder Celebrates Some Golden Milestones

Photo: Courtesy sixstepsrecords/Capitol Christian Music Group

Crowder and his team gathered to celebrate a handful of recent major achievements, including a No. 1 for his latest chart-topping singles “Good God Almighty” and “In the House.”

The team also commemorated RIAA Gold certifications for Crowder’s album Neon Steeple and single “All My Hope.”

Crowder is set to kick off his headline “My People Tour” tonight (June 10) in Orange Beach, Alabama.

Jason Aldean performs at Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 9 during CMA Fest 2022 in downtown Nashville.

The heat gave Nashville a break Thursday evening (June 9), making for the perfect breezy summer evening for the first Nissan Stadium show of CMA Fest 2022.

With headlining sets from Shenandoah, Darius Rucker, Zac Brown Band, Jason Aldean and Keith Urban, fans were treated to an evening of hits on night one.

Rising star Brittney Spencer got the music started with a hair-raising rendition of the National Anthem. Crook & Chase‘s Lorianne Crook and Charlie Chase were delightful hosts for show attendees, while Dierks Bentley and Elle King made a few appearances while performing their hosting duties for the TV special, airing in August.

Shenandoah was the first act to take the main stage. Marty Raybon and the band sounded awesome, and pleased fans with some ’80s country gold. Concert goers clapped and sang along to “Next to You, Next to Me,” “I Wanna Be Loved Like That,” and “Two Dozen Roses.” After closing with a rousing rendition of “The Church on Cumberland Road,” Raybon closed the set with a spirited, “Long live country music!”

Darius Rucker performs at Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 9 during CMA Fest 2022 in downtown Nashville.

Rucker’s set was full of laid-back, feel-good vibes. He sang country hit after country hit, such as “Alright,” “Come Back Song,” “Homegrown Honey,” “This,” and “Beers And Sunshine.” He also thrilled fans by grooving along with some Hootie & The Blowfish hits like “Hold My Hand” and “I Only Wanna Be With You.”

“Who loves country music, huh?” Rucker said before going into his massive, 9x-Platinum “Wagon Wheel.” If you’ve ever been to a Darius Rucker show, you know that the people love “Wagon Wheel.” Fans from the floor of Nissan Stadium to the top of the 300 section were on their feet dancing with the singer to the 2013 hit.

The hits kept coming when Zac Brown Band took the stage. The talented band performed their beloved “Toes,” “Knee Deep,” “Homegrown,” and “Colder Weather,” as well as some newer songs such as “Out in the Middle” and “Same Boat.”

Brown invited a few special guests to join him during his stage, starting with King Calaway, to promo their brand new single “When I Get Home.” Brown co-wrote and produced the track.

He also invited the very talented Marcus King up to perform a song the two co-wrote, “Stubborn Pride.” Brown was giddy watching King get a standing ovation after his incredible guitar solo.

Zac Brown Band performs at Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 9 during CMA Fest 2022 in downtown Nashville.

Like Rucker, the Zac Brown Band has a larger than life crowd favorite: “Chicken Fried.” The stadium was thigh-slapping and two-stepping along to the country hit from its opening licks to the moment Brown left the stage.

Next up was Aldean. If fans were getting tired by the time the country rocker took the stage, the energy he brought was enough to wake them up.

Aldean kicked up the volume for his long string of hits, such as “Crazy Town,” “Lights Come On,” “Take A Little Ride,” “Tattoos On This Town,” and “Dirt Road Anthem.” He also played some new tunes, such as the current No. 1 song in the country, “Trouble With A Heartbreak,” and his next single, “What Tequila Does.”

“It’s good to see you guys, back,” the country star said. “This is what June in Nashville is supposed to look like.”

When it came time to sing his monster hit with Carrie Underwood, “If I Didn’t Love You,” Aldean sat at the piano and Underwood appeared on a screen singing her part. The energy never wavered throughout Aldean’s set, and he closed with a one-two punch: “My Kinda Party” and “Hick Town.”

Keith Urban performs at Nissan Stadium on Thursday, June 9 during CMA Fest 2022 in downtown Nashville.

Urban took the stage at about a quarter ’til midnight. He carried on Aldean’s high-energy, running all over the stage and connecting with the crowd.

“I have a feeling you guys might have missed this thing as much as we did,” Urban said to the excited crowd.

The beloved entertainer performed his “Days Go By,” “Blue Ain’t Your Color,” “Somebody Like You” and “You’ll Think of Me.” For his duet with P!nk, “One Too Many,” Urban also made use of a pre-recorded video for the pop singer’s part.

Urban’s newest hit, “Wild Hearts,” sounded perfect in the stadium. The anthemic tune had fans reaching towards the sky and singing their hearts out.

More performers made use a few other stages throughout the night. Dustin Lynch and MacKenzie Porter performed their smash duet, “Thinking ‘Bout You,” in the middle of the stage.

On the new Platform Stage, Kat & Alex sang their “How Many Times” and “I Want It All,” complete with Spanish versions honoring their heritage. The band mates and spouses exchanged grins at each other, beaming with pride at their Nissan performance.

Priscilla Block also performed on the Platform Stage. “I think I’m about to pee my pants. This is the coolest thing ever done in my whole life,” she said through tears. The smiling and sparkly singer performed her fun “My Bar” and breakout hit, “Just About Over You.”

Taking the Nissan Stadium stage tonight (June 10) will be Kelsea Ballerini, Gabby Barrett, Kane Brown, Deana Carter, Carly Pearce, Thomas Rhett, Cole Swindell and Lainey Wilson.