Zach Bryan

Breakout artist Zach Bryan claims the top streaming country song this week as “Something In The Orange” racks up an impressive 11 million streams, contributing to its 65 million streams RTD. The track sits at No. 65 overall, according to Luminate data.

Bryan also maintains his second position on the top country albums chart with his 34-track American Heartbreak. The project adds 34K in total consumption (886 album only/42 million song streams).

Morgan Wallen continues to reign on the top country albums chart with Dangerous: The Double Album earning 52K in total consumption (1.4K album only/64 million song streams). Wallen also claims the fourth spot with If I Know Me, gaining 18K. Luke Combs takes the remaining spots with What You See Is What You Get at No. 3 with 18K and This One’s For You at No. 5 with 17K.

On the top country songs chart, Wallen snags three spots: “You Proof” at No. 2 with 10 million streams, “Wasted On You” at No. 3 with 8.4 million streams, and “Whiskey Glasses” at No. 5 with 6.2 million streams. Bailey Zimmerman takes the fourth spot with “Fall In Love” gaining 7.7 million streams.

Pictured (L-R): Vice President of New Artist Management & Operations for The Erv Woolsey Company/Rollin’ The Dice Records Allen Mitchell, Nick Davisson and Chairman/CEO Erv Woolsey. Photo: Clay Enos

Nick Davisson has signed with the Erv Woolsey Co. for management. Davisson’s debut acoustic single, “Wild West,” will be available on all platforms June 17.

Co-written and produced by renowned songwriter Phil “Philbilly” O’Donnell, “Wild West” is a blend of country, folk and pop. Davisson is also currently writing with bluegrass singer-songwriter Ronnie Bowman, Wyatt Durrette, and other top writers.

A Fairmont, West Virginia native, Davisson has been playing music since he was big enough to hold a guitar. A former WVU wide receiver, he comes by his talent for music honestly as the son and nephew of journeymen Donnie and Chris Davisson, respectively, of the Nashville-based Davisson Brothers Band.

This summer and fall, Davisson will be on tour as the supporting act for Colbie Caillat on her “Coco 15th Anniversary Tour,” which includes 20 stops in Dallas, San Diego, St. Louis, and more, including an upcoming Nashville date on June 16.

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.