Welcome to The Boot’s News Roundup, a morning rundown of the news country music fans need to know. Read on to learn more about the latest goings-on in the country, Americana, bluegrass and folk genres.
Up-and-coming country trio Runaway June‘s song “Wild West” recently edged its way into the Top 40 on the country charts, making them the first all-female trio in more than a decade to send two songs to the Top 40 — both a major accomplishment for the band and a sad commentary on gender parity in country radio. The year 2018 is looking to be a big one for the trio: Having recently supported major acts such as Jon Pardi, Alan Jackson and Garth Brooks, Runaway June are expected to release their debut album later this year.
Mike Coppola / Ari Perilstein, Getty Images
Pop star Bebe Rexha’s collaboration with Florida Georgia Line, “Meant to Be,” is now officially the longest-leading No. 1 single by a woman on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart. According to Taste of Country, Rexha and FGL’s collaboration has spent 11 weeks at the top of that chart, breaking a record set by Taylor Swift‘s 10-week run at the top with “We Are Never Getting Back Together” in 2010.
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Justin Moore has announced that he will make his first appearance as a headliner at Nashville’s iconic Ryman Auditorium in May. “It’s sentimental because I’m a huge fan of the tradition of country music,” Moore tells the Tennesseean. “For me, playing the Ryman is more about that and all the people who have played there and what it’s meant to country music as a whole from generation to generation.” Moore has performed at “The Mother Church” before, at charity events including the Christmas 4 Kids concert, but never as the main act. Tickets for his May 2 performance at the Ryman go on sale on Feb. 16 via Moore’s website.
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Songwriters Dixie Hall and Tom T. Hall will be inducted into the Bill Monroe Bluegrass Hall of Fame in 2018. According to Bluegrass Today, both have contributed significantly to the bluegrass canon, both individually and together. The Halls were married in 1968 and had a lengthy writing partnership that continued up until Dixie Hall’s death in 2015. Tom T. and Dixie Hall will be inducted into the Hall of Fame on Sept. 22, during the 44th annual Hall of Fame and Uncle Pen Bluegrass Festival at Bill Monroe Music Park in Bean Blossom, Ind.
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Now in its second year, the Bakersfield Music Hall of Fame has announced that it will induct six musicians to its “Galaxy of Stars” in 2018, and Jean Shepard is among them. The Hall inducted its first class of honorees in 2017, including Merle Haggard, Buck Owens and more. This year, in addition to Shepard, Tommy Collins, Larry Daniels, Cousin Herb Henson, Ken Nelson and Luther Davis will also become members of the Bakersfield Music Hall of Fame at a ceremony on March 1.
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Before heading out on their final world tour, Lynyrd Skynyrd will play the 20th annual Volunteer Jam, which will pay tribute to Charlie Daniels. Held at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena, Lynyrd Skynyrd join a stacked lineup of previously announced performers, including Alison Krauss, ZZ Top’s Billy Gibbons, Blackberry Smoke, Bobby Bare, Chris Janson, Chuck Leavell, Eddie Montgomery, Jamey Johnson, Justin Moore, the Oak Ridge Boys and Ricky Skaggs, not to mention Daniels and his band. Lynyrd Skynyrd’s performance at the 2018 Volunteer Jam will be the iconic Southern rock group’s only Nashville date on its Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour. Volunteer Jam XX: A Tribute to Charlie is scheduled for March 7.
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Maren Morris, Keith Urban, Cole Swindell, Dustin Lynch and more are set to perform at this year’s iHeartCountry Music Festival. Held at the Frank Erwin Center in Austin, Texas, and hosted by DJ Bobby Bones, the festival will also feature performances from Sugarland, Luke Combs, Billy Currington, Dan + Shay, Jon Pardi, Brett Young and Luke Bryan. Tickets for the festival go on sale on March 2 via TexasBoxOffice.com.
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