Today In Country Music

Today In Country Music Breaking country music news, the latest headlines, artist updates, exclusive reports, major announcements, and in-depth coverage of the country music industry.

Chris LeDoux would have turned 78 today, October 2, and his story remains one of country music’s most authentic connecti...
10/02/2026

Chris LeDoux would have turned 78 today, October 2, and his story remains one of country music’s most authentic connections to the rodeo arena.

Born in Biloxi, Mississippi, in 1948, LeDoux didn’t just sing about cowboys. He lived that life, winning the 1976 world ba****ck riding championship while building his music career by selling homemade recordings from his pickup at rodeos.

His audience grew dramatically after Garth Brooks mentioned a “worn-out tape of Chris LeDoux” in his 1989 breakthrough hit “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old).” LeDoux later found mainstream country success of his own.

He died March 9, 2005, at just 56. Twenty-one years later, the rodeo champion, singer and songwriter remains remembered as a cowboy who had already lived the stories before he ever sang them.

Today marks 28 years since country music lost Gene Autry, the Texas-born singer and actor who helped turn the singing co...
10/02/2026

Today marks 28 years since country music lost Gene Autry, the Texas-born singer and actor who helped turn the singing cowboy into an American institution.

Autry died on October 2, 1998, at age 91, just three days after his birthday.

Long before country stars regularly crossed into movies and television, Autry was already doing it on a massive scale. He recorded standards including “Back in the Saddle Again” and “Rudolph, the Red-Nosed Reindeer,” appeared in 93 films, and entered the Country Music Hall of Fame in 1969.

His reach went far beyond records. Autry remains the only entertainer honored with five Hollywood Walk of Fame stars, recognizing his work in radio, recording, movies, television, and live performance.

Twenty-eight years later, the Singing Cowboy’s place in country music history still stands tall.

Australian country star James Johnston is headed for his Grand Ole Opry debut on November 19 after Ashley McBryde turned...
10/01/2026

Australian country star James Johnston is headed for his Grand Ole Opry debut on November 19 after Ashley McBryde turned one Nashville night into two career milestones.

On September 24, McBryde surprised Johnston at the Opry with news that he had won the CMA’s 2026 Jeff Walker Global Country Artist Award, honoring achievement by a country artist based outside the United States. Then she invited him back to step into the Opry circle for the first time.

The moment comes during a major U.S. push for Johnston. His debut album, Raised Like That, spent 35 consecutive weeks at No. 1 on Australia’s ARIA Country Albums chart, and the Opry credits him with more than 210 million global streams.

McBryde will also be on the November 19 Opry lineup when Johnston makes that debut.

Miranda Lambert will open Nashville’s new venue The Truth tonight with a sold-out, one-night-only show, becoming the fir...
10/01/2026

Miranda Lambert will open Nashville’s new venue The Truth tonight with a sold-out, one-night-only show, becoming the first artist to officially headline the new 4,400-capacity room.

The performance comes one day before her new album Crisco arrives on October 2, and it will feature her full band, a 12-piece string section, catalog hits, and a preview of new songs. Amazon Music will also bring the show to fans with a Songline Live broadcast on October 7.

That makes this more than an opening-night concert. Lambert is helping introduce a brand-new Nashville stage while launching a 12-song record that begins with “Snakeskin Boots” featuring Ella Langley and also includes “A Song To Sing” with Chris Stapleton.

Verified from Miranda Lambert’s official tour page, Visit Nashville/The Truth announcements, Amazon Music, and official Crisco release listings.

Maren Morris had performed at Route 91 Harvest on September 30, 2017, just one night before the deadly shooting struck t...
10/01/2026

Maren Morris had performed at Route 91 Harvest on September 30, 2017, just one night before the deadly shooting struck the Las Vegas festival during Jason Aldean’s closing set.

Less than 24 hours later, Morris shared “Dear Hate,” a song she had actually written three years earlier and recorded with Vince Gill the year before. She said she had never known when the right time would be to release it, but after Route 91, she felt she could no longer leave it unheard.

Morris pledged every cent she received from the song to the Music City Cares Fund supporting Las Vegas victims. “Dear Hate” later earned Grammy nominations for Best Country Song and Best Country Duo/Group Performance, giving the song’s message a lasting place in her career.

Nine years after Christopher Roybal was killed at the Route 91 Harvest festival, his brother Jayson Williams will honor ...
10/01/2026

Nine years after Christopher Roybal was killed at the Route 91 Harvest festival, his brother Jayson Williams will honor him in Las Vegas with an acoustic performance of Casting Crowns’ “Scars in Heaven.”

Christopher was more than one of the names remembered from October 1, 2017. The 28-year-old Navy combat veteran served four tours in Afghanistan, and his family remembered him as someone who loved music, loved to sing, and was even known as a “karaoke king.”

His mother, Debby Allen, will also speak during Thursday’s Sunrise Remembrance ceremony.

The song Jayson chose carries its own connection to loss. Mark Hall and Matthew West wrote “Scars in Heaven” around the pain of missing someone who has died.

For a family remembering a man who loved to sing, music will once again be part of keeping Christopher’s memory close.

Nine years after the Route 91 Harvest Festival became one of country music’s darkest nights, Las Vegas is once again hon...
10/01/2026

Nine years after the Route 91 Harvest Festival became one of country music’s darkest nights, Las Vegas is once again honoring the fans who never made it home and those who survived.

On October 1, 2017, gunfire struck the crowd during Jason Aldean’s closing set. Fifty-eight people died in the immediate aftermath, while two others later died from injuries connected to the attack.

This year’s Sunrise Remembrance includes a minute of silence and an acoustic performance of “Scars in Heaven” by Jayson Williams, whose brother Christopher Roybal was killed that night.

A permanent memorial is also being developed on part of the former festival grounds, with plans aimed toward the 10th remembrance in 2027.

Nine years later, Route 91 remains a story of country fans, families, survivors, first responders, and a community determined never to forget.

Nine years after Route 91, Eric Church is still carrying that night into his music. His new song “On The Road,” released...
10/01/2026

Nine years after Route 91, Eric Church is still carrying that night into his music. His new song “On The Road,” released September 10, looks back across his touring life and directly remembers the Las Vegas tragedy.

Church had played Route 91 on September 29, 2017, two days before the shooting. At the Grand Ole Opry on October 4, he pointed toward two empty seats meant for Sonny and Heather Melton. Sonny was killed while protecting Heather, and Church debuted “Why Not Me” that night in their honor.

Church later brought “Why Not Me” back during his 2023 Artist-in-Residence shows, only its second and third performances.

Now, nearly a decade later, Route 91 remains part of the story Church carries onto the stage and into the songs he writes.

Today marks the 97th birth anniversary of Bonnie Owens, a voice closely tied to the rise of California’s Bakersfield Sou...
10/01/2026

Today marks the 97th birth anniversary of Bonnie Owens, a voice closely tied to the rise of California’s Bakersfield Sound.

Born October 1, 1929, in Blanchard, Oklahoma, Owens built her own career alongside two country legends, Buck Owens and Merle Haggard. In 1965, she was named the ACM’s Top Female Vocalist and also shared Best Vocal Group honors with Haggard.

But Bonnie’s place in country history went beyond the microphone. Haggard later recalled that she kept pen and paper ready while he was writing, helping capture lyrics to classics including “Mama Tried” and “Working Man Blues.”

Owens died April 24, 2006, at 76, but her voice and quiet work behind some of the Bakersfield era’s greatest music remain part of country history.

At the height of a record-breaking year, Ella Langley is talking honestly about the harder side of success: suddenly hav...
10/01/2026

At the height of a record-breaking year, Ella Langley is talking honestly about the harder side of success: suddenly having strangers judge nearly everything about her.

During her Sept. 25 Dandelion Tour stop in Columbus, Ohio, Langley said criticism of her looks, voice, clothes, movement and songwriting bothered her at first and even made her question whether she was strong enough for life in the spotlight.

Then she thought about the younger version of herself the girl riding in a 15-passenger van and a Honda Accord, living on bar food and tip-jar money while chasing country music.

That changed her perspective. Langley said she is proud of the same girl people are now picking on.

The moment comes as “Choosin’ Texas” extends its historic Billboard Hot 100 run to 24 weeks at No. 1.

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