Billy Dukes

Toby Keith's new album 'Hope on the Rocks' is a loud and sudsy collection of songs about beer, barrooms, heartbreak... and beer. Much like a Saturday night out at your favorite watering hole, it's rowdy and fun, but difficult to remember the next morning.

Read More

Jana Kramer and Brantley Gilbert walked the red carpet at the 2012 CMA Awards separately, but that doesn't mean their young romance has fizzled. The 'Why Ya Wanna' singer says she and Gilbert are still hanging out, but stopped herself before putting a label on the relationship. 

Read More

Thompson Square's Shawna Thompson says when she needs a break from husband Keifer, she flashes something she calls the "stank eye." He might have gotten it -- the "stank eye," that is -- after telling Taste of Country Nights radio host Jeremy Robinson how he planned to celebrate if the duo won the Vocal Duo of the Year award at the 2012 CMAs. 

Read More

There were first-time winners in the Entertainer, Album and Vocal Group of the Year categories at the 2012 CMA Awards, and fans saw brilliant performances by stars like Little Big Town, Kelly Clarkson, the Band Perry and Zac Brown Band. However, there were a few noticeable absences from this year's Nashville ceremony. 

Read More

Jason Aldean's new single 'The Only Way I Know' weaves from the same spool as his biggest hits. Themes of hard work, loyalty and small town values have been at the core of hits like 'Fly Over States,' 'Tattoos on This Town,' and most recently, 'Take a Little Ride,' even if you need to look beyond the cutie in the passenger seat to find them. On the new single from 'Night Train,' Aldean's message is more direct. but no less effective. 

Read More

The latest episode of the hit ABC drama 'Nashville' featured less original music than any of the others so far. There weren't any cuts from mainstream country acts either, leaving many wondering what artists were played between important scenes in Season 1, Episode 4, titled 'We Live in Two Different Worlds.' 

Read More

On previous albums, Taylor Swift has written songs about ex-boyfriends like (allegedly) John Mayer, Joe Jonas, Taylor Lautner and Jake Gyllenhaal. During an interview with Taste of Country Nights host Jeremy Robinson, the 'Begin Again' singer shared who she will not record a new song about, like, ever. 

Read More

How do you convince a skeptical country audience that you're country? You get Vince Gill to sing and play guitar on your first true country single. That's what Kelly Clarkson did with 'Don't Rush,' a song she'll perform at the CMA Awards on Nov. 1. The pairing is magic. 

Read More

Carrie Underwood used Twitter to announce that her new single would be 'Two Black Cadillacs,' the darkest song on a delightfully stormy new album called 'Blown Away.' The lyric pushes the normally plucky country superstar to the edge of evil. It's as far as she can go without falling off the cliff of believability. 

Read More

Hunter Hayes in nominated in the New Artist of the Year category at the 2012 CMA Awards -- a huge deal for a kid who's only 21. He'll even get a chance to perform, which he admitted he is a terrifying prospect. Taking the stage in front of country legends, the men and women he's idolized for years... "There's a lot of fear," Hayes tells Taste of Country Nights host Jeremy Robinson. 

Read More

Hurricane Sandy crashed into the east coast on Monday night, and Trace Adkins was among a handful of country singers trying to stay safe in the Big Apple. Chely Wright and Billy Ray Cyrus also took to Twitter to describe what was happening as the 100-year storm flooded the New Jersey and New York coastline. 

Read More

Two notes and two hand claps into the Band Perry's new single 'Better Dig Two' and one finds assurance that the sense of drama and danger the sibling trio infused into the best songs from their self-titled debut album will be back on album No. 2. Some ambient knocking combined with thin, haunting plucking make this song an instant soundtrack for Halloween. But it will likely have legs long after Oct. 31.

Read More