Multiple GRAMMY nominee Kelsea Ballerini delivered an incandescent performance on the 2024 Academy of Country Music Awards, merging her “Mountain With A View” with "Best New Artist" GRAMMY nominee Noah Kahan and his breakthrough “Stick Season.” The pairing of the genre-blurring singer/songwriters demonstrated so much chemistry, their collaboration suggested that the two distinct vocalists should explore a song of their very own.

And as usually the way with creative forces who use songs to explore the dynamic of the human condition, it wasn’t long before Kelsea, Kahan and producer/songwriter Alysa Vanderheym were crafting a languid midtempo song that allows for the full range of emotions for the toughest of all men. The rambling, fiddle-threaded, dobro-enhanced “Cowboys Cry Too (with Noah Kahan)” offers a moment of genuine vulnerability and embrace. Listen HERE.

Two of American music’s most recognizable vocalists, it’s worlds colliding. Whether Kelsea's ethereal alto rising or Kahan’s pure confessions, the vocalists come together to express why honesty is such a powerful – if intimidating – reality. Each sings of a reality being in love feels like from their perspectives, the weight of expectations and flood of letting go.

"In our world and culture and echo chamber of highlight reels and pretty things, sometimes real feelings start to feel like something you just set aside or push down to keep up." Kelsea begins. "Especially the way so many men grow up, that kind of toxic masculinity mindset of 'saddle up, brush it off'. I wanted to write my perspective and essentially celebrate the vulnerable men in my life, and Noah adding his really unfiltered perspective into it just brought it to life in a more meaningful and beautiful way."

Kahan continues, “It’s the writers who are willing to go to the awkward places that inspire me. Kelsea is one of those, and I knew if we could find something we both believed to sing, it would expand how we look at the way we live, what society decides and we should reject. ‘Cowboys CryToo’ is everything I believed our collaboration could be.”

With a bridge that converges their realities with “Blame it on their fathers/ the ones that said they’d stay/ Or blame it on the songs that tell you they all ride away/ But mine ain’t that way,” the ethereal harmonied song delivers both healing and (self)compassion. In a world of faster, tougher, meaner, the notion of refuge and support arrives with a quiet strength. Both have been major New York Times profiles, Saturday Night Live guests, TIME Magazine’s TIME100 Next and all-genre GRAMMY "Best New Artist" nominees. A new wave of songwriter/vocalists, they seek to strip away the artifice and reveal the crux of the human condition with a strong reliance on melody, musicality and their own emotion-forward performance skills. Co-produced by Kelsea and Vanderheym in Nashville, with Kahan’s vocal produced by Gabe Simon, the track features lead electric guitar from John Osborne, of GRAMMY, Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music Award winners Brothers Osborne. With banjo, steel guitar and enough atmosphere to let the track spread out, “Cowboys Cry Too (with Noah Kahan)” provides space for real men to own and honor their emotions with the self-possession worthy of their heroic legacy.

Mackenzie Carpenter exposes her vulnerable side with the release of her first true love song “Only Girl”. A stunning look into her relationship with her now husband, Mackenzie thanks him for making her feel like the only girl in the world. Married in October, Mackenzie surprised Cole with the song and it served as the perfect way to tell him how she felt. A nostalgia-laced track, “Only Girl” feels about as classic and timeless as a black-and-white film. Listen here.
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We caught up with Mackenzie at CMA Fest, where she appeared on the Dr. Pepper Amp Stage, at SiriusXM’s Music Row Happy Hour, and at Spotify House. Not a stranger to performing, she has been on the road all year long with Cole Swindell, Dylan Scott, and Dylan Marlowe. Her favorite part about being on the road is making memories, telling us “We got nothing to do but have fun and make new friends and play music. We’ve been able to overcome a lot of things, we’ve had quite a few literal bumps in the road - breakdowns and hail storms. But we’ve always made it to the show and have had an amazing time.” 

Growing up in a musical family, Mackenzie feels lucky to have her brother by her side. She’s touched by how supportive her entire family has been about following her dreams, although delicate, and brings them out on the road with her whenever she can. Another comfort for her has been longtime friend and co-writer Megan Moroney. Having moved to Nashville around the same time, Mackenzie and Megan formed a group that would constantly write songs together. As a result of having too much fun, they finally put out a duet together called “Nothin’ Crazy”. Mackenzie has also written on Megan’s current radio single “I’m Not Pretty” and her latest release “Indifferent”. 

Speaking of having fun, Mackenzie put a country twist on Cyndi Lauper’s hit “Girls Just Want To Have Fun”. The ultimate girl’s night out song, she accompanied its release with a Bachlorette-inspired music video and painted mural located in Nashville. Funny enough, she wrote the song with all boys Mackenzie reminiscing, “I was telling the guys that I just want to write a song that makes people feel the way “Girls Just Want to Have Fun” makes people feel and they said, ‘then why don’t we just write Country Girls (Just Wanna Have Fun)?’ And I thought why the heck not? So we started writing it and that song has been so fun, a new twist on a multi-generational song that just brings people together.” 

Mackenzie is honored to be a part of the next class of talented women making a name for themselves in Nashville. Sharing that there are “so many females that are crushing it and doing so well. And it’s really cool to see how country music and Nashville has been accepting all of us with open arms and trying to help us get to the next level. I think it’s a really special time for women in country music.” And we couldn’t agree more! 

Don’t miss a moment of Mackenzie’s career by following her on all socials and visiting her website www.mackenziecarpentermusic.com.

Abbey Cone made the best of CMA Fest performing on the Amp Stage, joining Mickey Guyton for Social Hour, and even making a surprise appearance at Nissan Stadium with her best friend, Brittney Spencer. Abbey spoked to us about her song “Coffee With You”. The idea for the song began from a Johnny Cash interview where he defined “Paradise” as having coffee with his wife. Cone took the concept of enjoying the simple things with the one you love and turned it into a song. “I love having coffee and I love my boyfriend and I love having coffee with my boyfriend - There’s nothing else to it, those moments just make me so happy I had to write about it," she told us. Listen to "Coffee With You" here. 

Abbey’s “Independent Artist Era” began last year with the release of her hit “If You Were A Song”. She proceeded to give her listeners a chance to give their input on what they wanted to see next from her in order to succeed. And succeed she has! Recently Abbey started up her own writers’ round called “The Pony Show.” Cone and her co-founder, Madison Kozak were reminiscing about their experience playing writer's rounds around town and decided to try their hand at hosting their own. As much fun as venues like the Listening Room and Bluebird Cafe are, these young women wanted to return to the roots of these rounds and have something more simple, less touristy, where artists just came to share their music. Cone states, “We just wanted the ability to curate the vibes that we would really like to see at venues in Nashville.” Hosted at the Late Great (a speakeasy bar in the basement of the Virgin Hotel) The Pony Show aims to inspire a more underground community where artists can truly be themselves.

Up next, Cone is gearing up to open for Kimberly Perry, Morgan Wade, and Mickey Guyton on their headlining tours. She is beyond excited to play with these powerful women who are constantly inspiring her. Thinking back on her career so far, Cone remembers a time when she opened a fortune cookie that read, "Begin. The rest is easy.” This has stayed with Cone since and will continue to push her as she grows The Pony Show, touring, and all that her career has in store. Keep an ear out for Abbey Cone and learn more at https://www.abbeycone.com/. 

​Big Loud / Back Blocks Music's country songstress Ashley Cooke has notched her first-ever No. 1 song at country radio (Country Aircheck / Mediabase) with her moody breakup anthem, “your place.” The song penned by Cooke, Jordan Minton, and Mark Trussell, is the first single from a breakout Big Loud female to claim the top spot and is only the second single to reach No. 1 from a female artist at country radio in 2024. Cooke is also the highest charted solo female in 2024 on Billboard Country Airplay, reaching No. 2 this week.
 
“It is truly an honor to join the legacy of country radio No. 1s,” shares Cooke. “Reaching the top of the chart has been a goal of mine since the first time I picked up a microphone and getting to ring the bell with the greatest team at Big Loud and the radio champions I now call friends is all the more rewarding.”
 
After first impacting radio on Dec. 11, the trajectory of “your place” claiming the top spot took the “promising Nashville up-and-comer” (Los Angeles Times) a short 26 weeks from debut to peak, tying her as the second fastest growing solo female debut single on Country Aircheck / Mediabase in the last ten years. “your place” also earned Cooke a four-week No.1 on the U.K. Country Radio Airplay chart, making her the first artist to do so since the chart launched earlier this year. 
 
Billboard predicted the song's “real potential at becoming her first radio hit” which had already reached No. 1 on SiriusXM's The Highway Hot 30 Countdown, notching over 62M global on-demand streams to date. The career milestone comes just days after Cooke's feature on Brantley Gilbert's track “Over When We're Sober” released to country radio on June 20 for immediate airplay before releasing universally on June 21. The duet impacted country radio today at No. 31 and No. 41 on Billboard Country Airplay and Country Aircheck / Mediabase charts respectively – the most-added single of the week – crediting Cooke with two of the top three gainers on Country Aircheck / Mediabase this week. 
 
Earlier this year, “your place” earned Cooke her first-ever CMT Music Award win for Breakthrough Female Video of the Year. The music video released earlier this year, took home the fan-voted award thanks to Cooke's rapidly growing fanbase of over 1M strong. Directed by ACM and CMA award-winner Justin Clough, the video captures the essence of the song's raw emotions, showcasing Cooke's autobiographical journey of moving forward and reclaiming her independence after a toxic breakup. As her intrusive ex persistently crosses boundaries that no longer concern him, Cooke draws a firm line – “her current situation is none of his damn bizness” (MusicRow).
 
Cooke will continue sharing her critically acclaimed debut album shot in the dark on the U.S. leg of Jordan Davis' DAMN GOOD TIME TOUR throughout the summer with a headline tour to be announced soon. As she grows with unstoppable momentum, the MusicRow Discovery Artist of the Year and 2024 Next Big Thing artist will appear at some of the country's hottest festivals including Windy City Smokeout, Faster Horses, Country Boom, Country Summer, and more.