Kassi Ashton releases the acoustic version of “Sounds Like Something I’d Say” featuring Parker McCollum today via MCA, stripping the fan-favorite track down to acoustic guitar and the duo’s unmistakable vocals. Originally part of her deluxe album ‘Made From The Dirt: The Blooms,’ the song built its following through multiple viral live performances on tour before landing here, in a rendition that trades polished production for the kind of raw, room-filling chemistry that the original only hinted at. “Country music is and has always been about the song at its rawest form,” Ashton says. “This is the best way to honor that.”
Listeners are already calling it the definitive version of the track, a spare and honest recording that lets the song’s sharp wit and emotional undercurrent do all the work. The release opens a big year for Ashton, whose fearless storytelling, powerhouse vocals, and genre-blurring edge have earned praise from Rolling Stone (“a devilish songwriter who isn’t afraid to flip convention on its head”), PEOPLE (“in line for Nashville domination”), and PAPER Magazine (“the next big country superstar”). New music and tour dates are on the way.
Sorry, the North London indie band led by Asha Lorenz and Louis O’Bryen, performed a five-song live session for KEXP, with the full band moving through material that showcases the genre-defying range that has made them one of the most talked-about acts in the UK independent scene. Lorenz and O’Bryen on guitars and vocals, Campbell Baum on bass, Marco Pini on electronics, and Lincoln Barrett on drums draw from indie rock, post-punk, shoegaze, and electronic textures across a set that is as intimate as it is expansive.
Today, 18-year-old breakout star Ty Myers shares a bittersweet anthem for restless hearts everywhere with his new song “Morning Comes,” out now via RECORDS Nashville/Columbia. Accompanied by an official visualizer, the R&B-tinged track is set to appear on the singer/songwriter/guitarist’s upcoming sophomore album Heavy On The Soul, out March 27,
Produced by Brandon Hood and recorded at the historic FAME Recording Studios in Muscle Shoals, AL, “Morning Comes” tells the story of an after-hours romance between two people whose emotional intentions don’t align. With his signature mix of stark self-awareness and gritty sensitivity, Myers perfectly captures the push-and-pull between longing for connection and unequivocally craving the no-strings freedom of total independence.
“‘Morning Comes’ is my favorite song I’ve written and recorded so far,” the Texas-bred musician reveals. “Some of my favorite lines I’ve ever written live in this one, and the story it tells hits close to home.”
Written by Myers and Scooter Carusoe, “Morning Comes” immediately draws the listener into the passion-dazed haze of a late-night entanglement (from the first verse: “With closing time closing in / We’re curbside, taxi cab, diving in / Making out to a dashboard song / Tipping that driver to take the long way home”). With its understated arrangement of drifting guitar tones, smoldering horns, and gently pulsing rhythms, the song shifts into a devastating directness at the chorus (“’Cause when the morning comes / I’ll be gone / And you can tell your friends / That I did you wrong / And they’ll all hate me / But I can’t say I disagree / This kinda life is meant for being free / And love ain’t all it’s cracked up to be”). Thanks to the soulful restraint of Myers and his fellow musicians — including A-listers like guitarist Tom Bukovac (Glen Campbell, Vince Gill), steel guitarist Bruce Bouton (George Strait, Emmylou Harris), keyboardist Gordon Mote (Brad Paisley, Hank Williams, Jr.) — “Morning Comes” ultimately builds a potent tension that makes Myers’ unflinching honesty all the more powerful.
Directed by John Park, the visualizer for “Morning Comes” adds another layer to the song’s melancholy mood. After following Myers as he rides alone in a taxi on a rainy New York night, the cinematic but deeply intimate visual finds him on the banks of the East River on a gray and gloomy morning, singing to the camera with an aching intensity.
Along with “Morning Comes” and “Message to You,” Heavy On The Soul will feature the previously released “Two Trains (feat. Marcus King),” “Leaving Carolina,” “Through a Screen,” and “Come On Over, Baby.” As he gears up for the album’s arrival, Myers will make his international debut by performing at C2C: Country to Country 2026 in Rotterdam (March 7), Berlin (March 8), London (March 13), Belfast (March 14), and Glasgow (March 15). Soon after his C2C run (including a performance at London’s iconic O2 arena), he’ll take the stage at stadiums across North America and Europe as support for Luke Combs’ MY KINDA SATURDAY NIGHT TOUR (kicking off on March 21 at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas) and make his highly awaited debut at Stagecoach (on April 26 at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, CA). For more info on Myers’ upcoming live dates, visit tymyersmusic.com/tour.
Tonight at Township Auditorium in Columbia, SC, Myers will wrap up his wildly successful The Select Tour — a SOLD-OUT headline run whose itinerary was expanded multiple times in response to major fan demand. The 73-date trek launched just before the release of The Select, a widely acclaimed LP that delivered the PLATINUM-certified Billboard Hot 100 hits “Ends of the Earth” and “Thought It Was Love” and inspired Rolling Stone to hail Myers as “the next face of country music.”
With his authoritative fifth album Book of Paul just one month away, country iconoclast Paul Cauthen gives fans a taste of its unfiltered artistry on “Chain Smoking” (featuring Delaney Ramsdell) – a slow-burning duet so vivid, it should come with a Surgeon General’s warning.
Co-written by Cauthen with Beau Bedford and Jason Burt, “Chain Smoking” (featuring Delaney Ramsdell) arrives as an aching barstool ballad, with the sharp pain of a breakup hanging heavy in the air.
Pairing the Texas native’s Big Velvet vocal with smoky roots-country counterpoint, finger-picked acoustic guitar and weary steel swirl in a dive-bar haze of romantic devastation. As a striking look at the emotional fire powering Cauthen’s next chapter, the track soon rises into bellowing soundtrack to full-flavor sorrow, where more pain is the one-and-only cure.
“Ain’t it funny how two things go together … Like chain smoking with a broken heart,” goes the track.
With his booming baritone with a near-biblical swagger, Cauthen’s Book of Paul is set to arrive on April 3. Classic-country grit and gospel power fuse with a rhinestoned rock-and-roll edge, as the fiercely independent singer-songwriter known as “Big Velvet” returns to his East Texas roots.
Capturing his unruly essence with all the charm of a rattlesnake (and the vocal venom to match), gritty, swampy, East Texas country comes alive under Cauthen’s singular artistic vision, as a true-to-him battle between darkness and light unfolds. The rising star co-wrote 12 of 13 tracks and even plays bass and drums on select songs, carving a path of utterly authentic country music; fearless, proud and with two middle fingers in the air.
Built on a bronc-bucking beat, dark twang and a barely contained sense of danger, Cauthen marked his album announcement with the release of his electrifying “Texas Swagger.” The track came with a strutting music video, directed and shot by Gus Black and Randy Quartieri, and filmed at the BuckTown bull riding compound of legend JB Mauney – another true original.
Other early releases combine Soul pop and gospel twang in “Bayou By You,” while the hypnotic, outlaw-country romance of “Ain’t No Crime” finds Cauthen in a voluntary lockup of love.
With production split between chart-topping songwriter Ryan Tyndell, Steve Rusch (Jessie Murph, Koe Wetzel) and Sam Martinez (Tyler Braden, Carrie Underwood), plus Fustin (Priscilla Block) and Nate Ferraro (Beyoncé), Cauthen’s streak of against-the-grain attitude continues.
Having collaborated with everyone from Shaboozey, Margo Price and Orville Peck to Cody Jinks and Lana Del Rey, Cauthen’s enigmatic “it factor” has been on display since his 2016 solo debut, My Gospel. Landing somewhere in the ether between Waylon Jennings, Elvis Presley and Jerry Lee Lewis, raucous live shows filled with steel-toed rhinestones and gothic roots rock have cemented his legacy, alongside favorites like “Cocaine Country Dancing” and “Fuck You Money” and the previous albums Room 41,Country Coming Down and Black on Black.
Book of Paul Track Listing:
Book of Paul
Ain’t No Crime
Texas Swagger
Tossin’ Back Time (feat. Jake Worthington)
Blue Denim & Black Gold
Breakaway
Chain Smoking (feat. Delaney Ramsdell)
Bayou By You
Dark Horse
Cigarettes & Billy Graham
Road Dog
Texas Gravel Road
The Voice Inside (Silence)
See Cauthen on the road on his 2026 Tonkin’ N Tejas Tour: Thurs., March 26 || Waco, TX || The Backyard Fri., March 27 || Lubbock, TX || The Blue Light Sat., March 28 || Fort Worth, TX || Tannahill’s Tavern & Music Hall Mon., March 30 || Austin, TX || Antone’s Wed., April 1 || Dallas, TX || The Kessler Theater Thurs., April 2 || New Braunfels, TX || Gruene Hall Fri., April 3 || Helotes, TX || Floore’s Country Store
Megan Moroney releases “Sorry… I Meant Tonight (Bonus)” today, a new addition to her third studio album ‘Cloud 9,’ out now via Sony Music Nashville and Columbia Records. Written by Moroney, Luke Laird, and Jessie Jo Dillon and produced by Kristian Bush, the track is a bass-heavy, guitar-laced snapshot of sudden infatuation, moving from self-aware humor to slightly unhinged romantic projection across a chorus that is already built for sing-alongs. It arrives in the middle of her “9 Cities. 9 Days.” fan celebration, a series of exclusive appearances across the country tied to the album’s release.
‘Cloud 9’ landed last Friday to immediate and widespread acclaim. Rolling Stone called Moroney “the Poet of Gen Z Heartbreak,” Billboard praised her ability to distill “love, loss, disappointment and heartbreak into sharply crafted, witty lyrics,” and American Songwriter featured her on the cover of their February digital issue, noting the album “finds Moroney stepping deeper into her artistic identity and putting forth her confidence like never before.” The 15-track set includes the Gold-certified country radio No. 1 “6 Months Later” and Billboard Hot 100-charting “Beautiful Things,” with additional coverage in Esquire, the Los Angeles Times, and USA Today.
Fresh off her EDC Mexico Circuit Grounds appearance, one of electronic music’s most recognizable voices, HAYLA is in full celebration mode. The GRAMMY-nominated singer and songwriter is currently nominated for several notable awards including an iHeartRadio Music Award, a FEMMY Award and four Electronic Dance Music Awards (EDMAs); winners will be revealed in late March.
Meanwhile, look for HAYLA to preview with strings and piano a new body of work set for release later this summer at a free intimate private event for fans at London’s iconic St Pancras Church on March 18. Following her London show, she will attend the iHeartRadio Music Awards happening March 26 in Los Angeles, and then she will join Bebe Rexha on March 26 as support at San Jose’s first multi-generational music festival Music Mania at SoFa Lot. Her solo debut at EDC Las Vegas is set for the weekend of May 15.
HAYLA will release her new highly-anticipated single “Heal,” previewed at her shows last year, in April. Details will be announced soon.
At the iHeartRadio Music Awards, which celebrate the most-played artists and songs on iHeartRadio stations and the iHeartRadio app throughout 2025, while also offering a preview of the upcoming hits of 2026, HAYLA is nominated in the “Dance Song Of The Year” category for “In My Arms,” her song with GRAMMY-nominated producer and songwriter ILLENIUM. The track appears on his 2026 album ODYSSEY, which also featured collaborations with Ellie Goulding, Ryan Tedder and more. The iHeartRadio Music Awards take place March 26 in Los Angeles and will air live on FOX.
Hosted by Femme House, the second annual Femmy Awards event, happening March 26 during Miami Music Week, will again honor figures from the scene whose work has helped forge the genre, has expanded representation and has helped elevate others. HAYLA is being recognized for “Best Vocalist,” a community voted category recognizing the often heard but not seen voices of dance music. Cast your vote here.
A past winner, HAYLA is across four categories at this year’s Electronic Dance Music Awards (EDMAs), the annual fan-voted awards show dedicated to celebrating top artists, producers, and songs across all electronic dance music genres. She’s up for Female Artist of the Year, Vocalist of the Year, Dance Radio Artist of the Year, as well as Best Collaboration for “FADED,” HAYLA’s last single release with multi-platinum pop icon Nelly Furtado release via Casablanca Records. Seamlessly blending Furtado’s signature pop sensibility with HAYLA’s soaring, emotive vocals, the track delivers a haunting and cinematic dancefloor anthem that melds electronic atmosphere with emotional storytelling. Fan voting for the EDMAs is now open at edmawardsmiami.com and will be announced at the awards ceremony which takes place Friday, March 27, at The Clevelander South Beach during Miami Music Week.
Late 2025, coinciding with the release of “FADED,” HAYLA embarked on a headlining North American tour. Following an incredible summer that saw her debut at major PRIDE festivals across the U.S., as well as standout performances at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, Ushuaïa Ibiza and EDC Mexico’s Circuit Grounds. The rising singer-songwriter brought her captivating solo show stateside for sold out shows in San Diego, Tucson, Orlando, Tampa, Dallas, Chicago, and more wrapping at Los Angeles’ El Rey Theatre. In addition to her award worthy tracks “FADED” and “In My Arms” live audiences heard a range of HAYLA’s chart-topping collaborations and stand-out solo hits from her debut solo album DUSK (Restless Minds/Believe UK), as well as new material to be released this year.
Multi-platinum hard rock heavyweights Drowning Pool return with a ferocious new collaboration, teaming up with rising active rock force Sorry X on their brand-new single, “THE WRONG ONE,” out now through SBG Records.
The collaboration was sparked after the band discovered Sorry X’s brutal reinterpretation of Drowning Pool’s iconic anthem Bodies online.
“We stumbled on Sorry X’s cover of ‘Bodies’ and were impressed by the sheer brutality of her vocals. On top of that Alexa sings amazing. We knew we had to collaborate on something so we reached out,” says CJ Pierce.
Sorry X adds, “I’m a huge fan of Drowning Pool and I grew up listening to the 2000s nu-metal era, so I was stoked when they reached out to me. I’m really proud of how this track came together and I hope fans will feel the intensity and raw energy of this collaboration.”
Produced by Hiram Hernandez (Magnolia Park, Bush), “THE WRONG ONE” delivers everything fans expect from Drowning Pool, while Sorry X injects a multi-genre inspired edge that elevates the track into something entirely new. The result is a high-impact anthem built for mosh pits, playlists, and repeat listens.
Known for pushing boundaries and amplifying powerful new voices in heavy music, Drowning Pool once again proves why they remain a dominant force in hard rock—this time alongside one of the most exciting emerging talents.
NEEDTOBREATHE release “Highlands” today, the fourth preview from their upcoming tenth studio album ‘The Long Surrender,’ out March 27 via MCA. Written solely by frontman Bear Rinehart, the track unfolds with hymn-like intimacy, Dave Cobb’s raw production drawing out Rinehart’s formidable tenor against a backdrop of searching, prayer-like lyrics. Cobb, a nine-time GRAMMY winner, also produced the album, recorded largely live and driven by Rinehart’s most personal songwriting to date. “This album really clarified that, as an artist, I’ve got to put my convictions in front of anything else,” Rinehart says. “It’s definitely a better indicator of where we’re headed than where we’ve ever been, and in a lot of ways it feels like our very first record.”
The band also released a 20-minute documentary this month, ‘The Season of The Long Surrender,’ directed by Babysweet, following NEEDTOBREATHE in the studio, on stage, and on the road through the making of the record. The twelve-track album features “Momma Loves Me” with The Red Clay Strays and co-written track “Strangeness Of It All” with John Luke Carter. NEEDTOBREATHE are currently wrapping the second leg of The Barely Elegant Acoustic Tour, running through March 7. Pre-add and pre-save for ‘The Long Surrender’ are live now.
TRACK LISTING: ‘The Long Surrender’:
“The Long Surrender”
“Say It Now”
“Highlands”
“Sing To Me Savannah”
“Where You Call Home”
“Strangeness Of It All”
“Take Me Dancing”
“The Door”
“Growing Slow”
“Momma Loves Me” (feat. The Red Clay Strays)
“Take The Blame”
“Spread The Ashes”
TOUR DATES: The Barely Elegant Acoustic Tour:
Friday February 27 — Salina, KS — Stiefel Theatre
Saturday February 28 — Colorado Springs, CO — Pikes Peak Center
Sunday March 1 — Lubbock, TX — Buddy Holly Hall
Tuesday March 3 — Midland, TX — Wagner Noel Performing Arts Center
Thursday March 5 — Tulsa, OK — Tulsa Theater
Friday March 6 — San Antonio, TX — Tobin Center for Performing Arts
Saturday March 7 — Fort Worth, TX — Will Rogers Auditorium
Dusty Black releases his self-titled debut EP today via QHMG and Stone Country Records, a six-track project produced by Mickey Jack Cones that moves between hard-edged rural rock and tender country balladry. Born in Texas and raised in Memphis, Black carries a lineage that runs deep: his grandfather, Floyd Black Junior, played banjo and guitar in Johnny Cash’s band, and it was the passing of his father, Allen Black, that pulled him away from a successful business career and back to music full time. “This EP is the end result of a lot of soul-searching about who I am and who I want to be,” Black says. Listeners are already connecting to the EP’s range and rawness, calling it one of the most grounded country debuts in recent Nashville memory.
The six tracks cover real ground. Focus track “Don’t That Sound Like Her” opens with sweet romance before detonating into a full-throttle chorus about the wreckage one woman left behind, while “Curveball” is a heartfelt tribute to a father who coached his son in life as much as baseball. “Goodbye Drives Me Crazy” speaks to anyone whose work keeps them on the road and away from the people they love, and “Dust Off of Me” captures the cautious optimism of falling for someone new after a long-ago heartbreak. “In That Case” and closer “I Don’t Wanna Be Right” round out the set with a backwoods energy that is equal parts defiant and fun.
Black arrives at this moment with nearly 18 million streams already behind him and a road resume that includes opening sets for Nelly, Gary LeVox, Stoney LaRue, and Lauren Alaina. The ‘Dusty Black’ EP is out now everywhere.
Nashville country-pop duo 2 Lane Summer release “Heaven Knows” today via QHMG and Quartz Hill Records, a high-energy track about finding a partner so perfectly matched it could only be divine. Driven by electric guitar, heart-pounding drums, and the duo’s trademark vocal harmonies (which Billboard has called “bold and beautiful”), the song was written by Joe Hanson and Chris Ray alongside Dustin James, Tim Owens, and Nathan Woodard, and produced by Ash Bowers. “We wrote this one about finding that perfect person that you know is from God, and to celebrate that relationship,” says Hanson. Listeners are already gravitating to it as one of the duo’s most instantly joyful releases, a windows-down, turn-it-up singalong that lands exactly as intended.
The release builds on a strong foundation. 2 Lane Summer’s debut EP ‘The Love Songs’ arrived last year after signing with Quartz Hill Records, and the duo has since amassed nearly 800,000 social media followers and close to 19 million streams, with a growing stream of fans requesting their presence at weddings and engagement proposals across the country. “Heaven Knows” is out now everywhere.
