Find tickets for Tulsa-area concerts

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A tweet from the Opry about Wallen surprising fans at its regular Saturday broadcast show led to heavy criticism of the mostly white institution and its history as a gatekeeper.

Carden Records spinning vinyl in downtown Braselton

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“I told my wife, ‘Vinyl’s coming back; now would be a good time to figure out how to open a store,’” he said. “Younger kids are getting into vinyl now; it’s kind of cool to watch them do the same thing that I do even now, listening to vinyl instead of streaming music.”

While streaming is convenient here in the digital age, Carden noted there’s a prevailing resistance to those platforms in favor of supporting artists’ livelihood.

“If you pay attention to music and the music industry, artists don’t make anything from streaming — it’s like pennies on the dollar that the actual artist gets paid,” he said. “So I think fans are starting to figure out that if they buy physical copies of music again, it supports the artist that they like more so than picking up your phone and paying them a percentage of a dollar for every time you play a song. Even if they don’t go home and listen to a CD or vinyl over and over and over again and they still stream, they’ve taken that extra step to make sure that the artist gets compensated for his or her art.”

With about 2,500 records comprising his personal collection, Carden himself is a key benefactor.

“The crackle and the pop of a vinyl record is kind of my thing,” Carden said. “My parents always listened to vinyl — that was their thing. When CDs came out, my mom kind of refused to transition for as long as she could. The quality wasn’t the same.”

Carden’s own connection to music was cemented with his first concert at age 14: Metallica.

“When I saw Metallica the very first time, that was my defining music moment,” Carden said. “You listen to this band, but then you figure out who led them to where they are, and who led that band to where they were and who their influences were and who they got their sound from. Then you start digging into subcultures of music from people that you started listening to.”

Thomas Rhett Announces New Album, ‘Where We Started’

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Thomas Rhett has shared the most important details about his next studio album: When fans can get it and who he’ll be working with.

On Instagram, the “Slow Down Summer” singer revealed that Where We Started will drop on April 1. He’s also revealed the full track list (see below) and revealed that his collaborators will include Riley Green, Tyler Hubbard of Florida Georgia Line, Russell Dickerson and pop star Katy Perry.

It’s his sixth studio album, and the follow-up to Country Again: Side A, released in April 2021. The 15-song project will include his current single, and 13 more co-writes.

The news of this new album came mid-day on Thursday (Jan. 13). At midnight on Friday morning, he released two new songs, “Angels” and “Church Boots.”

The break between Country Again: Side A and Side B was announced when he released “Slow Down Summer” in November. Fans can expect Side B in the fall, he said at the time. One month later, he shared an acoustic version of a song called “Years Are Short” with fans via Instagram.

2021 was a relatively slow year for Rhett, with just one single released to radio. He made up for it in his personal life, however, with the birth of his fourth daughter in November.

Last April, Rhett won the Male Artist of the Year award at the ACM Awards.

*Update: This article was updated to reflect the full track list and Rhett’s collaborators.

Thomas Rhett, Where We Started Track List:

“The Hill” (Lori McKenna, Jordan Reynolds, Emily Weisband)
“Church Boots” (Thomas Rhett, Jesse Frasure, Ashley Gorley, Ernest Keith Smith)
“Bass Pro Hat” (Rhett, Matt Dragstrem, Joshua Miller, Josh Thompson)
“Anything Cold” (Rhett, Julian Bunetta, Jaten Dimsdale, Thompson)
“Angels” (Rhett, Bunetta, Jaten Dimsdale, Thompson)
“Half of Me” Feat. Riley Green (Rhett, Rhett Akins, Will Bundt, Thompson)
“Bring the Bar” (Rhett, Akins, Frasure, Gorley, Parker Welling)
“Paradise” (Rhett, Dragstrem, Smith, Thompson)
“Death Row” Feat. Tyler Hubbard, Russell Dickerson (Rhett, Zach Crowell, Gorley)
“Mama’s Front Door” (Rhett, Dragstrem, Gorley, Chase McGill)
“Slow Down Summer” (Rhett, Akins, Sean Douglas, Frasure, Gorley)
“Simple As a Song” (Rhett, Luke Laird, Thompson)
“Us Someday” (Rhett, Akins, Frasure, Amy Wadge)
“Somebody Like Me” (Rhett, Akins, Dragstrem, Thompson)
“Where We Started” With Katy Perry (Rhett, Jon Bellion, Frasure, Gorley)

Best Country Albums of 2021 - Critic’s Picks This list of the best country albums of 2021 was curated by Taste of Country staff, with help from fans and with consideration of industry acclaim and mainstream accessibility.

The top album of the year is a traditional country record that makes subtle efforts to include more progressive-minded fans. Elsewhere, find projects from a dynamic mix of artists and and visionaries.

Kane Brown’s Daughter Is Embracing Her Role as a Big Sister

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Kane Brown and his wife, Katelyn, are adjusting to life as a family of four after their second child, Kodi Jane, was born on Dec. 30. The couple’s oldest child, two-year-old Kingsley, is now a big sister – and by the looks of things, she’s a natural at it.

On Saturday (Jan. 7), Katelyn shared a sweet series of photos of the two kids, with Kingsley’s love for her baby sister on full display. The pictures show her snuggling and holding baby Kodi, while in one, she adorably plants a kiss on Kodi’s forehead.

“Nothing melts my heart more than seeing Kings love on her little sister,” Katelyn wrote in the caption of her post.

It’s the latest in a series of snapshots Brown and Katelyn have shared of her pregnancy and Kodi’s birth. However, before welcoming the newest member of their family, they kept it quiet that they were expecting. The news came as a surprise to fans when the superstar couple announced Kodi’s birth on New Year’s Eve (Dec. 31.)

In early January, Katelyn shared a post explaining why she chose to keep her pregnancy away from the spotlight. “These past 9 months have been so sacred and special to me,” she wrote. “Choosing to keep my pregnancy quiet was the best decision I’ve ever made. Soaking in special moments with my daughter and husband without the influence of social media and outside world made this time that much more intimate and unforgettable.”

In recent days, Katelyn also revealed how she told Brown that she was pregnant with Kodi, sharing a video of herself waking him up to show him a positive pregnancy test.

Brown got to spend almost the entire first year of Kingsley’s life at home with his family due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, during the latter half of Katelyn’s second pregnancy, he was on the road for his Blessed & Free Tour. That run of dates launched last October, and picked up again on Jan. 6. It’ll run through early February.