Luke Bryan’s got a lot going on. He’s on his huge What Makes You Country Tour, he’s signed on for another season as a judge on American Idol, he just opened a bar/restaurant in downtown Nashville – and celebrated with a free concert in the middle of the street – and he’s got a family at home he tries to spend as much time as possible with.

It’s no wonder, then, that things don’t always go as smoothly as they could when the camera is pointed at him.

Throw in some Jon Pardi trying to charge $100 to see Luke shirtless, Morgan Wallen, a smiling cameraman (apparently) and a few f-bombs, and you’ve got this video you’ll probably want to watch more than once:

Recently Brett Eldredge and Meghan Trainor were the ones to sing each others’ songs (and on of Kenny and Dolly’s) on CMT Crossroads, and it was really good! Now, you might think that since they’re both superstar entertainers, all they had to do was show up and sing and everything worked out, but no. There was actually a lot of rehearsal time put into making that show great, and even a little tweaking of harmonies the day before.

Also the outfit Meghan planned to wear for the show didn’t show up. She didn’t panic, and in fact called on the spirit of Oprah to remind herself that there was nothing she could do to change it, so she was just going to roll with flow.

Do take note of her slippers, too. You think these artists wear their heels all the time? Oh, girl. No. That would hurt.

Check out the behind-the-scenes video here:

I’ve said from the beginning that there’s more to the story than the sensational stuff we’ve been told about Gretchen Wilson’s arrest a couple of weeks ago in Connecticut. Authorities called it a “minor disturbance” she was involved in on a flight, and when she landed and had to talk to cops on the jetway, they called her “belligerent” and arrested her for breach of peace. While I’m not best friends with Gretchen, I’ve met her several times, and what I’ve seen her be is assertive and direct, and she doesn’t take anybody’s crap. If you’re a woman, you know how THAT translates. Belligerent? What they probably meant is that she didn’t back down from her convictions.

Gretchen gave her first interview since her arrest to Taste of Country, and while she can’t talk about any of the details while it’s an active case, she did say that what we’ve been reading is all wrong.  And she’s frustrated by not being able to set the record straight while attorneys are doing their attorney things. But she says she’s sure everything will get sorted out and the truth will prevail.

Oooh… she’s writing a song about it. I can’t wait to hear it!

There are a lot of stereotypes about those of us who listen to country music. Of course, we don’t all live in trailers, go to NASCAR races, or cry into our Bud Lights while driving pickup trucks. Nothing wrong with it if you do, I’m just saying we don’t all do that.

But I feel like Brad Paisley has really hit the nail on the head with the so far unreleased song he played for Jimmy Fallon on the Tonight Show. After talking about his pre-show dodge ball ritual with his band, the real  reason for Blake Shelton’s arm injury, and finding material for the CMA Awards, which he’s hosting with Carrie Underwood in November, you’ll hear this song about a first… uh… love.

Man, I can’t wait until he releases this one as a single so we can play it on Slacker’s Nashville Now!

Today we say goodbye to a musical legend. On the anniversary of Elvis Presley’s death, Aretha Franklin has joined him in that rock ‘n’ roll band we know must be jamming in heaven.

Aretha’s music influenced artists of every genre – and has even made appearances at country music industry events. Like that time in 1988 when then-three time consecutive female vocalist of the year Reba McEntire performed “Respect” at the CMA Awards. Reba said it was controversial, but she said the song connected with her mental outlook at the time.

Country artists have been paying their respects (no pun intended) on social media today, including Reba, who also shared a video of her 1988 performance.

Rest in peace, Queen. Thank you for the music. – Jess Wright

It was 2015 when Eric Church surprised everyone – including most of the people at his record label – by dropping a new album called Mr. Misunderstood, first to his fan club, The Church Choir, and then to the rest of us. It has been three long years that we’ve worn that album out while patiently waiting for more new music, because, let’s face it, you can never have too much new Eric Church music, am I right?

If you missed his live announcement this morning, you can see it (or, if you didn’t miss it, you can re-live it) here.

He’s BACK. The new album, Desperate Man, is coming October 5^th, and the title track is coming to Slacker Radio tomorrow. I’ve heard it, and it is everything we’ve been waiting for and more. It’s so good! Listen for it on Slacker’s Nashville Now station, and as the featured New Music First on the Weekly Country Countdown.

You’re welcome!

This may come as a shock to you, but in country music, we like our drinks. At least as far back as ol’ Hank Williams, we’ve had a tear in our beer, and we’ve never been afraid to tell you about it. Garth Brooks and George Jones (who legitimately did have a drinking problem) went on a “Beer Run,” Billy Currington was “Pretty Good At Drinkin’ Beer,” and John Anderson knew all about a “Straight Tequila Night.”

But it seems the Washington Post thinks this is a new phenomenon, one they wrote an article about last week. They point out the number of artists who have opened bars or launched their own lines of wine, whiskey, vodka, rum, and mezcal.

They also went so far as to put together this video about how country artists use alcohol to sing about love, and everything that surrounds it, including breakups.

So… is this a bad thing? Obviously some artists have taken it too far in their personal lives  -- Keith Urban is among the artists who went to rehab, and George Jones was known for driving his lawnmower to the bar when his wife took away his car keys before he eventually got sober. But let’s look at Brad Paisley: one of his biggest songs is called “Alcohol,” he usually has a bar on stage at his shows, and he built a bar in his house. But he doesn’t drink at all. Many of the artists quoted in the WP’s article even said they don’t drink as hard as you might think they do.

Country music is about life, and often it’s about making the best of life as it is and having a good time whenever you can. And sometimes real life also includes making decisions while under the influence that you might not have made sober… because we all know that drunk text was NOT a good idea – and country music is about that, too.

Do we have a drinking problem in country music? I say no. We might have a partying and having fun problem, but is that really such a bad thing? Now, simmer down and pour me a glass of wine, would ya?

Ok, we have to talk about something. It’s important. Pay attention, ok?

ARTISTS ARE NOT GOING TO CONTACT YOU ON SOCIAL MEDIA BECAUSE THEY NEED SOMETHING FROM YOU. Yes, they appreciate you being a big fan. No, they don’t appreciate you so much that they will randomly send you a DM sending you tickets to a private show or asking you for financial help, plane tickets, or anything else. There is never a time that there is a legitimate reason to give money directly to an artist via social media.

Let me say it a little louder for those in the back: THERE IS NEVER A TIME THAT THERE IS A LEGITIMATE REASON TO GIVE MONEY DIRECTLY TO AN ARTIST VIA SOCIAL MEDIA.

That’s why the legit accounts for artists have a blue check next to their names. If there’s no blue check, it’s not them.

This is a big enough deal that a whole bunch of country artists got together to make you this Public Service Announcement (PSA), in which you’ll see they pretty much all agree those imposters are bullshit.

When these fake jackwagons (I said it) contact you  -- and they will, if they haven’t already – don’t respond, just report them. Feel free to take a screen shot first to share it with your friends to show them how stupid these people are – some of them actually contact the real artists’ families and bandmates and record label friends. One posing as Kix Brooks reached out to Kix’s WIFE to ask her for money.

I know you want to believe that you favorite artists are reaching out to you personally, but really stop and think about how much sense that makes. Why you? You’re pretty great, but really? Does Garth Brooks actually need money from you? Don’t fall for it. Keep your money for important things, like pizza and unicorn inflatables, and those $168 jeans that are nothing but seams and pockets. On second thought, please skip that last one, too.

ACM’s charity arm, Lifting Lives, has a music camp every year, and it’s probably the coolest camp you could ever dream of going to. This year, 30 campers ranging from 16 to 50 years old, all with a developmental disability called Williams Syndrome, got to visit Nashville for this once-in-a-lifetime experience. During the campers week-long stay, they received music education and performance experience, all while the Vanderbilt Kennedy Center was able to study this unique disability.

The program started with a writing session, where campers wrote a song called “One Voice” with Kip Moore and hit songwriters Ross Copperman (“Drunk On Your Love,” “If I Told You,” “American Country Love Song,”) and Jon Nite (“We Were Us,” “Tip It On Back,” “Whatever She’s Got”). They took that to the studio, where Lady Antebellum’s Hillary Scott helped them record it and answered their questions about the music business. And, as if that wasn’t cool enough, they took their new song to the Grand Ole Opry, where they got to perform it with Craig Morgan.

Other activities included karaoke with Brandon Lay, visiting Seacrest Studios with Cassadee Pope, and meeting and/or greeting with Danielle Bradbery.  In my job, I get to do a lot of cool stuff, and even I’m envious of the week they had!

Craig Campbell has a new 7-song EP out called See You Try, and a song by the same name. So I got to talk to him about it on Slacker Radio’s Nashville Now (and a little on Country Hits), and the subject of the Country 500 came up. We watched his performance here on LiveXLive, and I saw an interview (elsewhere) from the show where a guy asked him to tell him something nobody knew about him.

Craig said, “I can do something only 1% of the world population can do: I can lick my elbow.” And the guy interviewing him said, “Ok,” and moved on to the next unrelated question.

WAIT A MINUTE. He didn’t ask to see proof? He didn’t ask how he figured out he could do that, or how that skill comes in handy? Nothing?!

I couldn’t let that stand. I HAD to see it for myself. And if that random radio guy doing the interview wasn’t going to ask, I definitely was. And Craig said yes. You’re welcome, random radio dude.