Tucker Wetmore is on the ride of his life after entering the Country music world with his debut single, “Wind Up Missin’ You” which is currently top 15 and climbing.

While it may look like it’s all success right now, Wetmore recently opened up to Audacy’s Katie Neal revealing his music career is the result of a life-changing injury that kept him from seeing his dreams of becoming a professional athlete.

“I was in Montana, I played a year of football there and I’m gettin’ scout player of the year — they’re like, ‘Hey you’re the number one guy for the next four years — you’re the number one receiver, let’s roll.’ I was like, ‘Alright, let’s do it,’ but it just didn’t feel right for a couple months towards the end.”

The Washington native continued to recall, “I remember sitting down after coming home from practice and… I locked myself in the bathroom and I just started bawling. Like, weeping crying.” In the midst of his meltdown, Wetmore tapped into his church-based upbringing for guidance and confided in God, asking for “a sign.”

“I was just like, I need a sign,” he shared. “The next day, I went to practice like I would any other day and very first play, run a post over the middle and snap my leg in three places.”

A career-ending injury for the now 25-year-old was a tough pill to swallow at the time, but looking back, he says’ it’s “exactly what I needed.” While the sign to part ways from football was clear, the next step wasn’t necessarily revealing itself. That is, until Wetmore’s mom encouraged him to spend time at the piano - a habit that he used to have in his younger years to decompress after school, before homework.

“She was like, ‘just go sit at your piano — that used to ease your mind back in the day,’” he shared before remembering how much music helped him through his childhood after learning to play “by ear” and YouTube tutorials.

“I started to teach myself when I was 11, never had a lesson on anything,” he shared. “I would just sit down and play for hours. Literally every single day I'd come home from practice and before I could wrap my head around homework, I'd have to decompress on piano.”

Mama Wetmore’s advice following’s Tucker’s injury is just what he needed to propel himself to the next step. Later that very night, Wetmore wrote his very first song and a few months after that, he packed up and moved to Nashville to chase his new-found dream of being a Country artist.

“Five months later, I was like, ‘Mom, I want to do this, I believe I can do this.' And then she was like, 'I never doubted you for a second, go do it,'” he said.

It was a big move for Wetmore, who prides himself on being a big family man and moved to a town where he didn’t know a single soul. That didn’t stop him from integrating himself into the town quickly. Twenty years old at the time, and in the midst of a global pandemic, Tucker defied the odds and started seeing things take shape. He was quickly signed to a publishing deal which was later followed by a record deal that he signed Summer 2023.

Just over a year later, Wetmore is celebrating his debut single at Country radio, “Wind Up Missin’ You,” in the top 15 as well as the recent release of his album, 'Waves On A Sunset,' available now.

“First and foremost, I wanted to portray who I am as a person and as an artist,” Wetmore said of his intentions with the project before simply stating he needed more songs to fill his already sold-out shows. Fans will also be excited to know there’s a lot more where this album came from as he shares it is a direct lead into his next project which will dive deep into some of his biggest, present-day challenges and most tumultuous relationships.

While there’s lots to look forward to, Wetmore does his best to take things one day at a time, and recently, that means getting ready to hit the road with Thomas Rhett for the 'Better in Boots Tour' in 2025. Th ...

Audacy's Katie Neal welcomes Kane Brown to our airwaves as this week’s co-host for the 'Superstar Power Hour' on all your favorite Audacy Country stations nationwide.

The new year will kick off with new music for Brown as he recently revealed he’ll release his fourth studio album, 'The High Road,' on January 24, 2025. The project will feature Brown’s most-recent hit, “Miles On It” featuring Marshmello in addition to “Fiddle In the Band,” which he recently performed at the People’s Choice Country Awards in September. Additionally, the album will include the 31-year-old’s new single, “Backseat Driver,” which is available now.

“It’s a beautiful song,” Kane said of the new single that marries his worlds of being a Country singer and girl dad together perfectly. “They said they’ve showed it to everybody and the first time I listened to it, I was like, ‘This is me!’ I think God just held it for me.”

His daughters aren’t the only ones with a “moment” on the album, Kane also highlights wife, Katelyn in a special way as she joins vocals for two tracks as a featured artist.

“We’ve got ‘Body Talk,’” Kane said, sharing the title of the first song he and wife Katelyn sing together. “It’s going to go to Pop radio — super sexy song. Kinda got like a little Latin vibe in the beat,” he shared. “Then you have ‘Do Us Apart,’ which is a Country vibe, which we love to duet,” explaining the inspiration came from Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis’ rendition of “I Told You So.” “We tried to come as close to that as we could. And this song reminded us of it.”

With a wide array of sounds and styles on the project, there’s a little something for everyone and also importantly for Kane — everything is a fit for his live shows.

“This album, I just really wanted to have every song that I could play live,” he shared. “The last couple albums — I like the songs, but some of them were used or years old so I had already grown as an artist so I don’t want to perform them. Or, I feel like they don’t have a big enough message for everybody — but this album, there’s so many great songs. Even the slow songs…. I feel like I could do a whole tour on this album and be happy.”

Kane will take all the songs on the road next year with his recently announced 2025 High Road Tour which kicks off March 13 in San Diego and wraps July 13 in Chicago. Along for support on select dates are Mitchell Tenpenny, Scotty McCreery, Dasha and Ashley Cooke.

Hear additional details about the tour, Kane’s evolving style choices, his new life as a father of three and so much more by checking out his entire conversation with Audacy’s Katie Neal on the Superstar Power Hour above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Few things are stronger than Country music friendships - Justin Moore and Blake Shelton being a great example.

During his appearance on the Superstar Power Hour with Audacy’s Katie Neal this week, Justin Moore opened up about how much Blake Shelton has helped him with his career and regularly puts friendship over stardom. “He’s always been really, really go to me,” Moore said of his longtime friendship with Shelton. “I went on tour with him, man, it was probably back in ’10, ’11, ’12, something like that and he’s always been really kind to me.”

Beyond their time on the road together, Justin credits one almost-cancelled appearance on NBC’s The Voice for showing him the level of commitment Blake had to their friendship.

“I was on The Voice in — I think it was maybe 2014 or something. Long story short, I was supposed to be on and they had to cancel for — I don’t know if it was another artist — but, what ever happened and he went to them and goes, ‘You’re gonna have Justin on. I called him and asked him to be on — you’re gonna have him on.'”

He continued, “I was on the finale, actually, which was huge at the time for us and that was all his doing. I say that to say, he is probably the most unaffected superstar I’ve ever met. He’s really just a super nice guy.”

Their friendship is also just as strong out of the spotlight, says Justin who calls Shelton a “nut.” “He’s a nut. Some of our text threads are — we couldn’t put them out — they’re pretty funny,” Justin laughed.

While they may not be able to release the texts, what they did release is a brand new song together featured on Justin’s new album, This Is My Dirt, available now. “I sent him a text and said, ‘Hey, I’ve got this song.’ I actually sent him two songs and I said, ‘which one do you want to do?’ He goes, ‘Let’s do the beer one,’” Justin recalled, laughing. “I go, ‘That’s what I figured you’d pick.’ For him to do that, he don’t have to do that.”

Blake wasn’t the only Country pal who fans can hear featured on the album — Justin also shared his gratitude for long time friends, Randy Houser and Dierks Bentley who appear on “The Worst” and “Time’s Ticking,” respectively.

“Same with Randy [Houser] and Dierks [Bentley],” Justin continued. “For them to lend their talents and time and energy to this project is really cool.”

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

It was a wild weekend on the road for Brantley Gilbert who welcomed his third child with wife, Amber, in the middle of a show in Tupelo, MS. Days later, Gilbert joined Audacy’s Katie Neal to share the whole story and praise Amber for her courage and strength.

“She’s the strongest woman I’ve ever met, I can’t say enough about her,” he said, still in disbelief of the events. According to Gilbert, he was just four songs into his headlining set when his tour manager walked on stage and pulled at his arm telling him to exit.

“We were four songs into the set and my tour manager comes up and pull on my arm… the first thing that came to mind is, ‘it’s a security threat,’” Brantley recalled, sharing he immediately had concern to take care of his bandmates and the crowd. “He looked at me and he gave me a stern like, ‘come on,’ he was like, ‘baby,’ he mouthed ‘baby’ to me and when he did, I dropped the mic and everything and took off running.”

The 39-year-old had no time to spare as he walked onto the bus and almost immediately, Amber’s water broke. “The minute I walked on the bus, I washed my hands really quick and the minute I knelt beside her, her water broke,” Gilbert shared. “I looked at the midwife and she looked back at me and I was just wide-eyed. She’s like, ‘We’re having a baby.’”

The situation is one Brantley said he and Amber had joked about before, but never actually thought could come true. “We joked that if it happened during a show, I’ll just hop off stage, we’ll have it and I’ll run back up there and I’ll hold the baby up like Lion King, like Simba... none of us thought that was actually going to happen.”

While it did happen (minus the Lion King part), Gilbert credits his wife for keeping her cool and birthing their third child, Abram Howell, like a “soldier.” “She was a soldier - such an understatement,” he said. “I’ve never seen anything like that in my life. She was just so strong. I was such an emotional wreck - it was ridiculous. She handled it a million times better than I did.”

Following the events, Gilbert says mom and baby are doing just fine. “They’re amazing,” he shared. “He’s tiny. He’s 5lb 7oz - he’s got the cutest little cry ever, but he’s precious.”

Hear the full story of Abram’s entry into the world by checking out Katie Neal’s full conversation with Brantley Gilbert above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Many Country stars dream of making it big from the time they’re kids, but for new-comer, Dylan Marlowe, the dream started as a college kid with a competitive spirit.

After realizing he could sing just a few years ago, Marlowe is already on the Country charts with a top 25 single, “Boys Back Home,” featuring Dylan Scott. The young Georgia-native recently sat down with Audacy’s Katie Neal to talk about his expedited journey to the Country music charts and the career he hopes to build.

“I started learning how to sing and write and play [guitar] in college,” he shared. “I didn't really know my whole life that I could do any of that because I always did baseball.” Dylan shared he first got a guitar from a “dude in my neighborhood” and was motivated to try it as he’s “always been kind of a competitive person.”

“There was a dude in my neighborhood, Colin, who pretty much gave me his extra guitar to learn how [to play],” Dylan explained. “ I started kind of writing songs,” he shared before explaining he decided to try some open mic nights. “I would go up there and play two songs and… see what people reacted to. Once I started hearing videos of it kind of sounding decent I was like, ‘Maybe I can work on this you know start taking vocal lessons and really trying like dig in.’”

That’s exactly what Marlowe did after a handful of open mic nights, some encouragement from friends and support from his parents. After trading in his baseball glove for a guitar and college classes for vocal lessons, Marlowe says he hasn’t looked back since. “My Dad was the one that said, ’Hey, if you don’t want to do college, just leave, quit. If you want to go do music, there’s no point in me paying for you to go to college if you’re gonna quit,” he said of his parents’ reaction to him calling it quits after only one year in college.

“I started learning guitar and moved to Nashville and met a guy named Dallas Davidson who's written tons of huge songs for like, Luke [Bryan] and all those people and he signed me and we've just been going since then.”

The 27-year-old’s career has moved at a rapid pace compared to most and now, he’s celebrating the release of his debut album, Mid-Twenties Crisis, just a few years after learning to sing and play guitar. The project features 15 songs featuring his unique sound he describes as “kind of all over, it's like a chaotic mess.”

“Somebody commented on my TikTok yesterday of ‘Heaven's Sake’ and they said, ‘This sounds like Blink-182 went down to Georgia and drank some moonshine,’” he laughed. “I was like, ’Yes, I love that.’” With a sound that’s all his, Marlowe says he’s less interested in trying to define it and more interested in keeping things authentic.

“I’m kind of just trying to make ...

Luke Bryan is celebrating the release of his 8th studio album, Mind of a Country Boy, and while it has a lot of the hip-shaking, dance anthems we love to hear from the five-time Entertainer of the Year, he’s also reminding fans he can still tap into some big emotions.

One song in particular that’s popping off the track list for many due to its emotion is, “For The Kids.” Co-written by Luke, the song brings raw honesty and a relatable message that details the strain parenthood can put on a marriage.

“I think, naturally, there are phases in your marriage that the kids are kind of like the dominating thing of the marriage and a lot of times they're what keeps the marriage going and keeps it together,” Luke told Audacy’s Katie Neal of the idea behind the song. “I want people when they hear it to go, ‘Oh yeah, we forgot that Luke can do this from time to time and really hit us with a big heartfelt emotion song.'”

The track is one of many that Luke co-wrote for the album, which he says resulted in the whole project becoming a direct reflection of where he’s at in life both personally and professionally.

“What I'm proud about is, I think that all the songs on the album… it's where I'm at as a human and as an artist,” he expressed. “I think I can sing any song on this album with a lot of pride and really put my heart and soul in it. I think the fans will hear all that.”

While he surely digs deep with songs like “For The Kids,” Bryan also shows his fun side and that he can stay relevant in the new era of Country music (according to his sons’ playlists).

“'Southern and Slow' is the dude song on the album," and “But I Got A Beer In My Hand,” he said when asked what songs his teenage sons seem to listen to most.

“They're listening to what all the kids are listening to around the world,” he said before sharing it makes him extra proud when one of his songs makes their playlist. “The Dylan Marlowes and the Dylan Scotts and theres some other Dylans out there they're listening to,“ he laughed. “And then they're obviously listening to Morgan [Wallen] and Luke [Combs]. So, whenever dad gets in their playlist, that means I'm hitting. I can still kind of sneak one in to the younger places.”

Hear all about the album, creative process, and more by listening to the Superstar Power Hour with Katie & Company every weekday from 2PM - 3PM on your favorite Audacy Country station!

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Cody Johnson’s new single, “I’m Gonna Love You,” featuring Carrie Underwood is proof that songs land exactly where they’re supposed to, when they’re supposed to.

The single is the first taste of Cody’s newly-announced new album, Leather Deluxe Edition, arriving November 1. The project is an extension of his 2023 album, Leather, and follow up to 2021’s Human The Double Album. While he says he had more than enough music to release another double album, Johnson shared the decision to do a deluxe was strategic and one to protect his fans from content overload, making sure all songs get the spotlight they deserve.

“We had Human The Double Album and I didn’t want to seem redundant and have another double album,” he expressed. “Here’s the issue with a double album…. I feel like on Human, a lot of great songs got overlooked because of single timing and how much content was out at one time.”

He continued, “If I’m the consumer, I’ve got to look at all 25 songs and that’s a lot to digest. I’ve learned through the years that people’s attention span sometimes is very short. I’ve seen it in radio, I’ve seen it with consumption [and] streaming.”

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Katie Neal

Cody Johnson’s new single, “I’m Gonna Love You,” featuring Carrie Underwood is proof that songs land exactly where they’re supposed to, when they’re supposed to.

During his recent appearance on the Superstar Power Hour with Audacy’s Katie Neal, COJO opened up about how the song came to be and its 10-year journey to finally get recorded and finding a spot on an album.

Written by Travis Denning alongside Chris Stevens and Kelly Archer, the tune was originally intended to be a single for Denning. “I heard this Travis Denning song, ‘I’m Gonna Love You,’ and I fell in love with it,” Johnson explained of the first time he heard the song. “[I] was like, ‘Man, I really want to have this song — I feel like it’s got potential to be something on radio, I love the lyrics.”

Unfortunately, for Johnson (at the time), Denning’s team stood firm and kept the song for him and Johnson was forced to move on. A couple years later, Denning decided to forego recording the single, but the word never got to Cody. Instead, Denning’s label mate, Carrie Underwood, got her hands on the song, which she ultimately passed on as she felt it didn’t fit the vibe of her album.

Fast forward to present day — “I’m Gonna Love You,” resurfaced in mind for Johnson and after reaching out, he was told it was up for grabs. It was a no-brainer for the Texas native, who scooped up the tune he knew was a fit from the first time he heard it years ago.

“Most of the songs that I have recorded that have become big hits have sat around in Nashville for over 10 years,” he explained. “Whenever my ear heard them, I immediately went, ‘Wow! How in the hell has this song sat here 10 years?’”

Now that he had the song on lock, the hunt for a duet partner was on. Although it might seem like a daunting task, it wasn’t a tough search for Johnson who had his sights set on one person — Carrie Underwood.

“There was talk of Lainey Wilson, there was talk of Miranda Lambert, there was talk of maybe a ‘90s female artist and I was like, ’No, I just really hear Carrie’s voice on this. I’d like the opportunity to sing with her.'” It was unbeknownst to him she’d already passed on the song once.

Luckily, that worked in his favor as Underwood saw the second opportunity with the song as a clear sign that it was meant to be and agreed to the duet with Cody whom she’d only met at awards briefly before. The pair spent time in the studio working directly with each other and ultimately landed on a finalized recording that they sang standing next to one another in one take in the studio.

Words by ...