The Music Universe Podcast

The Boxmasters, featuring Billy Bob Thornton (or Bud as he's known in the band) and JD Andrew, recently released their latest album, Pepper Tree Hill, marking the group's 19th release. The project showcases their love of the Sixties and the inspiration of their studio, also named Pepper Tree Hill.

The song "Pepper Tree Hill" features legendary trumpeter and bandleader Herb Alpert and longtime collaborator and Boxma...

James Dupré has released his new album, It's All Happening, today (Fri, Aug 22nd) via Warner Music Nashville. The project follows his Perfect Time EP, released in February, and features "Knee Deep in a River" and "Alright Tonight."

Dupré was born and raised in Bayou Chicot, Louisiana. The one-time aspiring meteorologist turned paramedic became a YouTube sensation in 2007, which led to an invitation to perform...

Jenna Andrews and Stephen Kirk are a highly successful songwriting and production duo, known for their work with a wide range of popular artists, especially in the K-pop realm. The real-life couple gained significant recognition for their work on BTS's hit songs "Butter" and "Permission to Dance."

Some of their notable songwriting credits include "Free" and "What It Sounds Like" from the widely popular Netflix series, KPop Demon Hun...

Country superstar Cole Swindell is spending his Fourth of July Weekend with Mountain Dew and fans at the lake. Swindell will be at Lake of the Ozarks in Osage Beach, Missouri, this weekend to keep fans' coolers full of Mountain Dew with on-demand deliveries.

The Mountain Dew Thirst Guards program tackles summer's biggest party emergency – the empty cooler – by deploying Mountain Dew-branded Sea-Doos to bring bold, thirst-cru...

Building on the soundtrack of his life, diamond-selling superstar Brian Kelley drops his latest solo offering, Sunshine State of Mind Season Two, Chapter One, today (Fri, June 20th). The full-length independent project features 14 tracks co-written by Kelley, as he returns to his personal mantra, and the feel-good foundation of his acclaimed solo career.

Kelley’s new songs were penned alongside his 2021 release, Sunshine State of Mi...

Hootie & The Blowfish co-founding guitarist Mark Bryan has a new solo project called Popped. Showcasing his multi-faceted talents, Bryan played all instruments while also enlisting a band of Charleston musicians, including skilled horn players, to round out the project with additional depth and dimension.

"I made the record before the tour, in the fall of '23, I guess it was," Bryan tells us. "It just where I ...

This weekend, hard rock and heavy metal fans will flock to Columbia, Maryland for the 16th edition of the M3 Rock Festival. Tonight (Fri, May 2nd), Sebastian Bach kicks off the three-day event with Snake Oil. David Lee Roth headlines tomorrow (Sat, May 3rd) with appearances by Accept, Winger, Slaughter, Steven Adler, Child’s Play, Red Voodoo, and more. The festival closes on Sunday with a long-awaited reunion of Stephen Pearcy and ...

Last month, UMG Nashville released the original series soundtrack for the Paramount+ hit show Landman, featuring an original score by Andrew Lockington (San Andreas, Rampage). The music flawlessly matches the drama and the intensity of the series as well as the expanse of the landscape. Set in the boomtowns of west Texas, Landman is a modern tale of fortune seeking amongst roughnecks and billionaires in the world of oil starring Bi...

Rising singer/songwriter Annie Bosko proves country music isn’t just about where you’re from, but who you are with her latest single “California Cowgirl,” available now via Stone Country Records. Bosko embraces her California and farming roots with the neotraditional song that declares country girls can be found all over the map.

"I'd say that even though I'm from California, I had a pretty, rural upbringing and my uncl...

Last fall, Poison drummer Rikki Rockett introduced his new band, The Rockett Mafia! Featuring Rockett on drums, Brandon Gibbs on guitar and vocals, Bulletboys guitarist Mick Sweda, and Bryan Kimes on bass and backing vocals, the group celebrates the best music of the 70s through the 90s classic rock era.

Rockett, who is the co-founder of Poison, and remains the band’s only drummer throughout their storied 40-year career, says the ba...

Last week, Dugger Band took the internet by storm after brothers Seth and Jordan Dugger shared a video reading an email that WSMV-TV in Nashville sent about their new patriotic song "True Colors." The brothers were set to perform the self-penned and John Rich-produced track on Today in Nashville, but were told by station management that the lyrics were deemed too "politically biased" and recanted their offer for that song.

Blindside...

Legendary artist Bill Medley releases his debut solo country album, Straight From the Heart, via Curb Records. The album sees the Rock & Roll Hall of Famer’s unmistakable baritone voice covering mega country music ballads alongside some of the industry’s biggest stars including Michael McDonald, Vince Gill, Keb’ Mo’ and Shawn Colvin.

Previous tracks include "These Days" featuring Vince Gill, which offers a taste of the...

Quartz Hill Records’ Runaway June is working on new music. Last year, the trio featuring Jennifer Wayne, Natalie Stovall, and Stevie Woodward, released the intoxicating "New Kind of Emotion" and "He Ain't My Problem," which had over a million streams in its first week in November. The ladies co-wrote each track and teamed with Sugarland's Kristian Bush for producing duties.

Each is a multi-instrumentalis...

Last month, Cincinnati-based singer, songwriter and storyteller Michael Marcagi shared a raw and reflective new single entitled “Good Enough” via Warner Records. Marcagi co-wrote the tune with The Lumineers’ Wesley Schultz, while David Baron produced.

The track’s breezy acoustic guitar and propulsive beat underline this modern troubadour’s unfiltered storytelling as nostalgia and bare emotion collide. In between the melodically buo...

Mark Farner will release Closer to My Home, his long-awaited new studio album, on November 8th via Righteous Rock Records with distribution by MVD Entertainment Group. Bridging past and present, the grit of industry, and the calloused hard work of a rural man, the project champions Farner’s multi-faceted artistry. Celebrating the 55th anniversary of the iconic Grand Funk Railroad hit “(I’m Your Captain) Closer To My Home,” the albu...

Award-winning artist and songwriter Brad Tursi of multi-platinum-selling band Old Dominion releases his first-ever solo project, Parallel Love, on July 19th.

Parallel Love is a collection of songs that have been written over the past ten years that are reflective of where the accomplished artist, guitarist, and writer is in the present moment. Created and released with the band's full support, the project features co-writes wit...

The musician discusses his new spoken-word solo album

Country, bluegrass, and Americana legend John McEuen release his long-awaited album, The Newsman: A Man Of Record, in April via Compass Records. In this project for McEuen, the album has ten spoken word tracks and one instrumental piece. Each one tells a special story in a way that's like a play, with John's style of music in the background. The album starts with a story...

Rising country star Kassi Ashton is a week away from releasing her major debut album, Made From The Dirt, via MCA Records on September 20th. The project features her top 40 country radio hit, "Called Crazy," "I Don't Wanna Dance," her chilling new ballad "The Straw," and others.

She holds nothing back on the ten tracks. Spiking her brand of country with rock ‘n’ roll spirit and unabashed vulnerabil...

McBride & The Ride celebrates its 35th anniversary with a new live EP this fall. The album's first single, "Amarillo Sky," is available now and may be familiar to country fans as it was made famous by Jason Aldean although Terry McBride & Co had recorded it years before Aldean.

"We've never recorded a live album, record or anything," McBride shares with us. "A lot of people have always asked...