The Country Minute Show

Emergency meeting, y’all. (Country) Minutes after we wrapped today’s episode, Morgan Wallen dropped the lineup for Sand in My Boots 2027, so James and Laura ran back to the basement for a bonus episode.

The festival returns to Gulf Shores, Alabama, May 21 to 23, 2027, with Morgan Wallen, Kings of Leon, Ella Langley, Kygo, Third Eye Blind, Gucci Mane, Gavin Adcock, Koe Wetzel, Girl Talk, and a whole lot more, plus a pre-fest party headlined by Stella Lefty. We break down the lineup, predict the headliner nights, and explain how to get tickets, from hotel packages on sale now to the Club Wallen presale ahead of the November 6 on sale.

Our regular Monday episode is right behind this one, so stay tuned.

Follow Country Minute on Instagram for daily country music news: instagram.com/country_minute

ABOUT COUNTRY MINUTE
Country Minute is a husband-and-wife country music platform run by James and Laura Shotwell from West Michigan. With a combined 40 years in the music industry, we bring people together through news, event coverage, and opinion. Community is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re glad you’re here.

Happy Halloween from the basement. James and Laura kick off the weekend by revealing the four country acts that made Rolling Stone’s list of the 200 best rock songs of the 21st century, and whether Rolling Stone picked the right songs.

Then, Florida names Seminole Wind its official anthem in honor of John Anderson, Alan Jackson’s farewell show at Nissan Stadium gets a TV premiere date, and Sand in My Boots’ social media teasers drop some big lineup hints, from Gavin Adcock to Gucci Mane to Third Eye Blind.

Plus, our first album review on the show: Hardy’s new EP Sides, featuring a God’s Country reunion with Blake Shelton. And we close with a tribute to Sir Patrick Stewart by revisiting his unforgettable 2016 cowboy album infomercial, P-Stew’s Cowboy Classics.

New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Watch the full episode on YouTube.

Follow Country Minute on Instagram for daily country music news: instagram.com/country_minute

ABOUT COUNTRY MINUTE
Country Minute is a husband-and-wife country music platform run by James and Laura Shotwell from West Michigan. With a combined 40 years in the music industry, we bring people together through news, event coverage, and opinion. Community is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re glad you’re here.

Ella Langley is back at No. 1. James and Laura break down how Choosin’ Texas reclaimed the top of the Billboard Hot 100 after three weeks behind Taylor Swift, and whether Ella can fend off Tate McRae heading into the CMA Awards.

Then, Boyz II Men have signed with Warner Records Nashville to make a country album, and we’re all in. Plus, Carly Pearce takes the World Series stage for the national anthem, Luke Combs misses out on the Super Bowl halftime show, and we debate whether Chris Stapleton’s $699 Filson shirt jacket is worth the money.

New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Watch the full episode on YouTube.

Follow Country Minute on Instagram for daily country music news: instagram.com/country_minute

ABOUT COUNTRY MINUTE
Country Minute is a husband-and-wife country music platform run by James and Laura Shotwell from West Michigan. With a combined 40 years in the music industry, we bring people together through news, event coverage, and opinion. Community is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re glad you’re here.

James and Laura kick off the week with the story everyone was talking about: President Trump’s surprise roast of Jason Aldean at a campaign stop in Perry, Georgia. Then it’s Dolly Parton’s first posthumous release, a heavy cover of Jolene by Bad Wolves featuring Dolly’s original vocals, with proceeds benefiting her Imagination Library.

We also cover Garth Brooks shutting down bot activity on his latest on sale and promising to look out for real fans, Brooks & Dunn’s first album of new material in over 20 years, and Miranda Lambert’s viral Dallas Cowboys ad announcing her Thanksgiving Day halftime show.

And we wrap with a fun debate: Knocked Loose’s Bryan Garris named the country artist he’d love to collaborate with, so we pick our own dream matchups for one of the heaviest bands in the world.

New episodes every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Subscribe on YouTube for even more content.

ABOUT COUNTRY MINUTE
Country Minute is a husband-and-wife country music platform run by James and Laura Shotwell from West Michigan. With a combined 40 years in the music industry, we bring people together through news, event coverage, and opinion. Community is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re glad you’re here.

Country music lost a legend this week. James and Laura remember John Anderson, who passed away just two days after attending the Country Music Hall of Fame induction ceremony, and revisit the songs that defined his career, from Swingin’ to Seminole Wind.

Then it’s a full review of the Dolly Parton tribute special: Ella Langley’s Jolene, Little Big Town stealing the show, Kristin Chenoweth and Carly Pearce bringing 9 to 5 to life, and Zac Brown’s emotional final run at Butterfly. Plus, what we expect from Dolly at the CMA Awards.

We also announce our next 2027 festival: XROADS41 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, featuring Florida Georgia Line, Sam Hunt, and Tim McGraw. And we close with New Music Friday picks from Kacey Musgraves, Brothers Osborne with Cody Johnson, Tyler Braden, Mack Geiger, Walker Hayes, and Kassi Ashton.

New episodes a few times a week. Watch the full episode on YouTube.

ABOUT COUNTRY MINUTE
Country Minute is a husband-and-wife country music platform run by James and Laura Shotwell from West Michigan. With a combined 40 years in the music industry, we bring people together through news, event coverage, and opinion. Community is at the heart of everything we do, and we’re glad you’re here.

Sand in My Boots is coming back. Morgan Wallen’s beach festival in Gulf Shores, Alabama took 2026 off, and nobody involved has said a word about it since. Then last week, a city official told the room at a coffee shop town hall that it returns in 2027. One local reporter wrote it down, and by the weekend all of country music knew. James and Laura break down how the news slipped out, why there was no festival this year, and the 2027 dates that were agreed to back in 2025. They also share their day one recap from the first Sand in My Boots. Plus, they explain why they need Morgan Wallen, Florida Georgia Line and HARDY on the same stage, and lay out a sunset-shaped theory that a new Morgan Wallen album could arrive with the festival.

Megan Moroney opened the Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show, wings and all. We talk about what’s next for her in 2027 and why everyone should see her live at least once. Taylor Swift’s “Patient Zero” holds #1 on the Hot 100 for a third straight week with Ella Langley’s “Choosin’ Texas” right behind it. We ask whether Ella has one more run at the top before the CMA Awards and Mariah Carey take over. We also ask what country music’s next big hit is going to be, and we want your answer.

Then the big announcement: after three years of trying, we’re going to Crash My Playa in Cancun, January 13 through 16, 2027. It’s Laura’s birthday weekend. We run through the lineup, including Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, HARDY, Brothers Osborne, Gavin Adcock, Brett Young, Drew Baldridge and Emily Ann Roberts, plus the legendary Dustin Lynch pool party.

About Country Minute
Country Minute is a country music entertainment platform run by husband and wife James and Laura Shotwell out of West Michigan. With over 40 years of combined music industry experience, they bring fans together through news, event coverage, and honest opinion. At the heart of it all is community.

Karen Fairchild of Little Big Town singled James out in a room full of people, and Jason Aldean walked right past us at the Grand Ole Opry. James and Laura are back from a whirlwind week in Nashville with a lot to unpack.

It started at the Grand Ole Opry, where Rhett Akins was inducted with help from the artists who made his songs famous: Luke Bryan, Jason Aldean, Jon Pardi, Jamey Johnson, and his son Thomas Rhett. We take you inside the reception afterward and tell you about James freezing up when Jason Aldean walked right past us. Two days later, we were at an intimate album celebration with Little Big Town at The Elm in downtown Nashville, where Karen Fairchild called James out in the best way possible. Plus, James recaps Zach Top and Marty Stuart at Van Andel Arena while Laura held down the fort at home.

Tortuga Music Festival is officially on our 2027 calendar, and Florida Georgia Line is headlining day one. But FGL’s poster shows a festival date before Tortuga, and we can confirm one thing about it: it’s not Crash My Playa. We go through the full Tortuga lineup with Eric Church, Megan Moroney, Train, Goo Goo Dolls, Chase Matthew and more, and explain why it might be the most conservation-focused festival in the country.

We also dig into Zach Bryan’s new EP, his 2027 tour with John Fogerty, and his two-hour front porch conversation with Matthew McConaughey. Zach opens up about softening on Nashville, his sobriety, making peace with Morgan Wallen, and what the next chapter of his life might look like.

Then we celebrate Jon Morgan’s first solo #1. We also cover Lauren Alaina and Chase Matthew topping country radio with “All My Exes” and ask why it took 55 weeks to get there. We wrap with Parker McCollum’s acoustic album Live from Sound City and a vinyl plea.

West Michigan friends: join us Saturday, October 24 at The Intersection in Grand Rapids, where we’re hosting the VIP Q&A with Lakeview.

About Country Minute
Country Minute is a country music entertainment platform run by husband and wife James and Laura Shotwell out of West Michigan. With over 40 years of combined music industry experience, they bring fans together through news, event coverage, and honest opinion. At the heart of it all is community.

Welcome to the Country Minute Show, the only show about country music made in a Michigan basement. James and Laura Shotwell of Country Minute sit down knee to knee to break down the biggest stories in country music, and in this first episode there is a lot to talk about.

Ella Langley’s Tulsa show at the BOK Center was canceled hours before showtime because of a credible security threat. We talk about what that means for fans and why we probably won’t get many answers. Ella’s record-setting run with “Choosin’ Texas” also hit a speed bump when Taylor Swift’s “Patient Zero” debuted at #1 on the Hot 100. We each make a prediction about how many weeks Ella can rack up before Mariah Carey thaws out for Christmas.

Morgan Wallen is hosting a country radio station in GTA 6 alongside Lana Del Rey, and fans are digging through his Monster Energy demolition derby video for clues. We have our own unhinged theory about what else Morgan might be doing in the game. We also look at whether Morgan and Florida Georgia Line share a stage in 2027, and float our dream scenario for Crash My Playa.

Our pal Gavin Adcock is using his new album, The Day I Hang It Up, to speak out against data centers taking over farmland. All proceeds from his new “Take Care of Americans” shirts go to Farm Aid. Then we go through the stacked lineup for the “I Will Always Love You” Dolly Parton tribute live from Belmont on October 21, and preview our trip to Nashville for Rhett Akins’ Grand Ole Opry induction.

About Country Minute
Country Minute is a country music entertainment platform run by husband and wife James and Laura Shotwell out of West Michigan. With over 40 years of combined music industry experience, they bring fans together through news, event coverage, and honest opinion. At the heart of it all is community.

About a month ago, we went to the Blue Gate in Shipshewana, Indiana to interview Brothers Osborne and do something we've never done before in a video, period.

First, we sat down with TJ and John for about eight minutes to talk about their new album, Watertown. The guys explain why it took five records to finally write about their hometown of Deal, Maryland, why they went back home to announce it, and what it means to cut outside songs for the first time in their career, including Bottle It Up and Stubborn. They also break down the story behind R.I.P., the title track Watertown, their love for The Chicks (Fly or Wide Open Spaces?), and why other artists, including fellow Maryland boy Jackson Dean, say they won't touch Copperhead Road after hearing the Brothers play it.

Then things got fun. We ripped a box of 1992 Country Gold Sterling trading cards, officially licensed by the CMA and featuring 99 country stars. The box only contains two autographs: Tracy Lawrence and Mark Miller of Sawyer Brown. The brothers tore through dozens of packs, pulling everyone from Merle Haggard and Alan Jackson to Charlie Daniels, Little Texas, and Riders in the Sky, all while hunting for those signed cards.

Did they find one? You'll just have to watch to see.

We'll see the guys again in October at Country Calling in Ocean City, Maryland.

#BrothersOsborne #Watertown #CountryMusic #CountryMinute #TradingCards

Kentucky native Mary Kutter joins us at XROADS41 in Oshkosh, Wisconsin for a conversation unlike anything we've done before. While we talked, a local artist sat a few feet away sketching a live caricature of the two of us, and you can watch it come together in real time throughout the episode.

Mary opens up about cutting her teeth in Nashville as a songwriter for other artists before finding her own voice by leaning into the stories she grew up with in Kentucky. We talk about her breakout year, the strange feeling of hearing her full name (not just "that girl from TikTok") called out by fans, and how touring the country this summer, seven states in June alone, has reshaped the way she writes.

She also gets into what it's been like opening for Hank Williams Jr, including her first arena show, and shares the songwriters and songs that shaped her, from Ashley Gorley's catalog to a deep dive she did on Luke Bryan's "That's My Kind of Night." Plus, new music is coming before the end of the year, with a full album set for 2027, and she gives us the perfect one-day itinerary for Lexington, Kentucky.

In this episode:

• The live caricature session and how it changed the interview dynamic
• Writing for artists like Nate Smith, Bailey Zimmerman, Alexandra Kay, and Zach John King before stepping into her own spotlight
• Growing recognition off the back of TikTok and what that's actually like day to day
• Opening for Hank Williams Jr, from the Sturgis bike rally to her first arena show
• The songwriters who shaped her sound, including a deep dive into Ashley Gorley's catalog
• New music dropping before the end of 2026, with a full album coming in 2027
• Mary's perfect day trip through Lexington, Kentucky

Follow Mary Kutter for more music and tour dates, and subscribe to Country Minute for more artist interviews, festival coverage, and the stories behind the songs shaping country music right now.

#MaryKutter #CountryMusic #HankWilliamsJr #CountryMinute #XROADS41 #KentuckyMusic

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