Dierks Bentley is taking care of all kinds of business in the bathroom.

During his recent appearance on the Friday Night Takeover with Audacy’s Rob + Holly, Dierks shared he was in the bathroom “maybe somewhere in Mississippi” when he started the creative process for “Free and Easy (Down the Road I Go),” which he released in June 2007 as the third single from his 2006 album 'Long Trip Alone.'

“I was in the bathroom — not that actual bathroom [stall], but I was in a backstage bathroom because the acoustics are so good in there, [and I] was working on songs,” he told Rob + Holly. “I remember I was kind of pounding on the sink there, getting that kind of kick drum sound.”

He continued, “This was back when I was doing like 300 [show] dates a year… I was thinking I wanted an up-tempo song about my life at that point… a lot of your writing comes from where you are and for me, I was on the road, which had been my dream since day one. It’s not a song that’s gonna be in the hall of fame for songwriting quality, but it certainly is a huge hit and people relate to it.”

Taking care of business in the bathroom did lead Bentley to great success for that particular song as it eventually marked his fifth #1 single and is arguably one of the most recognized tracks of his career to date.

In addition to his creative space, Bentley also disclosed his pre-show drink of choice from back in the day and he says it’s all thanks to Kenny Chesney. “Before Chesney, it was whiskey, and then Kenny turned me on to Red Bull and Malibu. Ugh!” He said wincing his face at the thought of the taste.

“I’d never had Red Bull in my life before I met Kenny Chesney,” he disclosed. “It’s like a dog whistle… If I drink a Red Bull now, I’m immediately ready to go on stage. Like, ‘Where’s my guitar? Where’s the stage? Must go play show. Must play music.' I don’t even touch that stuff away from the show because it messes with my mind.”

He laughed, “Kenny ruined me, once you have one taste of that, it gets you right ready to go on stage.”

Hear more about Dierks’ creative flow, upcoming 'Broken Branches Tour' and what he’s doing to support up and coming songwriters in Nashville by checking out his entire conversation with Audacy’s Rob + Holly above.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Rob + Holly

Kenny Chesney is taking fans to new dimensions with his recently revealed 12-day residency at Sphere Las Vegas and that includes a brand new, VIP experience.

During his appearance on the Friday Night Takeover with Audacy’s Rob + Holly, the Country superstar shared his big plans for fans who opt for the VIP experience at his upcoming shows at Sphere Las Vegas.

“There’s a whole experience aside from the Sphere experience called the Vibe Room,” Chesney shared. “It’s kind of a museum of my journey. It’s 3,000 square feet — there’s going to be a bar in there, there’s going to be just a lot going on.” The inspiration for the Vibe Room for Vegas came from Chesney’s earlier days on tour where he and his crew would have a space to unwind after shows which quickly became known as the Vibe Room, and now, Chesney is ready to share that experience with most loyal fans.

“I feel very fortunate to be in this spot. To be able to have the vibe room and to be able to show everybody my journey and to take the music I’ve made over the years — basically my life’s work up to this moment — and the present it in a completely different way.”

His plan to go above and beyond for fans will span far past the VIP experience as Chesney shares the residency is a refreshing change of events that is allowing him to present his music to fans like never before. “The thing that makes this exciting for me me is that… already there are four songs in the set that we have never done just because I feel like in a stadium setting or in an arena setting, it just didn’t fit,” he shared.

“It’s deeper cuts. And knowing what’s around us and what we’re creating… it’s allowing us to do a lot of different things and that’s exciting for me and I think the people that have been coming to our shows for awhile — I think that’s exciting for them too.”

For more info on the show, how it came to be and what Kenny is looking forward to most, check out his entire conversation with Audacy’s Rob + Holly above. Plus, find tickets for his residency here and a full list of show dates below.

Kenny Chesney Live at Sphere Las Vegas Dates: Thursday, May 22 Saturday, May 24 Sunday, May 25 Wednesday, May 28 Friday, May 30 Saturday, May 31

Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by Rob + Holly

Rascal Flatts has returned to the music scene after a lengthy break and is fired up with new music and a fresh tour. It’s all product of a re-vamped perspective and appreciation for their career.

After being forced to cancel their originally scheduled farewell tour in 2020 due to the global pandemic, the guys will finally hit the road with their 2025 Life Is A Highway Tour, named after one of their most iconic singles from 2006. Originally sung by Tom Cochrane in 1991, the song became a hit for Gary LeVox, Joe Don Rooney and Jay DeMarcus after Pixar presented them the opportunity to cover it for the movie Cars. Eighteen years later and still a fan favorite, it’s hard to believe it wasn’t a fairytale fit right from the start.

During an appearance on Rob + Holly’s Friday Night Takeover, Rascal Flatts bassist, Jay DeMarcus, shared he had major reservations about recording the song when it was first presented by Pixar Films owner at the time, John Lasseter.

“I wasn’t sure about it. I have to admit, I was like, ‘I don’t know that I want to be the third artist to redo ‘Life is a Highway.,’” DeMarcus shared. “I was just kind of like, ’I don’t know that I want to be attached to that song that’s already had several iterations done of it.”

In addition to his hesitations surrounding the song itself, Jay shared he had a hard time wrapping his mind around the movie’s plot which also added to his hesitancy.

“He [Lasseter] sat down and had his rough sketch storybook of Lightning McQueen and Mater all these [characters],” Jay recalled of the lunch meeting they attended for the initial pitch. “He flipped through and he’s like, ’all these cars talk to each other throughout the movie, they’re like people.’ I remember sitting there thinking, ’God, this sounds like the worst thing ever.’ Talking cars, that’s a hard thing to wrap your head around.”

It was the trio’s label president at the time for Lyric Street Records, Randy Goodman, who ultimately encouraged the guys to go for it calling it a “wonderful opportunity.” “Looking back now, I was completely wrong. I’m forever grateful that the song had the impact that it did. It really had a whole new life because of the movie and because of our version.”

It’s not just the song that has been timeless for the guys, it’s also marked the beginning of a meaningful industry relationship as it was the first time they ever worked with now long-time producer, Dann Huff.

“That was the very first song we cut with Dann Huff,” DeMarcus recalled. “That started our relationship with him.” Rascal Flatts went on to work with Huff for several more projects including their 2006 album, Me and My Gang, and their 2014 album, Rewind.

To bring it all full circle, Huff is also one of the producers on the guys’ brand new single featuring the Jonas Brothers, “I Dare You.” “We went into studio with Dann Huff and cut the track and it was so much fun after all these years to be back in with Dann and making music with him,” Jay expressed of the new single before sharing how the song came to be a collaboration.

“They [Jonas Brothers] came to us with a song they had written with Shay Mooney from Dan + Shay and they said, ‘I feel like this is a really great song for Rascal Flatts to cut. In fact, we would love to cut it with you if you’d ever like to do a collaboration.’ We jumped at the chance,” shared Jay. “Who doesn’t want to do a song with the Jonas Brothers?”

“I feel like it’s very much a Jonas Brothers chorus, but it has a little bit of a Country twist on it and I think Dann was able to beautifully marry both styles together and I’m really proud of it.”

Check out the new song below, plus, hear all about the story behind it and some of their other biggest hits by listening to Jay DeMarcus’ full interview with Audacy’s Rob + Holly above.

Kane Brown and wife, Katelyn are more than just partners in life, they’re also making waves as a vocal pair on the stage.

Brown shocked fans in 2022 when he featured Katelyn on his single, “Thank God,” off his Different Man album, and since then, fans have been begging for more. After the song reached #1 on Country radio and Katelyn overcame her stage fright joining Kane on stage in front of thousands each night on his In The Air Tour, she’s ready to tackle it all again. Katelyn can be heard on two new songs on Kane’s latest album, The High Road; “Body Talk,” and “Do Us Apart.”

“‘Body Talk’ was originally supposed to have another artists on it and then she heard it and was like “'What?! This is such my vibe!’” Kane shared during his time on Rob + Holly’s Friday Night Takeover. “So, of course she can be on it.”

He continued, “‘Do Us Apart,’ we always karaoke Carrie Underwood and Randy Travis’ version of ‘I Told You So,’ so we were trying to write a song close to that,” he shared. “We wrote it and she loved it and jumped on it.”

While the pair have clearly been keeping their stage skills fresh at karaoke nights, Kane says Katelyn will absolutely be joining him on stage for his upcoming The High Road Tour, that is, unless one of the songs flops. “I’m going to tell her… If one of ‘em flops, we’re not plating it,” he laughed.

Katelyn isn’t the only collaborator on the new album, fans will also hear songs with Marshmello (“Miles On It”), Khalid (“Rescue”) and Brad Paisley (“Things We Quit”). Additionally, Kane gets vulnerable with pal, Jelly Roll, who joins him on a powerful mental health ballad, “Haunted.”

“The whole song is reality,” Kane said of the song that brings mental health struggles to the forefront. “It was really important for me to put out the song and get the message out there [that fame and money don’t equal happiness],” he shared. “I was one of those people, [I thought] ‘If I had money, I would never be sad…’ or I see comments all the time of like, ‘why is he sad… he has so much money…’ Money didn’t do anything for me.”

He continued “My favorite lyric is ‘I was happier when I couldn’t pay the bills…’ for me, I had more fun when I was fighting for it.”

Hear more about the making of “Haunted,” how Kane fought for his career in the early days, plus the story behind his song “I Can Feel It,” by checking out his full interview above.

Words By Monica Rivera, Interview by Rob + Holly

Brooks & Dunn have welcomed a new generation of music fans to their timeless classics with, 'REBOOT 2.' The project is a sequel to their highly-popular album from 2019, 'REBOOT,' which features a new generation of artists collaborating with the duo on some other timeless classics.

Granted full freedom to arrange the songs as they wished, some of the guest artists took songs to a completely different genre, while others preferred to keep it classic. Either way was just fine with Kix Brooks and Ronnie Dunn who shared they were inspired to create the 'REBOOT' projects after hearing some of today’s top artists cover their music.

“I give Luke Combs and Kacey [Musgraves] kudos for kind of getting this stirred up a little bit,” said Kix before detailing the two different approaches they took to covers. “Luke was doing ‘Brand New Man’ at his show and he just wanted to do it like we did it… he liked the song and like playing it like that.”

He continued, “Kacey, she took real liberties with ‘Neon Moon’ obviously doin’ her crazy thing on that which we thought was really cool too.” Added Ronnie, “That was probably the primary catalyst for doing what we did with Reboot 2— is what Kacey Musgraves did with ‘Neon Moon.’”

Fans of B&D and the REBOOT series will notice REBOOT 2 features some more “out of the box” versions of classics, which the guys say was a result of their only instructions to the artists — no rules.

“We let them know coming in — there’s no rules,” said Ronnie who credited Halestorm for bending the boundaries most with their version of “Boot Scootin’ Boogie.”

“I looked at Ronnie and was like ‘You gotta go toe to toe with her, man,'” Kix laughed. “And he did!” While they enjoyed the different approaches, it wasn’t always an easy road for them as they saw songs they’ve had from early in their career get bent and shaped into new works of art.

“With huge departures, you do have to step back and scratch your head a little like, ‘OK, how do we participate, how do we honor their vision too? Lzzy Hale and her brother have been headbangin’ with their band for 20 years — it’s not like they don’t know what they’re doin’. They’re a really good freakin’ Rock band.”

Through it all the guys trusted the process with ended up producing some of the most ear-catching, genre-bending versions of their songs which have captured the attention of an entirely new generation of music fans.

To hear more about the creative process behind 'REBOOT 2,' it’s inspiration and more, check out Broos & Dunn’s entire interview on Rob + Holly’s 'Friday Night Takeover' above.

Words by Moncia Rivera Interview by Rob + Holly

Singer/songwriter Koe Wetzel joined Audacy’s Rob + Holly last week, helping to host the show while recapping his incredible year and giving us a look behind his hit with Jessie Murph, "High Road."

Currently on his world tour overseas, Koe admits that lately every day has been feeling like a Friday. “Especially this year,” he says, “it was kind of wake up… ‘where we at? What time do we go on? What time is meet and great?’ Alright, same s***? OK, let's go!’ Everything was repetitive and ‘where are we at today, or where were we yesterday?’”

“We're glad to be here,” Koe adds. “We're thankful for everything we got, and so it's just kind of like, ‘Hey, let's live it up while we got it, and I don't know, man, just have a lot of fun."

Getting his first opportunity to perform at Colorado’s iconic Red Rocks, Koe explains, “was everything I thought it would be, plus a little bit. You know, everybody hears about Red Rocks… it's kind of a top venue for everybody, and I always told myself that I'd never go until we actually played it. So, that was my first time ever being there, you know, spending the whole day there and just kind of taking it all in was insane. The venue, the hospitality, the fans… Everything about it was kind of overwhelming though, you kind of look back on it the next day with a headache and it's kind of like, ‘Wow, that happened…’ We had a great time. It was definitely one of the highlights of the tour.”

“The whole time I was kind of taking it in, even on stage,” he remembers. “I was kind of like just looking up the whole time and I was like, ‘Well, if we ever get to play it again, then I'll get to rock out a little more, and hammer down a little more,' but this whole time it was just kind of… It's wild, man. The venue is, it's special. It's got its own aura to it, man, and it kind of hits you in the mouth as soon as those lights go up.”

As a music fan himself, Koe named a few artists he would certainly pick up tickets to see perform there as well, like Sierra Ferrell, Red Clay Strays, and Zach Top… his top three at the moment, who each have their own special corners carved out in Country. “I think that's the cool part of Country music and where it sits right now,” he says, “because the genre has grown so big, but everything's so unique. Everybody's doing their own stuff, but at the same time it's still being considered Country. Obviously, you're gonna have those people go, ‘Oh, that's not f***ing Country,’ but I mean if you look at it under the umbrella, it's just the way that the genre has grown, everybody's doing their own thing. It's still somewhat Country and so it's really cool.”

As far as the detractors go, he chalks it up as “everybody's opinionated, and I don't think any of them graduated from what's f***ing Country and what's not school. It's like, who are you to tell me what I am? Unless, you know, you go out and say I'm one of the greatest at this Country s*** or whatever it is, and I don't think they have any kind of right to judge who you are.”

Looking back, Koe believes he has “1 million percent” been the bad influence friend, but these days he admits, “It's just the little things, you know, I'm getting older. I'm kind of seeing this in a broader view… You know, we're not in little dive bars anymore and getting in fights outside of clubs and going to jail as much, so this thing is a whole lot bigger than I am, and I think kind of stepping back and looking at it that way, it's helped me out a lot. We're just glad to be part of the party.”

Touching on the backstory behind his hit “High Road” with Jessie Murph, Koe gives us details on the where, why, and what he was drinking when the song was penned.

“Where was I? I was in Nashville at RCA Studio, Studio A," he remembers. "What was I drinking? I was drinking Casamigos and High Noons. Oh no, wait, Casamigos and Busch Light. And what was I thinking? I was thinking back on ...

Dolly Parton and sister, Rachel Parton George, are giving fans a glimpse into the Parton family kitchen with their new cookbook, 'Good Lookin’ Cookin.’

Full of flavorful family recipes, the book provides a year’s worth of meals organized by month. The best part? You don’t have to be an expert cook to follow along.

“All these recipes in this book, I can tell you, you will be able to cook these meals and you will be proud at the end,” Rachel shared during an appearance with Rob + Holly.

In addition to the delicious recipes, the sisters sprinkle stories and memories surrounding some of their favorite recipes throughout the book. Included is Rachel’s memory of the first time she made her favorite — skillet cornbread.

“I think one of my favorite things to make is skillet cornbread,” she shared. “My mama taught me how to make that when I was five years old. I was always in the kitchen… she pulled a chair up to the counter top [and] had everything mostly ready — she did most of the heavy lifting — but she made me feel so special and like I had really contributed to dinner. That night, Dad said it was the best cornbread he had ever eaten, mom agreed and I thought it was so, so I cooked cornbread ever since.”

Find the cornbread recipe, in addition to many more including coconut cake, mashed potatoes and fried green tomatoes by checking out Dolly and Rachel’s 'Good Lookin’ Cookin’ book , available now. Plus, find out more about its creation and the inspiration behind it by listening to Rachel Parton George’s full interview with Rob + Holly.

Words by Monica Rivera Interview by Rob + Holly