Kenny Chesney has loved Massachusetts for a long time. He recently proved that with more than just a shout out from the stage or a social media post. The last show on his “Sun Goes Down“ tour took place at Gillette Stadium last month, and according to “MassLive.com,” at around the same time he made a massive donation of over $1-million to several organizations across the state. While Kenny himself has remained mum about the gift, his reps confirm that he was, in fact, behind the donation. “As someone who likes to quietly give back to enrich others’ lives, this is his way of spreading the love and saying thank you… to him, it’s a gift for others, not something he wants to talk about.”  Sources say $100-thousand of the money would go to the Foxborough police and fire departments, respectively, as well as other portions of it going to places like the Animal Rescue League of Boston.

Earlier this month there were hints that perhaps the biggest country band of the 2000s, Rascal Flatts, might be considering a reunion of some sort. Now, more hints that they may actually be getting the band back together. On the website for the Patriotic Festival in Norfolk, Virginia, a tease for their 2025 lineup of artists is leading fans to think the event will be opened up by none other than Rascal Flatts. A graphic shows the silhouette of three members of a band, and it’s not a huge leap to think those silhouettes are of Jay DeMarcus, Joe Don Rooney and Gary LeVox. The lineup is set to be officially released on October 14th; the festival kicks off May 23, 2025. We’ll know in three weeks.

Back during the “ACM Awards”, “The Boot” caught up with a bunch of Country stars, and asked them all the same question:  “Who was the toughest act to follow in all of Country music?”

And not surprisingly the most common answer they got was Chris Stapleton . . . Because who would ever want to go onstage right after Chris?  Not Thomas Rhett, that’s for sure.  He said, “I’ve done that before.  That’s not a fun gig.”

Here are some of the best answers:

1.  Chayce Beckham said, “I played after Zach Top the other day and that felt wrong to me.  I felt like I should be opening up for Zach.”

2.  Cody Johnson is a huge Brothers Osborne fan.  He said, “I would not in any capacity want to follow Brothers Osborne live on stage.”

3.  Which is funny because Brothers Osborne said the same thing about Cody Johnson.  They knew way back in the day when he opened for them, that he was “destined for greatness.”  Jelly Roll and Ian Munsick also named Cody, because he’s so talented.

4.  Kylie Morgan named Morgan Wallen, and with good reason.  She said, “He puts on such an incredible show that I’d be like, ‘I’m just gonna go home now.'”

5.  And then almost everyone else said Chris Stapleton.  Imagine him rocking out, singing, “White Horse” . . . and then it’s your turn.  Yeah, no thanks.

(You can check out all the rest of the answers, here.)

Blake Shelton stopped by “The Pat McAfee Show” on Friday and had some really nice things to say about Post Malone.

He was asked if he thinks more people will do what Post did and try to crossover into Country music.  Blake says it’s been happening for a while, even bringing up Conway Twitty who was a Rock and Pop artist before switching to Country.

Quote, “I think the reason it’s working so well for Post is, it’s not a one-off thing . . . It’s not something that he’s just trying, it’s something that he’s finally getting to do.

“He’s so knowledgeable about Country music, and the writers, and the musicians . . . The first time I got to sit and talk to him about Country music, I was blown away.  He was telling me stuff that I didn’t know.”

To be fair, their song, “Pour Me a Drink”, was a smash success, so Blake might be a bit obligated to speak this nicely of his duet partner.

But what does Blake think about Post Malone’s future in Country music?  Quote, “I feel like Post is probably here to stay.”

(American Songwriter)

(You can watch this part of the interview, here.)