Episodes

  • Kane Brown | Friday Night Takeover
    Jan 27 2025

    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

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    12 mins
  • Brooks & Dunn | Friday Night Takeover
    Jan 13 2025

    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

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    13 mins
  • Koe Wetzel | Friday Night Takeover
    Jan 3 2025

    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 ...

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    15 mins
  • Rachel Parton George with Rob + Holly
    Dec 20 2024

    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

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    13 mins
  • Blake Shelton | Friday Night Takeover
    Nov 25 2024

    Blake Shelton is back with new music for the first time in two years and he’s looking to keep things exciting like his idol, Conway Twitty did throughout his career.

    “Every time I make a record, I try and take a step in some other direction,” Shelton said when sharing why he decided to record the new single, “Texas.” “Whether it’s a step forward — sometimes it’s a step backwards,” he laughed. “Just something different than I did the last time.”

    He continued, “I always loved Conway Twitty for that reason. If you listen to his entire catalog, if you listen to every record, he’s kind of all over the place with what he did and he kept it exciting. He was a song guy more than anything else. I want to be that also.”

    Keeping things different, exciting and song-driven is exactly what Shelton did with the new single, which he admits took him some time to come around to since it’s unlike anything he’s ever recorded. “I first heard the song and I thought, ‘I love the song, but I don’t think I could get away with doing that.’” He shared. “I just had a hard time picturing myself singing it because it’s so different than anything that I’ve ever done before.”

    “When I finally told Scott Hendricks [producer], I said, ‘OK, I’m going to try ‘Texas,’ and he said ‘Oh, thank God…’ And we had a blast when we got in there and made that record because we kept trying things, we messed with it so much.”

    From an ode to “The Good The Bad and the Ugly,” to the sounds of a hawk,Shelton says there’s lots of sonic surprises if you listen closely. “We were having so much fun with it and we had to stop because they told us it was time to release the song, so here we are,” he laughed. In addition to the surprises added via production, there’s also several references to the King of Country, George Strait throughout.

    “There’s several George Strait references in the song and they kind of flew past me,” Shelton said of the first time he listened. “The first time I heard it, I heard it mention George Strait but then I was going, ‘On, no. There’s ‘Amarillo By Morning’ and there’s ‘All My Exes Live In Texas.’ The song is super fun even though it’s about a guy getting dumped.”

    Hear even more about the song, new music as well as one of Shelton’s most classic hits, “Austin,” by listening to his entire interview with Audacy’s Rob + Holly on the Friday Night Takeover above.

    Words by Monica Rivera, Interview by Rob + Holly

    Photo: Bryan Steffy/Getty Images,

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    22 mins
  • Chris Janson with Rob + Holly
    Nov 20 2024

    Chris Janson joins Rob + Holly backstage at a the 58th Annual CMA Awards to share details surrounding his health journey and how he feels after giving up Mountain Dew. Plus, his goals outside of music.

    Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

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    3 mins
  • Rob + Holly with Chayce Beckham
    Nov 20 2024

    Chayce Beckham joins Rob + Holly backstage at a the 58th Annual CMA Awards to talk haircare and his love for fire.

    Photo: Terry Wyatt/Getty Images

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    4 mins
  • Rob + Holly with Cole Swindell
    Nov 20 2024

    Cole Swindell joins Rob + Holly backstage at the 58th Annual CMA Awards to talk his performance at Red Rocks and being a newly married man.

    Photo: Jason Kempin/Getty Images

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    4 mins