Luke Combs, Megan Moroney, LOCASH, Dolly, Kashus, Southall and much more!
By Preshias Harris
2026 is off to a great start with a bunch of exciting new music from established hitmakers and rising stars. We’re starting another year here at Inside Track on Music Row, the longest-running country music column in the USA. A big Thank You to our loyal readers for your support, and to the recording artists and their reps for sharing the news of their upcoming releases and tours! Scroll down and explore!
ALBUM & EP NEWS
LUKE COMBS
LUKE COMBS: Set for release in March: Luke Combs’ highly-anticipated sixth studio album, The Way I Am, via Sony Music Nashville. The 22-track project will drop March 20, 2026. Pre-Add / Pre-Save The Way I Am on all music platforms here.
Coinciding with the announcement of the upcoming album, Combs released the single “Sleepless In A Hotel Room,” written by Randy Montana and Jonathan Singleton alongside Combs. The song started life about six years ago. “I had this idea one night when I was missing Nicole Hocking, like I am right now,” said Combs at the 2020 BillboardMusic Awards. Happy ending: Combs and Hocking are now man and wife. Since then, Combs has teased the track on social media, creating excitement among fans for the official release of the song. Watch the official studio video of “Sleepless In A Hotel Room” here.
Combs has added dates to the schedule for his 2026 My Kinda Saturday Night stadium tour, starting March 21 in Las Vegas with stops in the USA, Canada, the UK and Europe with support
From artists that include Thomas Rhett and Dierks Bentley. Find tour and ticket info here.
Luke Combs has achieved the incredible feat of overtaking Garth Brooks as the highest RIAA-certified country artist in history. More news at Combs’ website and on Instagram, Facebook, TikTok, X and YouTube.
VINCE GILL
VINCE GILL’s year-long project, 50 Years From Home (MCA), continues to roll out with the release of Brown’s Diner Bar (listen/play here), the third EP of the critically-acclaimed series. The previous two releases from this ambitious endeavor include I Gave You Everything I Had (October 17, 2025) and Secondhand Smoke (November 14, 2025).
“I think that as a songwriter, you have to have lived some life to understand what you’re writing about,” says Gill. “You need some years under your belt to have the perspective to look back and really remember things. I know I don’t have as much time left as I’ve had to this point, so everything matters more. There’s a much deeper connection to these lyrics than I would have ever imagined. They’re truthful and they’re real, and I think the songs are about things people can grasp and understand and relate to.”
Instruments featured on the cover of each EP are from Gill’s personal collection. For Brown’s Diner Bar, he chose a 1942 Martin D-45 acoustic guitar he bought from the Famous Old Time Music Co.in Cincinnati, whose founder, Harry Sparks, passed away this past November.
Penned by Gill, the title track of Brown’s Diner Bar, takes him back 50 years to when he first visited the famed Nashville eatery he’s immortalizing in song. “It’s a singer-songwriter kind of folk song about…this little hamburger joint,” says Gill. More at https://www.vincegill.com/#/.
Additionally, Gill announced a portion of his upcoming summer tour dates beginning June 18 and including a six-night residency in Nashville at the historic Ryman Auditorium. Tour/ticket info here.
MEGAN MORONEY
MEGAN MORONEY: Sony Music Nashville/Columbia Records singer/songwriter Megan Moroney has unveiled the tracklist for her wildly awaited new album Cloud 9. In an exclusive video bound to get fans buzzing, the Country superstar reveals the titles to all 15 songs on her third studio LP (due out on February 20 and available for pre-order/pre-save here).
Cloud 9’s tracklist reveal video finds Moroney adorned in a dusty-pink flight suit, stepping off a jet emblazoned with the name “C9MM3” in the album’s signature pink. As she looks up to the sky, the multi-Platinum sensation takes in a breathtaking sight: the album’s complete list of song titles spelled out in the wispy white clouds formed by the plane’s contrails. Giving fans a gorgeous glimpse into Cloud 9’s world, the video further fuels the feverish expectation surrounding the album, which recently landed on coveted lists from Rolling Stone (“Here Are the Albums We Can’t Wait to Hear in 2026”), Parade (“5 Most Highly Anticipated Country Albums to Arrive in 2026”), Whiskey Riff (“The Top Country Albums Set For Release In 2026”), and more.
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