Country 102.5 Artist Interviews Podcast

Grammy Award winning country superstar Maren Morris is headed to the beautiful Leader Bank Pavilion July 8, and she called Carolyn Kruse to talk about the show.

Maren Morris made the call to Kruser to share her excitement at being back on the road. Only this time, it will be different. She will have toddler in tow. 2 year old son Hayes will be joining mommy Maren on the Humble Quest Tour, with opening act Brent Cobb. 

Hear Maren and Kruser's conversation and find out what she had to say about Boston fans, and being on the TV show, Beat Bobby Flay!

Glad You're Here is a brand new book, out today, and written by country star Walker Hayes and his best friend, Craig Cooper. If you haven't heard Walker's song "Craig," which was released on his 2017 album, Boom and re-worked and re-released on his current, Country Stuff the Album. 

The song was the basis for the book. Basically, how the two unlikely friends met, and their journey to a better life. When Walker met Craig he was an alcoholic and an atheist, with a music career that wasn't happening. Walker was also in need of a vehicle that had seat belts for all his kids. One day, Craig decided to gift the Hayes family his van. Craig's show of generosity and altruism helped to break down Walker's barriers with God and religion. And eventually the hits came. The two are more than neighbors and friends now. They are more like brothers and have co-written their story to share with the world. 

Carolyn Kruse chats with both Walker and Craig about their journey, relationship and the book. 

These are a few of my favorite things: Cole Swindell, Boston, Jodee Messina, and Cole's new album, Sterotype. 

We chatted about all of the above and so much more, when Cole called today. He is pumped for Boston to hear his new album, as he has always held a special love for us. Stereotype includes a song called, "She Had Me at Heads Carolina," a reference to Massachusetts' native Jo Dee Messina's breakout hit from 1996.

We play a round of "Let It Roll Cole," and find out how Cole likes to chill, what he is a fan of and what he thinks when he thinks of Boston. 

We wrapped up our conversation with a sneaky bomb drop. I beg him to please come to Boston (he had just played up in Hampton, NH but no Boston show). Cole's response: "I'll be there as soon as I can. I promise you. We're already looking at somthing possibly being around there in the next few months. I'm ready to play a few of these songs for y'all live." 

Country Superstar Tim McGraw calls Jonathan and Ayla to talk about his current single 7500 OBO, as well as his plans for touring this summer and his starring role in the hit TV show 1883

Awards, music, Johnny and June, Kenny Chesney, Boston...Carly Pearce covers it all in her chat with Kruser.

Where does she like to run when in Boston? What might people not know about her? 

How did her hit collab with with Ashley McBryde come to be? 

Find out here! 

Check one off the bucketlist. 

Zac Brown and his band have become icons in the music business. From platinum selling albums, millions download, legendary stage shows, Grammy Awards and more, the leader of the band has much to celebrate. But it took a pandemic for him to truly appreciate all that, and really tap into his creativity. 

Brown is in a good place in life and you can hear it. This summer he will be in a really good place, his favorite place to play, as he mentions more than once here... Fenway Park! Zac and his team have put together a set-up he said he's literally been dreaming of for years, for this show. 

Dustin Lynch called into to talk to Jonathan and Ayla about his new album and single, both dropping today, as well as why he chose Mackenzie Porter over Lauren Alaina for his hit song Thinking About You

You can just tell, in one short conversation, that Priscilla Block is a woman who eventually gets what she wants. She works hard to get it and doesn't let haters and nay-sayers stand in her way.

Here she is, 8 years after she moved to Nashville, and she is country music's "it girl." It's her energy, just the right amount of sass, plenty of talent, and a huge serving of realness that make her one of the most talked about and sought after new artists in country music. 

Her debut album, Welcome to the Block Party comes out tomorrow and she is launching it with a new single, "My Bar, a follow-up to her top 10 debut "Just About Over You."

We play a round of "Block Party Essentials," and chat about how Priscilla got discovered during the early days of the pandemic, when the world shut down. 

Today is a big day in the Walker Hayes house. Well, he's got a big family. They do things big. 

It's album release day for Walker. His latest collection is called Country Stuff, and there was a lot of hard work and stuff put into this. Take a listen as Hayes describes the journey to get here his appreciation of Applebees and plays a game with me called, "Fancy Like What?"