News Roundup: Ray Wylie Hubbard Signs With Big Machine Label Group + More

Welcome to The Boot's News Roundup, a morning rundown of the news country music fans need to know. Read on to learn more about the latest goings-on in the country, Americana, bluegrass and folk genres.

Texas Country legend Ray Wylie Hubbard has inked a deal with Nashville's Big Machine Label Group. Per a press release, Hubbard will join Big Machine Records' roster, which also includes Rascal Flatts, Sugarland, Midland and Tim McGraw, and plans to release a new album later this year. "To have a badass label like Big Machine say they believe in the low-down, greasy record I made with my hoodlum friends and want to put it out? Well, damn," Hubbard says in a statement. "Sure. You bet." -- AM

Mountain Dew will host a "live-streamed musical showcase" to raise funds for Tennesseans impacted by the tornado that swept through Nashville and Middle Tennessee on March 3. Per a press release, the show is set for for March 24 and will feature performances from LoCash, Parmalee, Tyler Farr, Lindsay Ell and more up-and-coming artists, all broadcast live from the George Jones in Music City. Proceeds will benefit Team Rubicon's relief work, and Mountain Dew will match donations made that night up to $50,000. Fans can watch the livestream for free via iHeartMedia. -- AM

Bluesy sister duo Larkin Poe will release a brand-new album on May 1. Rebecca and Megan Lovell's fifth studio album, Self Made Man, is due via Tricki-Woo Records and follows their Grammy-nominated 2018 record Venom & Faith. Megan Lovell calls the new project "the first lyrically uplifting record we've made;" she and Rebecca co-produced the album with Roger Alan Nichols, at Nashville's Bell Tone Recording. -- AS

Country Thunder Florida has been postponed for 2020 "due to the uncertainty surrounding the coronavirus pandemic," festival organizers announced Saturday (March 14), after officials in Osceola County, Fla., made the decision to ban mass gatherings of 250 or more people. The festival, which was scheduled for March 27-29, will now take place at Oct. 16-18; headliners Eric Church, Kane Brown and Dierks Bentley are all confirmed for the new dates, and all tickets and camping passes will be honored for the rescheduled festival. -- AS

MerleFest, Wilkesboro, N.C.'s annual roots music festival, has been canceled for 2020 due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. North Carolina Gov. Roy Cooper and Wilkes County officials have canceled all mass gatherings (100 or more people), forcing organizers of the event -- originally scheduled for April 23-26 -- to cancel for the year. Those with tickets can either convert their ticket to a donation to the WCC Foundation, transfer their ticket to MerleFest 2021 or request a refund; visit MerleFest.org for more information. -- AS

The inaugural Campfire Gathering music festival at Dripping Springs, Texas' Camp Lucy has been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic. Originally scheduled for March 16-18, with Nikki Lane, Orville Peck and others scheduled to perform, Campfire Gathering will now kick off on a soon-to-be-announced, rescheduled weekend. "We are working around the clock to reschedule the event, and we hope to share our new plans with you all very soon," a statement from organizers reads. "Stay safe, take care of each other, and God bless Texas." -- AS

Miranda Lambert's two 2020 Australian tour dates -- in Sydney and Melbourne on March 24 and 26, respectively -- have been postponed due to the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, in accordance with an Australian government mandate banning all gatherings of 500 or more people. "I'm so sad that we won't be able to play some country music for y'all!" the singer writes on Instagram. "I'll be thinking of you hand hope that you stay safe and health." -- AS

A number of other coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic-related postponements and cancellations were announced over the weekend (March 13-15). These changes include the cancelation of Nashville's Whiskey Jam until further notice, and the postponement of tour dates for both Amanda Shires and Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit. Additionally, the 2020 iHeartRadio Music Awards, which were scheduled for March 29 at Los Angeles, Calif.'s Shrine Auditorium, have been postponed. -- AS