Nominated For Five CMA Awards, Zach Top Performed His Song “Guitar” At The Ceremony “Yeah, nothin’ kick starts my heart like guitar.” Performing “Guitar,” which is the opening track on his second album, Zach Top performed on a stage in the shape of a neon guitar. Joined by his regular backup vocalist, Cheyenne Dalton Meyer, […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Country’s Hottest Stars Gather For The 2025 CMA Awards On November 19, country music’s hottest artists gathered in Nashville, Tennessee to celebrate the 59th Annual CMA Awards. Lainey Wilson dazzled as the host for the second year in a row, her first time running the show solo. One of the memorable performances of the night […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

The 59th Annual CMA Awards Took Place Of November 19th Hosted by Lainey Wilson, the 2025 CMA Awards took place on Wednesday (November 19) at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Country Music Association (@cma) Along with handing out awards like Female Vocalist of the Year, Song […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Luke Combs Performs His New Single “Back In The Saddle” Live At The 2025 CMA Awards On Wednesday night, November 19, the CMA Awards took place live from Bridgestone Arena in Nashville, Tennessee, with country superstar Lainey Wilson as the show’s host. The event was packed with well-deserved moments as fans watched their favorite artists […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Country Music’s Leading Stars Get All Dressed For The 2025 CMA Awards Country fans had so much to look forward to ahead of the 2025 CMA Awards—the performances, the jokes from host Lainey Wilson, and of course, the photos of the best-dressed stars! The 2025 CMA Awards were held on Wednesday, November 19th. The program […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Back-to-Back Champ Coach Steps Down Staff Reports November 19, 2025 4:56 pm Crestview, Football, Niceville, Okaloosa County, Schools and Education In Brief: Head Football Coach KC Woods is stepping down after winning his second straight SSAA state championship. Woods will remain at Rocky Bayou Christian School as Assistant Principal. The school has begun its search for the next head football coach. Rocky Bayou Christian School announced that Head Football Coach KC Woods will step down from his coaching responsibilities following a historic run that includes two consecutive SSAA state championships. Woods will continue in his full-time role as Assistant Principal, a position he has held while leading the football program. Woods said his decision comes after significant thought and discussion with his family. Balancing administrative duties, a growing football program, and responsibilities at home has prompted him to shift his focus toward his Assistant Principal role and his time with his wife and their two young children. During his tenure as head coach, Woods played a central role in turning the Knights into a competitive and cohesive program. The team secured back-to-back state championships, increased player participation, and elevated expectations within the school community. Players, families, and staff credited Woods with establishing a steady, disciplined environment that supported both athletic development and character growth. School administrators noted that Woods’ leadership will continue to be felt on campus. As Assistant Principal, he has taken on a range of responsibilities, including student support, campus operations, and academic oversight. His decision to step... Read More

Zach Bryan Celebrates Two Months Sober Country singer Zach Bryan shared he’s now two months sober after experiencing a series of severe panic attacks during a difficult period with his mental health. Earlier this year at the Born & Raised Festival in Pryor, Oklahoma, Bryan made headlines when him and Gavin Adcock shared what started as a heated […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

‘I don’t want to get a call that my son is gone’: Family fears Okaloosa inmate’s health is spiraling Collin Bestor November 19, 2025 1:30 pm Okaloosa County In Brief: Family says 33-year-old Robert Riddle is in constant pain and rapidly declining Advocates say national sickle cell care guidelines aren’t being met inside the jail NAACP report and family letters raise broader systemic questions about inmate healthcare CRESTVIEW — When the video screen clicked on during a November jail visit, Eunice Mims stared for several seconds before speaking.   Her son, 33-year-old Robert Riddle, bore no resemblance to the man she remembered. His face was swollen, his skin and eyes tinged a yellowish hue.   “He does not look good,” his sister, Michaela Smith, said in an email obtained by Mid Bay News. “His face is swollen, his eyes are yellow, and he is in nonstop pain.”   The visual his mom saw that day has added a growing panic among his family that the Okaloosa County Jail, where Riddle has been incarcerated since 2024, is dangerously unequipped to treat his severe sickle cell disease, and that the weeks ahead may carry risks he will not survive.   Despite repeated warnings, they say, Riddle’s condition has steadily deteriorated throughout 2025. County officials, meanwhile, insist he is receiving adequate medical care and has not voiced concerns to jail leadership.   The conflict unfolding over his treatment reflects a deeper, systemic struggle over the quality of inmate healthcare in Okaloosa County —... Read More

Jon Bon Jovi And Jelly Roll’s Unlikely Friendship Rock icon Jon Bon Jovi and rapper-turned-country star Jelly Roll teamed up earlier this year to release a reimagined version of Bon Jovi’s 2024 song, “Living Proof.” According to Good Morning America, the pair developed a friendship after meeting in 2024 at the MusiCares Person of the […] More Country Music Nation  Read More

Death Row Timeline Nears End for Frank Walls Staff Reports November 19, 2025 11:36 am Crime, Okaloosa County, Public Safety In Brief: Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a December 18 death warrant for Frank Athen Walls, convicted in the 1987 murders of an Eglin airman and his girlfriend and linked to three additional Okaloosa County killings. Walls’ execution adds to a record-high year for Florida, which has scheduled more executions in 2025 than any year since capital punishment was reinstated. Attorneys for Walls are expected to appeal to both state and federal courts as the execution date approaches. Gov. Ron DeSantis has signed a death warrant for Frank Athen Walls — the Okaloosa County man convicted of a string of brutal killings in the 1980s — according to reporting from the Associated Press. Walls, now 58, is scheduled to die by lethal injection on December 18 at Florida State Prison, marking yet another addition to what has become the most execution-heavy year in Florida’s modern history. Walls’ case has haunted Okaloosa County for nearly four decades. The crimes that ultimately put him on death row began on a July night in 1987, when prosecutors say he slipped into the mobile home of Eglin Air Force Base Airman Edward Alger and his girlfriend, Ann Peterson. According to court records, Walls tied the couple up in what investigators later characterized as a robbery that escalated into extreme violence. Alger managed to free himself and fought back—forcing Walls to slash his throat, then shoot... Read More