Welcome, Wednesday readers!

🌤️ Today's weather: Mostly sunny, with a high of 96 and a low of 74.

🎂 Happy birthday to our member Jennifer Hill!

This newsletter is 1,020 words — a4-minute read.

Twang is transcending the South.

Why it matters: Music Row is in a new era of cultural dominance. Country music dominates Billboard's Hot 100, line dancing boogies are viral on TikTok and country music festivals are booming.

To put it plainly, country music's latest renaissance is reshaping pop culture around the world.

Driving the news: Ella Langley's "Choosin' Texas" has been sitting at Billboard's No. 1 spot for 18 weeks, giving it unofficial song-of-the-summer status.

• But that's just the tip of the cowboy hat.

Zoom out: The top of the charts is crawling with country, include Taylor Swift's "I Knew It, I Knew You," Morgan Wallen's "Been By Now," a collab from Wallen and Langley called "I Can't Love You Anymore," and Stella Lefty's "Boston."

What they're saying: "Country music has never been more popular, and that's spilling over into everything," Danny Katz, Talent Buyer & Media Analyst for Bub City, a Chicago-area country bar, tells Axios.

• "Not just the live music side of things, not just what people are listening to, but also from a cultural perspective."

Between the lines: Country's crossover with rock, hip-hop and pop — amplified by TikTok and streaming — is bringing younger and more diverse listeners into the fold.

• He says the crossover appeal has brought in a "lot of fans who may have thought that they didn't have a place in the country music world."

Zoom out: Country is causing a stampede globally.

• In the U.K., dance troops are getting down with line dancing.
• In Kenya, the second annual International Cowboys and Cowgirls Day recently allowed locals to embrace their own background as ranchers.

Zoom in: Crocker credits some of the growth to country's increasingly blurry genre lines.

The turning point: Country's creeping crossover dominance has been on the rise for years, tracing back to Lil Nas X's 2018 country hit "Old Town Road," which held the top spot for 19 weeks.

• Shaboozey's "A Bar Song (Tipsy)," which had elements of hip hop and rock, also stayed glued to the top of the charts in 2024.

The bottom line: Nashville's flagship cultural export is boot-scootin' across borders.

Share this story

More kindergarten students in Tennessee skipped vaccines during the 2025–2026 school year, according to exemption figures Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Monday.

Why it matters: Tennessee's rate of vaccine exemptions saw its biggest annual increase in years as vaccine skepticism continues to grow.

• The change coincided with continued efforts by the Trump administration to make controversial vaccine policy changes.

By the numbers: The share of Tennessee kindergartners with any vaccine exemption reached 4.8% during the last school year, up from 3.8% the year before and 3.6% in 2023-24.

• All told, 3,510 Tennessee kindergartners had an exemption in 2025-26, compared with 2,985 the year before.

Driving the news: The increase came almost entirely from nonmedical exemptions, which accounted for 3,397 children.

Of note: The increase in kids with vaccine exemptions came even as Tennessee's overall kindergarten enrollment dropped.

Zoom out: Exemptions from getting one or more vaccines increased in 41 states and the District of Columbia, growing to a nationwide exemption rate of 4.2%.

What they're saying: The CDC, in a statement, said it continues to encourage parents to discuss vaccination options with their doctors.

• The agency noted that even with the rise of exceptions, vaccine coverage dropped only 0.1% among children entering kindergarten.

Yes, but: It only takes a small drop in the vaccination rate to make herd immunity against measles plummet.

Share this story

🛣️ A Tennessee board will vote today on a vendor that will partner with the state on toll lanes on Interstate 24. (WSMV)

☎️ Franklin police say they have seen a surge of nearly 4,000 accidental 911 calls this year. Most came from smartphones or watches with Emergency SOS features unintentionally activated. (Tennessean)

💰 Tennessee reported a financial surplus of $1.2 billion in the last fiscal year driven in part by higher-than-expected business tax collections. (Tennessee Lookout)

Kristin Wilson, one of Metro government's most consequential officials, is leaving Mayor Freddie O'Connell's office.

Why it matters: Wilson serves as the city's chief of operations and performance, a behind-the-scenes role that is out of the public eye but at the center of the most pressing Metro issues.

Zoom in: Wilson worked with Metro for seven years, navigating the pandemic, the 2020 tornado, the Christmas bombing and school shootings.

• Her job is to make sure the city government operates efficiently. She served as one of the top aides to both O'Connell and his predecessor, Mayor John Cooper.

Zoom out: Wilson is the fourth top aide to leave the mayor's office since July 2025. Other departures include former chief of staff Marjorie Pomeroy-Wallace, development chief Bob Mendes and legal director Wally Dietz.

What they're saying: Wilson said in her resignation letter Tuesday she believes Metro is "in a better operational place than it was when I started."

• O'Connell lauded Wilson in a statement for "overseeing the city's response to some of our most profound tragedies and crises while also guiding us through a considerable era of growth in our city that impacted operations."

Share this story

Country queen Miranda Lambert will be the first artist to play at the new Wedgewood-Houston venue The Truth on Oct. 1.

The intrigue: The special "One Night Only" concert will take place one day before Lambert drops her new album "Crisco," and will feature a 12-piece string section. The setlist will pull from her deep catalogue of hits.

If you go: Tickets go on sale at 10am Friday.

By the numbers: The Truth is a 4,400-capacity venue. Other upcoming acts playing there in October include The Chicks, Limp Bizkit and Jack White.

Our picks:

Nate's song of the day is "Dozen Roses" by Thomas Dollbaum.

💗 Adam wishes his mother Mary T. a relaxing, resplendent and rejuvenating birthday.

This newsletter was edited by Jen Burkett.