May 1, 2026 News@CountryAircheck.com

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Seven Year Break: Here are select Nielsen Audio Continuous Diary Measurement (CDM) ratings for March 2026 (three-month rolling average, 1/8-4/1/26) compared with January and February. Ranks (in parentheses) are among subscribers. Unless otherwise noted, all figures are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

Birmingham, AL (Market 61)	WDXB iHeartMedia 4.8 (5t) - 5.0 (5) - 5.9 (4) Largest share since Dec. 2024. WZZK SummitMedia 4.8 (5t) - 4.4 (6) - 5.4 (5)
Buffalo, NY (59)	WYRK Townsquare 7.9 (3) - 8.8 (2) - 9.3 (2)
Fort Myers, FL (51)	WWGR Renda 3.7 (7) - 4.5 (4t) - 4.8 (3) Largest share since Nov. 2024. WHEL Sun 2.6 (15) - 2.1 (17) - 2.5 (12) WCKT iHeartMedia 2.2 (17) - 2.4 (14t) - 2.3 (13t)
Greenville, SC (53)	WESC iHeartMedia Classic Country 6.0 (3) - 7.0 (3) - 8.0 (2) Largest share since Winter 2019. WSSL iHeartMedia 5.8 (4) - 5.2 (5t) - 5.1 (5) WROQ Audacy 5.1 (6) - 3.7 (9) - 2.9 (10) Flipped from Classic Rock to Country on Dec. 19 (CAT 12/19/25).
Richmond, VA (52)	WKHK SummitMedia 6.2 (4) - 6.3 (4) - 6.0 (4) WRXL-HD2 Audacy 1.8 (14) - 1.5 (14t) - 1.1 (15)
Rochester, NY (60)	WBEE Audacy 5.0 (5) - 5.7 (5) - 7.1 (2) WDVI iHeartMedia 1.7 (12) - 1.8 (11) - 2.1 (9)
Tucson, AZ (62)	KHUD iHeartMedia 2.5 (12) - 2.1 (12) - 3.1 (10) KIIM Cumulus Does not subscribe.

Win Into Whiskey: Mercury's Tucker Wetmore was surprised onstage in London last night (4/30) with news of his ACM Best New Male Artist win. Blue Highway's Thomas Rhett interrupted the show with a video message prior to Wetmore’s mother, Sia, presenting him with the award; watch here.

In related news, Wetmore and Best New Female winner Avery Anna (CAT 4/27), as well as Blake Shelton, Carter Faith, Dan + Shay, Ella Langley, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, The Red Clay Strays, Rhett and Zach Top have been added to the performance lineup for the 61st Academy of Country Music Awards, airing live on Prime Video May 17 from the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

In Da Pub: Anthem Entertainment Coord./Creative Leighanna Martin has joined Riser House as Mgr./A&R & Publishing. "[Leighanna's] bold, has a sharp song sensibility and she's passionate about her writers," says SVP/A&R & Publishing Brandon Perdue. Adds Martin, "The opportunity to champion great songs, support talented writers and help shape creative direction is exactly what I'm passionate about." Prior to Anthem, Martin worked in merchandising for Richards and Southern.

Honorable Mention: The submission period for the CMA Broadcast Awards is now open through June 30 at 5pm CT. Winners receive a CMA Awards trophy, tickets to the Nov. 18 show in Nashville, and (for personality category winners,) a lifetime CMA Membership. Learn more and apply here.

The NAB has issued a call for entries in its 2026 Marconi Radio Awards, which recognize stations and individuals for their excellence and performance in radio. Apply here by May 31. Winners will be revealed during an Oct. 20 dinner in New York City, the night before the Oct. 21-22 NAB Show at Javits Center.

Tour Guide: Concerts West Dir./Touring and Talent Buyer Kate Lazzari has been named Dir./Tour for Messina Touring’s Nashville office. “I’m thrilled to join Messina Touring, an exceptional team with an extraordinary legacy in live entertainment,” she says. Lazzari spent more than eight years at AEG's boutique touring divison; reach her here.

Hat's All, Folks: Wolf Creek KHAT-AM & K244FN/Laramie, WY shifted from "New Country" to gold-based "True Country 96.7," focusing on titles from the 1980s through the early 2000s. The station, which had been music intensive outside of Big D & Bubba in mornings, will also debut a new, locally hosted daypart in the coming weeks. Stream here.

Contact Update: Audacy/San Diego & Riverside SVP/MM Michael Valenzuela has been named SVP/Revenue at Activated Events. He revealed plans earlier this week to leave Audacy after 24 years (CAT 4/30). Activated Events is the team behind several festivals in the Southwest, including Boots In The Park.

By The Dozen: Here are select March Eastlan Ratings showing Country stations that are leading in the 23 markets measured monthly by the company, compared with January and February. Shares are Persons 12+, Monday-Sunday, 6am-midnight.

KSJJ/Bend, OR Gross: 12.4 - 11.2 - 12.8
KCTR/Billings, MT Townsquare: 10.3 - 9.6 - 10.3
WOKO/Burlington, VT Hall: 16.6 - 15.7 - 15.3
WQBE/Charleston, WV Bristol: 13.0 - 12.9 - 12.6
WXBQ/Johnson City, TN Bristol: 14.9 - 15.1 - 15.1
KDBR/Kalispell, MT Bee: 12.2 - 14.0 - 13.0
WALS/LaSalle, IN Shaw Local: 10.0 - 12.0 - 12.4
WBBN/Laurel, MS Blakeney: 9.8 - 10.0 - 11.1
WGTR/Myrtle Beach, SC iHeartMedia: 8.9 - 8.9 - 8.5
KXLY/Spokane Queen B: 8.6 - 8.4 - 8.9
Largest share in 13 months of Eastlan measurement.
KEZJ/Twin Falls, ID Townsquare: 16.9 - 14.5 - 14.7
WACO/Waco, TX iHeartMedia: 13.7 - 14.9 - 16.1

Tour Support: Songwriter/producer and SmackSongs founder Shane McAnally is launching a 10-date stand-up comedy tour, the Hits & Giggles Tour, June 3 in Nashville, with stops in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Tickets and dates here.

Bits & Pieces: Parker McCollum made a surprise appearance to thank the nurses at Memorial Hermann The Woodlands in Texas for their service as part of Create Amor's Healthcare Heroes Initiative. Watch here.

Spirit Music's Frank Rogers was presented the Order of the Palmetto from the Governor of South Carolina, Henry McMaster, in recognition of "a lifetime of extraordinary achievement, service and contributions on a national or statewide scale."

Monster Energy has teamed with Morgan Wallen's Still The Problem Tour for a promotion kicking off today (5/1), giving fans the chance to win concert tickets and "ME X MW" merch, including a Kawasaki KX450 motocross bike, a Wallen-signed guitar, apparel, guitar amps and vinyl LPs. Details here.

Life Note: Longtime Beasley WXTU/Philadelphia morning host Andie Summers shared her breast cancer diagnosis with her listeners this morning (5/1), saying in an emotional message, "I have so much motivation and ambition to just crush this ... I am confident that I will beat this." Watch here. Her cancer was caught with an annual mammogram. Summers was recently revealed as a 2026 nominee for the national Radio Hall of Fame (Breaking News 4/22). Send best wishes here.

Stories Of The Week: Search for news and people in the archives at countryaircheck.com.

Country Aircheck Weekly dives into the ongoing Nielsen/Cumulus standoff.
Quartz Hill Music Group's Will Robinson and April Rider exited. (4/30)
KBEQ/Kansas City morning host Codie Allen added MD duties. (4/30)
iHeartMedia/Kentucky VPP Nathan Nelson added PD duties for WAMZ/Louisville & WBUL/Lexington. (4/29)
Cumulus/Toledo OM Jerry Mac departed. (4/28)

ICYMI: Chris Janson performed “Me & A Beer” on NBC's Today (4/30) as part of the Route 66 Centennial Celebration.

Country Aircheck Today Top 5: Here are the Top 5 songs for April 30, according to Mediabase.

LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) 4644 points
CODY JOHNSON/The Fall (CoJo/Warner/WRN) 3445 points
TUCKER WETMORE/Brunette (Back Blocks/Mercury) 3435 points
RILEY GREEN/Change My Mind (Nash. Harbor) 3230 points
ELLA LANGLEY/Be Her (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) 3097 points

Country Aircheck Top Point Gainers: Here are the top point gainers for April 26-30, compared with the same days last week, according to Mediabase.

ELLA LANGLEY & MORGAN WALLEN/I Can't Love You Anymore (Sawgod/Col. NY/Triple Tigers) +4256 points
KACEY MUSGRAVES/Loneliest Girl (ICLG/Lost Highway) +2920 points
LUKE COMBS/Sleepless In A Hotel Room (Columbia) +1879 points
KANE BROWN/Woman (RCA) +1305 points
TUCKER WETMORE/Brunette (Back Blocks/Mercury) +1159 points

Tomorrow's Birthdays (5/2): Larry Gatlin, Ty Herndon, Rose Falcon, Brian Jennings, Tammy Ragusa, Bradley Collins, Anthony Allen, the late Buzz Ledford.

Sunday's Birthdays (5/3): Eric Church, Ella Langley, John Hopkins (Zac Brown Band), Damon Whiteside, Shane Minor, Jerry Salley, Gwen Sebastian, Scott “Cactus” Moser, Stoney Richards, Codie Allen, Rob Baker, Ken Levitan, Lisa Wall, Brian Day, the late Dave Dudley, the late Brad Martin.

Monday's Birthdays (5/4): Randy Travis, RaeLynn, Stella Parton, Luke Laird, Robert Ellis Orrall, Ken Domash, Rick Barker, Tim DuBois, Susan Eaddy, Michael McNamara, Jackie Tigue, Brinn Black, the late Marshall Grant, the late George Collier.

West Palm Beach Boys: Galaxy's LoCash play WIRK/West Palm Beach, FL's Secret Session. Pictured (l-r) are the station's Moriah Daniels, the duo's Chris Lucas, the station's Grover Collins and Tim Leary, the duo's Preston Brust and the station's Chelsea Taylor and Nick Rivers.

Madden 26: MCA's Madden Metcalf visits WWWF/Nassau-Suffolk. Pictured (l-r) are the station's Kelly Ford, Madden, the label's Annie Sandor and the station's Robby Bridges.

Big Screen: Virgin Music Group's Kip Moore with Big D & Bubba's Jessica "Carsen" Humphreville, Derek “Big D” Haskins and Sean “Bubba” Powell (l-r).