On October 23rd, the 3rd annual Two Step Inn festival in Georgetown, TX made a grand announcement. It unveiled its 2025 lineup featuring headliners like Sturgill Simpson, Alan Jackson, Miranda Lambert, and Lynyrd Skynyrd. This two-day festival has now emerged as one of the numerous country music “megafestivals” across the USA. Instead of relying solely on mainstream big names, it books country legends and independent performers to fill out its roster. Names like Kaitlin Butts, Noeline Hoffmann, The Droptines, and Braxton Keith play a crucial role in completing the 2025 Two Step Inn lineup. These megafestival events hold significant importance as they have demonstrated the economic viability of music that often gets overlooked by country radio and awards shows. Tens of thousands of patrons from all over the country flock to these events.

Promoter Insights and Ownership

The Two Step Inn is promoted by C3 Presents, an Austin-based promotional company. It is owned 51% by Live Nation, the largest live music promoter in the world and the owner of Ticketmaster. C3 Presents also promotes the independent country megafestival called Railbird in Kentucky every June, which started in 2020. They also own the FairWell Festival in Redmond, Oregon, which took place in 2023 and 2024. As reported in 2023 by Saving Country Music, while these corporate-owned megafestivals offer excellent opportunities for independent country fans to see their favorite performers in one place, they are also squeezing out locally and regionally-owned festivals. This has become a growing problem since the pandemic, as big promoters recognize the potential for profit in independent country music.

Comparison to Whiskey Riff

If we draw a parallel to what C3 Presents is doing in the country music media business, it resembles the news, entertainment, and apparel website Whiskey Riff. In the past couple of years, the online music publishing space has seen significant contractions, including layoffs at NPR, CMT letting go of its entire editorial staff, and even Pitchfork scaling back to a skeleton crew. However, Whiskey Riff has witnessed dramatic growth by integrating sports, outdoor, lifestyle, and general viral content into their country music coverage. They are like the Barstool Sports of country music. When it was announced in 2023 that the owner of the Grand Ole Opry - Opry Entertainment Group - was purchasing a minority stake in Whiskey Riff, there were concerns about corporate control. Although assurances were given that nothing would change and the outlet's autonomy would remain, such deals often have an impact on media outlets as they expect growth from their investment. In truth, Whiskey Riff was already a problematic actor in the world of country music journalism even before the Opry Entertainment Group investment. Their buzzy articles filled with ads diminished the quality of country music coverage and overshadowed the work of other outlets with higher quality standards. That said, on occasion, Whiskey Riff would produce more quality content, and it played a crucial role in generating interest in independent artists that the mainstream often ignored.

Sponsored Post and Its Implications

When the C3 Presents/LiveNation festival Two Step Inn announced its 2025 lineup, many periodicals in the country music space dutifully published articles promoting the lineup. Strangely, Whiskey Riff remained silent, even though they have the resources to cover most of these announcements and have covered Two Step Inn announcements in the past. It was only about a week later that Whiskey Riff ran a story titled, “As Other Festivals Are Struggling, Two Step Inn Seems To Just Keep Getting Better Every Year.” Notably, beneath the header image for the Two Step Inn article, it was marked as “Sponsored” by Two Step Inn. In other words, instead of posting about the festival for free, Whiskey Riff was paid by Two Step Inn/C3 Presents to post an article similar to those published by other outlets for free, including Saving Country Music. For the record, SCM has also attended Two Step Inn for the past two years and covered it with articles, Instagram posts, and in-depth recaps.

Impact on Independent Festivals

It is concerning that the entity working to crowd out independent country festivals throughout the USA - C3 Presents/Live Nation - is using its advertising budget. Instead of supporting independent outlets that have a history of providing in-depth coverage for this festival, they are spending their money on a media outlet that is squeezing out those independent outlets. This not only affects the independent festival scene but also sets a bad precedent. When Whiskey Riff promotes the Two Step Inn with a title like “As Other Festivals Are Struggling, Two Step Inn Seems To Just Keep Getting Better Every Year,” it fails to address the real reason for the struggles of other festivals - namely, the deep pockets of C3 Presents and Live Nation outspending local and regional promoters for talent. C3 Presents can afford to lose money for 3-5 years to establish a foothold in a region, while most independent promoters must make a profit each year to survive. This is why we are seeing many independent festivals canceling across the USA, despite the growth and market share of independent country music.

Whiskey Riff's Political Turn

As Saving Country Music reported back in August, Whiskey Riff has aggressively moved into the political space, sometimes in deceptive ways. The outlet regularly reposts old articles as new ones, especially for viral political content and historical retrospectives. On the Presidential election night in the USA and since then, Whiskey Riff has become even more brazen with its political coverage and has leaned more into clickbait-style gossip articles, especially surrounding the breakup of Zach Bryan and Brianna Chickenfry. For example, one article headline teased, “‘Ohhh Boy The Tea I Have’ – Brianna Chickenfry On Why Charles Wesley Godwin Doesn’t Follow Zach Bryan Anymore.” Such articles pitting performers against each other and broadcasting their private matters have drawn the ire of many in the country music community, including the owners of the podcast Western Grunge Tapedeck whose slogan is “Do your part to support independent artists.” One of the owner's personal X/Twitter accounts named Marlboro Man's Tapedeck began posting memes and criticisms of Whiskey Riff.

Domain Dispute and Its Consequences

After this activity, Whiskey Riff purchased the website domain for Western Grunge Tapedeck, which was similar to their social media handles and podcast, westerngrungetd.com. They then redirected the URL to their merch store. This set off a social media firestorm on X/Twitter, with many independent podcasts, media outlets, influencers, and some journalists coming to Western Grunge Tapedeck's defense. This has led Whiskey Riff to block dozens, perhaps hundreds of accounts, including those from long-running country outlets such as Farce The Music for standing up for Western Grunge Tapedeck. “At Western Grunge Tapedeck, we cover independent artists. We have a lot of great guests on the show that are independent artists, and that’s our thing. It’s always been about the music and the stories of the independent artists out there. With that comes beefing with the corporate country side as a lot of people do,” co-owner Brennan of Western Grunge Tapedeck tells Saving Country Music. When asked why Western Grunge Tapedeck didn't secure ownership of the web domains earlier, Brennan explained that as a podcast and not a news outlet, it wasn't a priority, and they mainly relied on their social media properties. It was only when they were setting up their LLC and owner shares that they discovered Whiskey Riff had purchased their URL. Western Grunge Tapedeck started as a podcast in January and has since posted around 65 episodes. “The only reason we found it was this week is because we were setting up our LLC and owner shares, and this is when we started looking into websites,” Brennan explains. “We have a business plan. We want to become a record label within the next three years and launch our own music venue within the next five years. We have people committed to investing in those things. The podcast is a really good tool to get the music out there and start networks and conversations.”

Whiskey Riff's Response

Saving Country Music reached out to Whiskey Riff to potentially interview them about the issue with Western Grunge Tapedeck, along with the sponsored post about Two Step Inn and the more political direction the outlet has taken recently. Associate editor and General Council for Whiskey Riff, Aaron Ryan responded, “Western Grunge has been coming at us for a while. They were constantly trolling on our social pages, but we decided not to engage because we really had no idea who they were. When we looked them up, we noticed the domain wasn’t owned and was able to be purchased. Obviously there was no ‘stealing’ of the domain - because they didn’t own it in the first place. They obviously wanted a reaction from us with their incessant trolling of our posts. Seems that if the domain were so important to them they would have bought it for themselves to begin with. We’re happy to talk with them if they’d like, but so far nobody has reached out to us. In the meantime, we’re working on redirecting the domains from our website, because it was never about the traffic for us.”The purchase of the Western Grunge Tapedeck domains by Whiskey Riff touched a nerve as it symbolizes a bigger issue facing independent music. As big corporate entities strive to secure their positions in grassroots music, it is squeezing out many long-standing and upstart outlets, similar to what we are seeing in the festival space. Whatever legitimate beef Whiskey Riff may have with Western Grunge Tapedeck, it is a David vs. Goliath scenario where a massive company is targeting a small outlet, setting a bad precedent that could exclude new voices and perspectives in an already crowded and challenging media landscape.

Anitta and Brazilian DJ/Producer Alok have recently made a significant impact with their collaborative efforts. After the release of the bubbly, dance-pop single “Looking For Love,” they followed it up with a captivating music video that showcases the friendly competition between their fanbases. This video, which dropped on Monday, features Alok and Anitta vying for fans' attention and the top spot as the most recognized Brazilian artist, with a views meter tracking their popularity.

Uniting Brazilian Music with a Friendly Rivalry

Anitta's Latin Pop Vocals and Alok's Electronic Dance Sound

The single “Looking For Love” beautifully fuses Alok's electronic dance sound with Anitta's Latin pop vocals. As Anitta sings the contagious hook, “That’s why I’ll keep looking for love, keep looking, looking,” it describes the unadulterated desire to develop a new connection. This fusion creates a unique musical experience that has captivated audiences.

Anitta's Latin pop vocals add a vibrant and passionate element to the song. Her ability to convey emotions through her voice is truly remarkable. It's no wonder that fans around the world have fallen in love with her music.

Alok's electronic dance sound brings a modern and energetic twist to the track. His expertise in creating infectious beats and rhythms makes the song a must-listen on the dance floor. The combination of these two styles creates a dynamic and exciting musical collaboration.

The Collaboration Journey

Anitta and Alok have been talking about this collaboration since 2017. However, it took some time to bring it to fruition. In a statement to Rolling Stone, Anitta expressed her happiness to finally show “looking for love” to the world. She believes that their fans will love it.

Alok also shared his thoughts on the collaboration. He mentioned that the lyrics describe a “yearning” for attention and the admiration we seek on social media platforms. This adds a deeper meaning to the song and connects with audiences on a more personal level.

The duo filmed the music video in São Paulo, adding a local touch to the project. It showcases the vibrant culture and energy of the city.

Releasing in Multiple Languages

Now, Alok and Anitta have the opportunity to reach both of their audiences by releasing a song in both English and Spanish. This is something totally different from what they would have done years ago. As they have both matured artistically, the product is “Looking for Love.”

Releasing the song in multiple languages allows them to connect with a wider audience and share their music with people from different backgrounds. It showcases their versatility as artists and their ability to transcend language barriers.

Anitta and Alok's decision to release the song in multiple languages is a strategic move that will help them expand their fanbase and gain international recognition.

Anitta's Other Projects

Last month, Anitta and the Weeknd released the Brazilian funk single “São Paulo,” along with a body horror-inspired music video. The video featured a pregnant Anitta strutting in stilettos around the Brazilian city. This project further showcases Anitta's diverse range as an artist.

Following the release of Funk Generation on April 26, Anitta performed “Savage Funk” off the album at the MTV Video Music Awards in September, along with songs “Alegria” and “Paradise.” Her performances are always energetic and captivating, leaving audiences wanting more.

Alok's Latest Project

In April, Alok released The Future is Ancestral, a project that took more than 500 hours of studio time and included vocals from various Indigenous community members across Brazil. This project highlights Alok's commitment to cultural diversity and social responsibility.

By collaborating with Indigenous community members, Alok is giving a voice to their stories and traditions. It's a powerful statement that showcases his artistic integrity and social consciousness.

Both Anitta and Alok have received nominations at the Latin Grammys this year. Anitta got a nod for Mil Veces in the “Record of the Year” category, which is a testament to her talent and hard work.