The generational run continues.
If you haven’t been paying attention to Whiskey Riff Country Music Madness this year, you’re truly missing out on one of the greatest Cinderella stories of all time. In case you missed it, in conjunction with the NCAA’s March Madness, this year, we took 64 country artists from every corner of genre (mainstream to red dirt to Appalachia… truly covering all bases) and let the fans vote on their favorites in head-to-head matchups.
Just as the actual March Madness tournament often plays out, a lot of the favorites came through victorious in the first round, but we also had a number of exciting and unexpected upsets. No. 12-seed Cody Jinks never gave No. 5-seed Carrie Underwood a chance, and a No. 13-seeded Sturgill Simpson pulled off a win over No. 4-seed Jon Pardi. We also saw Jason Aldean go down against the No. 14-seed Turnpike Troubadours, and a No. 10-seed Colter Wall won comfortably over No. 7-seed Tucker Wetmore.
With that being said, however, none other than the severely underrated Idaho native, Colby Acuff, has gone on the most improbable run we’ve ever seen in the decade-long history of Whiskey Riff Country Music Madness.
He was matched up against No. 1- seed Chris Stapleton in the first round, and he was down early to the “White Horse” singer. Going into the weekend, Stapleton actually had 75% of the vote in this matchup. But the “If I Were the Devil” singer didn’t hear no bell, and he rallied his dedicated fans to mount a comeback for the ages, waging one of the greatest meme wars ever seen and even having a t-shirt made for the matchup:
At the time of that post, Colby needed a ton of votes to catch Stapleton. But he never gave up, and neither did his fans. Slowly but surely, the Idaho native got enough votes to win his first-round matchup and claim the title for biggest upset in the history of Whiskey Riff Madness with 59% of the votes by the end of the round.
It didn’t stop there, however. In round two, the Acuff army showed up in even greater force, taking down Dierks Bentley without much of a fight, grabbing a more than 7,000 votes and taking down the “Sideways” singer with relative ease. Even before he secured the round two win against Bentley, we teamed up with him to drop a limited edition t-shirt, which you can buy HERE, to celebrate the improbable run.
The Sweet 16 matchup saw Acuff and his army up against their toughest opponent yet: the red-hot Red Clay Strays. Though the Strays rallied their fans, in tandem with talking some friendly trash to Acuff in our comments section throughout the Sweet 16, they were once again no match for the Idaho native. In another shocking upset, he took down the reigning CMA Group of the Year winners with nearly 68% of the vote.
As we sit in the Elite 8, Acuff is still continuing his Cinderella run in style, currently sitting with a substantial lead over another tough opponent, Whiskey Myers, slightly over 60%
After scoring the improbable win against Stapleton, Acuff, who had his doubts that he could keep the momentum going, promised that if he beat Bentley, he would drop some new music. Obviously, he did so handily, and after a bit of a delay, he finally gave the fans what he promised last night, releasing the brand new track, “LIPSTICK ON A PIG.”
It’s safe to say that the Idaho native has not only kept his momentum going in our tournament, but he’s also kept it going with the release of this brand new track. Much like his first release of the year, “WHITE FLAG,” today’s new track once again sees Acuff venturing into more of a southern rock sound.
Being filled to the brim with some killer harmonica and some slick electric guitar work throughout, Acuff takes aim at the current state of the music industry, remarking how everyone is fighting to populate the charts with a song we’ve already heard a time or two before.
“Well, it’s all a competition
For the next rendition
Of a song that you already heard
For a 2-cent trophy
On a road to glory
You can take home a polished turd”
With some never-before-seen grit in his voice, Acuff continues taking aim at the industry in the chorus. Running with the “lipstick on a pig” phrase, he likens it to all the major-label artists who are trying to copy the sounds and styles of yesteryear, all while trying to please the suits who run said labels.
“So pucker them lips
For an ass to kiss
Hoping that the next one hits
It’s a hard life looking
For the next big thing
Puttin’ lipstick on a pig”
Overall, “LIPSTICK ON A PIG” is another rock-solid track from the “Dying Breed” singer and ultimately serves as the perfect song to release in celebration of his Whiskey Riff Country Music Madness run. After taking down multiple established, mainstream artists completely on his own using the power of his dedicated fanbase, it only felt right to drop a song critiquing the Nashville machine.
“LIPSTICK ON A PIG”
Handmade Horsepower Tour Dates
April 9 – Minneapolis, Minnesota – 7th St. Entry
April 10 – Omaha, Nebraska – Reverb Lounge
April 11 – Lawrence, Kansas – The Bottleneck
April 16 – Chicago, Illinois – Carol’s Pub
April 17 – Detriot, Michigan – El Club
April 18 – Grand Rapids, Michigan – The Stache
April 23 – Tahlequah, Oklahoma – NSU Event Center
April 24 – Stillwater, Oklahoma – Wormy Dog Saloon
May 2 – Port Neches, Texas – Port Neches Riverfront Park
May 9 – Decatur, Georgia – Eddie’s Attic
May 28 – Cambridge, Massachusetts- The Sinclair
May 29 – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania- MilkBoy
