ON THE COVER:
CHRIS STAPLETON

With new album Higher on the way, another CMA Male Vocalist trophy on his mantelpiece, a big tour kicking off and a Rock & Roll Hall of Fame performance last week, Mercury Nashville troubadour Chris Stapleton is in multiple spotlights at once. The bearded marvel first broke into the mainstream on the 2015 CMAs, and the song he performed—his take on the George Jones chestnut “Tennessee Whiskey”—remains a top-streaming country song eight years later. And we reckon it’ll likely take a lot of whiskey to wash the memory of this HITS appearance off Stapleton’s mind.