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Nashville’s Megan Moroney is riding high after winning the first-ever country music award at the VMAs for Best Country.

Returning to Texas in October for three headlining shows in Grand Prairie to end the Am I Okay? Tour, Dallas holds a special place in the singer-songwriter’s heart. In 2024, she won the Academy of Country Music (ACM) Award for New Female Artist of the Year. She described the crowds during her previous performances here as “exceptionally rowdy.”

The Am I Okay? Tour will mark Moroney’s first headline show in Dallas since The Bomb Factory in November 2023 for The Lucky Tour. Ahead of the 2023 Dallas show, the singer-songwriter had just achieved success with her debut album, Lucky, and her breakout single “Tennessee Orange,” which now has over 420 million streams on Spotify alone.

The Lucky Tour was a pivotal moment in the rising star’s career as she gained a whole new fanbase and greater experience performing for bigger crowds.

“I remember being blown away when [fans] were not just singing ‘Tennessee Orange’ and ‘I’m Not Pretty’ and they were singing the deep cuts from the album and begging me to sing ‘Why Johnny’ from Lucky. These fans don’t just care about the radio songs; they care about my artistry,” Moroney said.

In the two years that have passed, Moroney has comfortably settled in her place as one of the most popular figures in the resurgent country genre, with the success of her sophomore album, Am I Okay?, winning Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year and collaborations with Kenny Chesney and Brooks and Dunn.

“So much has changed [since the last time I was in Dallas.] Even on the Lucky Tour, [fans] would sing every word to all of my songs but it has just gotten so much more intense now. Since then, ‘Tennessee Orange’ went #1, ‘Am I Okay?’ went #1,” Moroney said. “I don’t do my own laundry anymore, that’s the biggest win for me in terms of lifestyle changes because I’m never home long enough to do it. I have trucks with my face on them now, which is crazy. I always dreamed of having trucks back when I was in the church van and the U-Haul, I always thought it’d be cool to have at least one truck.”

Moroney added, “Everything has gotten significantly bigger and more intense and the fanbase keeps growing, which is the goal.”

Despite not headlining a show in Dallas for two years, she has still performed in the city as she supported Kenny Chesney on his huge headline show at the AT&T Stadium as part of his Sun Goes Down Tour in 2024.

“That show meant a lot to me and him. That was a bucket list thing. I remember going up to the nosebleed seats with him because he records a video up there before every stadium show that he plays before he goes on stage. Just to be up there in the nosebleeds and realize how big that place was, I was like, ‘Wow, there’s going to be so many people here tonight!’ It was very surreal,” she said.

This experience performing on the biggest of stages was invaluable to Moroney, who said that “her confidence grew a lot” and that her performance has “leveled up” since the last time she was in Dallas.

After she wraps up her biggest headline tour to date, the singer-songwriter will carry her momentum into the later months of 2025 and into 2026.

This starts with the upcoming 2025 CMA Awards, as she received six nominations, including Single of the Year and Song of the Year for “Am I Okay?”

The country superstar also had exciting news for her fans as she teased that she’s currently working on new music.

“It’s the most confident I’ve ever been. This next set of music is very fun and that’s the vibe of the next project,” she said. “Not only am I pulling from real inspiration in my life, but sonically, I want people to have a good time at my shows. Just making sure there are fun sing-along songs that are also emotionally a little bit deep. [It’s about] checking all of those boxes, but it’s also fun for me when we have fun songs to play live.”

The desire to write songs made for live performances started when she wrote “Am I Okay?” as she was preparing to tour with Kenny Chesney.

“I knew I was touring with Kenny Chesney, so I wanted a song that would sound good in stadiums. So, I told my writer, who was creating the track, that I wanted it to sound really big; this isn’t a sad acoustic song, this needs to get people in the stadium up out of their seats,” Moroney said.

She remarked that her strong fandom motivates her when she’s making new music, and she’s not afraid to take risks.

“That’s a great feeling as an artist. At that point, you’re not worried because you know they’ve got your back. You’re not trying to go for a certain vibe to impress them because they all stick with you,” Moroney said. “I’ve released some rock country, pop country, or straight up traditional country, and they’ve loved all of it, which is an honor as an artist to get creative within country.”

After the U.S. leg of her tour, Megan Moroney will perform at festivals and concerts across Australia.

The shows Down Under reflect the growing influence of country across the globe as it’s becoming a mainstream genre with artists headlining festivals in the U.K., topping the charts across Europe or headlining stadium shows in Australia.

“People crave honest lyrics. There’s a lot of that in country music, so I think that’s what makes the genre so attractive to a lot of people,” Moroney said. “People actually are listening to what the songs are saying. There’s lot of good stuff over here.”

Megan Moroney will perform on Friday, Oct. 10, Saturday, Oct. 11 and Sunday, Oct. 12 at 8 p.m. at Texas Trust CU Theatre, 1001 Texas Trust Way, Grand Prairie. Resell tickets are available starting at $244.54 on axs.com.

International Leadership of Texas’ Grand Prairie elementary campus is one failing grade away from being forced to close.

The school posted two consecutive F’s under the state’s academic accountability system. A third in 2026 would trigger mandatory closure of the public charter school under Texas law.

Charter schools across Tarrant County face the same pressure as traditional public schools that are graded on how well they educate students, partly based on STAAR results. A Fort Worth Report analysis of recent A-F academic ratings found charters earned a higher share of A- and B-rated campuses than traditional districts — and fewer failing grades.

A charter is a publicly funded school run by private or nonprofit operators. Traditional districts can keep a struggling campus open after four F’s. After five, they face a forced closure of the school or a state takeover. Texas law requires charters to shut down a campus after three failing grades.

ILTexas officials recognize that danger.

“Any D or F campuses are unacceptable, and we are working diligently to ensure that there are no D or F campuses in the entire charter (system) next year,” ILTexas spokesperson Caitlin Madison said.

At ILTexas Grand Prairie, students who did not pass the state test last year moved from dual-language classes — where students are taught in English and Spanish — to English-only instruction and added double-blocked math and reading classes for struggling students, Madison said.

Across Tarrant County, 54.1% of all charter campuses earned an A or B rating. Among traditional public schools, 51.3% reached that mark.

John Romig, a former University of Texas at Arlington professor of special education now at Florida State University, said the approaches charters take in teaching — including what learning materials and lessons they use — can set them apart from districts.

“When it comes to reading, having a knowledge-rich curriculum can be really powerful for comprehension,” he said as an example. “In math, your choice of curriculum — whether step-by-step strategies or conceptual understanding — can lead to very different outcomes.”

Romig said charter schools, founded as alternatives to traditional districts, are often more willing to experiment.

Though not all differences can be explained by instruction, Romig said.

Parents who opt for charters often select campuses they believe have a strong reputation or where they feel confident their child will be successful, Romig noted. This, in turn, may contribute to charter schools’ higher ratings, he said.

Educators say accountability scores only show one part of their work.

Uplift Education, which operates multiple campuses in Tarrant County, highlighted its record of preparing students for life after high school. In Tarrant County, most Uplift campuses earned B ratings this year, but three received lower marks — including Uplift Ascend Prep Primary, which was rated an F.

“While there’s room to grow in areas like early literacy and math, our focus is on the whole child,” departing Uplift CEO Yasmin Bhatia said. “Uplift graduates leave as well-equipped young adults — college-ready, career-ready and life-ready — thriving as citizens who earn more, raise families and strengthen their communities.”

Romig said it’s important to examine performance trends over time. Because charter campuses are often smaller, they can show sharper swings from year to year.

“The trajectory matters. Are they consistently getting A’s, or is it a one-off year?” he said.

That volatility — and consistent failure — has played out here in Tarrant County.

Rocketship Texas and the Academy of Visual and Performing Arts, both in Fort Worth, closed before this year’s ratings were released. Rocketship’s Dennis Dunkins Elementary posted three consecutive F’s, which would have forced closure under state law. AVPA had two straight F’s before shutting down.

Families can review ratings for every Tarrant County campus in the searchable tables below:

Matthew Sgroi is an education reporter for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at or .

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An explosion in Grand Prairie Saturday morning left a family injured and their home damaged, prompting an investigation by authorities and concern among neighbors.

Terry Hutson says around 11:30 Saturday morning, he was in his kitchen on North Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard when he heard a loud boom, then saw debris flying.

"Then I heard the kids screaming like hell, so I ran outside to check on the,m and I turned around and looked and the whole side of the house was blown out," he said

Hutson says his son-in-law called 911 while he rushed to help his next-door neighbors.

"There was one little girl, and she was screaming her head off, and I said, 'Baby, are you okay?' And she looked at me and goes, 'No,'" he said.

He says the little girl, a little boy and a man were taken to Parkland Hospital with burn injuries.

Ana Velez lives a few doors down.

She said she's been thinking about them ever since.

"I hope they feel better and that maybe in a few days, if they come back home, I can visit them and see if they're feeling well," she said.

Neighbors say no other homes were damaged, but there's a lot of concern.

They want to know what caused the explosion. The Grand Prairie Fire Department says that's under investigation.

"I don't know why it happened, what happened, anything," Hutson said.

"They didn't tell us anything, but we did see workers outside with machines," Velez said.

In a statement to CBS News Texas, a spokesperson for Atmos Energy says:

"The cause of the incident is not known at this time, however Atmos Energy crews have confirmed that our distribution system is operating normally in the area and found no indication it was involved in the incident."

Hutson said that right now, his focus is on his neighbor's recovery.

"I pray for them, and I hope they get better," he said.

Erin Jones

Raised in Richardson, Erin Jones is proud to call North Texas home. Her passion for journalism began in elementary school. For a 5th grade graduation memory book, she was asked what do you want to be when you grow up? She wrote journalist.