The Grand Ole Opry will begin celebrating its 95th Anniversary on Saturday, October 3rd, despite the COVID-19 pandemic, gathering for the country music institution’s 4,944th consecutive Saturday night broadcast with Dierks Bentley, Vince Gill, Terri Clark, and Lorrie Morgan.
The latest Tyler Childers album Long Violent History is not exactly a conventional studio album since it was a surprise release, and only contains one original song along with eight traditional fiddle tunes. But with the way Tyler has been outperforming, it’s interesting see how it’s doing.
John Prine’s victory lap for a life well lived and a legendary music career was cut short on April 7th when he passed away from complications due to COVID-19. But Austin City Limits will be paying tribute to the legendary songwriter by leading off their 46th season with a retrospective of Prine.
If you’re looking for an opportune auditory retreat from the utter madness that is 2020, then Brent Cobb has just dropped one right in your lap, and not a moment too soon. Like taking a slow drive through the countryside, or sitting on the back porch on a Sunday afternoon with a jar of tea, he’ll get you to feeling right.
On Halloween 2020, not only do you have the pleasure of looking forward to little asymptomatic vectors of disease gracing your stoop looking for “fun size” Snickers, you will also get the opportunity to unravel the latest obtuse riddle emanating from the headquarters of Hellbound Glory.
Mac Davis is being remembered by many as a “country star,” but that tells only part of the story. In truth, the Lubbock, TX native’s musical trek spent just as much time, if not more weaving its way through the pop and rock realm, and it’s in that capacity where he may have reached his highest peaks.
It was one of the coolest things in country music while it lasted. But one of the cool things about The Time Jumpers is nothing lasts forever aside from the band itself. Nashville’s Western Swing house band has been entertaining crowds with interchangeable players and keeping traditions alive since 1998.
2020 is not done just yet offering up country and roots music worthy of listening to, and perhaps some of the projects we’ll regard as the best all year once late December rolls around. So just to make sure you don’t miss anything, here are some of Saving Country Music’s top recommendations for the final portion of 2020.
Once named by Saving Country Music as One of the Seven Songwriters Who Will Change Your Life, the output of 50-year-old Kentucky native Will Oldham is usually a bit more folk-oriented in nature. But “Dirty Halo” has a country heart.
Many are calling for the head of Garth Brooks and demanding his cancellation after the misconception that he is endorsing Donald Trump for re-election went viral on social media, along with the idea that he will be appearing in ads for Trump in the coming weeks.
When the COVID-19 shutdowns began in mid March, the Grand Ole Opry was one of the only live music institutions that endured, with the first non-audience show transpiring on March 14th with the evening’s regular scheduled slate of performers.
Don’t think of Tennessee Jet as your typical country music performer. Consider him more like a character from a Beat-era novel, hitchhiking from California and back, hanging out with a motorcycle gang for a week in the desert, camping out under the stars on the side of the road, all with a guitar slung on his back.
The Texas, Red Dirt, and Americana-oriented Mile 0 Fest in Key West, Florida will be moving forward in 2021, and they have just announced the festival’s preliminary lineup. Usually occurring in late January/early February, they have moved the date later in the year due to COVID-19 concerns.
Of all the implausibles of 2020, who would have thunk that Travis Tritt would be the one to release one of the most topically-relevant songs of the time? In his first new taste of original music in 13 years, he puts some “drive” in his country as he once famously compelled us all to do in 1990.
It’s worth noting that Rolling Stone’s new updated version of their “500 Best Albums of All Time” significantly diminishes iconic titles from the classic country canon. Not only were some titles downgraded, some were eliminated entirely.
Earl Thomas Conley passed away in April of 2019 at the age of 77, but we haven’t heard the last of him just yet. Consisting of twelve songs all written or co-written by Conley, the tracks were originally recorded as demos in the early and mid 90’s.
Legendary American music drummer W.S. “Fluke” Holland has died. A titan and founder of drumming in popular music, W.S. Holland was Johnny Cash’s drummer for 40 years, and is considered by many as the “Father of the Drums.”
When you find a performer this young and talented, it’s not just the entertainment value they posses at that moment, but the possibility of what they could develop into as time goes on that compels you. But Jake Blocker is already writing his own songs in his debut album.
Ladies and gentlemen, the country music independent revolution is here. No longer is it a hypothetical, or a “what if ?” or something to look forward to in the future when artists that receive virtually no mainstream radio play or opportunities can compete or even best their mainstream competition. We’re now living in that era.
It’s one of the most common criticisms of today’s mainstream country music: all the songs sound the same and say the same basic things. But is this true, or is it more of a stereotype? And are country lyrics improving as the mainstream continues to veer away from the Bro-Country era?
If not for author Jan Reid, there would be no Austin City Limits. And without Austin City Limits, there may not have been any national awareness of what was happening in the Texas Capital back in the early and mid 70’s and beyond,which became the catalyst for country’s Outlaw movement.
No matter the attitude one brings to this unusual, and unexpected work by Tyler Childers, it’s undeniable that when his biography is penned, a dedicated portion will be transfixed on remembering that time during the crazy pandemic of 2020 that he released a surprise record full of old-time fiddle tunes
Look, you can make too much of these kinds of things for sure. But coming from a big platform and going completely unchecked, a little bit of marketing could turn into a big aberration of the truth, so some spirit dissent is warranted in this situation. Blake Shelton is not the “King of Country.”
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats. New songs have just been added.
