Many have notice the slow, but palpable shift in the 25-year-old Saskatchewan native Colter Wall’s voice and style since releasing his debut EP ‘Imaginary Appalachia’ in 2015, and recording a live version of “The Devil Wears a Suit and Tie” at Original 16 Brewery that now has over 12 million views.
From the way he expertly plys his passion for country music, to the trueness he shows to himself, Roo Arcus is one of the best places to turn for more of that straight-laced and squared away version of country music indicative of George Strait, yet it’s still country that cuts to the bone with ruggedness and authenticity.
The Next Waltz project helmed by Bruce Robison will be issuing their 3rd compilation volume on November 27th. Featuring songs from Flatland Cavalry, The Panhandlers, Charley Crockett, Jack Ingram, and more, the volume comes on the heels of Vol. 2 reaching #1 on Americana radio.
‘Co-Starring’ is a spirited, ambitious, well-written and performed late career effort by Ray Wylie Hubbard that makes a strong case why he deserves major label backing, why all the praise and opportunities he’s been receiving lately (however late) are warranted, while also making a worthy introduction into why so many revere this man.
Well, Sturgill Simpson was planning to surprise all our asses this Friday, October 16th by releasing his long-anticipated bluegrass record full of acoustic interpretations of some of his most favored songs, but torrent sites in Europe screwed it all up by leaking it early, and now that cats out of the bag.
It’s all part of the inventive way Charley Crockett has been promoting Welcome To Hard Times, including a series of videos shot Out West and other places, with the one constant being a canary yellow rotary phone. Crockett can be seen in the latest installment for the song “Wreck Me” singing into the phone.
Here comes the Brothers Osborne’s new record ‘Skeletons,’ which most certainly has it’s moments. But where Port Saint Joe surprised us for all the right reasons, Skeletons is decidedly much more rock than country, more boisterous than understated, and more riff-driven than lyric-driven.
There is an entire world of old-time music out there just waiting to be discovered. As The Onlies attest, this is not just an old man’s game either. With all the members in their 20’s, these wickedly proficient players bring a power, potency, and a cool factor to the oldest incarnation 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.
The Ameripolitan Award-winning independent country podcast W.B. Walker’s Old Soul Radio Show is the latest music-based podcast to receive a takedown notice for using copyrighted audio files despite securing permission from the artists, and will be deleting all of its episodes.
Saturday, October 10th would have been John Prine’s 74th birthday. The revered songwriting legend passed away on April 7th due to COVID-19. But there will still be plenty of remembering and celebration to mark the occasion., including re-airing the popular “Picture Show: A Tribute Celebrating John Prine.”
It’s easy to soliloquize the expansive mountains or the rolling sea. It’s another to find inspiration in the expansive stillness of America’s midriff. But as Brennen Leigh can attest from her intimate acquaintance, you’ll never believe the brilliance of it unless you’ve beheld them with your own eyes.
Dozens of TikTok videos of the 27-year-old’s maskless partying with college-aged girls emerged, and specifically of Morgan Wallen sucking face with half a dozen of them. This has resulted in ‘Saturday Night Live’ canceling his appearance.
Ever since releasing their debut self-titled record in late May, the newly-formed Texas music supergroup recording under the name ‘Hill Country’ has been receiving worthy praise for their music. But as some have remarked, the name is just generic enough for it to get buried or confused.
Songwriter, performer, producer, and record label owner Ray Pennington was killed Wednesday, October 7th in a house fire in Sumner County in a rural part of Hendersonville, just north and east of Nashville. He’s known for writing “I’m a Ramblin’ Man” for Waylon Jennings.
Trumpet player Lorenzo Molina Ruiz for the country and Latin group The Mavericks, and his friend Orlando Morales were allegedly assaulted early Sunday morning, October 4th, at Tony’s Eat & Drink in Franklin, Tennessee, allegedly for speaking Spanish.
There is a lot one can say about the passing of Eddie Van Halen, and virtually none of it is relevant to country music. But it’s all relevant. If you grew up in the late 70’s, 80’s or early 90’s, or rock music is in any way important to your little universe and Van Halen doesn’t loom large in it, you missed out on the preeminent American experience.
The media landscape in music just got a lot more cloistered, oligarchical, and insular. Announced recently, Rolling Stone’s parent company Penske Media Corp. (or PMC) has entered into a joint venture with Billboard’s parent company called MRC to bring the two biggest music media companies together.
It only took 45 years, and many many impassioned pleas by fans and supporters and believers (including here at Saving Country Music), but Ray Wylie Hubbard will finally be appearing on his own segment on the longest-running music show on television, ‘Austin City Limits.’
When making the case for the character of someone, it’s not just about how they rise to the top, but what they do when they get there. In the case of Luke Combs, he’s been using his platform and his time off of the road during the pandemic to promote and collaborate with some of the best artists in independent country.
Slapping you square across the face with steel, fiddle, and Telecaster guitar, David Adam Byrnes is here to answer where all the country in country music has gone. And no, it didn’t take flight to “Americana.” You want country damn music? Well here you go. So quit complaining about the latest Sam Hunt single.
Commonly we see mainstream country stars bring in a pop star or hip-hop artist for a timely remix. Cody Johnson has chosen to go the star duet path with “Dear Rodeo,” but instead of selecting someone outside the genre, they’ve gone with a country legend in Reba McEntire.
Just like the song, legendary American music artist and songwriter Mac Davis will be buried in his hometown of Lubbock, TX, and in a pair of jeans, his wife of 38 years Lise Davis has confirmed. One of Mac Davis’s signature songs concludes with the line, “And when I die you can bury me in Lubbock Texas in my jeans.”
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.
