The biggest piece of news to come out of the official announcement of the Circle Network is that it will finally mark the return of the Grand Ole Opry to television. Right now all they’re promising is a “…weekly broadcast of the Grand Ole Opry.” This will be the first time the Opry returns to television in decades.
Without any label—mainstream or independent—with no major distribution and virtually no radio play or push in the media, the first of two new album from country music artists Cody Jinks called After The Fire has gone #1 in country music in pure album sales, and #2 on the Billboard Country Albums chart when factoring in streaming numbers.
If you’re looking for the experiences of rural America spun into songs devoid of diluting agents or phony embellishments, this is where to start. There’s no dulling the edges of Waldon’s molasses thick and unapologetic Southern accent. There’s no effort to commercialize these songs with any sort of electronic beeps or pop sensibilities.
Carrie Underwood will win the 2019 CMA Award for Entertainer of the Year when it is handed out on November 13th, 2019. Mark it down. She will beat out Chris Stapleton, Keith Urban, Garth Brooks, and Eric Church for the top prize of the night. This isn’t necessarily an endorsement, nor is it any kind of rebuke. It’s simply a prediction.
If you didn’t get your fill of country music history from the recent Ken Burns PBS documentary on the subject, the dramatic film Patsy & Loretta will premier on the Lifetime channel on Saturday (10-19). Though other films have touched on the careers of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn as they intertwined in the early 60’s exclusively.
Man, there’s nothing better to get your country music pants going crazy like a good ol’ supergroup, and it appears we got a new one that’s formed right under our noses. Called The Panhandlers, it’s not in reference to vagrants, it pertains to that flat-ass piece of land in West Texas that sticks up like a chimney pipe on the map.
For those fans of songwriting that hits so hard you’re apt to fold in two and end up in a fetal position on the floor, John Moreland has been one of your favorite poisons over the last few years. Those who crave Moreland like a drug had to feel their internal clocks ringing that he was about due for another record.
During an era when we search for heroes and better alternatives, but the letdown and heartbreak you often feel as a true country music fan seems to linger around every corner, Cody Jinks has risen to become the artist who uncompromisingly delivers on the promises of his potential.
“‘Country Squire’ is 100% what I consider ‘real’ country. We have to share a space that’s been taken over—infiltrated, in a sense—by pop country. If you’re going to be in that space, on those charts, you’re going to share the space with those people. But that’s the only way to take the lunch table back.”
Tami Neilson is one of the greatest singers on this entire planet, irrespective of genre or geographic region. Those who have never her seen her perform may fancy this notion as a serious infraction of embellishment. Those who have seen her perform will corroborate this and proceed to lump their own embellishments on top.
It wasn’t just that it was bad country. It’s that it was just bad music, and the assessment of this was almost universal. There stands Brantley Gilbert with his stupid brass knuckles microphone and cheesy Affliction T-shirt machismo attitude, and his bandmates with their mohawks and dreadheads miming to a backing track
Standing in the middle of the Country Music Hall of Fame rotunda in Nashville, Tennessee, it’s hard to not feel the gravity of country music history impressing itself upon you. But standing apart from all of this symmetrical symbolism, and the very first thing that greets your view as you walk in is a painting called “The Sources of Country Music.”
Steve Cash, an original member of the Ozark Mountain Daredevils, and co-writer of the band’s two biggest hits “If You Wanna Get To Heaven” and “Jackie Blue,” passed away Sunday, October 13th at the age of 73 after a prolonged illness. He is the first original member of the iconic and influential band to pass away.
The reward is now up to $3,000 for the return of the legendary “Big Red” guit-steel guitar owned by country music performer Junior Brown. Burglarized from a vehicle parked at a hotel in North Attleboro, Massachusetts on Sunday, October 6th, the legendary instrument has been the signature of Junior Brown for nearly 35 years.
Music is what we turn to for reprieve from the common irritations and emotional burdens of everyday life. Galax, Virginia’s Dori Freeman is uncommonly blessed with the ability to dispel those difficulties and replace them with a warm appreciation for the simple joys of living through the pacifying nature of her songs.
Not to spend too much time on the country music washout that is Zac Brown in 2019, but just to wrap a bow around the weird situation surrounding his recent solo pop album called The Controversy, we finally have an explanation of why the surprise album was pulled from multiple outlets and retailers after its release on September 27th.
Many of the scheduled dates for the upcoming “The Music of Randy Travis” tour have been canceled. The unique collaboration putting together many of the original members of the Randy Travis backing band with actor and singer James Dupré at center stage was scheduled to make 12 separate appearances from mid October to November.
Every Friday, more and more killer albums just keep coming, especially lately, and at such a rapid pace that it’s hard to keep on top of it all. That’s part of the point of keeping the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist, so you can listen your way through staying informed about the latest songs and albums being released in country and roots.
It’s uncanny how Chris Knight takes such simple notions, and turns them into exaltations for the common man, their common struggles, and imparts solutions to everyday dilemmas. He’s the headwaters of erudite knowledge served in plainspoken terms that all other country songwriters seek.
Sure, talk’s cheap. And we saw that illustrated perfectly when Sam Hunt released a new single recently called “Kinfolks.” But the case is a bit different with Carly Pearce. Unlike Sam Hunt and other current mainstream stars, Carly started out in the traditional country ranks, and she’s also backing up her claims with her music.
Where Cody’s last album ‘Lifers’ seemed to focus more on his dedicated fans and the hardscrabble, blue collar lives they lead, ‘After The Fire’ is much more introspective and inward-looking. It’s about Cody’s struggle to balance music and life, trying to be a good husband first before becoming the big star some would love to see him become.
“Kinfolks” is Sam Hunt thinking you’ll consider this a country song just because the lyrical hook is a rural colloquialism. This is what passes for “country” in Sam Hunt’s book, while we’re supposed to ignore the clap track and hip-pop phrasing. Sam Hunt left a huge mess behind in country music when he disappeared a few years ago.
When frontman Cody Cannon takes the stage, he struts around like a cock of the walk, more resembling his hard rock heroes than a down home, humble country boy. But when he sits down in front of a legal pad or starts scribbling songs ideas on a fast food napkin, something resembling country is just as likely to emerge.
“It’s definitely not a country record,” Sturgill Simpson told Sarah Silverman point blank back in November of 2018 about the new album. The “definitely” underscores that there’s no wiggle room in that interpretation. So the question is, why is Sound & Fury on the Billboard country charts?
