Tyler Childers is the greatest artist in country music at the moment, mainstream or independent, on the radio off, major label or otherwise. And soon, if there is any justice in this ragged old life, the rest of the world will know this to be true as well. Tyler’s new album ‘Country Squire’ should be a breakthrough achievement.
Tyler Childers is getting ready to release his major label debut Country Squire on Friday, August 2nd, and ahead of the release, he’s doubling down on both his distaste for much of modern country, and his criticism of Americana as a distraction from the deeper issues facing the country genre.
Eric Church will always pull polarized viewpoints from country fans, if not for his bad attitude in past eras, then from his propensity to veer into the rock space, or most recently, a patently false and pathetic clickbait cover from Rolling Stone characterizing him as an anti-gun Bernie Sanders supporter, unnecessarily roiling his fan base. […]
The Paramount Western series Yellowstone starring Kevin Costner doesn’t just make for compelling television, it also works as a great discovery mechanism for good country and roots music that much of the rest of popular culture ignores. Season 2 of the series that started in June has been no different.
Worried preservationists can parrot their concerns all day, but the King of the Parrotheads may be the only one left who has the audience and authority to step in and help preserve this historic landmark by bringing attention to the significance of the building sitting at 152 Nassau Street in Atlanta, and saving this important piece of country music history.
The wait for the sophomore record from Jason James hasn’t exactly been like ‘Chinese Democracy,’ but it’s been painstaking for his fans nonetheless. How can you blame the bellyaching when the Texas native is able to evoke the sounds and themes of classic country in a way you just can’t hear these days unless you dust off your old vinyl records?
Traditionally-leaning Canadian country music artist, Warner Music Canada signee, and reigning Canadian Country Music Awards Female Artist of the Year recipient Meghan Patrick was headlining the Hagersville Rocks Music Festival Saturday night (7-27) in Ontario when some smart ass in the crowd thought they would get cute.
Somerset, Kentucky-based singer and songwriter Jordan Foster was playing a show Saturday, July 20th at Champions Sports Bar & Grill in Richmond, Kentucky when no other than Cody Jinks walked in the door. Jinks was in town playing two sold out shows at the Eastern Kentucky University’s Center for the Arts only a couple of blocks away.
Just like we’ve seen from many mainstream country performers recently, from Blake Shelton, to Reba McEntire, to Jon Pardi, to Randy Houser, making your album more country is the hot thing at the moment. Of course this is all relative since the baseline from where many of these performers started at was not very country at all.
The Turnpike Troubadours may be on indefinite hiatus at the moment, but you’ll get to see the band’s hot shit guitar player Ryan Engleman soon at a Reckless Kelly show near you. After the departure of long-time Reckless Kelly guitarist David Abeyta in February, it has been a revolving cast of characters filling the big […]
Miranda Lambert is back with a big new single called “It All Comes Out in the Wash” ahead of a new album out this fall, and the big question on a lot of people’s minds once the single was released was if radio would play it. But “It All Comes Out in the Wash” makes its entrance with its first week on radio like it was shot out of a canon.
In March, legendary country music duo Brooks & Dunn were announced as the newest inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame in the Modern Era category. Now the duo will receive the honor of having their legacy and contributions to country music commemorated in an official exhibit at the museum.
If you’re anything like me, you live for those country music moments when you make a big discovery of a new artist you know is going to be entertaining you for years to come, even if big radio and the mainstream of country won’t give them the time of day. Now your radar needs to be firmly affixed upon Vincent Neil Emerson.
Training camps are just getting started all across the NFL, and playlists full of music to get players amped up will be blasting out over Bluetooth speakers in locker rooms or streaming through earbuds, and NFL superstar Christian McCaffrey says his primary fix comes from surging country music artist Tyler Childers.
An album like Western Gold by Gethen Jenkins is important because it doesn’t just announce your next favorite album, it announces your next favorite artist. Gethen Jenkins is not exactly new to the scene. He’s played some 1,000 shows, including opening for the likes of Whitey Morgan, Dale Watson, Billy Joe Shaver, and others. But Western Gold is the moment where he brands his stamp on the traditional country and Outlaw music movement.
Crockett is also readying the release of his fourth album in two years called The Valley, and many of the songs chronicle Crockett’s struggles with his serious health condition, and the re-evalation of life such an experience can inspire. Recorded just a week before he went in for surgery, The Valley will be released via Son of Davy/Thirty Tigers.
Country radio is in a ratings slump. And no, not just due to streaming. “When it becomes harder to distinguish who’s who and there’s an increase of pop sounds in the music, this tends to be the result … We need balance. That’s the key, and hard to do if so much of the music has that pop sound,” one expert says.
Part music conference and part fan festival, artists, fans, and independent music industry will come together in scores of venues across Nashville for hundreds of performances and showcases spanning six total days. From country and bluegrass, to folk, blues, roots rock, and everything in between, from up-and-comers to legends.
Being a modern day country music fan in many ways is like resigning yourself to getting your heart broken on a regular basis. All your favorite legends seem to be dying off left and right, or they have one foot in the grave, and the newest generations just aren’t replenishing the ranks of legends like they used to in previous eras.
A new dramatic film called Patsy & Loretta is on its way that follows the careers of Patsy Cline and Loretta Lynn as they intertwined in the early 60’s. A trailer just released for the film shows that the subject matter will not be all rosy, and the story will delve deep into the complicated relationships the two women faced.
Songwriting legend John Prine has been forced to cancel numerous performance dates this summer due to ongoing health concerns. Prine has been advised by his doctors that he is at an elevated risk for stroke, and will be having surgery this week to hopefully remedy the issue.
Mainstream traditionalist Jon Pardi’s third album Heartache Medication isn’t out for another two months yet (September 27th), but the California native continues to not just say, but do all the right things to get you excited for what he has in store. “There’s a big void to fill in country music, to be more country, or traditional.”
It’s a sad time for the roots music community in Arkansas and beyond after multi-instrumentalist and music guru “Smilin'” Bob Lewis of the Ben Miller Band, Tyrannosaurus Chicken, and other projects passed away Friday evening, July 19th after suffering from Stage 4 Cancer.
The Texas music and Red Dirt movement is growing. There is no doubt about that. The appeal and participation in the music is no longer regional, despite what the names might imply. It’s just as much of a genre at this point as a collaboration of local scenes, offering a much more healthy alternative to the mainstream of country.
