If you’re looking for the next generation’s version of Emmylou Harris, Kristina Murray is not a bad place to start your quest. A hidden gem of east Nashville and a regular at the Honky Tonk Tuesday Night events at the local American Legion Post 82, she’s been seen as a duet partner with J.P. Harris and other cohorts occasionally.
You complain that the songs from today’s top country stars are no good and they should start cutting songs that are halfway decent like the ones your favorite independent and underground artists play … until they attempt to do that very thing, and come across like total dork asses.
The 17-year-old Rhyan Sinclair proves this Kentucky wave of country music is no anomaly. It’s broad-based, and multi-generational. She like a chute of new country music life rising from the soil. But don’t slot her as just another name in a gaggle of artists emerging from Kentucky. She has the voice, the style, and songwriting to stand out.
“What Whiskey Does” is a return of Randy Houser to his more original form, and for the better. This is the Randy Houser who had built a fan base who would back bite you when you mentioned Randy’s participation in “Honky Tonk Badonkadonk” or other offenses, and assure you he was true country.
This is all especially concerning since Country Music USA is the basis of the new Ken Burns film on country music, which will reach a much wider audience than this final chapter, and like all Ken Burns films, be referenced by many generations to come as a master work of country music history.
Willie Nelson calls Frank Sinatra a “close friend,” and the two played shows together in Las Vegas, and even once recorded a PSA for NASA together. “I learned a lot about phrasing listening to Frank,” Willie says. “He didn’t worry about behind the beat or in front of the beat, or whatever – he could sing it either way…”
If you’re looking for reasons why Cody Jinks has accrued such a rabid, dedicated, and wide fan base—including the many who refer to themselves as “Flockers”—it’s because he writes and records songs that feel like they were composed exclusively for them, ripped right out of their personal narratives, with people & characters that feel like family.
The simplest way to describe Frank Newsome’s Gone Away with a Friend is to imagine Ralph Stanley’s rendition of “O Death,” amplified by two, and multiplied by twelve. On the surface, this may seem like a listening experience that would ultimately become tedious, but the exact opposite is true.
Being elected to the Country Music Hall of Fame is the highest honor any country music performer, musician, songwriter, or professional in the country music industry can receive. Unlike other Hall of Fame institutions, the Country Music Hall of Fame is one of the most exclusive, most selective, and also one of the most secretive […]
Perfection is certainly not at the heart of the appeal or staying power for Car Wheel on a Gravel Road. Instead it’s the sloppy, sticky, loose feel of it all, carried upon the words of Lucinda’s candid and real character recitations that make the record feel like the ultimate insight into the disheveled mind of the broken hearted.
It remains stupefying why pop star Maren Morris continues to be portrayed as a leader, feminist, and groundbreaker, etc. in country music by fawning media members who’ve been rendered starry-eyed simply because they’re find guilty pleasure in some of her tunes.
Co-produced by Lucas and Will Johnson of Centro-matic, and engineered and recorded by Steve Albini, it captures Austin returning to his hometown of Bloomington, Indiana, both spiritually and physically after years hacking away at the business in Nashville and elsewhere.
Are you tired of reading about Garth Brooks? Well tough, because all of a sudden he’s making major moves that could have a big impact on country music, and in a positive manner. Garth’s most country-sounding song in 2 decades was the most added song on country radio in the last 3 years.
Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris, and Linda Ronstadt have all received individual distinctions aplenty over the years, with both Dolly and Emmylou being members of the Country Music Hall of Fame, and Ronstadt a member of the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. But now all three of these important and iconic country music women will be honored together.
Joining artists such as Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Margo Price, and Cody Jinks, now Michigan native, California convert, and hard-charging traditional country artist Whitey Morgan and his backing band The 78’s have been bestowed the opportunity to play the Mother Church this summer.
Like some time-shifting hybrid between a hillbilly preacher and the human vessel for a Johnny Cash voodoo seance, Paul Cauthen and his barrel-chested voice come bounding out of a reality warp with seven new songs packaged together in an EP titled ‘Have Mercy.’
The Willie Nelson camp has released the particulars for the 33rd Annual Farm Aid benefit concert, this year taking place September 22nd in Connecticut at the Xfinity Arena in Hartford. This will be the first time the longest-running concert for a cause in America will be held in Connecticut, which is home to 6,000 farms.
Here in 2018 and before, country music insurgents and songwriters Sunny Sweeney and Ward Davis have been teaming up on what they’ve been calling the “High On Honky Tonk Tour,” and they have recently released a whole bunch of new dates for the tour’s latest installment. Sharing the same management, they make a favorable touring pair.
The promise and hope ahead of Garth’s return from retirement was one of revitalizing country music by hearkening back to the early 90’s, which compared to today’s sounds, were super twangy and most certainly country. For the first time since his un-retirement, Garth has shown a little bit of country music backbone.
Originally appearing on John Baumann’s 2014 record ‘High Plains Alchemy,’ the song has the nautical references common to a Kenny Chesney tune, but is much more poetic and deep than a beach bum ditty—more indicative of a song you may have heard from Guy Clark back in the day, or perhaps James McMurtry.
When you’re looking for the names of people who were imperative to the rise and eventual success of independent country music that we enjoy today, the drummer for the metal band Pantera may not be your first choice to finger. But Vinnie Paul, who passed away on Friday, played a seminal role in the formation of the country music underground.
Cody Jinks has been taken to the hospital after attempting to play a show on Friday night (6-22) at the SumTur Amphitheater in Papillion, Nebraska near Omaha, and was unable to perform after complaining of dizziness. He was taken away from the venue in an ambulance according to concertgoers.
Not exactly sure what has gotten into 2018, but all of a sudden we’re finding ourselves in the midst of one hell of a twangy, honky-tonkin’, 90’s-style resurgence in country music. Add Jay Bragg and his new album Honky Tonk Dream to the list of names and projects you need to check out.
Downright giddiness accompanies getting to add new songs to the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist this round due to the quality of the new selections. Of course the new single from Cody Jinks called “Must Be The Whiskey” was going to make the list, but it’s the new discoveries from under-the-radar artists that are the most exciting.
