Let’s face it. Willie Nelson could take his sweaty, old man-smelling headband off, slingshot it out to center stage, and it would still be more enriching than what most of modern country radio has to offer. Simply the tone of his voice immediately puts the inertia of nearly a century of noble contributions to country music behind whatever he does.
The grandson of Hank Williams, Hank Williams III, aka Hank3, is not happy with the casting of English actor Tom Hiddleston in the upcoming biopic about his grandfather. Hank3 reached out to TMZ to clarify his statements, but they refused to post anything further. So early Friday morning, Hank3 released a statement about why he feels the casting of Tom Hiddleston was the wrong move.
One of the fundamental issues causing the rapid decline in country music has been the massive consolidation in the ownership of country music’s radio stations and other media outlets. As huge companies like Clear Channel & Cumulus lay off local workers to instill nationalized programming, country music becomes homogenized through matching playlists that lock out local and regional flavor.
At its heart, The Grohl Sessions is the true answer to the “country music must progress” charge regularly levied by mainstream artists like Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, and Eric Church, to justify their trespasses of mixing country with other genres.The songs of The Grohl Sessions are marvelously complex, yet still with a heart, still with a pentameter that never stops beating….
On Wednesday it was announced that NASH Icons had made its first hire, and it’s a heavy hitter in the music business. Jim Weatherson, a 35-year veteran of music management has been tapped to be the NASH Icons General Manager; a move that signals a deep commitment from both Cumulus and Big Machine to the endeavor.
Here’s there long and short of the current problem: Just like iTunes, Beats, Amazon, your local school district, and your refrigerator repair company, YouTube has decided it’s getting into the digital streaming music service too. However the problem is YouTube is not really set up like its burgeoning rivals to make the best of the current music streaming paradigm.
Tuesday night at Boston’s Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, country music legend Willie Nelson took the stage with his well-known Family Band behind him, sporting one extra member in tow playing incognito. Famous A-list actor Johnny Depp joined Willie for the Boston set, strapped down with a silver-fronted Danelectro guitar and wearing his signature spectacles.
Compared to albums, making picks of songs is such a tough, arbitrary business. This year seems especially tough, not because the field isn’t strong, but because many of the best moments are coming from unlikely sources, including a cadre of cover songs that despite the spirit of the “Best Songs” approach being about original compositions, seem almost criminal to omit.
Willie Nelson’s private town called Luck, TX that sits on the edge of his ranch just west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country was heavily damaged in storms that moved through the area late last week. “Our beautiful Luck wasn’t so Lucky recently,” the Willie Nelson camp said in a statement, “Last week’s tornado force winds ripped several buildings apart…”
The middle point of 2014 finds so called “bro-country” in full throat, with its death grips around the neck of the country music genre and threatening to throttle the very life out of it with no prayer for resuscitation. As you can expect, the assailants are the usual suspects of putrid country music specimens selling out to the lowest common denominator for commercial success.
When the news broke last week that there would be yet another new country music awards show squeezing its way into the already-crowded TV event space, it stimulated a collective rolling of the eyes from many over-saturated music fans and industry types. Really, how many of these things do we need? Buried in the details however was the insight that the Awards wasn’t just the latest ploy….
Pop country cash cow Luke Bryan and pop star progeny Miley Cyrus could have a collaboration in the works according to various sources, including country music artist and co-host of NASH’s America’s Morning Show Chuck Wicks. On Monday morning’s program, Wicks conveyed to listeners that Luke Bryan and Miley Cyrus have a duet coming, though he gave no specifics…
2014 so far has been an interesting year for album releases for sure. Some names we were hoping big things from like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Eady delivered in big ways. Other dark horse names we’d never heard of like Karen Jonas came out of the woodwork to stun. Some names like Don Williams and Charlie Parr put out surprising albums that have to be considered high water marks of their career.
“I have a pretty good understanding of how I am. I’ve always been pretty laid-back and easygoing, until I’m not. When I get going, you’re never going to stop me. When it gets going, I’ll destroy everything.” “I don’t know how people are going to take The Outsiders. Shit, I don’t know if we’ll make another one. I can’t imagine continuing to try to push the envelope. How do you keep doing that?”
Lost among country music’s great concept albums was the 1999 offering from Marty called “The Pilgrim” released 15 years ago today. A commercial flop that was poorly-promoted but well-received by all the critics who happened to receive a copy, The Pilgrim produced no singles and no awards, but it wasn’t meant to. This was Marty Stuart flexing his creative muscles…
This week the House of Representatives convened the House Energy and Commerce Committee’s Subcommittee on Communications and Technology to discuss further dissolving the ownership rules governing media in the United States regulated by the FCC. At question were rules that limit radio companies from owning more stations.
Country music legend Hank Williams will be getting a brand new retrospective in an upcoming movie called “I Saw The Light” that will be based off of the Colin Escott biography of Hank’s life, and directed and written by Marc Abraham, an American film producer known for such movies as Spy Game and most recently The Man With The Iron Fists.
“The Trailer Song” is nothing special. But it shows off Kacey’s infectious and endearing wit, and her keen sense of perspective. And it’s catchy, and kitschy, and so very Kacey, and deliciously Country with a capital ‘C’ in both approach and sound. Is “The Trailer Song” a hit? No. But neither was “Merry Go ‘Round”, and it still became one because it was just weird enough to work.
Within the new rules is the establishment of only one new category for the 2015 awards, but it is one that will benefit many of America’s roots musicians. An award for “Best American Roots Performance in the American Roots Music Field” will be handed out for the first time in 2015, and both the nominees and winner will enjoy the distinction of being recognized….
On Wednesday night, cable channel A&E debuted the first episode of “Big Smo”, a show about a hick-hop artist who is looking to try and break it big in the music business. This is not something to be taken lightly. Big Smo, the show and the artist, could finally be the backdoor to the mainstream hick-hop has been waiting for.
Like the moan of the steel guitar or the cut of the banjo tone, there is just something about the precision and flow of sister harmonies that awaken something in the human spirit that is uncanny, and characteristic of the highest reaches of audio diversion. Considering the long and noble lineage of close sister harmonies, marked on its path by such noteworthy names…
Welp, that’s that. Gauging from the comments made in Rolling Stone’s current country music special edition by the CEO of Big Machine Records aka the Country Music Antichrist Scott Borchetta, we can now put a period at the end of Taylor Swift’s pop country career. Finito. Done. End of story. Taylor Swift’s country run is in the books, and she’s now a pop star exclusively.
Dale Watson released his first album of exclusively truckin’-inspired songs in 1998 called The Truckin’ Sessions. The album became a favorite amongst devoted Dale Watson fans over the years, which inspired Dale to release a second installment The Truckin’ Sessions, Vol. 2 in 2009. Now Dale aims to make it a perfect three by releasing yet another 14-song volume of truckin’ songs…
If Cumulus Media and its CEO Lew Dickey have their way, in the coming years that big ‘N’ will be one of the most recognized brands in North America, especially if you’re a country music fan. The plans that Lew Dickey has for that big brown ‘N’ are ambitious to say the least, and look to permeate just about every segment of the consumer culture of the United States.
