The one-of-a-kind two-piece country bluesy duo from Austin, TX known as The Boomswagglers’ freshman release has been like the Chinese Democracy of the country music underground for some time now, with delays and rumors of an impending release leaving fans on the edge of their seat, salivating at getting their hands on their raucous and authentic music. Well now the wait is over…
Certainly Pickathon is an expensive festival in a severe corner of the country (just outside of Portland, OR), and these natural barriers will always keep some from being able to attend. But as far as creating the best environment to allow creativity to happen, and a model for other festivals and public events to learn and be inspired from, Pickathon has no peer…
On October 4th, The Lost Notebook of Hank Williams will be released. As far back as October of 2008, I’ve had serious questions about the origins of these songs, the ethics behind the project, and the artists chosen to flesh out songs that do not include music. Now I have a new concern: why we are being given wrong information.
First country sold its taste, then its heritage to keep the dinosaur corporations that run country music afloat. Now it has sold it’s greatest the asset that has always given country music a distinction from the rest of popular music. It has sold its values, and is creating a generation of knuckle-chucking assholes in Affliction T-Shirts, and the girls who love them.
The Rolling Stone has just reported that a long-rumored project pairing Bob Dylan and Jack White together to oversee the recording of an album of Hank Williams songs that were found without music in a briefcase will be released on October 4th. The title is The Lost Notebook of Hank Williams . It is being released on Dylan’s Egyptian Records imprint…
As the name implies, Field Songs evokes the rhythms and weary textures of labor. He trances you into feeling the theme of the music by employing the chants, the rhythms men have hummed as they toiled away since the invention of work to ease the burden and boredom. That rhythm is what ties this album to an inherent, universal language of the human condition and prickles the soul.
The Muddy Roots Festival being held in Cookeville, TN this September 3rd & 4th is about a month away now, and Saving Country Music is proud to present to you the complete festival schedule. Please note times, stages, and performers are subject to change. Also, Muddy Roots is looking for workers, volunteers, people willing to lend music gear, transport vehicles, stages, hay bales, etc.
By sea, by plane, by land (or as Pickathon would prefer it, by carpool or public transportation) if you can make it to the Pendarvis Farm just outside of Portland, OR, you should make being a participant in this year’s Pickathon Festival a priority this weekend. But if you can’t, you can still participate, and still be insipred by the sustainable model Pickathon has created for it’s patrons, performers, and community.
The grassroots petition to attempt to get country music legend Hank Williams reinstated into the Grand Ole Opry, also known as Reinstate Hank, has reached an important milestone, as the online petition has now crested the 50,000 signature mark. In 1952, Hank Williams was dismissed from the Opry with the understanding that he would sober up and then return to the stage that he loved so much.
The last week of July 2011 will go down in history for when Jason Aldean’s country rap “Dirt Road Anthem” crested the #1 spot on the charts for all of country music. Pop songs and just plain bad songs swap out the #1 spot in country all the time, but here’s six reasons “Dirt Road Anthem” hitting #1 is significant.
Time Life and the Hank Williams estate have announced the release of another collection of rare recordings from the Hillbilly Shakespeare, Hank Williams: The Legend Begins due out September 13th on a 3-disc set. The first CD called “Rare & Unreleased” includes the earliest recordings of Hank Williams, from 1938 when he was only 15-year-old…
Dex Romweber has solidified his place as an American original by keeping originality alive in American roots music. Deep roots make strong branches, and though roots may be hidden underground, the strength of Dex Romweber has allowed many branches to climb high, and made the tree of American music a much more beautiful, interesting, and entertaining thing to behold.
There’s not a lot of twang here, and if you come from the independent/underground country world, you’re bar may be set too high for “Chief” to hurdle. But from a mainstream perspective, understanding this album came from the putrid, vapid depths of Music Row, the very place where dreams go to die, “Chief” is curious, bold, fresh, and refreshing.
Larry & His Flask from the ultra hippie nouveau town of Bend, OR have been making the rounds on the live circuit for years now, leaving legions of disciples and gallons of sweat behind at every stop. Putting out as much energy as any band has in the history of ever, and a lineup that necessitates shoving multiple tables together at every restaurant the tour van stops at, LAHF’s live show is impressionable to say the least.
One of the standouts in 2011 so far has been Bloomington, Indiana-based singer/songwriter Austin Lucas, and his album A New Home in the Old World. He sat down with me for about a hour to discuss his experience on the Country Throwdown and touring with Willie Nelson, how he got into country, and how his goals are measured and focused on the art of songwriting first, above his own popularity.
On July 26th, the always polarizing “new Outlaw” Eric Church will be releasing his latest album entitled Chief, which includes a song called “Country Music Jesus”. Saving Country Music has learned that the idea behind Eric Church’s “Country Music Jesus” very well might have come from none other than your humble, lovable Triggerman.
I don’t proclaim to know where country music will go from here, but what I do know is that Justin Moore and Outlaws Like Me has solidified its place in country music history as one of the big bullet points on the timeline that denotes a major event. And that the event it denotes is not a positive one. And that’s not just my opinion.
The Hank3 news continues to pour in ahead of his colossal 4 album release on September 6th that includes a double country album with a whooping 41 new songs, and two heavy metal-based albums. The 10 new country songs he debuted in Nashville last week can all be seen here courtesy of Cathy’s Reinstate Hank Bandwagon. Word is “Fadin’ Moon” is the track Tom Waits will appear on.
I firmly believe that one of the problems with modern music is that there’s too much of it. So to see Gillian Welch wait 7 years to put out an album, is refreshing, and wise. But time and patience don’t guarantee a good album. What does is excellent songwriting, and that is exactly what Gillian delivers in The Harrow & The Harvest.
Townes Van Zandt’s story is one of hope, for all of music and musicians, and artists of all kinds. As much as he struggled commercially, socially, and with his own demons, somehow over time the cream still found a way to rise to the top. It is a shame that some of the greatest have such a hard time relating to life, and that Townes Van Zandt found his greatest success after death. But he found it.
I tell you, you people make me sick! How dare you accuse the doughy, huggable Gary LeVox of Rascal Flatts, so elegantly crowned as he is with exquisitely-manicured frosted tips like a Chantilly porcupine, of exploiting the poor Caylee Anthony with his new tear-jerking tribute called “She’s Going Places”.
Fans of Hank Williams III who’ve been waiting patiently for new music are now able to get a glimpse of the new material via a series of show’s he’s been playing in Nashville. The youngest Hank, now going by “Hank3” played a surprise show at Layla’s Bluegrass Inn on Lower Broadway in Nashville on Wednesday night (7-6-11), and then Friday night played a show at The Exit/In.
Over the last couple of years, the “Jekyll” to JD’s Wilkes “Hyde” from the madhouse Shack Shakers performances, has been a side project called The Dirt Daubers. They released a homespun self-titled album in 2009 but are now planning their first proper release Wake Up, Sinners! for September 13th via Colonel Knowledge Records.
This is one of the funnest, freshest, well-written, well-produced albums to come out this year. There’s good songs, good performances, and it’s bold. While still sounding relevant and un-obscure, Cody and The Departed were able to stay out of the well-worn grooves that run like tired veins through so much of mainstream music.
