This is going to be a long one, so faint of heart turn back now. A small controversy has been brewing lately that involves the oh so coveted opening slot for Hank Williams III’s upcoming West Coast Tour. It started when Lucky Tubb was interviewed by Outlaw Radio Chicago, in Episode 74 back before Xmas, […]
We’d all like to think that our country heroes live out the words to their songs. Some do, some don’t, and some it’s somewhere in the middle. The truth is getting sloshed at the bar every night till you have to fight your way to the exit and then end up in jail is probably […]
With all the hubbub last week with new releases and news, I had little time to talk about Big John Cash, who had a birthday, and a posthumous release of American VI: Ain’t No Grave. But when Friday came, I got to leave the laptop behind, and head down to Austin to focus on The […]
Like I reported a couple of days ago, Hank III’s new album Rebel Within is going to be released on May 25th, 2010. We now have the track list and cover art (see below), and you can pre-order either the CD, or LP+CD set. Fans are being asked to pre-order Rebel Within for a number […]
It has been a busy week in the REAL country world, especially with the opinions surrounding Shooter Jenning’s new album and Kyle Turley, which happen to be the first two subjects on the first ever “REAL Country Roundtable.” The Roundtable is an hour long discussion in the virtual world about current events with me, The […]
Curb Records has just announced the release date for Hank Williams III’s new album The Rebel Within, and it is much earlier than most anticipated. The new album will be released on May 25th according to Curb, who has a long sordid history of battling Hank III on releasing his music in a prompt manner. […]
I’m gonna start this off with a prediction: Either this album will be some groundbreaking marquee release in rock n’ roll history, or it will be the most curious find in the bargain bin in short order. It is pure genius, or an unforgivable stroking of ego. Either way, Shooter Jennings, son of Waylon, is […]
I told you. Once Music Row figured out there is a HUGE group of disgruntled REAL country music fans out there with money to spend, they were going to start manufacturing their own “Outlaws,” fresh faced and focused grouped, ready to maximize their profits with fashion plate country. Well ladies and gentleman, I give you […]
I really didn’t know what to expect from The .357 String Band’s new album Lightning from the North. I mean, were they going to introduce some new sound? Of course not, they ARE the new sound. Were they going to throw down the best album I’d heard in years? They already did that with their […]
In the last few years, many new bands have sprung up in the new school Outlaw country scene. Some good, and some . . . well . . . not so good. Some of these new bands seem to understand that addiction and the fight with inner devils and outer devils has been a theme […]
“You can see the hood ornament on the car when you go to the Rock n’ Roll Hall of Fame. But if you want to look at the engine, and see what’s making it go, go to the Musician’s Hall of Fame.” –Neil Young. The Musicians Hall of Fame has been “eminent domained” by the […]
Holly Williams, daughter of Hank Williams Jr. and half sister of Hank Williams III, signed the petition to Reinstate Hank Williams into the Grand Ole Opry after a show in Paradiso, Amsterdam earlier this week. After playing a set that included the Hank Sr. songs “I Saw The Light” and “I’m so Lonesome I Could […]
That’s right, don’t rub your eyes or go hunting for your glasses. The one and only Merle Haggard is going to be on Outlaw Radio Chicago this Wednesday night (2-17-10) at 8 PM CENTRAL. It can be heard on scrubradio.com live, and if you miss it, the episode will be posted right here at savingcountrymusic.com/outlaw-radio. […]
In the last year or two, many new artists and bands have sprung up in the Outlaw/ Underground country movement, many new fans, podcasts, etc. But this all would not be possible if it wasn’t for the hard work of a few musicians, the trunk of the tree from which these new branches have sprung […]
The talented Texas Singer-Songwriter Brigitte London has been doing a new podcast for outlawmagazine.com, and asked me recently if I could do a PSA for the movement to get Hank Williams reinstated into the Grand Ole Opry, or Reinstate Hank. Of course I was easily cajoled into doing so, but as I was putting it […]
This is going to be a long one, so read what you wish. So forces that are completely out of my control have made necessary to shake up the social networking situation that I use to communicate with you, my sweet and loyal readers. This is not something I want to do, but I must […]
In a CNN.com article last week, they called the oughts “Music’s lost decade,” citing the meteoric decline of sales during the ten year span. Between 1999 and 2009, music sales went from $14.6 billion, to $6.3 billion; a decline of over half. Of course the main cause cited was people downloading music illegally, and the […]
A couple of free goodies just because available from one of my favorite emerging artists, Justin Townes Earle. The first is a free download of an acoustic version of the title track from Midnight at the Movies (which I just discovered you can buy on limited edition vinyl HERE). It is just him an his […]
A lot of you might already know this, but just to bring the new folks up to speed, Saving Country Music started as an organization of Hank Williams III fans called Free Hank III. In short, Free Hank III was started when III’s label Curb Records refused to release his last album Damn Right, Rebel […]
First the bad news. One of the best festivals for independent roots music, the Deep Blues Festival, is no more. Simply put, this is a tragedy. If the independent roots movement had one premier festival, this was it, and this is coming from someone focused on country more than blues. Still, bands like .357 String […]
This Sunday at the Super Bowl, Carrie Underwood will very likely be lip-syncing the National Anthem, whether she wants to or not, and it is mostly the fault of the king of pop country, Garth Brooks. This story starts way back in 1993 at Super Bowl XXVIII in Pasadena, CA. In 1993, Garth Brooks was […]
Ok, you can stop emailing me. No, I did not watch the Grammy’s last night. I’d rather watch my genitals being made into a smoothee in a blender than to offer up my olfactory to that Mickey Mouse, Donald Duck bullshit; a bunch of talent-less millionaires dressed up like muppets, prancing around to fluff each […]
For years Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers and their fans have used the term “Agridustrial” to describe their unique rock/country/punk/blues sound, and now they have decided to etch the term on their latest long player, due to come out on April 13th. Agridustrial will be the bands 7th album, and they are releasing the first single […]
Fortune would find that on my way down to Mexico, I was in Austin, TX the same day that Ray Wylie Hubbard’s new CD A: Enlightenment B: Endarkenment (Hint: There Is No C), was being released, and he was making a short, low-fi appearance at the famed Waterloo Records. So I grabbed savingcountrymusic.com’s most latest […]
