The snark machine is up and running, the censors have been bound and gagged in the back room, and we’re ready to get the 2018 installment of the Saving Country Music CMA Awards LIVE blog up-and-running. So as you watch along with the awards, keep your refresh fingers at the ready.
Leave it to Garth to do the most Garth-y thing when it comes to the 2018 CMA Awards. Instead of just accepting a performance slot from the CMAs and performing a relevant song like everyone else is expected to do, he once again has used his celebrity status to strong arm an organization to get his way.
That’s right, I’m going here. And no, it’s never cool to put your hands on another man’s shit, so don’t @ me because that’s not what I’m getting at. But the idea that somehow Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line and his wife Brittney are victims is ridiculous.
Grrrrrrr, Blake Shelton! He’s the guy who said that “Old Farts and Jackasses” thing and is on that stupid reality show! Plus we’re supposed to hate him if we like Miranda Lambert, or something. But if you believe in reform and forgiveness, Blake Shelton would be one of the select few who would be worthy of it in the mainstream.
Travis Tritt’s “team” has been revealed, and regardless of where this show goes, how many people watch, and who wins, Tritt has done a superb job picking out his contestants. I don’t think Hank done it this way, but if someone’s going to win, hopefully it’s Tritt’s hopefuls, 4 of which who’ve been featured on SCM recently.
Kacey Musgraves cheesed off a few of her straight-laced country fans when she released the disco-infused track “High Horse” off of her recent album ‘Golden Hour.’ But that is not the only reason the song has stirred commentary and controversy since its release. What many people want to know is, who is “High Horse” about?
It was a night to honor the women of country music, rally support behind them, and remember the legacy of many of the women who have come before. The problem is, very few people witnessed it. Ratings for the 2018 CMT Artists of the Year were poor to put it mildly.
Country music has a target on its back. In this acidic moment in the culture war, country music has become an A1 priority for the individuals looking to re-educate America away from anything wholesome or traditional, which country music distinctly falls in the category of.
Isn’t celebrity pop culture influencing voter habits how we got here in the first place? If you’re waiting for marching orders from your favorite pop star to figure out who to vote for, you’re uniquely unqualified to be voting in the first place, just as most pop stars are uniquely unqualified to be attempting to advise the public.
It’s pretty rare that a piece of an artist’s merchandise accoutrement is worthy of a broad discussion or deep analysis into its intrinsic meaning. But leave it to Sturgill Simpson to stupefy some, intrigue others, and leaving something so open to interpretation as he’s done with a T-Shirt he’s been hawking at recent shows.
Recently Kip Moore laid out the real difference between what he does, and what many major label artists who never took the time to develop a strong grassroots following are forced to do, which is acquiesce to producers, labels, and radio trends to find attention and acceptance.
If you’re wondering where bluegrass is headed in 2018, and where it could go in a world where music is constantly being tasked to evolve and engage with younger people, following the career track of Molly Tuttle is a good place to start.
The biggest threat to country music at the moment is the rampant and rancid ultra-politicization of the country music space by opportunistic, interloping, and woefully-misguided journalists attempting to use the genre, its fans, and its artists as unwitting pawns to assert a biased agenda to change the mindset of the electorate.
It isn’t just the words or the music itself. It’s the commitment your mind makes when you listen to a Charlie Robison song. It’s the awakening of the imagination, and the suspension of disbelief, yet the true-as-dirt stories told with glossy-eyed despondency that make you deeply cognizant of every damn word being conveyed.
It’s now been two months since purely pop star Bebe Rexha eclipsed the all-time record on the 70-year-old Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for consecutive weeks at #1, and there is still no end in sight for the song’s reign. 43 weeks now the song has remained in the top spot, with challengers coming and going with no real threat.
Of the many traditions of country music that have been trounced upon and forgotten in recent history, the culture of male country artists being complimented by women on stage is one of the most regrettable. Whether it was Dolly playing with Porter, Emmylou singing with Gram, or scores of other examples…
2018 was a high water mark when it came to the amount of diversity showcased by the organization and its community. But still the criticism for Americana’s lack of diversity have grown louder, bolstered by the current political climate where many feel they need to insist upon more diversity.
When you first heard about Carrie Underwood’s unfortunate fall and her need for hospitalization in November of 2017, it was hard not to feel bad for the country star regardless of how you felt about her music. Releasing the song “Cry Pretty” as part of the personal revelations about the injury made the story especially […]
Owning a #2 and a #7 record on the Billboard Country Albums chart, as well as a strong fan base in Texas that sold out an appearance at the vaunted Houston Rodeo, Cody Johnson doesn’t need to jump through the hoops that other developing artists are sometimes asked to, though some labels still tried as they pursued him.
Virtually everyone has been ignoring Caitlyn Smith’s record Starfire, and specifically her song “This Town Is Killing Me.” With almost no press, with absolutely no radio play, and very little attention via streaming playlists, “This Town Is Killing Me” has received well over 5 million plays on Spotify alone since its release.
Look, it’s not really the business of myself or anyone else to ask why you have chosen or been forced to virtually disappear from the public spotlight for going on almost 5 years now. But dammit, it just doesn’t feel right that we’re experiencing all of this success throughout independent country music now, and you’re not here.
Kane Brown and Luke Combs couldn’t be more different. But they are both a new style of country star who made their ascent into mainstream stardom 100% during the streaming era, and due to the streaming era specifically. Last week, both artists announced their own arena tours.
Over the last few years, there’s been two primary names that people in-the-know about the doings of true country music have been sliding Saving Country Music’s way and saying they’re ones to watch. The first name was Tyler Childers, and we all know how that turned out. The second is Logan Ledger.
By the bullet points on the resume, Burt Reynolds had little to do with country music. Not since Gram Parsons did a figure in American pop culture act like a bigger bridge to country music, and proved how it could be cool. For most famous humans, the myth precedes them. But with Burt Reynolds, the myth really was the man.