The one thing you can point to that makes a song decidedly not country is the presence of electronic drums. The human operated element of country music is one of the last great differences between country and the rest of popular music, and more frequently electronic beats have been creeping into the pop country soundscape.
An artist like Ashley McBryde doesn’t need radio. It’s radio that needs an artist like Ashley McBryde. Radio shouldn’t play McBryde just because she’s a woman. They should play her because she’s real. Ultimately, “Girl Goin’ Nowhere” may fail at radio. But Ashley McBryde is going somewhere regardless.
Oh you’ve got to love watching the contortions of the fawning media trying to convince the masses that Kane Brown is some kind of country music revivalist because they believe his “diversity” is good for the genre. Recently ‘Variety’ named Kane Brown’s song “Heaven” a quote unquote “pure country smash.”
Americana artist Ryan Bingham announced that he will be hosting and curating an inaugural festival in legendary Luckenbach, TX called The Western Music Festival. The only problem is Ryan Bingham and Live Nation are holding the festival on the same weekend as the 32-year-old not-for-profit Old Settler’s Festival.
Kid Rock is the wet cigarette of music. It’s not that the guy hasn’t accidentally stumbled into a few good songs over the years. But even if you’re a fan of his, you have to recognize he’s a total scuzzball. He might be your scuzzball, but he’s a scuzzball nonetheless. That’s why you love him, and why he has no business marshaling a parade.
What Chris Stapleton will mean to country music in the grand scheme will be determined in the years to come, not just as history comes to a broad-minded conclusion upon his contributions, but what his next move will be. Because country music won’t be saved at some magical moment you can then circle on a calendar.
There is no way to sugar coat it for Scott Borchetta, Big Machine Records, and the two one-way streets just west of downtown Nashville known as Music Row where the heart of the country music industry resides. Taylor Swift leaving is huge. But she also leaves behind a legacy of how women can still succeed in country.
It should be the insistence of everyone, everywhere, in every sector of the economy, in every segment of culture, that everyone receives equal treatment and opportunity, regardless of their race, gender, sexual orientation, religious, or political affiliation when it comes to their worldly pursuits. Of course this is more of an ideal than a reality, […]
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…