For years these artists have been banging on doors, chipping away at walls, and slowly but surely they have been winning more and more acceptance from the mainstream industry as viable artists who’ve been systematically overlooked. The DIY spirit that governs these artists and labels has been at the very core of this movement.
Monday morning, when Live Nation announced that the headliners would be Jason Aldean, Thomas Rhett, and Lady Antebellum, as well as all the new provisions on coolers and camping, an outright revolt took place among long-time attendees. Over 3,500 1 star reviews were posted on the event’s Facebook page, and hundreds of negative comments were left on the lineup announcement.
What in God’s creation makes one think that Charlie Daniels fans are going to want to watch a performance by Luke Bryan, or Travis Tritt fans are going to appreciate Kid Rock’s shtick? Or vice versa? Sure, the big names help put butts in seats, but it also helps turn others away. No self-respecting traditional country fan is going to stomach a Luke Bryan performance.
Over the last decade and beyond, it has not been humanly possible to book more godawful performers for the centerpiece of the NFL’s Thanksgiving schedule than what we’ve seen take center field during the halftime of the Dallas Cowboys’ football game. It’s like they purposely conduct a study to find who is the most dreadful performer of the day.
Country protest songs are a dime a dozen these days, and in many cases have become just about as cliche as the pop country songs they criticize. It really takes a fresh angle or a unique twist to make a protest song resonate beyond the anger many folks have at the direction of today’s country music, and that is what Jamey Johnson and George Strait have done.
To try and illustrate why it is important to keep the influences of America’s founding genres pure, I’ve always used one tried and true illustration. And to prove that this illustration precedes Beyonce at the CMA Awards, instead of presenting it anew here, I’ll transcribe it from a recent podcast from Wide Open Country.
Another day, and another unfortunate passing in the country music community. On Tuesday morning (11-15) it was announced that Warner Bros. recording artist and once marquee Grand Ole Opry performer Holly Dunn has died. Dunn had announced earlier this year that she was diagnosed with ovarian Cancer. She was 59-years-old.
As if mother universe hasn’t had a dandy old time over the last few days running all of us stuck on the mortal coil through the mother of all emotional gauntlets, now we’re being asked to field the devastating news that Canadian songwriter, performer, poet, and novelist Leonard Cohen has passed away this Thursday (11-10) at the age of 82.
Amputations are things we’re only used to hear about happening in war zones, not during lazy afternoons at the Wimberley Farmers Market. The news was so shocking, with the thought of this musician and a mother that has brought so much light and vitality to people being encumbered now for the rest of her life feels so unjust. Not Savannah. Anyone but Savannah.
For those fed up with the political system, scared to vote either way for two of the most unlikable Presidential candidates in recent memory, voting with trepidation, not voting in spite, or just plain wanting this whole election thing to end and hoping that somehow the United States can find a modicum of healing after it is all over…
Nearly a week removed from the 2016 CMA Awards, and what are we still talking about? We’re not talking to each other at all. We’re shouting. We’re yelling. We’re digging into our predisposed positioning stances and blaming the other side. We’re not discussing the music.
I told you booking Beyoncé was a bad idea CMA’s. Now you’re a racist reprobate in the eyes of the politically-charged Millennial entertainment media and sycophantical pop diva worshipers who will nail people to crosses to prove the depth of their fanaticism, and so is all of country music and its bumpkin fans.
Welcome baseball fans to the Saving Country Music LIVE blog for the 50th Annual CMA Awards! For those few who aren’t watching the Chicago Cubs face the Cleveland Indians in one of the most anticipated Game 7 World Series matchups in the last century—or perhaps are looking for a way to either keep up with the CMA’s without watching.
All of a sudden what felt like a massive event a few weeks ago now feels deflating, while there is a very real concern that low ratings will be translated by the CMA’s as a sign that nobody wants to see the older performers they booked. Ironically, the Beyonce announcement will seal the deal for many older country fans to change the dial.
Everything you need to know about the 2016, 50th Annual CMA Awards, including the reasons to watch, a breakdown of the presenters, a list of the performers, all the nominees, and the early winners. For their 50th Annual presentation, the CMA’s have invited an unprecedented amount of legendary country performers to participate.
Miranda Lambert has won a record-setting six straight CMA Female Vocalist of the Year awards. But there may not be a seventh. When it comes to awards and recognition, nobody has been as heavily decorated as Miranda Lambert in recent memory, male or female. But it has been time for a breather, and Miranda Lambert’s last year has been a pretty quiet one, at least from a musical standpoint.
Meghan claims that in 2010 at the beginning of Steel Magnolia, a “very powerful man in the music business” reached under her skirt and groped her, and then tried to pick her up by her butt while numerous other important people in the music industry watched. The context of the revelation from Meghan Linsey was the release of Donald Trump’s off-camera comments.
From the beginning, there has always been a dark, Gothic side to American country and roots music. From murder ballads to ghost stories, to tales of struggle and lunacy, Gothic country never gets its due credit, nor do the dozens of artists and bands who keep these traditions alive with new music bathed in the darkness and depression…
We’re living in historic times in country music, when the resurgence of more traditional, and more substantive music is taking hold like never before, and receiving more recognition for the industry than any period in recent memory. And it’s hard to not look at Sturgill Simpson and give him at least part of the blame.
When Saving Country Music started in 2009, the biggest artist in country music was Taylor Swift. Now, it’s arguably Chris Stapleton. Independent artists are finding support like never before, allowing them to be able to completely sidestep the pitfalls of the mainstream industry and still have sustainable, and in many cases, very successful careers.
Reviews and opinions on the Netflix original series The Ranch starring Ashton Kutcher, Danny Masterson, Debra Winger, and Sam Elliot continue to be mixed, but the country music tie-ins—whether in the soundtrack, the set, or the dialogue—continue to make it a point of intrigue for many country fans.
We love our favorite touring bands in their beat up Ford Econolines, hand-me-down Dodge Sprinters, and decommissioned rattletrap fleet vans ambling down the road. Because when they come to our town, they bring the joy of music with them, and when they leave they carry a sense of freedom that can only be delivered by the open road…
Saying that a massive pop star has just released a “country” song has become the Rickroll of 2016. Enterprising entertainers looking to troll popular media and the gullible Millenial journalists who enable them have made this an enterprising endeavor for not just a few pop stars this year.
Giving the Nobel Prize in Literature to a musician is no different than giving an actor a Grammy or a musician an Oscar or a pop star a CMA Award. Or I don’t know, maybe electing a reality TV star President. And as is being reported, Dylan has yet to acknowledge the accolade, and isn’t even returning the Nobel committee’s phone calls.