“Some people will say, and have said, that I’m trying to run from country, but I’m never going to make anything other than a country record. As soon as I open my mouth, it’s going to be a country song. . . but it doesn’t make the think pieces any less amusing.”
Screw spending somewhere between $700 to upwards of four figures for some official SXSW badge or wristband just to get turned down at most of the shows you want to get into because you’re not on some VIP list. The smart and frugal SXSW goer knows that the free, all access day parties and unofficial showcases is where it’s at, and many of the events even provide free beer and food.
On the heels of releasing a new record Summertime: Willie Nelson Sings Gershwin, Willie Nelson decided to release a new original song called “Still Not Dead Again Today,” lampooning his many, many death hoaxes. Included with the song is a video highlighting some of the information and images from many of the ridiculous hoaxes.
For the second time in four months, a writer for the Dallas Observer has taken a completely ridiculous and incorrect premise, hindered by a perspective on country music that is very much from the outside looking in, and built it into an irresponsible think piece that shreds the truth and frames anyone who would have the audacity to care about country music as a feckless, misguided moron.
For every officially-sanctioned event, there’s two more that squeeze in where they can and try to keep the original spirit of SXSW alive, including the now 8th Annual Brooklyn Country Cantina, which boasts a stacked 2016 lineup including Sam Outlaw, Daniel Romano, Possessed by Paul James, The Quebe Sisters, Mike and the Moonpies, and many more.
“In my new song we cover such diverse tragic country topics as unemployment, the troops, reliable trucks gone done breakin’ down, the devil’s brown liquor, and the no-good bankerman knocking on the door with papers,” Isbell says in the fictitious infomercial. “My new 180-minute four chord song also covers new cartoonishly tragic down home scenarios.
…Back to the argument Blake Shelton had with Adam Levine on The Voice as America watched on, and they both battled to be picked as the judge for Adam Wakefield, Blake Shelton said some things about country that needed to be heard, and were quite surprising coming from Blake. Usually the banter between judges is quite lighthearted on the show. But in this case, it got fairly heated.
There’s no more hypothesizing what Austin might look like if the music scene is bled out of its system. All you have to do is walk down 7th Street or Red River to see it. So will the solutions be small baby steps that look to support the dwindling artists and infrastructure that’s still left? Or will there be big proposals and bold plans that not only fix Austin music, but fix Austin in general?
It’s perfectly alright to be totally not okay with the news Tuesday (3-1) that Don Williams has decided to go into retirement, again. That hat, that beard, and most importantly that legendary smooth baritone voice that won him 17 #1 hits over his career and an induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame in 2010 can’t just go softly in the night and not expect there to be some sad faces, and disappointed ears.
Mary Sarah is an unusual case when it comes to mainstream country prospects. On the surface, you have this gorgeous young woman with lots of styling, pizzazz, and stage presence, seasoned from performing since a very early age, like a pop country star ready to go out of the box. But what does she decide to do with her debut album? She releases a duets record with country legends.
When they compile a highlight (or lowlight) reel of Luke Bryan’s career, along with his Greatest Hits, they’ll have to include his greatest falls. There was a reason that at the CMA Awards in November, co-host Carrie Underwood referred to the Georgia son and spitting image of Gomer Pyle as “Luke Stagefaller” in their opening Star Wars skit.
Yes, it’s very easy, and very popular and seductive to rally behind Kesha in this matter. The press and popular culture love to hate stories about women being kept down or even abused by overbearing men and the companies they run or hide behind. Kesha doesn’t have a particularly compelling reason to lie, though the way major label contracts are constructed, who wouldn’t want out of one . . .
But what’s the fun of getting to the top when you’ve compromised everything to get there? Despite some declaring the #1 for “Backroad Song” as a victory for Texas country, it is anything but. It was Granger’s abandonment of Texas country and the values of that scene, and walking away from the decent songwriting evidenced earlier in his career that finally got him the commercial success he has clearly craved.
As Bro-Country was on the rise, think pieces all across media questioned the sustainability of such shallow music. And it turns out they were right. Florida Georgia Line and others brought throngs of new fans into the country fold, but they weren’t there to stay. Listeners moved on to the next craze, and even when country’s footprint was growing, it wasn’t growing at such a clip that it could sustain all the festivals . . .
See, this is what happens when you have poorly-coordinated white doofuses with about as much soul as a solid state amplifier get up on stage and try to pretend they can move like Bruno Mars. We’ve already seen Luke Bryan eat it numerous times, and it was inevitable Thomas Rhett would be heading into the Stage Fall Hall of Fame now that he’s decided to become a dance first, and sing second “performer.”
As we get to mid February each year, it comes down to nut cutting time for deciding who the next class of inductees to the Country Music Hall of Fame will be. Though who gets to decide is a big secret kept by the Country Music Association, or CMA, we all should feel like we have a say so and voice our opinions and hope the right people listen.
The media loves a good feud story, but Taylor Swift’s speech wasn’t just meant for one person. Kanye West may have been the inspiration for Swift’s speech, but it wasn’t the target. The target was young women all across the world who are forced or coerced to having all their accomplishments measured by the men who also happened to be involved.
Welcome ladies and gentlemen to Saving Country Music’s LIVE blog for the 58th Annual Grammy Awards broadcast live from Los Angeles. This is an annual exercise in snark, criticism, and giving kudos where kudos are due, all unfolding without a net, unscripted, and unfiltered.
Though this is not necessarily reflected in the performances, the general consensus is the Grammy Awards this year could be a big night for country music. With Chris Stapleton up for Album of the Year, Little Big Town up for Song of the Year, and other high-profile and important nominations, this is one of the few years country music could come out on top.
Music is such a polarizing subject in popular culture already. We love to love our music, and we love to hate everyone else’s. Music is what we use to identify ourselves culturally. It’s what allows us to find camaraderie with other people who are more likely to be like-minded with ourselves. It’s what we pride ourselves in to tell us that we’re better than others.
A week from this evening, the music industry will be gathering in Los Angeles for the the world’s biggest music event of the year: The Grammy Awards. Unlike many years, fans of true and traditional country music will have someone to root for when it comes to the night’s biggest prize, even if it isn’t the most ideal artist to champion.
Chase was sure saying the right things, as are a lot of the Bro-Country acts who are now acknowledging the flight of interest in the bastardized style of country music. But words are cheap, and actions speak louder. And it didn’t take long for Chase to break his promise that his next album would be “all” about depth.
The artist known as Cam, best known for her breakout single “Burning House,” was on 92.5’s Electric Barnyard show with CMA and ACM-nominated DJ Broadway last week. And as Broadway is apt to do upon occasion, he pulled a disparaging quote from Saving Country Music to read to Cam to get her reaction and response.
For all the non-country artists, albums, and songs showing up on Billboard’s country charts recently, it was certainly a curious decision by Billboard chart managers to make an example of a poor band from Ft. Worth called Green River Ordinance this week. Despite the insistence of the band, and a clear sonic distinction to their music of country being the primary influence, their new album Fifteen was excluded from the country charts.