Jimmy Swaggart Dead at 90. His Close Ties to Country Music
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When you think of Jimmy Swaggart, you might not think of music, or country music specifically. But there is a reason that in 1982 Newsweek dubbed Swaggart the “King of Honky Tonk Heaven.”
Album Review – Whiskey Myers – “Tornillo”
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With their sixth album, Whiskey Myers chose to do the producing themselves, and more so than any of their previous releases, lean heavy in the Southern rock direction almost exclusively, including springing for the horn section and a backup chorus. Yes, this is at the expense of some country tracks.
The Big Opportunities Keep Coming for Kaitlin Butts
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Don’t look now, but we’re gonna have to stop complaining about how how all the losers in the country music industry keep criminally overlooking Kaitlin Butts, and start recognizing that she’s finally getting the recognition she has deserved for years thanks to the strength of her 2022 album “What Else Can She Do.”
End of an Era: Joanna Cotten Leaves Eric Church’s Band
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Since 2013, vocal powerhouse and larger-than-life performer Joanna Cotten has been helping Eric Church instill passion, soul, and energy into his music, both in the studio and on stage. She’s been Eric Church’s secret weapon, and right-hand woman on many of his most landmark and powerful performances.
Gary Allan Leaving UMG Nashville Can Only Be a Good Thing
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After a quarter century, and a very messy last eight years or so, Gary Allan has just made it official: he’s leaving his long time label home of Universal Music Group Nashville. And though we won’t know for a while just where he’ll land or how everything will shake out, it feels like it can only be a positive development.
Album Review – Ronnie Dunn’s “100 Proof Neon”
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Everybody wants to be 90s country these days, but nobody wants to live through an era without the wide proliferation of the internet, and when cell phones looked like carry-on luggage. But if you want the real stuff, you’re always best going directly to the source, like Ronnie Dunn.
UPDATED: Sam Hunt Denied Entry to Canada to Perform
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Sam Hunt was scheduled to headline the Boots & Hearts Music Festival Friday, August 5th in Burl’s Creek, Ontario in Canada, but he will no longer be attending after he announced he is not being allowed into the country. Jake Owen has instead been tapped as the Friday night headliner.
Ernest Tubb Record Shop Property Sold, Hope For Preservation Renewed
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The iconic Ernest Tubb Record Shop on Lower Broadway in Nashville has officially been sold to a group of investors for $18.3 million, as well as the current contents of the Record Shop including the inventory and fixtures in a separate deal. The new owners include Ernest Dale Tubb III, musician Ilya Toshinskiy, and investor Brad Bars.
It’s Not Just Another Year for the Bluegrass Music Awards
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The International Bluegrass Music Awards, or IBMA’s announced the nominees earlier this week, and it felt anything but perfunctory. In previous years you had the usual suspects up for all the major awards. It feels completely different here in 2022, and for good reason. Billy Strings, Molly Tuttle, Sierra Hull, and more.
Paige Anderson Re-Emerges in Two Runner, Wins Gems on VHS Contest
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There are few things more satisfying that getting in on the ground floor with an artist, and watching them rise as their music finds an audience and begins to spread like a wildfire through the grassroots. It’s not just talent that determines who takes off, and who doesn’t. Timing is a huge part of it.
This Cody Jinks “Loud & Heavy” to Country Radio Just Got Real
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A 7-year-old song receiving some 95 million streams in a year is quite remarkable. But as we’re seeing all across music and country music specifically, consumers who are just not connecting with new music today are finding favor with the back catalogs of artists that sometimes they’re just discovering.
Courtney Patton Announces New Album “Electrostatic”
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Based in Texas, but affecting audiences well beyond, the songwriting of Courtney Patton is cherished among many distinguishing and attentive listeners for the poetry and insight it contains, and Courtney Patton’s often stunning delivery. She’s also revealed herself to be a badass boss lady.
Zach Bryan Makes Significant Move at the Top of Country Chart
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“American Heartbreak” by Zach Bryan has been showing all indications of being one of those “sticky” albums, selling another 24,803 in albums and equivalents again last week. Even more interestingly, the album retook over the #2 spot from the new Luke Combs album “Growin’ Up” two weeks ago.