Album Review – Luke Combs – “The Way I Am”
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You can most definitely do worse in mainstream country than Luke Combs. In 2026, you can also do much better. But when you’re Luke Combs, you’re not just an artist, or a singer. You’re a franchise.
Album Review – The Ben Jarrell Band’s “Up and Headed West”
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Once again chock full of half-time Waylon beats, Jerry Reed hot licks, with a touch of Allman Brothers and Lynyrd Skynyrd influence as well, it’s the kind of 70’s cool a lot of the hipster kids in country music try to emulate these days, but colossally fail at.
Album Review – Ray Wylie Hubbard’s “Co-Starring Too”
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This album will have you blowing speaker cones and doing air guitar poses on coffee tables—sideways looks from your significant other be damned. I don’t know what’s gotten into Ray Wylie Hubbard, but this album is anything but retread. It’s a grizzly ol’ middle finger to bad music.
Scoping Out The Future Home of Reba McEntire’s “Reba’s Place”
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Reba McEntire definitely deserves an extra level of respect and admiration for deciding against opening up yet another tourist trap monstrosity on Lower Broadway in Nashville, just like every other big star has done over the last decade. Calle, Reba’s Place, it will be in Atoka, OK.
Dwayne Johnson’s Daughter’s Favorite Song is by Dale Watson
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We’ve known for years about the affinity Dwayne “The Rock” Johnson has for traditional country and true blue independent country artists. But just about nothing illustrates how big of a role true country music—or in this case, “Ameripolitan”—actually plays.
It Happened In Tulsa: The Turnpike Troubadours Reunite
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With no effort at embellishment, what happened in Tulsa will go down in history—for the historical venue of Cain’s Ballroom, for the Turnpike Troubadours, for independent country music, and for country music in general. It was that paramount, and that profound.
Steve Earle to Release Tribute Record to Jerry Jeff Walker
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Jerry Jeff Walker died on October 23rd, 2020, but not before becoming a folk hero from the song “Mr. Bojangles,” and helping to set up the conditions in Austin, TX that would ultimately make it the Live Music Capital of the World, and an alternative to Nashville.
Paying a Visit to Billy Joe Shaver
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Billy Joe Shaver could be a hero to someone even if they didn’t give a fig about country music. But eventually, and somewhat inexplicably, Billy Joe Shaver did die, on October 28th 2020. Turns out, only his songs were immortal. But you can still see him.
After Conservatorship Worry, Sam Williams Appears with Hank Jr. & Sister
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In early February, Sam Williams had the music and entertainment world in a stir after a series of social media posts implied that he was in a restrictive conservatorship under the repressive thumb of his father Hank Williams Jr., and half-sister Holly Williams.
KOKEFEST Unveils Killer 2022 Lineup
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No, not all country radio stations suck. Some are downright badass. KOKE-FM out of Austin, TX is one of them. They’ve also put on a kickass festival now for five years where devotees to the KOKE world congregate.
Arlo McKinley Readies New Album “This Mess We’re In”
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The last time Arlo McKinley released a record, the darn thing hauled off and won Saving Country Music’s Album of the Year. All the more reason to not temper excitement that he’s just announced his second album on John Prine’s Oh Boy Records.
Cody Johnson’s “Till You Can’t” Is Becoming The Song of 2022
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Ever since Billboard tweaked their formula for how songs are slotted on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2012, it has given rise to heavyweight tracks that sit atop the chart for weeks and weeks on end. All the more reason that the current song to get stuck at #1.
25 Years Ago: Pioneering Black Country Artist Stoney Edwards Dies
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Stoney’s career may have not been Hall of Fame worthy, but releasing six albums on a major country music label, and scoring Top 20 hits dispels the idea that the contributions of black artists in country music was resigned to just one individual.