Beloved Drummer, .357’s Member Bryan Keeling Has Died
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Beloved drummer, band member, session player, brother, and father Bryan “Keelgood” Keeling has passed away. He played with many musicians, but is best known as a member of the .357’s.
Grand Ole Opry to Celebrate 95th Anniversary, Invite Audience Back
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When the COVID-19 shutdowns began in mid March, the Grand Ole Opry was one of the only live music institutions that endured, with the first non-audience show transpiring on March 14th with the evening’s regular scheduled slate of performers.
Album Review – Tennessee Jet’s “The Country”
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Don’t think of Tennessee Jet as your typical country music performer. Consider him more like a character from a Beat-era novel, hitchhiking from California and back, hanging out with a motorcycle gang for a week in the desert, camping out under the stars on the side of the road, all with a guitar slung on his back.
Mile 0 Fest in Key West Announces 2021 Dates & Lineup
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The Texas, Red Dirt, and Americana-oriented Mile 0 Fest in Key West, Florida will be moving forward in 2021, and they have just announced the festival’s preliminary lineup. Usually occurring in late January/early February, they have moved the date later in the year due to COVID-19 concerns.
Song Review – Travis Tritt’s “Ghost Town Nation”
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Of all the implausibles of 2020, who would have thunk that Travis Tritt would be the one to release one of the most topically-relevant songs of the time? In his first new taste of original music in 13 years, he puts some “drive” in his country as he once famously compelled us all to do in 1990.
Classic Country Diminished in New Rolling Stone 500 Best Albums
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It’s worth noting that Rolling Stone’s new updated version of their “500 Best Albums of All Time” significantly diminishes iconic titles from the classic country canon. Not only were some titles downgraded, some were eliminated entirely.
Lost Album from Earl Thomas Conley On The Way
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Earl Thomas Conley passed away in April of 2019 at the age of 77, but we haven’t heard the last of him just yet. Consisting of twelve songs all written or co-written by Conley, the tracks were originally recorded as demos in the early and mid 90’s.
Legend & Johnny Cash Drummer W. S. “Fluke” Holland Has Died
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Legendary American music drummer W.S. “Fluke” Holland has died. A titan and founder of drumming in popular music, W.S. Holland was Johnny Cash’s drummer for 40 years, and is considered by many as the “Father of the Drums.”
Album Review – Jake Blocker’s “I Keep Forgetting”
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When you find a performer this young and talented, it’s not just the entertainment value they posses at that moment, but the possibility of what they could develop into as time goes on that compels you. But Jake Blocker is already writing his own songs in his debut album.
Revolutionary: Whiskey Myers Goes Gold / Cody Jinks Goes Platinum
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Ladies and gentlemen, the country music independent revolution is here. No longer is it a hypothetical, or a “what if ?” or something to look forward to in the future when artists that receive virtually no mainstream radio play or opportunities can compete or even best their mainstream competition. We’re now living in that era.
New Analysis Confirms & Refutes Stereotypes of Country Lyrics
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It’s one of the most common criticisms of today’s mainstream country music: all the songs sound the same and say the same basic things. But is this true, or is it more of a stereotype? And are country lyrics improving as the mainstream continues to veer away from the Bro-Country era?
Writer Jan Reid Was Seminal To Austin Music’s “Improbable Rise”
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If not for author Jan Reid, there would be no Austin City Limits. And without Austin City Limits, there may not have been any national awareness of what was happening in the Texas Capital back in the early and mid 70’s and beyond,which became the catalyst for country’s Outlaw movement.
Album Review – Tyler Childers – “Long Violent History”
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No matter the attitude one brings to this unusual, and unexpected work by Tyler Childers, it’s undeniable that when his biography is penned, a dedicated portion will be transfixed on remembering that time during the crazy pandemic of 2020 that he released a surprise record full of old-time fiddle tunes