Opry 100th Special Scores Big Ratings, Offers Lessons for Awards Shows
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The Grand Ole Opry’s 100th Anniversary celebration on Wednesday, March 19th was a big hit. The 3-hour special on NBC also did really well in the ratings, despite focusing on legends more than current stars.
Garth Brooks Stadium Shows Cause Concern for Nearby Folk Fest
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Upcoming Garth Brooks concerts have raised the ire of performers and attendees of the 50-year-old Regina Folk Festival in the Saskatchewan Province of Canada after Brooks booked consecutive shows in the city the same week as the 2019 Folk Fest. Regina Folk Festival is one of Canada’s many long-standing and nonprofit folk festivals.
‘Bitter Southerner’ Posts False Timeline of Lil Nas X Removal
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Once again a major periodical has presented a completely false timeline for the removal of Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” from the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in an attempt to pin the inspiration for the removal on Saving Country Music. The ‘Bitter Southerner’ article written by Dr. Joycelyn Wilson, PhD published on June 13th….
Jerry Lee Lewis Is Back Home After Rehabilitation from Stroke
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83-year-old Jerry Lee Lewis is on the road to full recovery after suffering a mild stroke earlier this year. The episode happened with the country and rock ‘n roll icon on February 28th, and though he initially wasn’t expected to miss any performance commitments, in late March he was forced to cancel numerous shows while in recovery.
New Johnny Cash Statue Unveiled in Memphis
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Johnny Cash and his imposing figure will now forever be standing at the foot of 999 S. Cooper Street in his second hometown of Memphis, Tennessee after a new bronze statue in black patina was just unveiled at the location. Based off a 1962 portrait of Cash by photographer Leigh Wiener, the statue honor’s Johnny’s first public performance.
Album Review – Lukas Nelson’s “Turn Off The News (Build A Garden)”
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It’s the common bane of most second and third generation music performers that they are expected to carry on the legacy of their parents in form and fashion, and perform up to a standard dictated by their pedigree that is often difficult to impossible to attain. But with the natural gifts for music making that […]
Brooks & Dunn Is Leery About Recording New Music
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Brooks & Dunn is going through one of those late career resurgences that artists whose music withstands the test of time tend to enjoy about 25 to 30 years after they first came to prominence. But those hoping this might be the precursor to new music from Brooks & Dunn may want to temper their enthusiasm just a little bit.
Bruce Springsteen’s Desert Drift on New Album “Western Stars”
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The intimacy of Bruce Springsteen’s earlier “West” records is replaced by a truly cinematic scope, because things are still possible here. Pedal steel and throaty, tremolo guitars paint pastoral soundscapes interwoven with sweeping strings and orchestral horns; more Countrypolitan than country. Glen Campbell, not Gram Parsons.
Whiskey Myers Announces New Self-Titled Album
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Travis Tritt once wondered aloud where the hell the drive in country had gone. Well it comes flying right in your face whenever Whiskey Myers takes the stage or gets cued up on the stereophonic speakers, so much so it’s more apt to label them Southern rock, if not rock n’ roll entirely in some selections.
Sturgill Simpson Releases New Country Song “The Dead Don’t Die”
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For those Sturgill Simpson fans who’ve been hoping and praying for more of that hard country sound like you heard on his debut record ‘High Top Mountain’ or in large portions of his magum opus ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music,’ you get what you wish for and then some on the just released song called “The Dead Don’t Die.”
On The Wu-Tang Clan Playing The Ryman Auditorium
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On Sunday night (6-9), legendary hip-hop outfit The Wu-Tang Clan made a stop at the Ryman Auditorium as part of their 25th Anniversary tour for a sold-out performance. Known affectionately as the “Mother Church of Country Music,” the booking of Wu-Tang at the Ryman might have seemed a little weird to some.
The Story of Tompall & The Glaser Brothers Writes Its Final Chapter
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Of course Tompall is where the attention usually dwells when bringing up the three siblings from Spalding, Nebraska. But youngest brother Jim, who died of a heart attack on April 6th at the age of 81, and Chuck Glaser, who died Monday, June 10th at the age of 83, also contributed heavily to country music as songwriters and performers.
Luke Combs Invited to Be Next Member of the Grand Ole Opry
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Surging up-and-coming country music artist Luke Combs will be the next member of the Grand Ole Opry. The 29-year-old was surprised during the Tuesday night (6-11) Opry presentation by traditionalist Craig Morgan, country legend John Conlee, and recent Grand Ole Opry member Chris Janson with the invitation.