Album Review – Megan Moroney’s “Cloud 9” (+ Song Reviews)
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Cloud 9 is more pop than country in total, and includes a few full-blown pop songs. But the country influences here are inescapable, almost curious in frequency—and for actual country fans, refreshingly welcome.
Vintage Album Review – “Country Love Songs” by Robbie Fulks
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Country music doesn’t deserve Robbie Fulks, and Robbie Fulks doesn’t deserve the perilous and unjust trappings of country music. This guy should be designing jet engines or transplanting hearts or something. Yet here he is spinning hillbilly tales for penny fractions on Spotify, though we’re not complaining.
Two People Killed On Pickathon Festival Grounds During Teardown
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Two workers were killed Wednesday afternoon (8-8) on the site of the Pickathon Festival in Happy Valley, Oregon, just outside of Portland, while helping to disassemble the tents above the main stage. Located on the Pendarvis Farm, the Pickathon Festival occurred last weekend (August 1st-4th).
Judge Halts Demolition of Country Landmark for Margarittaville Location
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The historic building standing at 152 Nassau Street in downtown Atlanta that was days from demolition has received a stay of execution from an Atlanta judge. Considered the true birthplace of country music for the time in 1923 when recording engineer and producer Ralph Peer captured Fiddlin’ John Carson in the space.
Songwriter Kendell Marvel Readies New Album “Solid Gold Sounds”
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After growing frustrated by having to cater his songs to what country radio would play, Kendell Marvel launched a solo career. Now he’s looking to take his solo career a step further by partnering with Dan Auerbach of The Black Keys as both producer and label owner to release “Solid Gold Sounds.”
Willie Nelson Cancels Tour Due to Breathing Problems
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Willie Nelson has canceled his current tour due to breathing problems. This was the news coming out of the Willie Nelson camp late Wednesday evening (8-7) after he performed a show Wednesday at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio and experienced breathing issues. “To my fans, I’m sorry to cancel my tour,” Willie said in a statement.
Dwight Yoakam Leads Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame Inductees
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California country legend Dwight Yoakam will be one of the newest inductees into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Though Dwight Yoakam may be known to most for his caramel voice that made Johnny Cash once declare him as his favorite modern country singer, he’s also guilty of writing the majority of his songs.
Billy Strings Is On Tour. Go See Billy Strings.
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When bandying around the biggest names coming up in independent country and roots music, you can’t forget about Billy Strings. Billy is the bluegrass representative of this movement that spans from honky tonk to Americana, and just like his counterparts, we’re seeing that same pattern where Billy’s having to double up on show dates.
Big Moments Mark the 2019 Pickathon Festival
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What happens at Pickathon doesn’t stay at Pickathon. It reverberates throughout the music world, from the music and moments that spread word-of-mouth to help launch music careers. This was underscored and bolded in 2019 at the beautiful Pendarvis Farm just outside of Portland.
Kane Brown Date Change on Spotify Results in Unfair Promotion
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Despite the easily-verifiable original release date for ‘Experiment’ as November 8th, 2018, Spotify sent Kane Brown’s ‘Experiment’ through the new release promotional cycle a second time, and currently has the album’s release date listed as July 12th, 2019. This resulted in an unfair boost in the charts.
Tyler Childers to Make Late Night Debut, Stream Album Release Show
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Tyler Childers just released his major label debut Country Squire on Friday, August 2nd, and if you can’t get enough of it, you’ll have multiple opportunities see him perform live in the coming days via the magic of mass media. Childers will make his broadcast television debut and stream his official album release show.
Album Review – Mike & the Moonpies “Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold”
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If this all had played out like it should have, The Moonpies would have mashed down on the accelerator with a new record and released something with even more hard charging honky tonk country songs to fuel new their intense live shows. And so what do they do? They fly to London to record an album at Abbey Road Studios with the London Symphony.
Texas Country Artists Stepping Up to Help Teachers w/ School Supplies
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What started out as some simple pledges by Texas country artist Casey Donahue to help a few Texas teachers fulfill their supply lists for the upcoming school year has morphed into a cultural phenomenon in Texas music and beyond, with artists and fans signing on to the cause to get classrooms filled with the items teachers need.