Album Review – The Droptines – “Drought Flower”
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Some people come to music to listen. Others come to feel. It’s the pain they crave like emotional junkies, searching for an especially incisive lyric to move over them like cold serrated steel raking across the skin.
Stoney LaRue Announces New Album “Onward”
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Few can claim direct involvement with the formation of Oklahoma’s distinct mix of country, rock, and roots music known affectionately as Red Dirt, and Stoney LaRue is one of them. Stoney LaRue has been a warrior of the Texas and Red Dirt touring circuit for nearly 20 years. Now he’s getting ready to release a new album called “Onward.”
Album Review – Tracy Lawrence’s “Made in America”
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Tracy Lawrence may not have a shot at radio anymore, but he’s certainly been a beneficiary of the resurgence of interest in 90’s country lately, of which he played a pretty major role. Tracy Lawrence promised back in April that ‘Made in America’ would be “very country,” and he doesn’t disappoint in the 12 tracks of the new record.
Sturgill Simpson’s Premier of New Song “Sing Along” – UPDATED
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Sturgill Simpson will release a new song and video called “Sing Along” on Tuesday, August 20th at noon as indicated by a premier event that populated on YouTube via Sturgill Simpson’s official account on Monday (see below). It’s the first taste of a new album coming this fall called Sound & Fury that will be accompanied by an anime film.
Tyler Childers Announces New Tour Dates – Ryman Residency
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Riding the momentum of his recent #1 album ‘Country Squire,’ Tyler Childers has added to his 2019 tour dates, and added even more dates stretching into 2020, including another big stint in Europe, an important benefit show, and a four-night residency at the Country Music Mother Church, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.
KOKE-FM & KOKEFEST Prove Not All Country Radio is The Same
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The commonality of criticizing country radio within the ranks of country music’s classic and independent fans is pretty severe, and for good reason. Generally speaking, country radio is a blob of nationalized playlists and unimaginative music, and no curation by the DJs on the ground in local markets. But this doesn’t mean all radio is bad.
Miranda Lambert Cites Dolly Parton As Her Country Music Icon
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PBS is gearing up for the release of the extensive 8 part, 16-hour Country Music Documentary starting September 15th directed by Ken Burns. And ahead of the release, PBS is trying to engage the country music public by asking people to share who their favorite country music icon is. They started by asking Miranda Lambert, Vince Gill, & Ray Benson.
Willie Nelson “Doing Great” After Health Problems – Resuming Tour
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Willie Nelson had a lot of folks worried when late on August 7th, he released a statement saying, “To my fans, I’m sorry to cancel my tour, but I have a breathing problem that I need to have my doctor check out. I’ll be back Love, Willie.” The statement came after Willie had been performing at the Huntington Center in Toledo, Ohio.
Blake Shelton’s New Song “Hell Right” (A Rant)
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The entirety of Blake Shelton’s career just devolved quicker than a political discussion with your drunk and racist uncle at Thanksgiving dinner. All the headway country music has made over the last couple of years, and now we have to figure out how to maneuver around this “Hell Right” bullshit.
New Randy Travis Song Surfaces, “Lead Me Home”
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Just like in May when a new song from Randy Travis surfaced called “One in a Row” unexpectedly, we have yet another new song from the Country Music Hall of Famer called “Lead Me Home” that has just been made available to the public via streaming services. The bluegrass-inspired “Lead Me Home” was originally an iTunes exclusive.
Tracklist & Songwriters for Miranda Lambert’s New Album “Wildcard”
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Miranda Lambert’s latest album will be called “Wildcard.” Along with the album release date and artwork, we also get to see track list and songwriting collaborators Miranda Lambert worked with on the album. A regular champion of quality songwriters, ‘Wildcard’ will be no different, even if the sound and approach is.
Ryman Auditorium Becoming the Hot Venue for Live Records
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It’s kind of curious that the Country Music Mother Church hasn’t become a conveyor belt for live records like some other important venues in country music have. Now after Jason Isbell released a Live from the Ryman album in 2018, others are getting in on the action, including Old Crow Medicine Show and Brothers Osborne.
Joe Rogan Gives Ringing Endorsement to Tyler Childers
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If you tracked the rapid and uncanny ascent of Tyler Childers producer Sturgill Simpson, then you know that podcaster, comedian, and public personality Joe Rogan played a critical role in the explosion of interest in Sturgill’s album ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music,’ and ultimately in his Grammy-winning career.