It Finally Happened. Billy Strings and Luke Black Join Forces On Stage
16 Comments
On Wednesday evening (9-17) at The Signal in Chattanooga’s Choo Choo complex, the train tracks of Billy Strings and Blake Black finally converged, with Black joining Strings on stage.
Jason Isbell Announces New Album “Live At The Ryman” + New Ryman Dates
10 Comments
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit’s next album will be a live one recorded at the Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville. And as part of the release, he will play another one of his historic residencies at the historical landmark—a place he’s sold out for 14 consecutive dates and counting.
Album Review – Dierks Bentley’s “The Mountain”
65 Comments
Bentley’s new record The Mountain is not some dramatic return to his bluegrass roots, and it’s probably not even fair to call it rootsy aside from a few songs. But it is a return to Dierks Bentley doing what he does best, which is putting out good, quality, often inspiring songs that are raised in importance since they’re something you enjoy with others.
“Keeping Nashville’s Honky Tonk Alive” Looks Into the Effort to Preserve Traditional Country
55 Comments
Amid the rubble of what Nashville once was, lurking in the shadows of the condominium high rises and prefabricated mixed use block developments spanning across the city like a contagion, there is a thriving and vibrant honky tonk movement doing what it can to keep the old style of country music alive.
Song Review – Kane Brown’s “Lose It”
78 Comments
The future of mainstream country music looks and sounds like Kane Brown—meaning bad neck tattoos and a monotone delivery of terrible songs. The only question left is what the future of mainstream country looks like if artists like Kane Brown are leading it.
Dolly Parton Partners with Netflix to Bring More Songs to Movie Form
13 Comments
More movies based off the iconic songs of Dolly Parton are on the way, and this time they will be distributed through the streaming giant Netflix. Announced this week, Dolly Parton has signed with the subscription service to debut eight new movies based off of her legendary songs in the coming months and years.
Album Review – Tim Culpepper’s “DUI (Drinkin’ Under The Influence)”
32 Comments
Now that we’re starting to see a lot of the 80’s and 90’s era traditional-style country starting to make a comeback, an artist like Tim Culpepper all of a sudden comes across as pretty damn cool, even though it’s more the listening trends shifting towards him, instead of vice versa.
Vintage Album Review – “Willie and Family Live”
28 Comments
Pound for pound, if you’re looking the most enjoyable record of Willie Nelson’s career, the one that captures him at his creative apex the most, the one that birthed some of his most lasting contributions to recorded music, it’s not a studio record of his at all. It’s a double live album he recorded in April of 1978 at Harrah’s Casino in Lake Tahoe.
How The CMT Awards Rendered Themselves Irrelevant in 2018
37 Comments
The CMT Awards transpired Wednesday night, June 6th at the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville. Did you notice? Most likely not. Did you tune in and follow along? Even more unlikely. But this isn’t just about ratings. This is about the overall impact of the awards, or the lack thereof.
Saving Country Music’s Best Songs of 2018 So Far
59 Comments
These six songs are admittedly sad bastard fare if there ever was any, but that’s the way it goes when you’re looking for songs that don’t just entertain, but fulfill, or illuminate something important in life most catchy tunes fall short of.
Two Unheard Jason Isbell Songs Precede Reissue of “Sirens Of The Ditch”
28 Comments
Those hungry for some new tunes from Jason Isbell just got a tasty, surprise treat in the form of two previously-unheard studio tracks that precede the reissue of one of Jason Isbell’s back catalog albums. Sirens Of The Ditch was Isbell’s first proper solo studio record, released in 2007 by New West Records.
Taylor Swift Lends Name to Sugarland Reboot in “Babe” (Review)
64 Comments
Just like Lady Antebellum, Sugarland should have been relegated to the graveyard of failed country music franchises, if for no other reason than the respective members were actually much better in their off season solo projects than the sum of their parts ever were together. But in an industry that is empty of new ideas and interested in squeezing money from whatever crevice possible, no franchise is off the table for resurrection.
Newest Additions to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist (#22)
18 Comments
There are big changes in the latest update to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 playlist. They start with four new songs added from four stellar new releases. It’s also worth noting that two songs that have appeared on the playlist for the longest have been replaced, while the songs from two other artists have been refreshed.