Newest Adds to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist (#151)
12 Comments
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats.
Song Review – Chris Young’s “Losing Sleep”
31 Comments
Where Chris Young once was one of the few remaining firewalls of true country influences in the mainstream, now he’s one of the catalysts for non country influences taking full control. As an R&B song I guess “Losing Sleep” works pretty well. But as a country song, it utterly fails—and from someone who you expect better from.
Steel Resolve: How Hearing Issues Led to Sharing A Passion for the Steel Guitar for One Player
14 Comments
Imagine finding something that you believe very well might be your true life’s purpose and passion, only to have it snatched away from you via physical ailment. That is the story of Josh Killian from Kennesaw, Georgia, an amateur steel guitar player turned founder of the new nonprofit called Steel Resolve.
Loretta Lynn Announces Her Return to Performing After Recent Stroke
13 Comments
Good news for Loretta Lynn, her fans, and country music. After suffering what was characterized as a mild stroke on May 5th of this year, and then announcing in mid July that she would be canceling all 2017 tour dates, Loretta apparently is now feeling good enough to book her first live performance since the stroke.
Why Jason Isbell Deserves his CMA Nomination for Album of the Year
79 Comments
Jason Isbell is not country. He is decidedly Americana. But Jason Isbell deserves his nomination for Album of the Year by the CMAs just as much as anyone has ever deserved that distinction. When songwriting is as good as Jason Isbell’s, it transcends genre. Every genre wants to call it their own.
Margo Price Announces New Album “All American Made”
34 Comments
On the heels of releasing a surprise EP called Weakness in July, Margo Price has announced the name and details for her official sophomore album “All American Made.” It was recorded in Memphis at Sam Phillips Recording (his studio after Sun) with her touring band. Listen to a new song, and check out new tour dates.
New Additions to Saving Country Music’s Spotify Playlist (Update #8)
5 Comments
The Saving Country Music Official Top 25 Spotify Playlist has been reinforced for your post-Labor Day listening and beyond with a slew of new tracks that deserve to be separated from the herd and have a spotlight shone on them for their songwriting and compositional exceptionalism.
Why People Hate to Love Steely Dan, But Shouldn’t
46 Comments
Look, Steely Dan is not for everyone. Let’s face it, it’s sort of a weird band that’s too jazzy to be progressive rock, and too rock to be considered jazz, that was slotted into the slosh pit of the classic rock space by Clear Channel some 35 years ago, and asked to fend for itself among legacy AC/DC and Lynyrd Skynyrd cuts.
Album Review – The Cadillac Three’s “Legacy”
49 Comments
You may not know them personally, or maybe you do. Or maybe you even count yourself as one of them. But somewhere out there are swaths of country fans who swear off all that effeminate country crap from from folks like Sam Hunt and Luke Bryan, and swear they only like the real stuff. You know … like The Cadillac Three.
Miranda Lambert Leads Nominations / Could Have Big Night at 2017 CMA’s (Noms & Predictions)
58 Comments
In wanton disrespect of the Labor Day holiday (aren’t journalists laborers too?), the Country Music Association announced their nominations for the 2017 CMA Awards on Monday (9-4) morning, with Miranda Lambert leading all nominees with five total nominations.
Jason Isbell Breaks Through CMA Barrier for an Independent Artist w/ Album of the Year Nom
79 Comments
Another glass ceiling has just been shattered in mainstream country music’s monopoly on the independent side of music. Jason Isbell has just been nominated for Album of the Year by the Country Music Association, or CMA’s, for his most recent album The Nashville Sound. This is a virtually unprecedented feat for an independent artist.
Why These Texas Music Beards Could Be in Peril
2 Comments
Started by songwriter Larry Hooper, “Chin Music” as it’s called has put the fate of some of the most signature beards in Texas music on a speculative footing, including the silver streaks of Shinyribs’ Kevin Russell’s mane, Bart Crow’s Grizzly Adam’s look, and Drew Kennedy’s daunting hedge of human whiskers.
Alice Wallace Revitalizes the Country Yodel in “Echo Canyon”
29 Comments
Yodeling is one of the great lost arts in modern country music. As much as country elements like the steel guitar and fiddle are under siege, yodeling is something even more endangered of going extinct if for no other reason than most modern country singers are just not skilled enough to do it.