This is HUGE. Dave Cobb Announced as Chief Creative Officer at UMG Nashville
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Producer Dave Cobb has been announced as UMG Nashville’s CCO, or Chief Creative Officer. This puts one of the primary actors in the country music turnaround of the last decade in a direct position of power.
Steve Earle Slams Hayes Carll, Modern Country as “Hip-Hop For People Afraid of Black People.”
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Let’s call it what it is at this point: Steve Earle is going scorched earth. Ahead of the release of his latest album So You Wanna Be An Outlaw, the 62-year-old alt-country songwriter isn’t just refusing to pull punches, he’s looking for targets. His latest are modern country, Oasis frontman Noel Gallagher, and the new partner of his former wife, Hayes Carll.
Joshua Hedley Signs with Third Man Records
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“Hedley’s initiation into the Third Man family solidifies not only the end of Bro Country’s stranglehold on the country music industry, but also Third Man’s place as the greatest country label on the planet,” says the Jack White-owned label after signing Nashville fixture Josh Hedley to the label.
How Did Tyler Childers Rope Sturgill Simpson Into Producing His Upcoming Record?
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Sturgill Simpson is such an enigma, to see his name crop up as the producer on the album from someone else is shocking and intriguing. Stugill has made a career out of saying “no” to reporters, industry professionals, and opportunities some artists would kill for. So how and why did he say “yes” to Tyler Childers?
The Worst Country Songs of 2017 So Far
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Oh man are these some stinkers. Not only does an elite and highly-trained group of mainstream country artists seem to be like devoted experts at defining new lows for the genre, in 2017 the amount of non-country-ness of some of these “country” songs is so off the charts, it’s like they’re purposely challenging each other.
Jamey Johnson Cites A Concussion Suffered Years Ago For Lack of New Music
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It doesn’t matter who your favorite country artist is and how long you’ve been waiting for new music from them, virtually nobody has been waiting longer than Jamey Johnson fans. And they may have to wait a little bit longer. In a new interview, Jamey Johnson cites a concussion for his lack of recent output.
Saving Country Music’s Best Country Albums of 2017 So Far
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For the last two years, it’s felt like a lull for projects that really set themselves apart and set the pace for creativity and cultural importance. 2017 is a different story. It feels like this has been a banner year already, with some of the year’s biggest projects still in the offing.
Kelsea Ballerini Channels Taylor Swift on New “Legends” Single
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Those who’ve been waiting impatiently for a new Taylor Swift single finally have their wish. It just happens to be coming from Kelsea Ballerini. Many have considered Kelsea as the most obvious choice to replace Swift in country music since similarly to Taylor, there’s really nothing country about Kelsea.
No, Pop-Punk Is Not Country Music’s Next Frontier
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Look folks, pop-punk is not going to be the next frontier in country music, and to even spend time debating the finer points and nuances of that argument is already giving the idea more credence than it deserves. There is nothing “punk” about mainstream country music, whether it’s pop-punk or otherwise.
Maddie & Tae Officially Signed to UMG Nashville
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It’s tough enough for female-fronted mainstream artists the days, and it became even tougher for the songwriting duo Maddie & Tae when their division of Big Machine Records was dissolved in a downsizing. The fate of the duo was left in the air after it was announced that Dot Records would be ceasing operations.
Zephaniah OHora’s “This Highway” Is Classic Country Mastery
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Zephanaiah OHora’s This Highway just very well might be a modern classic country masterpiece. It’s flawless for what it is, which is a reawakening of everything brilliant and beautiful about the Countrypolitan era of country music, while leaving all the superfluousness of strings and choruses and other overproduction aside.
Steve Earle, Praises/Defends Colter Wall, Slams Richard Buckner in Crazy Interview
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In what starts off to be a rather innocuous local interview with a reporter in in Canada after a show in Toronto, Steve Earle begins by highly praising Canada’s own Colter Wall. Then when reporter Brad Wheeler question’s Colter’s legitimacy, sparks fly, and poor Richard Buckner gets pulled into the melee.
Chart Watch: Sam Hunt Going Strong, Miranda Lambert’s Single Juggling, Luke vs. Wheeler
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Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad” has now topped the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart for 17 straight weeks. Meanwhile, “Body Like a Backroad” continues to pick up crossover spins. Unfortunately for Miranda Lambert, her current single “Tin Man” is headed in the opposite direction.