Brit Taylor Readies New Album “Land of the Forgotten”
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You better not get caught rattling off the names of insurgent country artists from the great state of Kentucky and omit Brit Taylor. She might be based in Nashville now, but Kentucky bleeds into everything.
The Pickathon Festival Announces 20th Anniversary 2018 Lineup
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The Pickathon Festival just outside of Portland, Oregon has just announced the initial lineup for their 20th Anniversary season, and like most every year, numerous important luminaries from the effort to help save country music have made the cut.
Zac Brown Breaks Promise with Sir Rosevelt Side Project – Releases Single to Country Radio
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Zac Brown just can’t help himself. You can’t fault the guy for wanting to follow his musical passions, if in fact that’s the motivation here and not just padding his pockets. But he’s broken a promise to country fans once again by releasing a song that is admittedly not country to country radio.
Song Review – Justin Timberlake & Chris Stapleton’s “Say Something”
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What happened to Justin Timberlake making a country record, or at least including some country or “earthy” Americana on it? I can’t tell you. However “Say Something”—the studio track that is—delivers somewhat on Timberlake’s more updated promise of Man of the Woods being “Americana with 808’s.”
Album Review – Caitlyn Smith’s “Starfire”
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Journeywoman songwriter and closet singer/performer Caitlyn Smith just released perhaps the best country pop record to grace the roster of Music Row projects in a half a decade or more, and we should all be embarrassed and inconsolably incredulous it took so damn long for this voice and these songs to get their proper due.
Lynyrd Skynyrd Announce “Last of the Street Survivors Farewell Tour”
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Southern rock Gods Lynyrd Skynyrd—or at least what’s left of them—have announced a massive final farewell tour, planning to leave the stage afterwards for good in the midst of a few of the post-1977 crash member’s declining health, including primary leader Gary Rossington who has suffered from heart issues over the past few years.
The SteelDrivers Announce New Permanent Lead Singer
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The hard-driving, Grammy Award-winning bluegrass band The SteelDrivers have a new permanent lead singer and guitar player. Kelvin Damrell, who is native of Berea, Kentucky, and grew up in a family of bluegrass Gospel singers, has been named as the replacement in a spot previously held by some very big names, including Chris Stapleton, Adam […]
Chris Stapleton Song w/ Justin Timberlake “Say Something” Coming. Will Sing w/ Emmylou at Grammys
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Justin Timberlake’s long-anticipated original song with Chris Stapleton will be arriving Thursday (1-25), and it will be called “Say Something.” It has also been announced that he will be performing with country legend Emmylou Harris at Sunday’s 60th Annual Grammy Awards. The details:
Album Review – First Aid Kit’s “Ruins”
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The Söderberg sisters don’t just sing, they soar. Their harmonies are so angelic and adept, the siblings come across more like deities than entertainers, untouchable and ethereal, blessed with immortal capacities, and brought to the Earth only to convey their wisdom in sonnet and rhyme.
Ashley McBryde to Release Major Label Debut “Girl Goin’ Nowhere”
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Songwriter and promising mainstream performer Ashley McBryde’s debut major label release on Warner Nashville will be arriving March 30th, and will be named after the song she wrote for her Grand Ole Opry debut that helped spark off a national narrative behind the Arkansas native. She’s also released a new song called “American Scandal.”
The Inequalities Plaguing Country Radio Are Somehow Even Worse on Spotify’s Major Playlists
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The promise of technology and its interfacing with music is a great equalization of the playing field, both opening up the creative possibilities for artists, and the ability to discover new music for fans. For too long the stuffy and outmoded system of radio feeding us what they wanted us to hear reigned over music […]
This Is Not Your Average Platinum Certification for Eric Church’s “Mr. Misunderstood”
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It’s hard enough to have an album go platinum these days. Even when you’re a superstar with smash hits and spend a million+ on an advertising campaign. Now take into consideration not just forgoing all of those pre-release formalities, but starting off your release cycle by outright giving your record away to your fans.
Alan Jackson’s Under-Reported Speech at The Country Hall of Fame Induction Ceremony
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The legendary and Hall of Fame country music career of Alan Jackson has been marked by two underlying things: his ability to write and sing songs that stay true to country’s roots and ultimately become mega-hits (he had 26 #1’s overall), and his propensity to step up at critical moments and say or do whatever he can to help preserve the music.