Album Review – Molly Tuttle’s “So Long Little Miss Sunshine”
57 Comments
If you’re a traditional bluegrass fan, is it a sad development that the Millennial Queen of Bluegrass has gone pop? Yes, it is. Is it as bad as you feared when she first announced it? No, it’s not.
Saving Country Music’s Best Songs of 2017 So Far
93 Comments
Apologies if you came here looking to replenish your 3rd generation iPod with a fresh platoon of booty shakers. That’s not what this practice is all about. Feel good songs are just fine and help fleet us through the tiresome days, but when we talk about the “Best Songs,” were talking about songs that deliver moments that can change entire lives.
Johnny Cash Poems Being Turned Into New Album
13 Comments
When Brad Paisley included a song called “Gold All Over The Ground” on his recent album Love and War, we thought it was just a one-off occasion where one of today’s country artists took a poem from Johnny Cash and turned it into a song. The poem “Gold All Over The Ground” was first composed […]
Steve Earle Slams Hayes Carll, Modern Country as “Hip-Hop For People Afraid of Black People.”
175 Comments
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
12 Comments
“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?
18 Comments
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
108 Comments
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
41 Comments
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
113 Comments
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
30 Comments
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
61 Comments
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
22 Comments
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
54 Comments
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.