Opry’s 100th Anniversary Tribute is Perfect Time to Reinstate Hank
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Hank Williams III founded the The Reinstate Hank movement back in 2003 in an effort to get the Grand Ole Opry to recognize his grandfather who was kicked out for drunkeness and missing rehearsals in 1952.
Ray Wylie Hubbard to Release New Album “Tell The Devil I’m Getting There As Fast As I Can”
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Ray Wylie Hubbard will add to his legacy of bone-rattling grit and groove, and hymnals that speak to a weary soul torn between the battle of good and evil when he releases his latest record ‘Tell The Devil I’m Gettin’ There As Fast As I Can’ on his own Bordello Records via Thirty Tigers.
Vince Gill is Nearly Perfect to Take Over for Glenn Frey in the Eagles
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What makes a country boy like Vince Gill think he has the ability to fill some of the biggest shoes ever rendered vacant in American music? Well, 21 Grammy Awards, and incredible voice, some of the most underrated guitar chops in music, and a longer lineage with the music of The Eagles than one might think.
Should “Texoma” Be The New Term for the Indefinable “Texas Country/Red Dirt” Scene?
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The problem with the whole Texas Music/Texas Country/Red Dirt “scene” is just that—what to call it. Texas Country is not really Red Dirt, even though the two regularly get lazily lumped together. Texas Country and Texas Music are separate things as well, but once again get summarily bundled. Yet all of these things are intertwined.
Chris Stapleton Postpones Multiple Concert Dates and CMA Fest Appearance
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Chris Stapleton fans were greeted with the unfortunate news Wednesday morning (5-31) that Chris Stapleton will not be making scheduled appearances at eight separate shows, and has also canceled his appearance at the upcoming CMA Fest in Nashville.
Eric Church Says Country’s Becoming Homogenized, & He Can’t Tell New Artists Apart
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Eric Church has always said the right things. Or, he’s said the right things most of the time at least. The question with Church has always been where the marketing ends, and where the real Eric Church begins. Really, where Eric Church is at his best is when he doesn’t say anything, and lets his music and his actions speak for him.
Chris Janson’s “Fix A Drink” Is Hot Garbage
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Now Nashville’s decided to try and make the Geico Caveman a superstar it appears, and it’s only appropriate, because to find anything fetching in this anthem to American devolution, your forehead has to stick out over your eyebrows so far that you don’t need to wear a hat in the rain.
Jayke Orvis & The Broken Band Reunite for One More Show at Westport Roots
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The 4th Annual Westport Roots Festival occurred this Memorial Day weekend in Kansas City’s Westport District, with over 80 bands participating on six separate stages. One of the most anticipated and talked about moments of the festival was the reunification of Jayke Orvis and The Broken Band.
Tumbleweed Festival’s Talent Search Showcases Some Cool Emerging Bands
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The Tumbleweed Festival, which is set to transpire in Sugar Creek, MO, just outside of Kansas City on July 28th and 29th, has just launched the always dicey proposition of an online poll to see what band will fill the festival’s final slot for their 2nd season beside headliners such as Jamey Johnson, Cody Jinks, Whitey Morgan, and Billy Joe Shaver.
Gregg Allman, Legendary Allman Brothers Founding Member, Has Died
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Gregg Allman, a towering pioneer of Southern rock, roots jazz, and country, has died at the age of 69. Along with his brother Duane who died tragically in a motorcycle accident in 1971, they fronted one of the most pioneering bands in American music history, straddling the lines between rock, improvisational jazz, blues, and country.
Album Review – The Brother Brothers’ “Tugboats”
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Based out of Brooklyn, The Brother Brothers is the closest thing you can find to Simon & Garfunkel in this century, yet with a primitive country sound. Incredible singing, some of the sweetest fiddle playing and cello accompaniment I’ve heard, and songs that are amazing in their simplicity, and their ability to put rhyme and reason to complex human emotions.
The Outlaw Country Cruise Announces 3rd Annual Lineup
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The Outlaw Country Cruise has just announced the lineup for their 3rd Annual voyage, and it’s a doozy. As opposed to leaving from Florida this year, the Outlaw Country Cruise’s Norwegian Pearl will set sail from New Orleans on its way to Costa Maya, Mexico and back, leaving on January 22nd, and returning January 28th.
Album Review – Justin Townes Earle’s “Kids in the Street”
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Folks who just hopped on the country insurgency train when they heard about Chris Stapleton or Sturgill Simpson may wonder what the deal is with a guy like Justin Townes Earle. Maybe they recognize the name and draw the connection to his famous father, but is he something special, or just another name in “Americana,” whatever that means?