Album Review – Riley Green’s “Don’t Mind If I Do”
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Every guy wants to be him. Every lady wants to be under him. He’s Riley Green, who’s built that following through a more organic, grassroots approach as opposed to radio play.
2016 Farm Aid Concert Releases Impressive Lineup
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Willie Nelson, along with Neil Young, John Mellencamp, and Dave Matthews are the board members for the Farm Aid organization first launched in 1985, and all four will be performing at this year’s event being held in Bristow, Virginia at Jiffy Lube Live on September 17th. Along with the four headliners, this year’s Farm Aid features an impressive list of country music talent.
Julian Davis Proves He’s One to Watch with “Make Americana Great Again”
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There are now so many versions of standards from the American country, bluegrass, and old time songbook, it is an art and discipline in itself to find ways to squeeze new life out of old songs, and one so few have mastered. It’s fun for artists to play cover songs, but it’s rare that it results in anything exceptional or original for the audience these days.
Song Review – Brad Paisley’s “Without A Fight” feat. Demi Lovato
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Brad Paisley’s old enough to be Demi Lovato’s father, but let that be no object to them singing a song together about makeup sex. Demi Lovato has no business in country, and we know where this is all headed. Surprisingly though, “Without A Fight” is not as terrible as one would suspect.
NASCAR’s Mike Wallace Brutally Beaten At Rascal Flatts Concert
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NASCAR driver Mike Wallace, the brother of Rusty Wallace and Kenny Wallace, was brutally beaten at a Rascal Flatts concert Friday night (6-17) at Charlotte’s PNC Music Pavilion. The three men also assaulted Mike Wallace’s daughter, Lindsey Wallace Van Wingerden, as she tried to shield her father during the attack.
The Damn Quails Call it Quits After a Hard Fought Run
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If you didn’t know any better, you would say that The Damn Quails were cursed. They couldn’t have found a warmer reception for their debut record Down The Hatch in 2011, and out of nowhere a new, promising band in Texas/Red Dirt music scene was launched. But almost as soon as The Damn Quails started to soar, debilitating problems beset the band.
Bruce Robison Launches New Music Series “The Next Waltz” with Jerry Jeff Walker
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“I knew I wanted to record in this old fashioned way, that that was going to be the way to capture this music,” says Robison. “It’s real simple how we do it in here, which is pre-Beatles, where people used to be on the road, and they’d just take their new song into a real simple recording studio or a radio station, and they would just put the song down.”
Aaron Lewis Signs to Big Machine, Releases Protest Song “That Ain’t Country”
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Aaron Lewis, the frontman for the emo noise band Staind, whose been dabbling in country music for years now, has just signed to Dot records—a division of the Big Machine Label Group—and will be releasing a new record called Sinner on September 16th. And as part of the announcement, Aaron has released a country protest song called “That Ain’t Country.”
Album Review – Jon Pardi’s “California Sunrise”
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If country music is ever to be saved, it’s not going to be by the hands of just one artist. Chris Stapleton can win all the awards he wants, but without a more broad movement represented by multiple artists doing well, and real inroads into country radio, progress remains mostly symbolic. That is where someone like Jon Pardi comes in.
Rory Feek Announces “To Joey, With Love” Film
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To Joey, With Love that is set to air at select theaters on Tuesday, September 20th for one night only. Rory announced the film on the latest installment of his This Life I Live blog, which he uses to regularly keep the world updated on the tragic story of his wife and singing partner Joey Martin Feek.
The Best Country Songs (& Videos) of 2016 So Far
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As was said in reference to the Best Albums of 2016 So Far, it has been fairly slim pickings for the first part of the year for finding music that really touches the heart, and has the fortitude to last beyond the calendar year. But that doesn’t mean there aren’t exceptions, and 2016 already boasts a number of serious, gut-punching songs.
Country Greats Who’ve Passed Away So Far in 2016
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Every year we mark the passing of music legends in country music and beyond, but 2016 has been an especially dark year for the passing of music greats. From Prince and David Bowie in the pop and rock world, to Merle Haggard and Guy Clark in country, to the dozens of others who may have not been as well-known, but still had a great impact on American music.
Album Review – Dierks Bentley’s “Black”
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At the 2016 CMT Awards, when they needed someone to walk out to center stage and give an all-too-brief, but nonetheless meaningful tribute to Merle Haggard, they chose Dierks Bentley for the task. Why? Because of all the attendees present at that made-up awards show, with the exception of maybe Chris Stapleton, nobody else had the street cred.