New Taylor Sheridan CBS Series ‘The Road’ to Feature Cool Talent
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There’s a new television/competition series coming this fall to CBS, and it has some really cool, and really uncool folks involved in the production, as well as some exciting names participating in the competition itself.
Ned Ledoux Carries On Father’s Legacy with “Forever A Cowboy”
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Chris LeDoux’s son Ned, who started playing drums in his father’s backing band Western Underground way back in 1998, has stepped up to take the reigns from his father. Though first a bit timid to take center stage in his father’s absence, he now sees it as his duty to introduce a new generation of country fans to his father’s music.
The Ameripolitan Awards Announce 2017 Nominees
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The 4th Annual Ameripolitan Awards will transpire at the Paramount Theatre in Austin TX on February 15th, 2017, and Tuesday morning the organization that looks to shine a spotlight on American music with a heavy roots influence announced the nominees for the 2017 awards. Awards are handed out in four primary categories.
The Prospects of Sturgill Simpson Actually Winning the Grammy’s Album of the Year
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Yeah yeah, it’s awesome that Sturgill Simpson received an Album of the Year nomination from the Grammy Awards for A Sailor’s Guide to Earth and everything, and just the nomination itself feels like an awesome victory overcoming insurmountable odds for an underdog record and artist. But what are the prospects that Sturgill Simpson could actually win this thing?
Album Review – Reckless Kelly’s “Sunset Motel”
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It’s hard to know if you should call Austin, TX’s Reckless Kelly Red Dirt, Southern Rock, Texas country, or something completely different. Part of the problem is they’ve been so damn good for so damn long, everyone wants to claim them in their cadre, and because they had a hand in forming nascent scenes that are now the standard bearers for country’s subgenres.
Saving Country Music’s WORST Songs of 2016
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Everywhere we turn, there are signs that the tide is turning in country music for the better. Chris Stapleton and Sturgill Simpson are turning the tables on the awards shows, a new generation of traditionalists like William Michael Morgan and Margo Price are finding surprising traction. But it’s not all rosy.
Country Talent Coming Together for Randy Travis Tribute Concert
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In the mid 80’s, it was Randy Travis and his neotraditional sound that led country music out of the great abyss of the earlier decade and returned country to its rightful place as a powerful voice for rural people in popular culture. With over 20 million records sold and his recent induction into the Country Music Hall of Fame…
Miranda Lambert Shows Support for Fellow Texas Songwriters on Hard Candy Christmas Tour
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You only have to pay mild attention to Miranda Lambert’s music career to know her support of true American songwriters is far from skin deep. Her latest record The Weight of These Wings has a monster list of contributing songwriters, and she’s been known to get a wild hair and drive for miles to see someone like John Moreland play a dive bar.
Chris Stapleton Is #1 Country Artist in All of 2016 According to Billboard’s Compiled Metrics
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Though Stapleton may fall short of the touring numbers of names like Luke Bryan, or may not have the airplay of Florida Georgia Line, the incredible performance of his debut album ‘Traveller’ has put him in unprecedented territory, while still putting up a decent showing in touring and track sales too.
Live Nation Caves To Massive Public Pressure, Returns Jamboree in the Hills to Past Form
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Chalk it up to a win for the little guy. In a shocking development, Live Nation—the biggest concert promoter in the United States—caved to public pressure after making massive changes to the 41-year-old Jamboree in the Hills event in Ohio, a.k.a. “The Super Bowl of Country Music,” and is re-implementing the original name, logo, traditions, […]
FAR Chart and NotSXSW To Continue On After Passing of John Conquest
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When the fiercely-independent, renegade music journalist and publisher John Conquest passed away on September 30th, it left the fate of numerous important institutions Conquest had both founded and operated up in the air. Conquest was a dogged champion of independent artists, as well as independent music journalism.
Americana Music Association Announces Top 100 Radio Albums of 2016
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The Americana Music Association has announced their year-end Top 100 Albums of the Year based on the records reported to the Americana Airplay Chart during the period of December 1, 2015 through December 5, 2016. For folks looking for albums they may have missed in 2016, this annual list from Americana is always a good place to start.
Oh, So Now Country Music Slighted Beyonce Via Grammy Nominations? (A Rant)
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Every single day we have young black men and women getting shot and dying face down in the streets, getting systematically denied housing, employment, education, and opportunity because of the color of their skin. And it is an atrocity that the attention and vehemence for these very real issues of racism is getting watered down…