What It’s Really Like to Play a Country Music Festival
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Viral star Oliver Anthony unleashed a firestorm recently when he made multiple accusations against performers at country festivals as part of a greater 15-minute video rant addressing some of the ills of the country industry.
“Humble and Kind” Is First Solo-Written Song to Hit #1 in 4 Years
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Written solely by female songwriter Lori McKenna, “Humble and Kind” becomes the first #1 country song written by one person in more than four years. In this era when everything is written by a committee of three or more, and the expressions of female artists are generally stifled, this is quite the feat.
David Allan Coe Narrowly Avoids Jail, Fined $1 Million by IRS
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David Allan Coe will not be going to prison for an obstruction charge levied by the IRS, but he will be on probation for the next three years, and will have to pay fines and back taxes totaling $980,911.86 for his tax delinquency between 2008 – 2013, and before. This was the sentence brought down in Cincinnati on Monday (6-13) in Federal court.
Legendary Highwaymen Producer and “Luckenbach” Songwriter Chips Moman Dies
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One of the most influential, prolific, diverse, and long lasting producers, songwriters, and guitar players in American music has passed away. Chips Moman, the writer of Waylon Jennings’ #1 “Luckenbach, TX,” the producer for Elvis Presley’s hit “Suspicious Minds,” a seminal figure in the formation of the Stax record label, died in a hospice facility in LaGrange, Georgia on Monday, June 13th.
The Golden Ponies Are “Unstabled” In New Record
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Don’t think of the foul-mouthed escapades of Wheeler Walker Jr. (there’s not a cuss word on this record), the parody efforts of Cletus T. Judd, or the protestations of some angry underground country band. The Golden Ponies do offer their own commentary on today’s country, as well as adult humor about drinking and dipping with the ladies.
Why is Pharrell Running Around Nashville in an American Aquarium Hat?
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Superstar pop R&B artist and producer Pharrell Williams spent the better part of last week in Nashville performing with the vocal troupe Little Big Town, and the entire time he’s been repping for an unlikely band: alt-country/Americana outfit American Aquarium.
They Should Have Let That “Nashville” Show Die
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Now ‘Nashville’ has moved to CMT, where it will play second fiddle to a sitcom starring Billy Ray Cyrus as an Elvis impersonator, 16 airings of Smokey and the Bandit per year, and some reality show hosted by wrestling washup Steve Austin. And it only costs the City of Nashville and Tennessee government $11 million dollars in grease money to make it happen.
Album Review – Brandy Clark’s “Big Day in a Small Town”
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After careful consideration of “Big Day in a Small Town,” it feels fair to say that this effort by Brandy Clark and producer Jay Joyce is worthy of being considered right up there with a very select few others as one of the best mainstream country music albums released in the last two or three years, and arguably trumps Clark’s previous effort that was also well-received.
AmericanaFest Announces 2nd Round of 2016 Performers
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The AmericanaFest keeps piling on names for their annual gathering, causing you to seriously question your September plans if they don’t involve trekking to Nashville to take in this years festivities. After announcing the first 68 names in early May, another batch of performers has just been released, swelling the participants to a solid 121.
Wheeler Walker Jr. Crashes The 2016 CMT Awards
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One of the few saving graces for the show beyond a Chris Stapleton performance of “Parachute” and a scant, 1-minute tribute to Merle Haggard via Dierks Bentley, was that foul-mouthed country music comedic country singer Wheeler Walker Jr. crashed the shindig and offered side splitting photos, updates, and commentary throughout the night.
Saving Country Music’s 2016 Anti-CMT Awards LIVE Blog
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Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the 2016 ANTI-CMT Awards LIVE blog. After taking a year off due to an open boycott of CMT, Saving Country Music has returned to offer spirited dissent, snarky commentary, and borderline inappropriate sarcasm amount the CMT Awards festivities, as well as hopefully give credit to the few, if any, bright spots during the presentation.
Mikel Knight Street Team Involved In Yet Another Injury Accident
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In a strange twist to the incident, and illustrative of the environment surrounding Mikel Knight and his street team workers, the street team worker told local police chief Bobby Floyd that he felt fortunate. “The poor guy actually seemed relieved to have lost his job with them from having the accident,” says Chief Floyd.
The Trojan Horse of Country’s Purely Pop Singles Squirreled Away as Album Cuts
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I’m speaking of Thomas Rhett’s “Vacation,” with its diabolically ridiculous baggage of 14 songwriters, and viral video featuring pubescent girls singing about drinking “cold ones.” “Vacation” is nothing more than two previous songs mashed together.