The Worst New “Country” Songs of 2025
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Now it’s time to give the WORST offerings in “country” music their fair due. And no, we’re not holding back our feelings at all. We’re rearing back and letting ’em have it.
Devil’s Advocate: The Reasons Sam Hunt DOES Belong in Country Music
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Despite years of controversy of whether Sam Hunt belongs in the country music realm, Saving Country Music runs down some of the reasons that Sam Hunt does perhaps belong in country music as opposed to the pop or EDM world.
Why Sunny Sweeney’s “Trophy” Is a Victory
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For most artists, their careers start off by driving around in vans to club shows across the country, and if they’re lucky perhaps they graduate to a bus sometime down the road. Most artists start by making some noise in their home state, and then maybe hope to garner the attention of a national audience. For Sunny Sweeney, the arc has been nearly the opposite.
American Aquarium’s BJ Barham to Hit Every Damn State in Lower 48 on Acoustic Tour
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Nobody’s ever accused American Aquarium or its frontman BJ Barham of not working hard enough to achieve the dream. As one of the hardest touring outfits out there, they’ve earned every dedicated fan they have by sweating it out in clubs across the country, and putting every ounce of energy into the music.
Album Review – Valerie June’s “The Order of Time”
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Valerie June is the kind of cool everybody wants to be. She started out as roots music’s own little special creature with her primitive country Gospel soul songs—an unearthed gem of Americana made that much more cherished because it was a personal discovery way before the general population caught on.
Go Home Garth Brooks, You Don’t Belong At SXSW
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Garth Brooks, take your free tickets to the Auditorium Shores stage and your Frito bags with your damn brand on them, and go back to Oklahoma and roll around naked in your massive, massive piles of money. You don’t belong at South By Southwest.
Where Scott Borchetta and Big Machine Records Went Wrong
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Despite the rumors and speculation, and Saving Country Music once naming him the “Country Music Antichrist,” apparently Scott Borchetta is indeed a mortal after all. We’re still trying to sift out what exactly has happened to the Big Machine Label Group’s Dot Records, which has apparently bit the bullet.
Austin’s Spring Fling Offers a Local Alternative to SXSW
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The Spring Fling is hosted by A. Michael Uhlmann, a native of Switzerland who moved to Austin over 25 years ago to cover Austin music. Held at the authentic local honky tonk called Giddy Ups south of town in an area called Manchanca (pronounced “Manchank” by locals), the Spring Fling tries to embody what Austin music used to be.
New Video Explains Perfectly Why Pretty Much Every Country Hit Sounds The Same
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Wonder why pretty much every mainstream country single sounds ostensibly the same? It’s probably because they all pretty much do. Lill illustrates how nine songs on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs chart all employ the same exact drum beat, and within the same 15 or so beats per minute.
Album Review – AJ Hobbs’ “Too Much Is Never Enough”
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They say you have your life to write your first album, and there is a lifetime’s worth of stories and experiences in the very personal ‘Too Much Is Never Enough.’ AJ isn’t just channel surfing through soap operas looking for inspiration, it’s born from his own foggy recollections of what the hell went wrong in well-written songs.
Old 97’s Share TV Opportunities with Nikki Lane & Caitlin Rose
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Alt-country perennials The Old 97’s have been making the late night rounds to promote the release of their latest record Graveyard Whistling, and have been sharing that opportunity with some worthy east Nashville artists. Tuesday evening, The Old 97’s will be enjoying the company of Caitlin Rose on stage when they make an appearance on Conan O’Brien.
ACM Awards Unceremoniously Release 2017 New Artist Winners
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To show the great reverence that the ACM Awards take with these New Artists distinctions, and to shower incredible appreciation for the musical contributions of these fine performers, the ACM’s, with distinct honor, announced the winners of these awards on a random late Tuesday morning on freaking Twitter.
An Open Letter to New Grand Ole Opry General Manager Sally Williams
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Dear Sally Williams, To begin, let me offer my sincere congratulations to you for ascending to the position of not just the new General Manager of the most esteemed and storied institution in all of country music, but as the General Manager, and Senior Vice President of Ryman Hospitality’s new Programming and Artist Relations Division.