Album Review – Joshua Ray Walker’s “Tropicana”
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In ‘Tropicana,’ the cunning use of subgenre dialects and instrumental modes, and the fearlessness he brings to writing silly melodies and singing his guts out to them is a version of genius you just can’t help but appreciate.
Townes Van Zandt to Finally Be Inducted Into Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame
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A long overdue distinction for one of country music’s greatest songwriters will finally come to pass. Announced at a press conference Tuesday morning (8-9) in Nashville, Townes Van Zant will be inducted into the prestigious Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame, along with fellow songwriters Aaron Barker, Beth Nielsen Chapman, and Bob Morrison.
The Country Side of Pickathon 2016 In Words & Pictures
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There are bigger festivals. This is for sure. And there are bigger performers and headliners. But few festivals can boast the ability to not just support worthy music from a wide swath of the American audio palette, but truly launch major careers for artists that go on to have an international impact—artists that music needs.
Unreleased Waylon Jennings “The Lost Nashville Sessions” Coming
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For those who can’t get enough Waylon Jennings, or make a habit of buying anything that involves the Outlaw country music legend, there is a new collection of rare, never-released recordings on the way from Country Rewind Records called “The Lost Nashville Sessions.”
Justin Wells Sees “Dawn in the Distance” in New Solo Album
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Dawn in the Distance is Justin Wells getting it just about right. With stunning insight and honesty, Wells speaks upon the disillusion of dreams, the realization of new ones, the reality of the pitfalls of the rock and roll fantasy, and does so with cutting clarity and poetic facility.
The Flaws of Billboard’s New “Greatest All-Time” Country Charts
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To see folks like Florida Georgia Line crest the Top Songs chart is disturbing enough. But to not see any mention of Hank Williams in the Best Artist list has also solicited groans. So let’s run through some observations on these charts to help understand how best to gauge their usefulness (or not), and explain some of the strange wrinkles they evidence.
Is The Band Perry Really Trying to Say They Never Went Pop?
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Now The Band Perry is lying about things that they don’t even need to lie about. And now their using their complicit friends in country music’s fawning media to rewrite history. And for the life of me, I have no idea why. They’re tilting at windmills instead of letting their music speak for itself.
Vintage Album Review – George Strait’s “Strait From The Heart”
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What is so striking about the album listening back to it after nearly 35 years of perspective is not just the big hits, the #1’s, and the now country standards that it contains. It’s the variety in Strait From The Heart that makes it the perfect study of where country music had been, where it was in the present tense, and where it would be going.
William Michael Morgan to Release Debut Album “Vinyl”
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“I can’t believe it’s already about this time for me,” William Michael Morgan said. “Right now we’re sitting at about 11 songs that’s gonna be on the album. That could change, but it’s all country, true to the EP of course, and I just can’t wait to share this with you guys. We’ve been working so hard to try and find and write to get these songs out to the public.”
Despite Co-Headlining Tour, Hank Jr. Has No Clue Who Chris Stapleton Is
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Hank Williams Jr. and Chris Stapleton are gearing up to embark on an eight-date co-headlining tour through Florida, Texas, and the Midwest starting in Tampa on Friday, August 5th. But according to a recent interview with Hank Jr. ahead of the Tampa gig, he has no idea who Chris Stapleton is, or much of an inclination to find out apparently.
Dwight Yoakam to Release Bluegrass Album “Swimmin’ Pools, Movie Stars”
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Dwight Yoakam’s secret is out. Though he may be most associated with West Coast country, early cowpunk, and the Bakersfield Sound, and he may have spent much of his career rubbing elbows with actors in Hollywood, but he’s originally from Pikeville, Kentucky, and those who listen intently to his sound understand that the bluegrass influences […]
Song Review – Kenny Chesney’s “Setting the World On Fire” feat. Pink
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So wait, Kenny Chesney changed the name of his new record and delayed the release … for this? Don’t bother shaving your legs or changing out of your sweatpants for this one ladies, “Setting the World On Fire” is a non-plussing, generic, lame, cliché, afterthought of a song, not worth the paper it was written on.
Willie Nelson Laid a Wet One on Jason Isbell’s Wife. But Hey, It’s Willie Nelson.
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If anyone could get away with walking right up to a happily married woman, planting one right on her lips right in front of her husband, and all the associated parties would walk away with a humors story to tell instead of an account of a fist fight, it would be Willie Nelson. And that’s exactly what happened a while back.