Song Review – Nikki Lane’s “Woodruff City Limit”
20 Comments
It’s often the greatest songs that are not written for an audience, but for the artist themselves to process through their emotions. But the rest of us can listen in, and often use great songs to help us process through grief of our own.
Willie Nelson Rushed to Undisclosed Protective Location After Rash of Celebrity Music Deaths
63 Comments
After the deaths of David Bowie, Glenn Frey of the Eagles, Keith Emerson, producer George Martin, close Willie Nelson friend and country music icon Merle Haggard earlier in April, and now iconic music legend Prince, all precautions are being taken to make sure Willie Nelson stays alive no matter what the costs or resources necessary. This is the reassuring news coming from the United States government.
Luke Bell Signs with Thirty Tigers, to Release Self-Titled Album
22 Comments
In 2014 when Saving Country Music received an unsolicited submission from an relatively unknown artist named Luke Bell, it felt like striking gold. It’s so rare, and so welcome and fulfilling when an artist that has been flying so criminally far under the radar shows up and it’s so immediately obvious their music is destined for bigger things.
Wheeler Walker Jr: Traditional Country’s New Unlikely (& Uncouth) Champion
59 Comments
And then here comes this foul-mouthed comedy country artist named Wheeler Walker Jr., and all of a sudden we have a new man taking the point at trashing pop country. None of Wheeler Walker Jr.’s songs are “country protest” songs like we hear dozens and dozens of other traditional country artists perform. It’s the attitude he’s taking that’s slowly making him into a pretty serious gadfly for pop country and its suitors.
UPDATED: Sturgill Simpson’s “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” Battling for #1 Album All Genre
73 Comments
Sturgill Simpson is poised to have the #1 album in all of music next week with his new release A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, and Chris Stapleton’s Traveller could come in right behind him at #2. Nipping at their heels is the newest album from Santana released by Thirty Tigers called Santana IV, and Rihanna’s latest record Anti, supported by strong streaming numbers for the week.
When Your Favorite Country Artists Star in Truck Commercials
45 Comments
Corporate sponsorship is the grease for the wheels that makes country music turn. What is new about corporate truck sponsors in country over the last couple of years is how deep they have embedded into the country music culture, to the point where now smaller, independent artists can be seen out there participating in helping to promote full sized trucks.
Chase Rice’s New Lead Single “Whisper” Takes a Flop. Big Time.
69 Comments
The lead single to Chase Rice’s new record is done, finished, finito, dead, and game over according to radio insiders. And the results do not paint a very pretty picture at all for the performer. After a big promotional push by Rice’s label Columbia Nashville, all that his song “Whisper” could muster on the radio charts was a whimper before limping off into the night virtually unnoticed.
How Curb Records Killed Merle Haggard’s Commercial Career
61 Comments
Today most well-informed country fans know what a death sentence a Curb Records contract can be for an artist, at least for most of them. But in 1990 when Merle Haggard signed with the label, Curb was seen as one of the most trustworthy labels in town. They didn’t have to answer to higher ups in New York and Los Angeles, and could pass that freedom on to their artists.
“The Voice” Contestant Adam Wakefield Could Be Our First Chris Stapleton Clone
73 Comments
With the recent overwhelming success of Chris Stapleton, it was only a matter of time before we began to see clones and copycatters crop up among the hungry masses seeking stardom. You didn’t have to squint to see the Stapleton influence in the long-haired and bearded Adam Wakefield when he chose the exact same rendition and style of Chris Stapleton’s take on “Tennessee Whiskey” for his audition on NBC’s The Voice.
Album Review – “Charismo” by The Hackensaw Boys
10 Comments
Before string bands were a “thing” in popular culture, there was the Hackensaw Boys. Before The Avett Brothers were selling out arenas, before Mumford & Sons were becoming the biggest band in music in a given year, before everybody and their brother was growing a beard and wearing suspenders and playing in jug bands, the Hackensaw Boys were mixing bluegrass and old time music with a punk attitude.
Chances Are You Won’t Even Listen to Those Vinyl Records
32 Comments
A recent study by ICM Unlimited says that many of the people who purchase vinyl records actually have no intention of ever listening to them. Some of these consumers never use their turntables, and some don’t even have turntables at all. It’s more about simply owning the physical product, supporting their favorite artists, or perhaps even an element of fashion to own vinyl that’s driving the market.
Zac Brown Caught up in Hotel Drug Bust / Police Accused of Cover Up
59 Comments
Zac Brown is caught up in a drug scandal after numerous individuals were arrested at the Four Seasons hotel in Palm Beach, FL on Friday, April 8th. Just what Zac Brown’s involvement was in the situation is a matter of dispute between the Palm Beach police department, and celebrity news organization TMZ, which alleges Zac was given preferential treatment by the police.
Album Review – Sturgill Simpson’s “A Sailor’s Guide To Earth”
225 Comments
The idea that country music is somehow a limited musical format is an illusion, and an excuse. Instrumentation is just the clothing; it’s what you say, and how you say it that counts. The only true restrictions a country music artist or any musician faces are those they put on themselves.