The Country Side of The Grateful Dead’s Bob Weir
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Bob Weir was critical to the cross genre appeal and the bridge building aspect of The Grateful Dead. Bob Weir was where many rock fans first discovered and realized that country music was cool.
John Conquest of 3rd Coast Music Has Died
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In an era when music coverage has become nothing but an endless parade of plaudits by corporate-owned entities looking to drive traffic to their websites, John Conquest was a hard-nosed, honest, dogged, pugnacious, and ruthless critic that would tell it like it is, positive or negative, without holding back.
Tami Neilson Turns Personal Loss Into Inspiration for New Album “Don’t Be Afraid”
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Tami Neilson is the greatest singer of any genre I have ever witnessed, and if there’s any justice in this crooked world, soon the rest of humanity will at least be given a chance to behold this for themselves. But just like it took Sturgill Simpson many years before his talents were recognized beyond a few dedicated fans and studious bloggers, it may still take a while.
Winners of the 2016 IBMA Bluegrass Awards
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The Earls of Leicester and Flatt Lonesome were the big winners at the 2016 installment of the International Bluegrass Music Association or IBMA Awards held during the World of Bluegrass conference in Raleigh, North Carolina Thursday (9-29) evening.
Brother Osborne Says Artists Use Country to Release Their “$hitty Pop Music.”
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You’ve gotta love it when major label country artists get off their guard and actually say what they want to say. Even many of the artists responsible for the worst atrocities against country music know that many of the songs are garbage. They also happen to know who butters their bread and when to lock lips and say the right things.
“Vinyl” Proves William Michael Morgan Is The Traditionalist The Mainstream Needs
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This is it folks. Without qualifiers, caveats, or commercial dalliances outside of his tightly-knit traditional-leaning comfort zone, William Michael Morgan has released a country record that is quality cover to cover, true country at every turn, and most importantly, one that might actually pique the interest of the masses as its lead single eyes a top spot in the charts.
BREAKING: Country Artist Decides to NOT Make a Christmas Album This Year
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The Nashville country music community is reeling after the news that one of its own is refusing to make a Christmas album this year despite the blatantly obvious and universally-recognized obligation for anyone and everyone with a record deal and a decently-sized audience to record one this season.
Now With #1 Album, Aaron Lewis Continues to Backpedal From Country Comments
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Celebrating the #1 record in country this week with his Big Machine Records debut Sinner responsible for 39,000 copies sold, Aaron Lewis continues to try and walk a difficult line between being a major label country artist, a traditionalist who wants to talk smack on the industry, all while wearing the baggage of being the successful frontman of the rock band Staind.
SCM’s Biggest Takeaways from AmericanaFest 2016
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List making either before or after events has become a dubious enterprise of mainstream outlets just looking to troll the fan bases of independent performers to get these performers to dutifully post the coverage to their social network feeds and drive unique views to the outlets while little if any true discovery for said artists by new fans actually occurs.
That Ariana Grande Singer Says “Hell Yeah” She’d Go Country
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Pop star Ariana Grande is saying “hell yeah” she would do something in the country realm, and her timing couldn’t be better. As pointed out by periodicals as diverse as Saving Country Music and The New York Times, country collaborations with pop stars are all the rage as vapid stars look to gain chart traction for terrible singles.
Song / Video Review – “Forever Country”
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Screw me, but I just don’t have a strong opinion about this thing one way or the other. Sometimes that happens. If you think this song and video is amazing, then awesome. If you think it’s stupid, I can see that perspective too. In the end it’s kind of a wash for me.
The Church Sisters Officially Sign to Big Machine Records
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Fraternal twins The Church Sisters—one of the most promising young acts in the traditional country, bluegrass, and Gospel realms—have officially signed with the Valory Music imprint of Big Machine Records. This is after the duo signed a development deal with Big Machine back in August of 2015.
Jean Shepard: A Staunch Defender of True Country Music (RIP)
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One of the first women in country music to break down the gender barrier, and a six decade member of the Grand Ole Opry, has died. Jean Shepard, famous for recording such iconic songs as “A Satisfied Mind,” “Beautiful Lies,” and her duet with Ferlin Husky on the iconic “A Dear John Letter” passed away Sunday, September 24th. She was 82-years-old.