Pat Green Loses Brother—Brother’s Family Missing in Kerrville Flood
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The flooding around July 4th in Central Texas and the Hill Country has affected the region’s music community in significant ways, but none bigger than the loss of that Texas country artist Pat Green has suffered directly.
Gogi Grant, The Queen of “The Wayward Wind,” Has Passed Away
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When “The Wayward Wind” took Billboard’s #1 spot, it remained there for eight weeks, which was a record at the time. It went on to sell over a million copies, and Gogi was voted as the most popular female vocalist by Billboard. Grant’s version of the song also returned to the Billboard 100 in 1961. The song was also a hit in the U.K.
No, James Hetfield is NOT Quitting Metallica to Make a Country Record
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Over the last few days, an especially effective fake news story about Metallica’s James Hetfield quitting the heavy metal band to make a country record called “Hetfield Road” has been making the rounds. Saving Country Music headquarters has been bombarded with emails about the article, and according to the stats, it’s been viewed over 223,000 times since being posted on March 8th.
Jack Ingram Signs with Rounder, Will (Finally) Release New Album “Midnight Motel”
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The incredibly long drought for new music from one of the biggest names in Texas country is finally coming to a close. After releasing two records with Big Machine—the last being Big Dreams & High Hopes in 2009—Ingram pulled a disappearing act for the last seven years or so when it came to studio work, but will be returning in a big way this summer, and with a label known for letting artists do what they do best.
You Have Every Right to Be Disappointed If Sturgill Simpson Chose Not to Make a Country Record
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For the second time in four months, a writer for the Dallas Observer has taken a completely ridiculous and incorrect premise, hindered by a perspective on country music that is very much from the outside looking in, and built it into an irresponsible think piece that shreds the truth and frames anyone who would have the audacity to care about country music as a feckless, misguided moron.
Brooklyn Country Cantina at SXSW: House Party Feel with World Class Talent
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For every officially-sanctioned event, there’s two more that squeeze in where they can and try to keep the original spirit of SXSW alive, including the now 8th Annual Brooklyn Country Cantina, which boasts a stacked 2016 lineup including Sam Outlaw, Daniel Romano, Possessed by Paul James, The Quebe Sisters, Mike and the Moonpies, and many more.
Why I’m Ending My Open Boycott of CMT . . . For Now
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No, I’m not going soft, and I’m certainly not endorsing CMT or any of its programs or online properties. I can list dozens of other better alternatives to CMT for your country music and lifestyle needs, and the Viacom-owned entity would probably come near the bottom of the list of recommend media sources. If boiled down to one word, the way to describe CMT would be “filth.”
Move Over Steve Goodman, Jason Isbell Pens “The Saddest Song Ever”
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“In my new song we cover such diverse tragic country topics as unemployment, the troops, reliable trucks gone done breakin’ down, the devil’s brown liquor, and the no-good bankerman knocking on the door with papers,” Isbell says in the fictitious infomercial. “My new 180-minute four chord song also covers new cartoonishly tragic down home scenarios.
Song Review – Blake Shelton’s “Came Here To Forget”
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“Came Here To Forget” is not a terrible song. It’s a decent song that they made into a poor effort by taking a decent premise, loading it up with radio-friendly buzzwords, and stylizing it to the “Hot AC” crowd in the production. In other words, it’s destined to be a super hit on country radio.
Gaming Facebook’s Lax Video Rules to Launch Viral Stars (Facebook, Part 3)
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For a “view” to register on a YouTube video, a user must watch at least 30 seconds. But on Facebook, the video only has to be viewed for 3 seconds. The user doesn’t even have to be paying attention to the video. The sound doesn’t even have to be enabled. And due to Facebook’s auto-play feature, it’s more likely three seconds will rattle off before the user even pays attention to it compared to a YouTube video.
Dolly Parton Announces New “Pure & Simple” Album and Major North American Tour
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Dolly Parton will have a busy 2016 ahead of her, and held a press conference Monday morning to fill folks in on all she has planned. Along with upgrades to her theme park Dollywood, including the first “launched” wooden roller coaster called Lightning Rod, which will be the fastest wooden coaster at 73 mph once it’s completed, Dolly Parton will have a new double album, and will embark on a 60-date tour of North America.
Blake Shelton (Yes, Blake Shelton) Advocates for the Protection and Exclusivity of Country Music
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…Back to the argument Blake Shelton had with Adam Levine on The Voice as America watched on, and they both battled to be picked as the judge for Adam Wakefield, Blake Shelton said some things about country that needed to be heard, and were quite surprising coming from Blake. Usually the banter between judges is quite lighthearted on the show. But in this case, it got fairly heated.
You’re Going To Want To Be On Top of These Sturgill Simpson Tour Dates
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Last week Sturgill Simpson announced the release of his third solo album “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” on April 15th, and as is customary, a slew of new tour dates will accompany the release. Though there is only 15 dates in Texas, the Midwest, Tennessee and Kentucky to start, there’s a good bet more are coming. There’s also a very good bet all of these dates will sell out almost immediately as tickets go for sale