Sunny Sweeney Gets Ready for a “Rhinestone Requiem”
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Taking time from touring and recording her shows for SiriusXM’s Outlaw channel and Willie’s Roadhouse, Sunny Sweeney is readying the release of her latest album “Rhinestone Requiem.”
Brantley Gilbert Did NOT Donate $10.5 Million to Toys For Tots
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Yes ladies and gentlemen, over the last 24 hours or so, this “Brantley Gilbert Makes $10.5 Million Donation to Toys For Tots” headline has been circulating like a bad venereal disease passed around after the drunken office Christmas party, spreading all across the complicit landscape of country music media without anyone questioning the accuracy or legitimacy of the claim.
The Top News Stories of 2015
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It was a busy year in country music, with lots of controversy, lots of legal issues, and even death surrounding country music artists. It was a tumultuous 2015 to say the least. Here are the top news stories of the year taking into consideration 1) Their importance to country music overall 2) The interest, or accumulated interest in the story if covered in multiple articles, based on traffic registered at Saving Country Music.
Vintage Album Review – “White Mansions” (Various Artists)
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“White Mansions” couldn’t be made today. That’s one of many reasons it’s so remarkable and such a country music treasure. It’s not that the production costs would be too high or the talent couldn’t be assembled. But you couldn’t put present day top-tier music talent on an album that someone might construe as harboring sympathies for the Civil War South without creating an uproar.
Ticket Sales for Dixie Chicks’ U.S. Tour Already Declared “HUGE!”
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On November 16th when the Dixie Chicks announced their first United States tour dates in nearly a decade, and after the 2003 fiasco that ensued after Natalie Maines’ comments about George Bush, the big question was if there would be enough interest to justify the expenditures and promotion of a full blown Dixie Chicks tour. Or, would the political acrimony still be so thick that it would foil tour plans once again.
On Chris Stapleton Playing The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon
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The song Stapleton chose to perform on Fallon was “Sometimes I Cry,” which was a fairly strange selection. The song takes a bit to get off the ground, ends abruptly, and isn’t particularly country whatsoever. But Chris knew his crowd. The Tonight Show demo is full of mainstream humans who need something easy to get into, and that’s what Stapleton gave them.
Rock & Roll Hall of Famers Cheap Trick Sign to Big Machine Records
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Timed to coincide with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame announcement was the Cheap Trick news that they have a new album on the way called Bang Zoom Crazy…Hello. It will be the band’s 17th total album, and their first album in over five years. And it will be released on country music’s fastest-growing major label—Big Machine Records.
Merle Haggard Says He Was “Nearly Dead” in Pneumonia Scare
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Merle called into Willie’s Roadhouse on SiriusXM Thursday (12-17) to let fans know he was doing better, and to thank them for their prayers and support. The 78-year-old first was admitted to the hospital on December 2nd, unable to perform due to the illness. He eventually was forced to cancel the rest of his tour dates throughout December.
Shelli Coe Channels Personal Experience with Famous Father Into Universal Message in New Song
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The holidays are a joyous time for many, and for others it’s the time of year when familial strains are brought most to the forefront. David Allan Coe may be about the last person you would think of as a family man, but the history with his family is a lot more complex than one might imagine, and it’s something he’s addressed intimately in his music over the years to the tune of inspiring some of his best work.
Han Solo is Apparently a Huge Traditional Country Fan
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Who hadn’t thought that when Han Solo was outrunning Imperial starships in the Millennium Falcon—not the local bulk-cruisers mind you, I’m talking about the big Corellian ships now—that he wasn’t booming a little Waylon Jennings, Johnny Cash, and Billy Joe Shaver? Remember, Han was a smuggler, so it’s only fitting he’d find a hankering for music that many a moonshine runner would blare.
Dave Cobb’s Upcoming “The Southern Family” Concept Album Includes Incredible List of Talent
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There’s something much interesting brewing that’s bigger than any one artist at the moment—an expansive concept record dealing with artists’ experiences growing up in the South. The project was first hinted at in April when the new Elektra deal was signed, and since then there’s been murmurings about Cobb’s concept record here and there, but now we’re finally beginning to piece together the details.
EXCLUSIVE: Blake Shelton’s Reason(s) For Not Hosting the ACM’s Revealed
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On Tuesday (12-15) it was officially revealed that Blake Shelton would no longer be co-hosting the ACM Awards with Luke Bryan. The ACM’s are scheduled to occur again next in April of 2016. It’s a position Shelton has held for many years. Blake will be replaced by the pilot of the drunken skies, Dierks Bentley. But the decision has left many wondering why Blake would pull out of such a prominent position.
Chris Stapleton’s “Traveller” Goes Gold, Continues #1 Streak
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Chris Stapleton’s Traveller is now a gold record, or it will be shortly, as soon as the RIAA gets off its duff and officially declares it so. Thanks to a sales bump after being awarded four Grammy nominations, including for Album of the Year, Traveller sold an additional 43,700 copies last week—good enough for #1 in all of country yet again, and putting Stapleton over the 500,000 mark.