Album Review – Caleb Klauder & Reeb Willms – “Gold in Your Pocket”
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Unadulterated, and absent of ego, Caleb Klauder and Reed Willms offer an interpretation of country music that is as close to the pure essence of the art form as can be found in the age of smart phones and Artificial Intelligence.
Album Review – Willie Nelson & Merle Haggard’s “Django & Jimmie”
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You look at these two guys, and it is living history right in front of you. But they aren’t living history museum pieces. They are lucid, active participants in the music community, still writing and singing songs, still with the fire inside them to contribute to the genre they helped create, and pay country music forward to yet another generation of loyal and appreciative fans.
Logan Brill Talks New Album “Shuteye”
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There’s been much ado about country artists of the fairer sex over the last couple of weeks. For Logan Brill, whose Carnival Records album Shuteye came out on June 2, that debate is all just noise. Sure, she’ll righteously stand up for women artists and songwriters. But for Brill, music is pursued for the passion of good quality songwriting and the artistry of storytelling—everything else comes secondary.
Jon Hensley’s Funeral Set / Police Report Released
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Family, friends, and fans of artist manager Jon Hensley continue to morn the passing of the 31-year-old who was found dead in his home in Bowling Green, KY on Monday, June 1st. Known for his work with Wanda Jackson, Shooter Jennings, and others, Hensley was a well-known personality in the independent roots music community.
Listen to Uncle Lucius’ “Gulf Coast Gypsies” Ahead of New Album “The Light”
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Austin-based road warriors Uncle Lucius are getting ready to release their fourth album The Light on June 9th through Thirty Tigers, and Saving Country Music has an exclusive track for you to listen to early called “Gulf Coast Gypsies.” Produced by George Reiff at Austin’s Treefort Studios, the new album includes songwriting contributions from all of Uncle Lucius’ four members.
The Best Country Songs of 2015 So Far
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Being willing to see where a song takes you is at the heart of every music lover, and in this spirit I present eleven hand selected songs released in the first half of 2015 that will hopefully take you someplace you want to be, or somewhere you’ve never been before. This is the cream of the crop in my opinion; the gut punchers not for the faint of heart.
On The Jon Hensley Obituary (An Update)
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Jon Hensley, an artist manager known for his work with Shooter Jennings and Wanda Jackson, has died. Recently Hensley was best known as the manager and right hand man of Waylon Jenning’s son Shooter Jennings. Along with managing the second-generation performer and regularly traveling with him on the road, Hensley helped to operate and launch Shooter’s record label BCR Media.
The Best Country Albums of 2015 So Far
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So we’re close enough to the half way pole in 2015 to start thinking about what the best has been so far, and to get ready for what is sure to be a pretty exciting second half of 2015 for album releases. There’s been some big surprises, a few letdowns, but overall 2015 so far has been a pretty varied season for releases.
Song Review – Randy Houser’s “We Went”
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Some bad songs make you angry that such a monstrosity would ever be released under the country banner. Some make you sad for what country music has become. This one? Randy Houser’s entry into this new R&B sexy time Bee Gees-inspired country music disco craze? This thing had me laughing out loud so hard from being so embarrassing and absurd, I had milk shooting out of my nose. And I wasn’t even drinking milk.
So Jonathan Davis From Korn is Working on Some Country Project
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Sorry syntax Nazis, I couldn’t figure out how to turn my R’s backwards, but I am definitely talking about the 90’s era “nu metal” rap rock noise band Korn, and principally their frontman, vocalist, and bagpipe player Jonathan Davis who is apparently working on a country “project” if you are to believe the brief Instagram post a few days ago.
Annual Kenny Chesney Concert Headache in Pittsburgh Shows Some Improvement
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For the last two years, the annual Kenny Chesney concert at Pittsburgh’s Heinz Field on the city’s North Shore has resulted in awe-inspiring images of the trash accumulated by tailgaters arriving early in the morning and drinking to excess before the concert even begins, and jaw-dropping tallies for the amount of arrests, citations, and paramedic activity necessary by city police and EMS personnel.
Album Review – Jamie Lin Wilson’s “Holidays & Wedding Rings”
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A hiatus in The Trishas project presented a window for Jamie to spread her wings, and that’s what she does in Holidays & Wedding Rings. Far from a songwriter who has spent her best material on past projects, or is too burdened with home and family to find time for the guitar and notepad, Wilson taps into the keenest observations and inspirations of her career.
Zac Brown on Jason Isbell: “He’s Badass. I Want His Fan Base to Grow.”
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Zac Brown covered Isbell’s “Dress Blues” on his recent release Jekyll + Hyde. Though it was fairly common back on the 70’s through the 90’s to have bigger artists cover songs from alt-country voices such as Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark, and Lucinda Williams, the “Dress Blues” cover is one of the first examples of the newer generation of Americana artists garnering wider exposure through the vehicle of bigger stars.