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.
Yelawolf on Mixing Hip-Hop with Mainstream Country: “It’s Bad Man.”
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His first album in nearly four years, the Nashville resident is looking to make a statement with Love Story, and just like Saving Country Music hypothesized in the review of the album, Yelawolf wants to do battle with the terrible rap-infused country that has made it to the very top levels of the mainstream. Or at least offer a better alternative.
Them Duqaines Help Keep Austin’s Honky Tonk Spirit Alive with “Star Spangled Rodeo”
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Traditional Texas country with a little bit of a Bakersfield spark is what Them Duqaines are all about. Rich with excellent guitar work, great singing, and those little elements of spice that make Texas country unique like accordion, backing chorus singers, and even saxophone, Them Duqaines capture an authentic country spirit that makes you go, “Yes, this is what I’ve been looking for!”
Legendary Texas Fiddle Player Johnny Gimble Has Passed Away
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Texas Playboy, Million Dollar Band member, and legendary country and Western Swing fiddle player Johnny Gimble has passed away. Known best as one of the primary fiddle players in Bob Wills’ Western Swing band the Texas Playboys, Gimble spent his life charming audiences and being revered as one of the Godfathers of Texas fiddle music. “My hero passed away today. Godspeed Johnny Gimble. We love you,” said current Western Swing fiddle maestro Jason Roberts
Album Review – Mumford & Sons’ “Wilder Mind”
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The truth is Mumford & Sons were in an impossible situation. And it wasn’t completely their fault. As the poster boys for the over-saturation of string bands in the early part of this decade, it was their destiny to have their ox gored by the popular consciousness. As soon as the humor in these bands with their little mandolins and banjos, suspenders and paperboy hats reached apex proportions in the zeitgeist, it was over.
Listen to The Trishas’ Jamie Lin Wilson’s “Here Tonight” Ahead of New Album
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What makes the queen bees of the Texas country power quartet The Trishas so special is that if you separate the four ladies out individually, they all still have enough magnanimous sway to amass an impressive listening audience by themselves, and songwriter Jamie Lin Wilson is a perfect example of that. Remaining restless and hungry through a hiatus in The Trishas…
Song / Video Review – Earl Dibbles Jr.’s “City Boy Stuck”
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One of the funniest moments of the “Country Boy Song” video was when Earl Dibbles comes up on a couple of pastel-wearing “city boys” stuck on the side of the road in an imported compact sedan. It was so funny the first time and was mentioned in the lyrics of “Country Boy Song,” why not elaborate on it? That’s what Earl Dibbles Jr. does on “City Boy Stuck.”
Album Review – Mandolin Orange’s “Such Jubilee”
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As a two-piece duo that isn’t prone to veering too much off their path or putting any acrobatics into their music to gain attention, there will always be a certain capacity to the crowd it will draw. But Such Jubilee adds to the sweet little legacy of music that doesn’t just set heads to bobbing and limbs twitching, but fills the spirit with a light that glows long after the music ceases.
Bret Michaels of Poison Pretty Much Just Released the Worst Country Song Ever
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Well look what the cat dragged in, it’s Bret Michaels from Poison with his Maybelline eyes giving a new definition to the term “coyote ugly” with his caustic and aggressively-unoriginal song “Girls On Bars.” Congratulations country music, your hair metal phase has just graduated from figurative to literal.
How Independent Ownership of Music Is Slowly Being Acquiesced to Larger Corporations
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Last week, lost among the shuffle of a slew of bad news stories on the country music front was the news that mega concert promoter Live Nation had purchased a 51% controlling stake in the largest independent music festival in the country—Manchester, Tennessee’s Bonnaroo. The specifics of the deal looked very similar to the deal struck in December of 2014 when they purchased Austin’s C3 Presents.
Brantley Gilbert Releases PRO Bro-Country Protest Single “Same Old Song”
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Disregard that discussions about Bro-Country now feel like old hat ever since the trend trailed off except for a few last vestiges of outdated-feeling singles working through the system, Brantley Gilbert has decided he’s fed up with all the fuss about Bro-Country and has released a single saying as much. The song criticizes complaints about Bro-Country by listing off many of the same common tropes of the trend.
Just Shut Up and Get Chris Stapleton’s “Traveller” Already
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It’s a national embarrassment that an artist, singer, and songwriter like Chris Stapleton is just now getting his feet onto the ground floor of stardom while the morons he’s penning super hits for are out there starring in their own prime time televised specials. Forget the reams and reams of songwriting credits Stapleton’s accrued for a second; this dude can sing the pants off of anyone else.
Why Yelawolf’s “Love Story” Is Important to Country Music
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Yelawolf has just released one of the biggest albums in American music at the moment. Love Story came in at #3 on the Billboard Top 200 last week, and where Radioactive flopped, Love Story has bounced. Love Story has some serious ties to country music that can’t go overlooked.