Album Review – Bleu Edmondson’s “To The End”
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Produced by Wade Bowen, Bleu Edmondson’s new album ‘To The End’ is a stunning, bold, and ambitious work that accomplishes in only six songs what some entire discographies often fail to.
The Case Against Chris Stapleton As Country Music’s Savior
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Not everybody is happy about all this mainstream success and good times being had by Chris Stapleton and his fans. So for the sake of argument, fairness, and equal time, let’s take an honest, devil’s advocate look at Chris Stapleton, and see if some of this criticism is worthy of wearing the luster off of his CMA wins, and astounding commercial success subsequently.
The Band Perry Delays Release of New Album “Heart + Beat” After Sluggish Single
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After the flop of The Band Perry’s debut single “Live Forever” from their new album Heart + Beat, the family trio signed to Republic Nashville has delayed the release of the new album until 2016. ‘Heart +Beat’ was originally scheduled to be released on November 20th, but the band has decided to re-rack, and is touting a new collaboration in the works with a big-named artist as the impetus for the delay.
Go See The Crooks Before They Call It Quits Dammit
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For the past few years, if you truly wanted to get a snoot full of an authentic Texas country experience, you sought out a show from the Austin-based country-fried Outlaw Conjunto band called the Crooks. Originally formed as a two piece in 2007 around the songs of frontman Josh Mazour, over the years it has slowly morphed into one of the coolest live country music experiences you can find.
Loretta Lynn Announces New Album “Full Circle”
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Over the past eight years, Loretta has been working on the new music at Johnny Cash’s famous Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, TN with producers Patsy L. Russell, and John Carter Cash. Russell is Loretta’s daughter, and John Carter is the son of Johnny Cash and June Carter, and the operator/caretaker of the Cash Cabin Studios.
Lo and Behold: Chris Stapleton Is Making an Impact on Mainstream Country Radio
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That was the big question coming off of Stapleton’s big CMA wins: would radio respond? And now that we have the new numbers from Mediabase, the answer is “Yes.” There’s still a long way to go before Chris Stapleton’s success translates fully to the radio format, but he’s off to a running start.
Album Review – Josh Abbott Band’s “Front Row Seat”
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There’s something about being a Texan that makes you regard what happens in Texas as being the most important thing in the world. It’s the center of the universe, so to speak. For Texans at least. So when Josh Abbott felt the need to pronounce his infidelity to the world in February of 2014, the little hamlets that harbor the support network for Texas music were sent reeling.
UPDATED: Jason Aldean Wore Blackface As Part of His 2015 Halloween Costume
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Mainstream country artist Jason Aldean becomes the latest to think it is socially acceptable to paint your face black (or in his case, dark brown) as part of a Halloween costume or comedy skit. In a photo discovered on Instagram, Jason Aldean can be seen hanging out with his wife Brittany Kerr and other friends on Halloween, clearly wearing color-altering makeup on his face.
UPDATED: After CMA Wins, Chris Stapleton’s “Traveller” Sales Spike 6,400%, Goes #1 All Genre
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There’s a awards show bump, and then there’s Chris Stapleton’s awards show bump. After shocking the country music world by walking away with wins for New Artist of the Year, Album of the Year, and Male Vocalist of the Year at the 49th Annual CMA Awards, sales for his debut release Traveller have positively exploded to unprecedented levels, especially considering the general malaise album sales are in across music.
“Zen Cowboy” & Beloved Songwriter Chuck Pyle Passes Away
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Esteemed country and western songwriter and performer Chuck Pyle has passed away. According to his long-time manager, Pyle died unexpectedly Friday evening (11-6) in Palmer Lake, Colorado, where he lived in a historic cabin. He was 70-years-old. Known as the “Zen Cowboy,” Chuck had just released a new album this year, and had numerous dates booked on his touring schedule when he passed.
Album Review – Eric Church’s “Mr. Misunderstood”
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Saving Country Music has a rich, storied history when it comes to sharing opinions about Eric Church. Forget that just as much of the ink spilled for Church has been praising as it has been critical, when you’re dealing with an artist who enjoys a strong, grassroots fan base, you’re almost never going to win when you have something less than favorable to say.
Jean Shepard Is Angry Over Today’s Country Music “And I Don’t Care Who Knows It, I’ll Tell the World.”
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An Opry member for going on six decades, Shepard is set to celebrate her 60th Anniversary on the stage show November 21st. Ahead of the special night, she sat down with The Tennessean’s Juli Thanki to talk about how she helped open doors for the women of country music. Shepard was also very outspoken about how she feels about the country music of today.
Song Review – Hank Williams Jr. “Are You Ready For The Country”
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Ahead of a comeback album called It’s About Time scheduled for release on January 15th, 2016 through Scott Borchetta’s NASH Icon label, Hank Williams Jr. has issued a rendition of the oft-covered “Are You Ready For The Country,” originally penned by Neil Young, and covered by Waylon Jennings some years later.