60 Years Ago: Kris Kristofferson Gets His Start in Music … As a Janitor
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Kris Kristofferson had been named a Rhodes Scholar at Oxford University. He’d also been an officer in the US Army. But he wanted to be a songwriter, so he had to start somewhere.
2015 Nominees for Saving Country Music’s Song of the Year
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Being willing to go where a song takes you is the challenge in the heart of every music lover. Hopefully one of these songs released in 2015 will take you some place you want to be, or somewhere you’ve never been before. These songs were selected on their own merit, not from the strength of the artist or album from where they came.
Finally, an Official Trailer for the Hank Williams “I Saw The Light” Biopic is Released
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The release date for the Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light may have been pushed back from November 27th to March 25th, 2016, but at least we finally have a proper trailer for the once highly-anticipated movie. Most of the high hopes that the film could create a resurgence in interest in the life […]
R&B Here. R&B There. R&B Everywhere (Mono-Genre Watch)
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It’s all R&B. Like, all of it. If it’s American and mainstream, chances are it’s better categorized as R&B than anything else. It doesn’t matter what genre of music you’re talking about. Of course R&B sounds like R&B, but so does hip-hop these days. Modern rock? Yeah, it’s pretty much just R&B. Country music? That may be the most convincing case.
Sturgill Simpson Featured on HBO’s “The Leftovers”
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Many of the creators and producers of these involved and more distinguished television series are fans of these lesser-known artists, and look for opportunities to plant Easter eggs for independent listeners. As non-mainstream music continues to increase in market share, such occurrences are happening more frequently on cable shows and elsewhere.
2015 Nominees for Saving Country Music’s Album of the Year
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2015’s Album of the Year candidates might constitute the most wide open field of contenders since this exercise has been in practice. There’s no clear front runners, anyone could win, and each candidate has pluses and minuses. Like every year, your opinion counts, and may even count more this year with no clear front runner.
Country Music Hall of Fame Ready to Set Attendance Record, Welcome One Millionth Visitor
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If you made your way to the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum in 2015 to bask in all of the country music history and take a stroll in the Hall of Fame rotunda, you’re not alone. There’s been nearly one million of you so far, and counting. And if you haven’t been to the Hall of Fame so far in 2015, now might be a good time to plan to attend.
Album Review(s) – Hellbound Glory’s “The Black Mass / “The Excavators”
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Leroy Virgil has the tragic grandeur that many songwriters only wish they could capture, and some attempt to emulate, but few have the authenticity to truly live down. Virgil has no need to cut an ear off for inspiration. Whatever troubled demons that get stirred up when the most brilliant wordsmiths go searching their innermost depths for inspiration, they are alive and well in the Hellbound Glory frontman.
Luke Bryan’s Thanksgiving Halftime Performance Wasn’t Just Bad . . .
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There you are, taking in Thanksgiving festivities with friends and family, proudly wearing an “I ♥ Country Music” T-shirt (figuratively, at least), and celebrating one of America’s high holidays with a nice football game, and who comes on the television acting as country music’s ambassador to the rest of the world but Luke Bryan, up there ordering all the country girls to “shake it for the crickets and the critters and the squirrels.”
2016 Ameripolitan Awards Announce Performers / Open Voting
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Voting opens for the 2016 Ameripolitan Awards on Thanksgiving, Thursday Nov. 26th., and can happen one of two ways. Founded by Dale Watson three years ago after the “Old Farts & Jackasses” comments of Blake Shelton, the Ameripolitan Awards was Dale’s answer to the concern that so many artists doing their best to keep roots traditions alive were going unrecognized by the rest of the country music industry.
Having a Baby; That’s Where Rachel Brooke Has Been
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2015 was supposed to be a year for new arrivals and big surprises from the ravenesque throwback bluesy country maven Rachel Brooke, and lo and behold, it was. The new arrivals and big surprises just weren’t all of the music variety. In April, Rachel released her long-anticipated second collaboration with Lonesome Wyatt of Those Poor Bastards called “Bad Omen.”
Old Dominion’s “Meat & Candy” (A semi-rant)
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There’s not a single song on Old Dominion’s new album Meat and Candy that shouldn’t have been aborted in the womb. This is the type of material professional songwriters throw together to crack themselves up in writing sessions to lighten the mood. But in an utter breakdown in the system, it somehow found its way completely unabridged onto a record.
Austin Native, Nashville Resident Suzy Oleson Releases Debut Album (Review)
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Born and raised in Austin, refined in Massachusetts, and currently emanating from Nashville, singer / songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Suzy Oleson has released her debut self-titled album which includes 10 country rock tracks that hope to find a favorable audience with your ears.