New Adds to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist (#165)
19 Comments
If you only ever interact with one thing Saving Country Music does, it should be this playlist. The articles are too long and too opinionated? Don’t have the time? This playlist boils everything down to direct suggestions.
Sober Chris Janson Releases “Power of Positive Drinking” – Makes the Ghost of Lou Reed Weep
64 Comments
It’s nauseating enough when horrifically average people are given extraordinary opportunities. It’s even worse when extraordinarily below average people do things that are horrifically opportunistic. This is what you have with much of today’s popular country music, and specifically with Chris Janson and his stupid new single “Power of Positive Drinkin'”.
Dolly Parton Dispels Stomach Cancer Rumors, Admits Treatment for Kidney Stones
14 Comments
Three weeks ago Dolly Parton checked into the Vanderbilt University Medical Center in Nashville after suffering sever abdominal pain from what was later determined to be kidney stones, but according to an article posted by the Enquirer on Wednesday, October 14th citing an unnamed source, the fear was that Dolly was suffering from stomach Cancer.
Willie Nelson Sidelined by Undisclosed Medical Issue – Cancels Tour Dates
9 Comments
“We have just been informed that Willie Nelson has a medical issue and will be rescheduling the first half of his tour dates,” states Nick Hooker, Senior Marketing Manager for SMG Florence Civic Center. “We know this is last-minute and we sincerely apologize for any inconvenience, but our hearts and best wishes go to Willie Nelson and his family during this time of health concern.”
How Whitey Morgan Is Fulfilling The Promise of Underground Country
34 Comments
Like a slow moving thunder roll, Whitey Morgan continues to tour, night in and night out, delivering crisp, throbbing performances every time that leave crowds embedded with Whitey passion in every town they tackle until the crowds are swelling, and the word is spreading about this bearded guy from Flint who refuses to compromise, who has his heart in the right place, and who puts on amazing shows.
Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington Suffers Major Heart Attack
6 Comments
Gary Rossington, the guitar player and last original member of the iconic Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd still playing in the current lineup, suffered a major heart attack on Thursday, October 8th according to Rossington’s daughter, Mary Elizabeth. Rossington had to undergo surgery, will need further surgery soon, but is currently resting under observation.
Song Review – Tim McGraw’s “Damn Country Music”
55 Comments
Though some may consider Tim McGraw soaring in such high thermals that it’s sacrilege for him to be singing about scraping the bottom and setting out to fulfill your dreams in country music, but that’s exactly what McGraw did on May 10th, 1989 when he boarded a Greyhound bus bound for Nashville—the day after his country music hero Keith Whitley died.
The Cactus Blossoms Sign to Red House Records, Ready New Album “You’re Dreaming”
15 Comments
You’re Dreaming will be blood brothers Jack Torrey and Page Burkum’s third album, complimenting their self-titled debut release from 2011, and Live at the Turb Club from 2013. The new record will include ten original compositions, and will be produced by JD McPherson—an old-school throwback rock and roll-inspired artist himself.
Don Henley’s Playlist: Sturgill Simpson, J. P. Harris, Jamey Johnson, Jason Isbell, Kelsey Waldon…
39 Comments
Henley’s been out there outwardly criticizing the state of country music and the state of music in general, though doing so with a lot more of a thoughtful and informed tone than many others, including tracing the problem back to the disappearance of the agrarian way of life that was once prevalent throughout America, and now finds itself quickly receding.
Album Review – Jason Boland’s “Squelch”
32 Comments
Angry, subversive, pointed, and powerful, the eighth album from one of the few performers left who can call themselves Red Dirt and nobody will cry foul is a lot to digest, and hard to leave behind. Squelch is what Jason Boland and his backing band The Stragglers chose to name this work, which is the same name given to the knob that truckers use to eliminate the static and idle chatter.
Song Review – William Michael Morgan “I Met A Girl”
56 Comments
Quietly, stealthily, some of country music’s major labels are starting to retool with very young, and very country performing talent. Whether they’re hedging their bets, or hoping for a hard country resurgence, Mo Pitney is not just an anomaly anymore, he is one of a number of traditional-leaning performers being groomed for what may be the next big movement in country after the current R&B disco craze invariably crashes.
Three Arrested in Murder at Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival After Committing Another Murder
32 Comments
Three suspects have been arrested in Portland, OR in the murder of 23-year-old Canadian backpacker Audrey Carey who was found dead in San Francisco’s Golden Gate Park during the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass Festival the first weekend of October. In a strange twist, possessions belonging to Audrey Carey were found in the vehicle of another murder victim named Steve Carter.
Dwight Yoakam Working On New FOX Comedy Series “Belles & Whistles”
9 Comments
Details are limited, but Belles & Whistles is said to be a “single camera” comedy with strong musical elements. It will be based in Nashville, with the plot centered around a bored man from Silicon Valley who uproots his family to Nashville to chase his dreams of country music stardom. Alex McAuley from the series Eastbound & Down is said to be on board as a writer and executive producer.