It Finally Happened. Billy Strings and Luke Black Join Forces On Stage
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On Wednesday evening (9-17) at The Signal in Chattanooga’s Choo Choo complex, the train tracks of Billy Strings and Blake Black finally converged, with Black joining Strings on stage.
Music Journalism Is Dying at the Hands of PR Firms
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Artists, labels, and PR firms being able to speak directly to consumers more than ever through the vehicle of social media arguably doesn’t make music media obsolete, it makes it more necessary than ever to help listeners navigate through a crowded marketplace, and make sure they’re not being misled by an industry trying to deal with their own revenue and contraction issue in the digital age.
Sorry Jeff Lebowski, But Don Henley’s “Cass County” is Top Notch Traditional Country
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Whatever you could want or hope from Don Henley’s “Cass County” as a country music fan, this album delivers it and in ample quantities. I don’t know that any country fan’s expectations can meet the actual enjoyment this music deals out. And this is a traditional country record.
Florida Couple Leaves Kids in Car While Attending Luke Bryan Concert
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There’s been much concern about the behavior of country music fans at mainstream country concerts lately, especially in parking lot rituals leading up to the concerts themselves, but this is is a parking lot incident that goes way beyond piles of trash and disorderly patrons.
Song Review – Michael Ray’s “Real Men Love Jesus”
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The environment in modern country music right now is such that we celebrate anyone with two ‘X’ chromosomes who can crack the Top 20, yet there’s so many of these middle-tier mainstream males crowding the scene that you can barely keep their names straight. You have male performers who’ve received three #1 stamps without releasing their second full-length record…
Sellouts In Suits : The Rise of Country’s Metro-Bro
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Out with the old and in with the new. You thought Bro-Country was bad? Well just wait until you hear what country music has in store for you now. White washing away anything and everything to do with country, here comes a completely new style that unlike Bro-Country, isn’t being segregated to a dedicated segment […]
George Strait Announces New Album “Cold Beer Conversation,” Las Vegas Shows
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We knew George Strait couldn’t keep from stirring for too long. Though he played his final shows as a touring artist in 2014 on his way to racking up astronomical numbers for his farewell junket and finding himself being named Entertainer of the Year by both the CMA and ACM Awards for the effort, you had to know he wouldn’t sit tight for good.
Album Review – Lucero’s “All A Man Should Do”
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Where would the current generation of alt-country and Americana artists be today if it weren’t for Ben Nichols and Memphis-based alt-country band Lucero? Lucero’s journey puts them in that sweet spot where right as many of today’s emerging Americana stars were learning their licks, it was Lucero they were leaning on.
Album Review – Ryan Adams’ “1989”
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I express all of this knowing it’s going to be a minority, unpopular viewpoint. I also express it as someone whose philosophies in music are very much influenced by Ryan Adams’ body of work. If you find Ryan Adams’ ‘1989’ entertaining, then hey, don’t let my corrosive words cloud your judgement. But I can’t share in that joy.
Jason Isbell Announces New Tour Dates, Nears 100,000 in Sales for “Something More Than Free”
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Jason Isbell is on a roll if there ever was one, and he’s not planning to slow down anytime soon, at least not after he takes some well-appointed time off in September to spend with his newborn daughter. After that, it’s back on the road hard and heavy. Meanwhile his July 17th release “Something More Than Free” continues with strong sales.
Another One Bites The Dust: Eric Paslay Sells Out with “High Class”
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“High Class”? Try bottom-feeding on the dreck of moralistic depravity and the absolute evisceration of scruples this song evidences in spades from Eric. The words of this song are slop, purposely dropping essential consonants and vowels to invigorate its appeal to the idiocy of the drooling mass consumer. References to Escalades, VIP lists, DJ’s, and Timberlake….
Liam Payne of One Direction, Cyndi Lauper Making Country Moves
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Scrunch in and make some more room on the back of the country bus, because it looks like a few more folks are getting on, including 80’s star Cyndi Lauper, and One Direction heartthrob Liam Payne. Cyndi Lauper says, “I want to work with Tony Brown down in Nashville and do a country record, finally!”
Album Review – Turnpike Troubadours (Self-Titled)
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That’s the thing about the Turnpike Troubadours: they’ve exuded a patience and steadiness that has put them steadfastly in touch with the underlying spirit of country music. If they wanted to pivot just slightly and go some big rock route, they could blow up huge. But they didn’t and they don’t ,and they still blew up huge. This isn’t old country. This is new country, only the roots are still attached, and the branches fan out wide.