On Jelly Roll’s Grammy Win for Best Contemporary Country Album
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Only appropriate that as the recently svelte Jelly Roll sauntered up to the stage to deliver his shake shack snake oil sermon, you heard Jelly Roll singing via the walk-up music, “I ain’t nothin’ but a liar.”
Going Inside a Prison to Witness a Concert of Inmate Songwriters
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Sometimes it’s easy to lose sight of the important role music plays in our lives. At other times, it’s patently inescapable. Going behind the walls of a maximum security prison to witness a concert of inmates singing songs they all wrote themselves.
Railbird Fest Throws Fans for a Loop with 2025 Headliners
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Railbird 2025 includes an excellent crop of top-of-the-line independent country and roots artists. But it’s the headliners Railbird has announced that have return patrons chirping
The 2025 Saving Country Music State of the Union Address
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As technology continues to encroach on our everyday lives, the pull of things that are rootsy and real like country music will only become more appealing as a respite and retreat from digital immersion and incursion.
Final Living Member of The Band, Garth Hudson, Has Died
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Those cool frog croaking sounds you hear on the band’s iconic “Up On Cripple Creek”? That was Garth Hudson playing a clavinet through a wah-wah pedal. The mournful sax moans on “Tears of Rage”? That was Garth’s work too.
Amid Polarization and Adversity, Carrie Underwood Crafts a Unifying Moment
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Promising to deliver a unifying moment, Carrie Underwood accomplished that very thing, despite the incredibly polarizing circumstances, and technical difficulties. And she did it through her talent, poise, and grace.
Biggest Takeaways From The 16th Annual 30A Songwriters Fest
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For the people who live along and around 30A—and those willing to travel to it and Airbnb a condo—it’s an incredible opportunity to experience some of the premiere songwriters in the world who travel to attend.
Album Review – Josh Ward’s “Same Ol’ Cowboy, Different Rodeo”
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It’s fiddle. It’s steel guitar. It’s songs about raising hell. It’s sentimental songs about the most important things in life. Everybody’s all behind Zach Top, but Josh’s been doing 90s traditional country since the ’90s.
20 Years Ago: The Great Hank Williams Jr. Jewelry Heist
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It was 20 years ago today—January 19th, 2005—that a 22-year-old man by the name of Ryan Daniel Binkley decided to sneak into the 10,000-square-foot country retreat of Hank Jr’s near Paris, Tennessee.
Sarah Shook & The Disarmers to Officially Disband, Play Final Tour
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Since 2015, Sarah Shook and the Disarmers have been one of the preeminent bands in the underground country punk space, putting out albums that consistently feature River Shook’s incisive songwriting matched with infectious melodies.
Country Music’s Preeminent Duet Partner Melba Montgomery Has Died
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Before there was Conway Twitty and Loretta Lynn, and before there was George Jones and Tammy Wynette, there was George Jones and Melba Montgomery, who helped set the standard for duets in country music.
The 2025 Harley-Davidson Homecoming Fest Just Got Interesting
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Whoever is booking/curating this thing has done their homework, and really knows their stuff. Let’s hope the rest of the lineup comes together with similar results.
Forget Net Neutrality, A “Free and Open” Internet is Already a Myth
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If you’re to believe the worst of the doomsday predictions about the recent striking down of “Net Neutrality” regulations, we’re headed for a completely divided internet. But in truth, we’re already there.