Album Review – The Deslondes – “Roll It Out”
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They’re Americana anti-stars, working in obscure dialects that sit between the margins of more popular styles, taking up the influences and sounds that have been orphaned by the rest of music and making them feel loved.
Miranda Lambert Punched That Nickelback Dude in the Face
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The rumors of a drunken interlude between Miranda Lambert’s knuckles and the face of Nickelback frontman Chad Kroeger have been lurking out there for a couple of years now, transferring mouth to mouth amongst the unclean masses like an unwelcome oral herpetic strain. Nothing had ever been confirmed though, leaving a few to speculate that the whole incident was mere urban myth.
Album Review – Willie Nelson’s “Band of Brothers”
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Let’s face it. Willie Nelson could take his sweaty, old man-smelling headband off, slingshot it out to center stage, and it would still be more enriching than what most of modern country radio has to offer. Simply the tone of his voice immediately puts the inertia of nearly a century of noble contributions to country music behind whatever he does.
Hank Williams III Criticizes Casting of Grandfather in Biopic
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The grandson of Hank Williams, Hank Williams III, aka Hank3, is not happy with the casting of English actor Tom Hiddleston in the upcoming biopic about his grandfather. Hank3 reached out to TMZ to clarify his statements, but they refused to post anything further. So early Friday morning, Hank3 released a statement about why he feels the casting of Tom Hiddleston was the wrong move.
FCC To Stimulate More Media Consolidation “On Its Own Accord”
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One of the fundamental issues causing the rapid decline in country music has been the massive consolidation in the ownership of country music’s radio stations and other media outlets. As huge companies like Clear Channel & Cumulus lay off local workers to instill nationalized programming, country music becomes homogenized through matching playlists that lock out local and regional flavor.
Review – Zac Brown Band’s “The Grohl Sessions Vol. 1”
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At its heart, The Grohl Sessions is the true answer to the “country music must progress” charge regularly levied by mainstream artists like Luke Bryan, Blake Shelton, and Eric Church, to justify their trespasses of mixing country with other genres.The songs of The Grohl Sessions are marvelously complex, yet still with a heart, still with a pentameter that never stops beating….
NASH Icons Hires Heavy Hitter Jim Weatherson as GM
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On Wednesday it was announced that NASH Icons had made its first hire, and it’s a heavy hitter in the music business. Jim Weatherson, a 35-year veteran of music management has been tapped to be the NASH Icons General Manager; a move that signals a deep commitment from both Cumulus and Big Machine to the endeavor.
The Deal With Independent Music Getting Pulled from YouTube
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Here’s there long and short of the current problem: Just like iTunes, Beats, Amazon, your local school district, and your refrigerator repair company, YouTube has decided it’s getting into the digital streaming music service too. However the problem is YouTube is not really set up like its burgeoning rivals to make the best of the current music streaming paradigm.
Johnny Depp Joins Willie Nelson’s Band in Boston
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Tuesday night at Boston’s Blue Hills Bank Pavilion, country music legend Willie Nelson took the stage with his well-known Family Band behind him, sporting one extra member in tow playing incognito. Famous A-list actor Johnny Depp joined Willie for the Boston set, strapped down with a silver-fronted Danelectro guitar and wearing his signature spectacles.
Saving Country Music’s Best Songs of 2014 So Far
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Compared to albums, making picks of songs is such a tough, arbitrary business. This year seems especially tough, not because the field isn’t strong, but because many of the best moments are coming from unlikely sources, including a cadre of cover songs that despite the spirit of the “Best Songs” approach being about original compositions, seem almost criminal to omit.
Willie Nelson’s “Luck, TX” Town Badly Damaged in Storm
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Willie Nelson’s private town called Luck, TX that sits on the edge of his ranch just west of Austin in the Texas Hill Country was heavily damaged in storms that moved through the area late last week. “Our beautiful Luck wasn’t so Lucky recently,” the Willie Nelson camp said in a statement, “Last week’s tornado force winds ripped several buildings apart…”
The Worst “Country” Songs of 2014 So Far
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The middle point of 2014 finds so called “bro-country” in full throat, with its death grips around the neck of the country music genre and threatening to throttle the very life out of it with no prayer for resuscitation. As you can expect, the assailants are the usual suspects of putrid country music specimens selling out to the lowest common denominator for commercial success.
Details of New American Country Countdown Awards
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When the news broke last week that there would be yet another new country music awards show squeezing its way into the already-crowded TV event space, it stimulated a collective rolling of the eyes from many over-saturated music fans and industry types. Really, how many of these things do we need? Buried in the details however was the insight that the Awards wasn’t just the latest ploy….