This Is Big: Zach Top to Open for Alan Jackson
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Zach Top is out there reminding the world that the ’90s were the last great era in popular country music, and now he’ll be saddling up with one of the last true torchbearers from the ’90s era., Alan Jackson.
Mono-Genre Watch: Pitbull Riles the World Cup
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When it comes to mixing music forms with no regard for the autonomy or integrity of the respective genres, Latin rapper Pitbull is popular music’s prime culprit. As evidenced in the massive hit “Timber” performed with pop star Ke$ha, his willingness to take the boiled-down shuck of just about every genre and mash them together for maximum Top 40 appeal has no bounds.
Zoe Muth’s “World of Strangers” Should Make Her a Familiar Name
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Take a Pacific Northwest songwriting gem and refine her with the finest of care by some of Austin, TX’s best master craftsmen, and the result is the 3rd and defining studio album from Seattle-based songbird Zoe Muth called World of Strangers. Backed by her touring band The Lost High Rollers on her two previous releases, Zoe ratcheted up the game with the new album….
George Strait’s Final Concert Shatters Attendance Record
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King George Strait played what is expected to be his final show as a big ticket touring musician to a packed audience at Dallas Cowboys’ stadium in Arlington, TX on Saturday night, and the event that saw people travel from all over the world to witness, and drew some of country music’s biggest names in support, shattered previous attendance records for an indoor concert.
Randy Travis Health Update: Emerges with Dolly Parton
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Ever since the health problems started for Randy Travis on July 7th, 2013 when the singer was admitted to the hospital for viral cardiomyopathy, and then suffered a stroke as a complication to his treatment and had to have emergency surgery to alleviate pressure on his brain, fans have been concerned for the welfare of Randy, and real news on his status and progress has been scarce.
Bro-Country Is Just The Symptom. Here Are The Causes
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Yeah, yeah, bro-country sucks. As satisfying as it is to finally see the rest of the American media waking up to a problem that had actually been gripping country music for half a decade before Vulture’s Jody Rosen unilaterally coined the ill-begotten “bro-country” term, it’s only because it has been festering now for so long and rising like spasmic bile up the charts …
Out To Pasture? Not Alan Jackson
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To say that Alan Jackson has had a busy 24 hours doesn’t begin to tell the half of it. The 55-year-old entertainer who recently came back to his roots by releasing a critically-acclaimed bluegrass album started his Wednesday night off at the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville to witness Lee Ann Womack and Kacey Musgraves perform his song “Livin’ On Love”,…
Renowned Guitarist Duane Denison Rejoins Hank3’s Band
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Hank Williams III, a.k.a. Hank3 has just embarked on a 15-date east coast tour after an extended period off the road, and joining him will be one of the most respected guitarists in independent music, and one that harkens back to the formative years of Hank3’s “Damn Band.” … When The Jesus Lizard disbanded in 1999, Denison began to play in Hank3’s touring band.
Saving Country Music’s 2014 Anti-CMT Awards LIVE Blog
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Welcome ladies and gentlemen to the Saving Country Music Official ANTI-CMT Awards LIVE blog sponsored by nobody. CMT and Viacom are by far the biggest perpetrators of cultural erosion in the country music community, and their annual fan-voted awards are a laughable attempt to showcase talent and bestow accolades that in the end are meaningless.
Jake Owen’s “Beachin'” (Review & Semi-Rant)
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Jake Owen, my man. You know I love you for calling out country that’s all about “fuckin’ cups and Bacardi and stuff like that” and giving my man Tony Martinez a big break on your “Days of Gold” tour. But “Beachin'”? Really? What’s going on here folks is now that Kenny Chesney has been put out to pasture by the country music powers that be, somebody has to step up and fill the void.
Ralph Stanley Guitarist James Alan Shelton Passes Away
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Ralph Stanley’s Clinch Mountain Boys lost their long-time lead guitarist and Ralph’s right hand man James Alan Shelton Tuesday night (6-3) due to Cancer. He was 53-years-old. James Alan Shelton played lead guitar for Ralph Stanley for 20 years, first joining the Clinch Mountain Boys in 1994. But Shelton he also did so much more.
Album Review – Miranda Lambert’s “Platinum”
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As sad as it is to turn on the radio and hear what country music has become, it is even more sad to zoom out in your mind to a broader perspective and understand that what we’re hearing in mainstream country now is what will define country music for a generation: laundry list songs perpetrated by pretty boy entertainers, pock marked by rap phrases and EDM elements.
Justin Townes Earle to Release ‘Single Mothers” Sept. 9th
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The wait by both Justin Townes Earle and his fans for new music is finally seeing a light at the end of the tunnel. Announced earlier today, Earle will be releasing a new album in the fall on Vagrant Records. After the resolution of Earle’s five-album Bloodshot contract, he found himself in the midst of an intense battle with the British-based label Communion Records.