Zach Bryan vs. John Moreland Just Got Real
119 Comments
You had to know that Zach Bryan signing a $350 million publishing deal was going to have reverberations throughout the industry. Apparently those reverberations reached Tulsa, Oklahoma.
Ty Herndon & Billy Gilman Come Out As Gay Male Country Stars
143 Comments
Country star Ty Herndon—known for his handful of mid 90’s hits such as “What Mattered Most,” “I Want My Goodbye Back,” and “Living In A Moment”—came out as gay on Thursday morning (11-20), making him the first openly gay male country music star in the mainstream in the history of the genre. The announcement was made in a series of stutter steps…
Review – First Aid Kit Covers Simon & Garfunkel’s “America”
8 Comments
As an offering for Record Store Day’s upcoming Black Friday releases, Johanna and Klara Söderberg have covered Simon & Garfunkel’s iconic tune “America,” written by Paul Simon. A master work of the American songbook, the song peerlessly encapsulates the forlorn beauty of youthful restlessness and underlying abject fear that are an indelible part of the American experience.
Billboard’s New Album Chart Rules Will Affect Your Favorite Artists
27 Comments
On December 4th, Billboard will roll out new changes to their Billboard 200 album chart, and the effect will be big on some of your favorite music artists, including legends like Willie Nelson and Dolly Parton, and up-and-comers like Sturgill Simpson and Jason Isbell. The changes will be the first major overhaul to the album chart since 1991.
A Deeper Look at NASH Icon’s Ratings & Impact
18 Comments
NASH Icon once again is #1 in Nashville. But how is NASH Icon faring outside of Nashville? Sure, Music City is an important battleground as the ‘Home of Country Music’ and the home market for iHeartMedia’s rival flagship country station. But for the country format to formally split, it’s going to take much more action across the country in major markets.
NBC’s “The Voice” Wants Jason Isbell to Audition
52 Comments
Jason Isbell is the most critically-lauded artist in the Americana music realm at the moment, walking away from September’s awards with Album of the Year, Song of the Year, and Artist of the Year, but apparently NBC’s talent competition The Voice doesn’t believe he’s well known enough yet that the flotsam and jetsam of the American public wouldn’t potentially gobble him up as an undiscovered gem.
UPDATED: Billy Bragg’s Criticism of Taylor Swift’s Spotify Decision
56 Comments
Yes, Billy Bragg is is the super cool British songwriting icon with a sharp wit and a penchant for social justice that many know and love, and Taylor Swift is the American pop princess with shallow radio singles selling out stadiums and amassing more money than God in a bid for nothing short of world domination. But the shade Billy threw Taylor over her decision to pull her music from Spotify is wild-ass conspiracy theory.
Finally, New Music From Jamey Johnson, But …. {Sleigh Bells}
18 Comments
When you navigate to jameyjohnson.com, it darn near takes the home page 15 seconds to load because the above banner proclaiming new music on the way is so damn big. Jamey’s fans aren’t complaining though. They’ve been waiting so long for new, original music from the songwriter, they’ll take any sign as a good one after a protracted legal battle.
Man Against Machine: Garth Brooks Calls YouTube “The Devil”
66 Comments
On Monday, November 17th when Garth Brooks appeared on Access Hollywood promoting his upcoming tour dates and the release of his new album Man Against Machine, he was pretty loose lipped about his hatred for certain elements of music technology, and how it has taken a lot of the power out of the hands of artists.
Woman ‘Impaled’ at Dierks Bentley Show – Speaks on Puking Incident
28 Comments
A woman was seriously injured at the Dierks Bentley show Sunday Night (11-16) in Utica, New York when a piece of falling metal from the ceiling of the Utica Memorial Auditorium impaled her. Meanwhile Dierks spoke on the puking incident from last week. ” I’m always looking for something like cool about every night. So for that to happen was pretty epic.”
Why Brandy Clark Was The Best Candidate to Integrate Country
49 Comments
When the news began to slowly trickle out that songwriter turned performer Brandy Clark was in fact gay, it didn’t really cause the kind of stir you would assume this type of news might drum up in country music. Part of the reason is because you just sort of found out about it through osmosis. There wasn’t some big news story with a huge headline proclaiming “Brandy Clark Is Gay!”
Kenny Chesney Punks Out Bro-Country in Billboard Cover Story
36 Comments
Once again Kenny Chesney is putting Bro-Country in his crosshairs, and specifically its objectification of women. In a new cover story in the upcoming issue of Billboard, the four-time CMA Entertainer of the Year includes some bellicose language about how country is portraying the gentler sex these days. But is this all marketing, and yet another effort to exploit the growing anti Bro-Country backlash?
Tami Neilson Positively Dazzles with New “Dynamite!” Album
37 Comments
Alright, before we get too deep into this matter, just understand that you’re going to want to be purchasing this album. It’s my job to sit here and gab at you for a while about it and explain why, and I’m flattered that you would entertain this notion and read the proceeding words. But you pretty much just need to get this album and thank me later.