Why Backing Tracks Are Frowned Upon in Country Music
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Country music is unlike most other popular music genres. It’s humans impressing fingers on wood and wire, and singing from the gut and soul in the beautiful imperfection of authentic expression.
Sons of Bill’s Moody “Love and Logic”
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Moving in to fill the space once carved out between country and alternative rock by alt-country pioneers such as Uncle Tupelo and the Old 97’s, three sons of University of Virginia Southern Literature professor Bill Wilson and two other willing accomplices come together to form the Charlottesville-based Sons of Bill under the charge to help revitalize alt-country.
Album Review – Jason Aldean’s “Old Boots, New Dirt”
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Bad mouth Jason Aldean’s previous accomplishments all you want, but heretofore his career has been defined by the defiant spirit of interior America’s lost populous—disenfranchised and forgotten in the age of technology as they unflinchingly continue on with their way of life inherited down from generations. Now what do we get? A simple enumeration of his sexual conquests one after another.
Waylon’s Buddy Holly Motorcycle Headed to Buddy Holly Center
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The crown jewel and center of interest at this weekend’s auction of the Waylon Jennings estate was the 1958 Ariel Cyclone motorcycle once owned by Waylon’s mentor Buddy Holly and given to Waylon on his birthday in 1979. Though early reports had the motorcycle not reaching the auction reserve with a bid of $375,000, SCM has confirmed with Guernsey’s Auctioneers that the bike indeed did sell…
Maddie Hasson to Play Billie Jean in Hank Williams Biopic
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The third important role in the new Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light has been cast. 19-year-old Maddie Hasson from New Bern, North Carolina, who previously played Willa Monday in the Fox TV show The Finder, and currently co-stars in the ABC Family show Twisted has been cast in the role of Billie Jean—Hank’s second wife and an important woman in country music lore.
The Secret Ingredient to Make Outlaw Fest “Shine”
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“Marty Shine” is what many of his friends call him. He’s the owner of the Moonshine Sauce Company who through a series of events over the last year or so has gone from slaving over a hot barbecue pit to playing festival promoter at this weekend’s Outlaw Fest at the Edgehill Farm in Oakland, KY. “Good food makes good friends.”
Folsom Tributes Johnny Cash with Trail, Bridge, & Upcoming Statue
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Over the weekend, Johnny Cash’s daughter Rosanne Cash ventured out to Folsom, CA to cut the ribbon at the new Johnny Cash Trail and Overpass, which includes a pedestrian and bike bridge that replicates the castle-style guard towers of Folsom Prison’s east gate. After the 2.5 mile trail is complete, planners want to create a 2-acre park beside the trail that will include a 50-foot statue of Cash.
Why Live Nation Buying C3 Would Be The Worst Thing Ever
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According to multiple unnamed sources, Live Nation is currently negotiating a deal with C3 to purchase 51% of the company for around $125 million. It’s hard to see how Live Nation getting into the independent music business and a further drying up of competition could be good for independent music consumers.
NASH Icon is Now Beating Bobby Bones in Nashville
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Hold the presses. This whole Nash Icon / country music format split business just got a hell of a lot more serious and interesting. On Monday (10-6), the ratings for radio stations were released for Nashville and other locations, and within those numbers was a bombshell for the country music radio world. In Nashville, the NASH Icon affiliate beat the biggest pop country station.
Review – Cole Swindell’s “Hope You Get Lonely Tonight”
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Here’s to watching what you wish for. For a while we’ve been clamoring for these Bro-Country types to put a little story in their songs instead of simply listing off the stuff they see as they sit on their tailgate with their iPhone notepad pulled up trying to write a song. Unfortunately those results regularly turn out to be worse than the latter.
Sturgill, John Moreland, DM3, Nikki Lane & More on 2015 Stagecoach
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Indio, California’s country version of the massive Coachella Festival bucks the trend of most corporate country music festivals by casting independent artists and legacy acts in their lineup right beside some of the biggest current names in the country music industry as well as major label up-and-comers. This is the environment that cultivates cross-pollination between independent artists and a wider fan base.
Who is The Man Who Saved Historic Studio ‘A’?
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As recently as the middle of last week it looked as if the fate of historic Studio ‘A’ in Nashville’s Music Row district was all but sealed, and its date with a wrecking ball was a forgone conclusion despite preservationist’s best efforts. But in one fell swoop, one man came in and did what thousands of people could not do despite their best efforts: preserve Studio ‘A’.
Results from the Waylon Jennings Arizona Estate Auction
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Waylon fans and collectible enthusiasts from around the country and world made their way to the Musical Instrument Museum in Phoenix, AZ or tuned in online to a 2,000-item estate liquidation from the Arizona homestead of the late Waylon Jennings. The auction was conducted by Guernsey’s of New York who compiled over 500 lots of Waylon’s personal effects.