The Best Country and Roots Festivals in the United States
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Acting as if proximity to you or anyone else is irrelevant, and money is no object, what are some of the best experiences you can have listening to music in America?
Big Smo Show Could Be Hick Hop’s Backdoor to the Mainstream
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On Wednesday night, cable channel A&E debuted the first episode of “Big Smo”, a show about a hick-hop artist who is looking to try and break it big in the music business. This is not something to be taken lightly. Big Smo, the show and the artist, could finally be the backdoor to the mainstream hick-hop has been waiting for.
First Aid Kit’s “Stay Gold” Delivers a Soaring Performance
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Like the moan of the steel guitar or the cut of the banjo tone, there is just something about the precision and flow of sister harmonies that awaken something in the human spirit that is uncanny, and characteristic of the highest reaches of audio diversion. Considering the long and noble lineage of close sister harmonies, marked on its path by such noteworthy names…
Taylor Swift Is Leaving Country. But Will Country Let Her?
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Welp, that’s that. Gauging from the comments made in Rolling Stone’s current country music special edition by the CEO of Big Machine Records aka the Country Music Antichrist Scott Borchetta, we can now put a period at the end of Taylor Swift’s pop country career. Finito. Done. End of story. Taylor Swift’s country run is in the books, and she’s now a pop star exclusively.
Dale Watson to Release the “Truckin’ Sessions Trilogy”
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Dale Watson released his first album of exclusively truckin’-inspired songs in 1998 called The Truckin’ Sessions. The album became a favorite amongst devoted Dale Watson fans over the years, which inspired Dale to release a second installment The Truckin’ Sessions, Vol. 2 in 2009. Now Dale aims to make it a perfect three by releasing yet another 14-song volume of truckin’ songs…
Are Cumulus Media’s NASH Plans Serious, or Just Sizzle?
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If Cumulus Media and its CEO Lew Dickey have their way, in the coming years that big ‘N’ will be one of the most recognized brands in North America, especially if you’re a country music fan. The plans that Lew Dickey has for that big brown ‘N’ are ambitious to say the least, and look to permeate just about every segment of the consumer culture of the United States.
Larry & His Flask Have Van & Gear Stolen – UPDATED
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Bend, Oregon-based roots band Larry & His Flask had their van and trailer with all of their musical gear and many personal possessions stolen in Cayce, South Carolina, just south of Columbia, on Saturday, June 7th after playing a show at the New Brookland Tavern in Columbia. The theft happened at the Riverside Inn at roughly 4 AM in the morning after the band had gone to sleep.
Southern Accents Make a Comeback in Country, But Are They Real?
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Southern twang is back in a big way baby, as bro-country dominates the format, and female performers try and turn up the sass to compete. As opposed to trying to apologize for their Southern roots, today’s country artists can’t shut the hell up about them, regularly reinforcing all things country in laundry list form with elongated drawls. This has seen the rise of the Southern accent once again.
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 …