Album Review – Matt Daniel’s “The Poet”
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Matt Daniel is one of those artists clearly touched (or cursed) by the need to perform country music to unburden his soul, but blessed with immense talent to write and express it.
Security Guard Stabbed at Moonrunners Festival in Chicago
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Friday was the first day of an underground roots gathering called Moonrunners Festival at Reggie’s Music Joint on State Street in Chicago, and the festivities were marred when a security guard working the door at the event was stabbed in the lower left abdomen outside of the club. The incident started when a group of young transients began to mingle near the club.
George Jones Remembered in Dogwood Planting Ceremony
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It was a year ago today that country music legend George Jones passed away due to Hypoxic Respiratory Failure at the age of 81. On Saturday, friends, fans, and family, including George’s widow Nancy, country star Larry Gatlin, and others gathered at the Woodlawn Cemetery in the Berry Hill portion of southern Nashville to honor George and to plant two Dogwood trees in his memory.
Anthony Bourdain Bemoans The Rise of EDM Over Live Music
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On last week’s episode of CNN’s Emmy Award-winning program Parts Unknown hosted by Anthony Bourdain, the well-known chef spouted off about the state of live music and EDM’s involvement when touring Las Vegas. “These days for better or worse, live acts, live performers, are being squeezed out in favor of EDM.”
Nickel Creek Returns with “A Dotted Line”
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maybe it took Nickel Creek’s separation to truly realize the virtues each player possessed, both as a listener, and for the player’s themselves. With lessons learned and life beyond Nickel Creek explored, they can come together once again to create fellowship through music and share it with an audience hungry from the seven year hiatus.
Mono-Genre Watch: Questlove Says Hip-Hop Failed Black People
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“Maybe domination isn’t quite a victory. Maybe everpresence isn’t quite a virtue,” Questlove ponders. “Once hip-hop culture is ubiquitous, it is also invisible. Once it’s everywhere, it is nowhere. What once offered resistance to mainstream culture…is now an integral part of the sullen dominant.”
As Predicted, “Bro-Country” Is Now a Term of Endearment
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Just as I’ve been saying ever since the term “bro-country” was widely adopted by naysayers of the current male-dominated laundry list phenomenon in country music, eventually it would be co-opted by the very “bros” it was meant to call out, and be used as a term of endearment. Well now ladies and gentlemen, we have reached that point, and in a big way.
Kristofferson Coming Down: Landing a Helicopter on Cash’s Lawn
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At the time, Kristofferson was working as a janitor at the offices of Columbia Records where Johnny Cash was signed. Kristofferson had met Cash a number of times, in the studio and backstage at The Grand Ole Opry, but Cash wouldn’t show any attention to young Kristofferson’s songwriting aspirations. Kris would slip Cash demos of his work, or give them to June Carter or Luther Perkins when he had a chance, but according to Cash, he would take them home…
The Secret Sisters Shine Through In “Put Your Needle Down”
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Produced by T Bone Burnett, the new Secret Sisters album called Put Your Needle Down—the sister duo’s first record in nearly four years—was produced by T Bone Burnett. T Bone Burnett produced this sophomore effort, and lending his efforts in a production role was T Bone Burnett. T Bone Burnett, T Bone Burnett, T Bone Burnett.
Country Music Hall of Fame Announces 2014 Inductees
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On Tuesday (4-22) the Country Music Hall of Fame announced their 2014 inductees in a press conference held in the Country Music Hall of Fame rotunda. Kix Brooks hosted the event. The Country Music Hall of Fame inductees are selected through a committee process appointed by the Country Music Association, or CMA. Since 2010, the selection process has been split up into three categories.
Willie’s Daughter Paula Nelson Arrested for Pot on 4/20
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Sunday was 4/20, an unofficial holiday for marijuana smokers all around the world, and unfortunately one such reveler with a father famous for his fondness for pot found herself on the wrong side of the law. Paula Nelson, Willie Nelson’s 44-year-old daughter and front person for the Paula Nelson Band, was arrested on 4/20 when less than two ounces of marijuana was found…
Martina McBride Does What She Wants with “Everlasting”
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With Martina McBride at the crossroads that every big country music superstar knows they must ultimately face at some point in their career, where their radio relevancy is slipping through their fingers and the industry is slowly relegating them to the ranks of legacy acts, Martina does something very curious: she releases an album solely consisting of soul and R&B standards.
Broken Record: Why Record Store Day Is Not Working
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The simple fact is that Record Store Day is failing in many respects, and has been doing so for a number of years. As with so many things in independent music, Record Store Day started with an excellent, virtuous, and brilliant idea that was so good, it sparked an international event transpiring on an annual basis. But like so many of these great ideas, it was quickly co-opted by corporations.