Album Review – Alison Krauss & Union Station’s “Arcadia”
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“Arcadia” might not be the best album to introduce your friends to the power of bluegrass, but it might be the ideal specimen to introduce them to the beauty of it.
BOBBY BONES, LEAVE KACEY MUSGRAVES ALONE! (a rant)
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How in the world did we get to this place in country music where a pop DJ who hasn’t even been in the format but for a year feels like artists have an obligation to not only acknowledge his presence, but pander to his adolescent and self-centered insecurities, and furthermore, that said DJ would use those personal insecurities publicly as fodder for his bullshit syndicated wacky morning radio show?
Song Premier – Bradford Lee Folk’s “Foolish Game of Love”
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In a world of plastic banana music monkeys, Bradford Lee Folk is the real deal. The lineage of bluegrass from legendary bands like Flatt & Scruggs is in good hands with Bradford Lee Folk and the Bluegrass Playboys, and nowhere is that truth more evident than when listening to their song “Foolish Game of Love” off Somewhere Far Away. And you can hear it here first before the rest of the world.
Collin Raye: Country Has Become “Dumbed Down”
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The singer recently released a memoir called A Voice Undefeated, and in the book he speaks candidly about his detest for what is currently happening in country music. “They’ve largely abandoned the reality-based moral message for the common man that made country music a strong cultural force for good,” Raye says…
Vintage Album Review – Kossoy Sisters “Bowling Green”
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Though The Kossoy Sisters were surrounded by the folk revival, much of the inspiration and compositions for their music originated farther south in the Southern Appalachians. Their focus was gospel and primitive country murder ballads. Most importantly, that innocence and purity that the world had scarcely heard since those original Ralph Peer Bristol Sessions was present in their music.
Jackson Taylor & The Sinners “Live At Billy Bob’s Texas”
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Don’t take it that Jackson Taylor & The Sinners are like the sisters of the poor. They’ve had their days in the sun, and it certainly must be a proud achievement for them to be featured a part of the prestigious, critically-acclaimed, world-renown, and long-running album series called Live At Billy Bob’s Texas right beside names like Willie Nelson, David Allan Coe, Billy Joe Shaver.
Move Over Bro-Country, The “Bra-Country” Revolution Has Begun
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In hopes of aligning themselves as the antithesis to the whole “bro-country” phenomenon gripping popular country music with its laundry list, truck and beer, mud-splashed and moonshine-soaked stereotyping, a couple of female artists have decided to adopt the new “bra-country” term to help separate the women from the bros.
Ronnie Dunn’s “Peace, Love & Country Music”
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To do Ronnie Dunn and his new album Peace, Love & Country Music justice, one doesn’t need to write an album review, one needs to do something in between an in-depth psychoanalysis and a diagramming treatise. There’s so much going on here, so many tentacles to the current Ronnie Dunn story, and ones that reach far beyond the music itself, that it’s hard to know where to even start.
Milli Vanlli to Collaborate with Rascal Flatts on New Album
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The 90’s deadlocked R&B pop band Milli Vanilli will be collaborating with country pop trio Rascal Flatts on an upcoming project called “Vanilla Flatts”, with an album tentatively scheduled to be released in the Fall according to representatives of both groups. The idea came about when Gary LeVox reached out to Milli Vanilli’s Fab Morvan to get advice on how to handle the recent lip sync scandal.
Eric Church Taps Dwight, Brandy Clark, Brothers Osborne for Tour
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Eric Church has just announced the details and dates for his upcoming “The Outsiders” World arena tour, and he will be tapping some worthy talent to open for him during dates that will start on September 11th in North America, and run through December. Joining him will be Dwight Yoakam as the primary opener, as well as Brandy Clark, Brothers Osborne, and Halestrom.
Conservative Talk Could Kill Country Radio’s Big Plans
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Though country has been lucrative for the radio business in some respects, and this is the reason media is betting big on country for its future, it may be too little, too late, as debt mounts, credit ratings get slashed, and radio faces increasing competition from new technologies. And then there is the radio industry’s biggest problem: Conservative talk radio.
Johnny Cash Gets Animated in Newly Uncovered Interview
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Amidst the renewed attention for Johnny and his music, the PBS series Blank on Blank has brought the Man in Black back alive in an animated interview. The 6-minute conversation originally recorded in 1996 with British journalist Barney Hoskyns is not just your average Q&A with Cash. Sensing the gravity and character that Johnny exudes in the segment inspired PBS to do something more special.
Rascal Flatts Admits to Lip Syncing at ACM Awards
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Superstar country music group Rascal Flatts has confirmed that they indeed lip synced their performance Sunday night on the 49th Annual Academy of Country Music awards. The Big Machine Records trio lit up twitter when they took the stage, with observers wondering why the performance looked so wonky and wondered if lip syncing was the answer.