Song Review – Dierks Bentley’s “Cold Beer Can” feat. Stephen Wilson Jr.
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The song deserves credit for the emotional-laden arrangement and the attempt to go deeper than 12 oz. But ultimately “Cold Beer Can” is a formulaic beer track for radio.
Up-And-Comer Eric Church Excited to Play Austin City Limits
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Austin City Limits has slated a scrappy young country music artist to appear during their latest season. Though you may have never heard of him, all that might change after he makes his Austin City Limits debut. His name is Eric Church, and despite only winning the Country Music Association and Academy of Country Music awards for Album of the Year once….
South By Southwest 2014 In Pictures
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Saving Country Music was out and about Austin, TX and its outskirts over the past week or so as part of the annual South By Southwest (SXSW) gathering, pounding the pavement and looking for the next country music artist worthy of your ears that you may never otherwise hear about. In the coming months I look forward to taking some of these discoveries and sharing them with you.
Mono-Genre Watch: Florida Georgia Line to Tour w/ Nelly
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For the first time ever, two high-powered country and rap acts will tour together, as fast-rising country duo Florida Georgia Line will be paired up with hip-hop artist Nelly in an upcoming summer tour of American Ballparks. The cross-genre pairing first happened when a remix of Florida Georgia Line’s smash hit “Cruise” featuring Nelly was released to radio in April of 2013.
Joe Walsh Twists Off on the State of Music Today
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As one of America’s most traditional genres, drum machines, purposely Auto-tuned lyrics, and other such elements were treated with a very negative stigma, and stayed mostly buried on the fringes of the genre in experimental projects. But now as rap and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) have become very influential in popular country.
Why SXSW Will Change, & Must Change After 2014 Fatalities
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After 2 people were killed, and 23 injured in a horrific incident during the annual South By Southwest gathering, it’s easy to overreact, and point fingers, and lay blame. But make no mistake about it, on Thursday morning, SXSW changed forever, as well as it should. even without this big, headline-grabbing accident, is, and has been for over a half decade or more, an absolute, colossal failure of logistics.
Country Music Reality Shows Tanking Left & Right
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Everywhere you turn, people are trying to take advantage of the rising interest in country music and Nashville. It seemed like only a matter of time before reality TV got on the “gone country” kick, and it has recently with a slew of new shows. But unfortunately for country music’s small screen offshoots, all’s not right in TV land.
UPDATED: 3 Dead, 23 Injured As Car Plows Through SXSW Crowd
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Tragic news out of Wednesday night’s South By Southwest festivities, as a car reportedly drove through the throngs of concert goers, killing 2 and injuring 23 according to Austin’s ABC affiliate KVUE, including five critically. The incident happened on Red River St., near 9th and 10th Streets, in the heart of Austin’s downtown entertainment district. Red River, along 6th Street, frame the heart of Austin’s downtown music corridor
New Video for Johnny Cash’s “She Used To Love Me A Lot”
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On Wednesday morning, Legacy Recordings released the official music video for Johnny Cash’s version of the song “She Used To Love Me A Lot” off of the upcoming lost album Out Among The Stars due March 25th. Interestingly though, the version of “She Used To Love Me A Lot” on the music video is a completely different mix compared to the initial version originally released in mid-January.
Blake Shelton Camp Deceiving Public About Sold Out Concerts
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Blake Shelton has some explaining to do about the direction of the current marketing campaign for his upcoming “Ten Times Crazier Tour” staring in June. Soon after tickets are put on sale for some of the tour’s whistle stops, stories are showing up in the press about how the concert is “sold out.” However a simple check of Ticketmaster’s website shows many tickets still available for these shows.
Florida Georgia Line w/ Luke Bryan “This Is How We Roll” (A Rant)
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Like one of those stationary rides in the front of Wal-Mart for toddlers, “This Is How We Roll” makes a lot of noise, has a bunch of flashing lights, bumps up and down a little bit, but in the end, goes absolutely fucking nowhere. The Mighty Morphin Power Rangers soundtrack has more sincerity, depth, and nutritional value than this explosion of diarrhea in country music’s bikini cut man briefs.
Kevin Fowler’s “How Country Are Ya?”
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Let’s face it, Kevin Fowler is kind of a shallow, good-timing dude. Fun at parties, but he’s not going to go all Jason Isbell on your ass and get you crying over an emotionally-charged Cancer song. But there’s nothing inherently wrong with that either, nor do songs like “Hip Hop In A Honky Tonk” or “Pound Sign” necessarily portray his entire body of work fairly. But here he is doing himself no favors.
EDM in Country Is Here with Avicii and Bobby Bones
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EDM, or Electronic Dance Music, is making a big move into country music with one of the world’s biggest EDM stars in Avicii, and he’s doing it with the help of none other than notorious Clear Channel syndicated DJ Bobby Bones, who’s taking credit for helping to spark the trend. Avicii is a Swedish DJ that released his first album True in 2013. His song “Hey Brother” has been a huge international hit.