Iron Hills Music Festival Announces Impressive Inaugural Lineup
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You might be surprised to learn that Birmingham, Alabama right in the heart of the country music homeland does not have an annual country music festival. Well it does now.
More Signs Scott Borchetta Is Encroaching on Artist Freedom
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As Scott Borchetta and Big Machine Records continue to win market share and talent from its rival labels on the Music Row campus, his propensity to inject himself more and more into the creative process could become a bigger problem. As Big Machine gets bigger, so could the artistic control dilemma, and the dilemma of maintaining control over the quality and purity of the term “country.”
Pot References No Longer Cutting Edge, They’re Conformist
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2013 very well may go down as the year when referencing marijuana and other drugs in your songs is no longer cool as much as it is conformist—a lyrical hook, a well-recognized buzz word made for marketing an artist or song just as much as anything else. There has ceased to be either the generational gap, or the exclusivity of drug references in music to make them “cool.”
Why Kellie Pickler’s Life Is A Country Song
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To say that Kellie Pickler’s personal life growing up was tumultuous would be a remark that resides somewhere between a gross understatement and a dramatic oversimplification. Kellie Pickler hasn’t seen her mother in over 15 years, since Kellie was roughly 11-years-old. Her father at last report was a fugitive wanted by the State of Florida. And that’s just where the story begins.
Machine Head Frontman Calls Country “The Blinding of America”
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Robb Flynn, vocalist, guitarist, and frontman for the long-running heavy metal band Machine Head is the latest to join the chorus of dissent against the direction of country music. In a journal entry sent to subscribers and posted publicly on Facebook, Flynn decried CMT and modern country music videos as the “Blinding of America.”
Inaugural Inductees to the Outlaw Music Hall of Fame Announced
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The inaugural inductees to the Outlaw Music Hall of Fame set to open in the Spring of 2014 have been unveiled. In an event carried live during a 3-day concert in Altamont, TN, the 17 initial inductees were announced in two different categories: Pioneers/Innovators (Pre-1970), and Highwaymen (1970-1990). Along with the official inductees, the Outlaw Music Hall of Fame also announced Guardian Award winners.
Song / Video Review – Matt Woods “Deadman’s Blues”
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We ask a lot of our independent country and roots artists. We want them to release new music early and often, even though it stings them in the pocketbook to record. We want them to play our stupid town, even though it is way out of their way and the turnout will be light. We want them to perform in small, intimate venues, even though it’s not financially feasible for trying to take care of themselves, or God forbid, raise a family.
Slaid Cleaves Is The Latest to Be Critical of Country
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Austin, TX-based performer Slaid Cleaves is regarded as one of folk/Americana’s premier songwriters, and he’s also regarded amongst his peers as one of music’s most sharpest minds. Cleaves graduated from the prestigious Tufts University, and recently when touring through Chicago in support of his 2013 release Still Fighting The War, Slaid had some critical things to say about mainstream country to the Chicago Sun Times.
Album Stream – Possessed By Paul James “There Will Be Nights…”
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Possessed by Paul James’s music has been described by many as more of a life-changing event than a musical experience. He channels the spirit of music through himself like none other on stage, and leaves crowds staggered. A titan of the deep blues scene, a well-respected songwriter, a musician known equally for his prowess as a singer, fiddler, banjo and guitar player, and a leader of independent roots music…
Song Review – Eric Church’s “The Outsiders”
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Yes, “The Outsiders” is unpredictable. Yes it is innovative. But that’s about where the accolades end for this muddy mess of a tune that offers virtually no direction, is void of narrative, and does not really even build a cohesive groove to hang its hat on. Sure, Church may steer clear of ice cold beer and pickup trucks, but he runs into a wall trying to produce some modern country version of prog rock.
Turnpike Troubadours Get Song Into World Series with Matt Carpenter
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Oklahoma country band the Turnpike Troubadours have lived a pretty charmed life in 2013 so far, and so has St. Louis Cardinals second baseman Matt Carpenter who is heading to the 2013 World Series vs. the Boston Red Sox, and will be taking a little bit of the Turnpike Troubadours with him. Matt Carpenter happens to favor a song called “Long Hot Summer Day” that appears on the band’s 2010 album Diamonds & Gasoline.
Season of Discontent: A Timeline of Country’s Recent Artist Criticism
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Country music in the second half of 2013 is going through some of the most historic changes the format has ever seen. The ever-present erosion of what the term “country” defines has never been greater, and the charge of preserving the roots of country music has never been more dire. As a symptom of all the change and upheaval, big-time artists are speaking out about the direction of country music like never before.
Brandy Clark Reveals The Pain Behind The Smile In “12 Stories”
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The hidden dystopia seething under the smile of sweet suburban life, and the general dysfunction plaguing any and all affairs of the heart is the broken-minded madness that Brandy taps into with this album, following fed up and frustrated fraus who are willing to medicate themselves and match the misdeeds of their men sin for glorious sin.