Closing of Coupland Dancehall Speaks to Deeper Concerns in Music
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Along with Luckenbach, TX and Gruene Hall, The Coupland Dancehall in Coupland, TX about 25 miles east of Austin is one of the legendary spots where so much Texas music history has been made.
Destroying The Dixie Chicks – Ten Years After
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The comments at the concert beginning a Dixie Chicks world tour sparked off possibly the biggest black balling in the history of American music. Spoken 10 days before the beginning of the Iraq War, the backlash took the Dixie Chicks from the biggest concert draw in country music to relative obscurity in country music in a matter of weeks.
Album Review – Ashley Monroe’s “Like A Rose”
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Like A Rose is a short and sweet, classic country album that encapsulates Ashley Monroe’s skills as a formidable traditional country songwriter with a sweet voice embellished with sincere pain. The approach to Like A Rose is traditional, but light in the way the rhythm is laid back and some of the textures are ambient, making it in some respects a cross between country and Americana, broadening the appeal of the record.
Caitlin Rose Comes In Full Bloom on “The Stand-In”
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Ladies and gentlemen, Caitlin Rose has arrived. The Stand-In is frighteningly good. It’s an enterprise in the evocation of rich human emotions, interwoven with delicious hooks and intelligent riffs, stirring vocal performances delivering meaningful, elevated lyricism, and a towering production performance that may go down in the history books. Just simply… Wow.
Michael Jackson Montgomery Announces “The Bleeding Cowboy”
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The pop country megastar that never was, but still may be someday named Michael Jackson Montgomery is finally releasing an album called The Bleeding Cowboy on April 9th. He has also just released the second single from The Bleeding Cowboy called “I Support The Troops More Than You.” Michael Jackson Montgomery spoke to Saving Country Music in this exclusive interview.
Rock & Roll Review – JD McPherson Live at Antone’s
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It’s not that JD McPherson does anything different than many other artists have done before him. It’s just that he does it better. Good music will always be relevant, and JD McPherson is living proof of this. A strict revivalist of the 1950’s rock & roll blues, his music has branched out and burrowed into the consciousness of many folks not regularly susceptible to the pull of a straight-laced throwback rock & roll show.
Shotgun Willie, & Guns As Part of the American Experience
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Willie’s life has run the full gamut of the American experience. That’s why we love him and give him a pass even when we may not agree with some of the things he says or does. Or at least most of us do. Those fans jump to conclusions that Willie is some limp-wristed softy that has no respect for the 2nd Amendment, maybe they should look back at a couple of incidents in his past.
Florida-Georgia Line’s ‘Get Your Shine On’ (Pictorial Rant)
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In direct violation of every single rule of country music and the State Department’s South American travel warning, Florida-Georgia line flies down to fake Mexico to participate in a music video that becomes one of the most “WHAT THE HELL?!?!” moments in country music history. This music video is only a couple of quaaludes away from a tasteless Girls Gone Wild installment.
Two New Albums Coming From Hank Williams III
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Hank Williams III has been on extended touring hiatus, one of the longest of his career, as his drummer Shawn “McNasty” Williams had surgery to repair a rotator cuff, reattach his bicep tendon, and remove bone spurs. But the grandson of Hank Williams has apparently been using the time well, writing and recording a big chunk of new material.
Album Review – Nellie Wilson’s “Not This Time”
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It’s not that the impressive voice, the use of wit, and solid country instincts were still not evident in Nellie Wilson 1.0, but in no way were you expecting the level of depth, composition, artistry, and just downright immediate and long-lasting appeal for the songs she slays the audience with in Not This Time. Nellie Wilson shocks the world, and puts out one of the best, and most intelligent country music works in 2013 so far.
Folk Review – Samantha Crain’s “Kid Face”
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Samantha Crain emerges from Shawnee, OK with her 3rd full length offering and 5th release overall called Kid Face–a delightfully sparse project, but deliberative and in-depth in its forays into the mind’s inner dimensions and ulterior tendencies. Kid Face is despondent by nature, but prone to tangents of frolicking melodies that pull you into the project to later get lost in its complexities.
Kacey Musgraves & ‘Follow Your Arrow’ Could Revolutionize Country
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Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. But I’d be lying if I said I’m not becoming very engrossed in the idea of Kacey Musgraves getting big, and very big, and doing it with fresh, new, exciting, substantive material that could shake up the current stagnant climate of country radio and the mainstream in general. All the dominoes seem to be aligned for Kacey
Song Review – Shooter Jennings’ “Wild and Lonesome”
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“Wild and Lonesome” from Shooter’s upcoming album The Other Life is a sparse, fiercely classic country tune with great country instincts and arrangement. It’s not great because of its classic country flavor, it’s great because Shooter had the wisdom to get out of the song’s way an allow it to pick its own path and tell its own story, and that happened to lead it down the classic country road.