50 Years Ago: Willie Nelson Scores First #1 Song … At Age 42
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By the time Willie minted his first #1 in country music, he’d been hired and fired from the Grand Ole Opry. He’d been married and divorced. He’d retired from music, put on 40 pounds, and become a pig farmer.
Sturgill Simpson to Release “High Top Mountain” June 11th
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Eastern Kentucky’s Sturgill Simpson will be releasing his long-awaited debut solo album High Top Mountain on June 11th, via Thirty Tigers. Comprised of 12 tracks, 10 of which were written by Sturgill, the album’s songs “…range from furious honky-tonk to pre-outlaw country rocking to spellbinding bluegrass pickin’ to emotional balladry, making the album a one-stop guide to everything genuine in country music.”
Saving Country Music’s Greatest Albums of All Time
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So here it is ladies and gentlemen, a list of what Saving Country Music considers to be the “Greatest Country Music Albums of All Time.” Please understand numerous factors went into this list, but the most important determining factor was influence. This is taking into consideration the wide panoram of country music, not just classic or traditional country.
Album Review – Son Volt’s “Honky Tonk”
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As one of the original members of Uncle Tupelo, Son Volt frontman Jay Farrar is one of the forebearers of the alt-country sound that now has morphed into the all-encompassing Americana behemoth that here in 2013 is enjoying a meteoric rise in influence. But instead of trying to figure out how to ride that popularity wave, Farrar and Son Volt release an album that is so doggone country, you could almost call it conceptualized.
Lonesome Wyatt’s Gothic Country “Ghost Ballads”
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Lonesome Wyatt is a pioneer of Gothic country with his band Those Poor Bastards, and one of the originators of underground country whose song “Pills I Took” was covered by Hank Williams III on his landmark album Straight to Hell, he is one of the few artists who will never be forgotten regardless of the long-term fortune of the underground country sub-genre.
UPDATED – A Response to Shooter Jennings’ Song “The Gunslinger”
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I want to publicly and vehemently renounce violence, and threats of violence, to anyone, or from anyone, for any reason, and specifically relating to any reason involving music. This includes threats toward Shooter Jennings or his fans, towards pop country personalities and their fans, or for any disagreements or misunderstandings or different interpretations of what music is good, and what music is not good.
Independent Music Awards Announces 12th Annual Nominees (& Winners)
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The Independent Music Awards has announced their 12th Annual nominations, and it includes many great names from the independent country/roots world like Rachel Brooke, The Boomswagglers, Lucky Tubb, The Steel Wheels, Tom VandenAvond, Langhorn Slim, and The Carper Family to name a few. The Awards honor exceptional independent artists traditionally ignored by mainstream media and big box retailers.
UPDATED – David Allan Coe Hospitalized After Auto Accident
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Legendary country Outlaw singer and songwriter David Allan Coe is recovering at the Ocala Regional Medical Center after being broadsided by a semi-truck early Tuesday morning in his 2011 black Chevrolet suburban. Coe’s son, guitar player Tyler Mahan Coe has released a statement to Saving Country Music about the incident.
Review – Kacey Musgraves’ “Same Trailer, Different Park”
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Same Trailer, Different Park is the loss of corporate country’s innocence. It is a total flip of perspective from the fare the mainstream country public is used to. It’s an awakening, an awareness of an alternative set of ideas that dash the mores that keep radio country and its listeners locked in suffocating patterns that don’t allow the soul the space for self-exploration and growth.
Holly Williams Finds Her Voice On “The Highway”
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Before this album, I’d been mostly opinion neutral on Holly Williams. Being the granddaughter of Hank Williams, the daughter of Hank Jr., and the sister of Hank3 appointed her music the respect of more than a cursory look. She was neither here nor there, and with a lack of scene support her career sort of drifted. The Highway, released on her own Georgiana label, changes all of that.
Southern Rock Bands On The Rise
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With the appeal for roots music on the rise throughout the music landscape, it’s no wonder Southern rock is making a resurgence. Where a few years ago Southern rock seemed to be all about nostalgia and/or rehashing the same old tired twangy rock guitar riffs, the sub-genre now finds itself flush with a new crop of talent bringing creativity and a fresh, more progressive approach to the format.
Saving Country Music 2013 SXSW Live Blog
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If you’re not down in Austin yourself participating in the biggest music festival / music conference / music convention in the world known as South by Southwest (SXSW), it can almost seem like social media is working to taunt you for not participating as the event transpires between Tuesday and Saturday. We don’t want to revel in what you’re missing, we want to make it an opportunity to discover new music…
Saving Country Music’s 2013 SXSW Living Itinerary
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Part promotional tool for these showcases and artists, part tips to SXSW goers, part personal itinerary, part letting folks know what I’m clued in about so other folks can let me know what’s cool that I am missing, this is Saving Country Music’s SXSW 2013 living itinerary. SXSW is so expansive and so convoluted, there is no way one person can know everything, or let alone see and hear it…