Robert Earl Keen Assembles MASSIVE Flood Benefit Concert
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The music community is stepping up big time to make sure the folks affected by the flooding in central Texas and the Hill Country are made whole, and those who lost loved ones are enveloped by the rest of community.
Album Review – Lucky Tubb’s “Del Gaucho”
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So many other artists and bands, to take this same selection of covers and originals and record them, it would just come across as cheesball retro country with it’s anachronistic language and outmoded style. But Lucky Tubb has a swagger that makes him immune to such concerns. To him, this isn’t playing country like it used to be done, this is playing country like it is supposed to be done.
Jason Aldean Forgets CMA’s Are Rigged After Nominations
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The nominations for the 45th Annual CMA Awards were announced this week, with one of the big winners being Jason Aldean. If the voting falls in line with sales numbers, there’s a very good chance Aldean could virtually sweep the awards show. But Jason Aldean seems quick to forget that less then a year ago, just before the 2010 CMA’s, he was panning the CMA’s and their nomination process, calling it rigged.
Recap – Muddy Roots Festival 2011
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The idea of sitting down in front of a keyboard to try and describe an experience as epic as this last weekend’s Muddy Roots Festival seems like the essence of fools errand. However I feel inclined to attempt to tackle this impossible task and hopefully somehow attempt to chronicle the magic that went down at the June Bug ranch, just north of Cookeville, TN on Labor Day weekend, 2011 for future reference.
Album Review – Hank3’s “Guttertown”
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The first record in the 4 record salvo from Hank3 Ghost to a Ghost felt very much like business as usual in the post-Straight to Hell era. But Guttertown is where Hank3 gets it right by doing the same thing he did in the early and mid oughts, following his heart, defying any expectations for sound and genre, and letting his creative passion flow. Simply put, this is the best album Hank3’s put out since his 2006 opus
Album Review – Hank3’s Ghost To A Ghost
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Some, including myself, had opined that Hank3 was possibly squirreling back songs during the late Curb era, not wanting to give his arch nemesis his best material. Instead it feels like we got what was left on the cutting house floor, and a few songs that reek of self-parody. Folks hoping for a return to the golden era of Hank3’s country music creativity will have to keep waiting.
Album Review – Olds Sleeper’s ‘I Will Follow You to Jail’
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Unless you frequent a few small music circles in the underground world, you may have never heard of the artist Olds Sleeper, but that doesn’t diminish the argument one can make for him being one of the best songwriters of our generation. Of course, saying anyone is the “best” of anything is always disputable, but numbers are not, and by the numbers, Olds is indisputably one of the most prolific songwriters out there.
Hank3 Talks New Albums, Fatherhood, Shooter, XXX
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In about a week, Hank Williams III will be releasing an unprecedented 4 albums via his own label, and then heading out on tour. Ahead of this, I talked with the head hellbilly himself about the new albums, the legacy of fatherhood in the Hank Williams lineage, his role as a founding father of the country music underground, Shooter Jennings and his XXX movement, and how he feels about the unfinished songs of Hank Williams.
Shooter Jennings Releases New Video for “Outlaw You”
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On August 17th, Shooter Jennings fired a shot across the bow of Music Row and the “new Outlaw” country movement by releasing the song “Outlaw You” on CMT. Now with the help of JuddFilms, Shooter has released a more fleshed out, viral-style video for the song. It was released today, once again with the help of CMT.
Album Review – McDougall – Our New Histories
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The One Man Band’s of the world are the soldiers on the front lines of the cultural war. With such sonic limitations, there is no opportunity for subtly. Instead their charge is to rattle and shake awake the sleeping potential in all of us, to right the skewed priorities that the indoctrination of modern society has gilded us with, to release us from the want of the wealth and shiny things that weigh down the human spirit …
Weird Al & Friends Finish Unfinished Johnny Cash Songs
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On the heels of the news of the release of the Lost Notebook of Hank Williams project, a new project has just been announced, taking the same concept to some unfinished transcripts from the late Johnny Cash, slated to be called Johnny Cash’s Forgotten Files. Before the album is even released it is stirring up some controversy, because of who has been chosen to head the project: none other than “Weird” Al Yankovic.
Is Willie Nelson Becoming a Pot Punchline?
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Late last week, Willie Nelson released a new song “Roll Me Up And Smoke Me When I Die”. It’s a good, catchy song, just like his recent collaboration with Snoop Dogg called “Superman”, that starts out, “Too many pain pills, too much pot. Trying to be something that I’m not.” And we can’t forget (though many of us have tried) the Toby Keith joke song “I’ll Never Smoke Weed With Willie Again.”
Album Review – Nick 13
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With Nick 13’s first self-titled release, the long-time frontman and principal member of psychobilly band Tiger Army hasn’t just stuck his foot in the door of country music, he’s kicked the door down. This is a good one folks! The California native’s brand of country is hard, with a lot of Western influences mixed in to the instrumentation and lyrics, contrasted with his soft and delicate, but deliberate voice.