We’re used to younger and up-and-coming artists paying tribute to Willie Nelson, or perhaps Willie toasting the legends who came before him like Frank Sinatra and Gershwin.
The good news for independent Texas country artist Sunny Sweeney continues, as once again she will be the recipient of some big opportunities opening for arena audiences as part of Bob Seger’s farewell tour. Five new dates have just been added opening for Seger, along with additional headliner dates.
Texas country singer and songwriter Sunny Sweeney is getting some massive opportunities to win over arena crowds as one of the primary openers on Bob Seger’s big farewell tour. And she’s been doing such a killer job, her run of shows has just been extended. The Saving Country Music Song of the Year winner for […]
So the “Wet Cigarette of Country Music” wants to dip his toes into the sharky waters of country music radio again, huh? Well I guess it couldn’t be any worse than what’s already there. Kid Rock must have led the most idyllic, kick ass adolescence and young adulthood imaginable if you go by the testimony […]
Fans of Flint, Michigan’s rambunctious throwback wild-eyed honky tonker Whitey Morgan and his backing band The 78’s have been waiting half a decade for a new studio album, and their country music prayers are about to be answered, or at least they will be in May when Whitey Morgan releases his latest record ‘Sonic Ranch.’
Prefacing “American Kids”, Kenny Chesney says all of the right things. “There is so much more to being alive than partying, tailgates and bonfires.” Okay, that all sounds good …. And then here comes the song. It still relies heavily on the listing off of artifactual staples daisy chained by buzzwords, while favoring a rhythmic delivery instead of a melodic one.
Will Hoge in so many ways is sitting in the enviable catbird seat of music crossroads right now. As country music continuously favors a more rock than country sound, Will Hoge, without having to make any stretches or augmentations of his sonic palette, finds himself in the sweet spot of the relevancy arch, reaping the rewards of a renewed interest in a style he’s been perfecting in one capacity or another since the mid-90’s.
Will Hoge’s latest release is a song called “Strong,” and like so many of Will’s compositions, it demonstrates heart, depth, soul, and taste. There’s a lot of emotion in this song. It’s weighty. But just like Bob Seger’s “Like A Rock,” and John Mellencamp’s “Our Country,” it has been tapped to become the official song of the Chevy Silverado—destined to be played half a dozen times during every single football game.
Like most of the overused song formulas employed by Music Row songwriters, the laundry list likely started with some good, creative, innovative tunes. But once something works, it is called upon again and again by Music Row until all creativity is spent and it becomes cliche. Such is the evolution (or devolution) of the country checklist song.
I feel the need to iterate to you some observations for last night’s 2011 Grammy Awards, if only to get them off my chest. This is not entirely going to be a bitch fest. Every year they air the Grammy’s, and every year people are left scratching their heads and feeling hopelessness for music, and so it was to be expected that this year would be no different…
I’ve had a working theory for a while that 75% of what you hear on mainstream country radio today can be traced back to a small handfull of songs by Bob Seger and The Black Crowes. Darn near 1/3 of them can be traced back to Seger’s “Night Moves” alone. Well it might be time […]