Album Review – Hayden Baker’s “Alive & Well”
It’s time you graduate from “never heard of him” or “sounds familiar” to “he’s my new favorite traditionalist” when it comes to fielding queries about Hayden Baker.
Brad Paisley
2025 Super Bowl, Grammy Awards Lock Out Country Performances
Similar to many recent Super Bowl halftime performances, the Grammy Awards were primarily dominated by lip-synced performances and choreographic dancing without a live instrument to be seen on stage.
Sober Country Artists & Their Stories Set To Song
“They were good until they got sober” is often the dumb offering from social media dunces when some musician goes sober. But contrary to this common misconception, sometimes sobriety brings the best out in an artist.
Album Review – Post Malone’s “F-1 Trillion” (with Song Reviews)
Taken as a whole, F-1 Trillion is much more of a contemporary version of pop country than it is anything else, with committee-written songs, little heart, substance, or soul. But this album is supposed to be fun, and Post Malone succeeds.
Gov’t Won’t Address Pill Epidemic, But Country Music Will
Where it often seems like certain elements of the government are uncaring about the pill epidemic if not outright facilitating it through close ties with Big Pharma, country music is stepping up to address the crisis, and head on.
Post Malone Continues Threats to Make a Country Album
Post Malone continues to flirt with making a country album. And with the collaborations he’s already been a part of, the things he’s said, and the artists he’s touted, it’s hard to not continue to take him seriously, and to think if he does do a country album, it might be pretty good.
Eric Church Fans in Pittsburgh & Philadelphia Just Got Lucky
Sure, if you’ve been working all week and were looking forward to getting your face rocked off this weekend by the kind of raucous show Eric Church brings live, you may be feeling a sense of disappointment at this news. But I’m here to tell you, you’ve lucked out.
Grand Ole Opry Celebrates 95 Years: What To Expect
The Grand Ole Opry is celebrating its 95th Anniversary with a big primetime special on Sunday, February 14th on NBC. Called ‘Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music,’ it comes as the Opry is enjoying arguably one of its biggest resurgences in interest in the institution’s history.
How The Grand Ole Opry Became a Surprising Winner of 2020
The 2020 pandemic has exposed how essential many country music institutions are to society. The Grand Ole Opry beamed its signal into households to the tune of becoming the most successful streaming concern in music during the entirety of 2020.
Iconic Instruments & Big Stars to Benefit Country Hall of Fame
To help in the COVID-19 recovery effort, the Hall of Fame is planning a special live streaming event that will match up many of the iconic instruments in the “Precious Jewels” collection and other displays with many of the best artists and players of today.
Grand Ole Opry to Celebrate 95th Anniversary, Invite Audience Back
When the COVID-19 shutdowns began in mid March, the Grand Ole Opry was one of the only live music institutions that endured, with the first non-audience show transpiring on March 14th with the evening’s regular scheduled slate of performers.
We Need a Carrie Underwood Classic Country Album. And Now.
Look, lobbying for Carrie Underwood among the classic country crowd has always been an uphill battle. But the career of Carrie Underwood is a perfect example of why you can’t paint all pop country with the same broad brush.
Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley Won’t Host CMAs, But Hit the Opry
From 2008 to 2018, Brad Paisley and Carrie Underwood hosting the CMAs together was one of the few bright spots on a presentation that otherwise offered you a steady diet of bad pop country being crammed down your throat. They won’t be hosting the CMAs again, but they are pairing up for the Grand Ole Opry Saturday night.
Jon Pardi, Pam Tillis, Runaway June on Grand Ole Opry
Another quality lineup will grace the Grand Ole Opry stage Saturday night, August 22nd as mainstream traditionalist Jon Pardi, upstart singing trio Runaway June, and Grand Ole Opry member Pam Tillis will help keep the circle unbroken by performing and streaming live from the Opry House in Nashville.
Jan Howard’s Quiet Support of Servicemembers Remembered After Passing
Jan Howard’s death was marked with obituaries enumerating her many accomplishments in country music, including her hits, her collaborations with John Anderson, and her long tenure at the Grand Ole Opry. But when it comes to Jan Howard, it was just as much about the work she did off the stage, and out of the spotlight.
Brad Paisley, Vince Gill, Marty Stuart to Appear on Grand Ole Opry
The world has been shuttered and turned upside down by the Coronavirus. But the Opry will continue on, refusing to break its storied tradition with its 4,916th consecutive Saturday night broadcast. There will be no backup band and no audience obviously. But the Opry will bring out the stars.
Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Mike & Moonpies Dates Postponed
The amount of cancellations tied to the Coronavius outbreak can be dizzying to keep up with, even within the confines of independent country and roots. But a few important cancellations are worthy of note, including two dates on the Sturgill Simpson / Tyler Childers tour, and the Mike & The Moonpies Europe tour.
On Carrie Underwood No Longer Hosting the CMA Awards
Sorry to barge in on all your Holiday revelry, but the news just came down that Carrie Underwood won’t be returning to host the CMA Awards in 2020, which she’s done for the last dozen years. And yeah, it kind of feels like a thing that’s worth remarking on.
Sorry For Screwing You Brad Paisley, Here’s a Random TV Special
Look, the semi controversy over the CMAs choosing to replace Brad Paisley as the long-time host in 2019 with Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire is water under the bridge at this point. But it is kind of amusing that the CMAs and ABC recently announced that Brad Paisley will be getting his own television special later this season.
Brad Paisley Got Screwed: The CMA’s Misguided Hosting Change
Call me sexist, I don’t care. And on paper, a supposed “purist” such as myself (ha!) would much prefer Brad Paisley being swapped out for a couple of country music broads of such legendary status as Dolly Parton and Reba McEntire to host the 2019 CMA Awards. But this was a bad move to pull Brad Paisley from hosting the 2019 CMAs.
Turnpike Troubadours & Kacey Musgraves Earn Rodeo Houston Premiers
The release of the Rodeo Houston main stage lineup is always a highly-anticipated event in Texas and beyond, and this year Oklahoma’s Turnpike Troubadours have earned an opportunity to play on arguably the biggest stage in Texas, and native Texan Kacey Musgraves has been selected to open the rodeo in 2019.
New 50th Anniversary Edition of “Country Music USA” Book Asserts Country Music “Has No Center”
This is all especially concerning since Country Music USA is the basis of the new Ken Burns film on country music, which will reach a much wider audience than this final chapter, and like all Ken Burns films, be referenced by many generations to come as a master work of country music history.
The Best of Mainstream Country Music in 2017
While in the independent realm of country music, 2017 went down as a record year for quality projects, the mainstream was downright abysmal pretty much across the board for both songs and albums. There actually were quite a few pretty good songs, but most struggled to gain traction in the charts.
The CMA Had Every Right to Request Media to Refrain from Politics, Just Not to Demand It
A bevy of headlines from numerous country music media sources incensed about the restrictions being put on media emerged in the aftermath of the CMA asking media to not focus on the Las Vegas tragedy or politics in the CMA red carpet, cascading into the internet fury we so regularly see in the current political climate.