Now that we are well into May, many people are wondering where the announcement for Willie Nelson’s annual 4th of July Picnic is. The country music institution, started in 1972 with the Dripping Springs Reunion (not officially held on the 4th) has been going strong ever since, despite skipping a couple of years here and there.
Saying that Justin Timberlake’s new single isn’t country may seem like an obvious statement, except that many were anticipating that the next move the pop singer and songwriter would make would be to dip his toes into country waters. Hell, after he’s been dropping monstrous hints about the move…
“Holdin’ Her” makes absolutely no compromises to radio or anyone else. It starts on the acoustic guitar in waltz time, then the steel guitar comes in, a little Telecaster and keys, and as the old saying goes, it’s three chords and the truth. No drum loops, no electronic doo dads, no superfluous buzzwords thrown in there to lure in the corporate country radio fan.
A big issue with the Grand Ole Opry in recent years has been trying to get standing members to meet their performance obligations. Though the Opry loves to add high-profile names from country’s current radio stars, these performers tend to sign on to receive the distinction of being Opry members, but don’t actually want to play the appointed number of slots for membership.
Sturgill Simpson is poised to have the #1 album in all of music next week with his new release A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, and Chris Stapleton’s Traveller could come in right behind him at #2. Nipping at their heels is the newest album from Santana released by Thirty Tigers called Santana IV, and Rihanna’s latest record Anti, supported by strong streaming numbers for the week.
Corporate sponsorship is the grease for the wheels that makes country music turn. What is new about corporate truck sponsors in country over the last couple of years is how deep they have embedded into the country music culture, to the point where now smaller, independent artists can be seen out there participating in helping to promote full sized trucks.
With the recent overwhelming success of Chris Stapleton, it was only a matter of time before we began to see clones and copycatters crop up among the hungry masses seeking stardom. You didn’t have to squint to see the Stapleton influence in the long-haired and bearded Adam Wakefield when he chose the exact same rendition and style of Chris Stapleton’s take on “Tennessee Whiskey” for his audition on NBC’s The Voice.
On the 2016 ACM Awards, former boy band member and intermediate guitar player Nick Jonas may as well have come out on stage a drown a puppy. On live television, during Kelsea Ballerini’s dumb new song “Peter Pan,” Nick Jonas perfected the most aggressively terrible guitar solo ever played on any awards show or other live television event in the history of ever.
A natural phenomenon that has been baffling scientists at the University of Alabama for years has taken yet another strange “turn” over the past few months and days. At the grave site of Hank Williams—the legendary country singer who is eternally entombed at the Oakwood Cemetery in Montgomery, Alabama—unexplained seismic activity has been occurring for many years.
This is not another article about Chris Stapleton. This is an article about mainstream American country music radio. Yes, Chris Stapleton won big, again. But Chris Stapleton’s impact still remains paltry on mainstream country radio. The question is, will country radio listen? Or will country radio be left with anybody listening to it?
It was another stunning night for Kentucky songwriter Chris Stapleton as he dominated the 2016 ACM Awards held Sunday (4-3) night at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Stapleton walked away with Song of the Year for “Nobody To Blame,” Album of the Year for “Traveller,” and Male Vocalist of the Year as well. Along with an earlier win for New Male Vocalist of the Year, that give him four total awards.
All the information on the 51st Annual ACM Awards in one place, including the presenters, the performers, the collaborations, the nominees, special awards, and other things to watch for. Will Chris Stapleton have another big night? What can traditional country fans have to look forward to? And why have so many of the awards been handed out already?
Margo Price has now officially pulled off the mother of all coup d’états for an independent country artist. Announced on Thursday (3/31), she will be the featured musical guest on Saturday Night Live on April 9th. But I have to be honest with you: this all feels like too much, too soon for Margo Price.
Dave Cobb’s win for Producer of the Year speaks to just what kind of inroads more independently-minded and organic country music is making in the industry. Compared to the heavy-handed production practices that prevail throughout the country music industry, Dave Cobb took a very relaxed approach to producing Chris Stapleton’s ‘Traveller,’ and you can’t argue with the results.
There is no signs of slowing down for Chris Stapleton, and now he’s entered a very elite class in country music. His debut album ‘Traveller’ has officially sold over 1 million copies—actually 1.05 million copies to be exact, with another 27,000 copies sold last week according to Billboard. What does this mean? Aside from adding another digit to the odometer, it puts Stapleton at the very top of the genre in album sales.
Well so much for drama, pomp and circumstance, or anticipation. As informally as sticking a post-it note to the office billboard right beside a reminder to clean the microwave after each use in the breakroom, the ACM Awards have announced the apparent winners of the 2016 “New Artist” categories. Though during certain years, the ACM’s […]
This isn’t just a problem for big mainstream bands playing massive venues anymore. As independent music continues to take over market share, and there continues to be a slow build of interest in more substantive music, this issue is starting to affect performers that a few years ago fans were used to seeing in dingy bars with 20 other people.
Loretta has been working on new music at Johnny Cash’s famous Cash Cabin Studio in Hendersonville, TN over the past eight years, recording over 90 songs. She’s been collaborating with her daughter Patsy L. Russell and John Carter Cash as producers. Loretta signed a new deal with Sony’s Legacy imprint in late 2014 to begin releasing albums again after a long hiatus.
After selling out all of his tour dates in February, playing to packed rooms in Europe in March, selling out every one of his dates in April, and most all of his dates sold to capacity this summer, Chris Stapleton has added some new tour dates in May and September to help keep up with demand.
…Back to the argument Blake Shelton had with Adam Levine on The Voice as America watched on, and they both battled to be picked as the judge for Adam Wakefield, Blake Shelton said some things about country that needed to be heard, and were quite surprising coming from Blake. Usually the banter between judges is quite lighthearted on the show. But in this case, it got fairly heated.
Fearlessly the “Fire Away” video meets a very real issue head on—an issue that seems to have no governor on who it affects: rich and poor, men and women, and individuals from stable homes with ample love, concern, and attention surrounding them. It also delves into how even the purest love can be a flimsy firewall for the destabilizing, and sometimes catastrophic effects of mental illness.
Despite losing last week at the Grammy Awards, despite numerous winners and performers in country music receiving Grammy bumps for their efforts, it isn’t Little Big Town or Chris Stapleton walking away with the #1 album in country this week, it is a traditional country duo recording traditional hymns that takes the week’s top spot.
50-year-old country stars aren’t supposed to make records like these. They’re supposed to be trying to hold onto their glory days or make good use of the last dying gasps of somehow getting on the radio. Or they’re supposed to just give up the ghost and make sure they’re investing their money smartly. But nobody told Wynonna Judd that, or her husband, producer, drummer and songwriter Cactus Moser.
Riding the momentum of two Grammy wins, and ahead of an appearance on Jimmy Kimmel Wednesday night (2-17), Chris Stapleton has announced a slew on new concert dates, and it appears some fans hoping to see him in a smaller venue before things get really crazy will have their opportunity, that is if the show hasn’t already sold out.