Almost immediately as the news spread and outlets started reporting on King’s drunken performance, some came forward to claim that the criticism Elle King was receiving constituted a double standard.
Fans love Elle King for her “devil may care” attitude and over-the-top presentation. She’s a lot, and that’s fine. But the Grand Ole Opry stage is supposed to be a family friendly environment, and it’s not the time or place.
Saving Country Music spends the vast majority of the time focusing on artists and bands that get overlooked and under-appreciated in popular country music. But that doesn’t mean that mainstream country is entirely terrible.
It seems strange to think that a song that Tyler Childers never even really properly recorded or released would go on to become an American country music standard. But such is the fate for Tyler’s song “Jersey Giant.”
The appeal for independent country has become so robust, we now have megafestivals sprouting up all across the country to cater to the fans of this music. But the first, and still the biggest of these events is Under The Big Sky Festival.
“I was so humbled when Tyler asked me to record the song,” says King. “And then earlier this year he surprised my fans and joined me on stage in Lexington, KY.”
Comedian Rob Schneider’s daughter has hauled off and made herself a country record. And just like Elle King herself, it’s a little much and all over the place. That’s not to say there isn’t any entertainment value to be had. On the contrary. Elle King turns in some real quality songs.
Eric Church is a fan of country music’s “Outsiders” if you will. That is why for his “Outsiders Revival” tour, Church will be reviving the practice of featuring some of the cooler folks in country music as opposed to whatever boilerplate star the industry is trying to shove down the public’s throats at the moment.
A pretty universal consensus from the country fans who did suffer through the presentation to see the extended Alan Jackson tribute at the end was that in 2022, the CMA Awards seemed to do a 180-degree turn, and started going back in the right direction toward featuring more actual country music.
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats, or you can just use the song, artist, and album recommendations.
Written by Tyler Childers some 10 years ago, and cherished to the point of being worn out via video renditions by many dedicated Childers fans, “Jersey Giant” is a unique composition for Childers since it features a bridge within the verse/chorus structure.
Consisting of 30 total dates, including a couple in the UK and some previously-announced festival appearances, it gives Tyler Childers fans the greatest set opportunities to see him in the last three years. Though there are some big venues and amphitheaters on this tour, these are not arenas.
Luke Combs said it best while accepting the trophy for Entertainer of the Year Wednesday night (11-9) at the 2022 CMA Awards: “This is my fifth or sixth year being at this awards show, and country sounded more country than it has in a long time tonight.” In truth, the CMA Awards righting the ship goes back even further.
Keeping with the tradition of working with interesting producers that saw her collaborate with Jack White, and then Justin Townes Earle on her last two records, this time Wanda worked with fellow Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Joan Jett and Kenny Laguna.
Hot off of winning the ACM Album of the Year for his most recent release Starting Over, Chris Stapleton has added dates to his upcoming “All-American Roadshow” tour. Joining Chris Stapleton as always will be a host of cool openers decidedly outside of the cast of mainstream country.
It wasn’t just the arrangement, the cool special guests, the poignant setting, and the timing of it all, it’s how it all conspired to create a special moment and a rather spectacular performance that in the throes of the otherwise mediocre ACM Awards really shined out as something sincere.
Now let’s not get too ahead of ourselves here. But if you know anything about Alan Jackson and awards shows, you know he’s the ultimate wild card. He’s got no truck or patience for your pedantics, and dog and pony awards show nonsense.
Many gave credit to Garth Brooks for taking himself out of contention, and you can’t blame him personally for voters awarding him the CMA Entertainer of the Year. But there’s still some bad blood out there coming from many in the country community, including Miranda Lambert, apparently.
The season finale for the Paramount Network’s signature summer series Yellowstone ended in a cliffhanger Sunday night (8-23), and it also ended another successful run for the series in both the ratings department, and in featuring all manner of cool country and roots artists and songs throughout the season.
Chris Stapleton has just dumped a bunch of new tour dates for his 2020 All-American Roadshow Tour to go along with some previously-announced appearances and events, and they include an extensive list of openers for the respective dates. After a few years of struggling to write new songs, Chris Stapleton is coming out of his writers block.
This tour will be an all female affair, with Miranda Lambert’s supergroup with Ashley Monroe and Angaleena Presley, a.k.a. The Pistol Annies opening up select tour dates, along with Elle King, Caylee Hammack, Tenille Townes, Maren Morris, and Ashley McBryde. Each date will feature three openers, with a revolving cast for each stop.
The biggest takeaway from SXSW 2017 will be that for the first time since the very inception of the idea over 30 years ago, the annual music gathering experienced a palpable draw down in attendance and industry participation to a degree that it fundamentally changed many of the dynamics and rigors one must endure to attend.
The next trend in country may not be defined by a style or a sound, but who is involved in it. But if collaborations will be the next big trend, how about putting out just a little bit of effort to make sure that the great talent that is going unrecognized in country music itself gets some love?