While in the midst of singing his cover of Aerosmith’s “Fever” from his 1995 album Fresh Horses, it appears Garths loses his footing on the one conveyor belt, making him accidentally put his foot on the other conveyor belt running the opposite way, and ends up sending him careening out of control. Luckily he recovered quick enough to strike a pre-planned Run-D.M.C. crossed-arm pose with his fiddle player.
When you talk about an artist known as a songwriter first, you tend to look for the strength in the lyric. But Caitliyn Smith is very much a multi-tool performer, and her vocals can rival any in country music’s top tier, and she’s a great musician as well. Mostly known by industry types as a songwriter whose pen to paper has resulted in some very memorable cuts.
The signs continue to point towards the country music radio format officially splitting in two, with Top 40 country, and “Icon” country covering music from as far back as the 80’s vying for equal share of the country music listenership. Now another local radio station has switched to the new country format, and the verbiage accompanying the format change shows just how much sway NASH Icon is having.
With the rise in popularity of country music recently comes a rise in both the demand and prices for concert tickets. And with so many sold out shows and high-priced tickets comes the opportunity for counterfeiters to take advantage of fans looking for entry to see their favorite artists. Counterfeit concert tickets are on the rise in country music, and fans are being taken advantage of more than ever before.
Forget that now the last six Toby Keith singles in a row very heavily involve drinking— that’s “Beers Ago,” “Red Solo Cup,” “Hope on the Rocks,” “I Like Girls That Drink Beer,” and “Drinks After Work” for those of you counting at home—this is a song with a message dammit! What makes it a little difficult to stomach is this idyllic, hopeful picture it paints of the American reality that is so far off the mark…
Ryan Adams was one of the unquestionable leaders of this punk-infused country music conquest, and that is why it was so disconcerting to read recently that apparently he not only does not like country music, but he apparently never has, never really cared about it even when he was playing it, and certainly doesn’t want anything to do with it now.
On Friday (10-3) Garth Brooks unveiled the cover art and title to his first album in 14 years called Man Against Machine set to be released on November 11th. Garth strikes a much different pose on the Man Against Machine cover than we’re used to from him. Even more interesting is the quote offered up with the album announcement.
We’ve all been wondering how rusty Garth Brooks would be after 13 years of retirement, and if he would try to emulate the young pups once he was back on the stage. Well Garth Brooks looked a little shaky when he took a spill over the weekend during one of his many comeback shows in Chicago, doing his best Luke Bryan rendition of losing his footing while bounding off a riser.
Today (9-4) at a press conference in Chicago ahead of the very first concert of Garth’s world tour and his official comeback from retirement, he announced that he was going digital, and doing so by launching his own digital company. Garth has launched GhostTunes LLC, which allows the artist to select how their songs or albums are sold.
Where airstrikes, drone attacks, and diplomatic resolutions in recent weeks failed to weaken the resolve to the radical ISIS Islamists, the release of Garth Brooks’ first single since his 13-year retirement called “People Loving People” has apparently landed the resoluteness of ISIS a fatal blow. Reports out of northern portions of Iraq and Syria currently under ISIS control are of desertions in the thousands.
So here it is; Garth’s first single since 2007’s “More Than A Memory.” But more importantly, it is the first real single since he retired in 2001—representing a new album, and a new era for one of the biggest music stars the world has ever seen. And with this new song, the world is who Garth courts as his audience.
Harris Interactive has just released a new poll that queried the American public about their favorite music artists, musicians, and bands, and some noteworthy country music names made the list. When pollsters asked for unprompted responses to the question, “Who is your favorite singer/musician or band?”
“What will NASH Icon be, and will it make a significant improvement to country radio?” This has been the question on the mind of many country music fans ever since NASH Icon was announced. Now that there are actually radio stations broadcasting the new NASH Icon format, we can listen in and hear just exactly what NASH Icon is.
Ever since the partnership between radio owner Cumulus Media and the Big Machine Label Group called NASH Icon was proposed, the big question has been if it will it result in the country music radio format splitting in two. It is time for country to fragment,” John Dickey said plainly on the conference call, while offering more detailed insight than ever into exactly what NASH Icon will look like.
In an August 7th article in The Chicago Tribune, Brian Kelley of Florida Georgia Line was characterized as being “unhappy” about Maddie & Tae’s debut single “Girl In A Country Song”. Now, on-air personality Broadway of Country 92.5’s Electric Barnyard Show has interviewed Maddie & Tae, and asked them directly about Brian Kelley’s comments.
This is where Garth Brooks could shake up the country music industry beyond simply packing sold-out stadiums. There are reams of amazing songs out there going unheard, and Garth is one of the very few people with the star power to take these songs and make them hits. And this rising tide could raise all boats, taking an artist like Caitlyn Smith to the greater notoriety her talents deserve.
Garth Brooks is back, and there’s no denying it when you poke around country music and see his face and name everywhere. But his triumphant return has been one of the most curious cases of missed dates, canceled engagements, and other symptoms of mismanagement from a man whose modus operendi is one of having the most well-oiled marketing teams in music.
Just sit back and appreciate where we’re at for a second ladies and gentlemen. Here it is the dead of summer 2014, and the song that has everyone talking in country music is not some frivolous, carefree party anthem. It’s not some beach-bumming or beer on the tailgate half-baked haven for country cliché. It’s the song from two young girls named Maddie & Tae.
One of the big stories involving the back end of country music in 2014 has been the potential formation of a brand new radio format to give a home to the older artists quickly being shuffled off of mainstream radio in the movement towards youth. The big question that remains is how the new format for older country music could take shape.
“Garth Brooks did for country music what pantyhose did for finger fucking.” This is the quote that has been attributed to Waylon Jennings that you are likely to see in much greater frequency now that Garth Brooks has come out of retirement. For some, it is the totality of their argument against Garth.The problem is there’s no verifiable records of Waylon ever saying it.
So we now know who the big winner was for the Garth sweepstakes. But who was the biggest loser? That is certainly what you could call Scott Borchetta’s Big Machine Records in the situation. Why? Because they had the biggest stake in the Garth sweepstakes, because of Big Machine’s joint venture with the radio world’s Cumulus Media called NASH Icons.
Garth Brooks held a much-anticipated press conference on Thursday (7-10) to announce an upcoming world tour, new music on the way, and that for the first time his music will be released digitally. Though no specifics were given in regards to world tour dates, or a name or release date for the new album, Garth did allude that we may see the first new single in the next month or two.
The country music world is titillated with anticipation at what Garth Brooks might be announcing at his upcoming press conference on Thursday, July 10th, scheduled to stream live on his website at noon eastern. But the cat may already be out of the bag. Over the last few days there has been industry chatter that Garth may be announcing a deal with Sony Nashville.
Looking to salvage whatever they can from the debacle, the local promoters have announced they have found a replacement for Brooks, and it will be another entertainer coming out of retirement to perform for the Croke Park crowd. Dark-edged alternative rocker Chris Gaines has been named as the Garth Brooks replacement.