We knew George Strait couldn’t keep from stirring for too long. Though he played his final shows as a touring artist in 2014 on his way to racking up astronomical numbers for his farewell junket and finding himself being named Entertainer of the Year by both the CMA and ACM Awards for the effort, you had to know he wouldn’t sit tight for good.
Don Henley, the singer and drummer for the Eagles, will be releasing a country album called Cass County via Capitol Record—his first solo album in 15 years. This was the news coming out of an exclusive listening party held at the Ruby event space as part of this week’s CMA Fan Fest in Nashville. And don’t expect this to be an aging rocker looking for a second wind in country by chasing the current trends.
A massive Waylon Jennings tribute show in Austin, TX has just been announced, and the lineup is something to salivate over. Set to transpire on July 6th and Austin’s Moody Theater (where Austin City Limits is taped), organizers Blackbird Music Group made use of the fact that many of the big names would already be […]
Some bad songs make you angry that such a monstrosity would ever be released under the country banner. Some make you sad for what country music has become. This one? Randy Houser’s entry into this new R&B sexy time Bee Gees-inspired country music disco craze? This thing had me laughing out loud so hard from being so embarrassing and absurd, I had milk shooting out of my nose. And I wasn’t even drinking milk.
When country music traditionalist Jamey Johnson announced he was starting his own Big Gassed record label in late 2014, he promised he wouldn’t be the only one on the roster. Part of his motivation to go independent was to release music from other artists who inspired him, and now it appears that the first full-length release from Big Gassed won’t be from Jamey, but the label’s first signee (aside from Johnson).
It’s very likely Chris Ferrell could have plead down to Voluntary Manslaughter if he’d forgone a jury trial. We don’t know that for sure, but as it was explained to Saving Country Music by the Davidson County District Attorney’s Office, it is always the attempt of prosecutors to plead down to avoid the costly and time-consuming effort of a trial. 95% of criminal cases in Davidson County are settled without a trial.
Chris Ferrell shot country music artist Wayne Mills at the Pit and Barrel bar Ferrell owned in Nashville on November 23rd., 2013. Wayne Mills was attending an after hours party at the Pit and Barrel when a dispute about smoking inside caused the two friends to get into a verbal argument. The argument escalated until Wayne Mills verbally threatened Chris Ferrell, and out of fear, the bar owner pulled a .22 pistol…
Despite five to six inches of sleet and snow in the Nashville area, and most government offices remaining closed including the municipal courts, the court of Judge Steve Dozier was open to proceed with the Wayne Mills murder trial. Judge Dozier is known for opening his court no matter what the circumstances. The court came in session at roughly 11:00 a.m. after a weather delay.
On Wednesday afternoon (3-4), the court of Judge Steve Dozier re-convened after a lunch recess to hear the testimony of lead detective Leonard Peck. Detective Peck testified that at the scene of the shooting, defendant Chris Ferrell told him Wayne Mills had displayed the .45 Taurus “Judge” revolver and threatened to kill him. The 50-minute police station interview between Ferrell and the detective was played in court.
What should have been a mostly routine procedural event turned into a marathon court session as the prosecution and defense in the Wayne Mills murder trial tried to fill 12 juror slots and two alternates to hear the 2nd Degree Murder charges against bar owner Christopher Ferrell in a trial set to start the evidence phase Tuesday morning.
Though Monday is to be primarily focused on jury selection, in pretrial motions before jury selection, some previously-unknown details about the case were revealed to the public, along with some of the stances the defense is likely to take in attempting to prove Chris Ferrell acted in self-defense. We also learned about some of the witnesses likely to be called in the trial.
Country music artist Wayne Mills was shot in the back of the head at a far range by Chris Ferrell on the morning of November 23rd, 2013 at the Pit & Barrel bar in Nashville, TN. The shooting happened near 5:00 AM. Both men were at the Pit & Barrel attending an after hours party held after the memorial ceremony and concert held for George Jones at the Bridgestone Arena in downtown Nashville.
Written by Johnson and Dan Couch somewhere around 2004 or 2005, “You Can” was kept on the sidelines as Jamey’s major releases The Dollar, That Lonesome Song, and The Guitar Song came out, never making the final cut. But now that Johnson is out from under the thumb of the industry, if he wants to randomly release a single on a cold day in February, he can. Whether it suits his best interests or not.
It’s a new year, and a new Jamey Johnson as the traditional country artist continues to shake up his situation after an extended period of not releasing any new original music after a dispute arose with his publisher. Announced on Tuesday (1-20), Jamey Johnson has signed with the Paradigm Talent Agency for booking live performances and tours.
Baby New Year all swaddled and cooing dropped a welcomed gift for traditional country fans on New Years Day while many people were busy boiling up New Year feasts and fixated on college football. Jamey Johnson, mere months removed from launching his own record label called Big Gassed Records, offered a free song to his fans called “Alabama Pines.”
The dream of many of the aspiring country music artists moving to Nashville in droves every year is to become a big star signed to a major label. Of course the reality is this dream comes true for so few, and even fewer who actually do get signed attain superstar status. However for some artists, as soon as they get that major label deal, their next goal becomes to get out, or to go independent.
Move over Jamey Johnson and Kacey Musgraves. There’s a new critical darling in country music, and he’s neither country nor worthy of critical acclaim. Yes, I’m talking about the suave-haired cocaine club EDM-fueled country music marketing colossus and Svengali of the country music public named Sam Hunt. Sam Hunt and his music have nothing to do with country…
On Monday night’s episode, before Craig Wayne Boyd’s performance of Johnny Cash’s “I Walk The Line,” a tribute to Wayne Mills aired, detailing his life and tragic death, and his relationship with Boyd. Craig Wayne then took the now famous “WM” necklace that Wayne Mills wore at all times from Wayne’s widow Carol, and presented it to Wayne’s former pupil, Blake Shelton.
Jamey Johnson will be releasing “The Christmas Song,” But that’s not where the goodies stop from the songwriter. Announced today, November 24th, Jamey Johnson is starting his own record label called Big Gassed Records. The first release will be the Christmas EP, but there will be much more music on the way. “From now on, as soon as I can get it written and recorded, we will make it available,” says Johnson.
One year ago today, Outlaw country artist and songwriter Wayne Mills was shot in the back of the head at the Pit & Barrel Bar in Nashville, TN at approximately 5:00 AM after an altercation erupted with the bar’s owner, Chris Michael Ferrell—a friend of Wayne’s who was hosting an after hours gathering following a tribute concert to George Jones earlier in the evening at the Bridgestone Arena.
When you navigate to jameyjohnson.com, it darn near takes the home page 15 seconds to load because the above banner proclaiming new music on the way is so damn big. Jamey’s fans aren’t complaining though. They’ve been waiting so long for new, original music from the songwriter, they’ll take any sign as a good one after a protracted legal battle.
This news comes after a protracted wait for new original music from Jamey that goes back to September of 2010 when he released his last original album of music, The Guitar Song. In 2012 Jamey also released Living For A Song: A Tribute to Hank Cochran, but it did not contain any new Jamey Johnson-penned songs. Jamey has been in a contract dispute with his publisher.
Lucinda Williams is getting ready to release a double LP called Down Where the Spirit Meets the Bone on September 30th through her new label Highway 30 Records on Thirty Tigers. Lucinda Williams stopped down to talk to Rolling Stone, and she had some interesting things to say when asked if she pays attention to mainstream country much these days.
After his award-winning work with artists like Sturgill Simpson, Jason Isbell, Jamey Johnson, and so many more, when you see the name Dave Cobb associated with an artist, it’s probably worth paying a little bit closer attention. And such is the case when it comes to burgeoning country artist Lucette from Edmonton, Canada, who just released her first single and video.