Robert Earl Keen & Friends Raise Over $3 Million for Texas Flood Relief

The people of Texas haven’t forgotten about the tragic flooding in the Hill Country on July 4th, and continue to show up for their fellow neighbors, with no fatigue displayed.
The people of Texas haven’t forgotten about the tragic flooding in the Hill Country on July 4th, and continue to show up for their fellow neighbors, with no fatigue displayed.
The music community is stepping up big time to make sure the folks affected by the flooding in central Texas and the Hill Country are made whole, and those who lost loved ones are enveloped by the rest of community.
In the embarrassment of riches that is the current country/Americana landscape, it’s an increasingly common issue where there are more new album releases on a given Friday than time to review or even listen to them in a timely manner. So to make sure you don’t miss anything…
Well it wasn’t just a lark apparently, and competing egos ended up not getting in the way, because the Texas supergroup epicentered around Lubbock called The Panhandlers have announced they’re ready to release their second official album called “Tough Country.”
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.
No ladies and gentlemen, the Panhandlers weren’t just a lark. The supergroup of Texans consisting of Josh Abbott, William Clark Green, songwriter John Baumann, and Cleto Cordero of Flatland Cavalry has just released a boot-stomping, hard country tune called “Where Cotton Is King.”
You may have forgotten about it. After all, it was 10 years ago. But one of the first big breaks for Kacey Musgraves, and one of the biggest songs early on for the Texas-based Josh Abbott Band was “Oh, Tonight” from the band’s February 2010 album ‘She Likes Texas.’
Country Music Hall of Famer Randy Travis was born and raised in North Carolina, and made his name in Nashville. But lately here it’s been Texas where Randy Travis has not only made his home, but been embraced as part of the community.
A Saving Country Music ‘Song of the Year’ nominee is not just your favorite ditty that gets stuck in your head. These are songs that have the power to change hearts and change lives, open you up new ideas or ways of thinking, or unlock memories or emotions you haven’t felt in years.
Not your standard and cliche-riddled country protest song, this more thoughtful, reflective, and hushed effort bemoans the passing away of important things in life—country music included—to the onslaught of progress and noise, while resisting the new favorite Americana pastime of laying blame.
Hold My Beer Vol. 2 is like a love letter to classic country from a Texas perspective. In many respects, it’s a country music album about country music. Along the way though, Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen don’t forget to have some fun. After all, that’s the underlying reason for this project.
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 just use the song, artist, and album recommendations to find something new to listen to. New songs just added.
The Panhandlers aren’t just bound by their ties to the region. The geography and people of the upper portions of West Texas is what this music is all about. From falling water tables to failing farms, this is an account of an unforgiving land nobody would ever choose to call home. Yet people still do.
For many in the Texas and Red Dirt realm, Randy Rogers and Wade Bowen are their #1 and #1A favorite performers. And when they combine their efforts, that appeal is amplified. Though neither imbibes in really strong traditional country in their respective primary projects, when they get together, the fiddle and steel guitar comes to the top.
The only thing better than a badass Texas music songwriter from the Panhandle is four of them combining their powers in a country music supergroup. That’s what you have with The Pandlandlers, which sees William Clark Green, Josh Abbott, John Baumann, and Cleto Cordero of Flatland Cavalry coming together.
Man, there’s nothing better to get your country music pants going crazy like a good ol’ supergroup, and it appears we got a new one that’s formed right under our noses. Called The Panhandlers, it’s not in reference to vagrants, it pertains to that flat-ass piece of land in West Texas that sticks up like a chimney pipe on the map.
What started out as some simple pledges by Texas country artist Casey Donahue to help a few Texas teachers fulfill their supply lists for the upcoming school year has morphed into a cultural phenomenon in Texas music and beyond, with artists and fans signing on to the cause to get classrooms filled with the items teachers need.
Texas country singer Josh Abbott of the Josh Abbott Band took to his Twitter account late Friday afternoon to admit to his fans that he’s been untrue to his wife, Amanda Abbott, and to ask for forgiveness from his fans. Josh said he would write a more lengthy letter to fans in the future, and says that he is 22 days sober. The Josh Abbott Band is one of the biggest-drawing bands in the Texas country scene…