The festival season isn’t over just yet, especially in the Texas Hill Country where fall and winter take their sweet time getting there. On November 14th, the 2nd Annual Honky Tonk Fest will be happening just outside of Austin.
SXSW continues to be both an enigma and a mess. But Saving Country Music continues to approach the event like it was initially meant to be: to discover and reveal musical talent that deserves more recognition.
Though some individuals like to focus on the big names, Saving Country Music takes the opportunity to scout for under-supported talent. Here are some of the best artists witnessed in 2025.
He was Nashville’s ever-present and year-long version of Santa Claus, and his haunt Santa’s Pub is like the North Pole of the South. His real name was Elmer Denzel Irwin.
You can take your chances sifting through Morgan Wallen’s new 37-song monstrosity looking for your next favorite song, or you can trust Saving Country Music, who excruciatingly curates this playlist.
So once again we find ourselves in a situation where the public is being asked to judge the personal character of Zach Bryan. But it feels like there is a lot of nuance, and a lot of context missing
This album is very moody and brooding, but this also what makes the listening experience so enveloping and intoxicating. Kristina Murray’s music and story prey on your musical empathy, and suck you in.
No rest for independent country music fans in the second half of 2025. Some excellent country music projects will be coming at you, and this is your updating guide too get you through it all.
You don’t enjoy SXSW—the annual musical gathering in Austin, Texas every mid March. You endure it. You survive it. Here are Saving Country Music’s biggest takeaways from SXSW 2025.
“MoDErN cOUnTRy SUcKS!” What are you nuts? It’s an embarrassment of riches out here, you just need to know where to point your nose. Turn off Bobby Bones and get to listening to the best in independent country music.
They call Nashville a 10 year town. You get 10 years to make it, and after that you might as well turn tail or give up. Over the last 10 years, perhaps nobody has has paid more dues while being passed over for deserved recognition.
Instead of focusing on Luke Bell’s death and the circumstances surrounding it, YouTube video channel/production company Western AF is focusing on his life with a new 50-minute extended feature.
The 2024 installment of AmericanaFest transpired in Nashville last week, giving fans, members of the industry, and fellow artists an opportunity to check out much of the talent in the independent side of country and roots.
If you ever thought that there should be an institution in Nashville to help preserve traditional country music, and to help teach it to the public and future generations, well there is.
Tyler Lenane started Gimmie Radio with co-founders Jon Maples, Andy Gilliland, and David Rosenberg, who all previously worked for companies like Beats, Apple, and Google. The company was based in San Francisco. The format attracted hundreds of thousands of fans in total.
For two days before the awards show transpired, performances took place at the stately Guesthouse at Graceland in Memphis showcasing some of the greatest up-and-coming and independent talent from country, roots, and rockabilly—or “Ameripolitan” as we call it in this instance.
It’s been a couple of years since the Dale Watson-founded Ameripolitan Awards and the corresponding weekend of events have occurred due to COVID-19. But 2023 promises to be a rousing comeback with a stellar lineup of musicians slated to perform February 17th to 19th in Memphis, Tennessee.
He was one of the most authentic and magnetizing artists to grace the country music art form in the modern era. And those who knew Luke Bell, they know this assessment is in no way hyperbole or flattery. Even though he released only one album, in that single volume, Luke Bell captured a bygone era, aura, and mood.
When this playlist was first started as a simple collection point for the top songs in the current moment in country, who knew it would still be around nearly five years later, and garner over 7,700 followers on Spotify alone? Since then it’s helped launch songs and artists.
Reigning Saving Country Music Artist of the Year Colter Wall is about to head out on tour, and as was warned when the tour was first announced, you better scarf up tickets now and see him in smaller venues when you still can, because this won’t last for long.
It’s official. After months of trying to locate buyers and investors for the failing music crowdfunding service and pleading with both performers and the public for patience, PledgeMusic co-founder Benji Rogers announced on Wednesday (5-8) that the company is officially heading for bankruptcy.
Charlottesville, Virginia native Caroline Spence is now a signed artist. Esteemed and respected in east Nashville and beyond as an under-the-radar songwriter and performer, it was announced last week that she has come to terms with Rounder Records to release what will be her third full-length album, ‘Mint Condition.’
Starting off the newest additions to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Playlist is singer and songwriter Lauren Morrow, formerly of the Georgia-based band The Whiskey Gentry. Now relocated in Nashville, she’s launching a solo project, and doing it in style with the song “Viki Lynn” off her just-released EP.
Enough trying to settle for the latest Eric Church record simply because it’s better than most of the stuff in the mainstream, or squinting at Luke Combs and trying to make him the second coming of Waylon. You’re in the mood for a honky tonk fix? Quit throwing darts at the Billboard charts, and pick up the latest from JP Harris.