Lee Ann Womack

February 21, 2016

Some Bastards’ Bodyguards Shoved Around Lee Ann Womack at the Grammy Awards

You may not find another more kind-hearted and universally-liked female artist in country music than Lee Ann Womack. Her super hit “I Hope You Dance” may go down as one of the greatest songs in country music history, and in recent years she has become one of the most strong supporters of country music’s roots. But apparently not everyone in music is as respectful of Lee Ann Womack or her contributions, or women in general.

Grammy Awards, Lee Ann Womack

February 15, 2016

“Traveller” by Chris Stapleton Wins 2016 Grammy for Best Country Solo Performance

Trigger News 11 Comments

During the 48th Annual Grammy Awards pre-telecast Monday afternoon, the rising country star and Kentucky born songwriter walked away with the Grammy for “Best Country Solo Performance” for his fine work on the title track to his debut solo album, Traveller. Stapleton beat out Keith Urban, Carrie Underwood, Cam, and Lee Ann Womack for the distinction.

Best Country Solo Performance, Cam, Carrie Underwood, Chris Stapleton, Dave Cobb, Grammy Awards, J.T. Cure, Keith Urban, Lee Ann Womack, Mike Webb, Robby Turner, SteelDrivers, Traveller

February 3, 2016

Album Review – Brothers Osborne’s “Pawn Shop”

Trigger Reviews 50 Comments

It’s more fairly described as roots rock, and don’t worry, there’s still some of those plaintive and even painful moments that remind you that you’re listening to a modern-day Music Row release. But that doesn’t take away from the fact the Pawn Shop should be considered a healthy alternative on the mainstream music menu.

Brothers Osborne, Eric Church, Jay Joyce, Lee Ann Womack, Pawn Shop, Review

January 29, 2016

Album Review – Aubrie Sellers’ “New City Blues”

Trigger Reviews 61 Comments

Watch out ladies and gentlemen because the female revolution overtaking country in the aftermath of tomato-gate is about to get some fresh and young reinforcements in the coming months with major debuts from some promising young artists, and first up to bat is the ravenesque and hungry Aubrie Sellers. Aubrie starts off with a proven musical pedigree that’s nothing to smirk at. She’s the daughter of Lee Ann Womack…

Aubrie Sellers, Brandy Clark, Carnival Music, Frank Liddell, Hailey Whitters, Jason Sellers, Kacey Musgraves, Lee Ann Womack, New City Blues, Review

December 8, 2015

Chris Stapleton Proves Why Awards Shows Matter

Trigger Random Notes 30 Comments

“Awards shows don’t matter.” This is the bill of goods fans of true country music, and fans of independent music have been forced to sell themselves for years as a consolation prize for continuously being overlooked, losing in bulk, and being generally embarrassed during the moments when America and the world crowds around the boob tube for the spectacle of a televised award show like the CMA’s or the Grammys.

Aaron Watson, Americiana, Ashley Monroe, Blackberry Smoke, Brandy Clark, Cam, Chris Stapleton, Grammy Awards, Jason Isbell, Kacey Musgraves, Lee Ann Womack, Leon Bridges, O Brother Where Art Thou, Ralph Stanley, Willie Nelson

November 21, 2015

Lee Ann Womack’s “I Hope You Dance” Becomes Inspiration for New Film

Trigger News 10 Comments

“I Hope You Dace” written by Mark Sanders and Tia Sillers was a #1 song in country, won the 2001 CMA and ACM awards for Song of the Year, the Grammy Award for Best Country Song and was nominated for the Grammy’s Song of the Year. But even more than that, it touched people’s lives in very specific ways, which this new film explores.

Brian Wilson, Graham Nash, I Hope You Dance, I Hope You Dance The Power and Spirit of Song, Lee Ann Womack, Vince Gill

November 1, 2015

Review – “Brennen Leigh Sings Lefty Frizzell”

Trigger Reviews 16 Comments

Tribute records, just like compilations and live recordings, can be a tough sell and a tedious listen. However, by smartly selecting songs that are worthy of being heard again, but are not the obvious “Greatest Hits” of Lefty’s legacy, Brennen avoids the common pitfall of tribute records. And making her renditions that much more compelling and unique is the fact that she’s a woman singing these songs.

Brennen Leigh, Brennen Leigh Sings Lefty Frizzell, Brian Kremer, Cris Burns, Jenn Miori, Lee Ann Womack, Lefty Frizzell, Lisa Pankratz, Noel McKay, Review, Roger Wallace, Rosie and the Ramblers, Selena Rosenblam, Sunny Sweeney, T Jerrod Bonta, The Carper Family

October 5, 2015

Man Bites Dog: Hank Williams Jr. to Open the CMA Awards with a Waylon Jennings Song

Trigger Reviews 51 Comments

Announced today in press release fashion, the 49th Annual, 2015 CMA Awards will be opened by newly-signed NASH Icon recording artist Hank Williams Jr. singing Waylon’s interpretation of Neil Young’s “Are You Ready For the Country?” first released on an album of the same name by Waylon in 1976. Hank Jr. will be joined by Eric Church in the rendition.

Are You Ready for the Country, Chris Stapleton, CMA Awards, Eric Church, Hank Williams Jr., Kacey Musgraves, Lee Ann Womack, Maddie & Tae, Meghan Trainor, Merle Haggard, Miranda Lambert, NASH, NASH Icon, Neil Young, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson

September 11, 2015

Why Lee Ann Womack’s 2015 CMA Nomination is Especially Sweet

Trigger Random Notes 27 Comments

“That news hit me pretty hard in the heart,” Lee Ann says about the nomination. She was driving to her mother’s house in east Texas when she received the call. “I am and always will be a country music singer. It’s what I do… It’s what I love… and it’s the thing that truly makes me feel alive. Having the CMA recognize that after the year I’ve had since ‘The Way I’m Livin” came out really does my heart good.”

Chris Stapleton, CMA Awards, Frank Liddell, Lee Ann Womack, Merle Haggard, Miranda Lambert, Willie Nelson

July 8, 2015

Brennen Leigh Channels Lefty Frizzell For Upcoming Record (Interview)

Trigger Random Notes 8 Comments

You can’t look anywhere in the Austin independent country scene without seeing Brennen Leigh’s name. If she’s not fronting her own band, she’s playing in any number of other projects as a side musician. Or she’s in the studio singing harmonies or recording guitar tracks, or contributing a song to someone else’s project like she recently did to Lee Ann Womack’s “The Way I’m Livin'” album.

Antique Persuasion, Beth Chrisman, Brennen Leigh, Brennen Leigh Sings Lefty Frizzell, Chris Scruggs, Cris Burns, Lee Ann Womack, Noel McKay, Sunny Sweeny, T Jerrod Bonta, Teri Joyce, The Carper Family

June 10, 2015

Huge Waylon Jennings Tribute Show Announced

Trigger News 64 Comments

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 […]

Austin, Billy Joe Shaver, Buddy Cannon, Chris Stapleton, Don Was, Eric Church, Jamey Johnson, Jessi Colter, Kacey Musgraves, Kris Kristofferson, Lee Ann Womack, Moody Theater, Ryan Bingham, Shooter Jennings, Sturgill Simpson, Toby Keith, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson

June 4, 2015

Logan Brill Talks New Album “Shuteye”

Trigger Random Notes 14 Comments

There’s been much ado about country artists of the fairer sex over the last couple of weeks. For Logan Brill, whose Carnival Records album Shuteye came out on June 2, that debate is all just noise. Sure, she’ll righteously stand up for women artists and songwriters. But for Brill, music is pursued for the passion of good quality songwriting and the artistry of storytelling—everything else comes secondary.

Charlie Worsham, Chris Stapleton, David Nail, Don Schlitz, Dwight Yoakam, Lee Ann Womack, Logan Brill, Merle Haggard, Shuteye

June 2, 2015

The Best Country Songs of 2015 So Far

Trigger Reviews 94 Comments

Being willing to see where a song takes you is at the heart of every music lover, and in this spirit I present eleven hand selected songs released in the first half of 2015 that will hopefully take you someplace you want to be, or somewhere you’ve never been before. This is the cream of the crop in my opinion; the gut punchers not for the faint of heart.

Charlie Parr, Chris Knight, Cody Jinks, Eric Paslay, James McMurtry, John Moreland, Justin Townes Earle, Lee Ann Womack, Love & Theft, Miranda Lambert, Randy Rogers, Townes Van Zandt, Wade Bowen, Whitey Morgan

February 8, 2015

A 57th Annual Grammy Awards Complete Preview

Trigger Random Notes 29 Comments

All you need to know about the 2015 Grammy Awards. Despite the country genre rising to become arguably the biggest genre in popular music right now, there’s just not a whole lot of country to be featured on the show this year. This year’s country performance slots are cut in half, with the only collaboration being between Brandy Clark and Dwight Yoakam.

Brandy Clark, Carrie Underwood, Dierks Bentley, Dwight Yoakam, Eric Church, Grammy Awards, Lee Ann Womack, Miranda Lambert, NIckel Creek, Rosanne Cash, Sturgill Simpson

January 27, 2015

Review – Lee Ann Womack Sings Chris Knight’s “Send It On Down”

Trigger Reviews 31 Comments

When Lee Ann Womack set out to construct her 2014 album The Way I’m Livin’, she went looking for songs that weren’t written by committee as is the norm in Nashville these days, but songs that originated from one person going through a human experience who then shared that experience through song. Such a search if it was to be thorough and prudent would almost invariably involve Chris Knight.

Adam Hood, Bobby Bones, Brennen Leigh, Chris Knight, Frank Liddell, Hayes Carll, Lee Ann Womack, Mando Saenz, Send It On Down

January 20, 2015

The Oldest Living Links to Country Music’s Golden Past

Trigger Random Notes 35 Comments

With the passing of the 94-year-old “Little” Jimmy Dickens at the beginning of 2015, it’s a reminder for us to cherish the final living links to country music’s most legendary past who can still tell stories of how country music once was. The amount of performers who were important in forming the very foundation of country music are quickly fading away.

Bill Monroe, Billie Jean Horton, Bobby Osborne, Buck Owens, Buck White, Carter Stanley, Don Maddox, Eddie Arnold, Elvis, George Jones, Hank Snow, Hank Williams, Harold Bradley, Jan Howard, Jean Shepard, Jesse McReynolds, Jim and Jesse, Jim Ed Brown, Joe Pennington, Keith Whitley, Larry Sparks, Lee Ann Womack, Lefty Frizell, Little Jimmy Dickens, Maddox Brothers & Rose, Marty Stuart, Mel Tillis, Owen Bradley, Pee Wee King, Ralph Stanley, Ray Price, Red Simpson, Ricky Skaggs, Rose Maddox, Roy Acuff, Roy Orbison, Stonewall Jackson, Studio 'A', The Clinch Mountain Boys, The Grand Ole Opry, The Quonset Hut, The Stanley Brothers, The Whites, Tompall Glaser, Waylon Jennings, Willie Nelson

January 9, 2015

Odie Blackmon Talks Teaching George Jones College Course

Trigger Random Notes 16 Comments

Around the passing of The Possum in 2013, I remember the news of his widow Nancy setting up an endowment and scholarship fund for MTSU in the name of George Jones. What I didn’t know, and what has gone somewhat under-reported, is that the passing of George and the endowment encouraged the faculty of MTSU to enter a class on the life of George Jones into the school’s curriculum.

Beverley Keel, Bobby Braddock, Dwight Yoakam, George Jones, George Strait, Harlan Howard, Jim Lauderdale, Lee Ann Womack, MTSU, Odie Blackmon, The Desert Rose Band, The Grand Ole Opry, The Louisiana Hayride

December 14, 2014

Retirement Be Damned, Ralph Stanley Readies New Album

Trigger News 13 Comments

It was all doom and gloom and teary-eyed salutations when Dr. Ralph Stanley announced in June of 2013 that he would be embarking on his farewell tour in late 2013 into 2014. Since then Stanley has continued to tour with no signs of slowing down, despite now being 87-years-old. Now Dr. Stanley has a new album in the works.

Buddy Miller, David Rawlings, Del McCoury, Dierks Bentley, Elvis Costello, Gillian Welch, Jim Lauderdale, Josh Turner, Lee Ann Womack, Man of Constant Sorrow, Nathan Stanley, Old Crow Medicine Show, Ralph Stanley, Ralph Stanley & Friends: Man of Constant Sorrow, Retirement, Ricky Skaggs, Robert Plant

December 12, 2014

Exodus Stage Left: Country Stars Leaving the Majors

Trigger Random Notes 10 Comments

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.

Big Machine Records, Brandy Clark, Jamey Johnson, Josh Abbott Band, Lee Ann Womack, Rayna James, Scott Borchetta, Sugar Hill Records, Sunny Sweeney, Thirty Tigers

December 5, 2014

Sturgill Simpson, Brandy Clark Receive 2014 Grammy Noms

Trigger News 60 Comments

On Friday morning (12-5), the Grammy Award nominations were inefficiently and unceremoniously announced via Twitter, and once again proved that their nose for quality in country music is somewhat better than what we’re used to seeing from the country music industry itself, even if their ability to categorize music remains somewhat curious.

Brandy Clark, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Faith Hill, Glen Campbell, John Hiatt, Keb Mo, Kenny Chesney, Lee Ann Womack, Miranda Lambert, NIckel Creek, Rosanne Cash, Ryan Adams, Sturgill Simpson, Tim McGraw

November 8, 2014

Review – Adam Hood’s “Welcome to the Big World”

Trigger Reviews 16 Comments

Adam Hood is not a native of Texas or Oklahoma, but he is an honorary member of the Texas country scene if there ever was one. And now that he’s officially called Frank Liddel’s Carnival Records quits, he’s back releasing his music independently and calling his own shots. Only appropriate then that he would release an album that is strikingly personal in a very palpable and meaningful manner.

Adam Hood, Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, Frank Liddell, Jason Eady, Lee Ann Womack, Leon Russell, Miranda Lambert, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Review, Roots and Branches, Stoney LaRue, Sunny Sweeney, Tavern In The Gruene, Welcome to the Big World, Will Hoge, Willie Nelson

November 4, 2014

Album Review – Maddie & Tae EP

Trigger Reviews 20 Comments

No matter where you stand on it, the enigma that is Maddie & Tae’s “Girl In A Country Song” has made for grand country music theater in 2014, marking one of the most talked about musical offerings since Kacey Musgraves’ “Merry Go ‘Round.” So now the young duo has released a four-song EP, and all of a sudden a brand new set of parameters emerge.

Big Machine Records, Dolly Parton, Lee Ann Womack, Loretta Lynn, Maddie & Tae, Maddie & Tae EP, Martina McBride, Miranda Lambert, Scott Borchetta, Tammy Wynette

October 20, 2014

Ariana Grande and Meghan Trainor to Play the CMA Awards

Trigger Random Notes 78 Comments

The Country Music Association Awards, or CMA’s are nigh upon us, and set to transpire on Wednesday, November 5th. And to get you all horny for the festivities, it’s been announced that ultra pop star Ariana Grande, and “All About That Bass” overnight sensation Meghan Trainor will be part of this year’s presentation. Because you know, a country presentation devoid of pop stars would be boring.

All About That Bass, Ariana Grande, Ashley Monroe, Carrie Underwood, CMA Awards, CMA's, Kacey Musgraves, Kid Rock, Lee Ann Womack, Lil Wayne, Little Big Town, Maddie & Tae, Meghan Trainor, Miranda Lambert, Taylor Swift

October 2, 2014

Winners of the 2014 International Bluegrass Music Awards

Trigger News 3 Comments

On Thursday night October 2nd, the International Bluegrass Music Association held their 25th Annual Awards ceremony in Raleigh, NC at the Duke Energy Center for the Performing Arts. Big winners included Noam Pikelny who won both Album of the Year, Special Consensus who won for Recorded Event of the Year, and Balsam Range who took home Entertainer of the Year.

Balsam Range, Blue Highway, Claire Lynch, Della Mae, Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen, IBMA, INternational Bluegrass Music Awards, Jerry Douglas, Lee Ann Womack, Noam Pikelny, The Boxcars, The Del McCoury Band, The Gibson Brothers, The Seldom Scene

1 2 3 4