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.
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.
There’s a few places you can go in this world to remind you that country music is not just “music.” It is a form of artistic expression and a historical continuum so inextricably interwoven with the fabric of rural American life.
It was 25 years ago on August 5th 1999 when young Nashville Lower Broadway performer, Jesse Lee Jones, finalized one of his most important decisions, to buy Roberts Western World from its founder, Robert Moore.
For nine years, “Honky Tonk Tuesday Nights” organized by Nashville musicians Brendan Malone and Kevin Martin of The Cowpokes has been the small local gathering with massive international impact on country music.
Even before he recently announced a diagnosis with what we all hope is a treatable form of Cancer, anyone who asked me to name the best singer of this generation would receive the answer “Raul Malo” back without hesitation.
George & Tammy turned out pretty spectacular generally speaking, with some very serious caveats that for some viewers ultimately turned out to be fatal to their viewership. There is a reason that almost every single professional review of this series was glowing in its praise, but some fans balked.
The real life stories of certain country music artists are sometimes even more intriguing and dramatic than the dramatized stories they tell in song. This was certainly the case for George Jones, Tammy Wynette, and their tumultuous marriage and working relationship.
If there is one instrument that is immediately identifiable with country music, it’s the pedal steel guitar. And just like an endangered species ripe for protection, preserving the pedal steel should be an imperative of society with the way its dialect of wails and moans mimic the tug and pull of human emotion.
Country artist Luke Bell was officially laid to rest in a private ceremony in Cody, Wyoming on September 9th. But on Saturday, November 12th, friends, family, fellow musicians and fans were given the opportunity to remember and celebrate Luke Bell publicly.
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.
pound for pound, the 2021 Old Settler’s Fest lineup conveyed as much entertainment value as any other event you’d find out there, with smart and studious curation that resulted in a stellar lineup and experience for 2021 Old Settler’s goers.
Like so many other festivals over the last 1 1/2 years, Old Settler’s fest just outside of Lockhart, TX has been attempting to hold what will be its now 34th annual installment. Normally conducted in the spring, and postponed entirely in 2020, they have finally set a date and lineup for 2021.
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 info to find something new to listen to. New songs just added.
Combining a little wacka-do Roger Miller-style vocal noodling, curious and entertaining phrasing with unexpected turns, and writing that fits the whimsical nature of the composition, “River of Fools” is rendered quite enjoyable. Logan can master these classic country modes when turned loose on them.
“Vintage” is the only way to fairly catalog this self-titled release, with the influences of classic country, traditional pop, mod, and even a little early psychedelia appearing throughout these eleven tracks. If you’re thinking country, think more of Jim Reeves or early George Jones, and less Waylon Jennings. Think The Byrds meet Nashville.
It’s not just the fact that Logan Ledger’s voice sounds like a striking combination of George Jones and Dwight Yoakam, and that he could write songs to compliment it, it was about the team that had assembled around his talent, namely highly-decorated producer T Bone Burnett, and Rounder Records.
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 (see below), or you can just use the song, artist, and album recommendations to find something new to listen to. New songs just added.
2019 was a stacked year for top live performances. This was supposed to be a list of the top 10 live performances, but due to such a crowded field, things boiled over. And yes, there are three #1 acts. All should be considered equals at the very top level of live performance. They were all so great, it seemed unfair to put one over the other.
If you’re wondering what you might look forward to listening to in the final portions of 2019 in country and Americana music, let this be your guide. Here’s all the information Saving Country Music has been able to compile on the most anticipated upcoming releases, along with a more extensive catalog of releases to have on your radar.
An album is something you listen to. A song is something that can change a life. The places a song can take you, the realizations and perspectives it can impart, the way it can touch something inside of you to make you feel something you never have before, or haven’t felt for a long time is the reason we cherish music so much.
What started out to be a small and intimate alternative to Austin’s sprawling SXSW gathering every March, and that was only known initially through invite or word of mouth, has now become arguably the most important and exclusive gatherings in all of American roots music every year.
On September 8th, 2018, Saving Country Music warned you to remember the name Logan Ledger. Now some seven months later, we’re finally getting the first taste of what Logan Ledger is all about, and if anything, the hype hasn’t done it justice in a 2-song release of the tunes “Starlight” and “Imagining Raindrops.”
If you’ve been paying attention to Saving Country Music, then you should already know that the name Logan Ledger is one you should be paying attention to. But up to this point, whatever potential this burgeoning performer had was all hypothetical. Now that has all changed.