For the last six weeks or so, Saving Country Music has been monitoring and investigating the drama-filled lineup rollout of “Gordy’s Hwy 30 Music Festival Texas Edition” set to happen for the second year in Fort Worth.
Is 30-year-old country music really one of the hottest things going in country music today? A new festival down in Key West, Florida called Key Western Fest put that hypothesis to the test last week, and discovered mostly positive answers for ’90s country stars and their fans.
Over the Christmas/New Year holiday, Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof” set a rather landmark achievement by becoming the first radio single in country music history to spend 10 weeks at #1—a record that despite the song’s country lyricism as a heartbreak drinking song, can only be regarded as dubious.
With Zach Bryan and Tyler Childers headlining Saturday and Sunday, and other names from the independent country world like Charles Wesley Godwin, Kaitlin Butts, Paul Cauthen, and Austin’s Kathryn Legendre playing, it speaks to the independent aspect the festival organizers want the festival to take on.
Usually Christmas music gets shoved to the back burner around these parts, but this year there is such a surprising amount of quality selections of Holiday music being released, it’s worth a dedicated roundup. So if Christmas music is your thing—especially with a country or roots kick—give a gander to what 2018’s got in store.