Lucero has absolutely nothing to do with country music, and everything to do with country music. The Memphis-based band only veers into the “alt-country” realm every now and then, but the songwriting of Ben Nichols has gone on to become one of the most influential forces in Southern music in the last 25 years.
Are the Turnpike Troubadours post hiatus truly an arena act? Down in the Ark-La-Tex, the answer has definitely been certified as “yes.” That all changes when they play Friday, May 5th at the Capitol One Arena in Washington D.C., with Old Crow Medicine Show and Lucero set to open.
There have been busier release days in the past year or so with 20+ albums on the Saving Country Music radar hitting the shelves all at once. But it’s who is releasing albums, and what those albums are that makes Friday, February 24th feel like an especially important release day that is worth highlighting.
The Longhorn Ballroom was one of the most important venues in country music for many years. When it opened in 1950, it was known as Bob Wills’ Ranch House, and was one of the major venues in Western Swing. It was also once operated by Jack Ruby.
Congratulations, you made it to 2023. And now it’s time to take a look forward at what country music may have in store for the new year. If we’re being honest, the beginning of 2023 looks very thin when it comes to the amount of confirmed releases and big projects. But don’t worry.
After two years away due to COVID-19, the annual Healing Appalachia concert event is returning September 23rd and 24th to Lewisburg, WV, with Tyler Childers once again headlining the event that looks to raise funds and raise awareness about the opioid crisis gripping Appalachia, and so many parts of the US.
Two bands from Texas who help represent just how diverse and omnivorous the music from Texas can be have just given us the first taste of new music in what will hopefully be two rousing projects to help get us through 2022: The Vandoliers, and Shane Smith & the Saints.
By the time Willie Nelson lit into “On The Road Again,” he was in top form and didn’t want to stop. He ended up going beyond the time originally allotted for his set, of course finishing with a Gospel medley where numerous other performers.
What if you could see many of these fast rising names all in one place, along with other great names in the country, roots, and Americana realm? That is the experience the Wild Hare Music Festival is offering in Canby, Oregon this summer on July 15th and 16th.
Second generation country performer Justin Townes Earle passed away tragically on August 20th, 2020, but strong efforts are underway to make sure his legacy doesn’t go forgotten, especially after the ownership of the label that released his first five albums was sent in flux.
September 24 and 25th at the State Fair of West Virginia in Lewisburg, the Healing Appalachia concert will happen with a healthy slate of headliners and openers, all working to support a prosperous Appalachia free from addiction, led by Tyler Childers.
Cinematic in scope and approach, you feel like you’re pixelated into the very frames of a dark, graphic novel rendered in anime—one where daybreak never comes, and the resolution isn’t some epiphanous moment of light and love, but simply a moment of rest from the endless struggle.
2020 is in the books and it’s time to look forward to the bright promise of 2021, and specifically the album releases in the country and roots world we have to be excited about. This includes the most anticipated releases, a complete release radar, as well as the always-fun rumor mill.
Wildly-influential alt-rock band Lucero will be releasing their 10th album on January 29th, 2021 called Where You Found Me through their own label Liberty and Lament, distributed by Thirty Tigers. The first single from the album called “Outrun The Moon” has just been released.
Natural Disasters is quite a bit more on the up-tempo and agreeable side from its predecessors in the Matt Woods catalog, but in a good way. Leaning more in the rock direction will cause some to miss the steel guitar and such that has textured his music in the past, but the energy and attitude embedded in the 10 tracks give it power.
2018 has been incredibly busy with new albums in the country and roots realm, and the 2nd half of the year looks to be just as busy. So to help you keep track of it all and perhaps help separate the wheat from thew chaff, here is a handy guide to some of the top releases to anticipate, a more expansive list of confirmed releases, and a rumor mill.
Now celebrating 20 years hacking away at blending country, punk, soul, blues, and R&B smothered in Memphis gravy, the band is readying the release of their latest studio album, ‘Among The Ghosts.’ It features 9 new songs written by Ben Nichols and was recorded at Sam Phillips Recording Service in Memphis.
The 5th Annual Medicine Stone Music Festival focusing on the best of Red Dirt music and sponsored by the Turnpike Troubadours, and Jason Boland & The Stragglers will once again commence at the Diamondhead Resort in Talequah, Oklahoma. This year the event will be held on September 21st-23rd, and they have just revealed the fest’s initial lineup.
Where would the current generation of alt-country and Americana artists be today if it weren’t for Ben Nichols and Memphis-based alt-country band Lucero? Lucero’s journey puts them in that sweet spot where right as many of today’s emerging Americana stars were learning their licks, it was Lucero they were leaning on.
“The No-Hit Wonder” is old school country rock at its finest, with exquisitely-crafted, cunning lyrical runs that make you laugh, amazing insight enhanced by brilliant timing and pentameter, and musical clothing that enhance each song’s strengths and endear them to the audience, pointing them the way to the album’s enjoyment. This is the album Cory Branan needed to release.