We’ve known for a while that Chris Stapleton’s much-anticipated sophomore album and the follow-up to his landmark debut Traveller will be released on May 5th, but despite the looming deadline, details on the new release have been quite limited. But all of that is about to change.
Saving Country Music has just added some fresh horses to its recently-launched Top 25 Current Spotify Playlist meant to be a centralized destination for top recommended songs and artists currently setting the pace in country, Americana, and the greater roots realm.
We love to speak long and loudly about the virtues of younger, upsurging artists such as Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, Jason Isbell, Cody Jinks, Margo Price, and others, and how they’re turning the country industry upside down with their successes. But why is Marty Stuart’s efforts going systematically overlooked?
The prospects of a new incarnation of the long-running country music-themed television show Hee-Haw being in the works opens up a whole realm of delicious possibilities of how the show could take shape, and who could comprise the cast. So if a new Hee-Haw show comes to pass, who should be part of the cast?
Don’t expect this to be just another Marty Stuart release simply because it’s been two years or so since his last record. This could be his most expansive work since his concept record The Pilgrim. To record Way Out West, Marty Stuart employed Mike Campbell of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers fame for the 15 tracks that include many originals…
Just what 2017 has in store for us in the country music department remains to be seen. But we do know about what to expect in the release department for at least the first quarter of the year, while rumors abound about the big projects that could come to light later in 2017. Here’s a run down of what we know, what we think we know, and what we would like to believe.
It should be no huge surprise that Travis Tritt’s ‘A Man and His Guitar’ is worth its muster. He’s been doing these acoustic shows for many years, and even at other shows involving the full band he’ll make sure to take some time in the set to do a few songs by himself. If anything, one may wonder why it’s taken so long for a release such as this to surface.
For years Travis Tritt has been touring the country playing acoustic shows, and the naked context of his music has done nothing but elevate his legacy in the minds of those who’ve attended. Nothing against seeing Tritt with his band, but it takes something special in an artist to take the stage with nothing more than a stool, a guitar, and a water bottle, and entertain a large crowd.
Though Merle Haggard is no longer around to record and release new music, that doesn’t mean there isn’t unheard, unreleased recordings waiting to be unearthed for the public in the future. As is often the case with music artists who pass away, unreleased Merle Haggard music remains vaulted away, either as leftovers and outtakes from previous recording sessions, or in Merle’s case, purposely stashed away…
We used to complain that most all country songs these days were about beer and trucks. The point was to hopefully expand mainstream country’s thematic subjects. Bo in concession they cut most of the references to trucks out, leaving only one piece of subject matter on the table. There’s only one little Indian left, and it’s amber and comes in a bottle or can.
Who will be releasing new albums in 2016? What are some of the most-anticipated projects? What are the rumors swirling out there about new albums that may be released in the coming year? Here’s a rundown of upcoming projects from artists recommended by Saving Country Music that you can look forward to in 2016.
“White Mansions” couldn’t be made today. That’s one of many reasons it’s so remarkable and such a country music treasure. It’s not that the production costs would be too high or the talent couldn’t be assembled. But you couldn’t put present day top-tier music talent on an album that someone might construe as harboring sympathies for the Civil War South without creating an uproar.
The idea of retiring from playing music seems like such a foreign notion on the surface. We like to think that artists make music because they have to—because it’s all they know and it’s in their blood. Some just happen to make money and get famous from it along the way. Quitting music would be like deciding to quit watching sunsets or eating ice cream with your family or something.
Some independent country fans love to harp on whose name is in the biggest font in the headliner positions, but the names Stagecoach invites each year to fill out the roster gives you great hope for the future of country, and tells you who to look out for in the coming months and years, this year especially.
It seems to be the destiny of man to make the same mistakes over and over, even when we have insurmountable evidence of the fallacy of our actions right in front of us. Country music might be one of the greatest examples of this as it cycles from being obsessed with pop and contemporary sounds, and then gets reeled back in towards its traditional heart during the tug and push of its sometimes tumultuous history.
A collective rolling of eyes ensued when the ACM’s announced earlier this month they would pair some of today’s country music spares with legends from the past as part of their “Party For a Cause” concert centered around the ACM’s 50th Anniversary. Punctuating the ridiculousness of the duet roster was the unfortunate marriage of country legend Dwight Yoakam and country/EDM star Sam Hunt.
The calamitous and disturbing plan of the Academy of Country Music to pair up some of country music’s worst stars of today with country music heroes of the past just keeps getting worse. Though a few of the collaboration ideas seem kind of cool, some of them are downright sinister to the hearts of traditional country fans who revere the past greats, and revile the new artists who are stomping on the traditions of the genre.
In celebration of The Louvin Brothers being honored by the Grammy’s with a Lifetime Achievement Award, JuddFilms has made the 2011 Charlie Louvin documentary Still Rattlin’ The Devil’s Cage available to stream free online. The 45-minute film features interviews with many country greats, including Charlie Louvin himself, his son Sonny Louvin, Emmylou Harris, George Jones, Alison Krauss, and Marty Stuart.
You would think there would be much more important business to attend to in the lives of country music fans than to worry about what clothing accessories Marty Stuart chooses to adorn his wardrobe with, but you may not find a another topic of more intrigue or discussion amongst some country listeners than why Marty decides to indulge in neck finery as part of his public fashion.
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.
The hope of fans of any independent music artist is that they will be able to achieve a sustainable career, and that their music will find wider appeal amongst the listening public. When an independent artist succeeds, it’s important that we pay attention to what lent to that success so hopefully more worthy artists can achieve similar results, and to ask what that success might mean.
I’ve received more requests to comment on Cody Johnson’s music in 2014 than any other artist. Meanwhile my status of staying mum on him has caused some to question whether I actually care about country music, others to question the legitimacy of of flying the “Saving Country Music” banner, and still others have come out saying point blank Saving Country Music must be a fraud for not discussing the Texas singer.
The Americana Music Association has just unveiled their list for the most played albums in 2014, and there’s quite a few surprises, and quite a few names traditionally considered country filling out the ranks. Though 2014 still has another month to go, the end of November traditionally marks the end of the radio calendar in music, allowing us to look back and see who had the greatest impact on the format.
Once again Marty Stuart and the Fabulous Superlatives prove they are at the core of keeping the traditions of country music alive, while doing so in a manner that is energetic, inviting, informed, and broad-based where people of all stripes—the Saturday night and Sunday morning people—can come together and enjoy the gift of good country music together.