There are few venues as unique as the Dosey Doe in The Woodlands, Texas, north of Houston. There’s even fewer in Texas that have played such an important role in fostering the careers of country music performers.
It’s even worse when country music’s institutions recognize artists for being country when these artists don’t even recognize being country themselves, and don’t even care for the recognition.
In 2025, we have a brand new headliner in the world of independent country and roots music. It’s Alabama’s The Red Clay Strays. There is no denying it now.
What happens at Mile 0 Fest in Key West doesn’t stay in Key West. It resonates throughout the Texas/ Red Dirt world, into Americana, and throughout independent country for the rest of the year.
It’s like Taylor Sheridan and Andrea von Foerster took everything they learned from Yellowstone and the music, and did themselves one level better on the Landman series.
All the nominees for the 2024 Saving Country Music Album of the Year deserve nothing but praise for being catalysts for the country music revolution we’re currently enjoying. But only one can take the prize.
It’s the statistical nature of the award that makes their win for Top Country Duo or Group so significant. No duo or group in country music garnered more spins than The Red Clay Strays.
It’s time to engage in one of the most important exercises all year: determining who and what will be crowned the Album of the Year in 2024. The point of this exercise is not to devolve music into a competition.
The Grammy Awards are supposed to be the one place where the critically-acclaimed, criminally-overlooked, and lifers of a respective genre get the recognition they deserve from a non-profit that puts the art first.
Now that it’s all in the books—and after four long days of humpin’ around from stage to stage in the middle of a late season Ohio River Valley heat wave—here are some of the things that were seen and heard.
The world is waking up to just what a wonder it has in its midst with songwriter and performer Sierra Ferrell. From busking on street corners for ragged dollars, to now being recognized with some of the top awards in the industry.
Nobody is listening to Cowboy Carter. It was the most lauded release all year by the press, is supposedly supported by the biggest Stan army in the world, and sits at #133. Meanwhile, Zach Bryan has 3 albums in the Top 20.
We’re rounding the corner on the summer, but the hits keep coming. The last month or two has seen some of the top album releases of the year, and many of them are represented in the latest additions to the playlist.
Whether the world is ready for them or not, the Alabama-bred roots music collective known as the Red Clay Strays are here, and surging in a way that is reminiscent of the meteoric rise of other independent-minded performers.
On Saturday (6/15) at Kyle Field in College Station, Texas, George Strait officially shattered the all-time record for attendance at a single concert with 110,905 tickets sold. The attendance breaks the previous record.
Listening to Mick Jagger sing “Dead Flowers” now over 50 years since its release with Tyler Childers, you can definitely tell he’s trying his best to put some British twang to it. So are Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood.
The 2nd half of 2024 promises to be a very big and very busy time when it comes to album releases in country and roots music. Below you can find a list of Saving Country Music’s top recommended albums.
Instead of importing pop stars to fill out the performance roster, why not pick up on some of the fast-rising independent stars that are quickly outpacing the popularity of country’s 2nd-tier mainstream performers?
Every year as the nominations for country music awards come and go, it’s hard to not fall into a perfunctory attitude about them due to the cyclical and predictable nature of the nominees.
The Red Clay Stray are now major label artists. Announced on Saturday, March 30th, the throwback Sun Records-inspired outfit from Alabama has officially signed to RCA Records, which is a division of Sony.
What started as a very exclusive gathering has become a world-class event with international interest due to the names that play and attend the event during Austin’s greater SXSW festivities. This was especially true in 2024.
If you go to Bristol Rhythm and Roots in 2024, you’ll get your face rocked off by 49 Winchester, The Red Clay Strays, Silverada—all of which are considered some of the best live bands in the business.
Willie Nelson’s Luck Reunion will once again be happening at Willie’s ranch just outside of Austin during the greater SXSW shindig, and it’s got a lineup super stacked with talent, including Tyler Childers.
The Red Clay Strays have just announced new tour dates to go along with a string of sold out shows already on the calendar, and a bunch of major festival appearances as everyone lines up to get them on their roster.