The Steel Woods show at the Ryman Auditorium in Nashville Friday night (11-22) took on special significance. After nearly 10 years of touring and four critically-acclaimed albums, it was time for them to take their final bow.
When beloved country artist Wayne Mills was murdered on November 23rd, 2013, it didn’t just leave a gaping hole in the country music scene. It also meant a wife lost a husband, and a son lost a father.
Southern rock fans, and fans of The Steel Woods specifically woke up to the sad news on Thursday (3-28) that the band, and namely the lead singer, guitar player, and primary songwriter, Wes Bayliss, had decided to cease touring.
Welcome to Saving Country Music’s most comprehensive guide to music in a given year: The Essential Albums List. It’s a resource not just for 2023, but for future generations who may want to reflect back on this year in country music.
A Song of the Year nominee needs to be something that can change a life, change someone’s perspective, or change the world we live in. Yes, this is all quite a tall order, but this is where a good song can take you.
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right now in country music. Available on all major streaming platforms.
The Steel Woods stand on stage as modern-day Southern rock Gods. On what’s now their fourth full-length album, there’s no reason to measure them against any other, no need to attempt to draw comparisons.
At this point, the levee has given out, and the flood gates are open. If you have any chance of staying afloat, it will be using the list below to hopefully let you know what’s coming out.
It can’t be emphasized enough just how busy the next five weeks will be when it comes to album releases. In the 15-year history of Saving Country Music, nothing has been experienced like this before.
All three of the previous albums by The Steel Woods earned high marks for songwriting, musicianship, and originality while remaining grounded in Southern rock roots. We should expect ‘On Your Time’ to be no different.
Brent Cobb comes across as one of those country music performers who’s not particularly interested in country music superstardom. He’s cool with just writing and singing good songs for good people.
Flatland Cavalry have their work cut out for them in the coming weeks and months. They’ve already been announced as one of the big beneficiaries of the massive stadium tour Luke Combs is throwing this year. But they won’t be sitting on their laurels in between.
Marcus King, Lainey Wilson, Charley Crockett, Charles Wesley Godwin, Ashland Craft, Chris Stapleton, The Black Pumas, The Steel Woods, Brit Taylor, Midland, Nikki Lane, Jake Worthington, Quaker City Nighthawks, Casey Donahew, and Jaime Wyatt are some of the cool names that have appeared in the Tulsa King soundtrack.
After Blackberry Smoke had finished playing and before Jamey Johnson took the stage, personalities from the local pop country radio station, New Country KX 96.9, came out to fill time between the set change. The crowd of mostly traditional country fans was not too impressed with the results.
Now celebrating five years of gathering in festival form, KOKEFest attracts a huge crowd of local KOKEheads, as well as people from across the country who want to get the genuine Texas country experience, including those who regularly listen to the station remotely online.
Some are frustrated with Jamey Johnson, wishing he would release new material. After all, his last original album was nearly 12 years ago. But he did play a new song during his stellar set at Under The Big Sky Fest. “I don’t do new songs very often,…”
No, not all country radio stations suck. Some are downright badass. KOKE-FM out of Austin, TX is one of them. They’ve also put on a kickass festival now for five years where devotees to the KOKE world congregate.
While you were putting on 40 pounds and watching Tiger King twice during the pandemic, Jamey Johnson was out there working towards earning his commercial pilot license. Apparently the songwriter has been flying to gigs fairly regularly while on tour.
Listen ladies and gentlemen, it’s not just a hypothetical that when a song gets featured on Paramount’s Yellowstone series it’s a big deal. What’s going on at the moment is a musical phenomenon helping to support independent country music.
Country music traditionalist Jamey Johnson has become known over the last few years more and more for filling the majority of his concerts with classic country songs written by others, along with pulling from his catalog of originals. For some this approach to his concerts feels strange.
The places a song can take you, the realizations a song can impart, this is the reason we cherish music so much, and we cherish songs specifically as the kernel root of all musical experiences that we remember forever. These are the best country and roots songs of 2021 so far.
As we near the halfway pole in the musical year, it’s time to suss out the best albums that have been released in 2021 so far. There’s already some very strong contenders for Album of the Year, and the first albums highlighted should be considered early candidates for Album of the Year.
That’s right, Saving Country Music is brushing off this old feature, and featuring another name from the modern era of country music badasses in Cody Jinks after his recent run over the last few years has made him one of the most formidable names in independent country.
What some studious fans of their music may have picked up on, and others may have missed, is a continuing story line across the band’s now three albums, with a recurring cast of characters and events, similar to the character “Lorrie” in Turnpike Troubadours songs.