After a rigorous nomination and voting process compiling ten select songs and a host of honorable mentions, something nearing a universal consensus has centered around Song of the Year for 2025.
The end of the year and the beginning of the next is a great moment for deep reflection, house cleaning of the mind, goal setting in life, and taking advantage of being able to look forward at a new year.
After a rigorous nomination and voting process compiling ten select albums and a host of honorable mentions, something nearing a universal consensus has centered around one album in 2025.
We’ve run down the nominees for Album of the Year and Song of the Year. Now it’s time to give some love to the songs that simply get stuck in out heads and remind us of the sheer joy of music.
A Song of the Year is not just a “song.” It’s something that can change a life, or change the world. It’s something that must be able to give you goosebumps, or wet the eye.
The point of this exercise is not to devolve music into a competition. It is to stimulate a lively conversation about what we all believe is the best album, using our differing perspectives to inform each other.
As you hit the road for a Thanksgiving trip or hang around with family roasting a turkey, what better time to catch up with the best and latest tunes in country before we all get crushed in the avalanche of Christmas music.
Lance Roark was patient in officially presenting his debut album to the planet, forging his own sound, finding the unique contours of his voice, and making his case for being Red Dirt’s next star.
It’s a classy move by Charley Crockett, and perhaps a vote for Charley can be seen as a vote for Turnpike as well, especially since as he rightly points out, it was the Turnpike Troubadours who seeded his career.
What is it about the Grammy system that doesn’t allow that one consensus album of a given year to rise to the top like it should, like it didn’t for the Turnpike Troubadours in 2025?
There’s few experiences like seeing the Turnpike Troubadours in concert, and you just got a few more chances to see them as they’ve extended their “Wild America” tour into 2026.
With nominations in all of the categories he was eligible in, Tyler Childers leads all nominees in country music with four. Chris Stapleton and Miranda Lambert tie Childers.
The nominees for the 2026 Grammy Awards were announced on Friday morning (11-7), with extra interest this year in country due to how the Grammys split the Best Country Album category into two categories.
The Jackalope Jamboree has just announced their 2026 lineup, and it is a doozie, with Kaitlin Butts headlining Thursday night, Shane Smith & the Saints on Friday, and the Turnpike Troubadours on Saturday.
It’s official. Independent country and roots music has a new killer festival on the calendar. It’s called the Unbroken Circle Music Festival, and it happened September 4-6 on the banks of the Ohio River.
“Diamonds & Gasoline” has been the ever-present fuel and gem to the Turnpike Troubadours phenomenon that never tires, never gets old, will never fall out of style, and will continue to be relevant and resonant.
Over the last few months and years, something has been coming to the rescue of this relic of mass advertisement: independent country music. Charley Crockett, the Turnpike Troubadours and others have used billboards.
We’ve been here before. A fan favorite from the independent country world makes a surprising impact in the insular, archaic world of mainstream country radio, and gets us all excited at the prospects.
What about the toe tappers, the booty shakers, and the boot scooters? That’s what the best SINGLE distinction is for. They can be great “songs” too. But these are the tracks that get stuck in your head.
We’ve run down the Best Country Albums of 2025 So Far, now it’s time to consider the best songs. What we’re looking for here are legitimate Song of the Year contenders, not catchy ditties or toe tappers.
As we reach the halfway pole of the musical year, it’s time to reflect back on the best albums that have been released so far. There are some great projects that you should make sure don’t slip under your radar.
After finishing up a big Red Rocks show on May 9th, the Turnpike Troubadours have released a brand new batch of tour dates, titled under the “Wild America Tour” 2025.
You had to know that Zach Bryan signing a $350 million publishing deal was going to have reverberations throughout the industry. Apparently those reverberations reached Tulsa, Oklahoma.
It truly is a shame that it appears we have to bid adieu to Jon Pardi as a country music traditionalist, and one that was embedded in the mainstream no less, giving him a unique opportunity to change the music for the better.