“Hee-Haw” Banjo Legend and “Jolene” Player Buck Trent Has Died
28 CommentsWhen you played banjo on Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” and “Jolene,” were a member of Bill Monroe’s Bluegrass Boys and Porter Wagoner’s Wagon Masters, you did your part to keep the flame of country music burning.
Cody Jinks’ Inaugural Loud and Heavy Fest in Words and Pictures
33 CommentsWell I’ll be damned, Cody Jinks and Co. pulled it off. You normally talk about learning curves when it comes to first year festivals. That’s not even part of the conversation when it comes to the inaugural Loud and Heavy Fest. It didn’t really feel like a festival ….
Tyler Childers Tour Dates Selling Out As Fast As They’re Added
64 CommentsNot since the emergence of Sturgill Simpson have we seen an independent country artist explode in popularity the way we’re witnessing Tyler Childers do at the moment. As new tour dates continue to be added, many are selling out immediately, while other dates in other venues and markets are being added to meet demand.
Bri Bagwell Announces New Album “In My Defense”
17 Comments“I am so proud of the record we have created, no matter how cliche that sounds,” Bagwell says. “I have put everything I have, and every dollar to my name creating this record for myself and my fans. I truly believe it is the best record I have ever released.”
Folk Soul Revival Gets Twangy in Self-Titled Record (Review)
20 CommentsHowever they got here, Folk Soul Revival has both feet in by god country music now, with the soul components indicative of Southern rock most certainly palpable, and a revival of the country music spirit at the heart of this work.
Artists & Musicians Hit Hardest in Facebook Engagement Plunge
35 CommentsAmid Russian bot scandals, fake news issues, and privacy data controversies, for the first time since its inception, Facebook is suffering from slowing growth, and users spending less time on the format, including some deleting their accounts altogether. But most harmful to music are the recent updates to the Facebook algorithm.
Alan Jackson Cancels Remaining August Tour Dates Due to Illness
74 CommentsThis story has been updated. Country Music Hall of Famer Alan Jackson has canceled his remaining August tour dates due to an undisclosed illness, affecting shows at the Wolf Trap in Vienna, Virginia for Thursday, August 16th, as well as Friday’s August 17th show at the the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion in Gilford, New […]
A Song Like Kane Brown’s “Weekend” Isn’t Even Shocking Anymore
146 CommentsWhat has happened to American country music? How did we get here? What diabolically bad state of disrepair has befallen the country genre where someone would even be forced to interface with a song like Kane Brown’s “Weekend” as a country music fan or critic?
Album Review – William Clark Green’s “Hebert Island”
24 CommentsIt seems like just a few short years ago we were thinking about William Clark Green as the “Next Big Thing.” Now all the young frat bros in Lubbock have moved on to Koe Wetzel, and William Clark Green has graduated to headliner status. His new album ‘Hebert Island’ finds the songwriter settling into his established career.
History Making #1 Runs on Billboard’s Genre Charts are an Aberration
41 CommentsCountry isn’t the only music community scratching its head while a fairly innocuous and forgettable pop song rewrites history by hitting record marks for its time at #1 on a genre specific chart, or a performer or group who doesn’t even seem to belong in the genre dominates that genre’s most important chart metrics.
Ween Trolls Florida Georgia Line, Reunites The $hit Creek Boys at the Ryman
18 CommentsAny proper country music fan should know and love the rock band Ween’s foray into country music in the mid 90’s called 1’2 Golden Country Greats.’ Recorded at Owen Bradley’s legendary Bradley’s Barn studio at his farm just outside of Nashville, the album featured a stable of notable Nashville musicians dubbed “The Shit Creek Boys.”
Album Review – Robbie Fulks & Linda Gail Lewis “Wild! Wild! Wild!”
15 CommentsLet’s be honest, pairing up Robbie Fulks with the sister of Jerry Lee Lewis and having Fulks write songs from her perspective seems like such a strange concept for an album, it’s hard to conceive of releasing such as thing beyond maybe some quirky passion project with a pressing of 250 units for Record Store Day.
Sturgill Simpson Appears in New Trailer for CBS Series “One Dollar”
68 CommentsAs first revealed in March, Sturgill Simpson will make his acting debut as a recurring character in a new CBS television drama series called “One Dollar.” The on-demand series is a mystery set in a small rust belt town in post-recession America, where a one-dollar bill changing hands connects a group of characters.