Dear Ben Haggard, Please Record an Original Album
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What I’m getting at here is that I don’t think I just speak for myself when I say I wouldn’t be opposed to hearing you take a stab at releasing an original album of some sort. I’m talking about something beyond what you’ve already been doing on the stage. Get Dave Cobb involved as a producer, or perhaps your buddy Sturgill Simpson.
Unheard Merle Haggard Tracks Surface in New Bakersfield Box Set
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While Nashville country was awash in strings and suffering under the oppressive thumb of producers such as Chet Atkins and Billy Sherrill, the dim lights, thick smoke, and loud loud music of The Bakersfield Sound was keeping boots shuffling and country twangy. Unheard Merle Haggard tracks and other rarities are included in new box set.
George Strait’s “Time Machine” Tops Country Album Sales in 2019 So Far
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The numbers are in at the midway pole of 2019, and “King” George Strait has the best selling album in all of country music so far this calendar year. ‘Honky Tonk Time Machine’ has moved more copies than any other offering, speaking to the honky tonk resurgence country music has been experiencing across the board.
Scooter Brown Mistaken for Taylor Swift Adversary Scooter Braun
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Scooter Brown of the country and Southern Rock outfit the Scooter Brown Band appreciates your passion, Swifties. But he is not the droid you’re looking for. So please stop sending him wishes that his penis fall off and his kids go blind, because he’s got no business with that dude Taylor Swift is beefing with at the moment.
Willie Nelson, Aaron Watson, Koe Wetzel Top Country Albums Sales
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It’s a Texas invasion at the very top of the country music albums charts this week as an oldtimer, an independent maverick, and an upstart troublemaker all from the Lone Star State have pushed the powers that be in pop country down the ladder, and come in at #1, #2, and #3 respectively in album sales.
Album Review – Matt Woods “Natural Disasters”
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Natural Disasters is quite a bit more on the up-tempo and agreeable side from its predecessors in the Matt Woods catalog, but in a good way. Leaning more in the rock direction will cause some to miss the steel guitar and such that has textured his music in the past, but the energy and attitude embedded in the 10 tracks give it power.
Yes, The Sale of Big Machine is Big, and So Is Taylor Swift’s Concerns
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You’re a music fan. And sure, you know a little something about labels and producers and how all this stuff is necessary to get the music to you. But it so quickly gets bogged down in minutia and detail, does the sale of one huge music company to another really affect you, or affect the music in some significant way that you should care?
Chris Stapleton Behind Unexpected Charitable Donation
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Massive country stars making charitable donations are nothing new. In fact it can feel like a daily occurrence as they work to polish up their public personas while also making their accountants smile with tax deductible write-offs. But it’s very rare that a country artist makes a donation without some big check exchanging hands at a public ceremony.
Marty Stuart to Reissue Magnum Opus “The Pilgrim”
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20 years ago this month, Marty Stuart released his conceptualized 20-song magnum opus The Pilgrim as his final album on a contract with MCA Nashville. A commercial flop that rendered no radio singles, it nonetheless went onto become one of the most revered releases in the Marty Stuart collection.
“No!” Charlie Daniels Says To Florida Georgia Line Changing Country
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Don’t ask Charlie Daniels a straight question unless you want a straight answer. Recently while celebrating the 40th Anniversary of his signature song “The Devil Went Down To Georgia,” Daniels was asked if he was okay with bands like Florida Georgia Line changing the sound of country, to which he responded emphatically and succinctly, “No.”
Album Review – Shane Smith & The Saints “Hail Mary”
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Like the landscapes and experiences one may encounter on a lengthy journey, ‘Hail Mary’ guides the audience through a wide range of moods and moments, from fears to euphoria, with Shane Smith composing involved stories and lessons in songs that are made to feel even more monumental by the earnestness of the music.
Song Review – Jon Pardi’s “Ain’t Always The Cowboy”
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Jon Pardi continues to prove himself as one of the most staunch traditionalists in the country mainstream, and though you can be assured that his upcoming record ‘Heartache Medication’ will have a handful of songs that will pander to radio play, his latest release from the album “Ain’t Always The Cowboy” will not be one of them.
Dave Cobb Added to Country Music Hall of Fame Board
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Country and Americana producer extraordinaire, and multi CMA and Grammy Award winner Dave Cobb can now add Country Music Hall of Fame board officer to his resume. He was announced with a host of other new officers by the Country Music Hall of Fame this week, along with the reelection of Vince Gill as the board’s President.