Texas Country Royalty Charlie Robison Has Died
62 CommentsOne of the members of the First Family of Texas Music, and a landmark musician and songwriter for nearly 30 years in Texas and beyond has died at the age of 59. According to a family representative, Charlie Robison passed away.
Album Review – Koe Wetzel’s “Noise Complaint”
64 CommentsKoe Wetzel from Stephenville, TX has certainly been stirring up the chatter of both the positive and negative persuasion over the last few months after the release of the record Noise Complaint. A veritable young pup of the Texas music scene, he’s been vilified by some for immature lyrics, while being celebrated by the younger set.
Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad” Now the Longest-Running #1 in “Country” History
85 CommentsWell, it’s happened. As predicted by Saving Country Music and certain others, Sam Hunt’s “Body Like a Backroad” is now officially the longest-charting #1 single on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart in the chart’s nearly 60-year-old history, logging a total of 25 straight weeks at #1.
True Country Represented at the 2017 Tumbleweed Country Music Festival
58 CommentsFor many years there has been the need for a festival to cover the music that sits on the fringes of commercial country, yet serves a very dedicated and surprisingly large audience of country music fans. This is what Borda Productions saw when they decided to transition from a more mainstream-oriented country festival for 2017.
Counterpoints to the Claim That “Country Music Has Never Been This Bad”
96 CommentsIn the process of criticizing modern country music, sometimes we lose sight of the bigger picture, or fall into “old man’s syndrome” where the past of the genre seems pristine and idyllic in our mind’s eye, and today’s smutty music perpetrated by sellout stars is an abomination to our beloved genre.
You See, Sam Hunt Never Had Any Real Passion for Country Music
66 CommentsArtists with the true love of country music in their hearts, they don’t make country music for money or fame. They make it for life. They make it because they have no other choice. They make it whether they succeed, or it costs incredible sacrifice to keep doing it. It isn’t an option, it’s an obligation to themselves, and the music.
UPDATED: Jamey Johnson Stands Up for American Flag at Tumbleweed Festival
143 CommentsOn Saturday, July 29th, during Jamey Johnson’s headliner set at the Tumbleweed Festival just outside of Kansas City, Jamey Johnson stopped the show down when he saw an American Flag in black and white. “I’m $ucking serious, I will stop playing,” he said.
Jason Isbell on Today’s Country: “It’s Just Real Bad Music to Me”
177 CommentsJason Isbell is still riding high after hitting career marks for his recent album The Nashville Sound, which topped the Country Albums charts. But if you expect the mainstream level of success of his career to change the songwriter, or his penchant to speak out, you’re sadly mistaken.
IBMA Announces 2017 International Bluegrass Music Awards Nominations
15 CommentsNominees for the 28th Annual, 2017 International Bluegrass Music Awards were announced Wednesday in Nashville, with The Earls of Leicester and Balsam Range leading all nominees with eight nominations each, and Entertainer of the Year noms for both. Flatt Lonesome also picks up big nominations for Entertainer and Vocal Group of the Year.
“The Late Show” Loses Key Ally for Country & Roots Artists
14 CommentsFor twenty years and for two separate hosts, senior music producer for The Late Show Sheryl Zelikson has been a key behind-the-scenes champion for under-the-radar country and roots music performers who otherwise may never have been afforded an opportunity for a national television debut.
Sorry Willie Nelson, But You Are Not Allowed to Die
72 CommentsEven people who despise country music see Willie Nelson as a beacon of light in the world, as a guidepost of infinite wisdom, and as an irreplaceable soul on this mortal coil. For decades now, music has simply been the excuse to pay attention to what a gift it is to have Willie Nelson inhabit planet Earth.
Album Review – “Hierarchy of Crows” by Moot Davis
46 CommentsPart rockabilly maven, part honky tonk shit kicker, part heroin-era Rolling Stones Sticky Fingers revivalist, for going on 16 years now the moniker ‘Moot Davis’ has been synonymous with the top shelf of cool in the underground country and roots scene with those smart enough to know where to look to find the best stuff.
Jamey Johnson Show Cancelled After He Refused to Go Through Metal Detector
152 CommentsThis story has been updated. Jamey Johnson’s show on Sunday, July 23rd at the House of Blues in Myrtle Beach, South Carolina was abruptly cancelled after Johnson reportedly refused to either disarm, or to go through metal detectors to enter the venue. Though accounts of the incident vary, what is undisputed is that the show […]