Turnpike Troubadours Send “Chipping Mill” to Mainstream Country Radio
49 CommentsBefore Turnpike went on indefinite hiatus in 2019, they were doing quite well for many independent acts, but were also meandering along in the effort to really spark national attention for themselves. Now the game has completely changed.
Album Review – The Lumineers “Cleopatra”
29 CommentsThere was no way for The Lumineers to win with this record. They’d almost have to pull a J.D. Salinger to stay on the right side of history, and even then their legacy would be sullied. Why? Because popular culture has already judged them as a time piece—as part of a trend that started to die when even Saturday Night Live was doing parody sketches of roots bands dressed in suspenders.
Kris Kristofferson Takes After Other Country Icons & Re-Records His Greatest Hits
30 CommentsNow that Merle Haggard has passed on, Kris Kristofferson is one of the few remaining links to country music’s most iconic era of classic songwriting. Kristofferson has also been candid about his struggles with deepening memory loss, so any new recordings should be considered a treasure.
Sturgill Simpson’s “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” Debuts at #1 in Country
54 CommentsSturgill Simpson’s A Sailor’s Guide to Earth is officially the #1 record in country music, and is also the highest-charting debut of the week at #3 on the all genre Billboard 200 chart. The only thing keeping Sturgill from the top of the Billboard 200 were two surging titles from Price that sold like crazy in the hours after the superstar’s death.
Dallas Davidson Attempts to Revive Country Rap with “Laid Back”
62 CommentsWhen I heard that Dallas Davidson was working on a new solo album, it sounded like just another stupid plan to offload his leftover Bro-Country material now that the songs aren’t selling so well. Harmless. Sure, release a solo album Dallas, and take one last gasp as the Bro-Country songwriting king before you’re relegated to the refuse pile of country music’s most deplorable era.
Album Review – Jeff Shepherd and the Jailhouse Poets
8 CommentsSongwriting is what becomes the ultimate takeaway from Jeff Shepherd and the Jailhouse Poets. As you listen deeper into the album, the writing continues to mature, and mature more, and becomes more vulnerable and personal until the final song “Son” virtually has you in tears. From lost love to personal tragedy, Jeff Shepherd is uninhibited in sharing and unburdening his heart in these songs.
Sturgill Simpson: “There Will Be More Country Records”
55 CommentsA Sailor’s Guide to Earth will still be the top debut album for the week, and according to Sturgill, it doesn’t symbolize a complete shift in his music career henceforth, just a “pause” in his country output. Speaking to KCRW where Sturgill performed the new album in its entirety (see below), he told the crowd how his son had inspired the album.
Blackberry Smoke Members Save Family from Burning Car
13 CommentsAfter recently finishing up a tour in California, frontman Charlie Starr and the rest of the Blackberry Smoke band decided to fly back to Atlanta ahead of the tour bus. But bassist Richard Turner decided to enjoy the long bus ride back across the country, and along with the lighting guy Chris “Thumper” Hathaway and bus driver Harry Wing, they happened up a burning car upside down on Interstate 10.
Willie Nelson Rushed to Undisclosed Protective Location After Rash of Celebrity Music Deaths
63 CommentsAfter the deaths of David Bowie, Glenn Frey of the Eagles, Keith Emerson, producer George Martin, close Willie Nelson friend and country music icon Merle Haggard earlier in April, and now iconic music legend Prince, all precautions are being taken to make sure Willie Nelson stays alive no matter what the costs or resources necessary. This is the reassuring news coming from the United States government.
Luke Bell Signs with Thirty Tigers, to Release Self-Titled Album
22 CommentsIn 2014 when Saving Country Music received an unsolicited submission from an relatively unknown artist named Luke Bell, it felt like striking gold. It’s so rare, and so welcome and fulfilling when an artist that has been flying so criminally far under the radar shows up and it’s so immediately obvious their music is destined for bigger things.
Wheeler Walker Jr: Traditional Country’s New Unlikely (& Uncouth) Champion
59 CommentsAnd then here comes this foul-mouthed comedy country artist named Wheeler Walker Jr., and all of a sudden we have a new man taking the point at trashing pop country. None of Wheeler Walker Jr.’s songs are “country protest” songs like we hear dozens and dozens of other traditional country artists perform. It’s the attitude he’s taking that’s slowly making him into a pretty serious gadfly for pop country and its suitors.
UPDATED: Sturgill Simpson’s “A Sailor’s Guide to Earth” Battling for #1 Album All Genre
73 CommentsSturgill Simpson is poised to have the #1 album in all of music next week with his new release A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, and Chris Stapleton’s Traveller could come in right behind him at #2. Nipping at their heels is the newest album from Santana released by Thirty Tigers called Santana IV, and Rihanna’s latest record Anti, supported by strong streaming numbers for the week.
When Your Favorite Country Artists Star in Truck Commercials
45 CommentsCorporate sponsorship is the grease for the wheels that makes country music turn. What is new about corporate truck sponsors in country over the last couple of years is how deep they have embedded into the country music culture, to the point where now smaller, independent artists can be seen out there participating in helping to promote full sized trucks.