On Jason Aldean Abruptly Cancelling His Show in Hartford
110 CommentsOn Friday night, July 15th, Jason Aldean was playing a show at the Xfinity Theatre, and had to stop the performance down only 20 minutes in due to heat exhaustion. He’s now facing strong criticism.
Hall of Fame Partners with Google to Make Williams Family Exhibit Available Online
3 CommentsThe Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has partnered with Google to bring the Family Tradition exhibit to life once again, and do so online so anyone in the world with an internet device can explore the lives, legacies, and artifacts of country music’s most recognized family.
Nashville Retools with Fresh Talent for a (Potential) Traditional Country Resurgence
78 CommentsWhether it will actually happen or not remains to be seen, but if country music in the mainstream decides to swing back more towards the traditional side, many of Music Row’s major labels will be ready to take advantage with a new generation of young, fresh, and traditionally-leaning talent already signed to contracts, already getting experience on the road and on big stages, and even finding some success with singles.
Merle Haggard Hospitalized with Pneumonia
23 Comments78-year-old country legend Merle Haggard is currently in a California hospital suffering from pneumonia. Haggard was forced to cancel some recent tour dates due to his illness, and checked himself in for treatment. His show last night (12-2) at the McCallum Theatre in Palm Desert, California was cancelled, as was tonight’s (12-3) show at the Fox Performing Arts Center in Riverside.
Jennifer Nettles’ “Sugar” Turns Dessert Into a Disaster
116 CommentsJennifer Nettles is the Kathy Bates of country music, and I’m not talking the ‘Fried Green Tomatoes’ Kathy Bates. Where some female performers like to exhibit personas such as the sweet girl next door or the strong Southern Belle, the Sugarland co-singer apparently thinks a psychopathic yandere cross bred with a hyper-spastic oversinger is what will curry the favor of the mindless drones of mainstream country.
Hayes Carll Finally Sets Release Date for New Album
10 CommentsThe long, arduous wait for new music from Hayes Carll appears to be coming to a close. After an extended pause between 2011’s ‘KMAG YOYO,’ Carll and Thirty Tigers announced a partnership in May of 2014, with a new album set to be released in “early 2015.” Even at that point, the wait of some eight or nine months seemed like it would take forever. Then early 2015 came and passed, and still no new Hayes.
Album Review – George Strait’s “Cold Beer Conversation”
86 CommentsLadies and gentlemen, we now live in a world where not even King George remains relevant on country radio. Isn’t that the sad, ever present revelation of the living—that time marches on, and no matter how important something was in the past, the present moves forward, callously at times, and the greatest of efforts are relegated to moments of fond reminiscing.
Kenny Rogers Blames “New Country” on His Retirement
35 CommentsKenny Rogers officially announced his retirement on September 25th, along with a final farewell tour, as part of an interview on NBC’s Today Show. At the time, Rogers cited wanting to spend more time with his 11-year-old twin boys, and not being able to get around the stage due to limited mobility as the primary reasons he was deciding to call it quits.
These Two Guys Just Pretty Much Spilled The Beans on What Country Radio Is All About
68 CommentsYou may not be able to find a more insular, inbred, and ass backwards institution in the entirety of the North American economy than country radio. Run by good ol’ boys in the pockets of big labels, and mid level corporate bureaucratic bean counters who bark orders from on high to hundreds of stations, the idea of country radio either serving the communities they broadcast to or artists died decades ago.
2015 Nominees for Saving Country Music’s Song of the Year
115 CommentsBeing willing to go where a song takes you is the challenge in the heart of every music lover. Hopefully one of these songs released in 2015 will take you some place you want to be, or somewhere you’ve never been before. These songs were selected on their own merit, not from the strength of the artist or album from where they came.
Finally, an Official Trailer for the Hank Williams “I Saw The Light” Biopic is Released
33 CommentsThe release date for the Hank Williams biopic I Saw The Light may have been pushed back from November 27th to March 25th, 2016, but at least we finally have a proper trailer for the once highly-anticipated movie. Most of the high hopes that the film could create a resurgence in interest in the life […]
R&B Here. R&B There. R&B Everywhere (Mono-Genre Watch)
93 CommentsIt’s all R&B. Like, all of it. If it’s American and mainstream, chances are it’s better categorized as R&B than anything else. It doesn’t matter what genre of music you’re talking about. Of course R&B sounds like R&B, but so does hip-hop these days. Modern rock? Yeah, it’s pretty much just R&B. Country music? That may be the most convincing case.
Sturgill Simpson Featured on HBO’s “The Leftovers”
24 CommentsMany of the creators and producers of these involved and more distinguished television series are fans of these lesser-known artists, and look for opportunities to plant Easter eggs for independent listeners. As non-mainstream music continues to increase in market share, such occurrences are happening more frequently on cable shows and elsewhere.