Album Review – Gabe Lee’s “Farmland”
12 Comments
More folk than country, but more country than most of what you hear on the radio, ‘Farmland’ is a bold stroke of confident and articulate songwriting prowess filled with stories of broken heats, failures and frailty, and cutting insight into the trappings of American life. It’s not unfair to draw comparisons to Dylan and Prine when listening to ‘Farmland.’
Opposing Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” in Country Is Not “Racism”
103 Comments
See, this is the reason why showing concern of where and how songs are placed in music charts is so critical, and how making a simple mistake can cause dramatic reverberations throughout the music ecosystem where now you have long-standing institutions and entire genres of music being accused of outright racism.
Pop Albums More Country Than Many Mainstream “Country” Albums
29 Comments
When you hear certain albums from some of country music’s mainstream performers, it’s patently clear to large portions of the audience that these albums aren’t pop country, they’re just pop, period. But in the pop world when artist dabble in country influences, they tend to be more honest about how the end result is still pop.
Rockabilly Queen Wanda Jackson Announces Retirement from Performing
16 Comments
The curtain has closed on the touring and performing career of one of America’s most iconic women of music, whose influence has been incredible in both the country and rock world, and who’s considered one of the greatest living legends of music still alive. Wanda Jackson, a.k.a. the Queen of Rockabilly is hanging up her red boots.
Railbird Festival Announces Impressive Inaugural Lineup
4 Comments
The amount of premium festivals with stacked lineups for you to salivate over as the target for your discretionary music budget are starting to get downright overwhelming, and a new festival set to take place August 10th and 11th in Lexington, Kentucky will only add to your dilemma.
Luke Combs & Ashley McBryde Earn Early & Deserved ACM Awards
27 Comments
It’s cool that the ACM Awards spectrum out their annual “Best New Artist” award to male, female, and duo/group categories to give up-and-comers that much more opportunity for recognition. But it’s also lame how they report who actually won on a random Monday with a quick email.
Album Review – Roger Alan Wade’s “Simmering Rage”
16 Comments
Roger Alan Wade may be one of the best, and most emotionally potent songwriters and storytellers of our generation—a strong bullet point that is bolded and underscored with his latest album of all original songs, and his first after a five year gulf called ‘Simmering Rage.’ There are songwriters, and then there is Roger Alan Wade.
Keith Whitley Benefit Concert and Hall of Fame Exhibit On The Way
27 Comments
Keith Whitley is gone, but he will not be forgotten. And the legacy he left behind during his short and troubled life still reverberates throughout country music today, and constitutes a legacy that is nothing short of legendary. This is one of the reasons the Country Music Hall of Fame in Nashville chose to commission an exhibit and tribute concert.
I Don’t Want a Maddie & Tae EP, I Want The Whole Damn Thing
79 Comments
Announced Monday morning (3-25), country music duo Maddie & Tae will finally have an album of new music to peddle come April 26th when a 5-song EP called ‘One Heart To Another’ is released via Mercury Nashville. But there’s a reason why this release feels inappropriate, and more of a stop gap than a proper album.
Remember The Name “Ian Noe,” Music Fans
16 Comments
If you’ve been paying any attention to country music over the last few years, you know to be paying attention to just about any performing songwriter hailing from Kentucky. It’s the state that has given us Tyler Childers, Dillon Carmichael, Chris Stapleton, Kelsey Waldon, and Sturgill Simpson just to name a few over the last few years.
Newest Additions to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist (#38)
20 Comments
An older name, a younger name, and a name you need to know make the latest additions to the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist. Let’s start off with venerable songwriter Tom Russell, who surprised us all with the release of his latest record ‘October in the Railroad Earth,’ and just how full of quality songs it is
Blake Shelton Deserves Credit For Success of “Friends & Heroes” Tour
51 Comments
Yes, Captain Old Farts & Jackasses has given traditional country fans plenty of reasons to give him a hairy eyeball over the years or curse his name under their breath (anyone remember the tractor rapping of “Boys ‘Round Here”?) But I’ll be damned if Blake Shelton hasn’t been on some prolonged traditional country kick lately.
Billboard Must Remove Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” From Country Chart
71 Comments
The debate about what is country music and what isn’t is an eternal one. But a 1:53-long viral “song” that is really nothing more than an internet meme entitled “Old Town Road” by rapper “Lil Nas X” has rekindled the debate anew, with critical implications behind it.