Major Layoffs Hit ACM Awards, MCA Nashville
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Is something amiss in the major label world? Two of country music’s major entities are cutting staff, and no matter how they spin it, when you’re downsizing as opposed to growing, it’s usually not a good sign.
The Story of Carolyn Beug: Dwight Yoakam Friend & Collaborator Lost in 9/11 Crash
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Though Carolyn’s impact on country music was brief, her story exemplifies how every soul lost on 9/11 was an important one, and how the tragedy left not one segment of American life untouched. It’s the type of loss that leaves you alone and longing, like the lonesome melody of a country song.
Album Review – “Mud” by Whiskey Myers
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If you’re looking for music that immerses you in a sea of sludgy, gritty, thumping and twangy Southern melody served unfiltered and full-bodied, and mired deep in the honey and depression of the authentic Southern identity, then you have come to the right place.
Dakota Pipeline Robber Barron is a Music Impresario – & Artists Are Turning Against Him
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Kelcy Warren, the CEO of Energy Transfer Partners who is behind the Dakota Access project is actually an impresario in the music space and when he’s not dictating the construction of controversial projects or directing the stamping down on dissent against the company. And now some of his musical buddies turning against him.
Americana Fans Face Dilemma of Dual Festivals on the Same Weekend
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The reigning king of Americana music at the moment is arguably songwriter and performer Jason Isbell. But Jason Isbell will not be performing at Americana’s annual premier event every year—The Americana Music Conference, or AmericanaFest, that transpires September 20th through 25th in downtown Nashville.
Album Review – David Nail’s “Fighter”
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It takes more than a few really good songs to make a great album. David Nail’s ‘Fighter’ has some really good songs. I’d even be willing to go on the record saying it’s got some really great songs. But it also has some of the usual suspects of mainstream songwriting tropes that you have to sift through to get to those great songs.
Loretta Lynn Cancels Shows, Needs Surgery After Fall
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Country legend Loretta Lynn was forced to cancel her Labor Day weekend appearance at her ranch in Hurricane Mills, TN on Saturday (9-3) after suffering a fall, and now word has come down that the country queen will have to cancel additional dates and will require surgery.
Zac Brown Says the Band’s Returning to Their Roots in New Album
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Don’t blame me for taking an “I’ll believe it when I see it” attitude after listening to “Beautiful Drug” and “Tomorrow Never Comes” off of their latest album Jekyll + Hyde, but Zac Brown and the Zac Brown Band have just released a new missive putting their fans on alert that they’re heading back into the studio soon, and will be “returning to their roots” on the new album.
Musician’s Hall of Fame Announces 2016 Inductees
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Jerry Reed and Ricky Skaggs may still be on the outside looking in when it comes to the Country Music Hall of Fame, but the Musicians Hall of Fame in Nashville, located on the other side of downtown in the Municipal Auditorium, has decided these two country music superpickers are worthy of induction. And along […]
The Singer from Stryper Waylays Rock Gone Country Performers
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Michael Sweet says he has his own history in country, and has enough respect for it to where he sees right through the Steven Tylers and Brett Michaels who think you can turn into a country star like flipping a switch. No punches are pulled in the song and video for “Radio.”
Americana & Classic Country Make Big Inroads Into Nashville Radio Landscape
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Just in time for throngs of Americana fans to flock to the city for the annual AmericanaFest the third week of September, a new radio station has launched just south of the city in Murfreesboro, and the signal and talent is strong enough that it may ultimately become the flagship for the still small, but quickly-rising Americana format.
Bobby Bones: “If You Hold On To Your Roots, You Don’t Grow.”
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The reason much of country music, bluegrass, blues, folk, and other older genres are referred to as “roots” is because these vital influences to American music are the building blocks for most or all of the music people enjoy today. Before there was rock and roll, and before there was hip-hop, roots music paved the way for all popular music genres.
Steel Guitar Revolutionary Bud Isaacs Has Died
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The seminal instrument of country music would not sound the same, and many of country’s golden hits would not be as sweet if it weren’t for Bud Isaacs, and now he’s gone. A member of the Steel Guitar Hall of Fame, a player on countless country music recordings, and once member of the Ozark Jubilee, Bud Issacs was vital to helping form the sound of country music.