49 Winchester Adds to Anticipated 2023 Tour
18 CommentsFew artists or bands in independent country are getting the same opportunities as 49 Winchester at the moment. Not only is reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs walking around in one of their T-shirts, he’s booked them to open a bunch of his shows in Europe later this year.
Album Review – Tom Waits “Bad As Me”
33 CommentsOne of the most pressing questions I’ve seen about his music in the context of his new album Bad As Me is if it should be considered “roots” or “Americana.” 7 years ago, when Waits put out his last real original album, I would have probably said no, but loaded with qualifiers. Today my answer would be “absolutely.”
Leroy Virgil of Hellbound Glory Talks “Damaged Goods”
17 CommentsThe release of Hellbound Glory’s newest album Damaged Goods on November 15th symbolizes a big opportunity for independent country to put its best foot forward in the form of one of the most cunning and engaging songwriters country music boasts at any level. I talked to Leroy just before a show at The Dirty Dog Saloon in Austin, TX on Oct 21st about Damaged Goods.
Dale Watson Discusses “The Sun Sessions” & Gene Kurtz
8 CommentsDale Watson’s gray hair may be filling in nicely, but he’s not slowing down. On the heels of The Sun Sessions, he is releasing a video for each individual song. He’ll also be doing an exclusive tour with his “Texas Two” lineup in Europe. But at the moment he is also mourning the loss of his long-time bass player Gene Kurtz, who passed away over the weekend.
Hank Williams ‘The Last Ride’ Movie Finally Sees Release
18 CommentsThe Last Ride, a movie depicting the last days of Hank Williams, has finally been released to the public. On Friday (10-21-11), it debuted in 7 cities in the South, including 4 in Arkansas, where both director Harry Thomason and star Harry Thomas (Elliot from ET), who plays Hank Williams, are from. It will see a wide release in January of 2012.
Hank Williams III & Shooter Jennings Bury The Hatchet
18 CommentsTwo of country music’s most famous sons have apparently buried the hatchet on a long, 6 year feud that in many ways was one-sided, and was fueled by misunderstanding. “Got an amazing care package from Hank III with all 3 new records on vinyl & CD + a sweet rebel flag lighter,” Shooter fired off on his Twitter Feed over the weekend.
Toby Keith’s “Red Solo Cup”: Bad is the New Good
64 CommentsRemember the viral song “Friday” by Rebecca Black? When that song blew up, some were saying this symbolized a historic shift in the good music/bad music paradigm, where the song wasn’t popular despite being bad, it was popular because it was bad. we might have the first song taking this paradigm-shifting concept and applying it to a song.
From Homeless to Hank3: The Story of Ray Lawrence Jr.
22 CommentsThe first song on the “Ray Lawrence Jr.” track from Hank3’s Ghost to a Ghost is “When You Lose All You Have.” They say to write it, you have to live it, and Ray wrote the song while living in a Phoenix homeless shelter. A truck driver and a divorcee, Ray had reached the end of his rope in 2008, and penned the song as a self-portrait.
Caleb Klauder Just Wants To Play Music
19 CommentsCaleb’s name deserves equal billing beside the other top shelf independent roots artists from across the country. And though you may have not heard of Caleb until recently, or just right now, the 40-year-old with flecks of gray hair sticking out from under his trucker hat has been touring and making music for 20 years now. It just has not always been music that bears his name.
Yelawolf Has No Place In Country and Roots Music
84 CommentsHere at Saving Country Music, we have put ourselves squarely on the front lines of opposing the infiltration of hip hop into the country genre, or possibly, the takeover of country by hip-hop, that seems to be pervading the current mainstream country music landscape. Unlike many others that flee from this fight, I am willing to take the charges of racism and closed-mindedness…
Album Review – Dale Watson “The Sun Sessions”
16 CommentsI’m not sure many other artists, even the ones that are big Johnny Cash fans, would be up for pulling this project off with this adeptness. It would almost take a small team of musical historians, creative writers, and musicians to evoke what Dale Watson does in a seemingly effortless manner simply from his fandom, understanding, and deep appreciation for The Man in Black.
Is ‘Country’ an Embarrassing Term for Top Tier Talent?
40 CommentsNow that mainstream country music has been seen as just another version of pop music by so many people for so long, my concern is that talented musicians are being turned off by the mere mention of the term ‘country’, seeing it as a genre without gravitas, obsessed with money and image, making it even more likely for the one-in-a-million music talent to stay away.
Sheryl Crow’s Rendition of Hank Williams’ “Angel Mine”
35 CommentsCorrect me if I’m wrong, but I don’t remember Hank Williams ever recording any drunken sea shantys. I can’t remember any Ol’ Hank songs featuring trumpets, or classically-styled lilting mandolin parts either. And I guess the Hank song that is built around incongruent, sloppily-overdubbed harmonies is on that $70 box set I could never get the scratch to buy.