Here at the halfway pole of the musical year, it’s time to run down the best albums that have been released in 2022 so far. There have already been some excellent releases, and the first albums highlighted should be considered early candidates for Saving Country Music’s Album of the Year.
There’s nothing more country than showing love and appreciation for momma. It’s country songs that taught us all so well to respect our matriarchs. So no matter who you are, or where you’re from, make sure you’re a little country today. And after you wish momma…
Deeply studied and truly gifted to express the host of styles that comprise the broad and omnivorous 90s country era, Joshua Hedley has made himself into a modern country marvel, capable of taking up any piece of music from any country music era, and making it sing.
What an amazing time in music we live in where you can compile a playlist of excellent new songs from living legends like Willie Nelson and Ray Wylie Hubbard, and place them right beside new songs from great contemporary artists like Ian Noe and Kaitlin Butts.
Considered by many as the Mayor of Lower Broadway in Nashville, singer and songwriter Joshua Hedley has made a name for himself by keeping the history and sound of true country music alive through his music, both as a performer, and as a recording artist.
With his aching, painful delivery of poetically elegant songs ripped straight out of his own biography and smeared with tears and the residues of addiction, Justin Townes Earle embodied everything you wanted from the tragic troubadour holding on just enough to perform for you.
Robert’s Western World has been home to the Don Kelley Band for a quarter century. Though not as flashy or well-known as some of the other bands that blew up from the Robert’s stage, those who know Robert’s and The Don Kelley band know just how important the band has been to keeping true country alive on Lower Broadway.
Margo Price will release her latest record called That’s How Rumors Get Started on May 8th after moving on from Jack White’s Third Man Records to Loma Vista, an imprint of Concord Records. Margo released her first taste of new music in mid January with the song “Stone Me.” Now we get the first proper single.
“If it ever gets to be too much for you, there are a lot of great songwriters out there who agree with you politically. Oh wait, no there aren’t,” Jason Isbell responded to a Twitter user. But this assessment severely discounts to work of conservative songwriters who’ve contributed to the American songwriting canon.
It’s been a busy week in the land of country music traditionalist Cody Jinks, and it was crowned by a ringing endorsement from wrestling personality turned entrepreneur and podcaster Stone Cold Steve Austin. Plus Cody released two new videos, some tour dates, and a juicy hint about new music on the way.
Country Music legend and Hall of Famer Alan Jackson recently announced the first round of tour dates for his upcoming 2019 arena tour to the excitement of many. And now three other names have been added to select stops which you may have not heard before, but you should be paying attention to.
Naming the best live performances of a given year is not the same exercise as naming the best songs, albums, or artists, because it is specifically dependent on the experiences of the individual making the list. But it’s still an important exercise.
Country interloper Kane Brown just released his second record called Experiment, and since most of music media has devolved into nothing more than a promotional arm of the mainstream industry, the album’s arrival has been dutifully met with a host of fawning puff pieces filled with over-hyped tripe.
In the last few years a strange synergistic connection between independent country music and professional wrestlers has emerged, and it has resulted in some profound support for up-and-coming true country artists. Now Joshua Hedley can include himself in that camp.
The newest additions to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Playlist start with the opening tracks to a couple of cool new records. John R. Miller and the Engine Lights have a new album out called ‘The Trouble You Follow,’ and the witty and true “Holy Dirt” tops the newest incarnation of the playlist
One may ask why a journalist based in Austin, Texas would trek some 2000 miles to attend a music festival just outside of Portland, Oregon with all the more convenient options the “Live Music Capital of the World” can offer. But those people have probably never been to Pickathon before. Trumped only in stature for […]
One of Hinterland Music Fest’s most most memorable moments came during the set of Tyler Childers in the early afternoon when at one point both Sturgill Simpson and Wheeler Walker Jr., joined Tyler on stage. Sturgill was sitting in with Tyler’s band on guitar during the set, and Wheeler joined them on stage.
Joshua Hedley’s just-released record Mr. Jukebox is just about the most accurate portrayal of the Countrypolitan era we’ve heard from a modern artist in quite some time. And though many traditional country fans are singing Hedley’s praises, some have been skeptical of just how sincere his reverence for the music can be.
What Joshua Hedley has done on Mr. Jukebox is compose a haunting reenactment of country music from the 50’s, from the writing, to the phrasing, to the instrumentation and approach, marked by incredible detail, inferred by studious comprehension and tireless devotion to the effort…
Whether it was our vehement protestations, or simply patience revealing a more balanced perspective, the recent additions to the Randy Travis Spotify playlist have done a complete 180, and deserve recognition, if not outright praise.
The original concept of South By Southwest was not to be a funnel for corporate brand recognition through music, or as a springboard for superstars to increase their street cred on social media. It was a place for artists and industry to come together in the discovery process so worthy talent could find support for their music.
The Jack White-owned Third Man Records is facing some financial difficulties. This is the news coming out of the company’s Nashville headquarters in the SoBro neighborhood just south of downtown where they operate a record store, venue, as well as house label offices.
“Countrypolitan” or “The Nashville Sound” are the terms used to describe the lush, orchestral approach to country music that took root in Nashville in the 60’s, which embellished the music with strings and chorus sections to make it appeal to a more distinguishing audience of the time. It was Music Row’s answer to the counterculture revolution.
Joshua Hedley already has our anticipation sky high for his debut record Mr. Jukebox to be released April 20th via Third Man Records after years of playing traditional country music at Robert’s Western World on lower Broadway in Nashville. Hedley stoked anticipation even more when he released the title track to the record.