Yes, there was actually a country music awards show on Thursday night (9-28). But unless you are a massive Dan + Shay fan or just a glutton for punishment, you probably didn’t even notice or know about it.
After the significant support the country music industry gave to the career of Jimmie Allen, it has nothing to show for it as his career implodes due to sexual assault allegations.
The 2023 CMT Awards could very well go down in country music history as a significant moment, but it won’t be for the reasons the producers of the presentation or their proponents in the media hoped for, or will purport it to be. And no, we’re not just talking about the polarizing political moments…
This weekend, Police and Fire personnel had large swaths of downtown Austin cordoned off due to a mass casualty/hazardous exposure event, also known as the CMT Awards. The barriers and checkpoints weren’t there to keep freeloaders out, it was to keep the grotesque infection of pop country quarantined.
After NBC Universal purchased a 30% stake in the Grand Ole Opry’s parent company Ryman Hospitality in 2022, you knew there would be an effort to cross-pollinate the two companies for better or worse. Lo and behold, come September we will now have the “People’s Choice Country Awards.”
On December 18th after Zach Bryan had three of his songs featured on Season 5, Episode 7 of the Paramount series Yellowstone, singer and songwriter Rich O’Toole took to social media to say that Zach’s song “Motorcycle Drive By” had borrowed/stolen the guitar/melody part from his song “Take My Heart” released in 2014.
Susan Lucci is the name people love to cite when it comes to someone who’s accrued a long string of nominations for a certain award without ever actually winning it. But legendary country music steel guitarist Paul Franklin actually has Susan Lucci beat, and by more than a decade.
Ever since video leaked of Morgan Wallen using the ‘N’ word on camera on January 31st, 2021, the situation has been broadly mischaracterized by the media and others looking to exploit the situation as opposed to giving it the accurate portrayal such an important incident deserves.
Though the film means well, and is generally well-made with superb cinematography and high production value, the approach and information conveyed in the film is problematic to say the least, actively participating in erasing the legacy of Black country artists in a film that purports to be championing them.
Country music is country music, and the best definition of what country music is, is that you know it when you hear it. It’s self-evident. But the genre has birthed many subgenres, many stylistic movements over the years, and at times has seen a splintering and Balkanization.
Chapel Hart have been around for a while now, originally forming in 2014 and releasing their first of two LPs in 2019. They are also one of the most egregious victims of discrimination in country music. No, not just because they are Black, because they are country.
It’s a cool program the Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion has put together, with local bands opening for big-named acts all summer. But apparently when the team for Maren Morris caught wind that there would be a local act playing on the Hazy Little Stage, they cited a “no local openers” clause.
If Kane Brown loves his woman like he loves country music as he says in his new song, that means he’s sleeping with her sister and gave them both a case of chlamydia that he contracted from some floozie he picked up in a bar. “Toxic” to say the least.
Many independent country music fans and Americana nerds will never admit to it, but the simple fact is that mainstream country music has been on a painfully slow, but palpable improvement track since about 2015 when Bro-Country hit its peak.
I know what you’re going to say. “NeW yOrK CiTY!” like that guy in the old Pace Picante Sauce commercial. Or if you pride yourself in having any sort of semblance of taste, maybe you’re wondering why anyone in 2021 would still be listening to mainstream country radio at all.
So often identity-based media coverage and awards are not about the artists themselves. These media members, outlets, and awards institutions use these artists as tokens and sometimes unwitting pawns to signal their virtue to the public and their peers in the industry.
Breland is back, and collaborating closely with Keith Urban in the hopes of giving him some credibility in country’s mainstream. Jokes on him though, because Keith Urban has no credibility to lend. Don’t believe me, just recall when he accidentally won Entertainer of the Year in 2018.
Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic will not have a hard and fast end date. It’s not just the risk to the public, but the potential concern for a public relations issue surrounding the polarizing subject of COVID-19 that has the prospects for live music later in 2021 still looking like a mixed bag.
The Grand Ole Opry is celebrating its 95th Anniversary with a big primetime special on Sunday, February 14th on NBC. Called ‘Grand Ole Opry: 95 Years of Country Music,’ it comes as the Opry is enjoying arguably one of its biggest resurgences in interest in the institution’s history.
Kane Brown took center field at AT&T Stadium on Thanksgiving Day to perform a medley of his hit during the halftime of the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Football Team game, and no, it wasn’t the expired cream cheese in the pumpkin pie that had folks hurling up giblets, it was the prancing wanker lip syncing.
The Dallas Cowboys NFL football team has suffered yet another devastating setback in a season beset with them after it was revealed that Kane Brown will be this year’s halftime performer at the franchise’s annual Thanksgiving Day game.
To help in the COVID-19 recovery effort, the Hall of Fame is planning a special live streaming event that will match up many of the iconic instruments in the “Precious Jewels” collection and other displays with many of the best artists and players of today.
Also as part of the reopening, the Hall of Fame is planning a special live streaming event on October 28th, and one they hope will be one of their biggest fundraisers ever, called “Big Night (At The Museum)”. It will match legendary instruments with many of the legendary artists of today.
Florida Georgia Line has the #1 song on country radio this week with their latest single “I Love My Country.” But buried deep in the songwriting credits and the history of this song is one of the most uncovered scandals in country music in 2020.