Tim McGraw is your 2026 Country Music Hall of Fame inductee in the Modern Era category. And though perusing over his numbers, it’s hard to say the accolade is not justified, it also feels a little strange…
Clearly the death of his father inspired a dramatic recalibration of priorities for Chase Rice, and that is reflected in the songs of this album. It’s definitely more mature and meaningful than his earlier stuff.
What we’re looking for here are legitimate Song of the Year contenders. This means were not searching for the catchy ditties and toe tappers. We’re looking for songs that elicit a deep emotional response.
“Fathers & Sons” is far and away the best-written album of Luke’s career. It’s also far and away the most country-sounding album of his career. Poignant, purposeful, heartfelt, and graced by perfect timing…
A Song of the Year nominee needs to be something that can change a life, change someone’s perspective, or change the world we live in. Yes, this is all quite a tall order, but this is where a good song can take you.
‘Tis the season to go through all the albums released in country music this year, and attempt to asses what we think will withstand the test of time and ultimately define 2023. This isn’t about turning art into competition…
For sure, the big names that the Grammys tend to favor will get theirs. But let’s make sure that the names that don’t enjoy media darling status and might get overlooked in the process also receive attention.
The hits keep coming, and the Top 25 Playlist continues to be overloaded with songs that feel essential for the public to be heard. This latest update includes numerous songs that might go down as the best all year.
“There are the songs of Lori McKenna, and then there are the songs of everyone else in country music. Lori McKenna songs should constitute their own subgenre in the way she’s so deftly captures feelings and sentiments…”
Now on his second major label release, Parker McCollum continues to offer songs that go a little bit deeper than the surface compared to much of the mainstream.
Lets not overlook that a bunch of very cool and important artists all announced new albums this week in a cavalcade of titlesthat shouldn’t be allowed to slide under your radar.
It’s official, ladies and gentlemen. Country music has entered a new neotraditional age. There may be no better evidence than Megan Moroney’s “Lucky.”
We’ve seen the hit TV show series Yellowstone help wing a dozen or so worthy independent country artists into the stratosphere through the show’s soundtrack. Now we’re seeing a reversal of roles as one of the primary cast members of Yellowstone has just signed a major label record deal.
Infinite apologies if you came here looking for your next favorite boot scooter, because that’s not what Song of the Year is all about. There will be a Single of the Year category coming up too. But what we’re looking for here is the most unabashedly slow and sentimental sad bastard songs possible.
Finally. 14+ years into a 10 year town, and Hailey Whitters is receiving the attention from the mainstream of country music that many fans, critics, and prognosticators have been saying she deserved many years ago, wishcasting her as one of the future bright stars of the genre if she was just given a chance.
Sunny Sweeney is her own woman. It’s her approach and songs that make this album the standout that it is. It’s her honesty, and the way the sentiments marry perfectly with the music that make “Married Alone” a pretty excellent example of everything country music is supposed to be.
Combining songs of heartbreak with a little extra steel guitar on this one, it makes Somewhere Between The Secret and the Truth just as much “country music” as it is “Texas music,” while not forgoing the type of songs that are easy to love, and have earned Wade Bowen a wide and omnivorous audience.
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats, or you can just use the song, artist, and album recommendations.
Texas music artist Wade Bowen has a new album coming out called ‘Somewhere Between The Secret and the Truth,’ and ahead of the new album, he’s released a stunner of a slow, singer/songwriter country track called “A Guitar, A Singer, and a Song” featuring country legend Vince Gill.
It’s called “I’ll Tell You What’s Gonna Happen,” but it very well could be called “Better Late Than Never.” Call it what you want, but it most certainly deserves to be called country, and good. Native Texan Kimberly Kelly has been kicking around both the Texas and Nashville country scenes for years
The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats, or just use the song, artist, and album recommendations to find something new.
There are only a few women out there in country music that you would ever dare considering using the exemplifying qualifier of “Outlaw” with, but Sunny Sweeney sure fits the bill. She’s a full-blown independent music maverick these days.
Genre is not really the big issue with “Humble Quest.” It’s the energy, or lack thereof, and the generally uninspired matter-of-fact approach to the lyrics and really the music too that make Humble Quest just kind of pedestrian, especially for pop country.
Hailey Whitters proves on ‘Raised’ that eulogizing small town middle America doesn’t have to be so trite. Whitters and her co-writers like Lori McKenna, Brandy Clark, and Nicolle Galyon know how to take the yearning we all feel for a sense of home…