This is The Reaction You Make When …

The horror on this poor woman’s face says it all. What could cause this reaction? Let’s look at some of the worst case scenarios in country music.
Trigger Down with Pop Country 69 Comments
The horror on this poor woman’s face says it all. What could cause this reaction? Let’s look at some of the worst case scenarios in country music.
Clint Black, Dan+Shay, Diplo, Dustin Lynch, Dwight Yoakam, Morgan Wallen, Sam Hunt, Walker Hayes
Trigger Radio/Media, Reviews 73 Comments
Over the Christmas/New Year holiday, Morgan Wallen’s “You Proof” set a rather landmark achievement by becoming the first radio single in country music history to spend 10 weeks at #1—a record that despite the song’s country lyricism as a heartbreak drinking song, can only be regarded as dubious.
Alan Jackson, Ernest, Florida Georgia Line, Hardy, Jason Isbell, Jimmy Buffett, Lainey Wilson, Lonestar, Morgan Wallen, Sam Hunt
Trigger Random Notes 73 Comments
On Wednesday, August 31st, 2022, Florida Georgia Line played its final show as a duo at the Minnesota State Fair. “This is our last official concert as Florida Georgia Line… let’s see what we got left in the tank,” Tyler Hubbard said at the start of the performance, goading the crowd. It’s been a long, slow, painful death.
Brian Kelley, Brothers Osborne, Chris Stapleton, Cody Jinks, Dave Cobb, Florida Georgia Line, Joey Moi, John Marks, Luke Bryan, Morgan Wallen, Nelly, Nickelback, Sam Hunt, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Hubbard, Zach Bryan
Trigger Random Notes 157 Comments
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.
Aaron Watson, alt-country, Americana, Ameripolitan, Bill Monroe, Bill Woods, Billy Mize, Billy Sherrill, Blackberry Smoke, Blake Shelton, Bloodshot Records, Bob Childers, Bob Wayne, Bob Wills, Bobby Bare, Bonnie Owens, Buck Owens, Cedric Burnside, Chancey Williams, Chet Atkins, Chris LeDoux, Cody Canada, Cody Johnson, Colt Ford, Colter Wall, Country Blues, countrypolitan, Cross Canadian Ragweed, CW McCall, Dale Watson, Dan + Shay, Dan Auerbach, Dave Dudley, David Allan Coe, Dick Curless, Don Rich, Dwight Yoakam, Elvis Presley, Emmylou Harris, Florida Georgia Line, Franklin County Trucking Company, Gene Autry, George Jones, George Strait, Glen Campbell, Greensky Bluegrass, Hank Williams III, Jason Aldean, Jason Boland, Jody Rosen, John Hartford, Johnny Cash, Junior Brown, Kane Brown, Koe Wetzel, Kolby Cooper, Kris Kristofferson, Kyle Park, Leftover Salmon, Linda Rhonstadt, Lucinda Williams, Luke Combs, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Marshall Tucker Band, Marty Stuart, Merle Haggard, Mike Ness, Ned LeDoux, Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, Old 97's, Owen Bradley, Patsy Cline, psychobilly, Randy Rogers Band, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Red Dirt, Red Sovine, Robert Earl Keen, rockabilly, Roy Rogers, Sam Bush, Sam Hunt, Steve Earle, Stoney LaRue, Texas Country, Th Reverend Horton Heat, The Allman Brothers, The Byrds, The Eagles, The Flying Burrito Brothers, The Grateful Dead, The Knitters, The Nashville Sound, The Rolling Stones, The Stone Poneys, The Stray Cats, Uncle Tupelo, Wade Bowen, Waylon Jennings, Wayne 'The Train' Hancock, Whiskey Myers, Whiskeytown, Willie Nelson
Sam Hunt was scheduled to headline the Boots & Hearts Music Festival Friday, August 5th in Burl’s Creek, Ontario in Canada, but he will no longer be attending after he announced he is not being allowed into the country. Jake Owen has instead been tapped as the Friday night headliner.
Trigger Random Notes 67 Comments
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.
Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, Hazy Little Stage, Kane Brown, Luke Bryan, Maren Morris, Morgan Wallen, Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats, Paige Davis, Sam Hunt, The Tedeschi Trucks Band, Thomas Rhett, Willie Nelson
Trigger Random Notes 47 Comments
Ever since Billboard tweaked their formula for how songs are slotted on the Hot Country Songs chart in 2012, it has given rise to heavyweight tracks that sit atop the chart for weeks and weeks on end. All the more reason that the current song to get stuck at #1.
Blanco Brown, Cody Johnson, Dan + Shay, Florida Georgia Line, Maren Morris, Sam Hunt, Walker Hayes
Who could have predicted that the hottest new things in country music would be pudgy songwriter dudes with mononyms. No, this isn’t HARDY. He’s the dorky-looking one with the glasses. This is ERNEST. Their rise is almost as improbable as the other hot trend…
Ernest, Florida Georgia Line, Flower Shops, Hardy, Morgan Wallen, Sam Hunt
In a story Saving Country Music was painstakingly attempting to avoid, Sam Hunt’s wife Hannah Fowler filed for divorce on Friday, February 18th, claiming infidelity from the “country” star—specifically “guilty of inappropriate marital conduct” and “guilt of adultery.”
Trigger Random Notes 64 Comments
This extensive “Mix It Up With Florida Georgia Line” exhibit that the Hall of Fame recently opened on February 6th really is an unfortunate, and frankly shortsighted move by the museum, overlooking the widely-polarizing nature of the Bro-Country duo.
Brian Kelley, Chris Stapleton, Cody Jinks, Country Music Hall of Fame, Florida Georgia Line, Jason Aldean, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, Tyler Hubbard
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.
Ashley McBryde, Buy Dirt, Carly Pearce, Ernest, Florida Georgia Line, Flower Shops, George Strait, Grand Ole Opry, Jon Pardi, Jordan Davis, Kane Brown, Lainey Wilson, Michael Ray, Morgan Wallen, Sam Hunt, Whiskey and Rain, Whiskey Sour
If you’ve been waiting for the right opportunity to catch the Turnpike Troubadours on their reunion tour and got locked out of the first round of shows due to the crazy run on tickets, the opportunities to see them live just got a lot more lucrative.
Aaron Lewis, Chris Colston, Darci Carlson, Ella, Flatland Cavalry, Gordys Hwy 30 Music Fest, Granger Smith, Jackalope Jamboree, Jesse Daniel, Koe Wetzel, Kolby Cooper, Lainey Wilson, MIke and the Moonpies, Miranda Lambert, Mitchell Tenpenny, Morgan Wade, Pecos and the Rooftops, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Rob Leines, Sam Hunt, Sam Riggs, Shane Smith and the Saints, Tim McGraw, Turnpike Troubadours, Under The Big Sky Festival, Willie Nelson, Windy City Smokeout, Zach Bryan
Trigger Down with Pop Country 122 Comments
My Lord is this is bad. But it’s one of these instances where it’s so terrible, it’s actually hilarious. I heard about this monstrosity, cued it up on the music streaming service of choice, and started laughing so hard milk shot out of my nose. And I wasn’t even drinking milk at the time.
Billy Currington, Intuition, Jerrod Niemann, Sam Hunt, Zac Brown
Trigger Random Notes 12 Comments
That’s right, Saving Country Music is brushing off this old feature, and featuring another name from the modern era of country music badasses in Cody Jinks after his recent run over the last few years has made him one of the most formidable names in independent country.
Adobe Sessions, Casper McWade, Cody Jinks, Jordan Foster, Larry Hooper, Paul Cauthen, Randy Travis, Sam Hunt, Sunny Sweeney, Tennessee Jet, The Steel Woods, Tyler Childers, Ward Davis, Whitey Morgan
Trigger Random Notes 48 Comments
You know how this drill works. Make sure your tray tables are in their full upright position, make sure all electronic devices are set to airplane mode, and don’t believe a pop country star when they say they’re going back to their roots until you actually hear it.
Trigger Random Notes 12 Comments
Ha! This is great. So at some point during the last installment of Mile 0 Fest in Key West, FL in early 2020, a bunch of independent country artists primarily from the Texas scene took the time to read bad reviews of their music. It’s like a mean Tweets segment featuring some of your favorite artists.
Adam Hood, Brent Cobb, Jamie Lin Wilson, Jason Eady, Mile 0 Fest, Sam Hunt, Wade Bowen
Pop country star Sam Hunt has now been indicted on drunk driving charges by a Davidson County Grand Jury. Police initiated a traffic stop where they observed Sam Hunt had bloodshot eyes, and two empty beer cans near him.
Trigger Down with Pop Country 80 Comments
Due to COVID-19, and then the protests and riots, the Saving Country Music snark machine has been pretty much powered down and collecting dust for the better part of 2020. But there has been as few instances of country music malfeasance so egregious, it would be unconscionable to not address.
Dustin Lynch, Florida Georgia Line, Garth Brooks, Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt, Tim McGraw
Five years ago today—on November 4th, 2015—the biggest event and paradigm shift in country music occurred most certainly in the last 10 years, likely in the last quarter century, and possibly one of the biggest moments in the totality of country music history.
Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton, CMA Awards, Colter Wall, Dave Cobb, Florida Georgia Line, Justin Timberlake, Luke Combs, Sam Hunt, Taylor Swift, Traveller
Trigger Down with Pop Country 58 Comments
Due to COVID-19, and then the protests and riots after the George Floyd killing, the Saving Country Music snark machine has been pretty much powered down and collecting dust for the better part of 2020. But there has been as few instances of country music malfeasance so egregious, it would be unconscionable to not address them.
Dustin Lynch, Florida Georgia Line, Garth Brooks, Sam Hunt, Tim McGraw
Trigger Down with Pop Country 79 Comments
Cody Jinks rarely casts stones, and isn’t inclined to spout off against pop country unless the situation is really called for. That happened to be the case when he made a recent visit to the dentist, and was exposed to the Sam Hunt song “Hard To Forget,” though he didn’t know the song or artist at the time.
Trigger Radio/Media 45 Comments
Beyond making a really bad amalgam of derivative and formulaic rap pop by ripping off the styles of Drake and trap beat artists to only then turn around and sell it as country to the gullible masses, Sam Hunt is also superlative at turning hip-hop, pop, and indie rock writers into certified country music experts.
Ashley McBryde, Dixie Chicks, Kacey Musgraves, Lil Nas X, Luke Combs, Morgan Wallen, Sam Hunt
If true country music is dead, then Sam Hunt’s DNA is all over the crime scene. As the man who single-handedly eroded more barriers between popular music genres than anyone else in the modern era, it is he who you can point the ugly finger of blame towards for the fact that most all modern music sounds the same.
Trigger Down with Pop Country 81 Comments
Haha. Okay… So this is how Sam Hunt is making his music, “… more traditional in terms of the genre … that’s definitely where the songs are leaning at this point,” like he promised us he was doing last summer? By filching a piece of a sacred Webb Pierce classic and misappropriating it for a derivative drum-looped pop song?
Hard To Forget, Keith Urban, Sam Hunt, There Stands The Glass, Webb Pierce