Cumulus Media, the owner of some 65 country music radio stations in the United States, has filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy yet again. The company first filed for bankruptcy in 2017.
Leave it to Sturgill Simpson to do the most Sturgill Simpson things possible when releasing his latest album “Mutiny After Midnight,” officially recorded under his pseudonym Johnny Blue Skies and the Dark Clouds.
The upshot is that the album was recorded with his touring band, self-produced and written on the spot, and that he considers it a, “a dance record,” a “protest,” and “pure, unfiltered, unapologetic, relentless disco-hedonism.”
The sum total of country’s participation in the 3 1/2 hour show was the 4 minute, 44 second performance. While voting and Grammy membership is not entirely in the Grammy’s control, the performances are.
Waylon never followed, or imitated. He led. Even if he was going to fail, he would rather do it his way. That’s why it isn’t just the music, but Waylon’s attitude that was so influential, and inspirational.
Genre, era, generation, nor country of origin can contain the grief that grips the music world on a cold Saturday night in January as word of the passing of Bob Weir is disseminated.
It looks like Sturgill Simpson, or “Johnny Blue Skies” as he goes by now will likely have new music in 2026. And according to the singer and guitarist for The Black Keys, Dan Auerbach, don’t be surprised if he’s involved.
What is it about the Grammy system that doesn’t allow that one consensus album of a given year to rise to the top like it should, like it didn’t for the Turnpike Troubadours in 2025?
It’s likely no surprise that there have been so many country musicians who are either veterans themselves, or who’ve answered the call of duty to go above and beyond to honor and assist our active duty military.
He played as a primary musician in the band for The Highwaymen. He was the final steel guitar player and producer for Waylon Jennings. He played on albums from Sturgill Simpson and Chris Stapleton. He earned the nickname the “Man of Steel.”
Margo’s back, reunited with original producer Matt Ross-Spang, and just released perhaps the best album since her debut, maybe the best album of her entire career, and maybe one of the best country albums so far this year.
Over the last few months and years, something has been coming to the rescue of this relic of mass advertisement: independent country music. Charley Crockett, the Turnpike Troubadours and others have used billboards.
This unassuming building, formerly known as the Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa, was once the home and creative nucleus of legendary producer and songwriter Cowboy Jack Clement.
When the history books regard this era when the independent became the mainstream in country music, Tyler Childers will play perhaps the most important, and most pivotal role in that story.
“Snipe Hunter” by Tyler Childers is nowhere near as good as some of the hyperbolic proclamations being bandied about profess, and it’s not even close to the colossal letdown that others are alleging.
Once again the public is being asked to weigh the character of Zach Bryan after an online imbroglio. And once again, the scenario feels like a big nothing burger, blown out of proportion.
It’s hard to overstate how big this is, both in the present tense, and for what it could mean for the future. The Recording Academy has just announced that for the upcoming season, there will be a Best Traditional Country Album.
We don’t have many more details just yet. But Tyler Childers will have a new album coming out likely in the next few months, and legendary producer and music guru Rick Rubin will be the man in the control room.
There are just a few landmark records that you can point back to in the history of country music and legitimately claim they revolutionized the genre in fundamental ways.
For Sturgill Simpson, performing at Stubb’s was returning to the scene of the crime in Austin. “Well alright, we’ve been waiting like ten or eleven years to do this again,” Simpson said as he walked out on stage.
Sturgill Simpson (or Johnny Blue Skies) capped off a cold, but action packed weekend in Texas at the Two Step Inn Festival just north of Austin. It was a truncated, but inspired and untethered festival set.
The debut country album from Shooter Jennings called Put The ‘O’ Back in Country was a critically-important moment in the country music revolution we’re currently in the midst of.
So much for retirement. Those who’ve seen Simpson live can attest that he’s having too much damn fun at the moment with the reconstituted lineup of his legendary band to stay home.
Tip your hat to the folks who curated the roster for the 2025 FareWell Fest in Redmond, Oregon, because it might be the best independent country lineup we’ve seen so far in 2025. Crowned by Tyler Childers and Sturgill Simpson.