Christmas came early for ticket holders of the Texas Music/Red Dirt/Americana-oriented Mile 0 Fest set to transpire in Key West, Florida on January 28th-February 1st, 2020, as well as for those still sitting on the fence about if they want to go, or those who might have a ticket waiting for them under the Christmas tree.
When it comes to top-tier releases in the country and roots realm, 2019 was a year like we’ve never seen before. Though it feels like we say that every year, 2019 truly was exceptional. The albums selected to be considered for Saving Country Music’s Album of the Year are so elite, all of them should be considered the winners.
An album is something you listen to. A song is something that can change a life. The places a song can take you, the realizations and perspectives it can impart, the way it can touch something inside of you to make you feel something you never have before, or haven’t felt for a long time is the reason we cherish music so much.
As we get to the halfway pole in the musical year, it’s time to look back and asses the best albums that have been released in 2019 so far. At the moment, 2019 feels very top loaded with stellar releases. It has also been a very busy year for releases in regards to volume, though much more hit and miss when it comes to quality.
An older name, a younger name, and a name you need to know make the latest additions to the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist. Let’s start off with venerable songwriter Tom Russell, who surprised us all with the release of his latest record ‘October in the Railroad Earth,’ and just how full of quality songs it is
The guilty verdict for bar owner Chris Michael Ferrell who was convicted of 2nd Degree Murder in the death of country artist Wayne Mills on March 6th, 2015 has been confirmed by a Tennessee Court of Appeals. Now a motion for “post conviction relief” has been filed as Ferrell’s legal remedies are running out.
The wonderful thing about a Tuttle, is that a Tuttle is a wonderful thing. Clawhammer guitar maestro Molly Tuttle has announced her debut album When You’re Ready will be released April 5th, and her lead single, the plucky and infectious “Take The Journey” leads the latest additions to the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist.
The Steel Woods have arrived ladies and gentlemen, and with them a whole new legacy of Southern rock to enjoy in the present tense, and look forward to for the foreseeable future. With ‘Old News’ they lay it all to bear, leave nothing to chance, throw out their best shots, and scream for rightful consideration.
2019 is here ladies and gentlemen, and soon your ears will have a fresh new bounty of new releases in the country, roots, and Americana world to feast upon. In such a crowded landscape and with so many releases to choose from, having a road map certainly helps. So in that spirit, here are Saving Country Music’s top picks.
The Tumbleweed Music Festival set to take place just outside of Kansas City May 30th through June 1st has just announced their full lineup for 2019, and this year’s installment will have a strong Southern rock flavor to it. A strong contention of women will also be on the lineup.
The newest additions to the Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist don’t include a lot of boot scooters, but it may contain some of the best-written songs released all year. As we near the end of the year, it’s time to start considering the best songs and albums of all of 2018. Some of them could be on this playlist.
If you’re a Southern rock fan, and your haul from Halloween and Christmas leave you feeling short changed, wait until The Steel Woods unleash their second album Old News upon the world via Thirty Tigers/Woods Music.
You may not be into attending big arena shows, but it’s hard to not be happy for the big opportunity being bestowed to the Turnpike Troubadours, Southern rock revivalists The Steel Woods, high caliber songwriter Natalie Hemby, and Tenille Townes who have all been tapped as openers on Miranda Lambert’s “Bandwagon Tour.”
Sturgill Simpson, Chris Stapleton, and Jason Isbell comprise the current Mt. Rushmore of independent country and roots music, and that is unquestionable, regardless of how you may feel about any one of them specifically, or even as a group. But what is the fourth mug we can put on top of that mountain?
The Southern rock side of the country music space is blessed with some serious stalwart bands that have been around for years. At the same time, just like with every genre of music, the flux of bands breaking up and legends passing means there’s always room for fresh faces and new perspectives on the music to help keep it vital.
Get your hemp necklaces and nag champa ready, because Miranda Lambert is about to embark on the “Livin’ Like Hippies” tour come January, and even if you’re fair to partly cloudy on Ran Ran herself, she’s assembled a pretty badass lineup of openers that represent a who’s who of cool independent acts that may coax you off your couch.