Held on the same grounds as the massive Rocklahoma gathering, Born & Raised boasted one of the best lineups all year on an incredibly crowded weekend. Just the Friday night lineup alone was worth the effort, with some of the best songwriters and performers in all of country music booked one after another.
The final months of 2022 are here, and just like the first portion of the year, it is jam packed in an increasingly cluttered environment for new releases. Instead of being overwhelmed, use this guide to help you navigate through the crush of titles, with the first 20 albums listed considered some of the top releases.
‘Rolling Stone’ published a list of the The 100 Greatest Country Albums of All Time this week, and as per usual, it has many arguing its merits, omissions, and inclusions. There was a time when whatever Rolling Stone said was taken as the definitive word in music. These days it’s more polarizing.
Headlined by Zach Bryan on Saturday, and the Turnpike Troubadours on Sunday, other fast-rising names such as Charles Wesley Godwin, Flatland Cavalry, 49 Winchester, and Larry Fleet also round out the lineup. Greenville Country Fest also makes sure to include some native Carolina blood.
Now celebrating five years of gathering in festival form, KOKEFest attracts a huge crowd of local KOKEheads, as well as people from across the country who want to get the genuine Texas country experience, including those who regularly listen to the station remotely online.
On Tuesday, August 2nd, Robert Earl Keen and his band were in New Orleans performing at the House of Blues. After the show and on their way back to Texas, the tour bus started moving very slow. The driver pulled over to check the engine, and when he opened the engine door, the bus ignited into flames.
There are now two consecutive country music festivals planned for Key West, Florida for the Winter of 2023: The 6th Annual Mile 0 Fest featuring Red Dirt, Texas, and Americana, and the 90s-centric Key Western Festival, happening the very next week.
There are many festivals out there now catering to independent country and Americana. But in three short seasons and amid a pandemic, Under The Big Sky Fest has quickly made the case for being the biggest and most important of all off the strength of its lineups.
It’s not that the Turnpike Troubadours were just meandering along and mired in obscurity before their hiatus in May of 2019. But clearly the distance and time away made hearts grow fonder, and has acted like a slingshot for this band from Oklahoma.
In 2015, we couldn’t imagine artists not supported by mainstream country radio selling out arenas, and minting multiple Platinum singles without the help of Music Row. Here in 2022, Tyler Childers is considered one of the top artists in the entire country music industry, and now we have Zach Bryan.
Though Turnpike Troubadours fans would probably prefer a album of new music (which is reportedly on the way), to tide fans over, a special limited-edition metallic gold version of Diamonds & Gasoline is being released by Vinyl Me Please. Limited to 1,500 copies, the double gatefold LP…
The accolades and opportunities for 49 Winchester continue to pour in, as they’re quickly becoming one of the biggest emerging bands in independent country here in 2022. Riding off the momentum of their recent album Fortune Favors The Bold, the band has just released a slew of new tour dates.
The Dropkick Murphys may be best known for their loud and aggressive Celtic punk music, but for their next album, they’re taking an entirely different approach, and one that has numerous ties to the independent country realm. Called This Machine Still Kills Fascists…
Well damn, we were all saying right after the Turnpike Troubadours announced their return and tickets were selling out immediately wherever they announced shows, that the boys from Oklahoma could probably sell out arenas at this point, or at least in certain markets.
Certain events and venues take on an exceptional status in music, simply from the moments that happened there, the memories made, and the artists discovered. Such is the case for the Telluride Bluegrass Festival, which celebrated its 49th Anniversary in 2022.
“I’m not sure what a bar band from Oklahoma is doing here, but we’re sure glad to be here,” Evan Felker said from the stage. And after witnessing the set Evan and the rest of the boys from Oklahoma turned in, it wasn’t just one of those things you say to butter up the crowd.
Two bands from Texas who help represent just how diverse and omnivorous the music from Texas can be have just given us the first taste of new music in what will hopefully be two rousing projects to help get us through 2022: The Vandoliers, and Shane Smith & the Saints.
Almost six years to the day that they announced their hiatus, The Damn Quails will be returning with a new album called “Clouding Up Your City.” The new album was actually originally announced as a Bryon White solo album, but Gabe Marshall has returned.
You can find a detailed list of all the confirmed album releases for the 2nd half of 2022 below, some specific albums from each release week that you should make sure to not overlook, and the always-exciting ‘Rumor Mill’ where intelligence is gathered on upcoming releases.
Their official reunification occurred in Tulsa at Cain’s Ballroom in early April. They also played a series of shows at Billy Bob’s Texas in Ft. Worth April 21st-23rd. Then on Friday, May 6th they made it down to the legendary Floore’s Country Store in Helotes, TX.
If you missed out on securing your opportunity to see the Turnpike Troubadours at Red Rocks in person either on May 14th, or the additional show added on May 15th, you still have an opportunity to see the next best thing. Just announced, their May 14th show will be livestreamed.
With no effort at embellishment, what happened in Tulsa will go down in history—for the historical venue of Cain’s Ballroom, for the Turnpike Troubadours, for independent country music, and for country music in general. It was that paramount, and that profound.
No, not all country radio stations suck. Some are downright badass. KOKE-FM out of Austin, TX is one of them. They’ve also put on a kickass festival now for five years where devotees to the KOKE world congregate.
The Turnpike Troubadours continue to reveal the itinerary of their 2022 comeback tour, which has included numerous famous spots. But no venue in country music is as vaunted as the Mother Church of Country Music, The Ryman Auditorium in Nashville.