Their sound reminds you of the best of The Eagles and Alabama, figuring out how to borrow just enough from timeless sounds and melodies to be immediately appealing, while putting enough of their own spin on each song to be original and fresh.
Ever since this Texas music supergroup formed—first under the name Hill Country, and now as The Wilder Blue—they have been spellbinding listeners with the ease in which they meld together country, classic rock, and bluegrass styles.
They were previously called Hill Country. Now they’re called The Wilder Blue. But whatever you call them, most folks lending them an ear call them damn good music. They’ve earned many fans since releasing their self-titled album in 2020 from the country.
Ever since releasing their debut self-titled record in late May, the newly-formed Texas music supergroup recording under the name ‘Hill Country’ has been receiving worthy praise for their music. But as some have remarked, the name is just generic enough for it to get buried or confused.
Ever since releasing their debut album in May, the Zane Williams-led Texas music supergroup called Hill Country has been heavily touted by the listeners who’ve been clued into their self-titled record. It just the overall vibe the group captures. And apparently the biggest artist in country music at the moment agrees.
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 to listen to. New songs just added.
Texas country singer and songwriter Zane Williams already had a steady gig as a revered and supported artist in the scene for years, releasing seven records, touring extensively throughout the region. So why go off and start a band with as ambiguous of a name as “Hill Country” to hide yourself in?
Participating in the auction are greats like Lee Ann Womack, who adorned her skull with a flower arrangement, Ray Wylie Hubbard who took to his skull with a bunch of “Screw You, We’re From Texas” stickers. Cody Braun of Reckless Kelly gave his skull a peacock paint job, and Matt Hillyer chose the Yellow Rose of Texas as his inspiration.
Kelsey Waldon’s tour van was broken into at a La Quinta hotel in Houston, and numerous items were stolen, including a Gretsch guitar, multiple amps, peddle boards, and accessories (see full list and pictures below). The thief popped the passenger side lock of the van and stole the items without any serious damage to the van.
There’s nothing more unnerving for music fans to hear about than a musician having their livelihood potentially taken away at the hands of a petty thief. And there’s nothing more rewarding than to hear when those thieves get caught. Three houses full of stolen property totaling some 800 items were recently recovered in St. Louis.
Zane Williams is a smart one, and like many others are recognizing, he understands that the new trend in country music, is actual country music. And this has been exemplified in the Texas scene as much as anywhere. Zane Williams senses that people want by God country music again, and that’s exactly what he delivers on the aptly titled ‘Bringin’ Country Back.’
On Tuesday (6-28), the Houston Police Department, in conjunction with the nearby Pasadena and Baytown Police Departments and the Department of Homeland Security, arrested 130 people in a massive operation called “Operation Wheels and Deals.” It was the theft of multiple items from Texas country music artist Zane Williams that helped police connect the dots.
Fowler has a new album on the way, and “Sellout Song” has been released ahead of it as a single. Not to say that many of the points made in the song don’t ring true, or that it doesn’t make you chuckle no matter how hypocritical it might be coming from Fowler, but “Sellout Song” would have been a lot more cool and cutting coming from someone else.
Along with the frequency of incidents involving bands being burglarized, it’s been the brazenness of the thieves, and the high-profile nature of the incidents that has put Houston in people’s crosshairs for not being hospitable to touring musicians.
On Monday, the official lineup for the 2016 Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo was “announced” by astronaut Scott Kelly from the International Space Station. Perhaps the aeronautical histrionics were a bid to distract everyone back on Earth from the fact that this year’s lineup is the most mundane, most mainstream-centric and generic pop tart Kellogg’s cereal assemblage of plastic talent ever accrued on this beautiful blue planet.
Without anyone left to please but himself, Pat Green is free to exorcise his demons, get some stuff off his chest, make the album he wants to, and hopefully reconnect with those grassroots in Texas country that once helped carry him to the top, and he once turned his back on. To some his name will continue to be mud, but that doesn’t mean his musical output will be.
Lone Star Music, the Texas music cornerstone that has such good taste and cool vibes that appreciation for it’s unique approach of putting the music first spreads well past the Texas border, has just announced the nominees for their 6th Annual Lone Star Music Awards, and I’ll be damned if it doesn’t hit the sweet spot in showcasing many of the artists that are helping to save country music.