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Album Review: James Otto - Sunset Man
James Otto has garnered a few mentions on The 9513 thus far, including making Jim Malec’s list of Artists to Watch in 2008, but even so, his name may not be familiar. Hopefully that will change with the release of his sophomore album, Sunset Man, featuring John Rich and Otto as producers, with Jay [...]
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Album Review: George Strait - Troubadour
George Strait has a knack for choosing the right songs, which has helped him remain a constant on the charts over the past twenty seven years, so it’s hard not to jump on his bandwagon and praise everything he does. His twenty-fifth studio album, Troubadour, no doubt contains some strong singles and has him [...]
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Album Review: Justin Townes Earle - “The Good Life”
Justin Townes Earle has given us an interesting, compelling album that sways and strides like a young, charming wino; The Good Life contains moments of picturesque reflection, moments of intense focus, and moments of grinning exuberance–all of which are informed and intensified by the sense of candor that accompanies that fourth glass of wine [...]
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Album Review: Alan Jackson - Good Time
In 71 minutes, Alan Jackson’s latest album, Good Time, takes us back four years, to the last batch of his traditional variety of country music, What I Do. It’s good to have him back.
That’s not to say the years since 2004 have been fruitless. Precious Memories, a sentimental collection of hymns, and Like Red [...] -
February ‘08 Album Review Wrap-Up
Blue Highway - Through the Window of a Train
If Dierks Bentley ever makes a bluegrass album, and I suspect that he will, it would sound a lot like this. The Dierksache may not much resemble Tim Stafford’s high lonesome, but Through the Window of a Train finds this veteran bluegrass group crooning a self-penned set [...] -
Album Review: Joe Ely & Joel Guzman - Live Cactus!
Interstate 10 spans from coast to coast, but perhaps the most lonesome stretch belongs to West Texas. Aside from occasional wildlife sightings and a windmill farm it’s a desolate view–not what one would refer to as a scenic route, but it’s the fastest means of travel from one destination to the next.
One could even [...]Continue reading "Album Review: Joe Ely & Joel Guzman - Live Cactus!"
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Album Review: Chris Cagle - My Life’s Been A Country Song
Chris Cagle’s fourth studio album, My Life’s Been A Country Song, is his first that doesn’t feature any of his own songs. Unfortunately, that doesn’t mean those included are any better–as the songs from his own pen are at least on par if not superior. Apparently, Cagle and producer Scott Hendricks listened to over [...]
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Album Review: Ashton Shepherd - Sounds So Good
It’s tough for some traditional country fans to admit that the days when every budding country music star steps off the bus in Nashville from the cottonfields of Dyess, Arkansas or the coal mines of Butcher Holler, Kentucky are over. This shift accelerated in the 1990s, when Windsor, Ontario native Shania Twain became the [...]
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January ‘08 Album Review Wrap-Up
Catherine Britt - Little Wildflower
Catherine Britt released her third album, Little Wildflower, in her native Australia. This album, produced by Brett Beavers, attempts to cover ground in both contemporary and traditional country and while her contemporary contributions are decent, they blend in with current offerings from other artists. However, Britt’s performance and smoky vocals [...] -
EP Review: The Wrights - The Wrights
With one album to their name, the husband and wife duo consisting of Adam and Shannon Wright recently released a followup EP simply titled The Wrights on a label (ACR) owned by Adam’s uncle, Alan Jackson. It was music that brought the couple together over ten years ago and lead to love and now [...]
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In an attempt to discover and highlight the best music every month, We'll be publishing a list of the best songs released throughout that period. Here's Brady Vercher's picks for October.
For the second episode of The 9513 Country Music Podcast, your host Kelly Dearmore caught up with two seemingly different artists in Sarah Borges and Trent Willmon. Take a listen.
Free Music Downloads: If you’ve only recently come to country music, or have never delved past the genre’s surface and it’s most famous names, you may not have heard of Tom Russell. That’s a shame, and The 9513’s Free Music series is here to help set you down the right path.
Martina McBride - “Ride” Catchy, but a little low on cogency–not to mention originality. And it essentially resolves into the same kind of positive “message song” that has defined so much of McBride’s recent work.
Richie McDonald - “How Do I Just Stop” So gloriously simple and unequivocally lackluster that people of every political persuasion should rejoice in the opportunity to come together and have a hearty laugh at its expense.
Donnie Vondra - “If I Didn’t Love You” Combinining a golden trifecta of country music—steel guitar, fiddle and a strong, twangy vocal—"If I Didn't Love You" pulls together a sweet, toe-tapping ditty reminiscent of Marty Raybon-era Shenandoah.
Lance Miller - “Bacon Frying” A charming country song that is beautiful for its simplicity, a musical remnant from a time when songwriters understood that often the best thing to do is just get out of the song’s way.
John Rich - “Another You” For a guy who is supposed to be a genius songwriter, John Rich sure does seem to be running out of ideas. 
George Ducas - “Walk Through This World” Ducas banks on the success of recent artists’ pleasantly bland lyrics and agreeable instrumentation for his first release with WhiteStar Nashville.
In this exclusive interview for The 9513, Little Big Town’s Jimi Westbrook talks about life with the band, as well as A Place to Land, the group’s current album, which has charted in the top 10 of Billboard’s Top Country Albums chart on two separate occasions
Forgotten Artists: Cal Smith - When the Florida Sunshine Opry (Eustis, FL) booked its first “name” (non-local) act back in 1999, the act they chose was Cal Smith. No wonder, since Cal is an excellent singer, musician, storyteller and showman. | View more artists featured in Paul W. Dennis' recurring "Forgotten Artists" feature »
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