The 9513 - Country Music Blog

There have always been some who see country music and jazz as opposite ends of the American music spectrum—one down home, emotionally straightforward and inclined towards the well-understood and safe; the other urban, sophisticated, even intellectual, and born to go off on unfettered, exploratory tangents. You could, of course, hear that opposition expressed by fans [...]

Continue reading "Scanning the Countryside: Country—and All That Jazz"

Photo courtesy of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum I was privileged to be on hand in August for all three of Buddy Miller’s Artist-in-Residence shows at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s Ford Theater, the first of which marked the theater’s reopening after its repair from damage in May’s Nashville flooding. These [...]

Continue reading "Scanning the Countryside: Country’s Buddy"

On Wednesday morning, Little Jimmy Dickens and Brad Paisley were on hand to help return the famed six-foot circle to the center of the Opry House stage. The circle, cut from the original stage at the Ryman Auditorium, was damaged with the floods back in May, but not so much that it couldn’t be repaired. [...]

Continue reading "Famed Circle Returns to Opry House; Buddy Miller Concludes Hall Series; Mel Tillis’ Comedy Album"

By September of 2009, Miranda Lambert had already won over critics and sold more than a million records (a spectacular number, considering the lukewarm support afforded her by country radio). It was Lambert’s third album, however (Revolution, released 09/29/09), that fully (and finally) ascended her into the upper tier of this era’s country music icons. [...]

Continue reading "Miranda Lambert Wins Artist, Song Of The Year in The 9513′s 2nd Annual Country Music Awards"

The dual-bill of George Strait and Reba McEntire sold out Tulsa’s 18,000 seat BOK Center in less than an hour. In the latest edition of Nashville or Bust, Nathan Rabin explores the music and influence of Kitty Wells: “Though Wells was rightly hailed as a pioneer who inspired multiple generations of female country singers, a [...]

Continue reading "Strait & McEntire Sell-Out Tulsa; Rabin Takes on Kitty Wells; Lady Antebellum and Patty Griffin Drop New Records"

Here at The 9513 we love all kinds of country music, so it’s no surprise that the nominees for our 2nd Annual Country Music Awards include everyone from mainstream darlings to bluegrass legends and Texas icons. Once again we’ve worked diligently to identify the most deserving artists and projects from all corners of country music’s [...]

Continue reading "Vote Now: The 9513′s 2nd Annual Country Music Awards"

Fox Searchlight decided against submitting the original compositions for the film Crazy Heart into consideration for an Academy Award after learning that the score would have been ineligible. Academy regulations forbid works by multiple composers, which means Stephen Bruton won’t be earning a posthumous Oscar. On the other hand, Ryan Bingham still has a shot [...]

Continue reading "‘Crazy Heart’ Score Ineligible For Oscar; Lady A Track List; Dailey & Vincent Cover Statler Bros."

I hope everyone enjoyed their holiday break and didn’t miss us too much. Although Christmas is over, lists are not (as you’ll notice in the news), and neither is our Big Christmas Giveaway, so be sure to enter before the new year if you’d like to be one of the 25 lucky winners. The most [...]

Continue reading "Most Played Single of the Decade Belongs to Tim McGraw; Johnny Cash’s ‘American VI’ Rumored For February"

2009 offered up a treasure trove of high quality country music, and we’ve compiled a list of the year’s 50 best country songs. In order to a be considered for this list, a song must have appeared on an album released during the 2009 calendar year. Radio singles that appeared on 2008 albums but which [...]

Continue reading "The Best Country Songs of 2009"

Gene Watson, Randy Travis, Pam Tillis, Willie Nelson, Merle Haggard and Ray Price have all long been cast aside by country radio, but each of these incredible artists continued to produce great country music into the first decade of the 21st century…and each earned a place approaching the upper reaches of our countdown. Mixed in [...]

Continue reading "Top Country Albums of the Decade (#40-#31)"