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Lack of Top Talent Puts End to Big State Festival For ‘08
Big State Festival is officially done, at least for this year. Charlie Walker, co-owner of C3 Presents, cites “a lack of top tier talent” as the reason behind the festival’s demise.
John Gerome says starting in 2005, life for Patty Loveless took a hairpin turn. She lost her mother-in-law, brother, and mom, which spurred a […]Continue reading "Lack of Top Talent Puts End to Big State Festival For ‘08"
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Country Music Loses The Beat With the Passing of Buddy Harman
Buddy Harman, dubbed the father of modern country drumming by Eddie Stubbs, passed away yesterday evening at the age of 79 from congestive heart failure.
A native Nashvillian born Murrey Mizell Harman Jr., Mr. Harman played drums on more than 18,000 recordings, including Roy Orbison’s “Pretty Woman,” Patsy Cline’s “Crazy,” Johnny Cash’s “Ring of Fire,” Tammy […]Continue reading "Country Music Loses The Beat With the Passing of Buddy Harman"
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Album Review: George Jones - Burn Your Playhouse Down: The Unreleased Duets
Over several days in the winter of 1993, during one of the worst ice storms in Tennesee history, George Jones, producer Brian Ahern and a boatload of country and pop stars retreated to the famous “Bradley Barn” studio to record Bradley Barn Sessions, an album of Jones classics performed as duets between The Possum and […]
Continue reading "Album Review: George Jones - Burn Your Playhouse Down: The Unreleased Duets"
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Dailey & Vincent Lead List of International Bluegrass Music Award Nominees
The International Bluegrass Music Association (IBMA) announced the nominees for their 19th annual awards. Dailey & Vincent leads the list with a total of 10 nominations and a big congratulations goes out to CMT writer Craig Shelburne, whose writing is a constant source for our news roundups, for his nomination in the Print Media Person […]
Continue reading "Dailey & Vincent Lead List of International Bluegrass Music Award Nominees"
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Jamey Johnson Joins Willie Nelson and Kenny Chesney In Farm Aid Lineup
Jamey Johnson is joining Willie Nelson, Neil Young, John Mellencamp, Kenny Chesney and Dave Matthews for the Farm Aid music festival in New England on Sept. 20. Maybe this will end up being the first step towards a Jamey Johnson and Willie Nelson studio collaboration. Or maybe I’ll just keep on dreaming my dreams.
Keeping with […]Continue reading "Jamey Johnson Joins Willie Nelson and Kenny Chesney In Farm Aid Lineup"
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2008 Americana Music Festival Schedule Announced
Here is your 2008 Americana Music Festival schedule.
Doctors discovered a spot on Merle Haggard’s lung on May 5th, but don’t know what it is. Haggard isn’t seeking further treatment for the spot right now, denying rumors of cancer. He says “whatever it was, it’s still there, still the same size.” He did however, discuss the […]Continue reading "2008 Americana Music Festival Schedule Announced"
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Sugarland Co-founder Kristin Hall Sues Former Bandmates Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush
Sugarland co-founder Kristen Hall is suing former bandmates Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush for $1.5 million. Hall claims that she had an agreement with Nettles and Bush to share profits after she left the band but has not received her portion of Sugarland’s earnings. (more coverage on Law.com)
Brady wrote a quick recap of an acoustic […] -
Forgotten Artists: Charley Pride
While he’s not exactly forgotten, it’s been a nineteen years since Charley Pride received much airplay on Country Radio–which seems unbelievable considering the dominant force he was on the charts. For the ’70s, Billboard has Charley listed as its third ranking singles artist behind only Conway Twitty and Merle Haggard. Pride also shows up as […]
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Asleep At The Wheel Campaigns To Make Western Swing Texas Symbol
Asleep at the Wheel is working to present Western Swing as the official symbol representing Texas’ musical heritage at the January 2009 legislative session, and they ask that if you feel the same way, please write into the state representatives.
Wynonna plans to include a cover of Merle Haggard’s “Are the Good Times Really Over […]Continue reading "Asleep At The Wheel Campaigns To Make Western Swing Texas Symbol"
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Merle Haggard Takes it Easy at the Ryman
Many artists, even some legends, step onto the Ryman Auditorium stage and try to give something extra, perhaps out of respect for the legendary venue’s importance to creating their craft, appreciation for some of the most enthusiastic and knowledgeable audiences in country music, or even a nagging feeling of inadequacy at walking the same planks […]
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Forgotten Artists: Bradley Kincaid In a manner similar to Alan Lomax, William Bradley “The Kentucky Mountain Boy” Kincaid was one of the great American musicologists and collectors of American folk, country and parlor songs.
Forgotten Artists: Goldie Hill Had Carl Smith and Goldie Hill been born 30 or 40 years later, they might have been like Faith Hill and Tim McGraw–the dominant married couple in country music.
Miranda Lambert - “More Like Her” This kind of material, as opposed to her tough-chick-done-wrong romps like “Crazy Ex-Girlfriend” and “Gunpowder and Lead,” is where her real promise lies
Joey Rory - “Cheater, Cheater” It’s actually downright frivolous, but that just makes it all the more fun. And really, are you allowed to say “ho” on country radio?
Josh Gracin - “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” Despite initial marketing that touted the album as deep and personal, “Unbelievable (Ann Marie)” is anything but deep or personal.
Josh Turner - "Everything Is Fine" Turner is the rare example of an artist who records material that’s both quality and trademark.
Darryl Worley - "Tequila On Ice" A groovy mid-tempo that sways, a refreshing reprieve from the exhausting pace of a format that clamors for loud music and swelling choruses.
Blake Shelton - "She Wouldn't Be Gone" It’s all about nailing the melody rather than providing a legitimate interpretation that accentuates the lyrical content, although Shelton does do a pretty good job of injecting what limited emotion he can.
Don’t look now, but Darius Rucker, lead singer of 90s rock group Hootie & The Blowfish, has a country hit on his hands. What you probably haven’t heard is that Rucker is the first black artist to chart a single in the country top 20 since Charley Pride last did it in 1988.
News that former Sugarland member and co-founder Kristen Hall is suing her ex-mates, to the tune of $1.5 million, goes a long way towards providing a bit of context regarding the Atlanta singer/songwriter’s sudden departure from the group.
In Memory of Don Helms (1927 - 2008) Helms dated back to a time when an excellent four or five piece band and a good singer were all that were needed to make great country music. No drums, no light shows, no production tricks in the recording studio–just good music.Current Discussion
- Marc: John Rich, Gretchen Wilson and Cowboy Troy were, as usual, awful. I used to like...
- Rick: Thanks for the links to the tunes by Elizabeth Cook and Sarah Buxton, two of my ...
- jana: That Susan Gibson album is pretty awesome....
- Rick: My favorite three cuts on "Heartbreakers Hall of Fame" are "Here Lately", "Laven...
- Rick: Just a comment regarding the old Davis Sisters song "I Forgot More Than You'll E...
- dallas: Peter.every concert we have been too .have been sell outs.that has to say somet...
- dallas: Kenny Chesney.he sells out all his concert.so he must have a real big fan base i...
- Courtney: Is she aiming to be hard to understand? Most of the words I don't understand. Bu...
- J MacAulay: I think he should release "The longer the waiting" as his next single as there i...
- dallas: Rascal Flatts is the best band in country music....
