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Scanning the Countryside: Country—and All That Jazz
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 [...]
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Shelby Lynne & Allison Moorer Perform Toegther; Country Stars Land Roles in New Civil War Mini-Series; Free Rodney Crowell
Up until this past fall, sisters Shelby Lynne and Allison Moorer have kept their musical lives separate. Recently though, they’ve performed several intimate shows together as part of what they’ve dubbed their Side By Side tour. NPR is streaming a collection of songs that they performed live in Studio 4A, including the song they open [...]
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The C Word
There is country radio, and then there is Country Radio. When I first began covering the business a decade ago, I was at first annoyed to see the way that radio insiders insisted on referring to their milieu as “Country Radio” in every casual mention (see here)—but I eventually became grateful for the useful distinction. [...]
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Sugarland Settles Lawsuit with Founder Kristen Hall; Country Shows Expand; Anna Wilson Adds Jazz to Country Standards
Current Sugarland members Jennifer Nettles and Kristian Bush settled a lawsuit with the group’s founding member, Kristen Hall, who claims she was owed more than $14 million. Details of the settlement weren’t disclosed. NPR’s Meredith Ochs says the new Hank Williams box set The Complete Mother’s Best Recordings…Plus! challenges commonly held perceptions: Though it’s well-known [...]
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Earl Scruggs Hospitalized; Reba to Host Loretta Lynn Tribute; Marshall Chapman Promotes New Book
Earl Scruggs has been hospitalized. Not many details are known, but you can follow The Bluegrass Blog for updates. The new, Vegas-themed video for Rascal Flatts‘ “Why Wait” features more than a few celebrity cameos. Watch at CMT. The Austin Chronicle‘s Jim Caligiuri on the new Randy Rogers Band album Burning the Day: [Paul] Worley [...]
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NPR/Folk Alley to Stream AMA Awards Live; Why Albums Are Released On Tuesday; 10 Worthy Indie Albums
Folk Alley and NPR Music will webcast the AMA Honors & Award Show live tonight at 7:30 PM EST. Barry Mazor interviewed Jamey Johnson for The Wall Street Journal and calls his double-album The Guitar Song a new country masterpiece: “The traditional country music—or as it’s commonly called in my house, ‘music’—that’s where you learned [...]
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Steve Martin Recruits Dixie Chicks; Julianne Hough Sheds Clothes For New Video; Best Live Albums Continued
In an interview with Gary Graff for The Malcomb Daily, Ronnie Dunn shoulders the blame for the split between himself an Kix Brooks. Dunn, in fact, has said he’s responsible for the ultimate decision to split, saying he quit the group over disagreements he and Brooks were having over what songs to include on their [...]
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Don Williams to Perform Limited Number of Dates; New Album Releases; CMA Music Fest Attendance Booms
Soon-to-be-Country Music Hall of Famer Don Williams is coming out of retirement for a limited number of concert dates in the fall. Garth Brooks, now out of his own retirement, announced new dates for September, October, and November. New releases for the week of June 15, 2010 include: The Blue Shadows – On The Floor [...]
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Forgotten Artists: Mel Tillis
“I figure we live in two worlds – public and private. It seems like I’ve got to prove myself in both all the time. I’ve got to climb mountains right to the top and then find new ones to climb. Whenever I finish writing a song, I always ask myself, ‘Well, Stutterin’ Boy, is that [...]
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Album Review: Willie Nelson – Country Music
Willie Nelson releases albums like most people change their underpants. For the most part, that’s a good thing. He’s had some missteps along the way, but his recent offerings (Willie and the Wheel, American Classic, and Two Men with the Blues) rank as some of the best work in his long and storied career. Produced [...]
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- Catwandy: I guess Matt C. is eating his well-deserved crow 'bout now. Critics....gotta love 'em , bless their little hearts.
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