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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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John Hiatt Joins Lofty Company With AMA Lifetime Achievement Award For Songwriting
The Americana Music Association announced yesterday that John Hiatt will receive their lifetime achievement award for songwriting, which will be presented to him during the Sept. 18 awards show at the Ryman Auditorium. Past winners include Willie Nelson, Rodney Crowell, Guy Clark, Cowboy Jack Clement, John Prine and Billy Joe Shaver.
Aside from his forthcoming album, […] -
Hacienda Brothers’ Chris Gaffney Succumbed to Liver Cancer
One of the roundups at the beginning of the month included the news that founding member and lead singer of the Hacienda Brothers Chris Gaffney was diagnosed with liver cancer. His insurance wasn’t going to cover all of the costs, so a benefit and a website were set up to help collect donation. In a […]
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A Nation’s Affair With Western Culture: The Story of Marty Robbins’ “El Paso”
Born in Glendale, Arizona as Martin David Robison in 1925, Marty Robbins spent his childhood idolizing Gene Autry and the cowboy way. “I wanted to be Gene Autry,” he once said. “I wanted to ride off into the sunset.”
His penchant for the the Old West was further fed by romanticized stories told by his […]Continue reading "A Nation’s Affair With Western Culture: The Story of Marty Robbins’ “El Paso”"
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Brad Paisley’s “Online” Heads List of CMT Music Awards Nominees
Nominees for the CMT Music Awards have been announced with several new categories. Brad Paisley’s “Online” and Sugarland’s “Stay” each pulled multiple nominations.
Jeff Bates is back with a self-titled album due out on April 8th. “Jeff also tells us that this album will be ‘very different than my other albums because it’s a little more […]Continue reading "Brad Paisley’s “Online” Heads List of CMT Music Awards Nominees"
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Carrie Underwood’s Exclusive Inner Circle Threatens Her Career
The video for Carrie Underwood’s “All-American Girl” is out and, surprise, it’s directed by Roman White. Roman White has directed all seven of Carrie’s music videos (for those trying to do that math, that’s six studio singles plus Disney’s “Ever Ever After”). If you have to choose one video director for the rest of your […]
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The Grammys Will Go On Sans Picketing
Striking writers claim that they won’t picket the Grammy Awards and Recording Academy President Neil Portnow has insisted that a full-scale Grammys will continue no matter what.
Nashville Hype is sold on Sarah Kaine and believes she’s a traditional artist that can appeal to a younger demographic.
Despite bluegrass authorities contrary opinions Edward Morris fully supports Rhonda […] -
Charlie Daniels Invited To Join The Grand Ole Opry
Less than a month after officially inducting Josh Turner, the Grand Ole Opry surprised Charlie Daniels by extending an invitation to make him the newest member of the Opry family. While he was hosting his annual Christmas For Kids benefit at the Ryman Auditorium, Martina McBride walked on stage with a small gift box […]
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Book Review: Historic Photos of the Opry: Ryman Auditorium 1974
“The Opry left [the Ryman] in 1974 for the suburbs but music fans kept coming to commune with the ghosts. They wanted to come inside and look around, though the building had been left to moulder, with big holes in the roof, and to be torn down, but the persistent curiosity of ordinary people persuaded […]
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Patty Loveless Gears Up For Her Third Trip On the Santa Train
Gary Allan has no balls, as illustrated by his latest album — Living Hard — and just so you know, Ronnie Dunn and John Anderson are merely average Nashville singers, too. I wish I was just making this stuff up, folks.
Tours featuring two mega-stars are in. First it was Kenny Chesney and LeAnn Rimes, then […]Continue reading "Patty Loveless Gears Up For Her Third Trip On the Santa Train"
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Carrie Underwood - “Just a Dream” “Just a Dream” is not perfect. In fact, it’s deeply, deeply broken. But the single is a great vocal performance of a risky song
Toby Keith - “She Never Cried In Front Of Me” Apart from the shifts in perspective and changes in tense, the major problem with this song is that the lyric fleshes out too many irrelevant details.
Brad Paisley - “Waitin’ On a Woman” Bizarrely, it took a song written by someone other than Brad Paisley for radio to hear what the Paisley style can truly accomplish.
LeAnn Rimes - “What I Cannot Change” When LeAnn Rimes enters a recording studio, she carries with her the most impressive instrument in the room.
Randy Travis - “Dig Two Graves” The combination of song and Travis’ performance together are an example of what makes country music truly exceptional.
Pat Green - “Let Me” The song itself owns Pat Green and he gets lost somewhere in the melody.
Merle Haggard at the Ryman Auditorium: Of the Haggard classics, “Silver Wings,” “The Way I Am” and crowd-favorite “I Think I’ll Just Stay Here and Drink” were performed with confident ease while “Kern River” was sung with inspired tenderness and “Back to Earth,” from 2007’s Last of the Breed, contained more than a trace of Willie’s nasally twang. 
One of an emerging wave of artists empowered by decreasing production costs and a rapidly changing distribution landscape, Kelleigh Bannen has taken a do-it-yourself approach to her debut album, Radio Skies.
The two-time Dancing With The Stars champion, Julianne Hough, recently took some time to answer questions for The 9513 in this exclusive interview.
After cutting ties with Warner Bros. Records, Ray Scott decided to take the proverbial bull by the horns and form Jethropolitan Records, a place where he can get back to the blood and guts of what he terms “real country music,” the kind of stuff you don’t hear on radio anymore.
Catch up on Nashville Star through Matt C.'s live blog. Episode I | Episode II | Episode III | Episode IV | Episode V
Sing Me Back Home: Love, Death, and Country Music by Dana Jennings When Jennings addresses modern country in the final chapter, he leaves you with the impression that it just can’t tap into the primal psyche the same way the classics that served as his nursery rhymes did.Current Discussion
- leeann: I agree that his career did not decline. I feel that the quality of his songs h...
- hairandtoenails: I disagree Joey. Toby's commerical success has declined. Between 2001 and 2004 v...
- Stormy: You could listen to rap and hear basically thi same song. Personally, I prefer ...
- joey: his career hasnt declined hes still putting out great songs all the time. not al...
- Jim Malec: Julie, I have to say, that's the snarkiest comment an article of mine has ever...
- Stormy: Dustin: I think we all understand Just A Dream. Its like a murkily written Dre...
- Trey: ok first of all quit saying he wasted time by "stopping to record this song" yea...
- Rosy: Hey Justin, you just remember back home in that little town that you grew up in,...
- bresenolouie: In this haunting tale of the young widow, she is confused about the sudden tragi...
- Julie: I'm only an occasional reader of this site, and I'm beginning to see why. This ...
