Kellie Pickler Returns to American Idol; New Mary Chapin Carpenter and Hank Jr. Albums Due in June; Stream Mercyland Tracks
- Stream four tracks by Buddy Miller, Carolina Chocolate Drops, Shawn Mullins, and Amy Stroup from the upcoming compilation Mercyland: Hymns for the Rest of Us, due out April 24.
- Trampled By Turtles is the subject of a Paste feature which reveals that “were it not for the five members’ love of heavy guitars and high-octane rock ‘n’ roll, the 21st century bluegrass, Americana-inspired Trampled By Turtles may not exist.”
- Barry Mazor talks with Bill C. Malone, biographer of Mike Seeger, in this Wall Street Journal article. “I think to really understand Mike, to really explain him,” the author noted in an interview, “you have to know that, unconsciously, he was long rebelling against the Seeger family, and especially Pete. He loved and admired his big brother, but he was always aware that Pete was this icon of American culture and that he was going to have to come up with something different. I think that long before he ever explicitly recognized it, he was building his own niche.”
- Out June 12 on Zoe/Rounder: Mary Chapin Carpenter’s Ashes & Roses. The album will feature a duet with James Taylor.
- The Pistol Annies are touring this summer and working on a new record in the fall.
- This FoxNews.com article about the state of modern country music features quotes from Hellbound Glory’s Leroy Virgil and Kyle Coroneos, of Saving Country Music.
- Lionel Richie’s Tuskegee debuted at Number One on the Billboard Country Albums chart, selling nearly 200,000 records.
- Peter Cooper’s newest Tennessean article is about Ray Stevens and his Encyclopedia of Recorded Comedy Music. An excerpt: “I started with a list that I’d made from my memories of what I’d heard since being born, in 1939,” [Stevens] said. “Radio used to be so eclectic, and the goal was to entertain people with music from their library. Playlists were wide open. Now, it’s rare you hear a comedy record on the radio anymore. I think comedy music has been getting the short end of the stick. The programmers today, a lot of them don’t really get it, and I figured I can try to educate them. Though it’s a little late for educating some of them. I’ll hear reasons they can’t play these songs, like ‘Comedy’s a fast burn, here today, gone tomorrow.’ But people actually remember a comedy song much longer than a so-called straight song. If it’s a comedy record, it’s memorable.”
- There are a pair of fine features in the Nashville Scene: one about Merle Haggard, the other about the Preservation Hall Jazz Band.
- Kellie Pickler returns to American Idol tonight to sing “Where’s Tammy Wynette.”
- Hank Jr. has inked a new licensing deal with Blaster Entertainment and has plans to release an album in June.
- Check out Kathleen Edwards’ Tiny Desk Concert.
- Music Fog posted a video of Sons of Bill performing “Find My Way Back Home” that was recorded last year.
- Banjo player Joe Dean is headed to Doyle Lason & Quicksilver.
- Jimmie Dale Gilmore talks books, guitars, and the late Warren Hellman in this interview with Terry Roland.
- Austin City Limits won a Peabody Award.
Tagged In This Article
Amy Stroup // Barry Mazor // Bill C. Malone // Buddy Miller // Carolina Chocolate Drops // Doyle Lawson & Quicksilver // Hank Williams Jr. // Hellbound Glory // Jimmie Dale Gilmore // Joe Dean // Kathleen Edwards // Kellie Pickler // Leroy Virgil // Lionel Richie // Mary Chapin Carpenter // Merle Haggard // Mike Seeger // Peter Cooper // Pistol Annies // Preservation Hall Jazz Band // Ray Stevens // Shawn Mullins // Sons of Bill // Trampled By Turtles // Warren Hellman
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April 5, 2012 at 3:13 pm
Opry Alert! Tonight’s “Classic Country Opry” is a ladies night so to speak. The artists scheduled to perform include Pam Tillis, Lorrie Morgan, Janie Fricke, Lynn Anderson, and Opry stalwart Jeannie Seely. So think of this as a 1960′s through the 80′s celebration of “girl singers”! (lol – jk)
Schedule: http://www.opry.com/shows/ThisWeek.html
I never watch American Idol but I will try to catch Kellie Pickler’s performance tonight. Its great she picked such a traditional sounding song for A.I. since it slots in so well! (lol) Good on ya Kellie.
Thank goodness Miranda Lambert has finally put her priorities straight and is focusing on the Pistol Annies again. I’m really looking forward to the next album and hope they keep the subject matter just as gritty (or more so) as on their debut.
As for Lionel Richie’s sales numbers, I think an album of Lionel singing children’s nursey rhymes would have sold just as well. Lionel has what appears to be an extremely loyal fan base.
April 5, 2012 at 8:12 pm
When I first saw the headline, for a second I thought that Mary Chapin Carpenter and Hank Jr. were recording an album together.
Given the way both of their careers have been going of late, I think that a Chapin-Junior project would be much better than another dreary effort from either one of them. It could potentially equal, or even eclipse the Rick Rubin-Ray Stevens project that’s been catalogued on youtube.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3gUwG7CtqYY
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