Stream New Tracy Lawrence Single; IIIrd Tyme Out Partners with Cracker Barrel; Six Degrees of Reba McEntire
- Bela Fleck talks about the New York Banjo Summit with Mary Sydnor of Philadelphia’s Daily News.
- Speaking of Fleck, here is an older YouTube video of his take on Saint-Saens’ delightfully spooky “Danse Macabre.”
- Listen to Canadian Country singer Daniel Romano’s song “Middle Child.”
- Rodney Crowell chats with the Philadelphia Inquirer’s Nick Cristiano about Kin and the upcoming duets album with Emmylou Harris: “It’s an idea we’ve batted back and forth for 35 years,” Crowell says of the set, which includes only a few of his own songs. “It’s not an album about me making a statement as a songwriter. It’s just an album of Emmy and I singing songs we wanted to sing together. I enjoyed it from the point of view of ‘Hey, I’m making a duet record with Emmy, one of the great singers. I’d better step up and sing my ass off.’”
- A few days ago, Emmylou Harris played her Wrecking Ball album at Nashville’s Marathon Music Works.
- Tracy Lawrence has a new single called “Stop, Drop and Roll.”
- Jason Aldean, Taylor Swift, and Mumford and Sons are proving that the album isn’t dead yet.
- Aldean, Lady Antebellum, Dierks Bentley, Luke Bryan, and Little Big Town will perform at the American Country Awards in December.
- In January, Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out will release their new album, Timeless Hits from the Past Bluegrassed, through Cracker Barrel’s record label.
- Peter Cooper spoke with Bonnie Raitt before her show at the Ryman this weekend.
- Take the “Six Degrees of Reba McEntire” quiz on the ABC News website.
- The Huffington Post put together a slideshow of some of David Gahr’s music photography, including shots of Johnny Cash, Pete Seeger, and others.
- Indie musician Ben Gibbard (Death Cab for Cutie, The Postal Service) on the country music influences found on his new record: “The reason George Jones is so amazing is you hear George Jones sing and you’re just like, ‘Oh God, that voice. So incredible!’ Anything he sings sounds so great. He takes songs he didn’t write and makes them sound like he wrote them. I have really got an appreciation for that. There’s a little bit of steel on the record here and there, [but] I wanted to be careful to try and not make a record that was completely of a genre that I don’t quite have the authority to dip too far into. But to just kind of nod to it here and there because it is something that I really love.”
- Acoustic roots band East of Westreville played “I Am a Pilgrim” and other songs at the late George McGovern’s prayer service.
- Will Hoge signed a publishing deal with BMG Chrysalis.
- Download Shovels & Rope’s “O’ Be Joyful” and The Stray Birds’ “Dream in Blue” for free at NPR.
- Chris Mateer interviewed duo Cahalen Morrison & Eli West.
- Blues guitarist Gary Clark, Jr. was featured on NPR’s All Things Considered.
- Don Steinberg of The Wall Street Journal wrote an interesting article about Eric Church and other contemporary country acts who are bringing in rock sounds of the ‘70s and ‘80s. An excerpt: On country radio these days, it’s easy to hear echoes of Bad Company, Bachman-Turner Overdrive and Joan Jett. For music fans raised on the straightforward guitars and ragged drumbeats of classic rock, the latest country music has a familiar ring. “What you’re hearing is a change in the way country songs are mixed,” says Brian Philips, president of Country Music Television. “You’re hearing dirtier guitars, turned up louder in the mix. The rhythm section is more prominent. The drums are heavier. The vocal is a little more defiant. It’s a rock mix. It’s very different from what you would have heard in Nashville a decade ago.” Rock and country have fed on each other since before Elvis Presley showed up at Sun Studio, of course. What’s different now is that today’s country stars grew up in a world when rural America was less isolated than before. Country traditions abide in some quarters, but for these artists, rock—even heavy metal—was the currency.
Tagged In This Article
Bela Fleck // Ben Gibbard // Cahalen Morrison // Daniel Romano // Dierks Bentley // East of Westreville // Eli West // Elvis Presley // Emmylou Harris // Eric Church // Gary Clark Jr. // Jason Aldean // Johnny Cash // Lady Antebellum // Little Big Town // Luke Bryan // Mumford and Sons // Pete Seeger // Peter Cooper Bonnie Raitt // Rodney Crowell // Russell Moore & IIIrd Tyme Out // Shovels & Rope // Taylor Swift // The Stray Birds // Tracy Lawrence // Will Hoge
Current Discussion
- Doug Gilliland: Can't say for sure if these artists are currently unsigned, but I would love to hear new material from Kathy ...
- Rick: Opry Alert! I'm guessing(?) tonight marks the end of the spring season of the Thursday Night Classic Country Opry shows ...
- bob: Thanks for the info on the PBS Carole King concert. It will be good to see Trisha Yearwood sing again.
- Jon: Nope.
- Luckyoldsun: Sounds good. Is she--or her husband--related to Dallas? (I'll assume not to Joe.)
- Luckyoldsun: R-- Sounds like you're expanding your palate. "60′s style California hippie vibe" sounds like something you'd have banned from your playlist.
- Rick: I like the production, the excellent guitar picking, and Rebecca has a nice voice with individuality, but the song structure ...
- Rick: That Buddy Emmons tribute album sounds kinda interesting. I just might have to give it a listen when it's available. Congratulations ...
- Jon: Jack Bernhardt is the bomb.
- Bruce: Good article on Rucker. I do not care for all his songs and he is far from my favorite. I ...
1 Comment
RSS for comments on this post
October 26, 2012 at 6:57 pm
I have no problem with more Rock sounding Country songs, I mean I love the more Traditional sound as well, my problem with Country radio/most of modern mainstream Country is how awful the songwriting is in a lot of the songs. It’s truly, truly awful, embarrassing songwriting.
Leave a Comment