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George Jones Postpones Performances Through 5/20; Bonnie Raitt to Receive AMA Lifetime Achievement Award; The Business of Johnny Cash
This September, Bonnie Raitt will receive the Americana Music Association’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Performance. George Jones has postponed all performances through May 20 as he continues to recuperate from an upper respiratory infection. More info about Nashville, the Music City “family soap” starring Connie Britton: she will play “a 40-year-old Nashville superstar named Rayna who [...]
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Keith Urban Invited to Become Opry Member; JD Crowe Announces Retirement; New Alan Jackson Album Drops June 5
Last night Vince Gill invited Keith Urban to become the newest member of the Opry. He’ll be formally inducted on April 21. On 4:20 p.m. on April 20, a statue of Willie Nelson will be unveiled in Austin. At the end of the year, J.D. Crowe will retire from performing. On June 5, Alan Jackson [...]
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Stream New Music From Nanci Griffith and Alabama Shakes; Punch Brothers Cover The Cars; Album Releases
The April Trail Mix from Blue Ridge Outdoors Magazine, featuring tracks from Sierra Hull, The Steel Wheels, Steep Canyon Rangers, Casey Driessen, and more is available for free download. NPR is streaming new albums from Alabama Shakes and Bonnie Raitt. And Performing Songwriter has the new one from Nanci Griffith. Preview The Hillbenders’ new song, [...]
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George Jones Hospitalized; Kenny Rogers is Hall of Fame’s Artist-in-Residence; New Albums From Alejandro Escovedo and Kenny Chesney in June
George Jones was hospitalized yesterday for an upper respiratory infection. He stayed overnight for observation and is scheduled to be released today. Here are some more remembrances of Earl Scruggs. This radio show features guests Tony Trischka, Ron Stewart, and Peter Cooper. Here’s a piece from NPR’s Morning Edition, and here are posts from Chet Flippo, [...]
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Roots Watch: Janiva Magness’ Americana Blues
If you’re fundamentally or primarily a fan of country music, or Americana, or bluegrass, as many reading these words will be, you might well not be familiar with the name “Janiva Magness.” (For one thing, her first name’s pronounced JAN-i-vah, more like “Canada” than “Geneva.”) This, separate genre worlds being what they are, despite the [...]
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Grammy Winners; Jason Eady Releases Track Listing for AM Country Heaven; New Music Videos
The Civil Wars, Taylor Swift, Lady Antebellum, Levon Helm, and Alison Krauss & Union Station took home Grammy Awards last night. The entire list of winners is here. Is country music being pushed out of the Grammy spotlight? The late Whitney Houston’s cover of Dolly Parton’s “I Will Always Love You” remains one of the [...]
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The Grammy Problem
Give it to Bon Iver – or rather Justin Vernon, who anchors the atmospheric songscapers. When the big-time network TV folks decided to come up with a way to stage his kind of “obscure music” to the bing-bang-boom conditioned viewership, he balked. If his songs were good enough to help his loose coalition of players [...]
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Loretta Lynn and Bret Michaels Duet; Bonnie Raitt Covers Gerry Rafferty; Dwight Yoakam Added to Country Thunder Lineup
An excerpt from Chet Flippo’s newest Nashville Skyline column: Mainstream acceptance results in a neutered music that is totally compromised. Being co-opted killed rock music, just as mainstream country radio forces country music’s creators and artists to fit into its parameters — or, else, broad commercial absorption further narrows the music into a certain mold. Hunter [...]
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Bonnie Raitt Returns; Grascals Get Sued; Music City Roots Celebrates 100th Show
Bonnie Raitt’s got a new album (her first in seven years) in the works. Slipstream will drop on April 10. Here’s video of Alison Krauss appearing on Tavis Smiley to discuss Paper Airplane. Upcoming release Voyageur is Kathleen Edwards’ “divorce album.” The 9513 alum Pierce Greenberg reports that The Grascals have been sued by Entertainment [...]
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George Strait Remembers Chris LeDoux; Rhonda Vincent Adds New Band Member; Top Country/Roots Guitarists
If you punch a lady in the face at a Chris Young show, he’ll throw you out while singing about it. 48 of the Indiana stage collapse victims have sued Sugarland and 12 other defendants. Hearth Music posted an interview with old-time banjo player Riley Baugus, whose work has appeared on the Cold Mountain soundtrack [...]
Current Discussion
- Rick: Why Leeann, I'm all for "charity" when I am the recipient! (lol)
- Rick: I'm glad to see Miss Leslie was able to raise enough funds to record a new album. I can't wait ...
- J.R. Journey: Congratulations to Trisha Yearwood and Little Big Town. They join Hank Williams Jr. in the country-stars-with-Emmy-awards category.
- Juli Thanki: They're no Tracy Jordan.
- Luckyoldsun: Here he is with Mr. Johnny Carson: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0L5QC9ZJkM8
- Blake Boldt: Trisha and LBT for the EGOT.
- Barry Mazor: I thought Luckyol was kidding--and he may have been. The Ames Bros charted dozens of times, and Ed Ames ...
- bob: Before going solo, Ed Ames was a member of the Ames Brothers. The brothers had some hits in the 50's ...
- Luckyoldsun: "My parents’ record collection consisted of Ed Ames, Perry Como..." Ed Ames made records? I did not know that. I thought ...
- Leeann Ward: Old Town, where Griffin is from, is just a few minutes away from me.
