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ACM Awards Post Biggest Ratings Since 1998; Avett Brothers to Headline Newport Folk Festival; Album Releases
The new Brad Paisley-LL Cool J collaboration, “Accidental Racist,” blew up across the internet yesterday afternoon. Here’s a USA Today interview with Paisley as well (warning: autoplay). Sunday night’s ACM Awards were watched by 15.38 million viewers, the highest ratings these awards have seen since 1998. The Avett Brothers will headline the 2013 Newport Folk Festival. Iris [...]
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Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum to Offer Free Admission 2/23; Stream New Drew Holcomb, Caitlin Rose Records; New Album Releases
Holly Gleason wrote about Mindy McCready for NPR’s music blog. Ashley Monroe’s duet with Blake Shelton, “You Ain’t Dolly (And You Ain’t Porter)” premiered on USA Today‘s website. Barry Mazor wrote a feature on Kelly Willis and Bruce Robison for The Wall Street Journal. This week’s episode of A Prairie Home Companion celebrates “all things banjo” [...]
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YouTube Launches Country Music Channel; Corb Lund Curates Museum Exhibit; Don Rigsby to Release Ralph Stanley Tribute
YouTube launched Country Now, a channel “dedicated to country music and its fans with programming created and produced by Nashville artists and firms. YouTube has partnered with Los Angeles entertainment firm Greenlight Media & Marketing LLC to create the Country Now channel. Greenlight has agreed to a one-year deal to produce at least eight shows, [...]
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Red Simpson Named HoF’s New Poet & Prophet; Billy Joe Foster Passes Away; Miranda Lambert to Perform at Grammys
Billy Joe Foster, who played with Bill Monroe, Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder, Special Edition, and Country Gazette passed away at the age of 51. Red Simpson is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s newest “Poet and Prophet.” He’ll take part in an in-depth interview and performance at the HoF on February 23. [...]
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Grammy Nominations Announced; New Videos from Don Williams, Hunter Hayes; Chelle Rose, The Mavericks Added to SXSW Roster
The Grammy nominees were announced last night. Taylor Swift and Mumford and Sons were nominated for Record of the Year and Album of the Year, respectively. You can read the entire list of nominations here. Best Country Solo Performance Dierks Bentley, “Home” Eric Church, “Springsteen” Ronnie Dunn, “Cost of Livin’” Hunter Hayes, “Wanted” Blake Shelton, [...]
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Frances Preston Passes Away; CMA Music Festival Sets Attendance Record; New York Banjo Summit Touring This Fall
Frances Preston, “the most influential music executive of her generation,” passed away yesterday at the age of 83. The Country Music Hall of Famer began her noteworthy career in the 1950s as a mail messenger at BMI, a job which included answering Hank Williams’ fan mail. Fabulous Superlative Harry Stinson shared his behind-the-scenes photos from [...]
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Second Round of ACM Awards Performers Announced; Della Mae Selected for State Department’s American Music Abroad; Album Releases
Pam Tillis was a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race last night. The full episode, called “Dragazines,” can be streamed here. Darrell Scott considers “I’m So Lonesome I Could Cry,” “To Live’s to Fly,” and “Sunday Morning Coming Down” to be “perfect songs.” Here’s a feature on Echo Mountain, the Asheville, North Carolina recording studio [...]
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Grammy Nominees Announced; Tim McGraw is Free From Curb; Court Yard Hounds Return to the Studio
Grammy nominations were announced last night. Jim Lauderdale, Blake Shelton, Jason Aldean, Chris Thile, Michael Daves, Gillian Welch, Martina McBride, Eric Brace, Peter Cooper, and Alison Krauss & Union Station are just a few of the names up for awards. Check out the full list of nominees here. Tim McGraw is free from Curb Records, [...]
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Frank Liddell to Produce Lee Ann Womack’s New Record; Whitey Morgan & The 78s to Record Live Album; New Releases
Lee Ann Womack’s husband, Frank Liddell, will produce her new album, which will be released some time in 2012. The newest Quotable Country features Mac McAnally, Caitlin Rose, Jimmy Wayne, and more. Barry Mazor had a talk with Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson for a feature in the Wall Street Journal. Speaking of Clark, he’s [...]
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Lionel Richie to Perform at CMA Awards; Prairie Home Companion to Celebrate Bill Monroe; New Jason Isbell Video
The Civil Wars were featured in the New York Times. They talk about their first meeting (while working with other songwriters on material for a band that would become Gloriana) and the idea behind the band name. 41 years ago, Roger Ebert wrote the first review of a John Prine performance. Ryan Adams, Janis Ian, [...]
Current Discussion
- Bruce: Good article on Rucker. I do not care for all his songs and he is far from my favorite. I ...
- Kelly D.: Dig the Whiskey Sisters and the write-up from ol' Jim C.
- Bruce: "Why do people talk about the authenticity and/or genuineness of others with whom they’ve had no direct, normal social interaction ...
- Luckyoldsun: Hank III says "Old Junior once said it best,"--Is that some sort of rapprochement in the Williams family soap opera? It's ...
- Joan Harrison: Hi, My husband and I really enjoy watching your show each week. You had a recipe on for pork ...
- Jon: "@Both Kinds Of Music – Your point is?" It is a little opaque, isn't it?
- BRUCE: @Both Kinds Of Music - Your point is? BTW, I love Rucker's "Wagon Wheel" version. Gotta love Strait. I wished Swift would ...
- Luckyoldsun: Jonny Boy, Are you really as angry about this as you come off?--This has to be an act. I have no problem ...
- Barry Mazor: I'm not personally offended in the least, luckyducky, I also find discussing things with you an utter waste of time ...
- Jon: "Any reasonably educated or sophisticated adult knows" that a televised awards show (or most any other televised music variety show) ...







