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“Pontoon” Goes Platinum; New Matraca Berg Album Due in October; American Songwriter Remembers Levon Helm
Jewly Hight profiled what sounds like a fantastic Patsy Cline exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. Anyone seen it yet? Proper Records announced that Matraca Berg’s next album, Love’s Truck Stop, will be released October 22. No word yet on the US release date. Mindy Smith, Tom Russell, Victoria Williams, and [...]
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Stream Darrell Scott’s New Album; Catch a Stetson and Cia Show; Read The Nashville Scene Country Critics Poll
Folk Alley is streaming Darrell Scott’s upcoming album, Long Ride Home. The 2012 ACM Award Nominees were announced this morning. Check out the entire list here. The Nashville Scene’s 12th Annual Country Critics Poll is up. Check out the results and read some comments from Engine 145 writers Karlie Justus, Blake Boldt, C.M. Wilcox, and [...]
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Gene Watson Celebrates 50 Years of Country Music; The Jayhawks Announce Tour Dates; Carl Jackson Honored with Historical Marker
Sarah Jarosz, Joshua Britt (Farewell Drifters), Tom Russell, and more offer up their thoughts on Bob Dylan to kick off American Songwriter’s “30 Days of Dylan.” The Jayhawks announced new tour dates: they’ll start in Colorado at the end of this month. Guitarist Lincoln Meyers has left bluegrass band Frank Solivan & Dirty Kitchen. Tift [...]
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Sunny Sweeney Releases Holiday Single; Farce the Music Offers Benefit Compilation; Dobie Gray and Barbara Orbison Pass Away
Dobie Gray passed away yesterday at the age of 71. Barbara Orbison, widow of Roy Orbison, also passed away yesterday (the 23rd anniversary of Roy’s death). She was 60 years old. Gretchen Peters has a new blog entry up about the song “Camille,” written with Matraca Berg and Suzy Bogguss. “Camille” will be on Peters’ [...]
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Dallas Wayne’s Home Destroyed by Fire; Sammy Shelor Awarded Steve Martin Prize; Miranda Lambert Reveals Album Cover Art
The Iowa Source posted a feature on Tom Russell. An excerpt: Southern California was where Tom was birthed—both bodily and musically. The mariachi bands and the FM radio from across the border, mixed with the musicals on the family stereo and musicians, comedians, and poets performing in LA, created a rich, embryonic stew. Sammy Shelor [...]
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CMA Awards Nominees Revealed; Tracy Lawrence and Faith Hill Unveil Football Songs; New Album Releases
Download lots of free music from this past weekend’s Muddy Roots Festival. Wanda Jackson is in there. So what are you waiting for? The nominees for this year’s CMA Awards were announced this morning. Jason Aldean, Brad Paisley, Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, and Blake Shelton are all vying for Entertainer of the Year, while The [...]
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Chris Young Goes Gold; Bela Fleck to Debut Concerto for Banjo and Orchestra; Gillian Welch Announces European Tour
Tad Dickens of The Roanoke Times penned a nice feature on Justin Townes Earle, who talks about his music and his fashion influences. Gretchen Peters began a series of blog entries in which she discusses her upcoming album, Hello Cruel World, track by track. The first post is about “Saint Francis,” co-written with Tom Russell. [...]
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Tom Russell on Country Music
Tom Russell has led a fascinating life. He’s been a cabdriver, a teacher in Nigeria, and, oh yeah, a singer-songwriter whose work has been recorded by Johnny Cash, Nanci Griffith, and many more. His upcoming album, Mesabi (here’s a free download of one of the tracks, called “A Hard Rain’s A-Gonna Fall”), is filled with [...]
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New Gretchen Peters Album; Willie Nelson to Agricultural Hall of Fame; Bucky Covington Accused of Theft
Hello Cruel World, Gretchen Peters’ first solo record in four years, will be released in early 2012. The album features a duet with Rodney Crowell and guest appearances by Kim Richey, Viktor Krauss, and Will Kimbrough. It contains 11 original songs written by Peters, including collaborations with Matraca Berg, Suzy Bogguss, and Tom Russell. Sara [...]
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Friday Five: Who’s Gonna…
5. “Who’s Gonna Build Your Wall” – Tom Russell Here Russell contemplates the construction of a wall on the U.S.-Mexico border and asks what would happen should “Uncle Sam [send] the illegals” home: “Who’s gonna mow your lawn?/Who’s gonna cook your Mexican food/When your Mexican maid is gone?” Russell sings that he “ain’t got no [...]
Current Discussion
- KC: My picks seem to be doing ok without a label, but I would sign them even if it was just ...
- SCOOTER: Sturgill Simpson - fantastic artist Ashton Shepherd - I know she was recently dropped and a lot of people complain ...
- Daniel Mullins: Lee Ann Womack is a must. I would also sign Wyatt McCubbin. He was featured on The Music Inside: A Tribute ...
- Ken Morton, Jr.: BTW- Julie's been in the recording studio all this past week and will be unveiling something new soon.
- Ken Morton, Jr.: Jonathan, I actually had this exact conversation with Julie Roberts a couple weeks ago. She came out with Emily West, ...
- Jack Williams: The first name that came to my mind was electic bluesman Alvin Youngblood Hart. He hasn't released a proper ...
- bob: There was a survey by cmt.com dated 3/31/10 which showed more than 175 country act signed to major labels. I ...
- Jonathan Pappalardo: I would sign: 1) Trisha Yearwood - I don't believe she's affiliated with Big Machine Records anymore and a new CD ...
- Juli Thanki: Oh, good thinking with Hellbound Glory, Mike. Their music matured so much between Old Highs & New Lows and Damaged ...
- Mike Wimmer: 1. Jamey Johnson-I know he is technically with a label already, but they are in dispute over how he feels ...
