Engine 145 - A Roots Music Publication

Last week’s “All for the Hall” benefit concert raised nearly $650,000, bring the event’s four-year total to more than $2 million. (via press release) Songwriter Tom Douglas (“The House That Built Me,” “Grown Men Don’t Cry”) is the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s newest “Poet and Prophet.” He’ll do an interview and performance [...]

Continue reading "All for the Hall Benefit Raises $650K; Steve Earle Box Set Due in June; Steve Martin & Edie Brickell Play Letterman"

A new Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum exhibit, Reba: All the Women I Am, will open August 9, 2013 and run through June 8, 2014. Slaid Cleaves’ next album, Still Fighting the War, will be released June 4. (via press release) The Independent Music Awards nominees were announced. Here are the nominees in [...]

Continue reading "HoF to Open Reba Exhibit in August; Slaid Cleaves’ New Album Drops 6/4; Sugar Hill Announces Record Store Day Releases"

Rosie Flores kicks out the jams on the opening lick of her energetic new album and never lets up until last note of the final track. One of the hardest working guitarists in roots music, Flores cranks up her Fender, her fingers nimbly flying over and around blues bars, country chords, and rock riffs. She delivers [...]

Continue reading "Album Review: Rosie Flores — Working Girl’s Guitar"

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 [...]

Continue reading "Frances Preston Passes Away; CMA Music Festival Sets Attendance Record; New York Banjo Summit Touring This Fall"

Keeping up with the sheer volume of new releases that might be of interest to people reading this column is always a challenge, practically impossible, and while I don’t plan to do it often, I figure that one way to play some catch-up here is just to line up some brief comments on recent releases [...]

Continue reading "Roots Watch: Some Records I Think You Ought to Hear"

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 [...]

Continue reading "Roots Watch: Janiva Magness’ Americana Blues"

We’ll be live-blogging the CMA Awards starting at 8pm Eastern. Stop by if you can, and cross your fingers that the server holds up. (If it doesn’t, we’ll head over to Twitter—you don’t have to have a Twitter account to read our tweets.) Jim Lauderdale, Seth Avett, Hillary Scott, and others took home SESAC Nashville [...]

Continue reading "Kathy Mattea on Mountain Stage; Randy Houser Signs with Stoney Creek; New Tom Waits Video"

Brad Paisley and Keith Urban will honor Glen Campbell with a musical tribute at the CMA Awards. Kellie Pickler’s upcoming album (out January 24), includes a song called “Where’s Tammy Wynette.” Prairie Home Companion sound effects creator, Tom Keith, passed away on Sunday after suddenly collapsing at his home. He was 64. In 2012, Dierks [...]

Continue reading "Keith Urban and Brad Paisley to Honor Glen Campbell; Sammy Shelor to Perform on Letterman; New Album and Book Releases"

Garth Brooks, Alan Jackson, John Bettis, Thom Schuyler, and Allen Shamblin were inducted into the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame. Here’s an excerpt from Brooks’ acceptance speech: “The songwriting, that’s what it’s all about. This is it. We can talk all day about entertainer. We can talk all day about record sales, but it starts [...]

Continue reading "Kid Rock to Celebrate Tootsie’s 51st Birthday; Stream Shelby Lynne and Tom Waits Records; New Album Releases"

Banjo pioneer Wade Mainer passed away on Monday at the age of 104. Songwriter Don Wayne, whose extensive body of work included “Saginaw, Michigan,” also passed away on Monday. He was 78. Lee Ann Womack is back in the studio working on a new album. Check out the Opry’s birthday celebration for George Jones. Justin [...]

Continue reading "Wade Mainer and Don Wayne Pass Away; Lee Ann Womack Returns to Studio; Justin Townes Earle Contributes to Boardwalk Empire Soundtrack"