There is nothing particularly earth shattering to report this week. The column is very much a mixed bag, everything from rocking Elvis to bluegrass Rhonda. Steven Dale Jones is holding down the singer-songwriter slot. Katie Armiger is here with youth appeal. Rosehill, Lathan Moore and Bill Rice have returned and confirmed themselves as promising. Our […]
Better late than never, they say. As She’s Walking Away” is already in the top-10, but I’m just now getting around to it. That’s because I had to go out and buy the Zac Brown Band album that it is on.
Hit songwriter and former session musician, producer and Nashville recording artist Linda Hargrove has died at age 61 in Florida. One of the biggest country hit composers of the 1970s, she wrote or co-wrote for at least a dozen superstars. Among her most successful songs are “Tennessee Whiskey” (George Jones, 1983, David Allan Coe, 1981)), […]
I always like a listening session with plenty of newcomers. After all, the thrill of discovery is what every critic lives for. This week sees column debuts by Chet O’Keefe, Corinne Chapman, The Jeremy Miller Band, James Lann and Daniel Warren.
Legendary Loretta Lynn was honored by the Recording Academy during a star-studded gala last night (10/12) at the Ryman Auditorium. The National Academy of Recording Arts & Sciences (NARAS) presented the Country Music Hall of Fame member with its President’s Merit Award. On January 31, Lynn was announced as a winner of the Academy’s Lifetime […]
Variety is the spice of life, they say. It’s certainly true in this week’s stack of platters. We have an electronic dance record, a comedy disc from a Country Music Hall of Famer, a pop/folk outing by a Russian country performer, a homespun ditty from a husband-and-wife team, a group re-naming, an Oz man’s cowbell-backed guitar rocker and a Texan with singer-songwriter grit to spare.
The 50th anniversary of Loretta Lynn’s musical career continues this evening with an all-star concert at the Ryman Auditorium. Billed as a “Grammy Salute to Country Music Honoring Loretta Lynn,” the gala is being staged by The Recording Academy. The organization will present her with its President’s Merit Award during the event. Scheduled to appear […]
This is a column full of old favorites of mine. Chris Hillman and Herb Pedersen are back, sounding as hale and hearty as ever. Dale Watson returns as well, and he is still a country singer’s country singer. The evergreen Bellamy Brothers remain the groove masters they have always been.
Chapter 348 The bluegrass demographic looks like it is becoming more diverse than ever. Judging by the crowd at the 21st annual International Bluegrass Music Awards at the Ryman (9/30), bluegrass still skews somewhat older. But more than ever, the genre’s fans were hard to pigeonhole. Thin young people mingled with heavyset seniors. Cowboys sat […]
As we head into the fall, the stars are beginning to come out. This week, we have new music by honcho Toby Keith, as well as from Billy Currington and Lee Brice, both of whom are coming off career highs. It appears that Capitol/EMI rules the roost, label-wise, since it is presenting fine new tunes from both Troy Olsen and newcomer Walker Hayes.