Country Music News

mykindofcountry.wordpress — Filed under: Classic Rewind

mykindofcountry.wordpress — Were I unaware of the longstanding feud between Tim McGraw and Curb Records, and the resulting lawsuit surrounding the release of Emotional Traffic, I would likely be asking myself what on earth Tim was thinking when he recorded this collection. It’s difficult to imagine that he thought his fans were...

bluegrasstoday — I caught up yesterday with Adam Steffey, who caught me up on the two biggest events in his life these days. Make that three! His twin sons, Riley and A.P., are occupying much of his energy, but he’s also been carving out time to work [...]

countrycalifornia — Just a couple quick tips on under-the-radar tributes to two country songwriting superheroes, Guy Clark and Merle Haggard. If you ‘like’ us on Facebook, you might have already checked these out based on links we shared earlier in the week, so this is mostly for all the folks that keep...

mykindofcountry.wordpress — For part four of this series, I’ll be using the same criteria as before – just some songs I liked, one song per artist (although I will feel free to comment on other songs by the artist). This part stops in the middle of the letter M. “Joy To The...

countrycalifornia — Blake Shelton turned a few heads on Music Row this week by passing on a song by hit writing trio the Peach Pickers, a move unprecedented in recent Nashville history. The threesome, comprised of Rhett Akins, Ben Hayslip, and Dallas Davidson, had sent their song “Beer on a Truckbed” to...

mykindofcountry.wordpress — This month we’ve decided to take a look at the career of one of contemporary country’s biggest stars, Tim McGraw. Born Tim D’Agostino to a teenage single mother in Louisiana in 1967, Tim believed until he was eleven years old that he was the son of Horace Smith, who had...

bluegrasstoday — Roe Entertainment has welcomed two new acts into their roster for 2012. In addition to such celebrated artists as Michael Cleveland & Flamekeeper, Lonesome River Band, Dale Ann Bradley, Chris Jones, and Danny Paisley, Jim Roe is now representing The Tuttles with A.J. Lee, and [...]

countryuniverse — Tim McGraw Emotional Traffic If you had a friend who was a tightrope walker, and you were walking down a sidewalk, and he fell, that would be completely unacceptable. – Mitch Hedberg ~~~ Emotional Traffic is a collection of poor choices. First and foremost, the material is shockingly weak.  Yes, McGraw has been slowly slipping...

mykindofcountry.wordpress — It’s Already Tomorrow, released last year, saw Foster and Lloyd reuniting for the first time since Version of the Truth more than twenty years prior. They’ve picked up where they left off, giving country fans an album worthy of their legacy. To date there haven’t been any singles released from...

mykindofcountry.wordpress — A #2 peaking single for the duo in 1985: Filed under: Classic Rewind

countryuniverse — 1993 | Peak: #4 There really isn’t anything much more sad or upsetting in a relationship than cold, awkward silence. Things left unsaid or the silence after things that shouldn’t have been said can create what seems like an impenetrable, cold wall. In his twelfth single, Alan Jackson expertly captures the forlornness...

bluegrasstoday — Quite some time ago (I think it was just after the breakup of Flatt & Scruggs and the Beatles) I made a list of the important things that any new bluegrass band needs to accomplish to get off to a good start. For review, here [...]

mykindofcountry.wordpress — For some years, former American idol contestant Kellie Pickler has been saying encouraging things about her interpretation of country music, but not backing them up with her music, with her first two albums being somewhat over-produced pop-country efforts with average material and processed vocals. At last she has come through...

bluegrasstoday — The bluegrass stars were aligned, and in the audience, for the CD release party for new Americana/bluegrass duo Stetson & Cia last night. It all took place at the Hard Rock Café in Nashville, TN, and was streamed live via The Acousticana Journal website. Many [...]

bluegrasstoday — The Infamous Stringdusters showed up in Jackson Hole, Wyoming, on the tail end of an incredible winter storm that brought about 5 feet of snow to the surrounding mountains. Considering these guys are on their Ski Tour the timing was excellent. The Pink Garter, located on Broadway [...]

bluegrasstoday — Raleigh, NC is not the only city wooing IBMA’s World of Bluegrass once its contract with the Nashville Convention Center expires this year. Lousiville, KY – which hosted the event prior to the move to Nashville – has also launched a campaign to bring WOB [...]

countryuniverse — Via Facebook’s “Share” feature, you have probably bumped into a satirical motivational poster by now with this text: PROCRASTINATION: “Hard Work Often Pays Off After Time, But Laziness Always Pays Off Now.” On paper, this certainly shows with regard to the newly-released fifth single, “No Hurry”, from the industrious Zac Brown Band’s...

mykindofcountry.wordpress — In the ongoing battle for group supremacy in country music, Zac Brown Band should win every battle. I love their tendency to stick to a more traditional sound and sing songs that aren’t riddled with clichés. They’re a much-needed breath of fresh air to offset the watered down sound of...

bluegrasstoday — Special Consensus is one of the most well-traveled bands in bluegrass. And so, by extension, is their trusty Turtle Top van, Snowball. It has taken them all across the US and Canada since it went into service in December 2002. Greg Cahill and the band are [...]

countrycalifornia — According to one industry source, the next album by country crossover queen Taylor Swift will take her penchant for raw, confessional songwriting to a disturbing new level, confessing things that no entertainer of her stature has ever been willing to reveal on record. It’s a direction hinted at by several of...

mykindofcountry.wordpress — Filed under: Classic Rewind

countryuniverse — I guess that the best way to remind us that Alan Jackson hasn’t put out a great song in a long time is for him to put out a great song. A deeply moving spin on the same concept that anchors “Blame it On Me”,  “So You Don’t Have to Love...

bluegrasstoday — I’ve devoted the previous several columns to the subject of band self-management. There won’t be many more, I promise, because let’s face it: all this management gets tiring after a while. Sometimes you just want to go play the show. Let’s review just a little [...]

countrycalifornia — Just off the highway Three wooden crosses prove that God loves hookers most