Topicfire Country Music News

Friday at Gettysburg ’13

2013-05-23T01:23:41+00:00

Here is another set of Frank Baker’s images from the 2013 Spring Gettysburg Bluegrass Festival. �

Classic Rewind: Patty Loveless – ‘Here I Am’

2013-05-23T00:05:33+00:00

Filed under: Classic Rewind

Is Carrie Underwood the best living Country singer?

2013-05-22T20:07:05+00:00

With the tragic passing of legend George Jones, Country music now has a void. Who can possibly fill his shoes? With the Possum no longer blessing us with his gorgeous voice, who is now the best living Country singer? Well, Brad Paisley recently weighed in on the topic (in an interview with...

It’s enough to give you the Willies

2013-05-22T17:51:58+00:00

A Bluegrass Junction listener—we’ll call her “Laura” (because that was her name)—emailed me recently, pointing out that there are an awful lot of bluegrass songs in which women are murdered. After much thought and reflection, I gave her this subtly nuanced answer: “Yes.” I’ve never [...]

Single Review – Kellie Pickler – ‘Someone Somewhere Tonight’

2013-05-22T14:24:21+00:00

One of the great surprises of the spring television season has been Kellie Pickler’s turn on Dancing With The Stars. The show’s platform has been invaluable to her public image, helping her shatter any last strands of the ditzy blonde who came in fifth on American Idol and allowing her...

5 questions with Dakota Bradley

2013-05-21T23:09:50+00:00

Dakota Bradley has already caught the attention of talk-show host Ellen DeGeneres, country star Tim McGraw and hit-making producer Byron Gallimore, who were all instrumental in the eighteen-year old’s eventual signing to Streamsound Records. In a quick phone chat before his show at Toby Keith’s I Love This Bar &...

Album Review: Trace Adkins – ‘Love Will’

2013-05-21T19:09:50+00:00

I never know what to expect from Trace Adkins these days. I’m hard pressed to think of another example of such a talented vocalist whose musical output is so wildly inconsistent. Love Will, his latest effort, while not quite a return to his traditional roots, at least avoids obnoxious songs...

Cassadee Pope, "Wasting All These Tears" - Single Review

2013-05-21T00:17:37+00:00

As Cassadee Pope's solo debut single, "Wasting All These Tears" is a sufficient offering, perfectly straddling the line between pop and Country.It samples the boisterous production of her contemporaries, namely Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, and offers up a guitar-laden arrangement that will fit perfectly at radio, both Country and...

Classic Rewind: Merle Travis – ‘I Am A Pilgrim’

2013-05-20T04:03:29+00:00

Filed under: Classic Rewind

Week ending 5/18/13: #1 singles this week in country music history

2013-05-19T19:05:04+00:00

1953 (Sales): Kaw-Liga – Hank Williams (MGM) 1953 (Jukebox): No Help Wanted — The Carlisles (Mercury) 1953 (Disc Jockeys): Your Cheatin’ Heart — Hank Williams (MGM) 1963: Still – Bill Anderson (Decca) 1973: Come Live With Me — Roy Clark (Dot) 1983: Whatever Happened To Old-Fashioned Love — B.J. Thomas...

Lady Antebellum’s ‘Goodbye Town’ Is Underwhelming & Forgettable – Review

2013-05-17T15:00:05+00:00

When I first listened to ‘Golden’, Lady Antebellum’s new album from which ‘Goodbye Town’ is the second single, I was significantly underwhelmed. True, I prefer music with a bit more twang and grit than is typically expected of Lady Antebellum, but I had enjoyed ‘Downtown’ and was hoping for more sass from their fourth...

Single Review: Justin Moore, “Point at You”

2013-05-17T04:24:25+00:00

A song about a narrator whose woman completes him is a worthwhile concept, so long as one avoids pouring on the syrup. But in this case, the execution falls very flat. “If you wanna see my sweet side, my soft side, my best side, I just point at you,” Moore sings in the...

“Remember country music?” – An Evening with Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell at Birmingham Symphony Hall, Friday 10 May 2013

2013-05-15T13:30:09+00:00

Having relished their new album together, Old Yellow Moon, I couldn’t pass up a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to see Emmylou Harris reunited live with Rodney Crowell when their tour to promote the record came over to Europe. I was joined at Birmingham Symphony Hall by an enthusiastic audience; it was almost,...

Grandma’s Rules for Drinking – Annie Lou

2013-05-14T18:48:09+00:00

With a title like Grandma’s Rules for Drinking, the most recent release from Canadian folk group Annie Lou, offers intriguing possibilities for potential listeners. What they will find upon pressing play is an enjoyable collection of original music in the string band tradition. The songs [...]

Is Miranda Lambert pregnant? Miranda's mom spills the beans

2013-05-13T20:50:33+00:00

Miranda and her mom photo courtesy MirandaLambert.com And the beans are that Miranda is most definitely not pregnant. I know, I know, booo. I guess everyone's getting tired of hearing Blake Shelton and Miranda Lambert say they're not having a baby anytime soon because now RadarOnline has moved onto asking Miranda's mom about...

Introducing Rachel Burge and Blue Dawning

2013-05-13T20:10:24+00:00

A few months ago we covered the break-up of West Virginia’s No On You Know, who had announced their dissolution at the end of the 2012 season. They had recorded two albums, most recently Clam Before the Storm, released on Mountain Fever in 2010. Now we [...]

Quotable Country – 05/13/13 Edition

2013-05-13T18:15:22+00:00

Click the bullet after each quote to visit the source. I really don’t know, but he did seem very fond of his sausage. ● - – Roger Williams, president of Williams Sausage Company, on George Jones’ favorite meat or poultry dish. Imagine you’re George Jones, and every night you’re expected to sing as...

Week ending 5/11/13: #1 singles this week in country music history

2013-05-12T15:03:41+00:00

1953 (Sales -Tie): Kaw-Liga – Hank Williams (MGM) Mexican Joe — Jim Reeves (RCA) 1953 (Jukebox): No Help Wanted — The Carlisles (Mercury) 1953 (Disc Jockeys): No Help Wanted — The Carlisles (Mercury) 1963: Still – Bill Anderson (Decca) 1973: Behind Closed Doors — Charlie Rich (Epic) 1983: Jose Cuervo...

Classic Rewind: Aaron Tippin – ‘Honky Tonk Superman’

2013-05-12T04:02:15+00:00

Filed under: Classic Rewind, Spotlight Artist

Single Review: Hunter Hayes, “I Want Crazy”

2013-05-11T16:20:39+00:00

Hunter Hayes just scored a decently big pop hit with “Wanted”, which was initially his first big country hit. Perhaps that’s why he’s taking a cue from the pop market, and re-releasing his first album in an expanded edition called (Encore) this summer. That set will include a guest appearance from...

Single Review: Chris Young, “Aw Naw”

2013-05-11T16:01:54+00:00

It’s hard not to root for Chris Young. He can really sing and his music would sound identifiably country if it was released twenty years ago, making it sound like Hank Williams in comparison to what’s passing for it these days. But he’s got to pay the bills, I guess. “Aw...

Dailey & Vincent’s Brothers of the Highway

2013-05-10T23:31:36+00:00

It’s been over four years since bluegrass superstars, Dailey & Vincent have released a “regular” album. That doesn’t, however, mean they’ve been dormant. Since 2009′s Brothers From Different Mothers, their last bluegrass album for Rounder Records, they have released three very successful albums: an a [...]

Classic Rewind: Johnny Duncan and Janie Fricke – ‘Stranger’

2013-05-10T20:30:07+00:00

Filed under: Classic Rewind

Album Review: Aaron Tippin – ‘Call Of The Wild’

2013-05-09T21:12:59+00:00

Aaron’s third album, released in 1993, saw a change of producer with a move to Scott Hendricks. Hendricks is a heavier handed producer than Emory Gordy Jr, so the change was not for the better, and the album did not sell as well as Read Between The Lines, but was...

Vince Gill, Patty Loveless and Alan Jackson at the George Jones Memorial

2013-05-08T16:15:08+00:00

Lower-quality clips of these moments from George Jones’ public memorial have already made the internet rounds over the past week, but definitive versions with more of the surrounding remarks are finally up on the Grand Ole Opry’s official YouTube channel, so I’m posting them together here for convenience’s sake. I can’t...