Brett Kissel believes we’ve just started a new era of country music, one that will be well-documented by historians in the decades to come. Concert anthems that call for waving a lighter in the air, or the kind of communal dancing we were once used to are on timeout. Hits like Luke Bryan‘s “Country Girl” or Florida Georgia
Music
On March 5th, 1963, a plane carrying one of country music’s most famous voices, Patsy Cline, crashed in the woods near Camden, Tennessee, killing all onboard: Cline, Grand Ole Opry members Cowboy Copas and Hawkshaw Hawkins, and pilot Randy Hughes. Cline was on her way home from Kansas City, Kansas, where she’d played a benefit
Hardcore Dan + Shay fans are well aware of musician Dan Smyers’ love for dogs. The country singer-songwriter already has a big group of his own pups, and now, he and his wife, Abby, have rescued a tiny 16-year-old pooch who’s experiencing a whole host of health problems. The couple came across the dog at Wags and
Twenty-two years ago today (March 6, 1999) was a big day for Sara Evans. It was on that date that the Missouri native scored her first No. 1 hit with “No Place That Far,” the title track from her sophomore album. “No Place That Far” was helped along by country music icon Vince Gill, who sings
Miranda Lambert‘s “Tin Man” is already her most vulnerable moment but on The Marfa Tapes, the singer decided to reveal even more. The mistakes, the wrong notes, the cracked vocals, the missing words — Lambert says you can hear all of it. “You can hear the cows and the wind,” she tells Taste of Country Nights. “In
In honor of this month’s Bandcamp Friday, Dawn Landes has released a stripped-down duet with the late Justin Townes Earle. Recorded roughly a decade ago, it’s a plainspoken, finger-picked version of Dolly Parton’s “Do I Ever Cross Your Mind.” Earle and Landes recorded the song at Landes’ Brooklyn studio while the two singer-songwriters were on
Fifty-eight years ago today (March 5, 1963) was a tragic day for the country music community: It was on that date that Patsy Cline, along with Hawkshaw Hawkins and Cowboy Copas, was killed in a plane crash while on her way home from a benefit concert in Kansas City, Kan. Although she was ill with the
Seventeen years ago today (March 5), Gretchen Wilson was enjoying her last few moments of relative anonymity. It was on this date in 2004 that Wilson’s debut single, “Redneck Woman,” from her freshman album, Here for the Party, exploded onto the airwaves. Wilson, who grew up listening to country music, name-checks some of her own favorite
When the Steel Woods‘ co-founder Jason “Rowdy” Cope died unexpectedly at the age of 42 in January, the band had recently been recording new music. On May 14, Cope’s surviving bandmates will move forward with that work, releasing a new album, All of Your Stones. The Steel Woods’ new record is their third, and a press release
The Steel Woods have announced their third album, All of Your Stones, a record that arrives as unplanned eulogy to the Southern rock band’s co-founder Jason “Rowdy” Cope. The guitarist and songwriter died in January at 42. Ahead of the LP’s May 14th release, the surviving members of singer Wes Bayliss, bassist Johnny Stanton, and
Vince Gill is one of the most important country musicians of his generation, but his career outlook wasn’t always so rosy. In a 2020 interview, the country music icon and current member of the Eagles shared a hilarious story about an incredibly tough early gig when his local bluegrass band opened for Kiss. Gill was
Brett Eldredge and Dan + Shay share a record label and have hung out together backstage at concerts, but it took being quarantined inside their respective homes for Eldredge and Shay Mooney to develop a deeper friendship. “We’ve been buddies for a long time … but [during the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic], we
Folk-rock singer-songwriter John Hiatt has teamed up with bluegrass great Jerry Douglas and his band for a brand-new album, Leftover Feelings. Recorded at Nashville’s historic RCA Studio B, the record is due out on May 21. Douglas produced Leftover Feelings, which a press release describes as “a meeting of two American music giants in a legendary setting … [that’s] neither
John Hiatt and the instrumental aces of the Jerry Douglas Band have teamed up for their first collaborative album, Leftover Feelings. The first release from the project, which is due out May 21st, is “All the Lilacs in Ohio.” A lively uptempo tune driven by Douglas’ lyrical Dobro licks and soaring fiddle, “All the Lilacs
Fifty-eight years ago today, on March 3, 1963, Patsy Cline performed her final show. The singer was killed two days later (March 5, 1963) in a plane crash. On the evening of March 3, Cline performed three benefit shows at the Soldiers and Sailors Memorial Hall in Kansas City, Kan., to raise money for the family of DJ
Austin City Limits sets from Miranda Lambert, the Judds, Faith Hill, Kacey Musgraves and many more are now available in a massive DVD box set from Time Life. They’re just four of the stars readers will see in the clip above, exclusive to The Boot. The two-minute highlight reel features a who’s-who of legendary country
Brett Eldredge knows it’s plenty easy to wake up on the metaphorical wrong side of the bed and to carry that pessimism and negativity with you throughout the day, whether it’s justified or not — especially when so much of everyday life has been turned upside down by the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’d get very negative
Ever since its pilot episode with Willie Nelson in 1974, country music has been the bedrock of Austin City Limits. While rock and indie acts from the Raconteurs to Arcade Fire would all go on to perform on the live-music series, country remains in the Austin City Limits DNA. Now, a new 10-DVD set compiles
The Voice‘s 20th season premiered on Monday night (March 1), with Blake Shelton, Kelly Clarkson, John Legend and Nick Jonas in the four red, spinning coaches’ chairs. But Shelton wasn’t only reunited with his coach pals: During Blind Auditions, he saw a former bandmate. Both Legend and Shelton turned their chairs for a 45-year-old singer named Pete Mroz, who
The March 2021 Top 40 Country Songs list is tight with superstars in the middle, and a lot of newcomers leading. Niko Moon and Gabby Barrett have two of this month’s Top 3 songs, while a most unusual entry returns after a decade away. Taylor Swift’s “Love Story” was the No. 1 song in country
One year into the COVID-19 pandemic, Vandoliers‘ new single “Every Saturday Night” hits a little harder. The song is a wistful look back at youth, but also an apt description of how many feel about life before social distancing and face masks. “”Every Saturday Night” is about the value of hindsight, and not appreciating what we’ve
Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names. Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists. (Check out last week’s best songs.) Riley Downing, “Deep Breath” The
From playing in hometown bars to commanding the attention of thousands at stadium shows, Jason Aldean‘s career has been a wild ride. For starters, Aldean’s 2005 self-titled debut album almost never happened. After two failed record deals, Aldean gave himself six months to find success in Nashville before moving back to Georgia. Thankfully, Aldean’s dreams
Jason Aldean might be one of the biggest names in country music today, but it hasn’t always been smooth sailing for the “Hicktown” singer. The now-superstar was signed, and then released from two different record companies before finding a home at Broken Bow Records. Aldean learned to play guitar from his dad, with whom he spent
Eric Church has words to the wise in his new song, “Never Break Heart.” Penned by Church and Luke Dick, the bluegrass-leaning song (tinged with a twinkling banjo) finds the singer encouraging the listener to walk fearlessly through life with a heart that’s open to the elements. “Don’t let fear steal your brave heart /
Willie Nelson will have a new book on shelves this summer. Willie Nelson’s Letters to America is an inspiring collection of letters from the Red Headed Stranger to his readers about what it means to be a U.S. citizen. Letters to America will be published by Harper Horizon on June 29th. According to a release,
Alan Jackson was a dozen studio albums into his successful country music career when he decided to do something he’d never done before: release a gospel album. Precious Memories — what turned out to be the first of two projects by the same name — arrived 15 years ago, on Feb. 28, 2006. Jackson had previously
On Feb. 27, 2021, RaeLynn Woodward and her husband, Josh Davis, are celebrating four years of wedded bliss. The couple originally met in 2012, in church, and although they certainly felt a spark, they didn’t jump into a serious relationship right away. “We went to this wedding, our friend’s wedding, a couple weeks later and
An impending jail sentence sets the scene for a final 24 hours of debauchery-filled freedom in Koe Wetzel‘s new “Good Die Young” music video. The Texas star makes the most of the time, that’s for sure. “Bud, you’re about to go to prison for a very long time. You’ve got 24 hours. What the hell
Elle King and Miranda Lambert have teamed up for the exhilarating new duet “Drunk (And I Don’t Wanna Go Home),” which marks the former tourmates’ second recorded collaboration after the CMA-winning cover of “Fooled Around and Fell in Love.” King wrote the uptempo “Drunk” with Martin Johnson (who also produced the track) and it was