Music

In 1965, the Grammy Awards began honoring country artists for their albums with an award designated specifically for vocal and instrumental country records. The first trophy, then for a category designated Best Country & Western Album, was given to Roger Miller at that year’s 7th Annual Grammy Awards, for Dang Me / Chug-a-Lug. Miller would go on

Jordan Davis’ new music video for his hit single, “Almost Maybes,” features a familiar face. Hannah Brown from The Bachelorette and Dancing With the Stars makes her music video debut … and the setting quite suits her past experiences. The video is set as a nostalgic walk down memory lane, shot as if one continually

Dolly Parton is many things to so many people: singer-songwriter, actress, humorist, icon. But to nearly 2 million kids around the world, she’s their librarian. Since 1995, Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program has delivered meticulously chosen, personalized, age-appropriate books every month to children up to five years old — all free of charge. Parton’s charitable

American Idol hopeful Ash Ruder delivered a heartstring-tugging original song during the latest round of auditions in the show’s Sunday night (March 7) episode, and her performance left all three judges blinking back tears. Even more powerful was the backstory behind the song, which she wrote as a surprise for her dad, Bryan, on his birthday. “I always

Don McLean‘s classic song “American Pie” details “the day the music died”: Feb. 3, 1959, when Buddy Holly, Ritchie Valens and the Big Bopper were killed in a plane crash in Iowa. Sadly, however, the three rockabilly artists weren’t the first, and were far from the last, musicians to die in a plane crash. Given the

Walker Hayes is back with his first new song of 2021. It’s called “I Hope You Miss Me,” and the summery anthem is sure to put a smile on your face with its poppy atmosphere and nostalgic narrative. The tune was co-written by Hayes with Shane McAnally, Sam Summer, Nick Ruth and Sean Smalls; it was

Thomas Rhett is the latest country singer to go big with plans for a double album. The project’s first half, Country Again: Side A, will be available April 30th and includes the lead single “What’s Your Country Song,” along with two newly released tracks, “Growing Up” and “Want It Again.” Where several of Rhett’s hit

Thirty-five years ago today (March 7, 1986) was a big day for Randy Travis. It was on that date that the singer made his debut on the Grand Ole Opry, three months before his freshman album, Storms of Life, was released on Warner Bros. Travis, who was introduced during his Opry debut by Little Jimmy Dickens, sang

Twenty-three years ago today (March 7, 1998) was a life-changing day for Sara Evans. It was on that date that the singer made her debut at the Grand Ole Opry. Evans was working on her sophomore album, No Place That Far, when she made her first Opry appearance. The then-27-year-old sang the Hank Williams classic “Your

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

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