[Songs released between Jan. 2, 2010 and Dec. 31, 2019 were considered.] Well, what do you know? The 2010’s weren’t such a bad decade for country music after all. If you don’t count Ken Burns’ trite PBS documentary. And especially if you don’t count the Las Vegas Route 91 Harvest Festival attack — a massive … Continue reading
Tag Archives: country music
DUSTIN LYNCH COMES HOME TO TULLAHOMA, FOURTH ALBUM OUT JANUARY 17
DUSTIN LYNCH’S STAY COUNTRY TOUR 2020 STARTS JANUARY 30 Broken Bow Records hitmaker Dustin Lynch is using his fourth album to recount the Country saga of a true “Small Town Boy,” setting January 17 for the release of TULLAHOMA. Named after the acclaimed star’s Tennessee hometown, the ambitious self-portrait comes after eight years of sustained … Continue reading
New Country Classic: Mandy Barnett — ‘The End of the World’
Mandy Barnett — The End of the World To purchase this song on iTunes, click here. Well, if there is anything good to come out of the recent highly problematic PBS Ken Burns-directed documentary on country music, maybe, just maybe there will be a brief, fleeting moment when a simple, straightforward country classic can make … Continue reading
Zac Brown Band’s New Album — The Worst of New Country?
Zac Brown Band’s New Album — The Worst of New Country? A disappointment arrives due to expectation. My expectations were obviously misplaced. The new album from Zac Brown Band, The Owl, is a very sad reminder of the state of country music in 2019. Just when the Ken Burns documentary is healing most wounds from the … Continue reading
Hear Justin Moore’s New Country Single: ‘Why We Drink’
Justin Moore — Why We Drink Label: Big Machine ‘Cause this song is so good. And easy-going. And sunny. And tempting. And because it showcases Justin Moore in the best way — sounding as natural as always, and as country as you always expect him to be. Sorry, I just caught up in the catchy … Continue reading
Newly Found Folk/Americana Performances: Ian & Sylvia — ‘The Lost Tapes’
Ian & Sylvia — The Lost Tapes Label: Stony Plain Records (Release date: September 6, 2019. The Lost Tapes is being released prior to Ian and Sylvia’s inductions into the Canadian Songwriter’s Hall of Fame. Both have previously been inducted into the Canadian Music Hall of Fame.) The first thing you hear is applause. It … Continue reading
New Country: Vince Gill — ‘Okie’
Vince Gill — Okie Singer-songwriter Vince Gill’s new album, Okie, is more than just about his roots. It’s also about where those roots have traveled and grown. What a voice. Still. It is raw Vince Gill. No collaborative duets, no song-stealing guitar solos, no obvious “singles”… just the man and his music. Did I say … Continue reading
Must-Hear Music: Glenna Bell — ‘Let Freedom Ring: Songs for a New Generation’
Glenna Bell — Let Freedom Ring: Songs for a New Generation Glenna Bell has given us a new gift. Heck, Glenna Bell is a gift. The first time I was honored to hear her sing live, she took my breath away. Her latest album, Let Freedom Ring, is everything I hoped it would be—simply more … Continue reading
BMG Celebrates 70th Anniversary Of Hank Williams’ ‘HEALTH & HAPPINESS SHOW’ With Program’s First Vinyl Release
Three-album vinyl or 2-CD set contains the complete recordings of William’s eight 1949 radio shows, which include hits and rarities all newly restored and mastered. Street date June 14, 2019. Hank Williams began 1949 with his career at a crossroads. Although he was headlining the Louisiana Hayride radio show and achieved a few hits, big-time … Continue reading
New Country: Marty Brown — ‘American Highway’
Marty Brown — American Highway Label: Plowboy Records (Available: May 17, 2019) Once a modern day traditionalist, always a modern day traditionalist. Truthful, honest music doesn’t really age, nor does the artistic sense to sustain it. Thank God. American Highway is Marty Brown’s first album in two decades. He may have taken twenty years off … Continue reading
parcbench .live 