The opening line in Rachel Wammack’s debut single “Damage” is a character introduction: “I’m a bartender, best friend pretender,” she sings, describing a litany of functions she’s performed and things she’s seen. In the song’s new video, Wammack eases right into the role, serving up drinks and listening thoughtfully. Wammack, …
Read More »Peach Music Festival 2018: 10 Best Things We Saw
The Pavilion at Montage Mountain in Scranton, Pennsylvania, has hosted a deep and diverse lineup for the Peach Music Festival since the event was launched by the Allman Brothers Band in 2012, but the seventh annual rendition provided the most colorful bill yet. From Allman Brothers co-founder Dickey Betts and …
Read More »Hear Mandy Barnett's Slinky Cover of Mable John's 'More Lovin”
Anyone who saw singer Mandy Barnett playing the title role in Always… Patsy Cline or heard her splendid 2013 tribute LP to singer-songwriter Don Gibson is already aware of Barnett’s ability to deliver polished Nashville Sound classics with panache. The Tennessee native, who grazed the country charts in the late …
Read More »Fourth of July Concerts: Who's Playing, How to Watch
The Fourth of July is a crucial part of country music’s DNA, providing the setting for hundreds of all-American songs — from Lee Greenwood’s “God Bless the U.S.A.” to Toby Keith’s “American Soldier” — that bleed red, white and blue. It’s no surprise, then, that many of the genre’s icons …
Read More »See Morgan Evans, Kelsea Ballerini's Wild Adventure in 'Day Drunk' Video
If you have a lavish enough vacation, it may well follow that you’ll have to scrimp on your next music video. In Morgan Evans’ case, he pulled out a camera for his romantic new “Day Drunk” video more as a means to document a spectacular getaway with his new wife, …
Read More »Flashback: 'I've Been Everywhere' Puts Hank Snow, Johnny Cash on the Map
Since Billboard magazine started keeping track of such things in 1944, there have been dozens of Number One country songs with geographical locations in their titles. In 1945 alone, Oklahoma, Sioux City and Iwo Jima were all name-checked. But in 1962 the “Singing Ranger,” Canadian-born Opry star Hank Snow, notched …
Read More »See Country Duo Everette Cut Loose in Memphis for 'Slow Roll' Video
There’s an entire philosophy contained in one line of country duo Everette’s debut single “Slow Roll” that name-checks Matthew McConaughey and his immortal, “Alright, alright, alright” from Dazed and Confused. It speaks to an easygoing mentality that meshes with their relaxed, blues-influenced groove, and the song’s new video has lead …
Read More »Cody Jinks Details New Album 'Lifers'
Brash country outlaw Cody Jinks shared the details of his much-anticipated eighth album Lifers on Instagram,selecting July 27th for the release of his first LP after signing with Rounder Records. A Texas native and former thrash metal singer, Jinks captured the attention of country fans in 2016 with the release …
Read More »See Thomas Rhett's Hypnotic 'Leave Right Now' Video
In its original form on Life Changes, Thomas Rhett‘s “Leave Right Now” veered into electronic pop territory with its noticeable Chainsmokers influence, alternating between weightless vocal sections and propulsive, beat-heavy passages that mixed fizzy synth lines and ghostly pedal steel. DJ Martin Jensen’s remix of the song, from Rhett’s Leave …
Read More »Spotify Beefs Up Hot Country Playlist and Taps Keith Urban, Kacey Musgraves
Since the birth of country music more than a century ago, the genre has relied on songs that tell stories and allow listeners to share experiences relating to those stories. As technology has advanced, the discovery of new music has become more challenging, although the accessibility of those new songs …
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