Country Music Blog: Archive

There’s not much going on in country music this week, so I’m living in the past – flipping through a stack of stories I wrote this year for CMT.com. No wonder I am ready for a long winter’s nap.

I take it for granted sometimes, but I confess that it’s pretty neat to visit with musicians I admire, like Dierks Bentley and Trisha Yearwood. You have to be smart to make it in this business, so if you come at them with the right questions, country singers almost always rise to the occasion. I also enjoyed chatting on the phone with Patty Griffin, Merle Haggard and Emmylou Harris – who wouldn’t?

Awards shows get to be kind of routine (and dull) for music reporters, but sometimes an artist will deliver a great performance that you can’t get out of your head. That happened to me at the Americana Honors, when Buddy Miller sang this new song by his wife Julie. Months later, I am still obsessed with this song, which doesn’t even have a name. Nevertheless, it’s stuck in my head, and I’m OK with that.

So, where have I been? First was Keith Urban in Chicago. Then SXSW in Austin and the ACMs in Las Vegas. I saw Brad Paisley check Chattanooga for "Ticks." On a trip to Virginia Beach, I reviewed Alan Jackson/Brooks & Dunn, along with an Alison Krauss/Tony Rice concert in North Carolina that same weekend. Bonnaroo was a trip, so to speak. Wynonna sang in Atlanta, Sugarland in South Carolina and Garth Brooks in Kansas City. I also kicked back in some cool bars, including Station Inn, Mean Eyed Cat, Gruene Hall, Carol’s Pub and the Longbranch Saloon. After running in my first Hood to Coast relay, I spent nearly two weeks in Oregon on vacation, checking out the breweries. So beautiful. Can’t wait to get back there.

On the personal side, I conquered my first official marathon (26.2 miles) this year in Louisville, Ky., as well as the 100-mile 3-State-3-Mountain Challenge bike ride and the Chattanooga Waterfront Triathlon. With fitness on the brain almost all year long, I inevitably found myself asking artists about staying in shape. To read those stories, and many others, visit our new CMT Lifestyles Blog.

May 2008 be your best year ever!