Country Music Blog

Around the Web: Dierks Bentley's Mom Dishes on Son

Link Ray — Fri, 09 May 2008 21:22:44 +0000

If Cathy Bentley was so strict, how did her son, Dierks, pull off a lemonade-and-vodka stand? Only his mom knows, and she shared her stories with People.
A Nashville middle school is rich with 75 new musical instruments, thanks to a little help from Kellie Pickler and the Country Music Association.

Blue Highway meets the virtual highway as the acclaimed bluegrass band revamps its Web site.

Where are all the grown-ups? The Hannah Montana movie needs you. So if you're free Saturday, come on down to the open auditions in Nashville.

And despite a closed set and tight security, when the filming starts at Franklin High School, fandemonium will no doubt set in.

When Taylor Swift met John Mayer, she started quoting things from his MySpace blog. She said she was freaking out. He might've been a little freaked out himself.

Soccer Moms Know Best

Alison Bonaguro — Fri, 09 May 2008 19:42:52 +0000

People who aren't into country music are pretty quick to classify it as "music for soccer moms." As if that's a bad thing. Like soccer moms have no taste, thereby making the music they have chosen to play in their minivans less cool than whatever alt-emo-pop music other folks are listening to. And those folks are partially right. Middle-aged suburban moms do make up a big portion of country radio listeners and are responsible for a lot of what's left of retail CD sales. But those folks are wrong about moms not having enough smarts to recognize good music. (more...)

Happy to See The Judds at Stagecoach

Eamon McLoughlin — Fri, 09 May 2008 16:20:20 +0000

The first time I Googled "Coachella Festival," I was surprised to see we would be playing alongside Portishead. Only later did I realize we were playing the "Country Coachella," better known as Stagecoach Festival in Indio, Calif. And to be honest, I was happier because it meant I would get to see The Judds. This may surprise some of you, but as a kid, my brother and I would listen to those records every weekend. Looking at the line-up, everything else was secondary -- Earl Scruggs, Sam Bush, Riders in the Sky. Had any of them recorded "Grandpa"? Or "River Of Time"? I don't think so...

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The Mashville Brigade Invades Nashville

Jon Weisberger — Fri, 09 May 2008 13:37:13 +0000

Though some folks may resent the fact, it's pretty hard to argue that the center for bluegrass these days is anywhere but Nashville. Music City's full of bluegrass musicians, from long-timers like Roland White, who arrived back in the ‘60s, to more recent arrivals like the Infamous Stringdusters' Travis Book and NewFound Road fiddler Brandon Godman. Because they share a common songbook, it's easy for the line between music-making and socializing to get blurry, or even disappear altogether -- and of course, once you're making music together, you might as well find an audience for it. Fortunately for the city's pickers, the world famous Station Inn stands ready to serve one up.

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Eddy Arnold Set the Standard for Humility

Calvin Gilbert — Fri, 09 May 2008 00:11:16 +0000

In the hours after Eddy Arnold's death early Thursday morning, country music stars and everyday working class people from Nashville have been sharing their stories of the Country Music Hall of Fame member. And if there's one underlying theme, it's the kindness and decency he showed to everyone he had contact with long after he had anything to prove or anyone to impress.

He was a superstar long before anyone ever coined the expression, but he didn't act like a superstar and you certainly wouldn't pick him out of a crowd as being a multi-millionaire. Up until a few months ago, he could be seen most weekdays having lunch at a modest meat-and-three restaurant south of downtown Nashville. (more...)

Around the Web: Why Robert Plant Loves Alison Krauss

Link Ray — Thu, 08 May 2008 23:20:13 +0000

Robert Plant gushes over Alison Krauss, both as a tourmate and as his vocal mentor.
Teen pregnancy? Taylor Swift's against it. And she said so at the Event to Prevent gala in New York City.

Country music was coming from 1600 Pennsylvania Ave. on Monday as Phil Vassar performed on the White House's south lawn to honor recipients of the Presidential Volunteer Service Award.

Actress Minnie Driver is getting ready to give birth: to a new baby and a new collection of country songs on her album, Seastories.

Eva Longoria is no Jewel. Cast your vote for who wore the white lace number best.

From Canada's Border to the Apple Blossom Festival

Rhonda Vincent — Thu, 08 May 2008 20:26:19 +0000

One thing is for sure -- traveling on the road is never boring. There's always an adventure just ahead. After performing to a sold out venue in Farmington Hills, Mich., we started towards the Canadian border at Port Huron. Just before reaching the border, traffic came to a stand still, due to a toxic waste spill on the interstate. Our driver, Yogi, quickly got on the CB to find out how long the wait could be. They were saying eight hours or more. Yogi positioned the bus to cross the grassy median, after closely checking the firmness, to see if we could cross. He flattened out the gas pedal and didn't let up till we made the U-turn back onto the pavement. It was a rough ride, but we were moving once again and on our way to Detroit to cross the border into Canada.

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Key West Songwriters Festival Brought Music and More

Brian Tipton — Thu, 08 May 2008 19:57:56 +0000

Some of country music's top songwriters converged last week in Key West, Fla., for the 13th annual Key West Songwriters Festival, where they played free shows in the town's various nightspots and watering holes along Duval Street. The tiny island was overrun with tourists and festival attendees who jam-packed the venues for dancing and late night sing-alongs.With so many people around doing what vacationing, sometimes intoxicated people do, I found it difficult to stay focused on the music at times. However, there were a few ticketed shows at the Hog's Breath Writer's Room and the Tropic Theater, where Jeffrey Steele, Chuck Cannon, Kim Richey, Raul Malo, Robert Earl Keen, Kylie Sackley and other professional tunesmiths played shows with a Bluebird Café vibe and attentive crowd. I know these songwriters love it when artists like Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, Montgomery Gentry and Faith Hill record their songs, but personally, I always prefer to hear the songs straight from the creator's mouth. The music portion of the festival culminated in a street party where Keen and Steele entertained throngs of people strolling along Duval Street.

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"Chattahoochee": Alan Jackson's Surprise Hit

Tom Roland — Thu, 08 May 2008 16:36:28 +0000

"Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar."That famous quote from Sigmund Freud cautions against forcing meaning into events or objects where there is none.

Most of the time, when recording artists put out positive uptempo songs, the point is to not think too deeply, just to simply breeze through the moment and try to embrace some bit of energy or happiness. That is pretty much the point of Alan Jackson's new single, "Good Time," in which a working man celebrates his weekend away from the grind.

Jackson drew a comparison a week ago between that song and some of his earlier uptempo numbers, including "Chattahoochee," which was released as a single 15 years ago this week (May 10). Jackson didn't expect much with the song, figuring it was about a river that was personal to him but unfamiliar to most people outside his home state of Georgia. Instead, the thing took off and became one of several signposts in his career.

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Bluegrass Comes to the Home of the Burgies

Infamous Stringdusters — Thu, 08 May 2008 15:19:27 +0000

Bluegrass in the U.S. is barely a curiosity anymore, not since O Brother. Not so here in Germany. A few stalwart supporters and curious music lovers are enough to make touring viable, but it's a lot like being in a traveling freak show. You get up on stage and play, some nights you get wild applause and a double encore. Other nights, blank stares. Like Jeremy says, "They looked like they were being milked." (more...)