More than a dozen stars—and more to be announced soon—will come together at Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena on April 6 for a Merle Haggard tribute concert. Dubbed Sing Me Back Home: The Music of Merle Haggard, the concert will feature performances from Willie Nelson, Kenny Chesney, Miranda Lambert, John Mellencamp, Dierks Bentley, Loretta Lynn, Hank Williams…
It’s not exactly da Vinci’s The Last Supper, but one of Nashville’s favorite honky-tonks recently unveiled a new mural depicting some of country music’s biggest stars, both past and present. The mural appears on one of the outside walls of Legends Corner on Lower Broadway. Any country music fan worth his or her weight in…
Controversy can be a double-edged sword in country music. On the one hand, some spirited conversation about a song or album can elevate an artist’s profile, particularly in our present on-demand world. On the other, there’s a real risk of being banished from radio. Here are 10 of country music’s most controversial tunes, in order…
Keith Urban celebrated New Year’s Eve with a free performance in Nashville on Dec. 31. Before the music note dropped (yes, Nashville drops a music note—eat your heart out NYC), Keith performed a medley of hits in tribute to artists who died in 2016, including George Michael’s “Careless Whisper,” Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah,” Glenn Frey of…
It’s never easy to lose someone and it’s especially hard when those people have made an impact on our lives. 2016 saw the passing of 10 country artists who have touched our lives with their music, including legendary artists Merle Haggard and Ralph Stanley and those we lost way too soon like Joey Feek and…
What would the Christmas season be without music? It’s the soundtrack for trimming the tree, wrapping presents and cooking Christmas dinner. While those activities are fun for a lot of folks and Martina McBride’s White Christmas is must-have musical accompaniment, I decided to create the manliest of holiday playlists, perfect for listening to while splitting…
Jim Casey talks with Chris Young about the rapid success of his duet with Cassadee Pope, “Think of You,” his CMA Award nomination, how he got in touch with Vince Gill for “Sober Saturday Night,” the daunting challenge of picking songs for his new Christmas album, It Must Be Christmas, his favorite Christmas albums and more.…
In 2015, Merle Haggard and Willie Nelson teamed up for the duets album Django and Jimmie, which featured the tune “It’s All Going to Pot.” Their art is imitating life. Willie introduced his new marijuana brand, Willie’s Reserve, earlier this year, and now Merle, who passed away in April 2016, will soon have his own…
Making your debut on the Grand Ole Opry stage is both a career-defining and nerve-racking moment for almost every artist who gets the honor. You can add Kiefer Sutherland’s name to that list. After Kiefer stepped onto the famed Grand Ole Opry circle to make his debut on May 31, the Emmy-winning actor, who has…
Billy Ray Cyrus is a busy man these days. Writing and starring in his own sitcom, Still The King, which was picked up for a second season by CMT, would keep anyone busy enough. On top of that, Billy Ray decided to release a brand-new album, Thin Line—which drops Today (Sept. 9)—chock-full of guest appearances…
