Country Music

The Billboard Music Awards was last night in Los Angeles…It should be named The Taylor Swift Awards. The songstress swept the awards, winning almost every category she was nominated in. Before all you haters hate…realize that like it or not, Red was released into the Country Genre, and it sold more than practically all the [...]

Superstar Toby Keith, along with more than a thousand celebrities and supporters, helped The Toby Keith Foundation raise over one million dollars at the recent 10th Annual Toby Keith & Friend read more

When told she was invited to perform on the Grand Ole Opry she responded, “I'm speechless. It has been my lifelong dream to perform at the Grand Ole Opry. read more

Platinum-selling artist Darius Rucker will release his third country album, True Believers, on Tuesday, May 21. read more

Country music stunned on the Billboard Music Award red carpet last night. Take a look at Kacey Musgraves, Taylor Swift, Florida Georgia Line, Shania & MORE!

Sorry I missed posting last week’s playlist. I’m also sorry for the erratic posting schedule last week. I was in the grips of a pretty deep depression and was unable to muster the strength to do anything. That said, I am feeling a little better this week so let’s get this Monday started right by putting your ears on the archive of the show. Below is the playlist for May 18, 2013 [Artist - Song (Album)] 01. Cootie Stark And Neal ‘Big Daddy’ Pattman – Prison Blues (10 Days Out) 02. American Aquarium – Cape Fear River (Burn.Flicker.Die) 03. Drive-By Truckers – Never Gonna Change (The Dirty South) 04. I Can Lick Any Sonofabitch in the House – Mayberry (Mayberry) 05. Otis Gibbs – Big Whiskers (Harder Than A Hammered Hell) 06. Ben Prestage – One Crow Murder (One Crow Murder) 07. The Urbane Cowboys – Here We Go Again (Only Truth Tonight) 08. The Great Unknowns – Homefront (Homefront) 09. Lee Bains III & The Glory Fires – Righteous, Ragged Songs (There Is A Bomb In Gilead) 10. Sallie Ford & The Sound Outside – Bad Boys (Untamed Beast) 11. Grayson Capps – A Love Song For Bobby Long (If You Knew My Mind) 12. JJ Grey & Mofro – The Ballad of Larry Webb (This River) 13. Alela Diane – About Farewell (About Farewell) 14. John Moreland – Nobody Gives a Damn About Songs Anymore (In The Throes) 15. JKutchma & The Five Fifths – Used To Believe (Pastorals) 16. Micah Schnabel – American Static (When The Stage Lights Go Dim) 17. Jake Bugg – Someone Told Me (Jake Bugg) 18. The Henry Girls And The Fox Hunt – Dig A Little Deeper (Mountains To The Ocean) 19. The David Mayfield Parade – Love Will Only Break Your Heart (Good Man Down) 20. Brothers Of The Last Watch – Frank T. James (unreleased) 21. Arliss Nancy – Failure (Simple Machines) 22. Frank Turner – The Road (Last Minutes & Lost Evenings) 23. The Builders and the Butchers – Dirt in the Ground (Western Medicine) 24. Todd May – Mercy (Mercy) 25. Slim Cessna’s Auto Club – Port Authority Band (The Bloudy Tenant & The Truth) 26. Last Good Tooth – What’s What I Do (Not Without Work and Rest) 27. Jason Isbell – Songs She Sang In The Shower (Southeastern) 28. Lucero – Texas & Tennessee (Texas & Tennessee EP) 29. Macklemore & Ryan Lewis – Neon Cathedral (The Heist) Bold = Request Ninebullets Radio on Facebook You can stream Ninebullets Radio here You can download Ninebullets Radio here: Hour 1 / Hour 2 If you like Ninebullets Radio please drop a 5 spot in the Tip Jar. P.S.: If you like this show, do me a favor and post about it on your Facebook/Twitter/Blog. It’ll do a lot to help these bands reach new ears…and in the end, that’s what this is all about. It’ll also help bring the existence of the radio show to more people’s attention & the more people there are listening/paying attention to the show the more likely it is to stay on the air. Episode 123: aired 05.18.2013

Kenny Chesney photo courtesy of Sony Music Nashville. Kenny Chesney’s No Shoes Nation Tour stopped at Miller Stadium in Milwaukee over the weekend and gave fans a show they won’t soon forget. With a sold-out crowd of 43, 314 in attendance, Kenny debuted “When I See This Bar,” a song from his Life On A Rock album, and brought tour mate Eric Church out to sing it with him. Read our review of Kenny Chesney’s Life On A Rock >> “’When I See This Bar’ is the kind of song you have to have lived,” Kenny said. “Most people do, they just never step back and realize what all those lost nights, afternoon beers and friendships really mean. They make you who are, get you through tough things and get you laughing… Obviously, “When I See This Bar” is important to me; I know Eric’s been there, too, and knows that power of place, so it was great to get him up there.” Following “When I See This Bar,” Kenny made a spur of the moment decision to have the capacity crowd sing “Happy Birthday” to George Strait, who was turning 60. He promised the enthusiastic crowd he would email the performance to George. GAC is the official media sponsor of Kenny’s No Shoes Nation Tour. Check out photos, videos and more from the tour in our No Shoes Nation Tour section! “That’s one of the things about this life – and the people of the No Shoes Nation,” he said. “There are so many crazy, nonlinear things you can do if you can dream them. The fans feed me to dream outside the lines – like singing ‘Happy Birthday’ to George – and that’s one of the best parts of making a life making music.” While each show is special in its own way, Milwaukee is a show Kenny won’t soon forget. And it is because each place has its own magic that Kenny will be stopping at a variety of venues throughout the summer. “We’ve played so many places,” Kenny said. “There’s a special thrill when you get to go somewhere new, or different. It’s why we’re mixing it up this year: arenas, amphitheaters, a few Keg shows in clubs, the Tortuga Festival on the beach. But Milwaukee – like Dallas last weekend – had a very special magic to it. Those fans! That stadium! Funny how places that couldn’t be more different both have so much heart.” ShareThis

We all know them and we all hate them, those ubiquitous and ridiculous pop country songs that make us hang our heads in shame, embarrassed to call ourselves country fans, constantly making us having to explain that no, we don't listen to that type of country. They pursue us doggedly, on the radio, over the speakers at the grocery store, blaring from a car full of high school kids at a red light.

Because you don’t watch “The View.” God, I hope you don’t watch “The View.” More Pistol Annies media rounds: “Unhappily Married” on Craig Ferguson, “Hush Hush” on David Letterman, “Hush Hush” on Today, Pistol Annies feature on Headline Country

As Cassadee Pope's solo debut single, "Wasting All These Tears" is a sufficient offering, perfectly straddling the line between pop and Country.It samples the boisterous production of her contemporaries, namely Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood, and offers up a guitar-laden arrangement that will fit perfectly at radio, both Country and Top 40. There won't even be a need for a remix, honestly. The instrumentation skews to the extreme of pop-rock with a dash of down-home banjo. With females (save for Taylor, Carrie and Miranda Lambert) struggling to find radioplay, Cassadee's future remains in limbo, even with this stellar pop affair. The hook is infectious and should lead the singer to at least gain traction with a Top 30 hit. The song's intro takes notes from The Band Perry's similarly structured guitar plucking No. 1 hit "Better Dig Two" but quickly shifts into Avril Lavigne territory. That's not to say the track isn't fresh enough. It certainly is, at least in regards to what Country music is serving up right now. It's the love-child hybrid of Carrie and Taylor at their best, a singularly concocted anthem of a former flame. The song plods along, reading like a diary entry, quite like something Taylor could have written for 'Red.' The only difference is is that Cassadee has the vocal prowess and nuance to slowly build the story from the harrowing first verse to the mountainous crescendo towards the song's end, culminating in rich power notes. The song, a co-write with Caitlyn Smith and Rollie Gaalswyk, is rather vivid in its metaphors, a great way to introduce her to the general Country music listening crowd as a true singer-songwriter. "I try to find you at the bottom of the bottle, lying down on the bathroom floor," she sings on the first verse. "My loneliness was wrattling the windows. You say you don't want me anymore." Cassadee's vocals aren't particularly Country, which is perhaps her best assest. She interprets the honest lyrics from her own personal experience, allowing the song to speak for itself, without overdoing it. Each fist-pumping chorus builds upon the verses, laying down a glossed-sheen throughout the entire recording. I'm not completely sold on this song as "Country" per-se, but it's catchy enough to surely build momentum for the singer as she preps her Big Machine debut album this fall. The hook is crafted around simple pop-confection (see: Kelly Clarkson circa "Breakaway"). It reads: "Standing on the corner crying / Feeling like a fool for trying / I don't even remember why / I’m wasting all these tears on you." Whether Country radio fully embraces the song remains to be seen. Can she have a major breakthrough with this offering? Possibly...if promoted correctly (aka if Scott Borchetta works his magic). Overall Grade: B+       Love or hate this review? Let me know your thoughts on Twitter. Of course, you can also email me to continute the conversation.