Ha Ha Tonka State Park, which rests near the center of the Ozark Mountains, is a sprawling testament to how awe-inspiring highland natural phenomena can be. Culturally, the Ozarks’ scattered population shares many traditions with the Appalachian region: rugged individualism, […]
We’ve been bombarded for months — years even — with all the gloom-and-doom that surrounds the music industry in the 21st century. The word has become a ceaseless mantra: CDs are dead. Downloads were a giant asteroid that will demolish […]
“To get to belt out songs every night is the most euphoric experience, and I can’t believe I didn’t try it earlier.” — Ben Bridwell Pre-show sound check is not the most exciting part of a band’s day. On the […]
Of all the homemade Britney Spears videos on YouTube, one of the harshest isn’t a Britney video at all. Images of the pop-diva-in-disgrace then and now accompany “Pretty Runs Out”, the title song from Amanda Shaw’s debut album for Rounder […]
THE FINE PRINT: We asked critics for their top 20 new releases and top 10 reissues; shorter lists were also accepted. We asked readers for their top 10 new releases. In the reader poll, common-sense measures were taken to protect […]
Eilen Jewell: “Ticked all the right boxes” As someone who has recently discovered your good selves (I’ve lived a sheltered life), I was inspired to purchase Eilen Jewell’s new album Letters From Sinners And Strangers on the strength of Scott […]
This issue’s Screen Door piece on the reopening of Houston’s venerable Cactus Records store got me to thinking about a lot of the other record stores that have meant something to me at one point or another over the past […]
Since the coming in the mid-’80s of regular cablecasts of parts of the weekly shows, it’s been more commonplace to see stars old and new in video performances from the Grand Ole Opry. Before that, it was a special, limited […]
IT’S A FRAME ABOUT RAY: Longtime Ray Charles saxophonist David “Fathead” Newman and Charles’ autobiography co-author and friend David Ritz joined Michael Gray of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum at the Hall’s “Remembering Ray” discussion on November […]
“How can you sell Porter Wagoner to the kids? Nobody wants to be like Porter Wagoner,” griped an agitated Joe South to Rolling Stone writer Jerry Hopkins in 1969, amid a diatribe against the country music of that era. South, […]
