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Fowler Sells Out for Colt Ford’s “Hip Hop in a Honky Tonk”
The latest new low is this "duet" by Colt Ford with the aforementioned Kevin Fowler called "Hip Hop in a Honky Tonk." You can probably guess the premise. 2011 might be the year that the two 2...
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Michael Jackson Montgomery Releases “Letter B” Demo
About two months ago, Saving Country Music introduced you to a would-be pop country star named Michael Jackson Montgomery in the aftermath of drama between Billy Ray Cyrus and his daughter Miley....
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Album Review – Justin Moore’s “Outlaws Like Me”
Those previous positive statements I made about Justin? Well it looks like I need to back pedal pretty hard from them, because this album is awful. In my opinion, and I appreciate the gravity and the...
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The 6 Pop Country Archetypes
Have you ever wondered who actually listens to those songs they play on pop country radio? Here are the six primary Archetypes, or as Music Row refers to them, "target demographics", that make up the...
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Aaron Lewis of Staind’s “Endless Summer”
Isn't Arron Lewis bored yet and ready to return to butt rock? Apparently not, as he told The Tennessean late last week he's planning to release a "very country" album in June. What does "very country"...
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Official Saving Country Music Pop Country Nicknames
As frequent readers of Saving Country Music will attest, over the years we've christened fun little nicknames for some our favorite pals of pop country. If you ever wondered where these names came from...
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Album Review – Aaron Lewis Of Staind “The Road”
es, Aaron Lewis, the ultra-emotional singer from Staind that done "gone country" a couple of years back has a new album called The Road, and I have to say, this was not nearly as bad as I was...
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How Hip-Hop Stole Country Music: The Arrival of the Mono-Genre
All of a sudden hip-hop influences are dominating the top of the country music charts, asserting just as much influence, if not more than indigenous country influences, with a bevy of new country rap...
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The Most Notorious “Gone Country” Moments
In 2013, stories of entertainers that "go country" are routine occurrences instead of reasons for surprise, intrigue, or outrage, because country music has officially become the default repository for...
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Aaron Lewis Says “That Is Not Country Music, I’m Sorry”
It was looking like Lewis was falling right in line with the procession of other country music outsiders fleeing to the country genre in the twilight of their careers to find commercial strength. But...
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Aaron Lewis Slams Tyler Farr’s “Redneck Crazy” in Alt. Version
On Friday, Jan. 24th, Aaron Lewis was playing a show at the Thirsty Cowboy in Medina, Ohio, and during his set he decided to take the recent #1 song "Redneck Crazy" by Tyler Farr to task. "I fucking...
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Aaron Lewis Stops Concert, Twists Off On “Molesters”
We've seen these moments more and more at concerts, especially country music concerts where an artist has to stop everything down because someone in the crowd is acting completely inappropriate, but...
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Jason Isbell, Jamey Johnson + More to Tribute Lynyrd Skynyrd
On November 12th, artists from across the country and Southern rock world will be coming together to pay tribute to Lynyrd Skynyrd in a unique way. Not your typical tribute concert, and not your...
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Aaron Lewis Screws Up Words to World Series National Anthem
Aaron Lewis only had one task Sunday Night, ONE TASK! ... before the upsurging Kansas City Royals took on the San Francisco Giants. And despite the patriotism he crammed down our throats in his first...
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Song Review – Tyler Farr’s “A Guy Walks Into A Bar”
Last time I was paying attention to Tyler Farr, he was touching off a firestorm for singing about parking his truck in his ex's yard and whipping beer cans at her window. Then Colt Ford and the cast of...
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Aaron Lewis Signs to Big Machine, Releases Protest Song “That Ain’t Country”
Aaron Lewis, the frontman for the emo noise band Staind, whose been dabbling in country music for years now, has just signed to Dot records---a division of the Big Machine Label Group---and will be...
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Aaron Lewis Calls Luke Bryan, Sam Hunt “Mother$%ckers.” Again.
But this is the thing about Aaron Lewis and his anti-country stance: Normally this type of thing would solicit high praise from an outlet like Saving Country Music. And hey, I will give him credit for...
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Aaron Lewis Backpedals / Bobby Bones Disses Saving Country Music
On the Bobby Bones Show Thursday (9-15) morning (listen at the bottom), Bobby spoke to Aaron Lewis after his recent blowup at pop country artists, and what did he do? Aaron backpeddled and admitted he...
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Album Review –“Sinner” by Aaron Lewis
If you want your musical experience in life to be the most fulfilling and enjoyable, then you have to be without prejudice when approaching music. There are many reasons on paper that one might decide...
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Now With #1 Album, Aaron Lewis Continues to Backpedal From Country Comments
Celebrating the #1 record in country this week with his Big Machine Records debut Sinner responsible for 39,000 copies sold, Aaron Lewis continues to try and walk a difficult line between being a major...
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Where Scott Borchetta and Big Machine Records Went Wrong
Despite the rumors and speculation, and Saving Country Music once naming him the "Country Music Antichrist," apparently Scott Borchetta is indeed a mortal after all. We're still trying to sift out what...
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Fate of Dot Records Artists Still Uncertain After Big Machine Officially...
What we know for sure is that Dot Records is no longer a label, at least for now. What we don't know about is the fate of some of the artists that called the label home. Maddie & Tae, Drake White,...
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Album Review – Alex Williams “Better Than Myself”
There is no need to mince words here or parse expectations. Alex Williams debut record Better Than Myself is traditional country music. And if it needs any qualifiers, it would be that it leans more...
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Dillon Carmichael Lands Big Tour Opening Opportunities for 2019
One of the biggest discoveries in 2018 was Dillon Carmichael and his debut, Dave Cobb-produced album Hell On An Angel. This hard country, heart-pounding honky tonk record was nominated for Saving...
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Aaron Lewis Berates Crowd For Not Being Quiet, Storms Off Stage
For the second time in as many months, Staind frontman turned Big Machine country music recording artist Aaron Lewis has hard cussed a crowd out for not being quiet enough during one of his acoustic...
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Album Review –“State I’m In” by Aaron Lewis
It really is hard to know just what the hell to do with Aaron Lewis. On the one hand, his music is definitely country, and don't go citing his former life as the frontman of Staind as some rebuttal to...
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Yes, The Sale of Big Machine is Big, and So Is Taylor Swift’s Concerns
You're a music fan. And sure, you know a little something about labels and producers and how all this stuff is necessary to get the music to you. But it so quickly gets bogged down in minutia and...
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Jason Isbell Says There Aren’t Great Conservative Songwriters
"If it ever gets to be too much for you, there are a lot of great songwriters out there who agree with you politically. Oh wait, no there aren’t," Jason Isbell responded to a Twitter user. But this...
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Ray Wylie Hubbard Signs to Big Machine (Yes, You Read That Right)
Well, if you thought you were already swimming through an upside down world where the NBA and NHL seasons have just been suspended along with pretty much every major music tour and festival to speak of...
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Merle Haggard Tribute Concert to Finally Be Released
Unless you were there in person, you missed it. But now we'll all get the opportunity to see the tribute concert that transpired on April 6th, 2017, when a hefty list of musical talent all assembled at...
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On Aaron Lewis and “Am I The Only One”
The fundamental reason "Am I the Only One" is resonating so widely is because it's tapping into an unfulfilled and voraciously hungry desire for counterpoints in popular American culture. In a very...
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Turnpike Troubadours Announce Slew of 2022 Fest Appearances
If you've been waiting for the right opportunity to catch the Turnpike Troubadours on their reunion tour and got locked out of the first round of shows due to the crazy run on tickets, the...
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Album Review – Aaron Lewis –“Frayed At Both Ends”
It's too bad that Aaron Lewis has made himself such a polarizing guy in country music---one of those dudes that when you mention his name, many people immediately start making faces like they just...
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Album Review – Adeem The Artist’s “White Trash Revelry”
There was most certainly a time in country music---and even in it's more open-minded and less commercially-concerned cousin of Americana---where not fitting neatly within the gender binary would be a...
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The Best Mainstream Country Albums of 2022
Every year to make sure the best titles in mainstream country don't get overlooked, and to encourage the quality in the mainstream to rise to the top, we run down the best mainstream country albums to...
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Vince Gill Has Become Country Music’s Collaborator-In-Chief
Vince Gill really is the closest thing that country music has to the five-tool baseball player. He can do it all. As a solo artist, he's a Country Music Hall of Famer and Grand Ole Opry stalwart. He...
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Award-Winning Songwriter Matt McGinn Charged with Assault
Matt McGinn was named SESAC's Country Songwriter of the Year in both 2018 and 2022. He's now been charged with two felony counts and one misdemeanor stemming from an incident that occurred on October...
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The Failed Political Project To Reshape the American Electorate Through...
Crunching election data, a plan was hatched under the premise that if the institution of country music could be assuaged to become a political tool, it could help persuade the rural slice of the...
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