Music Country

Wes Freed, the visual artist whose surreal Southern-gothic images of shadowy figures, ominous owls, and black flamingos adorned album covers by Drive-By Truckers, has died at 58. Freed was diagnosed with colorectal cancer in January and a GoFundMe campaign was underway to help pay for his treatment. The band’s publicist …

Paul Cauthen boasts about having Benjamins to burn in “Fuck You Money,” an outrageous, tongue-in-cheek song on his latest album, the wildly entertaining Country Coming Down. And when he called from New York earlier this spring, it was obvious he’d taken the title to heart. The Tyler, Texas, country singer …

Reba McEntire performed the Best Original Song nominee “Somehow You Do” at the 2022 Academy Awards. Written by Diane Warren, it’s an inspirational ballad of perseverance that appears in the film Four Good Days, a drama about a daughter trying to get sober with the reluctant help of her mother. …

Billy Strings returned to late-night Monday evening, delivering a high-energy performance of “Know It All,” the lead track from the Grammy Award-winning artist’s 2021 album, Renewal, onThe Late Show with Stephen Colbert. Backed by his touring band, the 29-year-old singer displays his much-celebrated guitar chops as he details the period …

Dallas Good, singer, guitarist, and founding member of the Canadian garage-country-rock band the Sadies, died Thursday at the age of 48. His death was confirmed by Andrew Colvin, the Sadies’ longtime agent; no cause of death was given. As one of the lead singers of the Sadies, alongside his brother …

Luke Grimes’ portrayal of the tough-as-nails, killing-is-my-business Kayce Dutton on Yellowstone has made him a fan favorite on the wildly popular cable drama. But before he ever picked up a branding iron to put a beating on some poor rancher on TV, Grimes was keeping the beat as a drummer …

Since becoming one of Red Dirt and Texas country’s flagship acts in the late Nineties and early 2000s, Jason Boland & the Stragglers have been a steady, reliable source of smart, gritty songwriting and hearty country-rock albums. But after 20-plus years, it’s not always easy for Boland to continue generating …

J.D. Crowe, a pioneering banjo player with his progressive bluegrass group the New South, died Friday morning, according to a post on the musician’s Facebook page. He was 84. “This morning at around 3 a.m. our dad, JD Crowe, went home,” Crowe’s family wrote. “Prayers needed for all during this …

Natalie Hemby appeared on Wednesday’s episode of The Late Show to perform the title track from her latest album, Pins and Needles. Joined by her live band, the singer-songwriter showcased the rollicking country number in the midst of a forest at night. Hemby released Pins and Needles, her second solo …

Absent from the stage and on a self-declared “indefinite hiatus” since May 2019, Turnpike Troubadours — a band known as much for its volatility as for its literary songs and stomping melodies — have hit the most-anticipated reset button in Americana music. The group will headline the venerable Red Rocks …