Music Country

In 1968, decades before reality-TV and social media, sentient artist and pop culture icon Andy Warhol said, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.” A decade later he would find himself visiting a Nashville institution that had by that time been world-famous for more than 50 years. …

Lucinda Williams adds a touch of her native Louisiana grit to the Southern Gothic of Bobbie Gentry’s “Ode to Billie Joe,” in a version of the quintessentially mysterious tune that supplements Mercury Rev’s adventurous track-by-track re-imagining of Gentry’s largely forgotten 1968 sophomore album, The Delta Sweete. Set within darkly atmospheric …

Nancy and Beth, the quirky duo of Will & Grace star Megan Mullally and her musical partner Stephanie Hunt, will take their tough-to-describe, yet impossible-to-resist act on the road beginning next month. Bolstered by an eclectic, unpredictable songbook — ranging from classic country weepers such as George Jones’ “He Stopped …

“Few players have changed the way we hear an instrument the way Earl has, putting him in a category with Miles Davis, Louis Armstrong, Chet Atkins and Jimi Hendrix.” Those words, penned by actor, comedian, author and banjo player Steve Martin, appeared in a New Yorker tribute following the 2012 …

Keith Urban is the latest country singer to contribute to Spotify Singles, the streaming service’s program that asks an artist to perform a cover song of their choice. In Urban’s case, it’s “Happier,” the dance hit by producer Marshmello and the U.K. band Bastille. While the original is a more …

Small towns can still have room for big personalities, and two of them come together today on “What Happens in a Small Town,” a wistful new country power ballad that pairs Brantley Gilbert with Lindsay Ell. Gilbert, who has stayed true to his own small-town roots in Georgia even as …

The title cut of Chely Wright‘s new holiday EP Santa Will Find You is a sweet-as-candy tune originally inspired by Wright’s relationship with U.S. service members throughout the world. These days, however, the song assures her twin 5-year-old sons with wife Lauren that even though they may be spending Christmas …

In the first episode of its new series Unearthed, instrument company Ernie Ball visits Americana songwriter Rodney Crowell at his Nashville home to discuss the Texas-born Grammy winner’s success in his adopted hometown and capture him in intimate performance. The 15-minute documentary opens with footage of Crowell performing his Close …

The Grand Ole Opry has launched a new artist development initiative that will follow a group of rising artists for a full year. Dubbed the Opry NextStage program, the initial lineup spotlights Tenille Townes, Travis Denning, Riley Green and Tegan Marie. Each of the singers will perform on the Grand …

There’s nothing quite like a good rock & roll howl, and Jade Bird packs an arena-worthy one on her new single “Love Has All Been Done Before,” the video for which is out now. Sandwiching some pensive acoustic verses, in which she flings lyrics as fast as she moves her …