Music Country

Billy Strings was forced to cancel a number of multi-night shows in December because of positive Covid cases within his circle. Undeterred, the bluegrass singer and guitarist just announced a new spring tour that includes residencies in California, Florida, and at Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium. The performer’s spring trek kicks off …

On New Year’s Day 1964, Connie Smith — then still an aspiring singer — met Grand Ole Opry star Bill Anderson at a concert in Canton, Ohio. It was actually their second meeting: The first followed Smith’s victory in a talent show in Columbus, after which Anderson invited her to …

“In recovery, they have this saying: ‘You’re only as sick as your secrets.’ And I have very few secrets,” Mary Gauthier says. The songwriter isn’t being dramatic. In songs like “I Drink” and “Mercy Now,” she wrote and sang openly about her struggles with alcohol and drug addiction. Yet somehow …

Blame the pandemic, the dying planet, or our rapid transition into United States: Fury Road, but there’s a lot of soul searching going on these days. Some artists, especially in the Americana genre, are even looking to the heavens. Brent Cobb is releasing a gospel album in January, Hiss Golden …

Willie Nelson and his family have released a gentle cover of George Harrison’s “All Things Must Pass” featuring lead vocals by Willie’s son Lukas Nelson. The track appears on the country great’s new album The Willie Nelson Family, due out Friday, Nov. 19. With a loose arrangement that gives it …

Andrew Leahey & the Homestead sell band T-shirts that read “Rock & Roll Makes You Feel Alright.” As far as credos go, it’s a solid one — and one that Leahey drives home in his song “Good at Gone.” “When the smoke’s all cleared , and it’s safe to breathe,” …

Kane Brown’s collaborative streak continues with “Blessed & Free,” the country singer’s new recording with R&B singer-guitarist H.E.R. It follows the recent Blackbear collaboration “Memory” as well as the hit duet “Famous Friends” with Chris Young. Brown wrote the song with H.E.R. and an army of co-writers — Ilsey Juber, …

When Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit took the stage in Austin, Texas, on August 9th, it was just a few hours after he had announced a new set of Covid protocols for all of his upcoming concerts: Isbell’s live shows would now require all attendees to provide either proof …

Nashville singer-songwriter Adia Victoria will release her new album A Southern Gothic in September. Co-produced by Victoria with Mason Hickman, the album will arrive September 17th and includes appearances by Jason Isbell, Margo Price, and the National’s Matt Berninger. The album’s first single, “Magnolia Blues,” is also out Wednesday. An …

By the time Garth Brooks name-checked Chris LeDoux in his debut single, 1989’s “Much Too Young (To Feel This Damn Old),” the real-life rodeo champ and balladeer was already a cult star. LeDoux wrote and sang detail-rich songs about the grueling rodeo circuit with a restless spirit and his own …