Latest / Country Weekly / 10.17.25
Transcript
- 0:04Speaker 1: Yes. Now it's time to catch up with Country Weekly,
- 0:08where we check out news and gossip from the world
- 0:10of country music. I'm your host, Ken Dawkins, and I'll
- 0:14be reading from various sources found online now. As a reminder,
- 0:18RADIOI is a reading service intended for people who are
- 0:21blind or have other disabilities that make it difficult to
- 0:24read printed material. We'll begin with the first article, dated
- 0:29October thirteenth from countrynow dot com. Leading off, Jordan Davis
- 0:34scores ninth number one hit with Barnun perhaps new single
- 0:39turn this track around. Jordan Davis is celebrating is ninth
- 0:43number one at country radio this week and took a
- 0:46moment to thank everyone who helped make it happen. Grateful
- 0:50to get to call this a job and grateful to
- 0:52get to do it with some awesome people. Thank you
- 0:55to everyone that helped make Barnun the number one song
- 0:57at country radio. Mostly thanks to the bestest fans in
- 1:00the world for loving this one from the first time
- 1:02we played it live. You all are the best. Thank you, Davis.
- 1:05Shared written by Ben Johnson, Hunter Phillips, Lydia Vaughan bar
- 1:10Nunn appears on Davis's latest album Learn the Hard Way.
- 1:13The track was released earlier this year ahead of the
- 1:16album's debut, giving fans a taste of what was to come.
- 1:19Davis also gave a shout out to the songwriters, saying
- 1:22he all wrote a hell of a song. The breakup
- 1:25Anthem finds Davis wrestling with the emotional aftermath of losing
- 1:28the best thing I ever had. As he tries to
- 1:31drink away the pain, he realizes that if moving on
- 1:33were a game, he'd be losing. The song's emotional weight
- 1:37is perfectly captured in its cinematic music video, directed by
- 1:40Patrick Tracy. The clip opens with Davis sitting alone in
- 1:43a dimly lit bar, surrounded by moody neon lights and
- 1:46stained glass windows. As the heartbreak builds, the walls begin
- 1:50to close in literally before the entire bar explodes in
- 1:53a dramatic climax, leaving Davis standing alone in the wreckage bar.
- 1:58Nun Is a song that was sent to me, a
- 2:00song that truly came from a demo, just kind of
- 2:03stood out as different right off the bat. Davis explained,
- 2:06it kind of pulled me in something I wanted to
- 2:08hear more of. Glad we cut it Love the Way
- 2:11it turned out. I think it's something that's a little
- 2:13different from me, but something I'm excited to play live.
- 2:17Fans can catch Davis performing bar None, as well as
- 2:19a slew of others on his Ain't Enough Road tour.
- 2:23Next up, Jordan Davis set to release the fan favorite
- 2:26track Turn This Truck Around to Country radio. The Louisiana
- 2:30native says it's one of his favorites on the album
- 2:32and that he's excited to showcase a different side of
- 2:34his sound. Turn This Truck Around I was able to
- 2:37kind of get into my southern rock fields man probably
- 2:41my favorite song off this album, he shared. I just
- 2:43feel like we haven't done anything like this, and I
- 2:45feel like you're all gonna hear that. Co written by
- 2:48Davis alongside Devin Dawson, Jake Mitchell, and Josh Thompson, Turn
- 2:52This Truck Around officially goes for ads at country radio
- 2:55on October twenty seventh. Next Read exits the Band Perry,
- 3:01leaving sister Kimberly is the group's sole original member. The
- 3:06Band Perry has made another change to its trio. As
- 3:09of Monday, Reid Perry is no longer a part of
- 3:11the group, meaning his sister Kimberly is now the only
- 3:14original member to remain. Reid has served as the bassist
- 3:18and background vocals for the band Perry since the group
- 3:21formed back in two thousand and five. For his latest announcement,
- 3:24Reid has now decided to step away from their venture
- 3:27together to pursue his passion in artist management. He addressed
- 3:31a heartfelt note to fans sharing an update on his decision.
- 3:35To the fans, who've always been my favorite part of this,
- 3:37I've decided to leave tv P. I'll be missing seeing
- 3:40you in the crowd at band Perry shows, but I'll
- 3:42be around, he wrote on Instagram. For me, it was
- 3:45and will always be about making great country music with
- 3:48and for the hard working people who love it and
- 3:51live it. Thank you for every memory. I'll see you
- 3:54back in the saddle. I wish Kimberly and t v
- 3:56P the best as they can move forward into the future.
- 4:00Kimberly took to Instagram to show her support for Reed's
- 4:02decision to embark on his own journey. On Instagram, Shoe
- 4:06commented Reid, wishing you the most wonderful successes in your
- 4:09new era. Love you, brother. This news comes just a
- 4:13few months after the band, Perry revealed that Reid and
- 4:15Kimberly had joined forces with Kimberly's husband, Johnny Costello to
- 4:19form the new band Perry. The original trio consisted of Reid,
- 4:24Kimberly and their brother Neil Perry. However, he broke off
- 4:27from the band to pursue a solo career. The newly
- 4:30formed trio also signed a management deal with Make Wake Artists,
- 4:34Home to Luke Colmbs, The Castellos, Megan Patrick and others,
- 4:38and a label deal with their former label, Home Big
- 4:40Machine Label Group. At the time, Kimberly stated that rejoining
- 4:44the label felt like coming home. Coming back to our
- 4:47Big Machine Nashville Harbor family feels like a beautiful full
- 4:50circle moment for us, Kimberly Perry shared. To bring the
- 4:53foundation of everything we've built together into a new season
- 4:56of creativity means the world. This reunion feels like a
- 4:59second chance, a deeper chapter, and were just so grateful
- 5:02to be writing it with a family who believed in
- 5:04us first. The band Perry earned breakout success back in
- 5:08twenty ten with their number one hit If I Die Young,
- 5:11which helped earn them honors at the ACMs, CMAS, and
- 5:15CMT Awards. They also won the twenty fifteen Grammy for
- 5:19Best Country Duo Group Performance for Jennal on My Mind.
- 5:23In twenty fifteen, they stepped away from country music to
- 5:26explore a pop sound, and in twenty twenty three took
- 5:29a break altogether to pursue individual musical paths. During that time,
- 5:34Kimberly dropped her solo EP Bloom. They announced their official
- 5:38return to their roots country music earlier this year, as
- 5:41members Kimberly Reid and Johnny Vans celebrated their reunion alongside
- 5:45a remastered version of their self titled Breakthrough album to
- 5:49mark its fifteenth anniversary. It's unclear what the future holds
- 5:53for the band Perry, but the group currently has tour
- 5:55dates set through the spring of twenty twenty five. I
- 5:58assume that probably means to twenty six anyway. Their next
- 6:01performance is currently slated for November seventh in the Isle
- 6:04of Palms in South Carolina. Next, Laney Wilson reveals plans
- 6:10to poke fun at fellow country stars while hosting the
- 6:13twenty twenty five CMA Awards. Laney Wilson is gearing up
- 6:18for her first solo hosting gig at the twenty twenty
- 6:21five CMA Awards. With this responsibility, she's hoping to bring
- 6:25some fun to the stage. Last year, she got her
- 6:27first taste of hosting the major event alongside Luke Bryant
- 6:31and former NFL star Peyton Manning, who were known for
- 6:34having a few clever jokes in their scripts. Now, with
- 6:37Wilson leading the charge, she says she wants to continue
- 6:40that tradition by incorporating some unrestricted roasts aimed at her
- 6:44friends in the industry. If I can poke fun at people, hey,
- 6:48we good, she said during an appearance on Rolling Stone's
- 6:51Nashville Now podcast. I tried to get them to let
- 6:54me do it last year and they were like, oh,
- 6:56that's too far. But I go way back with these people.
- 7:00Make fun of Luke Holmbs. Please. When the Somewhere Over
- 7:03Laredo's singer takes the stage of the CMA Awards on
- 7:06November nineteenth, she will make history as the first woman
- 7:09to host the awards show solo since Reba McIntyre way
- 7:12back in nineteen ninety one. Wilson admitted she couldn't believe
- 7:16it was true at first, but knowing that she has
- 7:18McIntyre's support makes the milestone even more meaningful. I looked
- 7:23it up too, and I was like, there's no way
- 7:25I let Rieba know I was doing this, and she
- 7:27was so excited. Wilson shared, It's been a long time
- 7:30since a woman has done it solo. I'm glad they
- 7:32trust me. I like to run my mouth and I
- 7:34love country music. Wilson added that she has no clue
- 7:38why CMA producer Robert Deaton made the decision to make
- 7:41her the solo host. Luckily, it seems there are no
- 7:44hard feelings over the fact that Luke Bryan is not
- 7:46returning to reclaim his duties this year. I guess Luke
- 7:49ain't mad at me, because I've talked to him since.
- 7:51She said, honestly, he was probably happy to have a
- 7:54year off, and Peyton too, because they've been doing that
- 7:57for a while now. Those guys are such genuine people,
- 8:00and I think they're happy for me. I really do,
- 8:02she continued, Having grown up watching the CMA Awards to
- 8:06the extent that she calls at her Super Bowl Wilson
- 8:09revealed it is a true honor to get to return
- 8:11to the stage where some of country music's biggest moments
- 8:13are celebrated and host for her second year. I'm humbled
- 8:17that CMA has trusted me with this role and I
- 8:20can't wait to love on this genre that has given
- 8:22me so much. The Louisiana native will also enter the
- 8:26night as a six time nominee, tying with Ella Langley
- 8:29and Megan Morony as the top nominees at the fifty
- 8:32ninth Annual CMA Awards. Among her nominations, Wilson is in
- 8:36the running for the night's top honor, CMA Entertainer of
- 8:38the Year, alongside Luke Colmbs, Cody Johnson, Chris Stapleton, and
- 8:43Morgan Wallen. The fifty ninth Annual CMA Awards will be
- 8:47broadcast live from Nashville's Bridge Stone Arena Wednesday, November nineteenth
- 8:51from eight to eleven Eastern on ABC and will stream
- 8:55the following day on Hulu. Next, Eric Church takes Evangeline
- 9:02Versus the Machine to the big screen with exclusive Imax
- 9:05concert film. Eric Church is taking his Evangeline Versus the
- 9:10Machine era to a whole new level. In a first
- 9:13ever partnership among Imax, MCA, Mercury Studios, and Q Prime South,
- 9:19Church is offering an exclusive theatrical experience that will bring
- 9:22his celebrated twenty twenty five album, along with reimagined fan
- 9:26favorites to life like never before, Set to premiere exclusively
- 9:31in Imax theaters across the US and Canada on Friday,
- 9:34February thirteenth, Evangeline Versus the Machine Comes Alive and We'll
- 9:38give fans the chance to experience Eric Church's music with
- 9:42IMA's groundbreaking twelve channel sound and unmatched cinematic scale. I've
- 9:48played a lot of shows, I've never had two nights
- 9:50like these where the room felt literally transported. We went
- 9:53to a different plane musically, artistically, emotionally. Church reflects it
- 9:58was unforgettable and all remember it for the rest of
- 10:01my days. The limited release captures Church performing his eighth
- 10:05studio album front to back, before diving into some of
- 10:08his most cherished hits, including Desperate Man, Give Me Back,
- 10:11My Hometown, Centers Like Me, Mistress Named Music, and of
- 10:15course Springsteen. Filmed over two nights at the Pinnacle in Nashville,
- 10:20the film showcases a powerhouse lineup of musicians, including a
- 10:23six piece band, four piece horn and string sections, an
- 10:27eight member choir, and longtime vocalist Joanna Cotton. This sounds
- 10:31like the size of the organization that played recently in Lexington. Anyway,
- 10:36This element of the show further amplifies the music fans
- 10:39Know and Love, directed by Read Long and executive produced
- 10:42by Barrick Moffatt, Andrea Dunn, Mike Harris, Rob Fema, and
- 10:46John pets. Church is represented by w m e Q,
- 10:49Prime South and MCA Nashville. Now we jump over to
- 10:54an October fourteenth article in Parade dot Com, Jason aldie
- 11:00Zane reveals the expensive end of tour gift he gave
- 11:03beloved country star. Jason Aldean is a country music powerhouse,
- 11:08of course, and he may also be an expert gift giver.
- 11:12The megastar, who's now forty eight, purchased an uber expensive
- 11:15present for beloved star Kane Brown after the Thank God
- 11:19singer joined him on tour in both twenty seventeen and
- 11:22twenty nineteen. During an October appearance on the Taste of
- 11:26Country Nights radio show, host Evan Paul asked Aldan about
- 11:30thank you gifts he's given past tour openers. According to
- 11:33Taste of Country, did you make it easy? Singer then
- 11:37reveal that he gifted Brown thirty one an ATV. You
- 11:41get out there and get to know these guys and
- 11:43see what they're into and what they like, and then
- 11:45kind of figure it out. I got kin a four wheeler,
- 11:48he said, per the outlet. According to Neighbor blog, new
- 11:52ATVs usually sell between two thousand and fifteen thousand dollars,
- 11:56while sports models with extra features can be as pricey
- 11:59as thirty thousand dollars. Brown joined Aldean on his They
- 12:03Don't Know Tour in twenty seventeen, followed by his Ride
- 12:07All Night tour in twenty nineteen. On August seventh, the
- 12:11Bury Me and Georgia singer made a surprise appearance during
- 12:13the SuperStar's current Full Throttle Tour. The pair delighted the
- 12:17crowd at Nashville's Bridgestone Arena as they sang dirt Rhode Anthem.
- 12:22Brown isn't the only country star who's received an impressive
- 12:25gift from Aldean. The My Kind Of Party singer once
- 12:28bought a bass I'm sorry a bass boat. I don't
- 12:31think I'm a bass guitar bought a bass boat for
- 12:33country megastar Luke Bryan when Luke Brian was out with me.
- 12:37It was kind of the year he blew up, probably
- 12:39twenty twelve, I think it was, and I got him
- 12:42a bass boat. Aldean said, he's one of my best
- 12:45friends and we just had an amazing year out there
- 12:47and he had just got some property, so I got
- 12:49him a bass boat. Alding began his full Throttle tour,
- 12:53which includes special guests Nate Smith, Raylynn, and DJ Silver,
- 12:57on May twenty third of this year in Cyoga Fall, Ohio.
- 13:01The Georgia native then performed in Toronto before making his
- 13:04way to various cities across the US and wrapping up
- 13:08the twenty twenty five leg of the tour on October
- 13:10fourth in West Palm Beach, Florida. Aldine announced he's extending
- 13:14the highly successful tour and the closest he'll get to
- 13:18our neck of the Woods will be in Columbus on
- 13:20January twenty third in Charleston, West Virginia on the twenty fourth.
- 13:25Now we take the scenic rout over to saving country music.
- 13:28With the first article dated October fourteenth, Kathy mattea Susie
- 13:33bugas part of the first ever Opry Induction invitation. It
- 13:37took one hundred years, but it finally happened, and for
- 13:40two deserving women of country music. As part of the
- 13:43Grand Old Opry's year long one hundredth anniversary celebration, it
- 13:47saw its first dual induction invitation. On August ninth, country
- 13:52legend Kathy Matteya was invited to become the next member
- 13:55of the Grand Old Opry in the wake of the
- 13:57passing of longtime Opry member Genie Sealie. It was a
- 14:01big surprise, but a long overdue and worthy accolade for
- 14:03the host of West Virginia Public Broadcasting's longtime show Mountain
- 14:07Stage and the singer of the iconic Eighteen Wheels and
- 14:10a Dozen Roses. Saturday, October eleventh was set as the
- 14:14date that Cathy would be formally inducted into the Opry,
- 14:17with current member Terry Clark doing the honors and Opry
- 14:20member Tricia Yearwood also helping out. Susie Bougas also appeared
- 14:25earlier on the Saturday show and was brought out on
- 14:28the stage to join Clark and Yearwood singing back up
- 14:30from Matteia's Eighteen Wheels and a Dozen Roses. Before the
- 14:34final chorus of the song, Cathy stopped down or stepped
- 14:38down and said she had been given her first task
- 14:40as a Grand Old Opry member on behalf of my
- 14:43friends in the entire Grand Old Opry family, Susie Boggas,
- 14:47you have the voice of an angel, a generous spear,
- 14:50and a collection of work that is timeless. And I
- 14:52have one question for you, my dear dear friend. Would
- 14:55you like to be the next member of the Grand
- 14:57Old Opry. A flabbergasted August said, I thought you were
- 15:01supposed to know ahead of time. Did my husband know
- 15:04I'm going to kill him? I was just so excited
- 15:07about all of us singing together today, even though you
- 15:09guys gave me the high part. After Bogas collected herself,
- 15:12she continued, this is just unbelievable. I don't even know
- 15:15what to Oh, thank you. I need to borrow some
- 15:18messara from you. I kind of think I'm going to
- 15:20wake up in a second. Yes, yes, yes, Please don't
- 15:22take any more time away from your time. This means
- 15:26that not just one important woman to the nineties decade
- 15:29and country is finally getting her due, but two, with
- 15:32three certified gold albums to go with her platinum certified
- 15:35aces from nineteen ninety one, Susie Boggas helped usher in
- 15:38the nineties decade for women who weren't hidden in the
- 15:41shadow of the big male country acts of the era,
- 15:43but rivaled them and found success with success with quality
- 15:48songs and critically acclaimed albums. Some might complain or even
- 15:52be surprised that Kathy Mattea and Susie Boggas weren't sent
- 15:55Grand Old opera invitations previously, but under the management of
- 15:59Dan Rodgers, years previous wrongs continued to be made right
- 16:02and performers who paid more than their fair share of
- 16:05dues are finally receiving their opportunities. The formal induction date
- 16:10for Susi Baggas will be announced soon next one dead
- 16:15many disgruntled after Red West weather cancelation. The Red West
- 16:20Festival in Salt Lake City October tenth through the twelfth
- 16:24was supposed to be one of the biggest parties in
- 16:26country and roots music in twenty twenty five. Headliners included
- 16:30Casey Musgraves, Post Malone, and Noah Khan, with the Red
- 16:34City Strays, L sixty, Cowetzel, Midland, Sam Barbara La Langley
- 16:39and many other scheduled to perform, but due to inclement weather,
- 16:43the sets for the Saturday night headliners were washed out,
- 16:46with many fans taking online to complain, and now a
- 16:49class action lawsuit is being threatened by ticket holders. Then
- 16:53the news was confirmed that one young festival attendee died
- 16:57while attempting to wait out the rain delay. At around
- 17:01five fifteen p m on Saturday, Red West attendees were
- 17:04notified via the festival's mobile app that the event would
- 17:07be paused. It was then announced that everyone needed to
- 17:10leave the venue and take shelter. If people did not
- 17:13have a vehicle to shelter in, they needed to take
- 17:15shelter in one of the shuttle buses on site or
- 17:18a nearby business. It wasn't until seven fifty when event
- 17:22organizers gave an update, saying on social media they were
- 17:25optimistic that the festival could resume. However, that post was
- 17:29later deleted and at nine forty Red West confirmed the
- 17:32evening's performances had been canceled. For the safety of our fans, artists,
- 17:37and staff, we are unable to continue with today's programming.
- 17:41Conditions at the festival site are currently unsafe to proceed.
- 17:44Red West said We're truly sorry and appreciate your patience
- 17:48and understanding. Please stay tuned to our social channels and
- 17:52check your email for further updates and next steps. Thus
- 17:56resulted in performances by thy Meyer's Treaty, Oak Revival, Sixties,
- 18:00Sons of Habit Cowetzel, and Post Malone all being canceled.
- 18:05The only consolation prize was that Saturday ticket holders were
- 18:08told they could attend Sunday of the festival free of charge.
- 18:12A massive backlash from fans ensued online, with attendees demanding
- 18:16either a refund for the day or a rescheduled appearance
- 18:19by the night's big headliners. Patrons also went online and
- 18:22mass to complain about the lack of communication and updates
- 18:26from the festival during the weather delay. Many have pointed
- 18:29out that a University of Utah football game only a
- 18:32few miles from the festival was delayed as well, but
- 18:35was able to resume by eight twenty five pm. The
- 18:39reason for the abundance of caution was made abundantly clear
- 18:42when news came down that a festival attendee had been
- 18:44critically injured in the storm. Twenty three year old Eva
- 18:48Allanders sought shelter in her car that was parked near
- 18:51ten to fifty five West North Temple in Salt Lake City,
- 18:54close to a construction site. While exiting her car at
- 18:58one point, she was struck by a bard that was
- 19:00propelled at a high velocity by the wind of the storm.
- 19:03She was taken to the hospital in critical condition and
- 19:06later died from her injuries. We are heartbroken to share
- 19:10that Ava all under tragically passed away this weekend following
- 19:13an accident at the Red West Music Festival. Ava was
- 19:16a beautiful soul whose kindness, warmth, and adventurous spirit touched
- 19:19everyone around her. This was a note from her family
- 19:22that's read on cofundme page. One young festival attendee named
- 19:26Derek Yerkes has been working to form a class action
- 19:29suit against the festival for damages resulting from the Saturday cancelations.
- 19:34More than five hundred people have already signed up via
- 19:37Google form, with three hundred of them sharing their specific stories.
- 19:42York said the evacuation from the festival was chaotic and disorganized.
- 19:47We were trying to leave and they didn't open any
- 19:49of the emergency exits. People were being pushed every which way.
- 19:53We probably spent twenty minutes trying to leave and left
- 19:55right as they announced it. York said, we were just
- 19:58waiting for them to communicate with us after the fact,
- 20:01and they had said in their posts that they would
- 20:03reach out to us immediately via email and the app,
- 20:05which did not happen. The communication was not what they
- 20:09promised and was not there. We didn't know what to do.
- 20:12The issues at red West underscore the concern of large
- 20:15festivals that do not have permanent structures to facilitate sheltering
- 20:19in inclement weather. Often the order is to leave the
- 20:22festival so it does not become a liability for the organizers,
- 20:26but this puts the onus on patrons to find safe
- 20:29places that might not be readily available. A spokesperson for
- 20:33Red West has said that they are asking for the
- 20:34public's patients as they attempt to work through the issues
- 20:37they incurred Saturday night. Next article, which will include some
- 20:42commentary I'm sure as usual from saving country music, Wall
- 20:46Street Journal causes stir by initially calling Johnny Cash uncool.
- 20:52The Wall Street Journal stepped in at Pretty Good late
- 20:54last week while strangely deciding to step into the realm
- 20:57of country music. No, this was not tied to their
- 21:00coverage of the Zach Bryan song snippet issue, which was
- 21:04the story of the day for many country fans. The
- 21:06journal addressed Zach Bryan as well, but in a rather
- 21:09dispassionate and non partisan way. In fact, the writer Elias
- 21:13Late made a call to saving country music to help
- 21:16contextualize that's a new word for me, contextualize and get
- 21:20some background on the Zach Bryan matter before going to print.
- 21:24Back when journalism was journalism it's a while ago, journalists
- 21:28consulting with other journalists and experts in a field was
- 21:31much more common, as opposed to simply going online to pontificate.
- 21:35Not everyone can be an expert on every topic, but
- 21:37when you can, consult experts, attempt to get a greater
- 21:40context and perspective, and to address or represent discending viewpoints
- 21:44from your own to help better inform the public. It
- 21:48was the Wall Street Journal article titled It's finally time
- 21:51to give Johnny Cash his due that drew the ire
- 21:53of many country music and Johnny Cash fans on October ninth,
- 21:57even if they couldn't get an eye on the full
- 21:59version of the article itself due to a paywall. In
- 22:03large part, it was the subheading or the deck of
- 22:06the article that drew the most ire, stating compared to
- 22:09Dylan and Springsteen, the country music legend can seem deeply uncool.
- 22:14Those were fighting words for many country and Johnny music fans.
- 22:19Unlike the Wall Street Journal piece on the Zach Bryan
- 22:21song snippet, this wasn't a dry news report. The Johnny
- 22:25Cash piece was a personal column by the senior culture
- 22:28correspondent for The Economist named John Fastman, speaking about his
- 22:32experience of coming to the realization of the coolness of
- 22:35Johnny Cash. Along with the subheading it was some quotes
- 22:38from the article that also drew the ire of the public.
- 22:42Cash never got the same respect for his writing that Dylan,
- 22:45or Paul Simon or Bruce Springsteen did. Fastmen asserts, well,
- 22:50that's debatable at best, says Saving Country Music. Sure, Dylan
- 22:53is probably seen as a superior writer to many, but
- 22:56as the column itself points out, Dylan looked up to
- 22:58Cash both when Dylan first derived on the songwriter scene
- 23:01and probably still to this day. He was never counterculturally cool,
- 23:06and he could seem a little square. The column also
- 23:08contends about Cash while comparing him with Bob Dylan and
- 23:11Bruce Springsteen, and also points out that he was a
- 23:14Christian and a patriot. All these statements, in many respects
- 23:18insult the complexity of the Johnny Cash character says saving
- 23:21country music. In fact, to a certain segment of buttoned
- 23:24up country music fans, Cash is considered a pill popping,
- 23:27hippie avoiding, turncoat liberal for entertaining convicted felons and collaborating
- 23:32with long hairs. Johnny Cash could be criticized for many things,
- 23:36being a square is probably not one of him, if
- 23:38for no other reason than his multiple arrests, including on
- 23:41October fifth, nineteen sixty five, when Cash was caught trying
- 23:45to smuggle six hundred and eighty eight amphetamine pills and
- 23:48four hundred and seventy five tranquilizers in his guitar case
- 23:51across the Mexican border. The Outlet defector and writer Albert
- 23:55Perneco wrote a spirited rebuttal to the Wall Street Journal
- 23:59comp I'm saying Johnny Cash was cooler than Bruce Springsteen
- 24:02cubed next to that apple polishing dorkuad. Johnny Cash is
- 24:06the thelonious monk. Johnny Cash made his bones getting Beatlemania
- 24:10treatment from guys doing hard time. He tossed Nixon's requested
- 24:14set list and playlist protest songs at him. He wrote,
- 24:17I walked the line. For Christ's sakes, he isn't just
- 24:19cool compared to Springsteen. He makes Bob Dylan look like Carratop. Yes,
- 24:24the Wall Street Journal column does come across as lacking
- 24:28in self awareness as saving country music. It does make
- 24:31debatable and outright refutable assertions about Johnny Cash, but it's
- 24:35also uncharacteristically honest, and when taken as a whole, is
- 24:38not entirely offensive. The whole point of the column was
- 24:41to draw the arc of someone who started off unaware
- 24:44of how cool Johnny Cash was and then coming to
- 24:47that realization through things like the recent Bob Dylan biopic
- 24:50A Complete Unknown. Not only is this illustration of an
- 24:55evolution in thinking important and emblematic of other people's thinking,
- 24:59it probably is something that should be applauded, including applauding
- 25:02the frankness from which the author addressed the issue, speaking
- 25:05about his blind spots and misunderstanding. This wasn't a column
- 25:09in Rolling Stone or Saving Country Music. This is the
- 25:12Wall Street Journal, a New York based business publication where
- 25:15many readers are going to be uninitiated on country music
- 25:18or the complexity of the Johnny Cash legacy. Now we
- 25:23scoot over to tastefcountry dot com. With the first article
- 25:26published on October fifteenth, Joe Nichols credits newcomers, especially Zak Topp,
- 25:33for his classic comeback. Joe Nichols knows exactly who to
- 25:37thank for his recent return to the sound that made
- 25:39him a country fan favorite. And it's not a record
- 25:42executive or a radio programmer. Instead, the broken Hearts of
- 25:45Ill singer says. He owes it to the new generation
- 25:48of artists who are helping bring traditional country back to
- 25:50the spotlight. I think the younger guys have helped me,
- 25:53Nichols shared in the Drifting Cowboy podcast. He continued, for
- 25:57me to break through with something traditional country would not
- 26:00be nearly as easy as it is for zach Topp,
- 26:02who is doing some real country stuff in a weird way.
- 26:05It's opened doors back up from me. Nichol's last few
- 26:09projects have marked a full circle moment for the forty
- 26:11eight year old country veteran. With albums like Good Day
- 26:14for Living and honky Tonk Country Songs, He's embraced the
- 26:17neo traditional sound fans first fell in love with skipping
- 26:21the chase for radio trends and instead chasing what feels right.
- 26:25You don't get in this business to play it safe.
- 26:27Nichols said, I've always had people come up and say,
- 26:29I miss your old stuff. When are you going to
- 26:31do that again? And finally I realized I miss it too.
- 26:35For a while, like many artists caught in the middle
- 26:37of changing radio landscape, Nichols tried to find a balance
- 26:40between who he was and what radio wanted. But with
- 26:43this album, I don't really give a damn anymore about
- 26:45those kinds of rules, he explained of his untitled album.
- 26:49I just want to make some good, old school country music,
- 26:52and that's kind of the path we're on. Nichol says
- 26:55that Resurgence wouldn't be possible without artists like Zach top
- 26:58Jake Worthington, and Braxton Keith, who are pushing traditional country
- 27:01forward by turning the clock back. In particular, he calls
- 27:05top a trailblazers, saying the eye never lies singer is
- 27:08paving the way for others to be unapologetically country. When
- 27:12they tell me you're too country for radio, that used
- 27:14to mean compromise. Nicholl added, Now Zach's kind of kicked
- 27:17that door down for us. That's kind of let this
- 27:20old guy back in. Nichols isn't slowing down. With new
- 27:24music in the works and a renewed creative fire, he's
- 27:26embracing this new chapter with both boots planted firmly in
- 27:29the sound that built his career. And while he's grateful
- 27:32for the young artists leading the charge, he's equally determined
- 27:35to prove the classic country never really goes out of style.
- 27:39Songs like Billy Graham's Bible That's who I am, he said,
- 27:42And now thanks to the way things are shifting, I
- 27:44finally feel like I can be that guy again. Finally.
- 27:48Country music is rich with history, and that history comes
- 27:51with an occasional ghost or too. Several songs in the
- 27:54genre are bone chilling, telling tales of scorn lovers seeking
- 27:57vengeance or the devil himself looking for his soul to
- 28:00steal from the music venues with permanent resident performers, to
- 28:04hotels with guests who just won't check out. And there's
- 28:07a list of hundred places in the history of music
- 28:09and country music that is a few of them. The
- 28:12Flying Saucer in Nashville, Tennessee. How about Bobby Mackie's Music
- 28:17World in Wilder, Kentucky. Then you've got the Hermitage Hotel
- 28:22in Nashville, Shreveport Municipal Auditorium in Shreveport, Louisiana, and Union
- 28:28Station Nashville Yards in Nashville. Well, this concludes the reading
- 28:33of Country Weekly for this week. If you have any
- 28:35comments or suggestions about our program, please call us at
- 28:39eight five nine four two two sixty three ninety. Thank
- 28:43you for joining me and on behalf of everyone here
- 28:45at RADIOI. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing you a great day,