Transcript

6.20.25 · Country Weekly

0:04
Speaker 1: Welcome to Country Weekly, where we check out news and
0:08
gossip from the world of country music. As always, I'm
0:12
your host, Ken Dawkins, and I'll be reading from various
0:15
sources found online. As a reminder, RADIOI is a reading
0:19
service intended for people who are blind or have other
0:22
disabilities that make it difficult to read printed material. We'll
0:26
begin with the first article, dated June sixteenth from countrynow
0:30
dot com Getting Started. Riley Green joins an elite list
0:35
with self written number one. Riley Green has notched another
0:40
major career milestone. On Monday, the Alabama Natives scored his
0:44
fifth career number one with his steamy single Worst Way.
0:48
The steamy fan favorite track rose to the top of
0:50
the Billboard Country Airplay Chart, media Base Country Airplay Chart,
0:54
media Base Canada Country Airplay Chart, and the UK Country
0:59
Radio Airplay Charts. The Worst Way is not just another
1:02
number one under Green's belt, It's also a rare feat
1:05
for a country music act. It's only the second song
1:08
solely written by the performing artists to reach the top
1:11
of the Billboard Country Airplane chart since twenty twelve. This
1:16
makes Green just the sixth solo artist in two decades
1:19
to do so. To top it off, the tune also
1:22
earned anaa double platinum certification this week, adding to its
1:27
growing list of achievements in a remarkable year. With its
1:31
catchy tone and addicting storytelling, fans fall in love with
1:34
a passionate, low slow tempo song immediately upon release. It
1:38
gained even more traction with a music video, which has
1:40
since become a global number one hit. The self penned
1:44
song remained a standout on Green's latest album, Don't Mind
1:47
If I Do. The song offers minimal production elements, allowing
1:51
listeners to focus on some of his steamiest lyrics to date.
1:55
Within the storyline, Green paints a vivid picture of a
1:57
passionate night with his lover, suggesting the skip the typical
2:00
romance like wine and roses and get straight to the
2:03
physical connection. Thanks to the song's powerful impact, the singer
2:08
songwriter's latest string of compliments further proves that his signature
2:12
vocals and songwriting skills have made him one of the
2:15
biggest names in this generation of country music. Alongside the
2:19
news of his most recent success, Riley Green has announced
2:22
that his second Duckman Jam concert will take place November
2:25
twenty second in Little Rock Arkansas concert. Event will feature
2:30
support from Jamie Johnson, Drake White, and Lauren Watkins along
2:34
with the special night fans can catch Riley Green's delivering
2:38
two headlining shows in Las Vegas on December twelfth and
2:41
thirteenth during National Finals Rodeo weekend. Green is also currently
2:46
on the midst of his international headlining Damn Country Music Tour,
2:50
produced by Live Nation. The US leg of the tour
2:52
launched in May in Athens, Georgia, and is set to
2:55
continue through November twenty first, when he'll make his final
2:58
stop in Oklahoma City. Joining the Alabama native on select
3:02
dates is a powerhouse lineup of acts including Jamie Johnson,
3:06
Drake White, and rising talent Hannah McFarland. The tour continues
3:10
this weekend with a stop in Franklin, Tennessee, on June
3:13
nineteenth and Huntington, West Virginia on June twenty first. Next,
3:19
Zach top debuts hilarious alter ego Billy Bottoms with Dirk
3:24
s Bentley's Hot Country Nights. Zach Topp has made his
3:28
debut as part of Dirk Spentley's comedic supergroup Hot Country Nights,
3:33
and fans simply can't get enough of his alter ego,
3:35
Billy Bottoms, Top has been welcomed into the nineties influence
3:39
group while serving as a special guest on Bentley's headlining
3:42
Broken Branches tour over the weekend, Top appeared alongside Bentley's
3:46
persona Douglas Doug Douglasson during the Hot Country Nights portion
3:50
of the show, performing a cover of Sold the Grundy
3:53
County Auction Incident by John Michael Montgomery. For those who
3:58
are unaware, Hot Country Nights is Dirk Bentley's joke slinging
4:01
jam band. Popped up in early twenty twenty. The group
4:05
is comprised of lead singer Douglas Doug Douglasson, as well
4:09
as lead bass player Trevor Travis, lead guitarist Marty Ray Rairo,
4:13
robern Key, tar fiddle player Troji, Terry dever Jinski, steel
4:19
guitarist Barry Van Ricky, and percussionist Monte Montgomery. Additionally, Charlie
4:24
Worsham recently joined as Dylan douglasson That's Doug's cousin. Now.
4:29
Top has been welcomed as Billy Bottoms, a George wearing,
4:32
cigarette smoking country singer who, according to Doug, has been
4:35
recently released from prison. Top's performance as Billy Bottoms did
4:40
not disappoint. Fans expressed their excitement on social media after
4:44
videos from the performance at Country Fest in Ohio. Now
4:48
this is at the first time the Hot Country Knights
4:50
have welcomed an outsider back. In twenty twenty three, Landy
4:53
Wilson joined his character Darla McFarland. Together, they released the
4:57
song Harrismith Not Harassment but Harrison Garth and Trisha Tim
5:01
and Faith Brooks and donn and now Doug and Darla Harrissman.
5:04
The group previously wrote on Instagram, Hot Country Nights closes
5:08
out Dirks Bentley Shows with an epic nineties country revival,
5:12
featuring covers of hits like Chattahoochee, I Like It, I
5:15
Love It, Meet in the Middle, Achy, Breaky Heart, and more.
5:19
The Broken Branches tour kicked off on May twenty ninth
5:21
and features Bentley with special guest Sack Top and the
5:24
band Lula. This trek is in support of Bentley's brand
5:27
new album of the same name, which dropped on June thirteenth.
5:31
The project, which marks the Superstars eleventh studio release, includes
5:35
eleven tracks with several special guests featured throughout, including Riley
5:39
Green and John Anderson, as well as Miranda Lambert and
5:43
Stephen Wilson. Junior. Broken Branches is a true celebration of
5:47
the underdogs of the world and highlights Bentley's storytelling. Now
5:51
on to some cancelation stories. Hardy cancels European leg of
5:56
Jim Bob World Tour. Hardy has made the difficult to
5:59
see to cancel his first ever headline shows in Europe.
6:03
He announced the news in a new social media post,
6:05
where he delivered an honest message expressing his deepest apologies
6:08
for all ticket holders. These international dates were originally set
6:12
to run from June nineteenth through July third, with stops
6:16
across Denmark, Netherlands, Belgium, Ireland and the UK. Taking to
6:20
social media on the morning of Monday the sixteenth, Hardy
6:23
shared a black image with white texts that read I
6:26
have decided to cancel the European leg of the Jim
6:28
Bob Tour. He noted that it wasn't an easy decision,
6:32
but that it was one he felt was necessary to
6:34
make for his band, his crew, and his family, which
6:36
includes his wife, Kelly and their three month old baby girl. Rosy,
6:40
Ryan Hardy, please know that I love you all and
6:43
will be back as soon as I can, he added.
6:45
The post also stated that every fan who has already
6:48
purchased tickets for the European Trek will automatically receive a
6:50
refund issued by the original point of purchase now. While
6:55
Hardy didn't provide a specific reason, the cancelation comes amid
6:57
growing unrest in the Middle East. New move also follows
7:01
a public statement from President Donald Trump on Sunday the fifteenth,
7:04
in which he addressed the United States role in israel
7:07
strikes against Iran. According to a report from ABC, he stated,
7:11
it's possible we could get involved. The comment section under
7:14
the Facebook post showed disappointment. However, many fans also expressed
7:18
an understanding that the country act had nothing to do,
7:21
or rather had to do what's best for his team
7:24
and his loved ones. True fans will understand that you're
7:27
a human being at the end of the day. Man
7:29
One fan wrote, absolutely gut it, but you got to
7:32
do what's best for you. Produced by Live Nation, Hardy's
7:35
massive Jim Bob World tour launched May twenty second with
7:39
a show in North Island. Credit Union Amphitheater in Chulivista, California.
7:44
He will pick the headlining tour back up in August
7:47
and continue its final dates through September twenty fourth. Cowetzel,
7:51
Stephen Wilson, Junior, Sicaris, and McCoy moore will serve as
7:54
support on select dates. He will also make various festival
7:58
appearances throughout the Sun, including Country Thunder Wisconsin, Great Jones
8:03
Country Fair, Voices of America Country Music Festival, and Boots
8:07
and Hearts. Meanwhile, Clay Walker cancels Arkansas show to side
8:12
effects for multiple sclerosis treatment. Country music star Clay Walker
8:17
has been forced to cancel his performance scheduled for last
8:21
Saturday in Hot Springs, Arkansas, due to side effects from
8:24
a recent medical procedure. Walker, who has been living with
8:27
multiple sclerosis since nineteen ninety six, took the social media
8:31
to share the news with fans. Since dear fans, I
8:34
recently had a procedure that could really help my MS. Unfortunately,
8:37
I've got some side effects that have left me unable
8:39
to perform tonight in Timberwood Amphitheater and Hot Springs, he
8:43
wrote that she won't be lonely. Long singer explained that
8:47
he pushed himself and had all the intentions of performing. However,
8:51
life had other plans. Several Country artists, including Mark Wills
8:56
and George Burge, shared well wishes with Walker within the
8:58
comments section of the Pope and according to the Male Clinic,
9:02
multiple sclerosis is, of course, a disease that causes breakdown
9:05
of protective covering of nerves. MS can cause numbness, weakness,
9:10
trouble walking, vision changes, and other symptoms. Walker had been
9:14
managing his MS symptoms in recent years thanks to well
9:16
managed treatment and healthy habits. During a twenty twenty two
9:20
interview with Country Now, the Texas native opened up about
9:23
managing the disease and admitting that traveling was proving to
9:26
be the toughest part, but promised I wouldn't want to
9:29
do anything else. While he experienced mostly good days, there
9:33
have been times when he's experienced an attack which left
9:36
him unable to feel anything below his chest. As one
9:39
would imagine, this proved to be a really tough time
9:41
for the singer. In recent years, he's adjusted his medications
9:45
and experienced significant improvement. I used to take a shot
9:48
every day, Walker revealed. At the time, I switched to
9:51
a medication called os revs, which was something that my
9:54
doctor had recommended because of the reduced amount of attacks
9:57
that they saw with the medication. Told us that that
10:00
was a great option for him and a lot easier
10:02
than having to take a shot every day. It's unclear
10:05
what procedure the Dreaming with My Eyes Open singer recently underwent,
10:09
but we wish him the best in his recovery. Of course,
10:11
Clay Walker's next schedule tour data set for June seventeenth
10:14
at the Grand Old Opry in Nashville. And then there's
10:18
Chris Jansen saved the day after Nate Smith's last minute
10:22
cancelation at Country under the Stars. Nate Smith was originally
10:26
set to headline the Country under the Stars concert on
10:29
June fifth, but unfortunately was forced to cancel due to
10:32
a vocal health emergency. Luckily, a last minute phone call
10:36
was put into Chris Jansen, who ended up saving the
10:38
day and delivering a performance to remember. Just hours before showtime.
10:43
The Boys and Girls Club of Northeastern Nevada was suddenly
10:45
faced with a big challenge. They had little or no
10:48
time to find a new act to perform for forty
10:50
one hundred fans who were expecting to hear Smith deliver
10:53
his catalog of hits or risk mass disappointment without any
10:58
sign of hesitation. Janson stepped up to the plate when
11:00
he generously took time away from his own tour schedule
11:03
with less than twenty four hours notice. He ended up
11:06
giving the show at the Elko Country Fairgrounds all he
11:10
had with a set list featuring number one multi platinum
11:12
hits from Buying Me a Boat and All I Need
11:15
Is You to Good Vibes and more. His generosity and
11:18
showmanship turned into a potential crisis, or turned the potential
11:22
crisis into a night to remember, extending his set by
11:25
over thirty minutes longer than contracted and igniting the crowd
11:29
with an infectious energy. Fans even went as so far
11:32
as to call the set the best Country under the Stars.
11:34
Yet his performance kept the event a hugely successful fundraiser
11:38
for the Boys and Girls Club of Northeastern Nevada, providing
11:41
once again the power of country music to bring a
11:44
community to together when it matters most. One day prior
11:48
to the event, Nate Smith took to social media to
11:50
give fans an update on the status of his health
11:52
and an explanation for his recent string of canceled shows.
11:56
I have some news to share, and this one's tough
11:58
for me, He began twenty twenty five, has already been
12:01
such a blast. I hope you know how seeing you
12:03
all at my shows gives me so much life. While
12:06
I'm currently on a dream tour with Jason Aldean and
12:09
I still can't believe it. I recently had to cancel
12:11
a few appearances after struggling with some vocal issues. He
12:15
goes on to say that he attempted to do everything
12:17
he could to make sure his shows still went on. However,
12:20
he ultimately received a doctor order to be on strict
12:22
vocal rest through the end of June. He admitted that
12:26
his heart was broken knowing that he will be taking
12:28
some time away from the stage and his fans, but
12:31
he knows that putting his health first will help him
12:33
come back bigger and better than ever. Next month, when
12:36
Smith returns to the road, he will make his way
12:39
to various festivals including Summerfest, Country Thunder Saskatchewan, Country Boom Festival,
12:45
and more before joining Aldean on July seventeenth. As for
12:49
Chris Jansen The Savior, he just released his patriotic anthem
12:52
this Flag and his performances schedule through October next. Parker
12:58
McCollum unveils fourteen songs track list for self titled album.
13:02
Parker McCollum has revealed the full track listing for his
13:05
highly anticipated fifth studio album, Parker McCollum, dueout June twenty seventh.
13:11
The album is comprised of fourteen powerful songs that McCollum
13:15
considers some of the best music of his career. Fans
13:18
got their first taste with lead single What Kind of Man,
13:21
and then got a deeper look into its rich, soul
13:24
bearing direction with Hope that I'm Enough and Big Sky
13:27
before his most recent drop Killing Me. When asked what
13:31
this self titled project as a whole means to him
13:34
a column honestly told Country Now and other outlets, I
13:36
don't know. I know that I love it a lot,
13:39
and I've never felt this good after being in the studio.
13:42
I've really never left the studio and felt like I
13:44
did something that I wanted to put out ever, and
13:47
I've always put it out anyway, And so it's probably
13:49
the kiss of death, the fact that I finally like
13:51
something so much. You share. Produced by Frank Ladell and
13:55
Eric Massey and recorded across just seven days at the
13:58
legendary power station in k York City. Parker McCollum. The
14:02
album gave the Texas artist the chance to find a
14:04
sound that truly fits who he is as an artist,
14:07
without putting himself in a specific box. He teamed up
14:11
with celebrated songwriters like John Randall, Randy Rogers, Lorie McKenna,
14:14
Randy Montana, Liz Rose, Natalie Hemby, Monty Criswell, and Moore
14:19
to share his stories and craft a collection meant to
14:22
be listened to from start to finish. Today's News reveals
14:26
that he included just one collaboration on the album, a
14:28
cover of Danny o'keep's Good Time Charlie's Got the Blues
14:31
featuring Cody Johnson. I've always wanted to hear Cody sing
14:35
that song. I kind of did it for selfish reasons, really,
14:38
because I just wanted to hear Cody sing that song.
14:41
The inspiration to record such an iconic song stem back
14:44
to McCollum's days of touring and just a van and
14:48
a pickup truck and listening to classic country tunes on
14:51
the long drives. Many of these songs have stuck with
14:54
McCollum to this day as they remind him of that
14:56
time in his life. But the forthcoming album, McCollum is
14:59
ready to in fite fans into his world while honoring
15:01
his roots and celebrating his love for storytelling. The track
15:06
listing my Blue, Big Sky, Solid Country, Gold, Watch Me Bleed,
15:11
Killing Me Good Time, Charlie's Got the Blues, Sunny Days,
15:15
Permanent Headphones, New York is on Fire, Come On, what
15:19
kind of man? Hope that I'm enough and enough rope
15:22
along with my worst enemy. Parker McCollum is currently out
15:26
on the road for his headlining tour dates across the country.
15:29
He's also scheduled to sport shows with fellow Texan George
15:32
Strait and Chris Stapleton on select dates. Now we move
15:37
on over to wdky Lexington dot com. A country music star,
15:42
a Kentucky native, launches inclusive bourbon line. Well we know
15:46
Chris Stapleton's got a whiskey out, which, by the way,
15:48
is delightful. But as the popularity of bourbon grows, more
15:52
and more people are dipping their toes in the business.
15:56
Country music artist j D. Shelbourne is teamed up with
15:59
the inclusion brand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey. According to the
16:03
foxffiliate Louisville WDRB, Shelbourne stopped by the liquor Barn in
16:07
Middletown to sign bottles and even put on a show
16:10
for fans in the store. Shelbourne, at Taylorsville native released
16:14
his own signature series one hundred and one proof small
16:16
batched bottle of the bourbon for him, he said, it
16:19
was a dream come true to actually be asked as
16:22
brand ambassador for inclusion and now on an actual bottle
16:26
is just mind blowing to think back. I started here
16:29
in Louisville playing shows years ago, back in three and
16:32
here we are on a bottle of bourbon, Shelbourne told WDRB,
16:36
the ninety two proof inclusion brand Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey
16:40
aims to foster inclusivity. It became the first in the
16:43
industry to include American sign language on its bottles. Now
16:48
we put on our thinking caps to catch up with
16:50
saving country music for commentary and deep news. First article
16:56
date of June seventeenth. Is there yet another version of
16:59
the band? You love your old dog, But sometimes the
17:03
best thing for you to do and most humane thing
17:05
possible is to take it out behind the bar and
17:07
express your love for all the good times and make
17:09
them go away. Actually, they have much better ways to
17:12
handle this these days, but the point is put it
17:15
out of its misery, So it says saving country music.
17:19
That was already supposed to have happened with the band
17:21
Perry back in twenty twenty three when they officially called
17:23
it quits. This was after a prolonged and ugly period
17:27
of one iteration of another or bleached hairdooses and reversions
17:30
from pop back to country to EDM than back to pop,
17:34
and a long rumored Nicki Minaj's collaboration that never happened. Then,
17:38
in May of twenty three, and only a few months
17:40
after the band Perry officially announced they were disbanding, a
17:43
pregnant Kimberly Perry announced a solo career and released a
17:47
part two version of the band's hit song If I
17:49
Die Young. At that point, despite all the laughable history
17:52
with this band and how they became a cautionary tale
17:55
for country acts wanting to go pop, you kind of
17:58
wanted to root for Kimberly, especially if she was rekindling
18:01
the band's country roots. But now we get yet another
18:04
version of the band Perry an even more bleached hair
18:07
in the form of Uncle Joey from the nineties version
18:09
of Full House. After even one of the Perry brothers
18:12
couldn't make this any more and ducked out. Actually, the
18:15
new dude's name is Johnny Castello and he replaces brother
18:19
Neil Perry, and I guess is Kimberly Perry's husband. The
18:22
other brother, Reed Perry, remains for now. Say your next
18:26
question might be what is the reason for all this?
18:29
And the answer appears to be simple one booking. Kimberly
18:32
Perry was always the most prominent member of the band,
18:34
but nobody would recognize her name on a festival poster.
18:38
The band Perry can get placement, while Kimberly Perry is
18:41
just a generic name. Why do you think Leonard Skinnert
18:44
is out there still touring with no original members left,
18:47
or the Marshall Tucker Band after Doug Gray stepped away.
18:50
It's because there's still people willing to pay money to
18:52
see these bands due to the name recognition, and these
18:55
fans probably didn't know who was in the band in
18:57
the first place. When you started seeing the band Perry
19:00
name appear on festival posters, including events like Bristol Rhythm
19:04
and Roots. You almost wanted to laugh. What version of
19:07
the Band Perry would we get. If there's any good news,
19:10
says Saving Country Music, it's that the announcement of the
19:13
reconstitution of the Band Perry also comes with assurances they'll
19:17
be playing all of their early hits and moving back
19:19
to country once again, which is good. After all. When
19:23
they started out they were a cool, string based, roots
19:26
oriented band with some great songs like Better Dig two
19:29
written by Brandy Clark. But the Band Perry is too
19:32
young to be a nostalgia act. They're contemporaries of Eric Church.
19:36
The lesson to learn from the Band Perry remains to
19:39
always try to be the best version of yourself, as
19:42
opposed to chasing whatever trend you think might make you relevant.
19:45
Hopefully that's what this new version of the Band Perry
19:48
is next. Laurel Cove Festival twenty twenty five lives up
19:54
to expectations. It seems like everyone is trying to tap
19:58
into Kentucky authenticity music these days, and we shouldn't be surprised.
20:03
It was Sturgel Simpson, Tyler Childers, and Chris Stapleton, who
20:06
spark the country music revolution, and it's the bluegrass state
20:09
that continues to seed so many of the best and
20:12
fastest rising names in music today. You can either listen
20:15
to artists inspired by the Kentucky sound or who synthesize
20:19
it through the lumbering motions of the music row machinery
20:22
in Nashville, or you can go directly to the source.
20:26
On the side of the hill at a state park
20:27
in Bell County rests the Laurel Cove Amphitheater. Appearing like
20:32
something taken from a scene of a J. R. R.
20:34
Tolkien novel. The natural Amphitheater, fitted with seats and stones
20:38
for sitting, looks over a quaint stage with a lagoon
20:41
like water feature in the front. Lichens and moss adorn everything,
20:45
and in every nook and around every corner is a
20:47
magical little spot to commune with nature. But most important
20:51
to this little piece of Kentucky paradise is the Laurel
20:54
Cove Festival that commences each June. It might as well
20:58
be the headwaters for genuine country in roots music talent
21:01
from Kentucky, Apple a Chip and beyond. In twenty twenty five,
21:05
two of the three headliners were Kentucky natives landmark generational
21:08
songwriter Ian Know, and surging Southern rock band Ola sixty.
21:13
Due to the inclement weather, though as we all know,
21:16
Kentucky's been loaded with that, only one of those headliners
21:19
got to perform. Ian No ended up getting scrubbed Friday night,
21:23
but direct supporting artist Evan Hohnert held court under a
21:26
small pavilion with some very wet and very lucky patrons
21:29
getting an unplugged and acoustic set that they won't soon forget.
21:33
Jonathan and Abigail Payton weren't even on the lineup, but
21:36
sang an a cappella tune for the Ages. Hill Country
21:39
Devil also performed under the pavilion in moments that will
21:42
surely be referenced in Laurel Cove lore for years to come.
21:46
The rain mostly held off for Ola sixty on Saturday night,
21:49
but water works weren't completely absent. It's the mix of
21:53
strikingly emotional moments combined with unabashed, euphoric flashes of rock
21:57
that make Olay sixty experience so compelling, As the announcer
22:01
said ahead of their set when they first appeared on
22:03
the scene, like a thunderbolt. Nobody knew anything about them
22:06
except that they were from Kentucky. For Laurel Cove, that's
22:10
qualification enough. Along with their original songs, Ola sixty also
22:14
covered Pink Floyd's Wish You Were Here and Cold Plays Yellow.
22:19
Setting the table for Ola sixty was Oklahoma's Caitland Butts,
22:22
but it was a group of young girls and a
22:23
boy that threatened to steal the show. They were standing
22:27
on the side of the stage the whole show, singing
22:29
and dancing along. Caitlyn walked over at one point and
22:32
gave them their a little private show, and at the
22:35
very end of the set, Caitlyn brought all the kids
22:37
out on stage and they danced off together to close
22:40
the set as the crowd went nuts. Afterwards, Caitlyn hung
22:43
out with the kids, signed a bunch of stuff for
22:45
them and made their little years. And then after the show,
22:48
Caitlyn drove her own tour van, towing a trailer backwards
22:51
all the way down the mountain like a damn boss
22:53
because there was nowhere to turn around. The crew at
22:56
the Laurel Cove Festival couldn't believe it. She's badass. One
23:00
crew members said, It's moments like this that people will remember,
23:03
young and old for years to come. But the Laurel
23:06
col Music Festival is just as much about the opening
23:09
and up and coming names to discover as it is
23:11
the big evening, if not more. London, Kentucky is not
23:14
too far up the road from Laurel Cove and Pineville,
23:17
but Jack Browning hails from the other London, where the
23:19
king sits on a throne. In Kentucky, you have colonels,
23:23
not kings, but Browning could be mistaken for a hijack
23:26
in the late right light, and certainly sounds like one,
23:29
speaking to the worldwide influence of Appalachia on music. Not
23:33
nearly as far away, but still an impressive distance. Noeline
23:36
Hoffman came down from Canada to hit the co for
23:38
a third time, second as performer, and first time on
23:42
the main stage. She actually shares a kinship with Jack Browning,
23:45
since they both released tribute songs to the fallen country
23:49
music artist Luke Bell, who, though usually associated with Wyoming,
23:54
happened to be born in Kentucky. They both performed their
23:57
versions of the Bullfighter on the weekend, but nobody can
23:59
play It was Noline Hoffmann's speech in the middle of
24:02
her set that really spelled out why small, independent festivals
24:06
like lourel Cover so important. She said, Laurel Cove ended
24:09
up being the most important part of my whole trip
24:11
down here to the US. I ended up at Laurel
24:14
Cove at the very end of my trip, and it
24:16
completely changed my life. All the artists, the people, the
24:19
music that I met down here. If I didn't end
24:21
up here, I don't know what my life would look
24:23
like now. I know it sounds dramatic, but it's really
24:25
true anyway. That's why the festivals consider one of the
24:29
best fests in the US. This is where music careers
24:32
are launched and supported, and where music and memory spread
24:35
out from rural Kentucky to infuse America with genuine Appalachian soul. Next,
24:42
Grammys add Traditional Country Album category. It's hard to overstay
24:48
how big this is, says Saving Country Music, both in
24:51
the present tense and for what it could mean for
24:53
the future. The Recording Academy has just announced that for
24:56
the upcoming season of the Grammy Awards, they will no
24:59
longer just be a Best Country Album category. There will
25:03
be a new Best Traditional Country Album Award to go
25:06
along with the Best Contemporary Country Album Award. This means,
25:09
for the first time, traditional country music and its artists
25:12
will finally be recognized by the Grammy Awards independent from
25:15
popular modern country music. This is something that's been clamored
25:19
and advocated for many years, if not decades, but far
25:23
from the conclusion of an important effort, this is just
25:25
the very beginning of it and the start of critical
25:28
work that needs to be done by traditional country music artists,
25:31
their representatives, and their fans to ensure that this award
25:34
is supported and remains around indefinitely. Generally speaking, country music
25:39
isn't hurting for awards. With the CMA Awards each November
25:43
operated by the Country Music Association, and the ACM Awards
25:46
each spring from the Academy of Country Music, and a
25:49
host of other startup or intermittent awards, it seems like
25:52
there's always an awards show in country music that just
25:54
came or went. But what makes the Grammy Awards unique
25:58
is they are a nonprofit. Instead of just recognizing big
26:01
mainstream names, have a dozen awards across more non commercial
26:04
genres than are apt to recognize creative excellence over commercial success.
26:10
Along with the Grammys categories covering country music, they also
26:13
have what are called American Roots categories. Roots includes things
26:18
like Best American Album, Best Bluegrass, Best Folk, and as
26:21
well as a host of song and performance awards where
26:24
you often see what many would consider traditional country artists
26:27
not nominated in win. In fact, in twenty twenty five,
26:30
Appalachian artist Sierra Ferrell virtually swept the American Roots categories,
26:35
winning four Grammy Awards, giving her a massive boost in
26:38
her career. Though Americana is a great place for performers
26:42
like Jason Isabel or Brandy Carlisle who mixed more rock
26:44
or folk styles and with country influences, traditional country music
26:48
now officially has a home in the Grammy process, and
26:52
this home couldn't come at a better time. The appeal
26:54
of traditional country is currently surging behind a crop of
26:57
young performers like Zachtopp and The Castine, and his country's
27:02
popularity creates a cavalcade of superstars from other genres making
27:06
country records. This new category helps ensure that the little
27:10
boys and girls who grew up dreaming of making country
27:12
and winning a Grammy for it don't get locked out
27:15
of the process. This award also opens up a greater
27:18
possibility for women, black and brown and other underrepresented performers
27:22
to nabnomination or a win, helping to support these artists
27:26
who are homegrown in country music as opposed to imports
27:29
from other genres. And just because there's this new Traditional
27:32
Country Album award doesn't mean we shouldn't continue to advocate
27:36
for quality artists to win the Grammys Contemporary Country Album
27:40
Awards as saving country music along with the other country
27:43
awards for songs and performances. After all, historically, the Grammys
27:47
have gotten it more right than countries dedicated awards organizations.
27:51
Stergil Simpson, Tanya Tucker, and Willie Nelson all have won
27:55
the Best Country Album Grammy in recent memory. This isn't
27:58
about giving up a fight for term country and what
28:01
that means. It's about opening up a new avenue so
28:03
the best in traditional country is given an opportunity to
28:06
be recognized each year as opposed to having to compete
28:09
with contemporary performers. But even deeper than this new award
28:13
itself is the possibility of creating a whole new avenue
28:16
for traditional country artists to be recognized, no different than
28:19
how you have classic rock, modern rock, and heavy metal
28:22
Country music is a massive genre and growing by the minute. Well,
28:26
this concludes the reading of Country Weekly for this week.
28:29
If you have any comments or suggestions about our program,
28:32
kindly call us at eight five nine four two two
28:35
sixty three ninety. Thank you for joining me on behalf
28:38
of everyone here at RADIOI. This is Ken Dawkins, wishing
28:42
you a great day.