Music Country

As part of its ongoing campaign to shine a light on up-and-coming female artists, CMT has assembled the 2020 roster of the Next Women of Country. The 11 names run the gamut from independent artists to those with recent record label deals. Hailey Whitters, Abbey Cone, Renee Blair, and Tiera …

David Nail recreates a conversation about mental health with his mother in the newly released song “Oh, Mother.” The track also serves as the title of the “Let It Rain” singer’s new EP, due out November 1st. Nail has been one of the few country performers in recent years to …

Reba McEntire and Ashley McBryde will be presented with special honors at the 2019 CMT Artists of the Year event, which celebrates its 10th year on October 16th. McEntire, who released the album Stronger Than the Truth earlier in 2019, will be presented with the Artist of a Lifetime honor …

“There was a saying: ‘The blues had a baby and they called it rock & roll.’ I always say, ‘Yeah, and I think the daddy was a hillbilly.” That’s Country Music Hall of Fame member Bobby Braddock, writer of songs including “He Stopped Loving Her Today,” on the genesis of …

Zac Brown Band have made some head-scratching creative decisions in years past (“Beautiful Drug,” anyone?), but new song “Need This,” while a risk, isn’t one of them. Rather, it’s an undeniable banger, a well-plotted mash-up of pop, hip-hop, and rock, with Brown rapping “wake up, sun’s out, shoes off, my …

Nashville singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey is joined by his wife, performer Margo Price, to sing about the feeling of being between destinations in the new song “Greyhound.” The track appears on Ivey’s upcoming solo album The Dream and the Dreamer, which will be released September 13th. Ivey cooks up a gentle …

Since Americana became an official radio format in 1995, myriad male artists have been proclaimed the godfather of the roots-based genre. But few deserve the title more than Jim Lauderdale, who, having released more than 30 albums over the past three decades, has worked in all of the elements that …

Singer-songwriter-guitarist Jedd Hughes has released the new song “Back to You,” a wistful, acoustic guitar-driven number from his upcoming album West. Built around Hughes’ intricate fingerstyle progression, “Back to You” aims for atmosphere with light percussion and subtle shades of electric guitar, keys, and strings that drift through the mix. …

With a Cheshire Cat grin, Leftover Salmon’s Vince Herman stood in front of a microphone at FloydFest in the wee hours of Saturday morning, basking in the moment. “It ain’t anybody’s first rodeo around here,” the singer-guitarist chuckled to the roar of the hardcore crowd. Indeed, in its 19th installment, …

Aubrie Sellers kicks off the new track, “Drag You Down,” with a bone-chilling primal scream, offering a first sizzling taste of the long-awaited follow-up to her 2016 debut, New City Blues. Fusing country-music lyricism with grinding garage-rock guitar, Sellers sings, “I’m gonna drag you through the neighborhood right into the …