interview by Mike Hennessey Charlie Daniels, “Preachin’, Prayin’, Singin’” – Blue Hat Records, 2008 Charlie Daniels arrived in Nashville in 1967 with a wife, child, and a literal twenty dollar bill in his pocket. In a few short years, he was lending his fiddle to Bob Dylan’s seminal Nashville albums. Since then he has sold […]
Q: You’ve come a long way from Locust Ridge, Tennessee. Can you still claim to be backwoods? A: Yes, and proud of it. I stay close to my roots and my family. I never want to forget any part of it. I’m still just a hillbilly at heart, thus a Backwoods Barbie. Q: Congratulations on […]
The image is forever burned into our pop-culture consciousness. George Clooney, sporting overalls and scruff, wailing “Man of Constant Sorrow” in the Coen Brothers’ twangy Odyssey O’Brother, Where Art Thou? Then, there’s the man behind that scene: bluegrass singer-songwriter Dan Tyminski, of the Dan Tyminski Band and Alison Krauss and Union Station, still one of […]
Rosanne Cash’s new album, The List, could be called the Dead Sea Scrolls of country music. A strange analogy, but an entirely apt one for a disc with twelve tracks by Cash from a list of 100 essential country and roots songs compiled for her by her father, the legendary Johnny Cash, when she was […]
“Rock & Roots or Roots & Roll, whatever you want to call it – we challenge you to find a description that fits other than good music you can count on when you thought maybe you just couldn’t count on music anymore!” That quote from Lilly Ruby, the Webmaster of www.jamesmccmurtry.com is one of the […]
When asked about his plans for Father’s Day, Jim Avett simply said, “Not a thing. There’s nothing special about Father’s Day as far as I’m concerned. I get the gift of being a daddy every day.” If you’re ever lucky enough to spend an hour talking with this man, you’ll realize that every day really […]
Country music singer-songwriter Rodney Atkins — “If You’re Going Through Hell,” “These Are My People” and “Farmer’s Daughter” — teamed up with Crown Royal and NASCAR driver Matt Kenseth to sign cards and send care packages to servicemen and servicewomen during the Your Name Here 400 program Nov 4. Atkins will perform and incorporate a […]
The motto is: Do what you love, love what you do. That certainly seems to be the way the members of Grammy-Award winning Zac Brown Band look at life. The band’s debut album, The Foundation, is platinum certified, and played a big role in landing the boys with a Best New Artist award in 2009. […]
Twelve is an iconic number. There were the 12 Tribes of Israel, there are 12 eggs in a dozen, and 12-step programs. Twelve is also a sublime mathematical number, there are 12 signs of the zodiac, 12 disciples of Christ, 12 months in a year, 12 strikes to a perfect game in bowling . . […]
When someone comes of age in a town with a name like Rockingham, North Carolina, you’d better hope they can live up to that reputation. Bucky Covington has been Rockingham’s finest Ambassador of Rock since long before his stint on Season 5 of American Idol, and you’d best believe his growing fanbase and rising presence […]
