The Top 10: Dierks Bentley

     Dierks Bentley is one of the most interesting artists in country music today.  He strives to stay relevant and yet strives to make music that matters.  Dierks has had his fair share of radio and critical success, even if he seems to be ignored on the award show circuit.  With his superb new album Riser recently released, Dierks is a perfect candidate for the next installment of The Keep It Country Kids Top 10.

Johnny Cash "Out Among The Stars" Album Review

     Johnny Cash.  The Man In Black.  No introduction can do the man justice.  Recently, his son John Carter Cash discovered a collection of recordings his father made that were never released due to issues with his record label at the time.  They went unheard for decades until John Carter Cash unearthed them and released them as a new album titled Out Among The Stars.  Although the album was recorded in the early 1980's, 2014 needed this release more and fate decided to intervene.  Out Among The Stars is vintage Cash and just the type of record 2014 needs.

Don Williams "Reflections" Album Review

     Country music's "Gentle Giant" has returned with a new collection of songs entitled Reflections.  The title is extremely appropriate, as the grizzled veteran of the country music ranks has reached a point where he can sit back and reflect on what he has done and what he has learned.  The result is an intimate and effective grouping of pearls of wisdom.  This is no gimmick, no detours, no frills country music by a man who has seen and done it all, and we all need to take the time to listen.

The Top 10: Alan Jackson

      Alan Jackson has been a stalwart of country music since 1989.  Alan found a way to mix the traditions of yesterday with modern elements to create a sound in the mid to late 90's that sold millions of records and kept traditionalists happy.  Alan is a living legend, and narrowing down his career to 10 songs was a daunting task, but here goes my best shot at it.

Jerrod Niemann "Drink To That All Night" Single Review

      Jerrod Niemann has been one of the most creative artists to emerge in country music over the past few years.  His breakout hit "Lover Lover" was a fresh sound, and many of his followups like "What Do You Want From Me" and "Only God Could Love You More" were some of the best songs on radio.  Jerrod has always had a keen ear for songs that could be trendy and traditional at the same time.  But, something happened.  The smell of money was too strong for Jerrod to resist, and he turned in one of the worst  "country" songs in recent memory, "Drink To That All Night"

Eli Young Band "10,000 Towns" Album Review

     The Eli Young Band released their new album 10,000 Towns recently.  The boys have had massive success in bringing their Texas country sound to the mainstream world.  They have been flawlessly meshing country music with American rock and roll for quite a while and its great to finally see them catching on with a bigger crowd.  After the massive success of Life At Best, expectations were high for 10,000 Towns.   Does it live up?

David Nail "I'm A Fire" Album Review

     David Nail has consistently been one of the more unique artists in country music.  All of his releases have had a lot of soul and inspired stories.  Songs like "Turning Home", "Red Light", "Let It Rain", and "The Sound of A Million Dreams" are some of the best country music has to offer.  "Whatever She's Got" was a stark turn around from his normal fare, and I feared the bro-country trend may have caught David.  But, I was wrong and I'm A Fire has more great stories, more soul, and more interesting arrangements than any of his previous albums.

The Top 10: Eric Church

In a new feature on Keep It Country Kids, we will countdown the top 10 songs from different artists.  We will range from the big headliners of today, to legends of yesteryear, to the under-the-radar artists who have been making great music over the years.  Today, we start with one of country's biggest stars: Eric Church.  With The Outsiders selling so well and "Give Me Back My Hometown" climbing the charts, it seems like the perfect artist to kick off our series right now.  Without further ado, here are the top 10 Eric Church songs.