Dwight Yoakam "Second Hand Heart" Album Review

     After disappearing from the music scene for a few years, Dwight Yoakam came back in a big way in 2012 with 3 Pears. Now, Dwight is making an attempt to tap back into his cowpunk roots with Second Hand Heart. While the album may sound similar to some of his early stuff, it is still very much a modern album that fits in today’s landscape. Second Hand Heart does a good job to make sure that Dwight Yoakam remains the coolest guy in country music.

Randy Rogers & Wade Bowen "Hold My Beer: Volume 1" Album Review

     One of the long forgotten gems of country music history is the duets album. Sure, Bruce Robison and Kelly Willis do some great work, and Emmylou Harris and Buddy Miller have put out some fantastic duets albums as well. But, we have been missing the “buddy album”. Waylon and Willie used to do it, as did Willie and Merle Haggard. Now, we have that buddy album with Hold My Beer Volume 1 from Wade Bowen and Randy Rogers. These two Texans turned their popular acoustic tour into a full length compilation. This isn’t just friends having a good time, however. Hold My Beer Volume 1 is as strong of an album as any in 2015. If you like straight-up traditional country, this is for you.

The 50th Annual ACM Awards: Who SHOULD Win and Who WILL Win

     The 50th Annual ACM Awards will be taking place on Sunday, April 19 in Dallas, Texas. The ACM Awards have been under intense scrutiny the past few years, as the legitimacy of the awards has been called into question due to inconsistent criteria for awards and the implementation of fan voting for major awards. Frankly, the ACM Awards are the little brother to the CMA Awards, so they are trying to pump life and excitement into the show. Look no farther than the eyebrow raising performers list that includes Christina Aguilera and Nick Jonas. Bringing in pop stars to apologize for being country is nothing new, but it seems to be more and more egregious each year. I feel shortly we will see Wiz Khalifa debut his new single on the ACM or CMA Awards. Fortunately, while we will have to put up with out of place pop stars and country wannabes like Sam Hunt and Cole Swindell, we will get some good performances from Alan Jackson, Eric Church, Miranda Lambert, and a Brooks & Dunn reunion. It is also possible that Garth Brooks will be lip-syncing his performance. So, there’s a decent chance the ACM Awards will be a train wreck. However, we will still all probably rubberneck to see the disaster. Without further ado, here are my picks for who SHOULD win and who WILL win at the 50th Annual ACM Awards.

Will Hoge "Small Town Dreams" Album Review

     There are a lot of great artists out there that make worthwhile, substantial music that falls just barely inside the realm of country music. Will Hoge is one of those artists. He is unapologetically more of a rock artist than country, but he is the definition of walking the line that straddles to two genres. When mainstream guys talk about “blending the genres” and “outside influence” THIS is what they should sound like. With the release of his new album, Will is experiencing the most exposure he ever has as an artist. From a number one co-write to a Chevy truck ad campaign, Will has witnessed his stock rise over the past few years. Thankfully, the music that resulted was not a step back. Quite the opposite, as Will Hoge is making the best music of his career with Small Town Dreams.

Cody Jinks "Adobe Sessions" Album Review

     In 2015, we’ve had some great albums. We’ve seen some neo-traditional albums, some bluegrass, some folk, some southern rock, and even some decent mainstream country. What we have not seen is that old school, outlaw country sound. Well, it’s here. Cody Jinks brings his Texas sound to the world with his latest album, Adobe Sessions. If you miss country music with some rough edges and meat on its bones, this is the album for you.

Jon Wolfe "Natural Man" Album Review

     Jon Wolfe is a country artist from Oklahoma who is starting to garner some attention with the release of his latest album Natural Man. Jon comes on high recommendation from Aaron Watson, and has been making noise on the Texas charts as well. While a lot of artists have been going back to a more traditional sound, Jon Wolfe has found a way to take the best of the mainstream world and the traditional world to create a very enjoyable listening experience.