Whitey Morgan & The 78's "Sonic Ranch" Album Review

    While the heart of Texas and the hills of Tennessee have provided us with the majority of the great music you hear today, an unlikely location is the birthplace of one of the best artists in the biz right now. Whitey Morgan is a modern-day outlaw whose music’s attitude ranks right up there with the best of them, and he hails from Michigan. Don’t let that throw you. Whitey Morgan and the 78’s newest album, Sonic Ranch, is a honky-tonk masterpiece that feels like it comes straight from the Lone Star State. In fact, Sonic Ranch is easily one of the best albums of 2015.

Luke Bryan "Kick The Dust Up" Single Review

      The past few months have seen a significant downturn in the amount of bro-country being thrown mercilessly at our tender eardrums. With the exception of the clueless Florida-Georgia Line, most artists have learned that the public has grown tired of the party that never ends from artists who never grow up. Apparently, Luke Bryan missed the memo. After announcing his latest Spring Break EP would be is last, there were thoughts that maybe he was finally going to attempt to put out some songs of substance as he did on his first two albums. We were wrong. Luke’s new single is an uninspired, unoriginal, and unbalanced mess that further pushes the genre towards irrelevancy. 

Chris Stapleton "Traveller" Album Review

     If you have listened to the radio in the past 5 years, you know Chris Stapleton. While writing songs for Kenny Chesney, Darius Rucker, Luke Bryan, Thomas Rhett, and many others, he has established himself as one of the top men in the songwriting business. He has had numerous number ones, writing some of the better songs on the radio. He was also previously in the band The Steeldrivers, making sweet, sweet bluegrass music. Now, Chris is on his own. He has released his debut album Traveller to great amounts of hype and fanfare. In this case, we actually have an album that lives up to the hype. Traveller is easily one of the best albums of the year.

Zac Brown Band "Jekyll & Hyde" Album Review

     One of the best and most consistent bands of the past decade has been the Zac Brown Band. Even though they do not claim to be exclusively a country band, they have released some of the best country music in the mainstream world. Zac was a chubby, bearded everyman with a beanie and a Carhartt. He looked the part and sang the part. Country fans tired of the glitz and glam were attracted to the understated demeanor and average Joe appeal of the Zac Brown Band. Their latest release, Jekyll & Hyde, promised some new horizons for the group. Little did fans know that they were getting disjointed and misguided mess that would alienate a large portion of their fan base.

Zane Williams "Texas Like That" Album Review

   While Nashville continues to produce mediocrity and bland artists, Texas continues to pump out quality music by real artists. Recent releases by Robert Earl Keen, Aaron Watson, Randy Rogers, and Wade Bowen have given us some of the best music of the year. Now, we can add Zane Williams to that list. With his newest release, Texas Like That, Zane Williams joins an already crowded field of top albums in 2015. Zane has an approach that is a great bridge between modern country music and the great music of the past.

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.