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Jewly Hight

New trio The Cowgays embraces the queerness of ‘90s country music sensibilities

By Jewly Hight

March 20, 2026

The Cowgays are a new openly gay country vocal trio. They’re just getting started, but the response thus far shows they’re connecting with a hungry audience.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, WPLN News Tagged With: country music, lgbtq

John Anderson sings for the doctors who gave him his music back

By Jewly Hight

March 18, 2026

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John Anderson made his name throughout the 1980s and early ‘90s. Hearing issues stopped him in his tracks.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, WPLN News Tagged With: country music, health and music, hearing loss, John Anderson, Vanderbilt University Medical Center

On her new album, Kacey Musgraves returns home, to the ‘Middle of Nowhere’

By Jewly Hight

March 11, 2026

The sounds of traditional country music "are baked into what feels like home to me," Musgraves says. Her sixth album, Middle of Nowhere, will be released on May 1, 2026.

Before making her upcoming sixth album, the country star returned to her small-town Texas home and discovered the power of in-between spaces. “I found a lot of clarity there,” she says.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, WPLN News Tagged With: country music, Kacey Musgraves

In Nashville radio, Contemporary Christian music, R&B, and hip-hop hold very different places | Key Changes

By Jewly Hight

March 6, 2026

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There’s a good chance that you already know Nashville’s the radio capital for country music. Christian music and R&B both have long histories here, too.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, Key Changes Tagged With: Contemporary Christian Music, Jefferson Street, Key Changes, Nashville hip-hop, Nashville R&B, radio, WLAC

Nashville legacies are in the spotlight during Black History Month

By Jewly Hight

February 13, 2026

Black leaders march down Jefferson Street in 1960.
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This February marks one century of Black history month. While events across the nation are bringing greater awareness to African American cultural contributions, there’s a lot happening to highlight the history made right here in Nashville.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, WPLN News Tagged With: Black history, civil rights, civil rights movement, Jefferson Street, Jefferson Street Sound Museum, Museum of Christian and Gospel Music, Reverend James Lawson, U.S. Civil Rights Trail, Zora Neale Hurston

Noting what feels new about the 68th Grammys | Key Changes

By Jewly Hight

January 30, 2026

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The Grammy Awards have gotten knocked for being slow to adapt. But the 68th edition of the awards show is likely to feel more like a responsive update.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, WPLN News Tagged With: alternative music, Americana, Claude Kelly and Chuck Harmony, contemporary country music, Durand Bernarr, Grammy, Grammys, Haley Williams, Key Changes, Louis York, Lukas Nelson, Margo Price, Molly Tuttle, Nate Smith, traditional country music, Willie Nelson, Zach Top

A new biography of Justin Townes Earle clarifies the singer-songwriter’s complex legacy

By Jewly Hight

January 23, 2026

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In the late 2000s, Justin Townes Earle emerged as one of the most magnetic singer-songwriters in roots music. He died in 2020 of a fentanyl overdose in Nashville, and now journalist Jonathan Bernstein has an engrossing biography, “What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome.”

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, WPLN News Tagged With: biography, books, Jonathan Bernstein, Justin Townes Earle, roots music, Steve Earle

Nashville rapper iNTRO contains multitudes

By Jewly Hight

January 16, 2026

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On “Duality of Man,” rapper iNTRO paints a self-portrait from many different angles, continually shifting in style and subject matter alike. “What is a rapper? … I’m also doing these other things that aren’t necessarily rapper-esque, like baking banana bread.”

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music, WPLN News Tagged With: iNTRO, Nashville artists, Nashville hip-hop

Mon Rovîa sought quiet to make an album that could reach the world

By Jewly Hight

January 13, 2026

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Mon Rovîa named his debut album, and its title track, “Bloodline.” In the song, he reflects on his quest to restore his sense of connection to the people and place he came from.

Filed Under: Arts, Culture & Music Tagged With: appalachians, Folk music, Mon Rovîa

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