An AI-generated country song, “Walk My Walk,” recently topped Billboard’s country digital song sales chart. It’s credited to a fictional artist named Breaking Rust, but the vocal style is based on Grammy-nominated country artist Blanco Brown.
At 100 years old, the Grand Ole Opry is the keeper of country music’s legacy
One hundred years ago this week, the radio barn dance that came to be known as the Grand Ole Opry was first broadcast from Nashville. Being part of the show still matters to country artists today.
Music City’s benevolent mogul, Mike Curb
It might look like anything Mike Curb touches turns to gold. But he says he’s never been great at anything – just passionate. After more than 60 years in the record business, Curb is still looking for the next big hit. He’s also looking for a way to preserve the thing that brought him to […]
For country music traditionalists, Grammy changes promise a brighter spotlight
Starting with this year’s nominations, the Grammy Awards will split its prize for country album of the year into two distinct categories: traditional and contemporary.
Tamara Saviano on a fateful firing and finding Americana music
Americana often becomes a place for artists or music industry types who don’t fit neatly elsewhere. And for Tamara Saviano, it was a place for a writer and publicist who was shunned by country music. Saviano moved to Nashville and quickly found herself crossways with industry heavyweights. A fateful firing over politics led to a […]
Key Changes: An AI landmark, more deepfakes, and MTV changes in this week’s music news
On a global scale and here in our backyard, the music industry is evolving at a dizzying pace. “Key Changes” is a quick-hit music news roundup.
Opryland’s Lasting Legacy
Opryland has been closed for nearly 30 years, and as the producer of a new documentary puts it, some people are still “butt hurt” about it. Maybe we didn’t know what we had until it left a theme park-size hole in Nashville’s heart. A documentary premiering at the Nashville Film Festival, called “A Circle Broken,” […]
Country musician fatally hit Nashville pedestrian with truck. No charges now, but probe ongoing
Police say country musician Conner Smith fatally hit a pedestrian while driving his truck in Nashville over the weekend. MNPD said the 24-year-old musician hit 77-year-old Dorothy Dobbins on Sunday evening while she was inside a marked crosswalk.
Morgan Wallen is the elephant in the room
In 2021, Wallen was caught on video uttering a racial slur. Since then, he’s become the most commercially successful musician in country and popular music. How? By remaining committed to ambivalence.
Mexican-American artist Louie the Singer has his own definition of country success
Louie the Singer is dropping his first major label album with an unwavering sense of self-determination as a Mexican-American artist. “They say I ain’t country,” he sings, “but my people started this thing they call country.”
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