Music Country

When David Ferguson turned 21, he could finally start drinking with Don Everly. The year was 1983, and the aspiring Tennessee roadie had recently started working as an “errand boy” at the Cowboy Arms Hotel and Recording Spa, Cowboy Jack Clement’s magically chaotic and frequently dysfunctional recording studio that served …

In 2002, RCA released the compilation album Sharp Dressed Men: A Tribute to ZZ Top, an all-country salute to the Texas band’s influential and enduring work. The 15-song collection featured two generations of Williams (both Hank Jr. and Hank III recorded songs), Dwight Yoakam, Willie Nelson, Alan Jackson, and Brooks …

Chris Stapleton was joined by singer-guitarist H.E.R. at the 2021 CMT Music Awards, where the two artists performed the latter’s “Hold On.” It marked H.E.R.’s first time performing at the annual fan-voted event. H.E.R. led off the first verse and handled the song’s signature guitar riff, while Stapleton chimed in …

UPDATE (9/8): The “You Got Gold” tribute shows to John Prine, originally scheduled for October 3rd through 10th, have been postponed until 2022 because of the ongoing pandemic. The Prine family and Oh Boy Records announced the date change on Wednesday. “This decision to reschedule was not made lightly. We …

Like Johnny Cash and Rick Rubin before them, Ryan Culwell and Aubrie Sellers reimagine a Nine Inch Nails song with chilling results. The two against-the-grain Nashville songwriters cover the 1990 single “Head Like a Hole” as a somber, haunted duet. The pair released the song on Thursday with an accompanying …

Blake Shelton has announced plans to revive his Friends and Heroes Tour for 2021, assembling a multi-generational group of supporting guests to join him. The trek kicks off August 18th in Omaha, Nebraska, the same city where the Voice coach was forced to cancel the remainder of his Friends and …

Margo Price both builds up and tears down her heroes in the previously unreleased song “Long Live the King.” A regular part of her live shows, the track has never appeared on an album and arrives Wednesday as the first installment of Price’s new mail-order record club. It’s also available …

Jon Randall had been going to Marfa, Texas, and nearby Terlingua since the early 2000s, and he was quickly becoming an evangelist. “It was one of those places that just filled my heart,” the Texas-born songwriter and producer says. “Especially if you’re very creative and ever have an introspective part …

Blake Shelton discovers both grace and a hell of a song in the new ballad “Bible Verses.” Written by three upstart songwriters in Joe Fox, Andrew Peebles, and Brett Sheroky, “Bible Verses” casts Shelton as a flawed man seeking to live better. His barometer for growth? How the words in …

Whether it’s coming out of Nashville, New York, L.A., or points in between, there’s no shortage of fresh tunes, especially from artists who have yet to become household names.Rolling Stone Country selects some of the best new music releases from country and Americana artists. (Check out last week’s best songs.) …