Country Music News
Lady A Issues New Statement: “I Will Not Allow Lady Antebellum to… Look ‘Woke’ to Their Fans”
Lady A, the country band formerly known as Lady Antebellum, is suing Anita “Lady A” White, a Black blues singer who has been performing under the name for over 20 years, over the rights to her moniker. Now, Anita White has issued a new statement to Pitchfork in response to that lawsuit. In the band’s most recent statement, Lady A said the decision to file a lawsuit stemmed from White “demanding a $10 million payment.” That money, as White later clarified, would be split in half to rebrand herself and to donate to organizations supporting Black independent artists — a tradeoff so that Lady Antebellum could keep the Lady A moniker. White is now doubling down in that request, saying, “I will not allow Lady Antebellum to obliterate me and my career so they can look ‘woke’ to their fans.” ...
R.I.P. Charlie Daniels, “The Devil Went Down to Georgia” Singer and Fiddle Player Dies at 83
Charlie Daniels, the Country Music Hall of Fame member best known for the hit single “The Devil Went Down to Georgia”, has died at the age of 83. According to The Tennessean, Daniels passed away Monday, June 6th, after suffering a hemorrhagic stroke. Having mastered guitar, fiddle, banjo, and mandolin by the age of 20, Daniels got his start in Nashville as a session musician. Notably, he played bass on three Bob Dylan albums, including 1969’s Nashville Skyline. He also worked alongside Leonard Cohen and Ringo Starr. In 1972, Charlie Daniels formed the Charlie Daniels Band and promptly achieved a string of country hits in “Uneasy Ride”, “The South’s Gonna Do It Again”, and “Long Haired Country Boy”. In 1979, Daniels composed what proved to be the definitive song of his caree...
Chase Rice Isn’t Apologizing for His Coronavirus Concert
Country singer Chase Rice drew the ire of the music industry and potentially put hundreds of his fans at risk when he played a packed concert in East Tennessee on Saturday. Nearly 1,000 people were in attendance, standing shoulder to shoulder, with not a face mask to be seen. Rice encouraged the audience to sing along, and even marveled at the size of the crowd in a post-show Instagram video. Understandably, many of his fellow musicians were angered by images and video from the concert, worrying that it could exacerbate the spread of coronavirus and delay their own return to touring (which is a chief source of income for many artists). “The people in this audience, along with the presenters of this show, are assuring that conscientious musicians won’t be able to work their jobs for a while...
Siblings Willie Nelson and Bobbie Nelson to Release Collaborative Memoir
Siblings Willie Nelson and Bobbie Nelson have teamed up to co-write a new memoir about “how family always finds the way” no matter the trials and tribulations. Titled Me and Sister Bobbie: True Tales of the Family Band, it’s due out later this summer through Random House. The 288-page book will document the Nelsons’ difficult childhood, tainted by abandonment, as well as their enduring bond, which has remained strong thanks to their shared love of music. Willie and Bobbie will take turns telling their story through alternating chapters, assisted by music biographer Davie Ritz. Willie previously enlisted Ritz’s talents his 2015 autobiography, It’s a Long Story: My Life. For Bobbie, this is her first-ever memoir. Following successful recording sessions for Willie albums The Troublemaker and&...
Garth Brooks Announces Concert Event at 300 Drive-in Movie Theaters
Garth Brooks has announced a one-off concert event which will be simulcast at 300 drive-in movie theaters across North America on June 27th. Tickets are priced at $100 per car and go on sale beginning Friday, June 19th at 12:00 p.m. ET via Ticketmaster. Due to the limited capacity of drive-ins, tickets are limited and will likely go quickly. A full list of participating theaters can be found here. The event is being billed as the “the largest ever one-night show to play at outdoor theaters across the United States and Canada.” Speaking to Good Morning America on Thursday, Brooks commented, “They’re going to run it just like a regular concert, but this is going to be all over North America, one night only. We are excited because this is a reason to get out of the house, but at the...
Lady Antebellum Change Name to Lady A: “We Can Make No Excuse for Our Lateness”
Lady Antebellum, the popular country music trio from Nashville, have officially changed their name to Lady A. The rebranding comes as the media and entertainment industries — along with the rest of the country — are being forced to face decades of racial inequality, insensitivity, and prejudice in the wake of nationwide protests sparked by the murder of George Floyd by members of the Minneapolis police. Strictly meaning “before the war,” the word “antebellum” has come to refer to the pre-Civil War period of the South. In other words, a time when America was built on the foundation of slavery. In a statement, the band members — Hillary Scott, Dave Haywood, and Charles Kelley — acknowledged that changing their name 14 years into their career could beg the question of what took so long. “The ...
Margo Price Covers Bob Dylan, Performs “Letting Me Down” on CBS This Morning: Watch
Margo Price served as the latest guest on CBS This Morning: Saturday. She performed her new single “Letting Me Down”, as well as a cover of Bob Dylan’s “Things Have Changed”, and her own b-side, “Drifter”. For an artist who made her name in Americana and country, she put together a surprisingly rocking set. “Letting Me Down” is already among Price’s most muscular songs, with a ripping electric guitar that keeps the track locked in fifth gear. And while she could’ve chosen a folksier Bob Dylan cover, she instead opted for “Things Have Changed”, the Academy-award winning original song from the 2000 film Wonder Boys. “Things Have Changed” is upbeat and bluesy, and Price pushes her voice outside of its comfort zone. She puts some grind into her phrasing, punctuating her usual cr...
Dixie Chicks Set New Release Date for Comeback Album Gaslighter
Dixie Chicks have set a new release date for their long-awaited comeback album, Gaslighter. It’s now set to arrive on July 17th. Originally due on May 1st, the country music trio postponed the album’s release due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Gaslighter marks Dixie Chicks’ first new album in 14 years. Helmed by producer extraordinaire Jack Antonoff, the LP is said to be “10 times” more “personal and autobiographical” than the group’s previous releases. In anticipation, the trio unveiled the title track and “Julianna Calm Down”. Pre-orders for Gaslighter are now ongoing. You Deserve to Make Money Even When you are looking for Dates Online. So we reimagined what a dating should be. It begins with giving you back power. Get to meet Beautiful people, chat and make money in the process. Earn r...
Petition Launched to Replace KKK Leader’s Statue in Tennessee Capitol with Dolly Parton
Back in December, Tennessee state senator Jeremy Faison proposed replacing a bust of former Ku Klux Klan grand wizard Nathan Bedford Forrest currently on display in the state’s capitol building with one of an actual Tennessee hero: Dolly Parton. Now, amid racial unrest across the country spurred on by a rash of unarmed Black people being killed by police, the idea is picking up steam. This week, a petition was launched calling on local officials to replace problematic statues of Forrest and other Confederate leaders with ones of Parton. “History should not be forgotten, but we need not glamorize those who do not deserve our praise,” the petition reads. “Instead, let us honor a true Tennessee hero, Dolly Parton.” The petition goes on to note Parton’s many accomplishments beyond music, such ...
Lady Antebellum’s New Name, Lady A, Rips Off a Black Blues Singer
Lady A (aka Anita White), via YouTube, and Lady A (fka Lady Antebellum), via Instagram Yesterday, Grammy-winning country trio Lady Antebellum announced that they were changing their name to Lady A. They intended for the rebranding to distance themselves from the so-called Antebellum South, which is the period in the US before the Civil War ended slavery. But it turns out that black blues singer Anita White has been performing under the name Lady A for more than twenty years. In an interview with Rolling Stone, White said that neither the band nor their representatives reached out to her before making the change. “I’m not about to stop using my name.” she said. “For them to not even reach out is pure privilege. I’m not going to lay down and let this happen to me. But now the...
Grace Potter Performs “Eachother” with Jackson Browne, Marcus King, and Lucius on Colbert: Watch
Last month, Grace Potter released “Eachother”, featuring soaring vocals from Jackson Browne, Marcus King, and the gals of Lucius. On Friday, Potter re-assembled that superstar ensemble for a social-distance performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert. “Eachother” is an uplifting ballad for the time of coronavirus, with imagery of empty streets, bare shelves, and neighbors who talk, “but we don’t get too close.” The first time that all the voices join together in bewitching harmony, it’s like a streak of sunlight bursting through the clouds. Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig of Lucius blend their tones unselfishly, while Marcus King steals the show with his smoky, searing tenor. Jackson Browne, fully recovered from COVID-19, grounds the proceedings with his bluesy lower register. Grace Pot...
Orville Peck Announces New Show Pony EP, Shares “No Glory in the West”: Stream
Orville Peck will celebrate the summer season with a new EP dubbed Show Pony. His first collection of music since last year’s Pony debut is officially due out June 12th. According to social media posts, the forthcoming EP features his “Summertime” single from April, as well as “No Glory in the West”, a newly revealed track that’s streaming below. Update: The tracklist also features a collaboration with Shania Twain called “Legends Never Die”. “I loved my experience with Pony. However, Show Pony is a more confident perspective and allows me to share even more both lyrically and musically,” Peck said in a statement. “Like all country albums, Show Pony is a little collection of stories – some sad, some happy – and I am excited for people to hear it. Working with Shania was a dream come t...
