Country Music
Taylor Swift Unveils Fearless (Taylor’s Version): Stream
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-09T03:45:44+00:00“>April 8, 2021 | 11:45pm ET Taylor Swift has shared Fearless (Taylor’s Version), her re-recording of her 2008 sophomore LP. Stream the re-released album below via Apple Music and Spotify. Fearless (Taylor’s Version) runs 27 tracks long and includes new features from Maren Morris and Keith Urban, both of whom appear on previously unheard “From the Vault” tracks. Plus, Colbie Caillat returns for the new version of “Breathe”. Ahead of its release, Swift shared “Love Story (Taylor’s Version)”, the Morris-assisted “You All Over Me”, and “Mr. Perfectly Fine”. The new version of Fearless is part of her effort to re-record her first six studio albums in a bid to re...
Brandi Carlile Covers Joni Mitchell’s “A Case of You” on Colbert: Watch
<span class="localtime" data-ltformat="F j, Y | g:ia" data-lttime="2021-04-07T17:27:24+00:00“>April 7, 2021 | 1:27pm ET On Tuesday night, Brandi Carlile virtually stopped by The Late Show with Stephen Colbert to promote her new memoir, Broken Horses. The musician and the host primarily talked about her “stream of consciousness” writing approach for the book and her “faith journey as a queer person”. Right before the segment’s end, though, Colbert asked Carlile if she would treat him to a cover of Joni Mitchell, and Carlile happily obliged with an acoustic rendition of “A Case of You”. In a way, this cover song was a multiple-year-long dream for Colbert. Back in 2019, Carlile performed the entirety of Mitchell’s iconic 1971 album Blue at the Disney ...
Morgan Wallen to Headline Bud Light-Sponsored Kicker Country Stampede
Embattled country music star Morgan Wallen has been announced as a headliner for this year’s Kicker Country Stampede. It marks Wallen’s first confirmed performance since he was caught on camera using a racial slur earlier this year. The three-day music festival, which touts Bud Light as a sponsor, goes down June 24th-26th at Heartland Motorsports Park in Topeka, Kansas. Along with Wallen, the lineup features Luke Combs, Riley Green, Blanco Brown, Maddie & Tae, and Ashley McBryde, among others. On February 2nd, TMZ posted footage of an intoxicated Wallen shouting in his driveway and using the n-word. While the response within the industry was swift and massive — Wallen’s record contract was suspended, his music was pulled from playlists and radio, he lost his talent agenc...
Brandi Carlile Covers John Prine’s “I Remember Everything” for New Tribute Album: Stream
At the 2021 Grammy Awards on Sunday, Brandi Carlile participated in the In Memorium segment by covering John Prine‘s final song “I Remember Everything”. That turned out to be the first taste of Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows: Songs of John Prine Vol. 2, the sequel tribute album to the original Broken Hearts & Dirty Windows released last June. Vol. 2 is expected some time this fall. Vol 1. was headlined by covers from My Morning Jjacket, Conor Oberst, and Justin Vernon. So far only Carlile has been announced from Vol. 2, and she’ll be taking on what has become one of Prine’s most lauded cuts. In addition to being among our favorite songs of 2020, Prine posthumously won two Grammys for “I Remember Everything” for Best Americ...
Grammys 2021: John Prine Posthumously Wins Two Awards for “I Remember Everything”
The late John Prine posthumously won Best American Roots Performance and Best American Roots Song at the 2021 Grammy Awards. Prine’s final song “I Remember Everything” claimed the prize in both categories, beating out fellow nominees including Brittany Howard, Black Pumas, Lucinda Williams, Norah Jones, and Mavis Staples. These Grammys mark the third and fourth ones of Prine’s legendary career. He previously won Best Contemporary Folk Album in 1991 and again in 2005. Additionally, last year he received a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. Prine passed away on April 7th, 2020 from complications of COVID-19. “I Remember Everything” was released two months later on June 12th, and was later name one of Consequence of Sound’s favorite songs of 2020. In the corresponding writeup, Matt Melis had ...
Meow Mix Theme Gets Metal, Latin Dance, Country Remixes on New Vinyl Release
We all know that Meow Mix is the only food cats ask for by name, but what if your cat has a little harder of an edge? Or more of a Latin flare? Or is a bit too smooth for your standard brand jingle? Well, now kitties of any kind can call for their dinner in their own purr-fect tone thanks to the new Meow Mix ReMix LP. The limited edition vinyl release features the classic Meow Mix theme song redone in a variety of styles by a number of feline artists. Luna delivers a modern pop update, Gatocito and Pata Suave turn in a dance-floor hit, Endless Hiss roll your spine with their metal take, Hearts & Paws make biscuits of your soul with their country turn, and Sweet Teddy Pepperpaw performs a jazz rendition for all the hip cats out there. Yeah, it’s all paw-sitively silly, but also hiss-ter...
Miranda Lambert, Jack Ingram, and Jon Randall Announce The Marfa Tapes, Share “In His Arms”: Stream
Country superstar Miranda Lambert has teamed up with songwriters Jack Ingram and Jon Randall for the new album The Marfa Tapes. It drops May 7th, and to preview the release, the group has unveiled the lead single “In His Arms”. Lambert, Ingram, and Randall are hardly strangers; the trio previously collaborated on Lambert’s twice Grammy-nominated single “Tin Man” (2016), as well as the fan favorite “Tequila Does” (2019). Fresh takes on both of those songs will appear on The Marfa Tapes, but the majority of the 15-track effort has never been heard outside of Marfa, Texas. The small town is home to only about 1,800 people, but for five days last November it also hosted three musicians, two microphones, and one acoustic guitar. The stripped-down recording session tried to capture the stark bea...
Dolly Parton Receives COVID-19 Vaccine That She Helped Fund
Dolly Parton has gotten a dose of her own medicine. On Tuesday, the beloved country singer received the first dose of Moderna’s COVID-19 vaccine — which she herself helped fund. Back in April, Parton contributed $1 million to Vanderbilt University Medical Center’s research efforts for a vaccine. Vanderbilt’s research subsequently played a key role in developing Moderna’s vaccine. “My longtime friend Dr. Naji Abumrad, who’s been involved in research at Vanderbilt for many years, informed me that they were making some exciting advancements towards research of the coronavirus for a cure,” Parton said at the time of her donation. Fast forward 11 months, and Parton is reaping the rewards of her sizable charitable donation. That said, even though she was eligible due to her age, Parton...
Morgan Wallen Maintains No. 1 Album Two Weeks After Using Racial Slur
For the fifth consecutive week, disgraced country singer Morgan Wallen has the No. 1 album in America. Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album had already ascended to top of the Billboard 200 prior to TMZ posting video of him using a racial slur. However, in the aftermath of the video, Wallen saw his album and song sales surge — even as his radio play and playlist inclusions diminished. He remained at No. 1 at the close of last week, and he’s still sitting there as of this week. There had been some thought that because the Billboard charts are traditionally one week behind, Wallen wouldn’t see the impact of his media blackout until this week. Well, the data is in, and that theory is not playing out. In fact, sales of Dangerous are continuing to *increase* week over week. Physical sales of the...
Jason Isbell Donating Songwriting Royalties for Morgan Wallen’s “Cover Me Up” to NAACP
Despite being among the greatest songwriters of his generation, Jason Isbell has never had a song or album be certified Gold (500,000 units sold) or Platinum (1 million) by the RIAA, with one exception: his 2013 classic “Cover Me Up”, which went Platinum after Morgan Wallen covered it in 2019. Now, in the aftermath of Wallen getting caught on video using a racial slur, Isbell has vowed to donate all of his proceeds from “Cover Me Up” to the Nashville chapter of the NAACP. After footage showed Wallen using the N-word, his sales skyrocketed, which helped his new album Dangerous earn the No. 1 spot in America. On February 10th, Isbell quote-tweeted an article about Wallen’s perverse successes, writing, “So… A portion of this money goes to me, since I wrote ‘Cover Me Up.’” He added, “I’ve deci...
Morgan Wallen Earns No. 1 Album in US After Racial Slur
It’s a sad state of affairs when a man can be caught on camera using a racial slur one week and achieve the No. 1 album in the country the very next. And yet that’s the case for Morgan Wallen, who has claimed the top spot on the Billboard 200 Albums Chart for the fourth consecutive week running. In fact, according to Billboard, sales of Wallen’s Dangerous: The Double Album have actually increased by 14% in the week since TMZ posted video of the country singer using the n-word. In total, he moved 149,000 equivalent album units over the last seven days. As a result, Dangerous is now the first country album to spend its first four weeks at No. 1 since January 2003. As we reported earlier this week, Wallen has also seen a massive surge in individual song sales — an increase of 339%, to be...
Morgan Wallen Caught on Video Using N-Word
Country music star Morgan Wallen once again finds himself in hot water after being caught on camera using the n-word. TMZ has video of Wallen hurling the racial slur, which it obtained from Wallen’s neighbor. Apparently, the country singer and a group of friends returned home from a Nashville bar this past weekend when they began making a ruckus outside. Wallen can be audibly heard saying, “Take care of this pussy ass motherfucker,” before adding, “Take care of this pussy ass n****.” In a statement to TMZ, Wallen acknowledged the veracity of the video and issued an apology. “I’m embarrassed and sorry. I used an unacceptable and inappropriate racial slur that I wish I could take back,” he said. “There are no excuses to use this type of language, ever. I want to sincerely apologize for using...
