W♥M

R.I.P. Hargus "Pig" Robbins

Read More Bob Dylan Legendary Bob Dylan is back in town for a residency at the Orpheum Theatre from November 4-November 6th. This should be a much better experience than his last stadium-sized show at the Xcel Energy Center in 2012....

Country Hall of Famer Hargus ‘Pig’ Robbins has died at the age of 84.

Robbins started his career under the name Mel Robbins in the 50s.

The blind pianist played on thousands of Nashville sessions, including on Bob Dylan’s Blonde on Blonde.

Robbins was also responsible for the pianos on George Jones’ classic “White Lightning,” Patsy Cline’s “I Fall to Pieces” and “Crazy”.

This is an official statement by the CEO of Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum, Kyle Young:

“Like all successful session musicians, Pig Robbins was quick to adapt to any studio situation. He worked quickly, with perfection less a goal than a norm. And while he could shift styles on a dime to suit the singer and the song, his playing was always distinctive. Pig's left hand on the piano joined with Bob Moore's bass to create an unstoppable rhythmic force, while the fingers on his right hand flew like birds across the keys. The greatest musicians in Nashville turned to Pig for guidance and inspiration.”

Read more Musicians who died in 2022

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

Towns & Cities

Read More Little Big Town Kansas will play a nearby homecoming show, and country fans will get to see Little Big Town up close, opting for two theater shows instead of one big arena gig. … Miranda Lambert The Smithereens will be playing Dakota Jazz Club & Restaurant. 03/17/2017 Miranda Lambert with Old Dominion and Aubrie Sellers will be at Xcel Energy Center. …

LITTLE BIG TOWN
littlebigtown.com

Country music superstars and multi-Grammy, CMA and ACM Award-winners Miranda Lambert and Little Big Town have join forces to co-headline this spring’s The Bandwagon Tour.

Speaking of towns & cities, Citi is the official card of The Bandwagon Tour. Citi cardmembers will have access to presale tickets beginning the Tuesday (Jan 11) ahead of each on sale date at 12 p.m. local time until Thursday at 10 p.m. local time through the Citi Entertainment program.

Dates on Sale Beginning This Friday, Jan. 14 at 10 a.m. Local Time:

06/27 * Tuscaloosa Amphitheater | Tuscaloosa, AL
06/28 * FirstBank Amphitheater | Franklin, TN
06/29 *# William Green | Johnson City, TN
05/6 + Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion | Houston, TX
05/7 Dos Equis Pavilion | Dallas, TX
05/8 Walmart AMP | Rogers, AR
05/12 Credit One Stadium | Charleston, SC
05/13 MIDFLORIDA Credit Union | Tampa, FL
05/14 iTHINK | West Palm Beach, FL.
05/20 Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre | St. Louis, MO
05/21 Ruoff Music Center | Noblesville, IN
05/22 Riverbend Music Center | Cincinnati, OH
06/2 Budweiser Stage | Toronto, ON
06/3 DTE Energy Music Theatre | Detroit, MI
06/ 4 Blossom Music Center | Cuyahoga Falls, OH
06/9 Northwell Health | Wantagh, NY
06/10 PNC Bank Arts Center | Holmdel, NJ
06/11 BB&T Pavilion | Camden, NJ

* Miranda Lambert & The Cadillac Three only; not part of The Bandwagon Tour
+ on sale Friday, Jan 21. at 10 a.m. local time
# on sale Friday, Feb. 1 at 10 a.m. local time

Read More Magic City Hippies Magic City Hippies is touring in support of their debut album Modern Animal… stopping by the Amsterdam Bar & Hall in St Paul on February 1st. … Courtship. Opening the show was Courtship (stylized as courtship.). We’ve previously seen the band debut in Minneapolis in March 2018 and said, “…sunny electro-pop of Los Angeles duo Courtship. …

MAGIC CITY HIPPIES
magiccityhippies.com

Miami’s Magic City Hippies is currently on tour in support of their forthcoming album Water Your Garden. This new album is the first album that the trio were in various locations in the USA (Los Angeles, Montana, and Miami). The album was put together remotely, and they are eager to go back on tour.

Courtship is their support for this tour. We saw the duo (trio for this live show) in Oct 2021 and said, “As you can see from the photos, the band is joined by a live drummer. Songs on their set includes plenty of songs about “guys”, like “Guy Stuff” and “Nice Guy”. They ended their set with an explosive rendition of “Stop for Nothing”.”

Tour dates:

Jan 13: Jacksonville, FL - 1904 Music Hall ^
Jan 14: Atlanta, GA - Variety Playhouse ^
Jan 15: Carrboro, NC - Cat's Cradle ^
Jan 16: Washington, DC - Union Stage ^
Jan 18: Fairfield, CT - Warehouse ^
Jan 20: Boston, MA - Big Night Live ^
Jan 21: New York, NY - Irving Plaza ^
Jan 22: Philadelphia, PA - The Foundry ^
Jan 23: Pittsburgh, PA - Thunderbird Music Hall ^
Jan 25: Cleveland, OH - House of Blues ^
Jan 27: Indianapolis, IN - The Hifi ^
Jan 28: Chicago, IL - Park West ^
Jan 29: Milwaukee, WI - Turner Hall Ballroom ^
Jan 30: Minneapolis, MN - Varsity Theater ^
Feb 1: St. Louis, MO - Delmar Hall ^
Feb 2: Kansas City, MO - Madrid Theatre ^
Feb 4: Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre ^
Feb 5: Steamboat Springs, CO - Strings Music Pavilion
Feb 6: Salt Lake City, UT - The Commonwealth Room ^
Feb 8: Bozeman, MT - The ELM ^
Feb 9: Missoula, MT - The Wilma ^
Feb 11: Seattle, WA - The Showbox @ The Market ^
Feb 12: Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom ^
Feb 14: Eugene, OR - Sessions Music Hall #
Feb 15: Sacramento, CA - Harlow's #
Feb 17: Santa Cruz, CA - The Catalyst Atrium #
Feb 18: San Francisco, CA - The Fillmore #
Feb 19: Los Angeles, CA - The Belasco #
Feb 20: San Diego, CA - The Observatory North Park #
Feb 22: Phoenix, AZ - The Crescent Ballroom #
Feb 23: Albuquerque, NM - Launch Pad #
Feb 25: Dallas, TX - Trees #
Feb 26: Austin, TX - Emo's #
Feb 27: Houston, TX - White Oak Music Hall #

^ courtship. supports
# Bay Ledges supports

Read More Purple Funk Metropolis Ticket link in our biome, or at first ave dot com. Love you. Purple Funk Metropolis and Dr. Goon and The Daily Tribune to open. ....

PURPLE FUNK METROPOLIS
purplefunkmetropolis.com

Local seven-piece instrumental Purple Funk Metropolis will be headlining the 7th Street Entry in Feb 11th. The band released their new album The Golden Goose recently.

Opening up the Feb 11th show will be The Controversial New 'Skinny Pill' and Shrimp Olympics.

Track listing:

1. Get Loose!
2. This Just In
3. Scrum Diddley 03:36 4. Big Fat Soul Explosion
5. Tres Leches
6. Egg Boy
7. Beautiful Golden Fur!
8. Salty
9. Chunky Jam
10. The Zebra
11. Take Flight
12. Sam's Club
13. Dance Party for the Ages

CANYON CITY
canyoncitymusic.com

Paul Johnson, aka Canyon City recently released his new EP Matinee on Nettwerk.

Talking about the new album, Johnson notes, “Some of these songs end in hope, some in despair, but I hope that they all are able to keep folks company (or maybe ask for that company myself) in the brutal and beautiful experience of being human in an unfamiliar season. When it’s hope, I’m trying to remember and hold on to it. When it’s despair, I’m going to travel through it.”

Matinée Track List:

01. Changes
02. Paris
03. So Are We
04. Comets
05. Locket
06. Song for Spring

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ twitter.com

R.I.P. Stonewall Jackson

Read More Stonewall Jackson Stonewall Jackson Waterloo One of the all-time country greats who is often overlooked these days. In this cd, you get a sampling of the hits and classic album cuts from the 50's and early 60's. Stonewalls music is "real country" at it's very best. …

Country music legend Stonewall Jackson passed away on Saturday, at thee age of 89. According to the press release, he died of a prolonged battle with vascular dementia.

Additional details from 2911 Media:

Some of Jackson's hits included "Life To Go," penned by the late, great George Jones, "Smoke Along the Track," "B.J. the D.J.," and "Waterloo," which later became his signature song. Over his career, Stonewall landed 44 singles on the Billboard country chart. His 1971 Recorded Live at the Grand Ole Opry was the first "live" album ever recorded at Nashville's 'Mother Church of Country Music', the Ryman Auditorium. The late Porter Wagoner would introduce Stonewall on his show by saying he came to the Opry "with a heart full of love and a sack full of songs."

Wide Open Country's Bobby Moore profiled Jackson just last year, saying "...he's a representative of the days of smooth-voiced, sharp-dressed country singers who helped position what was once dismissed as "hillbilly" music as a commodity that would move uptown."

To keep track of all the musicians who died this year, head over to Musicians Who Died in 2021.

vu (vu@weheartmusic.com) ♥ weheartmusic.com ♥ facebook.com ♥ twitter.com/weheartmusic

American Country Music

Hank Williams - Howlin' At the Moon

Hank Williams

Yep, this week's theme is country music.

Whenever I meet people and I ask what type of music they're into, I can tell you 90% of them will answer vaguely: "I am into all kind of music... well except for rap and country music." It saddens me to hear that. (Incidentally, whenever someone tells me they're into all genre of music, I think the opposite: they only like one kind of genre).

Trust me, we get "all kind of music" and shopping around for reviewers is tough because, let's face it: we like what we like. No one is going to go out of their way to devote one or two hours listening to music genres they're not familiar with.

So basically, country music is a very popular genre that no one seems to like! I grew up on country music, so I've always had a soft spot for it. What I like about country is that they often teach us a lesson, like a story within the song. And often the story is about RL (real life) and you can relate to their flawed characters.

Below are some albums we've received that's by real singers, singing about life.

GLEN CAMPBELL glencampbellshow.com ♥ myspace.com Glen Campbell - Good Riddance (Time of Your Life) The Rhinestone Cowboy is back with a Greatest Hits album, released earlier in February. While he is known for writing original songs (his legacy expands over 50 years in the music industry!), his 2008 album, Meet Glen Campbell, is an all-covers album. What's surprisingly is his choice in covers are strangely modern contemporary, including U2 ("All I Want Is You"), Foo Fighters ("Times Like These"), Green Day ("Good Riddance") and best of all Travis ("Sing"). Just as his title suggest: meet Glen Campbell for the first time, forget his roots in country pop music. Some of the best cover, at least to me, is his version of "Sing" (you can hear it on myspace) and "Good Riddance (Time of Your Life)". While Green Day's version is all-acoustic and somber, Campbell brought a bit of a jingle, jangle and banjo to the song. It's like a going away party, and you wouldn't think this was a Green Day song. As a cover-lover, I wholly recommend these "re-imagined" songs to fans of the bands he covers. Find out more details over at meetglencampbell.com for the cover album (available on CD, Limited Edition Vinyl, and of course digitally). Glen Campbell - Rhinestone Cowboy Bonus: "Rhinestone Cowboy" is a favorite among such acts as Radiohead and Belle & Sebastian.		NATASHA JAMES natashajames.com ♥ myspace.com Natasha James - Modern Life Natasha James is a country singer from Sonoma, California, which is close to both Sacramento and San Francisco. I get the impression that James knows and loves her liquor. Take a look at the evidence: tequila in "Tequila Time", beer on "Modern Life", and whiskey on "Boy Do We Drink". The later song is all about drinking and fighting, but I don't take it too seriously as the tone seems pretty tongue-in-cheek. My favorite song is "Modern Life". It does a great job in painting you the picture of: lonliness, our busyness, divorces, cellphones, internet games, etc. The song is bundled in what sounds like a steel guitar and violins. While the song has a sad tone to it, it's not as sad as the weepy "The Wind". She's also doing a few dates throughout California: 08/08/09 Sonoma County Fair Santa Rosa, California 08/21/09 Iron Door Saloon Groveland, California 08/22/09 Iron Door Saloon Groveland, California Tequila Time is available at most online shops, including eMusic and Amazon. Bonus: As I have previously mentioned, we don't get too many DVD submissions, so here is the video for "Tequila Time". Natasha James - Tequila Time
RUSTED ROOTS rustedroot.com ♥ myspace.com Rusted Root - Driving One Rusted Root is a toe-tapping, bluegrass/jam fusion band from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. They have been around since the late 80s, and have survived to this day with their recent release of Stereo Rodeo (released May 5, 2009 on Touchy Pegg/Adrenaline/DKE). I lassoed the band on this article because I thought they look country, I mean look at this psychedelic cover artwork: a cowboy roping a Japanese geisha over flames and skulls. The album cover is basically an interpretation of the song "Stereo Rodeo", a slower song that tells the story of a man going to Japan to find a girl. One thing is certain, I feel the shock of the insane cover artwork never quite live up in the song, because the song sounds a bit... normal. As far as the rest of their songs, they're full of funk and percussion and background vocals, I get the sense that the band wants the audience to be involved with them. Their songs were designed to get you to dance with the band, perhaps contributing to hand claps or singalong. Like most jam bands, they're meant to be seen live. I felt "Driving One" would best sum up the band: check out that funky percussion beat! It sounds like something out of Africa, yet feels like it belong in this American bluegrass band. Stereo Rodeo is available now, at amazon ($8!) or eMusic.		AMY LENNARD amylennard.com ♥ myspace.com Amy Lennard - Forever Tonight I actually really love Amy Lennard's I Need To Love the first time I heard it last year, I think mostly because her voice reminds me of Bonnie Raitt. Music's always been part of Lennard's life, playing guitar since nine, then moving on to composing original songs. She moved from New York to live out in California for a while, playing festivals and jamming campfire songs with friends. Ten years later, she moved back to New York, and started working on I Need To Love. Half of the album was, from what I've gathered, written and recorded in 2006 with the help of Ben Wisch. The other half is with engineerer Jon Gordon (who's previously worked with Suzanne Vega). You might think that two different producers working on the album might result in an uneven sounding album, it's actually not. Most of the songs feels like pop radio, with strong modern country music influences. There is one very pop-sounding song, it's a love song called "Forever Tonight". It's my favorite song and the easy-to-follow lyrics will cause you to sing along. You can find I Need to Love from amazon, CD Baby, and, of course, iTunes.
MIKE KOTULKA mikekotulka.com ♥ myspace.com/nycmk Mike Kotulka - Dumb Mike Kotulka is another Philadelphian, if that's a word, his sophomore album Hi-Lows will be available July 7th. Everything tells me he's a cowboy, from hat to the harmonica that starts off his intro song, "Born To Try". While not entirely country, Koulka is more like from the Bob Dylan school, which is not a bad association. The title of the album comes from the same titled song, "Hi-Lows". The song is about standing tall, standing for what you believe in, despite the "shit" trying to keep you down. It's a bit inspirational, especially in this economic time. The songs that I did enjoy are the louder ones, "Dumb" and "Gimme Love". "Dumb", with its hand-claps, and "Gimme Love" with its catchy "gimme love gimme love" chorus, will both make excellent live songs. However, as of this writing, there are no tour dates. The nine-track album, feels really short. I decided to track down more music from Kotulka, and the good news is his album The Good, The Bad and the Ugly was available for free via the official website or empty-k.com. Hi-Lows will be available in early July at amazon.		SWAY swaymusic.com ♥ myspace.com Sway - Cowgirl Scene Perry Martin and Gina Quartaro are basically the country band Sway, based out of California. The two musician met at a doctor's office, and I suppose while waiting in the waiting room (as one do), the two started talking about music. As the turned out, both Quartaro and Martin have a lifetime of music in them. Quartaro's written and co-produced over 200 songs to day and was even called the "Female Elton John" by Russ Regan (record executive of UNI records, 20th Century Records, and Motown Records). And Martin's biography lists him as band member on "The Donny James Show". They took the show to South Vietnam from 1968-69, and did a show for radio & television called "Nashville Vietnam". I'm not going to list the other two band members' (Laurens Vernot, Trevor Hands) biography, but let's just say that each member bring a rich history of music with them. Sway's music, with its honky-talk and lyrics tells me "good times are all we need" (from "Cowgirl Scene"). Like "baseball and Chevrolet", these songs are pretty standard country love song ("When Love Finds Its Way", "I'm Over You"). Where love is the power that transcend reality. Sure, "the banks are callin' and bills are late", but we've got love, from "In The Hands Of Love". Gina Quartaro sings on all the songs on the album, minus two songs sung by Martin. Quartaro is currently doing some dates: 07/05/09 The Art A Fair Laguna Beach, CA 07/16/09 OC Fair (Mainstage) Costa Mesa, CA 07/25/09 Art A Fair Laguna Beach, CA Sway's debut album, Let It Roll, was released last year, and you can get it via CD Baby.

 06/21/2009 13:42:10 ♥ vu () ♥weheartmusic.com♥twitter.com/weheartmusic♥news.weheartmusic.com