country pop

Rose City Band Deliver a Collection of Jam-Friendly Tunes

Rose City Band Deliver a Collection of Jam-Friendly Tunes

On Sol Y Sombra, Rose City Band offer an honest emotional reflection for our times with music that propels forward with their same carefree style. 

The Passion of Garth Brooks

The Passion of Garth Brooks

Stephen Deusner’s entry in the 33 1/3 series about the wreckage of Garth Brooks’ ‘The Life of Chris Gains project makes for a mightily entertaining read.

30 Years of Alison Krauss’ Country Music Breakthrough

30 Years of Alison Krauss’ Country Music Breakthrough

Even if the world only knew Alison Krauss from ‘Now That I’ve Found You: A Collection’, her place in country music history would be assured.

Kelley Mickwee Finds ‘Everything Beautiful’ When You Are in Love

Kelley Mickwee Finds ‘Everything Beautiful’ When You Are in Love

Kelley Mickwee has a smokey voice mixed with honey that expresses pain and pleasure at the same time. The ache in her throat suggests she’s been through it all.

Elvis Costello’s ‘Almost Blue’ Was Rescued by Its Bonus Tracks… for a While

Elvis Costello’s ‘Almost Blue’ Was Rescued by Its Bonus Tracks… for a While

The release history of Elvis Costello’s Almost Blue provides a framework for examining how the delivery of recorded music can relate to our experience of it.

If You Love Her, Let Her Know: How Olivia Newton-John Became a Country Star

If You Love Her, Let Her Know: How Olivia Newton-John Became a Country Star

Olivia Newton-John’s chart-topping 1974 album remains a touchstone for 1970s culture, bringing the best of country music into mainstream pop.

Kacey Musgraves Returns to Her Roots on ‘Deeper Well’

Kacey Musgraves Returns to Her Roots on ‘Deeper Well’

Kacey Musgraves, like all of us, is just trying to learn how to sway in the face of life’s challenges, and she chooses to gift them to us in the form of songs.

The 15 Best Country Albums of 2023

The 15 Best Country Albums of 2023

This year’s best country albums spring from hard-country bands to traditional true believers and from alternative country renegades to pop-country superstars.

Dolly Parton Does a Great Job Pretending She’s a Rock Star

Dolly Parton Does a Great Job Pretending She’s a Rock Star

Dolly Parton’s Rockstar is another solid, consistent piece of work that shows the country legend having fun and enjoying herself at this point in her career.

The 25 Best Country Songs About Death

The 25 Best Country Songs About Death

There is no genre with as rich a history of songs about many forms of death–by natural causes, murder, suicide, war, accidents, and so on–than country.

Nancy Sinatra’s Legacy Is Far More Than Just Boots 

Nancy Sinatra’s Legacy Is Far More Than Just Boots 

Keep Walkin’ looks to expand on the legend of Nancy Sinatra because so much of her musical legacy is tied up in her mythology as a celebrity or an image.

Tele Novella Travel to Art-Country on ‘Poet’s Tooth’

Tele Novella Travel to Art-Country on ‘Poet’s Tooth’

Tele Novella are more Brian Wilson than Hank Williams on Poet’s Tooth, a pop band with compositional sophistication waiting to get out of their Austin city limits.