I want to congratulate Kenny Chesney’s makeup artist on the big win last night: his skin was flawless in HD. I know Kenny cares deeply about skin care as do most of us. Around roadhouses and barrooms last night an astronomical number of twittering bikers, truck drivers and steel workers were pining [...]

I can’t find the words, but thanks to Louis Armstrong and Punchline, this may express the sentiment:

Wilco appeared on the Colbert Report last night and debuted a new song. Of course it rocked.
And when Tweedy uses the word “love” he does so as a verb…

Dear Toby,
From time-to-time I flip on GAC or CMT just to make sure I’m not missing anything. Call it wishful thinking that one day I’ll see a Todd Snider marathon on one of the channels. A guy’s gotta try right?
Well in the wee hours today I’ve been watching once again and I’m not [...]

I told you guys a few weeks ago about a great opportunity to learn how albums are really made: Music Producers Institute.
Well the first session with Radney Foster is over and early word from Steve Fischell is that it was a huge success:
Last week’s class with Radney Foster at the Sound Emporium went great. [...]

So you’re still trying to “make it” as they say? Yeah? Me too…but today I have some actionable information to help you along.
Americana music is a booming business and there’s lots of ways to be involved: write and perform music, advocate for your favorite artists, get sloshed and spend next [...]

Well folks it’s Friday. The economy is tanking faster than Chris Cagle’s career, the election is getting ugly, and the only grocery store in my hometown is closing. We’re knee-deep in a cultural war that divides us between crazy bible-thumpers and nutjob treehuggers when we used to be in this thing together. [...]

One of the great pains this week is my inability to catch the Americana Music Association Awards this weekend. This year’s installment is an Americana fan’s wet dream:

John Hiatt will receive the coveted Lifetime Achievement Award for Songwriting
Jason and the Scorchers will likewise receive a Lifetime Achievement Award
Levon Helm brought his legendary Midnight Ramble [...]

iTunes 8 was released this week and the big improvement was the inclusion of Genius playlists. The concept is that iTunes will automatically find songs similar to the one you’re listening to and build a playlist.
Well they had to hire some kind of Americana wunderkind because this thing works incredibly well with my library [...]

Who doesn’t love a train song? From the patented chick-a-boom beat to the raw American imagery evoked, train songs are the very rails upon which the outlaw movement came to town.
Vinyl Collective has an exclusive pre-order opportunity to grab All Aboard, the latest tribute to Johnny Cash featuring a bonus track from Lucero’s Ben [...]