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Country Music Song Round up 2015 with Videos

January 14, 2016 By NashStar

Country music is constantly changing and 2015 was no different. Over the last couple of decades it has become a big influence for many music genres, but it has also been at the receiving end several times. Looking back on 2015 it’s clear that country music is making a turn back to its roots in terms of lyrics and presentation. Ladies and gentlemen, the bittersweet tales of lost love, drinking a little too much sometimes and finding hope when there is seemingly nothing have made their way back onto the airwaves. In no specific order, here is a look at the most influential country songs of 2015.

Ashley Monroe – On To Something Good

It’s not easy to write a happy-go-lucky song while preserving depth in terms of the lyrics, by Ashley has done it beautifully. Better known for her ballads, she used several influences to come up with a song that won’t just get your foot tapping, but it will also get you to think a little. It’s the lead single from her 2015 album entitled “The Blade” and thanks to the mixture of genres she used, Monroe has made it a good year for country.

LoCash – I Love This Life

This bro-country duo might not be famous for their optimistic tunes, but they’ve decided the world needs a little hope. It’s unfortunate that 2015 had several bad moments around the world, which makes it hard to see the silver lining at times, but LoCash took the torch and brought some love back to life. When it seems like everything is falling apart around you then look to the small pleasures, because they typically get you through the worst parts.

Kip Moore – Running For You

This is not the most polished song out there, but it’s with good reason. Moore’s distinct voice is pushed a little further with something that sounds more like a live recording rather than a professional sound studio production. He is vulnerable, emotional and most of all, he is honest to a fault. It’s a realistic song about love that simply can’t happen and he has to make peace with it, and just like we all do, he lies to himself at certain points hoping it will work.

Jana Kramer – I Got The Boy

For everyone who thinks Kramer is just a pretty face with great legs, here is a little surprise for you. This is a song that will have you reminiscing about those first butterflies you had in high school and maybe even bring a tear to your eye, because Jana sings it from the heart. You can hear the longing in her voice and the “what if” tone that accompanies it all the way through. Forget an over-the-top chorus and fancy guitar licks. Instead, strap yourself in for a very sentimental ride you can’t stop listening to.

Carrie Underwood – Smoke Break

Carrie has built up a career for being a straight shooter and it seems she’ll be continuing down that road. In this case she says what everyone is thinking when the day simply gets too long – the relief that comes with a smoke break or stiff drink. Carrie doesn’t inspire people to start drinking and smoking, but she is relating to those who do. For some people life is a little harder and she knows it.

Kelsea Ballerini – Love Me Like You Mean It

The silly little country-pop song that will outlast the others come from Kelsea Ballerini. Her debut single jumped to no.1 on the charts and she is close on the heels of heavyweights such as Underwood and Swift. It’s a pretty straight song where Ballerini tells all the guys that if they can’t do it right from the start then they shouldn’t try at all, and it will most likely be a hit in karaoke clubs for years to come, but Ballerini just brings something else to the table.

Brothers Osborne – Stay A Little Longer

It’s obvious that the Brothers Osborne have the skills to write songs that won’t leave your head for days, but they aren’t making any sacrifices to get them on the radio. These guys manage to grab attention from just about everywhere, because you can sing along to the first part of the song, but the last part you have to listen to a nice guitar piece. Basically, they are catering to the easy-listeners and the hardcore music lovers and this is no easy feat.

Luke Bryan – Strip It Down

It looks like Luke Bryan is finally growing up and moving away from his well-known youthful tracks. In the end artists take huge risks when they feel the need to evolve and Bryan has reached his now-or-never point in time. Fans can expect to hear what Bryan regards as intimacy and for the most part everyone will agree. Make no mistake, Bryan has a great talent for entertaining those who care to listen, but this time around he is really making a deep connection.

The Cadillac Tree – White Lightening

The relation between country, rock and blues is a complex and close one, as can be seen in this great song by The Cadillac Tree. Where you would usually expect them to tear it up, they bring you a love song that is just as sincere as an Alan Jackson ballad. It’s unfortunate that White Lightening didn’t receive as much recognition as the rest of the songs on this list in terms of airplay and chart positions, but it would be a bigger shame not to mention it here.

Dierks Bentley – Riser

Consider this song the anthem for 2015, because it will have you standing up to all the possible problems you are facing. With such an inspirational video, Bentley’s passionate voice and lyrics that come around once in a lifetime, this single is much more than just a song to sing along with. It’s about getting up when life is pushing you down and never giving up when things get too tough. Even though Bentley didn’t write the song, he sure as hell believes in the words.

In 2016 it will be interesting to see which road country music is going to take, especially after such an explosive year. But it’s safe to assume it’s going to be great!

Maddie & Tae – Hot Duo!

January 14, 2016 By NashStar

Country music has received some great new talent over the years, but the latest duo is kicking up a real storm with their debut single “Girl in a Country Song”. They are of course Maddie Marlow and Taylor Dye, better known as Maddie & Tae. For the last four years they have been working together and it has paid off in all the right ways. In a matter of months they were able to turn country music on its head and delivered an outstanding debut at the Grand Ole Opry.

Everything started with the release of their single in July. By poking some fun at the way guys tend to objectify women in their bro-country lyrics and videos they have managed to grab widespread attention. Current sales for the song exceed 340 000 and the video went viral very quickly. They co-wrote the song with Aaron Scherz, who also played a part in the production alongside Dann Huff.

Maddie & Tae made such a huge impression that they received an invitation to one of the most important award ceremonies for country artists in addition to sitting down for numerous interviews. In one of those interviews they were asked what they were doing in 2013 on the night of the CMA Awards. The answer? They were sitting in their PJs eating popcorn. Within a year they went from the couch to a spectacular red carpet event and they made sure they were ready for the occasion.

Shortly before the big occasion took place they made a stop at WYRK for a rather unconventional interview with deejays Rob Banks and Liz Mantel. The latter invented a game on the spot entitled “Napkins” and even though it started with tame questions it got more personal as the game unfolded. At the end of the interview everybody knew that Tae passes gas, burps and sweats much more than her partner. She blamed the bad habits on her brothers and stated “No guys are going to like me after this video”.

They also made their “late night” debut in September when they appeared on “Letterman”. It was regarded as a performance that was full of energy and despite the nature of the song; it’s all in good fun. One of the most recent interviews they had was on “Women in Country” and it looked back on their lives before reaching success.

Not everyone was impressed with their song, such as Brian Kelly, singer for “Florida Georgia Line”. According to him he doesn’t know one girl that doesn’t want to be a girl in a country song. In response the duo said they never intended to step on any toes, and even though they can’t speak for anyone else it’s definitely not a position they want to be in.

Maddie & Tae has released their short EP on the 4th of November and it features the song that made them famous. The additional songs are entitled “Sierra”, “Fly” and “Your Side of Town”. For the revealing process of the cover art they relied heavily on their fans to share it by means of social media. They are currently very busy with their tour which has been scheduled to continue till late July.

God and Guns – Hank Williams, Jr.

January 14, 2016 By NashStar

Over the years, we see many new faces coming into the music industry but while some of these new stars do manage to go on and have successful careers, there are a lot of stars who actually vanish almost as quickly as they arrived. Fortunately though, there are some very special stars who manage to adapt with the times and keep their music fresh and relevant over the course of many decades, continue to give us hit song after hit song.

That has most certainly been the case for the very talented and extremely successful country music star Hank Williams Jr., who has been doing his thing in the music industry for decades now and is showing no sign of slowing down any time soon. Hank has been recording new music for around 50 years now and he has given us a huge amount of fantastic music, with plenty more coming our way in the future, starting with his latest offering.

Hank Williams Jr. recently released his new track God and Guns, which comes from his latest album It’s About Time and we have to admit that this is up there with the best that Hank Williams Jr. has had to offer during his career. While Hank loves to write a lot of his songs himself, God and Guns was actually a collaborative effort, with the help from the talented lyricists Travis Meadows, Mark Stephen Jones, and Bud Tower, who all came together to deliver this fantastic new song.

It is clear to see from his latest single God and Guns, that Hank Williams Jr. truly is back to his very best, with a song that is everything we have come to expect from this country music legend and will resonate with pretty much anyone who hears the track. The new album It’s About Time shows that Hank is up there with the best songwriters in the music industry and, while he did not write God and Guns himself, it is very much a Hank Williams Jr. song at its very best.

Hank Williams Jr. has worked with some of the best names in country music for his new album It’s About Time, which is set for release on january 15, 2016. At the age of 66, you could be forgiven for thinking that Hank is looking towards slowing his career down a bit, but that could not be further from the truth, as Williams is working as hard as ever and is still delivering some of the top new music around. Keep up the good work Hank, we are loving it!

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Wanted!

December 26, 2015 By NashStar

Outlaw Country

Outlaw Country is a sub-genre of country music, and artists who composed the genre were often regarded outlaws in their time. This kind of country music became extremely well-known all through the 60s, 70s as well as the 80s. In spite of this, Outlaw Country’s origins trace back as far as the 50s and are centered on Willie Nelson & Waylon Jennings alongside Merle Haggard, Johnny Cash, David Allan Coe and his Eli Radish Band, Hank Williams Jr., Leon Russell, Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver, Gary Stewart, Steve Earle, and Townes Van Zandt.
Nonetheless it is believe that Elvis Presley was an important influence in making it well-known, however it was Waylon Jennings who may have had the greatest influence of all, primarily on account of him securing his own recording legal rights. Whether you are aware or not, Jennings started the Nashville Sound, which began to trend rapidly.

There are many Outlaw Country Music Artists; notable among them are:
Waylon Jennings, Merke Haggard, Willie Nelson and David Allan Coe. Other musicians linked to Outlaw are Hank Williams Jr., Kris Kristofferson, Billy Joe Shaver and Townes Van Zandt.

There are numerous other musicians nowadays that keep the Outlaw movement alive. A few of these singers include: Wayne Hancock and Dale Watson, whose sound and music can often be compared to Outlaw Country singing hero Hank Williams. Stoney LaRue is also a singer from Texas who is a significant figure in the Outlaw movement at present. Also , Cory Morrow, Shooter Jennings, Jamey Johnson, Robert Earl Keen Jr., Kevin Fowler, Roger Creager, Ryan Bingham, and groups such as Eli Young Band, Jason Boland & the Stragglers, and Randy Rogers Band, who was raised at the time of the original outlaw movement, have recently been re-energizing the Outlaw Movement and sticking with the “outlaw spirit”. Miranda Lambert is among the top female country musicians in the world, and she is certainly an Outlaw singer.

Here are the lists of Top outlaw country songs:
• Hank Williams – Your Cheatin’ Heart
• Johnny Cash – I Walk the Line
• Willie Nelson – Just Breathe
• Johnny Cash – Folsom Prison Blues
• Willie Nelson – Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain
• Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson – Mammas don’t let your Babies grow up to be Cowboys

Merle Haggard Health Update

December 22, 2015 By NashStar

The first time the “Django and Jimmie” tour was postponed it was due to health concerns regarding Willie. Even though it wasn’t life threatening, Willie and his management team didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. But now the second setback has struck, leaving his outlaw partner, Merle Haggard, out of action.

Just recently Haggard was released from the Eisenhower Medical Center after being hospitalized on the 5th of December. At that point nobody knew what was going on and Haggard admits he was closer to death than he anticipated. He was initially diagnosed with pneumonia, but the severity of his condition made everyone think his lung cancer had returned. As a long time smoker of tobacco and marijuana, Haggard quit both during the mid-nineties. However, an interview with Rolling Stone in 2009 suggested that he picked up the marijuana habit again.

For the most part Haggard hasn’t had many health issues and apart from undergoing surgery in 1995 for clogged arteries, his biggest challenge came in November 2008. He was diagnosed with lung cancer and a section of his lung had to be removed. Luckily for Haggard, the surgery was successful and none of the cancer was left. But as doctors observed the condition he was in they didn’t throw out the possibility of the cancer returning. To everyone’s relief this wasn’t the case and as it turns out Haggard suffered from double pneumonia, which explained his near-death experience.

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As it stands Haggard is recovering nicely, but there is no telling when the tour is going to continue. In fact, he’s just happy that he’ll get to see another Christmas. When taking into account that Nelson is 82 and Haggard 78, it shouldn’t come as a surprise that some health issues are going to make touring more difficult. It’s also interesting to note that the venues they have chosen for this specific tour are much larger than the ones they used for their solo shows in the past, informing the fans that they want to go big this time around.

The “Django and Jimmie” tour was scheduled two months after releasing their sixth collaborative album by the same name. These two outlaws have been playing together for more than thirty years and fans will recognize the big start to their collective career as “Pancho and Lefty”. More notably, they stuck to their guns when country was facing a heavy influence from the pop genre by doubling up on everything with a twang.

Now, after thirty years they are still capable of recording an album that quickly went into the charts while receiving praise from fans and critics alike. The title of the 14 track album “Django and Jimmie” is also a song that pays tribute to Django Reinhardt and Jimmie Rodgers.

Whether Haggard will be healthy enough to continue the tour can only be speculated, but as everyone knows this legendary musician never goes down without a fight. Chances are he’ll come back in the New Year playing better than ever. But until then everyone is wishing him the best as he makes a full recovery.

Outlaw Country

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