Paying tribute to a musical legend by covering the songs is always a gamble. Artists run the risk of being compared to the legend they pay tribute to and in reality this can’t be done. Ultimately it comes down to adding personal style while implementing the inspiration that particular legend left behind. This is the case for Shooter Jennings and his tribute to the great George Jones. Apart from just listening to his music, Jennings had a personal connection with Jones thanks to his father Waylon Jennings. For Shooter, George was a family friend and his personal touch to the three cover songs is evident.
Don’t Wait Up is a short, 5 song EP Jennings recently released. It features two of his own songs and three renditions of popular George Jones songs. It’s obvious that the EP received mixed critique, but in the end beauty is in the hearing of the listener and nobody can dispute that Jennings poured a lot of emotion and thought into the 
arrangements. The first original song is entitled “Living in a Minor Key” and it was specifically written by Jennings for Jones to record. Unfortunately this never happened and Jennings decided it would be a nice fit for the short list. It is a basic tune that captures the good and the bad experiences in life perfectly, meaning Jones would’ve sung it flawlessly.
The second original song is called “Don’t Wait Up” and it sees Jennings honoring Jones with his familiar style. It is based on the thoughts of infidelity in terms of pop-culture and real life. Even though the girl in the song has no problem breaking hearts, the “hero” of the story doesn’t take it lying down. As for the cover songs, Jennings kept the focus on sounding original instead of trying to duplicate the voice of George.
Along with Katy Cole, Jennings takes on the deep and dark “If Drinking don’t Kill me”. It embodies the feeling of never ending torture through memories. No bars are open and the alcohol simply isn’t good enough to take away the pain. The duo provides a strong performance and leaves the listener with the haunting torture. 
The second cover “She Thinks I still Care” features a more electronic sound, but not without the darker touches. It tells the story of denial. Jennings admirably pushes through the song like a brave shoulder, but the words don’t hold any truth. In fact, Jennings does a great job by showing his hidden feelings while singing the supposedly detached lyrics.
The last cover song is called “The Door”. It is hard, brooding and slow, capturing the spirit of Jones in a different light. It is this mixture of sound that Jones would’ve appreciated and supported. Jennings doesn’t even remotely sound like Jones, but anyone who is familiar with his music will be able to hear the influence.
Overall it’s a solid EP and “Don’t Wait Up” can be considered as a great sentimental tribute to a hero and mentor. Instead of trying to mimic Jones, Shooter Jennings made the songs his own and that is a lot more interesting than another karaoke session.
Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson – The Story of Outlaw Country
Outlaw Country may be thought of as a branch of country music. Beginning in the late 1960s and gaining popularity in the 1970s. Origins of Outlaw Country are centered around Waylon Jennings & Willie Nelson along with Johnny Cash, Merle Haggard, David Allan Coe and his Eli Radish Band, Kris Kristofferson, Leon Russell, Hank Williams Jr., Townes Van Zandt, Billy Joe Shaver, Steve Earle, and Gary Stewart.
Here’s a video that exposes the roots of The Outlaw Movement.
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Raelyn Nelson Band
It is safe to say that the Raelyn Nelson Band, led by granddaughter of Willie Nelson, has taken the same initiative as The Cowboy Junkies did in the 80’s. Raelyn and her band members have taken the road less travelled by as they place a new spin, and maybe even genre, into the country music she grew up with. Given that their remarkable sound came after Raelyn’s collaborating with Jonathan Bright, it’s definitely something to look out for.
Origins of the Raelyn Nelson Band
Raelyn has been singing all her life, following in the footsteps of her father and grandfather. Since she was a little girl she was used to big concerts and music. From there she learnt how to play guitar at the age of 14, thanks to Willie who gave her a Martin acoustic which she still plays. For the most part she sticked to traditional country music, although her influences weren’t exclusive. As her skills with the guitar developed she started writing her own folk and country songs.
Introduction with Jonathan Bright
Just like every aspiring musician, Raelyn started looking for a place to record her songs. As fate would have it, she was introduced to Jonathan through a mutual friend. Jonathan has made quite a name for himself as a veteran musician and producer in the underground punk/rock scene. His chance meeting with Raelyn sparked something that would produce a sound unlike what country fans are used to hearing. He recorded Raelyn’s songs and afterward they decided to write a few together. They loved it so much that he asked his own band members Paulie Simmons and Preach Rutherford to join them.
Recording and Releasing their First EP
As the Raelyn Nelson Band stepped into the studio it wasn’t hard to guess that something different would be created. The band 
refers to their songs as country/garage rock, and it’s a spot on reference. Predominantly rock and punk, the touch of country flows through every track, especially the slower songs and the duet Raelyn sings with Papa Willie. What the band does quite well is switching between the more aggressive songs to the more sentimental tunes. For instance “Do You” and “Careless” is built on powerfully driven vocals while “Moon Song” takes a more controlled style. If anything this EP can be considered to be an experiment. It touches base on what they are capable of and where they plan to take it.
Some Background Info
For Raelyn tragedy struck rather early in her life when her father, Willie Nelson, Jr. “Billy”, died. She was only 7 and it might also be why her passion for music is so distinct. She also strongly believes in fighting against cruelty to animals, joining her aunt Amy in grabbing public and political attention as often as possible. For those who want to check out some life performances from the band then be sure to look at the concert they took part in last year June. It was the 80th birthday of her grandfather Willie and the whole family contributed including Willie himself.
The Raelyn Nelson Band is a rising entity that’s breathing new life into the popular country genre and generating fans from across the spectrum.
Garth Brooks Comeback
Fans will be glad to know that the country singing phenomenon, Mr. Garth Brooks, is back in the saddle and ready to break some more records. Even through his retirement he sold millions of albums and who knows what is going to happen with his latest plans and tour.
Since 1989 people have been singing along to Garth’s first hit singles, namely The Dance, Much Too Young and If Tomorrow Never Comes. From there he moved from strength to strength and placed his name among legends like Elvis Presley and The Beatles. Garth has released 19 albums during his career and 6 of them have seen diamond status. From 1991 until now he has been the best album selling artist in the USA and he still holds the record. Garth has a way of inspiring his fans and the magnitude just seems to keep growing.
Even though he hinted for several years that he would be retiring, he never really took that step. He always came back with another tour until finally he announced in 2000 that it was time to focus on family. He wanted to wait till his youngest daughter was at least 18 until stepping onto the stage again and so he left the fans with his last record Scarecrow, which was released in November 2001. Given that he only appeared for selected promotional performances, it was expected that the album wouldn’t do as good as the rest. However, he still participated in the charity foundation “Teammates for Kids” he started in 1999 along with numerous other causes.
Since 2005 he slowly started to make his way back into the music business and before announcing that his band will be taking part in a comeback tour, he has been playing at the Encore Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. His performances at the hotel were acoustic and solo, while most of the songs he played came from musicians he looked up to. This was a 5 year contract he signed in 2009 and it allowed him to spend time with his family during the week and only perform on weekends. As it stands the contract has ended and on 10 July 2014 he signed a contract with Sony Music Nashville. He also made it loud and clear that a new album will be coming and that a comeback tour is in the works.
The fans anticipation was overwhelming, because when tickets for the first show in Rosemont, Illinois went on sale Ticketmaster couldn’t handle the traffic. At least 160 000 people were in line to buy tickets, but the system simply couldn’t handle it. Only one show was planned and because Garth loves his fans so much, he added a new show every 30 minutes just to accommodate them. He finally had to stop at 10 shows for Chicago and he broke his personal record for ticket sales in this area.
If this is how the tour started then Mr. Brooks should get ready to add more dates to the other venues as well, because his fans have been waiting a long time to see him again. Get ready to enjoy the Garth Brooks Comeback tour.
