Our Country RoadCountry Music news and reviews

For the fourth consecutive week the #1 song on the Billboard Hot Country Chart belongs to Miranda Lambert and “The House That Built Me”. Miranda doesn’t want to take credit for the beautiful song. “It’s the lyrics that deserve the credit,” Miranda says of the song, which was written by Allen Shamblin and Tom Douglas. “It’s an amazing song, and I am so honored to have recorded it.” Miranda is facing a lot of stiff competition on the chart for next week.

Coming in at #2 is Jason Aldean with his latest single, “Crazy Town”. Aldean is looking for his fourth consecutive #1 single as his career continues to work its way to superstardom. In the #3 spot this week is Brad Paisley with “Water“. Brad spent time in the UK this week promoting the release of his “American Saturday Night” album in the UK and putting on two sold out shows. The rest of the Top 5 is the same as last week with Luke Bryan and Clay Walker switching positions with their latest hit songs.

The only newcomer to the Top 10 this week is Zac Brown Band with their single, “Free”. ZBB is looking to notch their 4th #1 single from their debut album, “Foundation”. The only song to enter the Top 20 this week is from Lady Antebellum. “Our Kind of Love” jumped up to #17 this week and had the Most Audience Increase of the week.

Four new songs enter the chart this week:
#55 Randy Rogers Band – “Too Late For Goodbye”
#56 Bomshel – “Just Fine”
#57 Steel Magnolia – “Just By Being You (Halo and Wings)”#58 George Strait – “The Breath You Take”
Check out Bomshel’s latest single “Just Fine”.

The usual trend in country music is that if an artist is big enough and not too country then they might be able to find success in the pop music world. The recent successes would be Shania Twain, Taylor Swift and Carrie Underwood. You could even add Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban (post Kidman marriage) and Brad Paisley to that list. It is rare that country music embraces artists who originate outside the country music genre. Lately there have been attempts to enter country music by pop/rock groups Nickelback and Train.

Nickelback, a Canadian rock band, led by frontman Chad Kroeger has taken the dip into country music by having Country Music Television (CMT) promote their latest single and video “This Afternoon”. Nickelback already has pop hits, “How You Remind Me” and “Photograph” that have reached the top of the US all genre charts, and now they are hoping to enter country music, as they look for continued success.



Train, the alternative rock group from San Fransisco is known for their 90s hits, “Drops of Jupiter” and “Meet Virginia”. In July, Train will be releasing to country radio a country remix of their 2009 hit song “Hey, Soul Sister”. Train’s sound isn’t very different from some of the music coming out of Nashville, so it will be interesting to see how country radio greets their crossover.
(This is the original version, not the country remix of “Hey, Soul Sister”)

In the end, country music has now become a place for all types of artists that no longer have a traditional country sound. You see artists like Uncle Kracker, Laura Bell Bundy, Kid Rock, Jessie James and Randy Houser all bring very different sounds but they fit right into the Nashville mix in 2010. It will be very interesting to chart the success of the artists coming into country music from other genres. Will this trend continue or are these two examples just exceptions? Is country music becoming more accepted by mainstream society? Is country music an opportunity for artists to get away from Lady Gaga and Justin Bieber? All of these questions will be answered sooner or later. Tell us what you think. Vote in our poll and then leave a comment about where you think the direction of country music should go.

Montgomery Gentry is wrapping up their headlining gig on the Country Throwdown Tour and releasing the music video for their latest single, “While You’re Still Young”. The single is climbing the charts and will enter the Top 30 in the next week or two. Enjoy the new video.

This is your Incredible Machine Week In Review! Come check out the inner workings of the Incredible Machine Tour. This week Sugarland takes you on the road to Sioux Falls, Kansas City and Bossier City. Next week Sugarland visits Calgary, Alberta; Edmonton, Alberta; and Vancouver, British Columbia! Keep an eye out for the next week in review video blog.

Check out the new video for Lady Antebellum’s current single, “Our Kind of Love”. The video debuted last week, but the embedding became available yesterday. Enjoy.

On Tuesday night stars were at Bridgestone Arena in Nashville for the “Nashville Rising” benefit concert hosted by Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. “Nashville will rise and that is why we have come together tonight,” proclaimed Faith Hill. “Musicians, football players, coaches, our elected officials, you in the audience, yes, we are all the same. We’re just neighbors who care and friends who want to make a difference.”

The estimated amount of money raised by the star studded concert is between 2 and 3 million dollars. Some of the biggest contributions came from the likes of BMI Records, Nashville Predators, Academy of Country Music, Outback Steakhouse and Newell Rubbermaid. More than 20 artists pictured above performed to the sold out crowd, including Taylor Swift, Carrie Underwood, Montgomery Gentry, Miranda Lambert, Blake Shelton and Luke Bryan.

One of the many highlights may have been the surprise appearance of Sandra Bullock, who came out to introduce Faith Hill. “They say a community is only as strong as its weakest link,” Bullock told the audience. “From the looks of it, there are no weak links in this community.” Her appearance brought one of the biggest cheers of the night.

Check out some of the pictures courtesy of CMT.com.

Here is Lady A’s Webisode for this Wednesday…Episode 111 from their performance at The Grand Ole Opry:

Longtime boyfriend and songwriter, Kyle Jacobs popped the question to country music star Kellie Pickler this past weekend in Florida. The two have been together for about 2 1/2 years since they were introduced through friends. Kellie a twitter faithful just tweeted, “Yes, it’s true. Can’t wait to say ‘I DO!’”.

Kellie found the proposal moment hard to imagine. “I remember saying to Kyle, ‘Baby it’s like I’m dreaming — but if this isn’t real, I’m going to be very upset!’ ”

Jacobs had a plan for the moment at sunset on the beach with a blanket, candles and champagne waiting for the couple’s arrival. “Afterward, we just held each other and had the most beautiful prayer,” Jacobs says. “We had a little champagne and talked and laughed and cried.”

Kellie joins Miranda Lambert and Carrie Underwood as country girls who are planning weddings this year. “We’re all just happy for each other,” Pickler says. “I’m sure we’ll be having some girl talk and we’ll share ideas. We just keep joking about how there must be something in the water!”

Source: People Magazine

The long goodbye of Brooks and Dunn can’t go on when Ronnie Dunn’s voice needs a break. The greatest duo in country music has been hitting the road hard with their “Last Rodeo Tour” that will end their 20 year career together. Apparently Ronnie Dunn has been singing a little too much in the past few weeks. “Following my doctor’s order, shutting up, getting well and comin’ back asap!” Dunn added to the press statement via text message. Their final stop on the “Last Rodeo Tour” was intended to be on August 10th in Nashville. This show has been moved to September 2nd. Check out all of the changes to their “Last Rodeo Tour” below.

“Last Rodeo Tour” Updated Schedule

July 16 Indianapolis, IN
July 17 St. Clairsville, OH
July 18 Cincinnati, OH
July 23 Minot, ND
July 24 Cheyenne, WY
July 25 Omaha, NE
July 29 Detroit, MI
July 30 Pittsburgh, PA
July 31 Philadelphia, PA
August 1 Washington, DC
August 6 Kansas City, MO
August 7 St. Louis, MO
August 8 Chicago, IL
August 13 Boston, MA
August 14 Hartford, CT
August 15 Virginia Beach, VA
August 22 Atlanta, GA
August 26 Cleveland, OH
August 27 Darien Lakes, NY
August 29 Bethel, NY
September 2 Nashville, TN

Luckily Dierks Bentley does not rely upon electric guitars on his new album “Up On The Ridge”. Last night on the Jimmy Kimmel Live show there were some technical difficulties that forced Dierks’ performance to be acoustic. Power or no power, Dierks Bentley sounds great. Enjoy.