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I was raised on country and bluegrass music, and while I have since mostly moved on to other genres, I may just have a little Dixie Chicks, George Strait and Kenny Chesney among the "most played" options on my iPod. And while I've heard a lot of people say "anything but country" when it comes to their musical tastes, the truth is that many old and newer-school artists have gone far beyond lost-my-car-my-dog-and-my-woman-or-man cliches to turn out some of the best music in America.
Really.
From traditional and popular to alt and Americana, here are some of the blogs that feature the best country music commentary, including artist interviews, album and concert reviews, industry news, a download or two and pretty much anything else you'd want to know about country music.
Great Country Music Blogs
- My Kind of Country -- This group blog includes lots of album reviews, some CD giveaways and a fun feature called Classic Rewind that features YouTube videos of old hit songs. I also like the weekly mini-music history lessons in the lists of hit albums and singles for that date throughout the decades. Contributor Lisa aka Occasional Hope does lots of album reviews and Classic Rewinds, and Megan Morrow has pitched in some reviews as well.
- Nashville at Nite -- Carrie Smith is an interviewer who seems to pop up at all of Nashville's industry events for conversations with musicians like Little Big Town and the folks who run famous venues like the Grand Ole Opry's Ryman Auditorium.
- Melodic Sunburst -- Carolyn Dixon calls this an "obscure little blog" consisting of recommendations, news and the "occasional musing." Like all of the best blogs, she says it's an excuse for her to write about what she likes. She includes lots of videos and personal reviews of songs and albums -- pop, Americana and folk in addition to a country focus -- from my favorite vantage point: that of a real fan.
- Nashville Gab -- Shannon is the "Bloggin' Mama" behind this site that includes a fair amount of country music industry gossip along with show reviews and event updates.
- Country Universe -- I'm really a fan of Country Universe's design, but I'm a geek like that. Leeann Ward and Tara Seetharam present excellent reviews of albums and singles, with a few "favorite CD" lists and other country music musings thrown in. I loved Tara's post about Lady Antebellum's "American Honey" -- and her consideration of why we're emotionally moved by fairly simplistic songs. Guilty.
- The 9513 -- The 9513 calls itself "the web's premier country music blog," and although I'm not sure who's giving out that designation, it is a pretty cool site. Karlie Justice and Juli Thanki are senior writers. I love Juli's latest "Friday Five" listing off five songs about teeth -- "Snaggle Toothed Mama" by Those Darlin's, anyone? Justice writes thoughtful pieces, too, like this consideration of the Dixie Chicks. I like the focus on artistry and female performers.
- The Boot -- AOL's country music blog -- has several female contributors, including Deborah Evans-Price, Alanna, Conaway, Nancy Dunham and Donna Hughes. More mainstream media sites may not appear to lend themselves to as much personality, but I do like the song lists -- 10 Best Friend Songs, by Meagan Morris, ran in April -- and the Stories Behind the Songs is a cool feature.
Who do you know who writes about music?
-- As I said, I really enjoy personal musings on music, which are pretty common, actually, even on blogs that aren't specifically musical. It's such a personal interest and I like to read when people share what they love (or, sometimes, don't.) Meghan at A Mom Two Boys recently posted Tune Into Friday, sharing what she'd found in her usual forays into iTunes and CMT.com when it was slow at work. Her discoveries last week were tunes by Lady Antebellum and the Zac Brown Band. And, she said, "If you're not a country music fan, don't be scared. They're not twangy."
Laurie White writes at LaurieWrites. Her photos are on Flickr.
