Chris August still can’t quite believe that a skateboarding accident almost ended it all. Instead, this week he’s celebrating the release of his highly anticipated sophomore album The Upside of Down.

The accident that resulted in a serious head injury was the latest roadblock that almost ended August’s career before it began. August had fought his way up from what he calls “a broken family,” to a record contract and a large dose of success in the Los Angeles music industry. Industry turmoil threatened to stall his career, but he released a debut album that went to #1 and won multiple awards. Just before the release of his much-anticipated sophomore album, he was hospitalized with a serious head injury from the skateboarding accident. Although he still suffers from the injury and is susceptible to pneumonia, heat exhaustion, and other maladies, he returned to work just months after the injury. Continue reading ‘Your Country’s Right Here: Chris August Adds Soul to ‘The Upside of Down’’

It’s difficult to imagine a more poignant moment than when Ricky Skaggs and his band Kentucky Thunder played a moving rendition of “You Can’t Shake Jesus,” at the recent FloydFest in southern Virginia.

Although the 15,000-plus fans that packed each of the four days of the festival heard from a top-flight roster of artists including Emmylou Harris, Brandi Carlile, the Punch Brothers, Jackson Browne, and others, it was Skaggs’ virtuoso playing and heartfelt vocals that enticed concertgoers to stand in the searing sun and cheer, even as FloydFest wound down. Although Skaggs also teamed up with Bruce Hornsby for some power-packed songs, it’s difficult to imagine anything more lovely than the set Skaggs and his band played before meeting and greeting fans.

“It’s the most unusual gospel record I’ve ever done,” Skaggs told the crowd about Mosaic, the album from which “You Can’t Shake Jesus” was taken. “It’s not bluegrass and it’s not country, but you’ll like it. It’s good.”

Anyone wanting to sum up Skaggs’ career and appeal could likely turn to that line for reference. After making a name for himself as a major country star, he moved to bluegrass and even dabbled in other formats with special interest in gospel and Christian-themed songs. The result included 24 singles on Billboard’s Top 20, including 12 at #1 and an array of awards and honors, including 14 GRAMMY Awards, eight CMA Awards (including Entertainer of the Year), eight ACM Awards, two Dove Awards and nine ICM (Inspirational Country Music) Awards.

Continue reading ‘Your Country’s Right Here: Ricky Skaggs Talks Bluegrass, Gospel, and Barry Gibb at the Grand Ole Opry’

Dazzling Elizabeth Cook had no sooner come off an incredible run with her Don Was-produced album Welder that she turned around and gave country fans another jolt with her latest album Gospel Plow, which offers southern gospel tunes with a folk-bluegrass flair. Once again, the much loved and lauded singer-songwriter has served fans a power-packed album full of vibrant, soulful songs wrapped around Cook’s lush southern vocals. As Cook prepares to again take center stage at the annual Americana Music Festival, held each September in Nashville, she took time out to talk about her latest album, her future music plans, and just what might change the whole trajectory.

OS: A lot of fans were surprised that after Welder you did Gospel Plow. What does Gospel Plow represent in your career?

EC: This is a little slice of what I do. It’s not all that I do and all that I appreciate. There are many, many layers to my connection to music.

OS: When did you first get into gospel music?

EC: It way very, very early on in my life that I began to appreciate that music. My parents send me to a Pentacostal church in my neighborhood. They didn’t go too much but they would send me. They believed in all ages in the same room at the same time and there was all kinds of great music around. That always stuck with me. I recognize it as a musical genre that I love. Elvis Presley, so many other artists that came up through the charts, loved it too.

OS: Do you see yourself doing more of this music?

EC: I may never make another album of this kind again and I may do another at some time. I don’t know.

Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Elizabeth Cook takes up the ‘Gospel Plow’’

Here we go folks. Looks like we’ve got a new Taylor Swift album on our hands.

The Nashville based singer-songwriter revealed details about Red, her fourth studio album, on Monday during a Google+ Hangout. “I have some really big news,” Swift stated during the live chat. “I’m really excited because I have a new album coming out October 22 and I wanted to tell you about it and I wanted to tell you all about it right now.”

Details about Red have been pretty scant but here’s what we know so far:

Continue reading ‘Taylor Swift Announces New Album ‘Red’ And Debuts First Single “We Are Never Ever Getting Back Together”’

While it may lack the SOPA/PIPA protests from this past January, the second week in August may prove to be an even more monumental period in the history of music piracy.

Arguably the story to break this week was Google’s formal announcement on Friday regarding websites that allegedly enable copyright infringement. “Starting next week, we will begin taking into account a new signal in our rankings: the number of valid copyright removal notices we receive for any given site,” said Amrit Singhal, SVP of Engineering at Google. ”Sites with high numbers of removal notices may appear lower in our results. This ranking change should help users find legitimate, quality sources of content more easily — whether it’s a song previewed on NPR’s music website, a TV show on Hulu or new music streamed from Spotify.”

Continue reading ‘This Week In Piracy’

Josh Thompson is only 34, but he’s looking at life through more mature eyes than he did just a few years ago. As he looks ahead to the release of his sophomore album Change, and reflects on headlining the Jagermeister tour, he talks about how he’s evolved since the release of his 2009 debut album Way Out Here, what music fans can expect next, and just how he stays centered in the ever-changing world of entertainment.

OS: So you’ve been on tour for a while. How is it going?

JT: The tour is going great. We just got back from Michigan and we’ll be back out next week. We are doing about four new songs to give people a sample of what’s coming on the next album, Change. We also do most of the “Way Out Here” record and some covers of Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, “Wagon Wheel” by Old Crow Medicine Show.

OS: So when can we expect to hear your new album?

JT: I was hoping that it would be out this year, but now I don’t know. We haven’t really discussed the scheduling.

OS: I read that it’s been a tough album for you to make, just logistically with the recording.

JT: It was. I was just trying to get in the studio whenever I was in town. It went on for about four months so it wasn’t one smooth process. It was a lot of little dates here and there.

OS: That has to be tough. How did you stay positive in the face of all of that turmoil?

JT: A lot of it is sitting down and seeing where the songs go and having faith in the musicians you use. The guys I use, I just love. I think if you keep those two things in mind, you’ll be ok. I use a lot of the older studio musicians. A lot of them toured with Waylon and George Jones and others.  Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Josh Thompson Talks Sophomore Album, NRA and Just How He Stays ‘Country’’

The headliners at this year’s FloydFest—including Alison Krauss & Union Station featuring Jerry Douglas, Ricky Skaggs, Brandi Carlile, and the Drive-By Truckers—were  as amazing as you’d expect from internationally known and much-lauded musicians. But the real treat at the 11th Annual FloydFest, a four-day world music festival in Floyd, Virg., was arguably the array of up-and-coming artists certain to burst into prominence not too far into the future.

Amber Rubarth was clearly at the front of that line. Perhaps that’s not surprising when you consider she’s a fixture on New York’s indie scene and has won such accolades as the Grand Prize in NPR’s Mountain Stage New Song Contest. Her recent album A Common Case of Disappearing, which features duets with Jason Reeves and Jason Mraz, debuted at No. 13 on iTunes. Watching her spin her musical web of alt-country, folk tunes on various stages at FloydFest, one couldn’t help but be struck by her poise and warmth, which translated into her music.

“I was really shy growing up,” said Amberth when discussing her set. “Music gave me the outlet to be able to get out my feelings and get out things I wanted to say that were more personal, even if I couldn’t say it in a conversation. It’s really powerful for me. It’s a way of healing, releasing, really.”

Those feelings translated to the audience, too, when Rubarth joined the Ivy League Hillbillies set that had nine up-and-coming musicians on stage and when she played her own sets—including a brand new song “The Maiden and the Ram,” that got the audience dancing.

Continue reading ‘Your Country’s Right Here: Amber Rubarth Wows at FloydFest’

Kip Moore’s debut title Up All Night, is well named, because the newly minted country star hasn’t had much downtime since the album came out this spring. Not only did his single “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck,” become a Platinum seller and summertime anthem but his next single “Beer Money,” is headed in the same direction. Always a road warrior, Moore has just signed onto Eric Church’s Blood, Sweat & Beers Tour and is making plenty of high-profile appearances, too. Recently Moore shared some of his precious downtime telling us about the past few month including the one thing he can’t get even though he tries and tries (hint: it’s got four wheels).

OS: So what is the story with the truck? Did you get it?

KM: I finally got a new truck! It’s great. I was driving around in it yesterday before I left and it’s great.

OS: So this is the kind of truck you sang about in “Somethin’ ‘Bout a Truck?”

KM: No, this is a new one. That was an ’86 that I wanted. I still haven’t found one of those.

OS: “Beer Money” has been doing well on the radio. Congratulations! You wrote that one, didn’t you?

KM: I wrote all the songs on the record and, you know, just growing up in my hometown I just remember feeling that way all that way through college. The whole week was all about savoring what was coming, making just enough money for fun on the weekend. Small town life can be very suppressing for a young person. When you are older and settled down, that life make sense. When you are young, everybody lives for the weekend. It was all about Ramen noodles and we had a case of the cheapest most water downed beer. But it was all great. Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Kip Moore Talks Trucks, Touring and Eric Church’

Sara Watkins may be best known for her brilliant fiddle work with Nickel Creek, but expect that to change as more critics and fans hear her extraordinary solo release Sun Midnight Sun. Clearly, the fiddle virtuoso is a solo artist with whom to be reckoned.

Watkins credits her time touring with The Decemberists for revving up her creative juices, resulting in the lush 10-track Americana album. Guests include Jackson Brown and Fiona Apple, and songs range from the Everly Brothers‘ “You’re the One I Love,” and Willie Nelson‘s “I’m a Memory,” to iconic songwriter Dan Wilson‘s “If It Pleases You.” But make no mistake, Sun Midnight Sun is all Watkins. Not only did she write or co-write the other songs on the album, but the guests and even the cover songs emerge simply as accents to her own unique songwriting.

“I really couldn’t point to my finger at any one thing,” said Watkins when asked how she honed her songwriting skills, which she’s criticized in the past. “Everyone hopes to get better at their craft and the way to do it is to write, and a lot has to do with listening to other people’s music and admiring their work and trying to get that to rub off on you in some way.”

Watkins credits co-producer and songwriting partner Blake Mills, formerly of Dawes, with providing support as she balanced her music between Nickel Creek’s bluegrass roots and a bit more rock sensibility.

Continue reading ‘Your Country’s Right Here: Sara Watkins Soars Beyond Nickel Creek’

Lauren Alaina may not have won the two Teen Choice Awards for which she was just nominated — Choice Female Country Artist and Choice TV Female Reality Star for American Idol — but she’s got plenty of other successes to celebrate.

Not only is she looking ahead to joining Sugarland‘s “In Your Hands” tour in support of her debut album Wildflower, but her new single “Eighteen Inches” has been released to radio with great success. The song, written by Carrie Underwood, Kelley Lovelace, and Ashley Gorley, which references the space between a person’s head and heart, is something which resonates strongly with Alaina.

Recently the 17-year-old American Idol season 10 runner-up and Georgia native took time out of her schedule to talk about her music, her idols, and just what she learned from recording with American Idol judge and Aerosmith frontman Steven Tyler.

OS: Let’s talk about your album and how you chose such great songs like “Eighteen Inches.”

LA: In the process of making the album I was listening to quite a few songs. I had to narrow them down to what what was going to go on the album. When I heard ["18 Inches"] that reminded me so much of my mom. She has literally gone through the exact same thing as the song. Eighteen inches is the distance between the head and the heart. It delivered such a beautiful message. I remember being very proud of being the person who sings it.

OS: I know you admire Carrie Underwood very much. Was that another reason you liked it so much?

LA: I didn’t know she wrote it [when I first heard it]. I think [my team] didn’t tell me on purpose.

Continue reading ‘Exclusive Q and A: Lauren Alaina Talks “Wildflower,” Fans and Steve Tyler’