Music Spotlight artist Austin Moody was the first to tell me about Colonel Cobalt. Then, when B! Noticed PR messaged me about him, I decided to check him out.
The first song they sent me was “Phatt.” Their sound reminded me a little bit of the lowkey rock music my uncle used to listen to, but I don’t think “phatt” was a word back then.
Read More
Them Dirty Roses is a southern rock band from Gadsden, Alabama. Brothers James Ford and Frank Ford, along with their hometown friends Andrew Davis and Ben Crain, taught themselves to play music by learning how to bend a string and break a heart like Skynyrd and Hank.
Read More
Slash’s sixth solo project, a blues album entitled Orgy of the Damned, is out on Gibson Records. To celebrate, the iconic Grammy-winning guitarist and songwriter has curated an all-star Blues lineup for the S.E.R.P.E.N.T. Blues Festival touring North America this summer. His tour includes locations across the USA, including a stint in Franklin, Tennessee, on August 14 at the FirstBank Amphitheatre.
When asked how he came up with the title for his latest blues album, Slash told Germany’s Rock Antenne, “Blues and Rock n Roll have long been considered taboo and devil’s music—hide your kids from it —especially the Blues…”
Read More
As a product of the 80s music scene, I discovered country music later in life. When country rocker Kelsey Hickman came across my desk, I knew she was right up my alley.
Hickman is from Central Illinois. No one in her family is particularly musical, but she can remember singing all her life. She started as a tot singing Disney songs, then joined school choirs and got her first exposure singing in musicals.
Read More
Artimus Pyle, a distinguished Rock & Roll Hall of Fame member and former drummer for Lynyrd Skynyrd, unveils his tribute album, Anthems – Honoring The Music of Lynyrd Skynyrd. Nearly 47 years after the horrific plane crash that killed Lynyrd Skynyrd leader Ronnie Van Zant, a new album honoring him and the original Lynyrd Skynyrd band is being released.
I first heard the Artimus Pyle Band in 2020 when he, Dolly Parton, and others raised money to benefit the W.O. Smith Music School and the Scott Hamilton CARES Foundation. I met Pyle in May of 2022 when the former Marine was at an event honoring my ancestor, Lt. Presley O’Bannon.
Read More
As I learned last year in my original interview, Season 5 American Idol winner, Taylor Hicks is a diverse entertainer. Besides being a soulful singer and songwriter, the artist is an actor and restaurateur. A few weeks after our last interview, Taylor Hicks was asked to make his Grand Ole Opry debut, a milestone desired by many Southern singers.
He made his debut on June 18, 2023. Hicks said, “As long as I’ve been doing this, being able to grace the Opry Stage was something that I will never forget. It’s a big deal. I’ve had a lot of great invitations, and this was definitely up there for sure.”
Read More