NEWS Kenny Rogers has scheduled a “Farewell Down Under Tour” for January and February in Australia and New Zealand. He has toured there as a member of the First Edition, with Dolly Parton, with Reba McEntire, and on several solo tours. He says this will be his last. The tour begins in Sydney, followed by […]
FEATURED ARTIST – REDD VOLKAERT Merle Haggard’s former lead guitar player, Redd Volkaert, is enjoying life in Austin, Texas. “I’m busy all the time–or trying to be, anyway,” he told me when I called him the other night. He has two steady gigs at the Continental Club, with his own 4-piece band on Saturday and […]
NEWS More than 2,000 items from the estate of Waylon Jennings were auctioned off last week. Waylon’s widow, Jessie Coulter, donated the proceeds to the Phoenix Children’s Hospital Charities. The highest-priced item was Buddy Holly’s 1958 Ariel Cyclone motorcycle. It sold for $457,500. Next was the $70,000 paid for a desk Johnny Cash had given […]
FEATURED ARTIST – JEANNIE SEELY “My calendar for October and November is totally insane,” Jeannie Seely said when I called to see what’s happening in her life. “I tried to slow down this year, but so many opportunities came in.” She’s reached the point in her career to be able to choose what she wants […]
NEWS George Hamilton IV, age 77, died the afternoon of September 17. He had been in critical condition at St Thomas Midtown Hospital in Nashville since suffering a heart attack four days earlier. George was born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, on July 19, 1937. He moved to Nashville in 1959 and became a member of […]
CONCERT REVIEW – MARK CHESNUTT We sang happy birthday to Mark Chesnutt (age 51) Saturday night during his show at the University of Sioux Falls. He sang his hits for ninety minutes and joked with his two guitarists and the audience. Although I was disappointed he didn’t have his band, the tradeoff was the personal […]
NEWS The American Society of Composers, Authors and Publishers (ASCAP) is celebrating its 100th anniversary with a ceremony at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel in New York City on November 17. A select group of American musical icons will be given ASCAP Centennial Awards to recognize their exceptional accomplishments. They are Garth Brooks, Billy Joel, Joan […]
FEATURE ARTICLE – ALASKA CRUISE Sioux Falls residents Cam and Sharon Lind celebrated their 7th wedding anniversary on the Alaska Cruise sponsored by Country’s Family Reunion and Larry’s Country Diner. I asked Cam to provide a report, and here’s what he said: The cruise was great and my three favorite country singers were there: Gene […]
“I feel inundated these days with music that’s telling me how country it is. What I long for more than anything is to hear how country it is.” — Vince Gill, 2012 ACM awards show As the biographer of Faron Young and Marty Robbins, I bring you these newsletters to connect […]
FEATURED ARTIST – JANIE FRICKE “What I see in my future is exactly what I’m doing right now,” Janie Fricke told me when she called the other day in response to my request for an interview. “I get surprised all the time with new offers and new possibilities.” She credits Kirt Webster with finding those […]