Archive for October, 2024

Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 30 October 2024

Wednesday, October 30th, 2024

NEWS

The newest members of the Country Music Hall of Fame were inducted October 20 in an invitation-only Medallion Ceremony, held at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum’s CMA Theater. John Anderson, James Burton, and the late Toby Keith, elected by an anonymous panel of voters chosen by the Country Music Association (CMA), became the 153rd-155th members. Although the CMA won’t allow us common folk to see the televised performance, it does offer a play-by-play report on its website, which I’m drawing from here. (more…)

Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 16 October 2024

Wednesday, October 16th, 2024

NEWS

Where to begin to summarize news reports of the Garth Brooks sexual assault scandal? CNN first broke the story by reporting that Garth’s former hair and makeup artist (“Jane Roe”) had filed a lawsuit with the California Supreme Court in Los Angeles County, accusing Garth of raping and sexually assaulting her in 2019. In a statement obtained by Country Now, Garth responded by saying, “For the last two months, I have been hassled to no end with threats, lies, and tragic tales of what my future would be if I did not write a check for many millions of dollars. It has been like having a loaded gun waved in my face.” He explained that he had filed a lawsuit in Mississippi a month earlier, under the name John Doe to protect the families.

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Diane’s Country Music Newsletter — 2 October 2024

Wednesday, October 2nd, 2024

BOOK REVIEW – AMONG THE ASHES by DON REID

Can you picture Don Reid of the Statler Brothers “sitting in a dark room alone, in front of a computer screen for hours and days at a time, creating people and making up stories”? That’s how he describes writing his latest novel, Among the Ashes. In the Acknowledgments section of the book, he calls this “fun.” While readers might question that definition, they will more than likely enjoy reading the final product, which is being released for publication next week. Mercer University Press focuses on topics related to the culture of the South, which Reid enables readers to experience through his stories.

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