David Serby: Honky Tonk & Vine

David Serby: Honky Tonk & Vine (Promotial Video)

“However, Honkytonk and Vine still manages to be a musically stunning piece of work that breathes life and soul into a genre that’s been overrun with calculated guitar solos and melodic sound-alikes that deviate little from formulated templates. It’s music that demands to be noticed alongside the lyrics and is interesting where mainstream releases have recently failed–it’s not a thickly layered wall of Shinola, but rather–as Serby describes a character in “Chasin’ You”–it is “style beyond compare.” Brady Vercher, the 9513 Country Music

Hank Locklin R.I.P.

Hank Locklin: Send Me the Pillow

“Hank Locklin, a singer who first applied his searching, crystal-clear tenor voice to honky-tonk country music, then helped shape the lusher, more refined Nashville sound of the 1950s and ’60s, died on Sunday at his home in Brewton, Ala. He was 91.”

New York Times

Connie Smith: Once A Day

Connie Smith: Once a Day

It’s been over 40 years since Smith suddenly topped the country charts with her plaintive, clean, powerful take on Bill Anderson’s Once a Day, but she made it clear this night that her cut-across-the-room voice and infectious timing have lost nothing along the way.” No Depression