After two-stepping at Midnight Rodeo, spending all my money at Antone’s Record Shop, greeting 8-foot tall Willie Nelson, and watching the glamorous motion picture “Country Strong”, I have come to realize country music is a different experience for everyone. Country has a variety of meanings.
https://storify.com/samanthagodfrey/samantha-godfrey-s-not-what-she-expected-country-e
Filed under Austin, Class work, Classic Country, Country Pop, Dancing, Movies and TV, New Traditionalism, Storify
This class has really taught me a whole lot about country music that I didn’t know before. Through experiences such as two-stepping at Midnight Rodeo, seeing the Willie Nelson statue in downtown Austin, reading about Billy Bob’s in the Texas Music Magazine and watching the ACM Awards, I have earned a great deal of respect for the entire country music scene and view country music in a whole new light.
https://storify.com/k_schlueter/experiences-of-country-music
Throughout this semester I have learned so much about country music and the whole country music scene in general We have covered everything from the roots of country music, to the greats like George Strait, to good ol’ Texas country, brand new country and beyond. I felt like I knew a lot about country music coming into this class, especially being from Cowtown, or Fort Worth, Texas. I could have never imagined just how much about county music I have learned from this class. Doing the experiences for this class have also really helped me to appreciate just how much country music has had an impact not just on me, but on the entire music community.
One of the best experiences I have had with country music, not just this semester, but in general, was two-stepping at a few dance halls in Austin and Fort Worth. I think one of the most important things about country music is that you are able to two-step to it. Not only was learning how to two step fun for me, I also enjoyed just watching people dance around the floor. Anytime a “classic” song came on, there was a whole mix of young and old people who seemed to appear out of nowhere, singing the words and dancing along, it was a really nice experience to see.
Speaking of dance halls, the article I read over Billy Bob’s was actually a really great article. It’s always a bit nostalgic to read anything pertaining to Fort Worth. As I mentioned earlier, I was born and raised just outside of Fort Worth, so I’ve spent a lot of time in the Stockyards and been to the Rodeo and Billy Bob’s a good number of times. I felt like I was an expert of everything to do with Fort Worth coming into the class. However, on one of the very first weeks of class, we read a chapter from “Honky Tonk Debutante” that was all about Fort Worth, and I learned a whole bunch of stuff about the history of Fort Worth that I never knew about, so that was something really cool to me, and it made me really appreciate this class.
Another thing I did this semester was actually sit down and watch the ACM awards. I used to watch that every year with my grandparents, but hadn’t watched in a few years when the whole “Bro-country” music scene started to take over. Even still, I sat down and watched it this year, and was actually pleasantly surprised by the show. Now, that doesn’t mean I agree with everyone that won some of the awards, but I think that happens with any awards show I watch, but still, I felt like the ACM show had a really good mix of old and new country. They even kicked off the show with one of my favorites, the King of Country, George Strait. I watched this year with a more open mind to some of the newer artist that performed, and actually found myself enjoying their performances as well as those of my favorites like Garth Brooks and Alan Jackson.
Overall, this class has taught me so much about the history and the meaning behind a lot of things relating to country music. We learned about everything from themes that frequently appear, to the lyrics used, to the structure of the songs. Now, every time I listen to country music I find myself actually trying to find the meaning of the song, instead of just listening for the fun of it. I have a whole new sense of appreciation for country music thanks to this class, and I find myself enjoying every little experience I have with it. From country standards like two-stepping, to something as simple as seeing the statue of Willie Nelson in the middle of busy downtown Austin, this class has opened my eyes to a whole new world of country music and I know that this newfound sense of appreciation will stick with me for a long time.
Filed under Austin, Awards, Class work, Classic Country, Country Pop, Dancing, Reflection, Storify
Another year has passed and another ACM awards show has come and gone. This star studded event moved from its traditional home in Nashville to the great state of Texas this year, and managed to set a new world record for most attendants at a live awards show. While there were many great performances throughout the night, I felt there were a few performances that stood out among the rest.
The show started off with the presentation of its first milestone award to the King of Country, George Strait.
George also happened to get by far the loudest crowd reaction of any of the artists throughout the whole night. He performed his classic “All My Exes Live in Texas” followed by his new single “Let it Go”. I feel like there is pretty much no better way to start off a country awards show than by having one of the best in the business kick it off. I also liked that he performed one of his classic songs that everyone knows, followed by something brand new. With all the songs today revolving around partying and drinking and having fancy lights and electric guitars playing, it was nice to pay homage to the classic sound of country music. During the performance, there were some fancy lights in the background, but mainly it was just George Strait and his band. No running through the crowd, no electric guitars, just plain and simple country music.
Later on in the show, Garth Brooks received another of the Academy’s milestone awards. He performed a song off of his latest album called “All American Kid” which is dedicated to all the men and women of the Armed Forces.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Lu9l22yBc4
I liked this performance because it paid homage to the troops and celebrated patriotism. There are lots of songs that celebrate patriotism, and I think that’s one of the more important themes in country music that not a lot of artists really sing about nowadays, so I found it kind of nice to hear the crowd cheering and see all of the artists saluting our troops.
Finally, Alan Jackson performed “Where Were You When the World Stopped Turning?”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J9P1mX54H5w
I personally thought this was the best performance of the night. Even though the song was performed at the show for the 20th anniversary of the Oklahoma City bombings but written for September 11th, I feel like the meaning still got across. It covers a sad subject, but it also reminds us to cherish the simple things, and again I think that’s something very important to country music. I think a lot of artists today try to get the meaning of simplicity and loving the simple things in life across in most of their songs, and I felt like this performance by Alan Jackson really hammered that meaning home.
While I may not agree with all the award winners, I still felt like this was one of the better ACM shows that I have watched. There was a good mixture of both new and old country artists, and the fact that they had two special performances for the troops and the OKC bombings made me really enjoy this 50th anniversary of the ACM Awards.
Filed under Awards, Classic Country, Country Pop, Live Music, Movies and TV
In December 2012, a shooter took the lives of 20 children and 6 adults in an assault on Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newton, Connecticut. It was the deadliest shooting ever to take place in an American public school.
Two and a half years later, the Sandy Hook Promise organization has put together a concert to raise funds for promoting “gun safety”. Charity concerts happen all the time, but this one is stirring controversy because the man that has agreed to headline it is one of the biggest stars in a genre of music whose fans have clung to their right to bear arms even in the face of mass shootings.
That man is Tim McGraw.
News of the concert was spread by the conservative media outlet Breitbart in an article titled “Country Singers Tim McGraw, Billy Currington Headlining Gun Control Fundraiser.” (Currington had been scheduled as the opening act.) In the comments, Breitbart‘s readers expressed their dismay, claiming that McGraw had abandoned the principles of the country music fans that bought his records. Some readers even suggested that his participation in the concert might end his career. As the user WyoAndy put it, “So I guess you will be able to see Tim McGraw and Billy Currington opening for the dixie chicks real soon at the Paramus, Nj holiday inn! They are both dead to me!”
Trigger, over at Saving Country Music, argues that Breitbart is being intentionally inflammatory. McGraw agreed to do the show because he has personal ties to one of the victims of the shooting. Moreover, the concert is raising funds for gun safety, not gun control. After the Breitbart article went viral the organization released a statement clarifying its purposes:
Sandy Hook Promise supports the 2nd Amendment and is not anti-gun. We recognize an individual’s right to bear arms and support millions of law-abiding citizens in the United States who own firearms. Our primary focus is preventing children from being harmed by gun violence…
We support policy that helps identify, intervene and stop at-risk individuals from hurting themselves or others. And, we support laws that will help to keep firearms out of the hands of dangerously ill people and criminals, as well as out of the reach of children to prevent unintentional shooting deaths and injuries that have become much too frequent.
McGraw, in a statement for The Washington Times, takes a similar stance:
Let me be clear regarding the concert for Sandy Hook given much of the erroneous reporting thus far. As a gun owner, I support gun ownership. I also believe that with gun ownership comes the responsibility of education and safety – most certainly when it relates to what we value most, our children. I can’t imagine anyone who disagrees with that…
Through a personal connection, I saw first-hand how the Sandy Hook tragedy affected families and I felt their pain. The concert is meant to do something good for a community that is recovering.
And yet despite these attempts at damage control the concert continues eliciting outrage among fans of country music. Buckling under the pressure, Currington announced on Thursday night that he would not be playing the charity concert though he will open for the other shows on McGraw’s summer tour. Guns rights advocates took Currington’s cancellation as proof that they had been right all along — that the concert had been organized to deprive them of their firearms.
The controversy raises a number of questions that I would love to hear your thoughts about in the comments (or your own posts). Why are guns such a big deal for fans of country music? Do you agree that every “authentic” country performer should support the Second Amendment? Should McGraw have agreed to perform the Sandy Hook Promise concert? Should Currington have pulled out of it?
Most importantly, do you think WyoAndy is right that the controversy signals the end of McGraw’s career? Is he the new Dixie Chicks?
Filed under Charity, Country Pop, News, Politics
As a college student who just got back from the sandy beaches of spring break, I was stunned when I heard the news that Luke Bryan is calling an end to his domination as the spring-break-southern-state-country-music-concert-phenomena. After seven years on the spring break concert scene, Luke Bryan says it is time for him to let it go of his infamous spring break series, now that he is nearing forty years old (I don’t care what he thinks, I would see him in any concert any day no matter how old he is).
I was shocked by this news because of the hype I realized he received while on my freshman year spring break trip, just two short years ago. Some friends and I had road tripped all the way down to Gulf Shores, Alabama and the entire car ride my friends played Luke Bryan’s 2013 Spring Break album Here to Party. To this day, I hear one of those songs and I can’t help but smile at the memories of lying on the beach and touching my toes in the Gulf of Mexico for the very first time. While I never got the chance to see any of his spring break concerts live, the song “Just a Sip” from that 2013 album will always bring me back to that very sunny trip to Alabama.
Luke Bryan’s reign as a country music spring break all-star started in 2009 with his album With all my Friends. From there he went on to have six more albums, and with each album came concerts in places like Gulf Shores, Alabama and
Panama City, Florida. The next six album tours were Spring Break: Hangover Edition, It’s a Shore Thing, Suntan City, Here to Party, Like We Ain’t Ever, and Checkin’ Out. His songs have been an anthem for students travelling down the beaches of America while they escape from the reality of school, homework, tests, and real life for just one week. And now, although his reign his over, those anthems will be sure to live on.
While it is always sad to think of the end of an era, it may just be a positive transition for Luke Bryan in to a new artistic light. He’s criticized with being “too bro country” for country music, but this could be a turning point in his career. He is gifted with a good voice, a pretty face, and the ability to make people want to sing along to his catchy songs. I would love to see some more out of him than just the party anthems he is most famously known for. Recently, he has dabbled in to some more somber themes that reflect on some of the hardships in his life, such as the song he sings about the loss of someone close to him “Drink a Beer.”
Although it is a bit bittersweet that Luke Bryan is ending his era as the Spring Break tyrant, I think that there are good things that lay ahead for him. I’m a Luke Bryan fan ‘til the end, and will remain loyal to him through whatever bro-country controversy that he may bring upon himself. But it is my hope that he now takes this newfound maturity at the age of almost 4 decades to reach out to more listeners with his music and show how talented he truly is.
Filed under Bro Country, Country Pop, Dancing, Live Music
