Well, I’m in the UK and this is going to be about country music!
The main prompt however is that in June I’m off to Nashville for CMA Fest. In the meantime I thought I would blog about all things country, or at least all things country that I’m interested in, sound interesting, or simply come my way.
So do why do a qualify as someone who can write about country music? Well, I didn’t know you had to have a qualification. But as you’ve asked, the very first, yes, very first concert I ever saw was Johnny Cash and that was in the early 1970s in Newcastle-Upon-Tyne, hardly a hot-bed of country music.
Since then the popularity of country music in the UK has waxed and waned. I have to admit the Dolly Parton, line dancing, pretending you live next door to the Dukes of Hazard when in fact you live in Dagenham (or anywhere else beginning with D) has never been my flavour of country. But there has always been great singer songwriters and great performers (of which more later)
More recently country has developed a whole new generation of acts (of which more later). Plus, things like C2C, Maverick magazine, and Internet radio enabling stations such as Chris Country to take to the air, are all giving country music in the UK a big push.
So this may be nothing more than a vanity project or it may turn out to be deeply insightful, either way welcome to the page and if you have thoughts on country music or particularly good acts you want to share let me know.
So here we go. Country Music UK