Music

Vince Gill is one of the most important country artists of his generation, but he struggled during his early days trying to establish a solo career in Nashville. In a new interview, the country icon reveals that he received an offer to join Dire Straits during those lean times, and shares why he felt like he had to turn it down.Gill came to Nashville after a successful stint as the lead singer of the pop-country group Pure Prairie League, with which he scored his first hit, "Let Me Love You...

Angel Olsen performed an intimate, stripped-down mini-set as part of the virtual Adult Swim Festival this weekend. Accompanied only by electric guitar, Olsen — who performed live, and not prerecorded, for the livestream — played four tracks from her 2020 LP Whole New Mess, itself a bare bones version of 2019’s All Mirrors: “We Are All Mirrors,” “Chance (Forever Love),” “Whole New Mess” and “Tonight (Without You).” Earlier this year, Olsen released Song of the Lark and Other Far Memories —a box set featuring Whole New Mess, All Mirrors and...

Even Carrie Underwood eats too much at Christmas time. The famously fit country singer has dropped "Stretchy Pants," a comedic pop-country song that celebrates the realities of over-indulging around the holidays.A portion of proceeds from the song will go to the Store, Brad Paisley and his wife Kimberly Williams-Paisley's not-for-profit grocery store for families lacking money for adequate nutrition. Underwood says she immediately thought of them when looking to do some good with the proceeds because, "Everybody should be able to afford feasts for the holidays, and everybody should have...

Brace yourselves: Taylor Swift has dropped a dramatic and moving short film for the long-awaited 10-minute version of “All Too Well.” Swift wrote and directed the short film, which was shot on 35mm. Sadie Sink (Stranger Things) and Dylan O’Brien (Teen Wolf) star as two doomed lovers. The story opens with them in bed, Sink’s character mesmerized by her boyfriend. They end up in upstate New York, where she abandons a scarf. Their relationship takes a turn at a dinner party, where O’Brien’s character ignores his girlfriend as he impresses...

When Little Big Town recorded "Better Man" in 2016, they made clear that Taylor Swift didn't write the song for them. It was a song she had written and felt would be perfect for the quartet, and she was right.The group's version became a No. 1 hit and won a CMA Award and a Grammy. Karen Fairchild's voice told the story of a love gone wrong over a pop-acoustic track build by Jay Joyce. Her deeper delivery is more mature than Swift's natural singing voice, and the presence of three...

Attorneys Ben Crump and Alex Hilliard have filed lawsuits on behalf of over 200 victims from the Astroworld tragedy, the two attorneys told reporters outside of Harris County Civil Courthouse on Friday. The duo have filed 93 lawsuits, including one on Friday on behalf of 90 plaintiffs.  Among those Crump is representing is the family of nine-year-old Ezra Blount, who remains in critical condition after falling off his father’s shoulders and getting trampled during the crowd rush. Crump said Blount’s family didn’t have a further update on Ezra’s health beyond...

Jason Boland's new video is truly a one-of-a-kind artistic endeavor, and he's letting Taste of Country and the Boot readers see it first in an exclusive premiere that launches on Friday morning (Nov. 12).Along with his band, the Stragglers, Boland explores some unusual subject matter in the video for "Restless Spirits," and he does it in a very unique way, using animations to tell the story of an unexplained encounter that leaves the narrator changed."She was standing in the kitchen / Her face turned towards the ceiling / Her eyes...

Taylor Swift geared up to paint the town Red for her re-recorded Taylor’s Version drop at midnight on Thursday with a couple of late-night appearances. Her first stop was as a guest on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. The audience was made up entirely of veterans in honor of Veterans Day, Fallon announced at the top of the show. Swift joined Fallon to play a round of “Box of Lies.” The game featured nine boxes with objects in it. They each then took turns describing what was in the box,...

At the CMA Awards on Wednesday night (Nov. 10), four-time Male Vocalist trophy winner Chris Stapleton and first-time CMAs performer Jennifer Hudson brought a packed house to its feet with their performance.Joined onstage by a dozen of world-class musicians, the vocal titans delivered a stratospheric and raucous rendition of "You Are My Sunshine."The duet was one of the highlights of the night, and for many in the audience, it called to mind another time when Stapleton was part of an unlikely CMA Awards team-up that led to one of the biggest...

Eric Clapton’s friends and collaborators discuss the rock legend’s anti-lockdown stance — and defend him against allegations of racism — in a new report. Following a string of anti-vaccine and anti-lockdown tracks, Rolling Stone detailed Clapton’s descent from just speaking about his vaccine skepticism to actually bankrolling it.  Clapton’s associates are similarly perplexed by his recent stance, with many labeling Clapton as largely apolitical. “He’s the anti-Bono,” Clapton’s former label manager Bill Oakes told the Washington Post. “He is the epitome of someone who is there for the music, and...

If you have a personal connection to someone in the military, talented singer-songwriter Roberta Lea's new song "Uniform" is guaranteed to make you emotional.The song, which Lea independently released on Veterans Day, is an example of expert storytelling inspired by personal life experiences. In a thread posted to her Twitter account, Lea explained the series of events that lead her to penning "Uniform.""A year ago this time, my father had a stroke and massive brain bleed," Lea wrote. "He was home alone for over 24 hours before someone found him...

John Legend has unveiled a new holiday single, “You Deserve It All.” The song was released to celebrate the singer’s signing with major label Republic Records. “I am excited to partner with Republic Records in this next chapter of my career,” Legend said in a statement. “Everyone at the label has been so wonderful to work with. I am thrilled to take this new artistic and creative journey with them and look forward to sharing new music with people soon.” “There’s just no one like John Legend,” added Republic Records...

During a period of struggle in Carly Pearce's life that included the sudden death of her producer Busbee, her divorce from fellow artist Michael Ray and a global pandemic that kept her off the road, the singer has said that country music lifted her up when she was at her lowest.On Wednesday night (Nov. 10), that continued to be the case, as Pearce walked away from the 2021 CMA Awards as its newest Female Vocalist of the Year. Backstage at the awards show, she explained that her win reinforced her...