Music

Radiohead’s Thom Yorke paid tribute to MF DOOM on social media Saturday following news of the enigmatic rapper’s death at the age of 49. “I am so sad to hear MF Doom’s passing,” Yorke tweeted. “He was a massive inspiration to so many of us, changed things.. for me the way he put words was often shocking in genius, using stream of consciousness in a way I’d never heard before.” Yorke has made rare appearances on hip-hop releases over his career, including — with bandmate Jonny Greenwood — contributing beats...

Some artists take years to earn mainstream recognition, much less success. But Dustin Lynch, who moved to Nashville at age 18 to be a professional songwriter, struck platinum with his debut single, 2012's "Cowboys and Angels." The artist released the track nine years ago this month.Co-written by Josh Leo and Tim Nichols, "Cowboys and Angels" is an ode to a relationship between two people who seem to be polar opposites — specifically, cowboys and angels."I've got boots, and she's got wings," Lynch sings. "I'm hell on wheels, and she's heavenly...

Blake Shelton rang in the new year by dropping a new song by surprise. The country superstar joined his The Voice cohort Carson Daly on the NBC's New Year's Eve television special on Thursday night (Dec. 31) to share the video for a new song titled "Minimum Wage."Shelton joined Daly in a virtual appearance on the holiday special, wearing a cowboy hat as he told Daly that his fiancee Gwen Stefani's brother, Todd, directed the new video, which has since been removed from the internet. Todd previously directed the video...

Austin City Limits aired for the first time on Jan. 2, 1975. A stripped-down take on the musical variety show, ACL shed that glamour, glitz and cheeky comedy of the 1960s' musical television offerings. Originally intended to promote the artists and music of Texas, the show has now become a major platform for artists of all genres and locations, solidifying Austin as a musical mecca in its own right.From its first show -- which featured Austin's own outlaw country star Willie Nelson -- Austin City Limits hasn't worried about appeasing traditionalists with its selection of...

Faith Hill songs are some of the most popular of the last 20-plus years. Since her debut in 1993, the country superstar has sold more than 30 million records and scored more than a dozen No. 1 hits.From traditional-leaning material to uptempo contemporary country, Hill has recorded some of the best songs to come out of Music City in recent memory. Her strong vocal delivery powers all of her songs, from emotional, heart-wrenching ballads to fun, lighthearted fare. The Boot's list of the Top 10 Faith Hill Songs draws from...

Eleven years ago today, on Jan. 1, 2010, singer-songwriter Jimmy Wayne kicked off the new year by starting a 1,700-mile walk, called Meet Me Halfway, to raise awareness about youth aging out of the foster care system.Wayne first had the idea for the walk in December 2009, while enjoying the comforts of his warm home: "This guilty feeling came over me," he recalls. "Here I am, living life. I'm comfortable. I'd been on the Brad Paisley tour for a lot of the year, and I just didn't feel like I'd done anything to make...

Rissi Palmer is a passionate voice for country artists of color and those who have been marginalized in mainstream country music. When Taste of Country asked her to curate a list of songs that are essential to know going into the new year, she delivered a strong and exceptionally diverse list of artists and songs, some of which might otherwise escape fans' attention.Palmer debuted with "Country Girl" in 2007, making her the first Black female country singer to chart a single on Billboard's Hot Country Songs chart in 20 years....

“I feel like you, Joe Biden and Dua Lipa are the only people that had a good 2020,” Jimmy Kimmel joked to John Mulaney last month. Kylie Minogue agreed, tapping her dance-pop peer for a “Studio 2054” remix of “Real Groove,” the third single off her recently release album Disco. The original song was a perfect slice of dancefloor disco-pop, blending a throbbing funk bassline with Minogue’s Europop-inspired vocal melodies. The remix speeds up the original, adds some more layered instrumentation and features Lipa layering her vocals over Minogue’s sultry coo....

So, How Was Your 2020? is a series in which our favorite entertainers answer our questionnaire about the music, culture and memorable moments that shaped their year. We’ll be rolling these pieces out throughout December. 2020 found the Old 97’s making a new album under conditions that encapsulated this disastrous year: Recording in Nashville amid a devastating tornado and on the precipice of a deadly pandemic. The resulting LP was Twelfth, released this summer, but frontman Rhett Miller still found time to do things in quarantine, like hosting his Wheels Off...

Rascal Flatts singer Gary LeVox gave a radio interview on Wednesday morning (Dec. 30) to clarify his position about a controversial post he made to social media after the Nashville bombing on Christmas morning (Dec. 25), explaining that he's simply asking questions about what might have taken place.Investigators say that 63-year-old Anthony Quinn Warner packed his RV with explosives, parked it near Second Avenue North and Commerce Street in downtown Nashville in the early morning hours and blew it up, causing tremendous damage to a historic section of Music City.Bizarre...

Wedding bells are in the air for a Runaway June bandmate for the second time in a month. Jennifer Wayne shared on Wednesday (Dec. 30) that she's engaged to country singer-songwriter Austin Moody.Moody popped the question on Monday afternoon (Dec. 28) outside of Nashville's Ocean Way Recording Studios, according to People, who also shares a series of photos of the special moment.Wayne's happy news comes just a couple of weeks after her fellow trio member Naomi Cooke also got engaged, to Boys Like Girls singer Martin Johnson. Johnson co-wrote "Christmas on the...

When Jan. 1 rolls around, people all over the world make their resolutions for the new year, but Dolly Parton isn't one of them. The country music hitmaker says she learned a long time ago that the motivational tool doesn't work for her."It's always the same thing: I'm gonna exercise more this year, I'm gonna eat better," Parton shared in 2014. "And that lasts for a couple of weeks, and then I'm right back where I started. So I don't make 'em 'cause I always break 'em."That's not to say...

So, How Was Your 2020? is a series in which our favorite entertainers answer our questionnaire about the music, culture and memorable moments that shaped their year. We’ll be rolling these pieces out throughout December. Dierks Bentley and his family were vacationing in Colorado when the pandemic began and Tennessee schools went remote, so they spent several weeks after that getting outdoors on mountain trails and riding their bikes. In the midst of it, Bentley was helping promote the debut album by Hot Country Knights, a faux Nineties country group in...