GRADE: A- BOOK • If you are of the opinion that country music has changed remarkably since 1998 — and you should, because it has — then it should be welcome news that the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum has just published the second edition of the

One might assume, looking at the list of only 11 cities that George Strait and Martina McBride booked for their one-month mini-tour, that Wichita made the list because of McBride’s connections to the city. But that’s not the case, Kansas native McBride s

Profile (and what a profile!) of the incredibly curvaceous, enormously popular singing star who came out of Appalachia to conquer the music world as few have ever done. After gaining success as a songwriter in the mid-1960s, Dolly became Porter Wagoner's

Grammy-Award winning songwriter Rodney Crowell and New York Times best-selling author Mary Karr have announced a collaborative album, Kin, Songs By Mary Karr and Rodney Crowell, which is due June 5, 2012 on Vanguard Records. Joe Henry produced the album,

“100 Proof” is the third country album by the American singer Kellie Pickler. Released to stores nationwide on Jan. 24, 2012, “100 Proof” is her first album and collaboration with her new producers with Frank Liddell and Luke Wooten, Lee Ann Womack and f

Back in April, the Hold Steady's Craig Finn made his debut as a solo artist right here in St. Paul. Finn joined author Chuck Klosterman for a taping of Minnesota Public Radio's "Wits" at the Fitzgerald Theater and pr

I’ll add that a major label won’t release a more auth

On Jan. 24. , country music star Kellie Pickler released her third album, 100 Proof. Pickler originally gained her stardom after reaching the top six in American Idol at the age of 19 and signing immediately with BNA records. An artist of humble backgroun

On her third album, Kellie Pickler puts aside the Nashville pop of her earlier albums and goes looking for her country soul. It's a big departure for the singer, who had her biggest hit writing with Taylor Swift. But it's also a particularly satisfying a

Kellie Pickler's album 100 Proof, out Tuesday, begins with an opening line for the ages. I stay torn between killin' him and lovin' him. In the song, Where's Tammy Wynette, the former American Idol singer invokes the spirit of the late country queen, fig

On her first trip to New York in 2005, Miranda Lambert tried to quietly soak it all in.She stood off to the side at the swanky Stone Rose lounge in Manhattan's Time Warner Center while hordes of invited media surrounded country superstars Keith Urban and

• Saying that Kellie Pickler's 100 Proof makes a nod to the singer's more traditional side, Billboard's Chuck Dauphin calls the forthcoming set "one of the Nashville's top albums since Lee Ann Womack's There's More Where That Came From seven years ago."

2012 is only a few days old, but there are a few things that we are really looking forward to in the world of country music. There are some big tours and quite a few big albums coming down the turnpike, and it's already looking to be a banner

They are historic reminders of our region's past, sprawling mansions way off the beaten path.- 4:40 pm C. Lee Ellis was born in Montgomery and has been a business leader here for almost four decades.- 4:40 pm As the season of giving gets into f

The end of the year is typically a slow period for the live-music world. But things are about to get busy. The roster of shows for 2012 is already long and abundant, with dozens of shows in venues large and small. This list covers just some of the shows

Lee Ann Womack, Little Big Town and Clay Walker have joined members of the Band of the Air Force Reserve, along with the Air Force Strings of Washington D.C. , for 'Holiday Notes From Home.' The TV special, sponsored by the Air Force Reserve Command, will

Alabama has reeled in an invitation to the BCS championship game and a rematch with No. 1 LSU.- 7:19 pm THOMASTON -- Way back when there were no such things as food stamps, Medi­care or social...- 12:05 am The big building on the southwest corn

Alabama has reeled in an invitation to the BCS championship game and a rematch with No. 1 LSU.- 7:19 pm THOMASTON -- Way back when there were no such things as food stamps, Medi­care or social...- 12:05 am The big building on the southwest corn

They are historic reminders of our region's past, sprawling mansions way off the beaten path.- 4:40 pm C. Lee Ellis was born in Montgomery and has been a business leader here for almost four decades.- 4:40 pm As the season of giving gets into f