Well folks tonight I am going through some turbulent feelings regarding some other issues transpiring within
the music world but I found another GREAT local show for you to go check out. ONCE AGAIN those fine folks at the world famous Nashville Palace bring you another world class talented show! And if you can come out and see this one you will NOT WANT to miss it folks.

Billy Yates, what can I say about him? What can I NOT say about him that isn’t less than awesome? Let me tell you this story about my time here in Music City. About 16 years ago I first came to town and I used to live over at Harding Place and Nolensville Road. It was a prime location for my plans and I worked at a grocery store over at Cool Springs and as I was working I got to talking with Billy as he was a customer. He was telling me about this song he had and it was being recorded by someone special and he gave me a sample CD. This CD had several songs on it
that were great but it had ONE on it that became a classic for me called “Choices”, it was so powerful I had to pull
over and cry until I threw up.

This song later in 2000 was cut by George Jones and placed on his album “Cold Hard Truth” and in turn would accomplish something Music Row said was impossible…it placed George Jones back on FM radio. A feat no other songwriter can acclaim for it’s release time.

Leona Williams has been wowing me for many years now, her sets are amazing and her list of songwriting credits go on for days. My favorite song she wrote was “I Think It’s Gone Forever” which was featured on the “Pancho and Lefty” album by Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard and in fact was married to Merle in 1978-1983.
She was dubbed in 1978 “San Quentin’s First Lady” and her release of the same name on vinyl is heralded as a
rare find. She continues to tour with her son, Ron.

So Thursday April 2nd go on down and enjoy some really great Country Music in one of the many great areas of Nashville.

Well folks we all know about the new inductees of 2015 from The Country Music Hall Of Fame which were Jim Ed Brown and his sisters Maxine and Bonnie, The Oak Ridge Boys and Grady Martin. Now, while every one of us have our long list of artists we want inducted in our lifetime I for one firmly believe that Grady Martin was long overdue for his induction. If you want my secret opinion mine is Jack Greene I want to see him inducted within my lifetime. Nonetheless these were the choices for 2015 and that’s not all the great goings on down there this year so far!

There are two really awesome exhibits being featured right now Tanya Tucker “Strong Enough To Bend” will be running through May of 2015 and features her whole life and career within country music. In 1974 at only sixteen she signed an unprecedented 1.4 million dollar contract with MCA records and released some of her biggest hits on those first seven years of records. Her 1978 album “T.N.T” is heralded as her finest country and rock crossover album and the exhibit also features her tabloid popular marriage to Glen Campbell.

Until August another great exhibit that is open is Ronnie Milsap “A Legend In My Time”. And honestly that is what he is..a Legend. He is credited for his crossover pop country of his time and some really great Honky Tonk Country as well. You know what folks, a lot of people say they hate pop country nowadays and that’s fine. But then they go ahead and start name dropping people like Marty Robbins and Ronnie Milsap who recorded a lot of pop country of their own era. NOW TRUE the pop country of 1970 isn’t as hokey and crappy and plastic like Jason Aldean is and you cannot compare the two. But to say “White Sportcoat And A Pink Carnation” was Traditional Country? Nope sorry, was it still a timeless classic..yes, yes it was.

This exhibit features the long struggle that Milsap had in Country Music because of his physical appearance and his close friendship with Charley Pride which was taboo at that time frame. This exhibit will feature artifacts including: Stage costume Milsap performed in during the 1970s designed by Harvey Krantz with leather fringe, embroidery, rhinestones, and mirrored discs. Satin stage costume worn by Milsap at the 1978 CMA Awards designed by Harvey Kranzt with lace overly and hundreds of rhinestones.Jacket worn by Milsap on the cover of his 1985 album Lost in the Fifties Tonight. Various awards presented to Milsap including three from the 1977 Country Music Association awards show:
Entertainer of the Year
Male Vocalist of the Year
Album of the Year for Ronnie Milsap Live
Sunglasses made for Milsap in the 1970s featuring his initials in rhinestones.Section of the customized Neve recording console with Braille labels used by Milsap at Groundstar Laboratories, the Nashville studio he owned from 1978 to 1995.

On April 1st the Hall Of Fame will be featuring some family members and guests of the families of the Legends of Country Music with an intimate celebration of their lives. And this is a GREAT opportunity to see the new Johnny Cash and Bob Dylan exhibit running all year. This is a show NOT to miss folks as they will showcase the contributions all of these fine people gave Country Music. Felice Bryant is a name that needs to be featured more in the Hall Of Fame because in 1967 she wrote “Rocky Top” which became the Tennessee state song. It was first recorded by Bobby and Sunny Osborne that same year and they were the first bluegrass band to perform with electric instruments however in 1974 they stopped because the Opry moved from the Ryman. She also wrote “We Could” for Kitty Wells and wrote for Bob Luman and most of the Everly Brothers top hits.

To my understanding this event will be included in the ticket price of admission to the Hall Of Fame and trust me this will chocked full of awesome information about some of Country Music’s finest Legends. Shooter Jennings and Jessi Colter will be on hand to share stories and remember their loved one.. Waylon Jennings, who along with Jessi and Willie Nelson and Tompall Glaser released the first ever Country Music record to go platinum “Wanted:The Outlaws” which was produced to usher in a new era of Country Music.

Jamey Johnson will also be on hand who released a whole entire album of Hank Cochran songs recently including “Make The World Go Away” made popular by Eddy Arnold who was one of the richest stars in Country Music history. He also wrote “I Fall To Pieces” by Patsy Cline. Hank was one of the most successful songwriters of all time and he is heralded as a Songwriting Legend.

Well if you remember last year I covered W B Walker’s Old Soul Radio Show when it turned one year old..well NOW it turns TWO! And this time it will not be recorded at home it will be LIVE at the V Club in Huntington WV. I’ll tell you this will be a really good show and if you can go see it live, do so.

Brandon has turned me onto quite a few artists and music in the last two years and I know him personally, he is a damn good guy. He runs one of the finest podcasts that exist today and he puts a bunch of time and work into his shows. He produces a weekly program which usually features three artists or bands that compliment each other.

Tyler Childers
Justin Wells
Arlo McKinely
Matt Woods
Brittney Avery
Hannah Aldridge
Justin Payne
The Horse Traders

Those are the eight performers that will help him celebrate his two year anniversary, and will all be performing live at the club while he broadcasts it. Last year he did a REALLY GOOD show to feature the Hank Williams lost recordings. In fact I thought it was a historic recording and I still enjoy it now. I call him the Paul Harvey of podcasts and I need to have a shirt made of that.

He has done some really good interviews in the past with people like Shooter Jennings and Unknown Hinson.His interview with Shooter Jennings and his manager Jon “The Colonel” Hensley was absolutely outstanding and was well popular on social media.

I recently drove to Lexington Kentucky for one of the last Fifth On the Floor shows and got to see Tyler Childers play live as their opener. I first learned of his music from this one year show and was blown away by his style of delivering his lyrics. He sings an old Utah Phillips song called “Rock Salt And Nails” that is a very well written song and another of my favorites he sings is ‘Bottles And Bibles”. You should tune in and check him out and I think you’ll agree Tyler is one of the most overlooked artists around.

Matt Woods…wow..just wow. He was one of my top 5 acts of Muddy Roots 2014 and his latest album “with Love From Brushy Mountain” was one of my top must have albums of 2014. He really puts on a hellacious performance when he takes the stage. I was beyond impressed with him in many ways. I gave him one hell of a good review for his Muddy Roots set last year.

Of this whole list of people as his guests there are none more loved by me than Brittany Avery, or Six Gun Britt.The two of us met on Myspace YEARS AGO and we have been friends a really long time, I have seen her grow as an artist and as an adult. I got to share in a lot of her triumphs and a lot of her setbacks in life as she struggled to find who she truly is in life. She has the prettiest little girl you will ever meet and she is adorable herself and let me tell you she can sing and play like none other! Do NOT MISS this show folks.

Last night I was invited to the Nashville Palace by Nashville’s BEST Honky Tonk Angel Riley Reed and her birthday party. They don’t come any more friendly or pretty as she does in this town. It was held in the back room of the Palace and I had a really wonderful time. I saw old friends and met some new ones too.

I met Miss Riley through the Muddy Roots crowd that attends all the festivals and they come from all walks of life. Pretty good mix of all types of people and they always treat me so good. Mr. Jason loves all guests that come to enjoy the music and not cause trouble, they just love to see plain old Gary!

There were three acts last night that played and the first one I will be touching on later, as right now I am still getting familiar with her music and I’m altogether not sure if I’m allowed to tell you about any of it yet. TRUST ME you will be told more about Tanya Montana Coe in the NEAR future, and I’m sure you will agree with me she’s REALLY awesome. Her album will be called “Silver Bullet” and that’s all I want to release right now. She needs a whole new article and rightfully deserves it.

This second act I wanted to come see, I been hearing about his show for a while now. Fiddle player Joshua Hedley. Everyone’s been telling me I MUST go down to Broadway and see his show. Let me tell you ANYBODY that starts out a set with Mel Street’s “Loving On Back Streets” is damn fine with me! This man sings REALLY Country and his band is tight. I mean this man’s delivery is the most traditional form I have heard in quite some time now. He absolutely commands the stage and your attention.

Some of the songs that he includes in his set list are “Slide Off Of Your Satin Sheets” “Tulsa Time” which by the way he did a REALLY GOOD job of. Ricky Skaggs “Hwy 40 Blues” was another one he did, and he also did my favorite Gene Watson song “Farewell Party” wrote by Country Legend Charlie Williams who died in 1992. He also played “Fourteen Carat Mind” wrote by my hero Dallas Frazier. He plays songs people can two-step too like “All My Exes Live In Texas” and more. I’ll also be featuring him in future articles too.

Hillbilly Casino was the final act of the night and they did a short set which was fine. These four guys NEVER EVER let me down, I just love to watch them play old rockabilly songs or country or whichever they choose. I have never heard a band cover “Hot For Teacher” so well. If you make deer jerky during hunting season bring them some they love it. the first song I got to see them play was the “Georgia Tornado” I was busy catching up with friends I haven’t seen in months and I was really enjoying myself. “Trainwreck Baby” was on their set list last night as well as “Heartburn And Heartache” followed by one of my favorites “The Hole”. It’s just an absolute jam and makes you want to jump around like Nic does..the singer goes nuts. “Blame It On The PBR” was second to last and their closing song was “Violets In May”. That song includes some really good playing from Ronnie Crutcher who wrote my favorite song they do “Big Dan”. These guys are going on the road soon with Yelawolf for some shows.

Folks in a few weeks I’ll be covering the Muddy Roots Rockabilly weekender which will be held at Opryland here in Nashville. Miss Riley will be doing a fashion show there and I have been planning to make that a side article. I’ll be calling her in a week or two and asking her more about what we can plan on seeing. I’ll be honest I know nothing about fashion…in fact I can barely buy socks, just ask Fishgutzz from the Gallows. Last year it rained SO HARD and I wanted to hand out dry socks, so I bought a few packs of what I thought were ALL Men’s and they ended up being Assorted sizes. Eh..it was a good thought.

Folks I have not had the opportunity to bring you Saint Christopher yet on this website live. Also on the bill tonight are The Whiskey Hill Swillers Jeremiah Cline and Danny Trashville I have featured the Swillers many times and Jeremiah got a short feature as he opened for Lickem Brown.

Spring water is off 27th avenue and is Nashville’s oldest venue. It still holds its true age well and it is not a bad place to see a show. As I type this the Swillers are loading up their gear. The connection is really fast here this will be an easy job until my short lived tablet battery dies.

I got to have a nice talk with Mr. Jeremiah this time. This is a smoking venue so I’ll warn people now for those who haven’t been here. It is a spacious place and you don’t get crowded as easily. In fact it has an sold fashioned cigarette machine which kind of adds nostalgia. I enjoy his knowledge of the oldest music and oldest artists of a genre he holds dear.

The Whiskey Hill Swillers have added drums and changed to a stand up bass and I am looming forward to hearing them with these changes. The place is filling up pretty good now for its size this isn’t a bad crowd at all. This is how you fight for your local music and local bands especially the ones that live on the road.

First up was Jeremiah Cline who entertains with stories as well as songs. His first song was called “Big Sciota”. He followed that with “Fall On My Knees”. His next song came with a story of an old prison “Walking Boss” and it was very interesting I’d like to some day hear the entire story. I’m pretty sure his next song was”Old Grey Mare” and he closed with “I’ve Endured”. He brings a very old historic sound to the stage and he knows his history,its always fun to talk with him about old timey music.

Danny Trashville was next and he said he had been up for many hours,he is a hard hitting road warrior and let me tell you it shows. He is an absolute riot to watch play and his first song was very well written..in fact the very first line grabbed me. His first song was called “Pawn Shop” and I think you should check it out. His second song was called “Belly” and he said it was off his first album. He is a very talented songwriter with his lyrics,and is very inventive in a way everyone can relate to. He also plays for the Hudson Falcons and I hope he got a good night’s sleep because he is a very hard worker. His next song was “The King Is Dead” and was a pretty long song you had to hang on to get the whole idea. His next song “in My Dreams” and “can’t Wait” I missed bits and pieces of as I was talking with a facebook friend.

His next song was called “Want Money Want Stuff” and it was a complete masterpiece. It included the audience and if you can’t relate to this song you aren’t human. His setlist included some really well written songs. Absolutely blew me away and I had no idea of his abilities. Because “Turn Left” was a race car song parody and it was also a good crowd including song..easy to learn and follow in with and a whole lot of fun. And his NEXT song “Greener Grass” was another absolute masterpiece in his writing. The lines within his songs are really well done! He closed his set with “One Wild Woman”.

Whiskey Hill Swillers are absolutely growing as a band and have tightened their sound and changed their approach if you will. They aren’t a string band anymore they are more punk sounding and more tight than EVER before. They have added a drummer and an electric bass now and it truly was a different form of the songs I am familiar with. BEST SET I ever saw them play before and I have seen them many times. If you like this type of music you will REALLY enjoy their new format. They opened their set with “The End” and I’m not sure I ever heard that song before I don’t remember O’l D.B. singing but it was nice to get to sit and talk with him last night. They followed up with “Whiskey Calling” and “wanna Know” like I said a lot of these songs were really like hearing them all over again new. It was a totally different format. “Dark” and “Loosing Hope” are staple songs in their set list as well, you will get to hear them every time. ‘Something’s Wrong” and “Hollow Eyes” are always good songs and this time they played a cover song. They played a song by Merle Haggard called “Mama Tried” which is off the 1968 album of the same name. Although it he was released from San Quentin Prison in 1960 it wasn’t until 1972 governor Ronald Reagan granted Merle Haggard a full pardon. His original pardon is now on display in the Smithsonian Institute. They closed their set with “Make It Right”.

Some people might not like the type of music Saint Christopher plays but to be honest you cannot label it. He proves a good point that you just cannot call it Country or Punk or Metal, and he quickly proves every label wrong. You either like his music or you don’t, there is no in between and I feature it on here because I like it. Who am I to say it’s not hardcore Country? He opened his set with a song I missed cause I was outside for a second but his second song was “1000 Miles” and he had a drummer that flew to a prior show on short notice to play, he did a great job last night. One of my two favorite songs he does “Don’t Come Looking For Redemption” was next and then he played “Revolution MF’er”. His message is clear..there is no labels or corporate love here, organized religion and politics do not exist in this man’s world. He says some powerful things and stands by his sayings in his music and his life. Whether or not I agree is my secret opinion…do I respect him..hell yes I do. He’s honest and he is good to those who come support him. His next song is my favorite “Ride” I relate to it very well.

“Saint Christopher’s Blues” was next and he then played a new song called “Wishing And Waiting Hoping And Dying” and I hope he records it sometime because the message within was powerful in many ways. “Right To Die” was next and like I said this man’s music is different from all others in the way it’s presented. It is some of the most unique music you will ever find. Th next song was “The Devil Always Wears A Suit” and it’s a song that made me think about things even in my everyday life. He closed his set with “Stomp And Shout”, I was struggling with my tablet battery during two of his last songs.

All in All I had a wonderful time out last night and I enjoyed all the new music, the old music and the new formats.
It was one hell of a fun show and it wore my old butt out. I hope that all these guys are careful on the roads and I hope to see you soon.