You know folks, I have made several promises on this website to you my dear readers and one of them was I shall NEVER “go to war” with anyone ever. But there comes a time when you need to stop letting someone stomp on you like a doormat and stand up for your rights. Tonight is the time for me my friends as my arch nemesis Joe Placzkowski AKA “Mr. Pepper Hater” has struck me blindly with a harsh meme of my faults on social media which rendered me scarred.

You see we got this guy Trigger on another website that claims to have Taylor Swift and Shooter Jennings writing hateful songs about him instead of stroking his ego, this guy Mr. Joe has printed a politically incorrect meme about my lack of alcohol consumption at music festivals. Well let me stress this right now folks, I am to date inebriated at this point in time while researching bands for the upcoming Muddy Roots Nashville Boogie. I will NOT consume alcoholic beverages during said event so I can bring the BEST coverage anywhere!

You see folks yesterday was National Earth Day and I have relevant, logical proof that Mr. Joe is not only a threat to our precious Earth, he is in fact plotting to hoard ALL “white paper plates” for his own diabolical possessions. You see folks he produces his “paper plate comics” with these plates that he hoards and also illegally creates mockeries of many of your favorite Muddy Roots festival attendees.

I don’t know folks might could he just has nothing better to do at work than PRODUCE these horrible cartoons on our precious paper plates or might could he just doesn’t know that dollar general sells PLASTIC PLATES which do not harm our Earth. Well, the reason is because I firmly rightly reckon he hates China which is where the plastic plates come from. See folks I have proof that he is not concerned with public safety as this is from his very own website:

I now have a new favorite customer. I have named him Mr. Pepper. Please do not confuse him with Dr. Pepper. Mr. Pepper just screamed in my face because we are trying to murder his seven year old child. The packages of habanero peppers are right next to the packages of mini sweet peppers, and somebody slid the little sign that says “Mini Sweet Peppers” too close to the habaner peppers. Heres basically how it went…

Mr. Pepper: “Are habanero peppers sweet?”

*I slide the label over an inch back to where it should be*

Me: “No, somebody just moved the sign over.”

*He shakes the pepper package in my face*

Mr. Pepper: “This is like this every time I come in here! The habanero peppers aren’t labeled very well!” I know what they are, but my wife doesn’t! I give these peppers to my seven year old son! If my wife gave a habanero to my son, we would be in the hospital!”

Me: “I fixed the sign.”

Mr. Pepper: “THIS IS A PUBLIC SAFETY CONCERN!”

* I take the little sign off the shelf, and he storms off*

Apparently, his wife can’t read the package That says “habanero chili peppers.” Poor Mrs. Pepper, she just can’t read very well. Mislabeled peppers are a safety concern, but not almost putting my eye out with a package of peppers, while shoving them in my face to prove a point. I guarantee right now, he’s on the internet going on a rant (much like what I am doing currently) about how stupid we are, how we are murdering the children, and how this has to be shared to save the world! We just sell peppers, but with the way people complain that we are murdering babies, I feel like the conductor on The Penguins cartoonish child abduction train from Batman Returns. These are great days we are living, bros…

So there you have it folks as I leave you with this question….will YOU stand idly by and allow THIS MAN…this Mr. Pepper hating white paper plate hoarding villain to hover over YOUR right to have a plentiful paper plate supply? I say NO NO let him use plastic which is safe.

Folks I am constantly checking on local venues in Tennessee And Kentucky to bring you the BEST possible list of bands and artists to see. This does NOT include my festival articles you must go to them and check on who’s playing where for that. Have a show YOU want to report to me? You can email.

Steve Earle And The Dukes
The Warehouse At Mt. Victor July 27th

Ricky Skaggs
Ryman Auditorium July 28th

Th’ Legendary Shack Shakers
Mercy Lounge July 29th

John Moreland
Basement Eat July 29th

David Frizzell
Troubador Theater July 30th

Ricky Skaggs And Kentucky Thunder
Beaver Dam Ampitheater August 20th

John Conlee
Lake Barkley Convention Center August 10th

Loretta Lynn
Carson Center August 12th

Mark Chesnutt
Big O Festival Owensboro Ky August 13th

Rodney Crowell and Steve Earle
Ryman Auditorium August 16th

Earl Thomas Conely
Renfro Valley August 20th

Richie Owens And The Farm Bureau
The 5 Spot August 20th

Cory Morrow
City Winery August 24rth

Nikki Lane
Live On The Green September 2nd

Elizabeth Cook
Live On The Green September 3rd

Cody Canada
Spillway September 9th

Gene Watson
Renfro Valley September 10th

John Anderson
Renfro Valley September 16th

Caleb Caudle
Americana Fest Spetember 22nd

Holly Williams
Ryman Auditorium October 1st

Ryan Bingham
Ryman Auditorium October 2nd

The Nitty Gritty Dirt Band
Schlemohorn October 4rth

John Conlee
Renfro Valley October 8th

Rhonda Vincent
Renfro Valley October 29th

John Conlee
Lagala Bowling Green Ky October 9th

Gene Watson
Kentucky Opry October 7th and 8th

Sturgill Simpsom
Ryman Auditorium October 28th and 29th

Travis Tritt
Skypac November 3rd

Charlie Daniels
Volunteer Jam 2016 November 30th

The Devil Makes Three
The Cannery Ballroom Feb 4rth 2017

Kenneth Marr has been my friend for many years, and in fact designed my logo for this website for me. He’s done graphics work for many of us, and next weekend he is throwing a backyard party with NO COVER just tip the bands. I’ll be honest I have indeed featured all of these artists and I’m hoping to hear some new tunes from John King And The Mud River Revival.

For absolute certain they were among my top albums of 2015 and every time I go see them I enjoy them more. I’m telling you this will be a family friendly event EVERYONE can attend and have fun. I honestly cannot say enough good about anybody on this bill here and I assure you next weekend I’ll have house guests for this one.

Mr. Kenneth expanded the stage to facilitate a full band now along with full lights and sound to bring you a truly fine outdoor type venue out in the country. As above stated it is a kid friendly party for the most part as I’m SURE Moondawg Hall would be most honored to play with any unattended toddlers before and after his set that night. He juggles and dances for their entertainment and can even make balloon animals.

Gravel Switch
Kendra Hope
Moondawg Hall
John King And The Mud River Revival

All of these artists I have had the opportunity to cover at the Spillway before in Bowling Green Kentucky. Now, Smith’s Grove isn’t far from Bowling Green and next week Saturday is SURE to be on hell of a fun backyard cookout complete with tons of music fun..and I’ll be there to document all the music as I usually do.

This will be my final music show until May when I cover TWO major festivals for the first time EVER..AND I host and sponsor a whole stage for the first time ever as I host the Honky Tonk stage for the Westport Roots Festival in Kansas City, Missouri. I shall also be at Opryland the 12th-15th for the Nashville Boogie so STAY TUNED for coverage of BOTH!

I have always been told my way of doing things on my website was eclectic in many forms. I don’t honestly review albums I feature them and I’ll tell you honestly “here is what you’ll get”, although I do often input my opinions. In this article I’ll tell you all about my personal experience Saturday for Record Store Day and also I’m going to feature the main reason I was looking forward to it.

I went to Mellow Matt’s in Bowling Green Kentucky because I tell you what they have the friendliest staff EVER and carry ALL the GOODIES for someone like me. Reasonably priced used LP’s and CD’s. In fact I know people in other states that paid up to 35 for the same albums I pay 20 for. Now, honestly price means nothing when I TRULY WANT the piece of music but it means I’ll spend that on more music. I also saw many festival handbills being handed out and I in turn gave out Moonrunners flyers to people and I got ones for ROMP and another festival I’m already involved with John Hartford Memorial Festival.

I got there at 6:45 and that picture is from my view of the line already at the door, and it did my heart SO good to see so many people supporting their local area record stores. Every year Shooter Jennings and his label Black Country Rock releases a new addition for us to enjoy on Record Store Day. This year he released Billy Don Burns: A Night In Room 8. And this is my feature of that album, there’s a running meme joke on facebook that I listen to the same album 7 times in a row on nights. It took me more times than that to absorb this album’s rich history and meaning.

Billy Don Burns is an overlooked Country Music Legend of our time, and sadly not everybody even recognizes his name when they discuss Country Music. He had a very prominent role in the 1970’s and 80’s as a songwriter and backing musician, who often got snuck into the Opry by Lynn Owsley when he was playing for Wanda Jackson. This was in 1972 before Lynn took a job with Ernest Tubb in 1973 and became a full time Texas Troubador, and was still getting Billy Don Burns into the Opry. He often talks about these times in his song “I Was There”.

In the early 80’s he broke off a wedding engagement to Lorrie Morgan and began Gypsy Women Music Publishing which also sent him touring around the world after writing songs for Hank Cochran, Connie Smith and Mel Tillis and many more I constantly find on my LP collection over the years, however many of the songs on the album ” A Night In Room 8″ were penned later on in his career. Some of these songs I have heard Mr. Billy perform at various times in my life and one of the songs I recognized as a cover song and that was “Lesson Too Late For The Learning” which was wrote by Tom Paxton. It was covered by hundreds of people and appears on more than 40 of my own records.

This whole album was recorded personally by Shooter Jennings in room 8 at the hotel in Joshua Tree California in the very hotel room where Gram Parsons died in 1973. It includes many stories about various things in Billy’s life and how some of the songs came about. Folks this isn’t a big huge full band production..this is an acoustic up close and personal piece of Country Music history in pure stripped down form, and I’ll be honest so far it’s my top album of 2016. It’s going to take ONE HELL of a special meaningful piece of music history to beat it’s spot, I’m not all about big huge produced projects or names.

“Dead Or Alive” was a song I recognized that is about visiting Billy The Kid’s grave in Texas. I have seen Billy perform this song many places and along with the story about smoking joints and naked women in graveyards it made the song pretty much an Outlaw Anthem in it’s own right.

“Where Was Love” was a classic Billy Don Burns tale of getting caught cheating on him by one of his girlfriends and basically he wrote it while he caught her cheating on him and she was screaming I Love You at him as she was getting dressed. The back cover is comprised of some truly iconic pictures that in my opinion are the beginning of some timeless pieces of history, one reason because the Colonel Jon Hensley is in some of them and two because My. Billy is seen playing the album in the room. Miss Mary Sparr and Miss Misty Jennings took some truly wonderful pictures of the occasion.

Another one I have heard him play was “Outlaws At The Cross” and although the other songs on the album contained more backstory this songs is one of my most enjoyable on the album. It’s a reminder than an old addict like me can be forgiven as Jesus was crucified with murderers and thieves. It makes me remember him saying “Believe In Me and Thou Shalt Be With Me In Paradise and also the fact we are supposed to do all things to his glory.

“When Gram Parsons Died I Was Playing Hank” was actually a true story he was indeed playing Hank Williams in 1973 at Opryland for a job. I have several pictures in my home museum of him doing just that. I collect a lot of artifacts from the old forgotten amusement park form a time when Country Music WAS Country.

I’ll be honest it took me awhile to become comfortable with writing this it touched my soul so deeply in many ways because pretty much people like Bobby Mackey and Billy Don Burns raised me. The people of his ilk had a very profound effect on my youth and my raising. Do I suggest this album NO I pretty much will tell you if it’s not in your collection you are pretty much not a Country Music fan, it’s stronger than a suggestion.

The Muddy Roots Spring Muddy Roots Spring Weekender
The Westport Roots Festival
Moonrunners Music Festival
Picki’n In The Pasture
John Hartford Music Festival
The Blue Ox Music Festival
The Duck Creek Log Jam

Muddy Roots Srping Weekender is one of the few Muddy Roots functions I have never been to. I did attend the first ever one in Adams Tennessee but since it has moved to the Nashville Indiana area I am usually always tied up with other projects.

I heavily support Muddy Roots other two festivals, in fact the main festival in Cookeville I have only missed one year of due to health issues. I was in the hospital and had a portion of my colon removed and had a long recovery and missed the festival, and last year the Nashville Boogie was an unprecedented success. I will be including coverage of the Nashville Boogie as much as I can it’s grown so large I cannot cover it all by myself.

Ok folks so this installment takes us to Nashville Indiana and the Brown County Campground as they present the Muddy Roots Spring Weekender. It’s a smaller more secluded version of the main festival in Cookeville which I’ll also be at. Folks I tell you what I WILL ALWAYS be working for Mr. Jason on the promotions front and he does a LOT to keep me rolling.

So how about this folks I have a map of the whole campground for you and it’s located right off of I-65. I have been to the venue for another function and it’s GORGEOUS! So this event takes place May 20th and 21st and will feature a iconic underground band that is one of the bands that started it all for me Split Lip Rayfield, in fact you will hear about them on a few festivals in 2016.

Split Lip Rayfield
The Reverend Peyton’s Big Damn Band
The Tillers
Woody Pines
The Calamity Cubes
Joseph Huber
S.S.Webb
Austin Lucas
Al Scorch
Buffalo Wabs And The Price Hill Hustle
Dead Soldiers
Glade City Rounders
Matt Heckler
Husky Burnette
RL Cole
Keenan Rainwater
Joe’s Truck Stop
White Trash Blues Revival
Monzie Leo And The Big Sky
The Imperial Rooster
Hammer And The Hatchet

You can click HERE and buy tickets and by the way I make NO money off your ticket purchase it goes ALL to the festival companies NONE of my festival articles do. As always I found some hotels in the area for those of you that are like me and do not camp. So with all this information in mind why not go set aside some time to relax and let Muddy Roots entertain you?

Brown County Cabins
Comfort Inn
Abbey Inn
Creekside Retreat
Always Inn