Well folks for those of you that do actually know me you know darn well I spend countless hours at home listening to albums and researching bands to feature on here. I have found a treasure trove of new 2016 music that didn’t make my TOP 50 list of 2016 but however DID reserve the right to be included within their own article so it could be brought out to the public as well.

First and foremost this article isn’t going anywhere and I’ll try my best to provide links to all these albums and provide you with an opportunity to buy what you like on it. Some of these bands and titles I have not bought a copy of on physical CD or vinyl I just have electronically. I’ll go back over it in January and buy the rest of it if I know I’ll not be seeing them on the road.

You know 2016 has indeed been a rough year so far on deaths in Country Music and just as it has brought out some great new music it has taken some pretty damn good Legends of Country Music as well. Springtime was especially rough for me as a fan to be honest.

Those that know me know I also spend hours watching music and going to shows, and attending festivals. I love to be around it and I love visiting all my friends in different areas and seeing new places. I have been truly blessed in the past few years with all my new experiences and discoveries, so without further blabbing here’s a list of honorable mentions of new music from 2016:

Hard Working Americans- Rest In Chaos
Michael Martin Murphy- High Stakes Cowboy Songs VII
Chris King- Animal
Johnny Lee- You Ain’t Never Been To Texas
Austin Allsup- This Weary Land
Dallas Wayne- Songs The Jukebox Taught Me
The Reverend Horton Heat- Hardscrabble Woman
Al Scorch- Circle Round The Signs
John Doe- The Westerner
The Horse Traders- I Don’t Mind
Fireball Mail- Bending The Rails
Daniel Romano- Mosey
The Local Honeys- Little Girls Acting Like Men
Bonnie Bishop- Ain’t Who I Was
Elizabeth Cook- Exodus Of Venus
Nester Andress- Falling In Love
Mike Ryan- Mill And Music City
Adam lee- Sincerely, Me
Bradley Walker- Call Me Old Fashioned
Red Simpson- Soda Pops And Saturdays
Austin Lucas- Between The Moon And The Midwest
the Boxcars- Familiar With The Ground
Chain Station- Where I Want To Be
Don Gates- Almost A Cowboy
Sierra Hull- Weighted Mind
The Wild Feathers- Lonely Is A Lifetime
Cooder Graw- Love To Live By
Jill Kinsey- Just Jill
Lorrie Morgan- Letting Go…Slow
Aubrie Sellers- New City Blues
Jeff Shepherd And The Jailhouse Poets
Gene Watson- Real Country Music
Casey Miller And The Barnyard Stompers
Dori Freeman
Greensky Bluegrass- Shouted, Written Down And Quoted
fruitition- Labor Of Love
Sister Sparrow And The Dirty Birds- Fowl Play
Reckless Kelly- Sunset Motel
Midnight River Choir- Fresh Air
Robert Earl Keen- Live Diner Reunion
Whiskey Myers- Mud
Tami Neilson- Don’t Be Afraid
Tim Easton- American Fork
Cody Johnson- Gotta Be Me
Kree Harrison- This Old Thing
The Goodmans- Live In Texas An Unforgettable Evening
The Royal Hounds- Poker All Night
Ryan Cain And The Ables- Cupid And The Devil
Pat Reedy And The Longtime Goners- Highway Bound
The Mavericks- All Night Live Volume 1.
Tanya Tucker- Live At Church Street Station
The Bottle Rockets- Audio Tree Live
Dale Watson- Under The Influence
Dallas Moore- Live At The Bulliet County Jail
JonEmery Dods- Americana
Willie Nelson- Willie Sings Gershwin
Those Poor Bastards- Sing It Ugly
Vince Gill- Down To My Last Bad Habit
Hank Williams Junior- It’s About Time
Larry Keel- Memories
Mack McKenzie- A Million Miles
Grant Lee Phillips- The Narrows
Parker Milsap- The Very Last Day
Waco Brothers- Going Down In History
Lucinda Williams- The Ghost Of Highway 20
Greg Garing- Am I Even A Memory
Chris Gantry- Nashville Rhapsody
Flatland Cavalry- Humble Folks
Lincoln Durham- Revelations Of A Mind Unraveling
Truck Stop Gamblers- Here
Sweet Ga Brown- Weapons
Hayes Carll- Lovers And Leavers
Derek Hoke- Southern Moon
Western Centuries- Weight Of The World
Boo ray- Sea Of Lights
Jake Flint- I’m Not Ok
The Time Jumpers- Kid Sister
Lydia Loveless- Real
Dex Romweber- Carrobo
Luke Winslow-King- I’m Glad Trouble Don’t Last Always
Wade Bowen- Then Sings My Soul
The Drunken Cuddle- Electric Cat
Wayne Hancock- Slingi’n Rhythm
Jackson Taylor- Which Way Is Up
Robbie Fulks- Upland Stories
Darrell Scott- Couchville Sessions
Rob Baird- Wrong Side of The River
Aaron Einhouse- It Ain’t Pretty
Moondawg Hall- Road To Sanity
Terry Allen- Lubbock
Paul Cauthen- My Gospel
Brandon Jenkins- The Flag
Jamestown Revival- The Education Of A Wandering Man
Todd Snider- Eastside Bulldog
The Avett Brothers- True Sadness
B J Barham- Rockingham
Emmylou Harris- The Complete Trio Collections
Rodney Parker- Bomber Heights
Amanda Shires- My Piece Of Land
Chatam County Line- Autumn
Casey Donahew- All Night Party
John Paul White- Beulah
Lori McKenna- The Bird And The Rifle
The Gibbonses- Among The Rubble
Chris Stalcup- Downhearted Fools
The Earls Of Leichester- Rattle and Roar
Paul Eason- Black Horse Mesa
Sean McConnell
Dolly Shine- Walkabout
Lew Card- Follow Me Down
Green River Ordinance- Fifteen
Austin Meade- Heartbreak Coming
Casey Daniels Band- Backroads And Moonshine
Logan Mize- Ain’t Always Pretty
Jimmy LaFave- Trail Five
John Clay- Now It’s Time
One Crow Sorrow- Something To Value
Campbell Station- Already Gone
Anna Elizabeth Laube- Tree
Clint Bradley- Riding After Midnight
Creed Fisher- Rednecks Like Us
Kalyn Fay- Bible Belt
Rachel Laven- Love And Luccheses
Nick Dittmeier And The Saw Dusters- Midwest Heart
On Safari- Kentucky Headhunters
Tattoed Heart- Ronnie Dunn
Got Dressed Up To Be Let Down- Jack Grelle
Michigan Rattlers- Michigan Rattlers
Babe Miller- Room 242
Jericho Woods- Better Now

Much like many other powerhouse Legends that pass on (recently Merle Haggard) there is usually a release of some unheard music laying around that someone unearths and bestows upon collectors and fans that still haven’t totally embraced the loss.

Whatever your reason I wanted to let you know about this project that has been produced by Robbie Turner, who produced Waylon’s last ten albums of his career. Now the funny thing is this album is from the 1970’s time frame of his career when he was transitioning from conformity to his Outlaw tenure.

You can click HERE and pre-order this must have for any Waylon die hard collector.

• Only Daddy That’ll Walk The Line
• The Choking Kind
• Stop The World And Let Me Off
• Anita, You’re Dreaming
• Just To Satisfy You
• Green River
• Singer Of Sad Songs
• Love Of The Common People
• MacArthur Park
• Brown Eyed Handsome Man
• Mental Revenge
• Time To Bum Again
• Sunday Mornin’ Comin’ Down
• Young Widow Brown

Often times even family hasn’t a clue what sort of recordings exist in obscure places that the public hasn’t yet heard, and more often than not they haven’t heard it themselves. I enjoy learning about recordings like this from the more obscure artists that according to the charts were “underdogs”. I know for a fact there is quite a bit of unreleased Porter Wagoner material owned by others that hasn’t been packaged for public distribution yet.

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.

Sarah Gayle Meech
Nudies December 27th

Billy Joe Shaver
The Warehouse Mt. Victor December 28th

Unknown Hinson
Exit In December 30th

John Prine
Jason Isbell
Kacey Musgraves
Ryman Auditorium December 31st

Old Crow Medicine Show
Ryman Auditorium December 31st

Marty Stuart and his Fabulous Superaltives
Nashville City Winery December 31st

Rhonda Vincent
3rd And Lindsley January 2nd

Joshua Hedley
The Basement East January 7th

Jeannie Seely
3rd And Lindsley January 10th

The Steeldrivers and Kelsey Waldon
Glasgow Plaza Theater January 13th

Greensky Bluegrass
Marathon Music Works January 14th

Elizabeth Cook
3rd And Lindsley January 15th

Tyler Childers
Basement Nashville Tn January 15th

Joshua Hedley
Nashville Palace January 16th and 17th

Steve Earle
Colter Wall
Nashville City Winery January 19th

Yonder Mountain String Band
3rd And Lindsley January 29th

Shovels And Rope
Ryman Auditorium Feb 2nd and 3rd

The Devil Makes Three
The Cannery Ballroom Feb 4rth 2017

Hillbilly Casino
The Warehouse Clarksville Tn Feb 4th

Roger Alan Wade
The 5 Spot Feb 9th

Gene Watson
Nashville Palace Feb 10th

Martina McBride
Ryman Auditorium Feb 11th

Ronnie Milsap
Schemerhorn Symphony Center March 5th 2017

Hillbilly Casino
The 5 Spot March 18th

Kasey Chambers
3rd And Lindsley March 26th

Rye Davis
Kellers April 8th

John Conlee
Merle Travis Music Center May 5th 2017

Right in time for the holiday season (and every website’s Top 50 or 100) powerhouse George Strait announces the release of his part 2 box set Strait Out Of The Box Part 2. He officially retired from touring in 2014 but he does do some appearances in Las Vegas, however the tickets are high dollar.

This box set will be available November 18th exclusively through Wal Mart only and contains 56 tracks, including 26 No. 1 hit singles, other radio hits, 18 album cuts and two new songs, including Strait’s new single, Goin Goin Gone. Strait personally selected the songs that make up the new collection. The follow-up to the 8X platinum-selling Strait Out of the Box from 1995, the new collection culls tracks from Strait’s career spanning from 1996 to the present.

Folks this past August The Grand Ole Opry Legend Mike Snider arranged to have a true living legend perform on the Opry Saturday night show, and sadly I missed it but as I rest from a sickness today I feel the need to write about this today, especially because October 21st she will celebrate being 100 years old.

You know other websites are out there that feature the types of bands I do and they all write articles bashing the Opry and consistently touch on the nasty things that management is doing to snuff out the Legends on it, and although I agree with them I think to waste time on the negative is a loss to people like this woman because nobody is focusing on the positive things the Opry does.

Miss Violet comes from the state of Missouri deep within the confines of the Ozark Mountains and has been a staple member of the Silver Dollar City theme park in Branson music scene for many years now. She comes from the community of Yellville Arkansas and in Branson she still entertains people with the very fiddles she built with her own hands in a style that nobody has ever rivaled in her 100 years.

She known for balancing a fiddle atop her head and playing a lightning fast speeds sometimes while clogging in tune, and has built by hand 74 fiddles in her tenure. Because of this she is often referred to as the “Whittlin’ Fiddler” and will be playing a huge birthday bash in Branson next week.

Arkansas fiddler Tim Crouch found her and contacted Mike Snider who arranged to bring her onto the Opry stage this past August during his segment he hosted as he usually does. She is one of America’s first nationally known fiddle players and fiddle makers, and while she does not remember the Opry’s first performer a fiddle player named Uncle Jimmy Thompson she does remember the early days of Roy Acuff who came to the Opry in 1939.

I thought it was truly a blessing to the Opry and Country Music as a whole to recognize this icon in her own right and bring forth to future generations of fiddling youth the undisclosed Legends that most people don’t know exist. And like I previously said you won’t hear about events like these from many other sources.