I have a lot of projects brewing for 2019, I have already verbally or signed contracts with 4 festivals and a few small shows across America. So fret not my dear readers I shall be down in Memphis to cover the 2019 Ameripolitan Awards for you!

HERE IS my complete coverage of the event as well as my LIVE BLOG which I had fun doing last year. I’m going to embed some history of the event here, as well as the nominees for 2019 because voting is OPEN NOW, and you can vote by going HERE.

Down below I have included all the links for the bands and artists involved and will be HEAVILY tagging them on social media. PLEASE go voice YOUR opinions and VOTE for YOUR favorite band, and if you cannot make it to Memphis YOU CAN log on here for my live blog.

About Ameripolitan

We’re not leaving Country Music behind, we’re taking “real” country music with us.
The Ameripolitan Music Awards were created to benefit and acknowledge artists whose work does not readily conform to the tastes of today’s “country” or other music genres and organizations. It also provides fans with a means of finding these artists and their music.

Ameripolitan – This thought provoking word is intended to be an invitation to discuss the future of the music that is important to so many of us. By leaving the hopelessly compromised word “country” behind and exclusively using the term “Ameripolitan”, our intention is to reestablish this music’s own unique identity, elevate its significance and help reinvigorate it creatively. Also, because of our place in history, we have the privilege and responsibility to pass a great musical tradition on to future generations who will otherwise have no direct connection to this music.

We believe this extra effort is necessary because, for the majority of people under the age 50 years old, their country music experience has been vastly different. As far back as the 1970s, corporations began descending upon country music. Executives, disdainful of the great musical tradition they had inherited, were placed in charge of country music. With ruthless efficiency they separated the music from its roots, redefined the brand, until finally, they succeeded in remaking country music their own superficial image. Today, the only remaining vestige of tradition in country music is the name.

The days of debating the definition of what is, and what is not country music now seem irrelevant. No one involved in producing country music today can even begin to comprehend the argument. Alabama and Lynyrd Skynyrd are classic country to them.

In our opinion, it is time to concede the point, leave them all to their own devices, and put the whole unpleasant chapter behind us. Once we have stopped wasting our time defending the “good name” of country music or decrying the ill-suited alternatives, we can go back to where the record skipped and continue on from there.

The Ameripolitan Music genre is here. We invite all of you who love Ameripolitan Music to help spread the word.

Ameripolitan DJ

By Joshua Wallace

You might remember Josh Card as a guitar player for Whitey Morgan and The 78s or you might even remember his 2017 self titled album under Josh Card and The Restless Souls.  He is back and whether you want to call this a debut solo release or a sophomore effort, this album will make you forget about all that came before and you will simply know Josh Card as that guy with a killer honky tonk band from Florida who puts out amazing records.  He enlisted Dean Miller to produce With A Heavy Heart and this time around is by far superior to his 2017 album. This record is album of the year material and I’m saying that in a year with some amazing albums across the board.

You know exactly what you’re in for from the opening notes of “Suffer” when the whine of the fiddle and the guitars bring you into a honky tonk shuffle tune that sets the pace for the record.  Like a good opening act, this track will get your dancing feet moving as Josh ponders why he still suffers over a lost love.  Another highlight is the slower paced “Won’t Chase Your Love” which really showcases Josh’s songwriting ability. He tells a great story of a love which has died because a lover has given up his fight.

Further testament to Josh’s songwriting ability is the very personal tune “Forgotten Love”.  Like many of us, Josh Card has dealt with Alzheimer’s and this song brings that personal experience to the table and adapts it in a way that everyone who has experienced losing a loved one to the disease can relate to.  It’s a track that really pulls on the heart strings and it’s a subject matter that really deserves more time than it gets. I also really dig Josh’s take on the deep Neil Young track “Unknown Legend”. It is from Neil’s 1992 album Harvest Moon and Josh stays faithful to the original while adding some honky tonk flairs to the folksy country Young tune.

Josh Card has created one hell of a record in With A Heavy Heart.  2018 is a year that is quite heavy in good honky tonk and traditional country records and this is one of the best.  The songwriting is amazing and the players on these tracks are top notch. Dean Miller did a fantastic job with producing this album.  With A Heavy Heart is out everywhere on November 9th, 2018. Be sure to check out Josh Card on tour this month and beyond. We will have full coverage of his album release show this Friday in Jacksonville, FL at The Jacksonville Landing.

Favorite Tracks : Suffer, Won’t Chase Your Love, Better Off That Way, Forgotten Love, Devil’s Blood, If You’re Wondering

Josh Card – With A Heavy Heart (2018)

1. Suffer
2. Won’t Chase Your Love
3. Better Off That Way
4. Forgotten Love
5. Choice To Make
6. Devil’s Blood
7. Unknown Legend
8. Wait For Me
9. If You’re Wondering
10. Run On

By Joshua Wallace

The Pistol Annies have returned with a new album after each having successful solo of their own.  They have lived a lot since 2013’s Annie Up album and this record shows it. They have also tuned their sound into a more traditional country set-up that is certainly nothing like you hear on mainstream radio these days.  We here at Gary Hayes Country have been looking forward to this release since May.  Let’s find out if it lives up to our expectations.

I really dig the track “When I Was His Wife” which some can take as Miranda Lambert taking a shot at Blake Shelton, but it is vague enough that it could be applied to anyone’s ex.  Another favorite along those lines is the fun track “Got My Name Changed Back”. It’s another track that is vague, but could also be personal. One of the taglines for the record proclaims that the Pistol Annies came unleashed and told a bunch of truth.  Any songwriter can bring the truth to their music, it’s the mark of a good songwriter that can turn it into a hit and apply it to the masses.

“Levers Lullaby” is a slower track that takes the typical guy leaving the woman song and turns it around making the song from the woman’s perspective of the situation.  “Masterpiece” is a brilliantly written track comparing a relationship to a work of art or an 8 second ride or a good country song. I particularly love the pedal steel on this ballad.  You don’t get songs like this on country radio. Finally, I have to props to the title track “Interstate Gospel” and the opener “interstate Prelude”. The prelude pairs perfectly with the title track which is a barn burner sure to fit in alongside Pistol Annies classics like “I Feel A Sin Comin’ On” and “Hell On Heels”.

This new record from the Pistol Annies is exactly what you would expect from these women at this high point in their careers.  It takes the great sound and songwriting of the first two albums and just improves on it in every way. They have taken what they have learned from their solo outings and applied it here.  This record is a tour de force and one not to be missed. Be sure to pick up this album wherever you buy good music as it came out on November 2nd, 2018.

Favorite Tracks : When I Was His Wife, Got My Name Changed Back, Leavers Lullaby,  Commissary, Masterpiece, Interstate Gospel

Pistol Annies – Interstate Gospel (2018)

1. Interstate Prelude
2. Stop Drop and Roll One
3. Best Years Of My Life
4. 5 Acres Of Turnips
5. When I Was His Wife
6. Cheyenne
7. Got My Name Changed Back
8. Sugar Daddy
9. Leavers Lullaby
10. Milkman
11. Commissary
12. Masterpiece
13. Interstate Gospel
14. This Too Shall Pass