- From Billboard.com - Country music legend Emmylou Harris will release her first album of new material in almost five years.

On on June 10 “All I Intended To Be” (Nonesuch) will be released as the follow-up to “Stumble Into Grace,” which debuted at No. 58 on the Billboard 200 in September 2003.

Harris told Billboard.com last summer she secured assistance for the new album from the McGarrigle sisters and Seldom Scene lead singer John Starling. Harris duets with the latter on Billy Joe Shaver’s “Old Five and Dimers.”

Harris, who turned 61 last week, will also be inducted April 27 into the Country Music Hall of Fame. (via the 9513)

- Crawdaddy.com asks who is the reining queen of alt.country, Lucinda Williams or Kathleen Edward?

- SF Weekly talks to Tift Merritt about her new release - Another Country, living in Paris and her new home New York.

- Billboard.com reports on a topic I’ve recently been ranting about on this blog, the recent demise of music magazines.  John Biondolillo, general manager at Dave Matthews’ ATO Records mentions part of the overall problem, a generational shift in media consumption.

“The closures of the two magazines might also reflect larger trends for indie labels promoting triple A and alt-country acts. “In the last 18 months, our focus has begun to shift away from print ads and towards online and TV advertising,” Biondolillo says.”

I don’t watch Ellen, but I found this clip over at the Hank III posting board and this kid blew me away with his cover of the June Carter’s “Ring of Fire” (nice shirt too!) Ellen’s gift at the end was pure class!

I had this article from the Dallas Morning News forwarded to me. I love Jeff Griffith’s music, it’s like the classic sounds of Charlie Rich and Charlie Pride. It’s refreshing when someone in the business has the cajones to say something like this:

“You’ve got to stand for something, and I stand for good country music,” he says by phone from his San Antonio home. “I’m
not going to let nobody come in and mold me into what I should do. I can only sing and do what I feel. Every time I travel
and perform, people are starved to death for that traditional sound.”

He’s eager to feed.

“There are people out there loving this. It ain’t got nothing to do with the money. It ain’t got nothing to do with being a
star. It’s about Jeff Griffith being known for doing traditional country music.”

Amen, hoss. Amen…

Hey Dallas and San Antonio homies, do yourself a favor and get out this weekend and check out that honky-tonk sweetheart and CMT.com blogger Sunny Sweeney at a show near you.

Sep 7 2007      9:00P Sons of Hermann Hall     Dallas, TX
Sep 8 2007     9:00P Leon Springs Dancehall w/ Rodney Hayden     San Antonio, TX

Sunny Sweeney - East Texas Pines