Kevin John Coyne

Single Review: Kenny Chesney, “Noise”

April 5, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 5

“We didn’t turn it on, but we can’t turn it off.”

Single Review: Blake Shelton, “Came Here to Forget”

April 4, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 2

This is the strongest song that Blake Shelton has recorded in a very long time. It’s incisively bitter, with a cold cynicism that drips with the unvarnished truth.

Single Review: Carrie Underwood, “Church Bells”

April 4, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 15

Miranda Lambert may have the reputation as the genre’s rebel girl, but I’d be a lot more nervous about crossing Carrie Underwood.

2016 ACM Awards: Winners List

April 3, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 6

Entertainer: Jason Aldean

2016 ACM Awards: Personal Picks & Predictions

April 3, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 17

Tonight’s ACM Awards will be hosted by Dierks Bentley and Luke Bryan. Slated performances include a collaboration between Dolly Parton and Katy Perry, and Miranda Lambert joining up with Billy Gibbons and Keith Urban to cover the ZZ Top song, “Tush.”

Country music in 2016, y’all.

Throwback Thursday: Pam Tillis, “Maybe it Was Memphis”

March 24, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 4

It’s impossible to overestimate the significance of “Maybe it Was Memphis” for Pam Tillis. The fourth single from her debut country album, Put Yourself in My Place, it pushed that album to gold status, becoming her signature song and launching her to stardom.

Single Review: Zac Brown Band, “Beautiful Drug”

March 9, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 5

Sometimes pushing musical boundaries reveals new depths of talent that you didn’t know an artist had.

2016 Grammy Winners

February 15, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 1

Here are this year’s Grammy winners in the general, country, and country-adjacent categories.

2016 Grammy Awards: Staff Picks & Predictions

February 14, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 19

The good folks at NARAS know how to keep things interesting, producing yet another diverse crop of nominees in the general, country, and country-adjacent fields.

Here are the personal picks from some of our contributing staff, along with who we predict will take home the gold tomorrow.

Single Review: Reba McEntire, “Just Like Them Horses”

February 5, 2016 Kevin John Coyne 8

It’s hard to put into words how exquisitely beautiful this record is. But if you’re familiar with Reba McEntire’s body of work, I’ll start by saying this. It could be dropped, as is, into the middle of the For My Broken Heart album and not only fit in, but elevate that collection.