• Music Times 25 Best Songs of 2014: Taylor Swift, Kendrick Lamar, Hozier, St. Vincent & More

    2014 was the year of a thousand controversies: Taylor Swift pulled all of her music from Spotify, Sun Kil Moon started a feud with The War On Drugs, Jack White accused The Black Keys of ripping him off (again), and almost nobody went platinum. When you put all of that aside, however, what you're left with is a bunch of incredible songs, which is really what it's all about. Here are the 25 best songs from 2014, as determined by Music Times writers Ryan Book, Caitlin Carter, Joey DeGroot, Kyle Dowling, and Carolyn Menyes.
  • Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert to Headline Big Barrel Country Music Festival [LINEUP]

    The good people at Red Frog Events, who put on the Firefly Festival every year, are getting a little country in 2015. The company announced the Big Barrel Country Music Festival today, Dec. 18, which will be held at Firefly's site, Dover International Speedway in Delaware. Blake Shelton, Carrie Underwood and Miranda Lambert will headline the event scheduled for June 26 to 28 — the weekend after Firefly. Tickets go on sale today, "Billboard" notes. For a three-day pass ($99), concert-goers will be able to see a mix of popular country artists and acts on the fringes of the genre, like Lynyrd Skynyrd, Sturgill Simpson and Hurray for the Riff Raff. Legends like Loretta Lynn and Merle Haggard will also perform. Additional acts include: Jake Owen, Chris Young, Gary Allen, Eric Paslay, Jon Pardi, Dan + Shay, Cassadee Pope, Charlie Worsham, Jana Kramer, The Oak Ridge Boys, Joel Crouse, Chris Stapleton, The Del McCoury Band, Shakey Graves, Billy Joe Shaver, Nikki Lane, Jackie Lee, Logan Mize, Wade Bowen, Kaitlin Rose, Steven Lee Olsen, The Felice Brothers, The Stray Birds, Sam Lewis and The Deslondes.
  • AmericanaFest Adds Sturgill Simpson and More to Lineup

    AmericanaFest—the huge one-word celebration of good, old-fashioned music that takes place in Nashville every year—has announced another slew of performers, including Sturgill Simpson and Bobby Bare Jr. The newcomers join an already bustling list of performers that includes the Avett Brothers and Lee Ann Womack.
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