by contributing author Matt Rogers
Since his passing in 2003, Johnny Cash’s popularity among folks outside of the country genre has spread like wildfire, due especially to the success of the Oscar Award-winning film, Walk the Line, in which actor Joaquin Phoenix portrays the Man in Black with brilliance.

by contributing author Matt Rogers
Cooper Boone is an interesting character. Though a son of America’s heartland, he has spent more than a decade in the Northeast, dividing his time between being a farmhand in Pennsylvania and a psychotherapist in the Big Apple. He’s an ardent environmentalist about to go nationwide with his Small Change Big […]

By Matthew J. Rogers
When listening to Mark Chesnutt’s latest effort, Rollin’ With the Flow (2008), it’s difficult to predict exactly how the album will be received. It’s evident from the get-go that Chesnutt isn’t one for conformity, as he sticks closely to formulas that earned him considerable success in the early nineties. Yet, producer Jimmy […]

In his web site biography, Rich Flanders claims, “I’m not a cowboy, and I don’t own that big spread on the far side of the divide.” But after listening to Yondering: Songs of the American West, some might be convinced otherwise, as Flanders clearly has a deep, intimate relationship with the old west.

By Featured Contributing Editor Mandy Phillips
Carrie Underwood’s sophomore album, Carnival Ride, is all over the map when it comes to success and failures. There are certainly some wonderful songs that showcase Underwood’s big voice and appeal, but there are just as many selections that seem to not be sure if they actually belong to […]