An Oklahoma country station made news this week when it briefly refused to play a Beyoncé song. It's a resonant tale for the Black and women musicians who have tried to crack the format for decades.
Keith's death shined a new spotlight on his music, particularly political anthem "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue," best known for its lyric: "We'll put a boot in your ass, it's the American way."
Gibbons returns with a solo album, Lives Outgrown, and a song that wonders beyond this life. On this week's 8 Tracks, NPR Music's Lars Gotrich listens to songs that explore what happens next.
Move over, Mariah Carey: Brenda Lee's reliable holiday hit, first released during the Eisenhower administration, is the No. 1 song on the Billboard Hot 100 — for the first time ever.
Country music duo Dan + Shay have had a successful few years: Three Grammys, a hit song with Justin Bieber, and a highly anticipated new album, Bigger Houses. But the album almost didn't happen.
Two years ago, Allison Russell's breakthrough album took the roots music world by storm. Now nominated for the genre's highest honor, Russell has a new goal: to open Americana up even more.
Audiences may have only just learned about a fast-rising country singer during the Republican debate Wednesday night. But "Rich Men North of Richmond" also has ties to extremist narratives.
The grassroots country star, whose fan base crosses lines of identity and politics, is releasing a song called "In Your Love," from a new album. Its video tells a queer, Appalachian love story.
The 'anti-city' country song is a well-worn trope, one that pits idyllic country life against the corruption of the city. But Aldean's controversial song reveals the dark heart of the tradition.
The country music star is known for his songs about rural life, but critics, especially those on the left of the political spectrum, say his latest music video takes the nostalgic themes too far.
NPR's Scott Detrow talks to NPR's Ann Powers and Marcus Dowling of The Tennessean about how two country songs sit atop the Billboard Hot 100, and the context for this moment.
