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.
Out of print, odd and obscure, Souled American's esoteric take on country music is now available digitally for the first time. We asked composer Sarah Hennies to pick a place to begin.
In Luke Combs' unexpected cover of the Tracy Chapman classic, NPR's Stephen Thompson found hope for a world with fewer boundaries and binaries and roped-in genres.
