The 2011 album, This One's For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark. Photo courtesy of Ellis Creative.

The Center for Texas Music History will host the benefit concert ‘Wish I Was In Austin: A 70 Birthday Tribute to Guy Clark’ on November 2 at the Long Center in Austin. The live show also celebrates the release of the double CD This One’s For Him: A Tribute to Guy Clark which is slated to be released on November 8. Guy was born in Monahans, Texas on November 6, 1941.

Several artists who recorded tracks for the tribute CD will perform at the concert.  Terry Allen, Shawn Colvin, Rodney Crowell, Joe Ely, Rosie Flores, Radney Foster, Terri Hendrix, Ray Wylie Hubbard, Jack Ingram, James McMurtry, The Trishas, Jerry Jeff Walker, Kevin Welch and more are scheduled to perform.  Guy will also perform a set. Continue Reading

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Country songs are often a mirror to the world, a reflection of the times. As a tribute to  the men and women who have served our country, we’ve put together a list of some of our favorite songs and videos that honor our troops – heartfelt compositions that look at war through the eyes of the men and women who fight, as well as the families who are left behind to pray that their loved ones return home safely.  If you don’t see your favorite on our list, leave us a comment below and let us know!

We at GAC extend our sincerest thanks and appreciation to all soldiers and their families!

“‘Til the Last Shot’s Fired” – Trace Adkins

This heartfelt song is about the life of soldiers through various wars, starting with America’s Civil War and continuing through our current conflicts in the Middle East. Trace Adkins conveys the soldiers’ fervent wish that their job would at some point be eliminated for good. Trace delivers as only Trace can.

“American Soldier” – Toby Keith

This song depicts the everyday life of a soldier, from not being able to call in sick to working through the holidays while standing up for liberty. Toby never fails to bring the soldiers to their feet when he performs this one on his many USO tours.

“Angel Flight” – Radney Foster/Darius Rucker

The title of this song refers to the flight on which a soldier killed in war comes home. Radney wrote the song with Darden Smith, then asked Darius Rucker to sing on it with him. The song was inspired by a series of Angel Flights that brought home a group of men known as the Red River Four. Proceeds from sales of the song benefit the groups who help families in crisis. Continue Reading

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Foster & Lloyd photo courtesy of Ellis Creative.

Twenty-one years after going their separate ways, Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd are reuniting for their fourth studio album, It’s Already Tomorrow. The 13-song collection, all co-written by Foster and Lloyd, finds the duo fully entrenched in their element, amidst country rock grooves and sharp lyrics with a focus on intricate vocal harmonies.

Though the duo hasn’t released a new album since 1990’s Version of the Truth, Radney and Bill continued to meet through the years, keeping their writing partnership very much alive. They reunited onstage for a recent Americana Music Association fundraiser and found that the magic was most definitely still there. Songwriting sessions became more frequent and eventually the decision was made to go back into the studio. Continue Reading

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Foster & Lloyd's 2011 CD, It's Already Tomorrow. Photo courtesy of Ellis Creative.

Today, Foster & Lloyd are releasing their first album of new material since 1990. It’s Already Tomorrow is available digitally today and will be released on ‘Effin ‘El Records on May 17. If purchased from iTunes, the album includes an iTunes exclusive track, “Without Love.” The duo first broke onto the scene in the ’80s, during a time when country music was experiencing a period of creative freedom.

Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd met in 1985 as two singer-songwriters signed to the same publisher. Despite different backgrounds, they had enough in common to co-write songs together that provoked a response. They were first successful as songwriters, but it was their distinctive sound on the demos they recorded that earned them a record deal with RCA. Their first single, “Crazy Over You,” topped the charts, making them the first duo in country music history to have their debut single reach No. 1.

Foster & Lloyd went on to record three groundbreaking albums for RCA, which included the hits “Sure Thing,” “What Do You Want From Me This Time,” “Texas in 1880,” and “Fair Shake” and of course, “Crazy Over You.” The duo was one of the first acts to be played on both country and college radio. They toured internationally, earned a Grammy nomination and were a fixture at the CMA awards. They split in 1990, both going on to successful solo careers. They remained friends, however, writing together throughout the years. It took a request from the Americana Music Association to reunite the duo. When the news broke that they would be performing together, the show sold out in 15 minutes. Continue Reading

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Darius Rucker photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

When Darius Rucker put together his second country album, he decided to title it Charleston, SC 1966 as a method of paying tribute to one of his biggest influences in country music: Radney Foster.

Radney came to prominence in the late 1980s as one-half of a duo, Foster & Lloyd, and in recent years, he’s earned success as a songwriter of Sara Evans’ “A Real Fine Place To Start” and Keith Urban’s “Raining On Sunday” and “I’m In.” But Radney’s also a fine solo performer, and his first album after leaving Foster & Lloyd was named after the city and year of his birth, Del Rio, Texas 1959.

Darius’ Charleston, SC 1966 very closely resembles that template, a sort of monument to Radney’s inspiration, which led Darius to discover a whole world of country sounds.

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Keith Urban photo courtesy of Capitol Nashville.

One of the old jokes about fashion is that if you hold on to your clothes long enough, they’ll come back in style. But it’s not a joke when it comes to songs. They can definitely have a second life. In fact, Keith Urban has given new life to not just one Radney Foster song, but two.

Keith picked up a hit in 2003 when he remade Radney’s song “Raining On Sunday,” and he did it again this year by recording Radney’s “I’m In.” In a very real way, “I’m In” is a direct result of the movie Australia.

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The 48th Annual ASCAP Country Music Awards were handed out on September 14, 2010 at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium. Pictured (l-r): Dierks Bentley, Artist/Songwriter of the Year; Josh Kear Song of the Year for “Need You Now,”; Chris DuBois, Publisher of the Year, Sea Gayle Music ; Brett James, Songwriter of the Year and Tim DuBois, ASCAP vice-president and managing executive, Nashville. Photo by Kay Williams.

Dierks Bentley won Songwriter/Artist of the Year, Josh Kear took Song of the Year for co-writing “Need You Now” with Lady Antebellum, and Brett James walked off with Songwriter of the Year during the star-studded ASCAP Country Music Awards for songwriters Tuesday at Nashville’s War Memorial Auditorium.

Dierks picked up the Songwriter/Artist trophy after two of his songs — “Sideways” and “I Wanna Make You Close Your Eyes” — were recognized among the performing rights agency’s most performed songs of the year.

Dierks played a bluegrass version of “Sideways” during the two-hour presentation in which each of ASCAP’s Top 5 songs was rendered live. Chris Young sang “Gettin’ You Home (The Black Dress Song),” songwriter David Lee Murphy played “Big Green Tractor,” Darius Rucker offered “Alright” and Josh Kear teamed with Lady A for a dramatic acoustic version of “Need You Now.” Josh was cheered heavily by the songwriting community when he sang some of the lines that Charles Kelley usually sings — Josh proved he was an admirable singer in addition to being an ace songwriter.

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Darius Rucker hits the stage with Jamey Johnson for his 1st Annual "Darius Rucker & Friends" benefit concert. Photo credit: Jason Mease, GACTV.com

In an unofficial kick-off to CMA Music Festival week, Darius Rucker gathered some of this buddies together for a his 1st Annual “Darius and Friends” concert to benefit the groundbreaking research and lifesaving care of St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital®.

Radney Foster, Jake Owen, Randy Houser and Jamey Johnson teamed up with Darius to perform for a sold-out crowd at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville on Monday, June 7, 2010.  Throughout the show Darius performed his biggest hits but the highlights came by way of some very cool collaborations along the way.

Browse our photo gallery to see all the highlights from the concert »

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Jewel visits with host Nan Kelley on the set of Top 20 Country Countdown. Photo by GAC staff.

Two years ago, Jewel released her first country album, Perfectly Clear, which made her an unintended part of a trend.

Her shift from pop singer-songwriter to country came at the same time that Darius Rucker and Jessica Simpson both attempted that move. Darius went gonzo with four hits from his album Learn To Live, which went platinum and led him to the Country Music Association’s New Artist of the Year award. Jessica never quite connected and moved along to other parts of the entertainment business.

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Darius Rucker (center front row) and his fellow co-writers (including Radney Foster, right front row) at the 2010 CRS ASCAP-sponsored event, "Storytellers With Darius Rucker," on February 24 in Nashville, Tenn. Photo by Bev Moser, courtesy of AristoMedia.

It takes a certain amount of guts — and a lot of self-confidence — to work as an artist, continually pushing against the odds until maybe, just maybe, you get a chance to break through. And a story about his pre-stardom days suggests that Darius Rucker always had the attitude it takes.

When he first heard Foster & Lloyd’s “Crazy Over You” on an AM radio in 1987, Darius was hooked on country music, and the following year, he went to see the duo at a South Carolina club after he finished his shift at a retail store. They’d already started their set, and Darius proceeded to down a few brews. He soon began shouting repeatedly for them to play “You Can Come Cryin’ To Me.” They didn’t. Instead, Radney Foster and Bill Lloyd closed out their regular set, then came back for an encore, only to hear Darius screaming for the song again. Radney politely told him he had missed it when they sang it near the start of their show, but Darius belligerently called his attention to the racial makeup of the audience.

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