Subject: Academy of Country Music

• Courting the Critics

  November 7, 1996

• The Ryman Auditorium: Two Things

  Couple items involving the Mother Church. First: The Ryman has a new GM, and her name is Sally Williams. According to the release we got, Williams is "only the 8th General Manager in the Ryman's 117-year history and is the third woman to hold the post." The real question, of course: Will she book the Nuge? Read the complete press release after the jump. Second: Iron & Wine and Blitzen Trapper played there on Sunday, and there are photos for the looking.

  November 25, 2008

• High Lonesome Sound

  How Jamey Johnson turned personal and professional disaster into one of the year's best country albums

  August 14, 2008

• The Morning Man

  February 26, 2009

• Shoot the Messenger: Toby Keith vs. The Tennessean's Peter Cooper

  Technically speaking, Kris, Toby Keith has in fact worn his country's uniformI've never been quite sure what to make of Toby Keith. On the one hand, his whole redneck shtick and uber-patriotic songs like "Courtesy of the Red, White and Blue" make me want to gag. But then he's got Willie Nelson's seal of approval, which makes me think, "If Willie likes him, he can't be all bad." But his tirade against Tennessean music writer Peter Cooper in the press room at the Academy of Country Music Awards S

  April 7, 2009

• So long Eddie Jones, hello Moby Teeth

  April 9, 2009

• Best of Nashville Music

  October 4, 2007

• Apparently Someone Does Remember the Toby Keith/Kris Kristofferson Incident

  Toby Keith: A friend to the soldiers (though not actually a soldier)Ah, the story that keeps on giving. In case you're not a regular Pith reader, a brief synopsis of the events to date: In a Rolling Stone story on Kris Kristofferson, Ethan Hawke describes a scene at Willie Nelson's 70th birthday concert in 2003 in which Kristofferson allegedly chewed out a star who "had a monster radio hit about bombing America's enemies back into the Stone Age" for saying, "None of that lefty shit out the

  April 15, 2009

• Apparently Someone Does Remember the Toby Keith/Kris Kristofferson Incident

  Toby Keith: A friend to the soldiers (though not actually a soldier)Remember the whole brouhaha last week surrounding Ethan Hawke's Rolling Stone story about Kris Kristofferson, in which he describes a scene at a 2003 concert in which Kristofferson allegedly chewed out an unnamed star who "had a monster radio hit about bombing America's enemies back into the Stone Age"? And how Tennessean music writer Peter Cooper commented on Hawke's oddly evasive tactics in omitting the star's name, which may

  April 15, 2009

• Woman Enough

  Newcomer Gretchen Wilson and her redneck persona are setting Music Row on its ear

  May 6, 2004

• Arts and Music

  October 7, 2004

• Rebel With a Cause

  Lari White becomes the first female to produce a major male country star

  June 1, 2006

• Say Grace

  There’s still no better face for country than Faith Hill

  July 27, 2006

• Right-Hand Man

  After decades in the spotlight, Billy Burnette has become the guitar slinger of choice for rock legends

  July 20, 2006

• Everything Old is New Again

  Phil Vassar delivers his greatest hits with a twist

  June 1, 2006

• Classic Country

  Bill Anderson keeps singin' and writin' 'em like they'll never go out of style

  June 23, 2005

• It's All Right to Be a Redneck

  In the wake of Gretchen Wilson's breakthrough, country is starting to sound like country again

  June 9, 2005

• They Barked, He Bit Back

  Over three decades, RCA’s Joe Galante went from shunned outsider to revered insider. Sometimes it wasn’t very pleasant to watch.

  November 6, 2003

• On a Sustained Note

  Two of country’s best female singers continue to evolve, despite a swing back toward their male counterpoints at country radio

  October 30, 2003

• Love/Hate Mail

  Conspiracy theory

  April 10, 2003

• Fan Fair

  Music

  June 13, 2002

• Who’s on First?

  Channel 5 may be about to surpass Channel 4 in the ratings war

  May 23, 2002

• In a Quiet Place

  The Bluebird Cafe, now a local institution, celebrates 20 years of singers, songwriters and shushing

  May 30, 2002

• His Own Way

  Mavericks singer steps out with sophisticated collection of Latin-flavored tunes

  October 18, 2001

• List

  May 17, 2001

• Home Site II

  Vibe On

  March 8, 2001

• Love/Hate Mail

  Electronic Doo-doo

  May 18, 2000

• And the Loser Is...

  ACM Awards prove embarrassing to country music

  May 11, 2000

• Lonely at the Top

  One country group's remarkable climb up the pop charts

  March 30, 2000

• Looking Good

  Image crucial to success in the country biz these days

  September 16, 1999

• Winning Isn't Everything

  September 24, 1998

• Search for Meaning

  April 23, 1998

• Counting Our Losses

  January 29, 1998

• Getting Crowded

  October 10, 1996

• In the Stars

  May 30, 1996

• Dead Air

  May 2, 1996

• Winning Words

  April 11, 1996

• Making the Rounds

  March 14, 1996

• Conventional Wisdom

  December 7, 1995

• Online

  September 7, 1995

• Fall Guide: Country: Miranda Lambert serves another full tank of kerosene atop the fall's standout releases

  September 17, 2009