Five on Friday :: March 13, 2015

I got slightly riled up this week (again) when someone made a dig about Nashville killing country music. Why? Because there is still lots of great country music being made in Nashville today… its just not on the radio. So here I bring you five songs I think should be on radio RIGHT NOW.

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1. Route 5 Box 109 – Joe Diffie  :: I fell in love with this song the first time I heard it on Joe’s bluegrass album released in 2010. I told everyone about this song. I hoped so much it would be released to country radio. SO WHAT if its bluegrass. Its a good song. No, its a GREAT song. Period. Close your eyes. Listen to the lyrics. And you absolutely can’t tell me you that you don’t go on a trip to a simpler time and place. Now that’s country, y’all.

2. More Afraid of Livin’ – David Adam Byrnes :: The fact that this song isn’t on the radio is a crime. A CRIME. The first time I heard this song just acoustically done on stage it stopped me in my tracks. It captured me and would NOT let me go. Those lyrics… just… If I said I’m not scared,  I’d be lying. I’m just more afraid of livin’ than dyin’. THAT’S powerful. And the way David delivers it like he’s living that feeling right now with his thick southern accent its just as country as it gets. And if you don’t just fall in love with this song and this guy’s voice… well… you might want to turn in your country card immediately.

3. Where Have You Been – Brad Anderson :: I can’t even begin to tell you why I love this song so much. Brad has a ton of great music, but somehow when he performs this song it just shuts me up and makes me pay attention. Maybe its the raw pain in Brad’s voice when he sings the song. Maybe its the fact its an amazing, amazing love song. I missed you so much, where have you been? This song just… the power of heartbreak, hope, love and forgiveness… Maybe we need more of that on the radio and less booty shaking one night stands, huh?

4. Mexico – Matt Willis :: Like Brad, Matt has a ton of songs that I absolutely love. But this one is the one I find myself hitting repeat on over and over and over again when I listen to his album. Often cranking it to 10 and getting lost in the lyrics. Matt sings it in such a way you find yourself in the moment with him. It takes a total different take on a break-up song that what usually hear. It’s not a party song. It’s not a revenge song.  It’s refreshing, and it needs to be on the radio. Right now.

5. Good Side of this Bar – Chuck Courtenay :: This song is personal. I’ll be honest, I can’t listen to it any more without tearing up. Because it was written about The Fiddle & Steel Guitar Bar. And I’m quickly finding I’m having a harder time with its closing than I expected I’d have. Three months since we closed those doors for the last time, and I’m missing that place more than ever. But this song needs to be on the radio. For one, its just a GREAT song. For two, I think people should know about the Fiddle. It’s legacy and 18 years of success should not be lost to a hotel and developers. It was a beloved bar of many, and it launched careers. That belongs on the radio.

6. Entertaining Angels – Mark Wills :: (Hey its MY blog and if I want to do more than five I can.) But this song goes very close to the previous song, because the first time I heard it, it reminded me of the Fiddle & Steel. But beyond that, its just a REALLY REALLY REALLY AMAZING SONG that has to be on this list. And the more I listen to it, the more it reminds me of my life in general. It tells a story. It has a message. You used to find this on country radio… it needs to come back to it.  There was no tall white steeple or big stain glassed cathedral, just ordinary people sharin’ life and tellin’ jokes, trying to find a little hope…

Speaker@LowHappy listening, y’all!