Ben Foster

Round Table Album Review: Brandy Clark, 12 Stories

October 22, 2013 Ben Foster 3

Brandy Clark
12 Stories

Our Brandy Clark coverage continues with a round table review of her hotly anticipated debut album, which is out this today.

She teased us earlier this year with “Stripes,” which I proudly awarded a solid A in my review of the song, calling it “a clever and original, not to mention humorous, twist on a tried-and-true country music theme.” It was more than enough to whet our appetites for the album to follow, which ended up going so far as to supersede expectations.

Win a Signed Copy of Alan Jackson’s The Bluegrass Album

September 24, 2013 Ben Foster 32

UPDATE: Contest closed. Congratulations to our winner, the second of the two commenters named John.

Do you love bluegrass music? Do you love Alan Jackson? Or do you just love great music? We sure do here at Country Universe, so it’s our great pleasure to thank you for your support of our site by giving away a copy of Alan Jackson’s fantastic new release The Bluegrass Album – signed by our favorite singer of simple songs himself, no less!

Single Review: Florida Georgia Line, “Round Here”

September 21, 2013 Ben Foster 12

I smell a holding pattern.

Single Review: Luke Bryan, “That’s My Kind of Night”

September 19, 2013 Ben Foster 33

Let’s start with the positives.

It has a banjo. I like banjo.

A Conversation with Lynn Anderson

September 12, 2013 Ben Foster 10

Lynn Anderson was born the daughter of songwriters Casey and Liz Anderson, and went on to become one of country music’s brightest stars in the 60’s and 70’s. Over the course of sixteen years, she amassed an impressive string of eighteen Top 10 country hits including chart-toppers such as “You’re My Man,” “How Can I Unlove You,” “Keep Me In Mind,” “What a Man My Man Is,” and most notably the Grammy-winning platinum-selling crossover smash “Rose Garden.”

2013 CMA Nominations

September 10, 2013 Ben Foster 92

This year’s CMA nominees were just announced this morning by Sheryl Crow and Florida Georgia Line from Nashville’s Bridgestone Arena. This year’s crop features many of the usual suspects, as well as a few surprising inclusions and exclusions. The full list of nominees follows with some brief commentary. Musgraves, Shelton and Swift lead with five nominations each, followed by Florida Georgia Line with four. Share your thoughts in the comments section below.

Album Review: Tammy Wynette, The Essential Tammy Wynette

August 28, 2013 Ben Foster 2

Tammy Wynette
The Essential Tammy Wynette

The legendary First Lady of Country Music is the subject of a generous new forty-track double-disc career retrospective in Legacy Recordings’ Essential series.

Single Review: Kellie Pickler, “Little Bit Gypsy”

August 27, 2013 Ben Foster 8

I concluded my previous Kellie Pickler review with the conjecture that “Someone Somewhere Tonight” “would seem to confirm that Pickler’s pandering days are indeed over.” Now, with the aforementioned single having missed the Top 40 entirely, here comes her new single “Little Bit Gypsy” to make me eat my words.

CU Archives: Linda Ronstadt

August 25, 2013 Ben Foster 16

We at Country Universe were very saddened to hear of Linda Ronstadt’s recent announcement that she was diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease eight months ago, and that the disease has resulted in the total loss of her ability to sing.

A Conversation with Zane Williams

August 23, 2013 Ben Foster 3

Country music singer-songwriter Zane Williams had his first taste of mainstream success in 2006 when Jason Michael Carroll took his song “Hurry Home” into the Top 20. Having already made inroads in the regional country market of his home state of Texas, the Abilene native is currently attempting to break through to a national audience with his fourth album Overnight Success. Amid preparations to embark on his first nationwide radio tour (in an RV with his wife and two children along for the ride), Williams found the time to call Country Universe to chat about his current single and album.