Grady Smith on country
Grady Smith's weekly column on the best, worst, funniest and hottest country music in America.
The good, bad and bizarre: 10 current country hits on sex, booze and death
Chris Lane peddling Breaking Bad metaphors and Steven Tyler ‘fallin’ into your yum-yum’ among tunes forcing listeners to tap their feet and scratch their heads
Crazy ex-boyfriends: new country music trend is drunk and brokenhearted men
Once country music was full of ballads by wronged women – but now it’s male singers like Luke Bryan and Dierks Bentley who are crying into their beers
Americana: is the 'dirt in your ears' genre a way forward for country?
Once associated with fiddles and beards, the genre is rising fast and could provide a means to be heard for artists who are shut out of country radio
Country's Jesus-and-partying crew cheapen both the faith and the music
The tension between partying and piety has remained a common thread in country music for decades – but religious angst has been replaced by bland tokenism
The 10 best country albums of 2015
Country music may have come in for some criticism, but this year saw many fantastic records from musicians on both sides of the mainstream/indie divide
The best (and worst) US culture 2015: Country
We asked our critics to pick their best and worst moment from this year’s cultural offerings. Grady Smith chose Chris Stapleton’s chutzpah and country radio’s hubris
From stetsons to snapbacks: why country stars are ditching tradition
Headwear used to be limited to cowboy hats, but new artists such as Sam Hunt are donning baseball caps and turning the definition of ‘country’ on its head
Is country music ready to forgive the Dixie Chicks?
After the band denounced George W Bush, the country establishment turned against them. Now they’re touring the US again – in an even more divided environment
Eric Church's 'Beyoncé moment' reveals one of country's contemporary greats
Church’s surprise album Mr Misunderstood is one of this year’s most complete records despite being overshadowed by Chris Stapleton at the CMA awards
Chris Stapleton steals CMA awards show on career-making night
The Country Music Awards included an album drop and divorce intrigue – but that paled next to Stapleton’s astounding performance with Justin Timberlake
Ashley Campbell's tribute to her father Glen – exclusive video
The singer and banjo player has made a video for her song Remembering, about her father, who is suffering with Alzheimer’s. Watch it exclusively here
A roll in the hay: how country music embraced slowed-down sex jams
Country stars have sung about sex forever, but Luke Bryan’s Strip it Down is part of a new trend: double entendre-filled songs that borrow heavily from R&B
Joe Nichols and more country stars who don't like their own records
Nichols said that if it were up to him, he’d make old-style country music, but he’d never get on the radio – or make money. Yet being artistically bold builds a more satisfying career in the long run, and creates better records
Taking it slow: the welcome return of the country ballad
After being pummeled with bar-stomping tunes for years, country fans turn to more sensitive and ruminative songs about love, loss and the power of music
The best country albums of 2015 (that no one knows about)
From established names such as Don Henley and Jewel to fiddle-wielding newcomers, 2015 has produced a slew of off-kilter albums worth exploring
Kip Moore: an unapologetic badass with a touch of Springsteen
Fusing modern country with arena rock, Moore’s raspy wail and self-aware lyrics make him the most likeable and interesting country star of the moment
Dierks Bentley's Riser: watch the exclusive video
Famous for hard-partying country songs like Drunk on a Plane, the singer reveals his serious side in a song dedicated to his late father and a video about a homeless family
Maddie & Tae: girls singing their own country songs
Their No 1 hit Girl in a Country Song took aim at the genre’s tackier side. Now, barely out of their teens, Maddie & Tae are bringing a fresh style to country music
Carrie Underwood's Smoke Break sizzles in dry summer for country music
Amid some remarkably banal hits, the authenticity of Underwood’s single has stood out – an empathetic song about real life, not getting wasted in a cornfield
The Creep effect: the Band Perry tries to escape the hit that made them famous
The group’s attempts to move beyond their signature hit If I Die Young has seen the band try to embrace pop-country with unremarkable, vanilla results
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