​They're no longer our little secret. Since releasing their first self-titled album late last year, the Cactus Blossoms have not only caught the attention of scores of Minnesotans young and old -- read: those who know not how to two-step, and those who do -- but they've also garnered accolades from the folks over at Country Music Television.

Yes, the CMT that reminds us every day that Kenny Chesney looooves the Virgin Islands and is never afraid to make just one more Caribbean-flavored video to remind us of that fact. That CMT listed the Cactus Blossoms' release as one of the "Top Overlooked Albums of 2011" right alongside our good friend Ronnie Dunn who, I'll admit, put out a pretty good 'un last year. Haven't caught the Cactus Blossoms yet? Well, now it's easier than ever to do so.More >>

Photo by Nikki Miller

​This ain't my first rodeo, but perhaps it could be yours. This weekend, the "World's Toughest Rodeo" tour makes its annual stop at the Xcel Energy Center (Friday and Saturday, February 3-4, 7:30, $9.50-80 with special pricing for Girl and Boy Scouts, no foolin'). In addition to bull, bareback, and saddle bronc riding as well as barrel racing exhibitions and trick and fancing roping, expect a performance at Saturday night's "Party on the Dirt" by up-and-coming country star Justin Moore (recently nominated for an American Country Award for Breakthrough Artist of the Year). Oh, and expect rodeo clowns. So many rodeo clowns. To get you amped up for concussions, broken necks and bad clown jokes (woohoo?), take a listen to our essential country rodeo playlist. More >>

​If you've read this here weekly piece over the years, you probably know '90s country is firmly situated in the softest spot of my heart -- for all its good, bad, and ugly. I saw '90s country hit-makers Confederate Railroad at South Dakota's Brown County Fair the summer of 1993; our grandstand buttons also purchased entry to see Billy Dean (he's in that soft spot), Restless Heart (they're kinda in there too), and Mark Chesnutt (yep, he's there too, and played Povlitzki's in Spring Lake Park just last month). This Saturday night, Confederate Railroad will be making their own stop at Povlitzki's. More >>

Flyer by DWITT

​With only a few months under its eight-second-champion-sized belt buckle, the Schlitz Kickin' Country series has already established a fine local tradition of fine country records, fine country bands, and of course, The Beer That Made Milwaukee Famous. This Saturday, with a little help from DJ Truckstache (Gastro Non Grata's Craig Drehmel) and Hymie's own Lonesome DJ Dave (Hoenack), the show hits the Triple Rock stage, celebrating the new and old of local country (and the like) playing the new and old of everything country (and the like). More >>

​To our knowledge, Brad Paisley has never* employed a metaphor in his lyrics. When he says he wants to see the other half of your butterfly tattoo, when he says he wants to check you for ticks, he really, literally, wants you to strip down so he can inspect every inch of your poorly-inked, parasite-infested flesh. Does he care that much about Lyme disease, about Hep C? No. He just wants to see you naked. Hot, right?

We love him for this, and above all for his stellar guitar chops, a quality I couldn't snark or quip about even if I tried. You can check both out at his Saturday performance at the Xcel (6:30, $25-59.75, with openers the Band Perry and Scotty McCreery). A note from the Xcel: allow plenty of travel and parking time. Why? Because this is going on on the same night, just up the street. Yowza.

In the meantime, here are some of our favorite wacky Brad Paisley hits.

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Photo courtesy of sunrecords.com

Sam Phillips

​On this day in 1923, legendary producer, record executive, DJ and Sun Records/Sun Studios founder Sam Phillips was born to a pair of poor tenant farmers near Florence, Alabama. You likely know the name for his work founding this seminal recording studio/label, as well as for helping discover and foster the sounds of Elvis Presley, Johnny Cash, B.B. King, Roy Orbison, Carl Perkins, Jerry Lee Lewis, Conway Twitty, Howlin' Wolf...and on and on.

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Charlie Louvin

​It's an annual tradition to look back at year's end to those who've passed on in the previous twelve months. Whether it's just filler for the year's final broadcast of Entertainment Tonight, or Americans really do feel a need to reflect with sadness on the deaths of celebrities, I do not know. What I do know is that many fans of country music bemoan its transition away from the traditional, and so it is tangibly bittersweet to remember the elder fathers and mothers of the genre who have now passed, and whose voices will only carry on these American musical traditions into the future courtesy of their legendary recordings.

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​Country music singers sure do love their Christmas songs. Now why is that? I reckon it has a little bit to do with the holiday's celebration of all things traditional, and down home-y, and old-time religion-y and whatnot. But I'll bet it has a lot more to do with, well, Google with me won't you?

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Photos by Nikki Miller

​Mark Chesnutt
December 16, 2011
Povlitzki's on 65

Several songs into a hits-heavy and lengthy set at Spring Lake Park's Povlitzki's on 65 Friday night, Mark Chesnutt played a tune that pretty much summarized the night's show, and his own musical career: a lament that might resonate for traditional country music fans called "Somebody Save the Honky Tonks."

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​Dudes.

(Specifically, dudes who came of age listening to country music in the 1990s.)

Listen up: Mark Chesnutt is playing the Twin Cities' coolest suburban dive bar tomorrow night.

This message warrants no further long-winded commentary from yours truly; if you liked '90s country, if you dig suburban dive bars, this show is for you.

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