This week Sirius 61 Prime Country celebrated the release of singer Alan Jackson’s latest album by playing a selection of Alan Jackson songs as well as personally picked material from Jackson himself. Jackson went into great detail about the significance of classic Country singers. People who came to Nashville just to sing quality songs. Jackson specifically made reference to Randy Travis as being someone who kept to a traditional country music feel. In this modern age of country music crossing over into pop territory, and album sales being weak the world over, it is astounding that classic country singers like Jackson can still sell well over a million records just from record store purchases!

Sirius 62 The Roadhouse features the very classic of the country singers. Including great artists like Randy Travis and George Strait. These are two prime examples of classic country music delivery at its’ finest. It is safe to include Jackson in that category of great singers. George Strait and Randy Travis made most of their living singing the songs of great Nashville writers. They also wrote a handful of their own songs and did it well. Like them, Jackson has written some poignant classics all his own while still entertaining great songs from some of the best writers whether based in Nashville or abroad.

Even fans of music who may not be partial to country music would be amazed at what goes into cutting a track in the studio. Nashville studio musicians make up such a dynamic group of people and to follow them for a day would be a great educational experience in country music creation.

Check out Sirius channels 60 through 64 for some great country music with a variety of extra ingredients thrown in.

Sirius 60 - The Highway, newer country

Sirius 61 – Prime Country, 90′s and some 80′s classic country.

Sirius 62 – The Roadhouse, classic country from classic artists.

Sirius 63- Outlaw Country, Music from country’s greatest outlaws and other rebels.

Sirius 64 – Willie’s Place, music from Willie Nelson and a great variety of classic country artists.  This is occasionally an extension of programming from The Roadhouse.

If your receiver has pre-set options, you probably have all or some set to certain stations for easy access. Perhaps there is a reason why you have the station at that particular spot or you are ranking your favourite stations in a particular order! I will enclose my list pre-set from my sportster. 

1. Liquid Metal – My life has become better because of my love of Heavy Metal Music. It is my favourite genre of music and I am proud to be a part of the Metal culture.

2. Hair Nation – My initial exposure to Heavy Metal was first through Glam Metal. Hair Nation plays the best and the worst music from that era. I am pleasantly surprised some days at what I hear.

3. The Boneyard – Classic Heavy Metal and Hard Rock at its absolute finest here. Often during the day when I flip to this station I will hear a lost classic from a band like Judas Priest or Rainbow.

4. Classic Vinyl – Take Terrestrial Radio Classic Rock and give it steroids, you get Classic Vinyl. Broadcast from the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, this great station has variety and great commentary on some of the greatest music ever made.

5. Classic Rewind – The second generation of Classic Rock. Classic Rewind often plays great tracks from the more recent eras. Music that has been considered Classic Rock for a short period of time is spun here although occasionally Classic Vinyl material will make its way here.

The jump button on my receiver is set to Howard 100. If I am in the middle of a listen that goes sour I might jump to Howard 100 to hear part of the replay of the day. My day starts Monday-Thursday with the Howard Stern show, and goes from there. At the end of the evening, I make sure the channel is set back to 100.

6. Prime Country – I will flip to Prime Country in the hope of once in a while hearing a decent track from the end of the decent Country Music era in the 90′s. This is going to change soon as I am finding the programming becoming more poppy and catering to some acts that are too annoying for my taste.

7. Outlaw Country – I love the OC. The benefit to the death of decent country is the rebirth of Outlaw Country and the defined category of Americana Music. Many of the Outlaws who might occasionally appear on The Roadhouse or Willie’s Place have more of a home in the OC. Wonderful Music.

8. 80′s on 8 – I love some of the great popular music that was born in the 1980s. We have seen great developments in technology for music and we also saw growth in great genres.

9. Raw Dog – We all need to laugh and Raw Dog often plays great material from some of my favourite comics, every single day.

10. Deep Tracks – The forgotten b-sides and tracks from great acts are spun here.  Bob Dylan’s Theme Time Radio Hour also offers a smile or two of insightful thinking.

What are your pre-sets and why? Are they your favourite stations? Post your comments.

The Grammy awards have introduced a category for Americana music. This great blend of country, folk and rock has had a home for years on SiriusXM Outlaw Country. With many Country fans growing tired of the poppy direction of some country, it is glorious to know that the people behind the Grammys have seen the great growth in this kind of music. Fans have packed small venues to see great acts like Charlie Robison and Cross Canadian Ragweed. The “OC” also has been home to the offspring of many of Country’s greatest rebels. Hank Williams the Third has been producing a nice mix of Americana and Traditional Country music with different projects.  Hank the third has also been heavily involved in Metal with Assjack and Superjoint Ritual!

I am happy that it is thanks to Stevie Van Zandt’s visionary idea in creating this station, we see a great focus returning to the music rather than a perceived typical Country image. Many of the artists we hear on Outlaw Country are talented greats who might still occasionally appear on Prime Country or The Roadhouse but have not enjoyed as much commercial success in the last few years.  Yet, these artists are still releasing quality music and packing concert halls.

In looking at the inaugural list of Grammy Nominees for Americana album of the year, we see all people whose music is proudly featured in The “OC”. Bob Dylan, Levon Helm, Wilco and Lucinda Williams released quality albums this year and it is great to see them nominated.

What is discouraging though is seeing one reviewer gripe that this list shows a lack of upcoming talent. This kind of music is only now being recognized by much of the so called “mainstream” media, so why not focus on how great the whole genre is instead?

Sirius XM 63 Outlaw Country features great Americana Music and edgier Country with different influences outside of the pop vein. Worth a listen and number 7 on my pre-set!

Legendary music producer Don Was has been confirmed as the host of a brand new program set to begin airing on Outlaw Country this Saturday, August 29th, The Motor City Hayride.

Was, producer for such notable acts as the Rolling Stones, Willie Nelson and Bob Dylan will act as host of the program, playing and discussing tracks from the Detroit music scene and renegade country acts from across the world.

The Motor City Hayride will begin airing every Saturday night at 10pm EST (with encore broadcasts on Sunday at 10am EST) through Outlaw Country (Sirius channel 63, XM channel 12).

[Via Orbitcast]

Legendary alt-rock band Wilco will be joining Sirius XM Radio for five consecutive nights of music, talk and more as part of the ongoing celebrations surrounding their newest full-length record release, Wilco (The Album).

Wilco will be appearing on Outlaw Country (Sirius channel 63 and XM channel 12) every night of this week from Monday through to Friday, describing the creative process of recording the newest album. Host Meredith Orchs will be sitting down with the band’s Jeff Tweedy and John Stirratt while they air unheard tracks and share anecdotes.

Listeners can check out the Wilco broadcasts on Outlaw Country at 9pm EST from Monday, July 27th through until Friday, July 31st.

[Via Orbitcast]

Steve Earle has announced the beginning of a brand new season of his hit show on Sirius Radio’s Outlaw Country channel with the imminent re-launch of The Steve Earle Show: Hardcore Troubadour Radio.

Earle returns to Sirius with the same format he adopted before, hosting favourite musicians and enjoying the production efforts of another famous figure from the music industry, E Street Band member, “Little Steven” Van Zandt.

The Steve Earle Show: Hardcore Troubadour Radio returns with an hourly slot beginning Saturday, June 6th at 9pm EST and continuing throughout the summer on Outlaw Country (Sirius channel 63).

[Via Sirius Press]