When the Dixie Chicks came out against the Iraq war, they were accused of being "un-American”. Colm O’Hare hears how the country rebels survived their own desert storm
Cecilia Peck, director of music documentary-political travelogue Dixie Chicks: Shut Up And Sing reminisces about her Dingle childhood and explains what it’s like being part of a great Hollywood dynasty.
Despite their protestations, the Dixie Chicks are being marketed as the Spice Girls of country (references to Chick Power can’t be mere coincidence), but that shouldn’t take away from the spunky aggression of the three former buskers from Texas, nor prevent the unconverted checking out Fly, their second album.
Taking The Long Way is the kind of record you could slot between Lucinda and Emmylou at any Nashville Babylon hootenanny without anyone batting an eyelid. Listen without prejudice.
Before he sat down to prepare his acceptance speech for tonights MTV Europe Music Awards, Justin Timberlake phoned his friends at hotpress.com for some pointers...
Snow Patrol and U2 may have gone home empty-handed, but there was much celebrating in the Enya camp last night as she picked up another ‘New Age Album’ Grammy for Amarantine.
Kenny Rogers has been having hits since high school back in his native Houston. Ahead of his appearance at Ballinlough Castle, he looks back at his early inspirations and reflects on a long procession of hit records that have endeared him to rock, pop, soul and country audiences.
Songwriter to the stars Gretchen Peters on record company inertia, the need for revolutionary new artists, and what it means to be an American musician in these highly fraught times. words Jackie Hayden
Country music’s stock has never been higher. First Johnny Cash gained an entire new generation of fans, then Hollywood began to pepper its films with bluegrass and roots music. Now, everyone from Jack White to Van Morrison is waking up to the magic of country. Ireland's getting in on the act too, with the launch of the Midlands Music Festival, a two-day celebration of all things hatted and booted. Colm O’Hare traces the rebirth of a genre.
Having dispatched that difficult second album with admirable panache, Republic Of Loose are gearing up for the festival season, most notably a Saturday night headline slot at Castlepalooza. Mick Pyro talks us through his outdoor survival guide.
You can tell how highly regarded she is by the number of top stars who want her to sing with them. But for Emmylou Harris such collaborations are a two-way street.
After studiously walking the line between rock and pop, Corkonian Jennifer Clarke explains why she now regards herself as a country act, and tells Jackie Hayden about her interest in serial killers.
With a little help from Timbaland and The Neptunes, Justin Timberlake’s debut solo album justified propelled him from N’Sync baby food salesman to purveyor of the slickest dancefloor pop since the days when Michael Jackson was black. here, via the wonders of modern technology, HP eavesdrops as the boy wonder receives a Woodward & Bernstein-style investigative enema from the Euro-press.
Niall Toner has been flying the flag for bluegrass and country music in Ireland for over thirty years now both as a broadcaster/journalist and a tireless live performer. This superbly recorded album features a collection of songs he has written over the years, many in collaboration with top American writers.
The first issue of (RED)Wire digital music magazine will be available for download on December 1 to coincide with World AIDS Day. It's the latest initiative from (RED), the HIV/AIDS organisation whose prime movers include Bono.
Ex-Almighty man and sometime Dublin resident (he now spends most of his time in LA) Warwick has an impressive pedigree. Apart from his time with the Scottish punk-metallers, he’s played with New Model Army and even guested with his earliest inspiration, Stiff Little Fingers.
The most immediate thing that stand out is the sheer power of her voice, an emotional instrument that is capable of matching the moods of her songs which can turn, at ease, from a whisper to something more powerfu
Fermanagh is a county that s accommodated a rake of musical traditions both past and present. Split by the sibling lakes of Upper and Lower Lough Erin, Fermanagh s musical identity is as diverse as her geography, to the extent that at times there s little or no crossover in musical style from north to south of the county and vice versa.
from reagan to bush; from radio free europe to clear channel; from green to reveal; from the sfx to marlay park. REM call time out and Peter Buck fills in the gaps from 1983 to 2003. interview Peter Murphy
The latest wave of right-wing attacks on US musicians is likely to have a knock-on effect here, with the words and actions of our own artists coming under increased scrutiny. In a special hotpress report, Ed Power enlists the help of Marilyn Manson and a number of major Irish players to pick his way through the censorship minefield.
Jackie Hayden talks to Jackie Mason about the politics of humour, discrimination as a good career move, why he'll never go back to being a rabbi, how his middle finger got him into hot water - and why he probably won't be telling Moslem jokes anytime soon.
From U2 to The Frames and Sinead O’Connor to Damien Rice, music has helped put this country on the map. So why is the government so slow to back the music industry?
The Boss is back, and boy is he pissed. Bruce Springsteen uses the language of classic American rock 'n' roll to address the disquiet and despair of the modern-day American nightmare. Hot Press bore witness to a cluster of exclusive warm-up shows in New York and New Jersey.
