NEWS
Taylor Swift
Beth GarrabrantThe Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum will highlight the achievements of Taylor Swift, Jimmie Allen, Brothers Osborne, Luke Combs, Mickey Guyton, Carly Pearce and more with the March 4 opening of the latest installment of the Hall’s “American Currents: State of the Music” exhibit.
The annual exhibit highlights notable music, artist achievements and events from the past year, as determined by the museum’s curators.
The exhibit will also feature Brandi Carlile, Jerry Douglas, John Hiatt, three-time CMA musician of the year winner Jenee Fleenor, the Grand Ole Opry, Walker Hayes, Wanda Jackson, Alison Krauss, Old Dominion, Allison Russell, Chris Stapleton and Billy Strings. Several of the artists highlighted in the exhibit are recent CMA Awards winners, including Fleenor, reigning entertainer of the year Combs, reigning female vocalist of the year Pearce, reigning new artist of the year Allen, reigning vocal duo of the year Brothers Osborne, reigning vocal group of the year Old Dominion and 2021 multi-award winner Stapleton.
The exhibit also includes a video compilation of important country music moments from 2021, and recaps the year’s chart-topping country albums, singles and highest-grossing tours as reported by Billboard and Pollstar.
Another portion of the exhibit, titled “Unbroken Circle,” will feature artists and their musical influences, including Breland and Keith Urban, Thomm Jutz and Tom T. Hall, Brittney Spencer and Reba McEntire, as well as Lainey Wilson and Lee Ann Womack.
“Through the annual American Currents exhibit, the museum documents the genre’s evolving history, diverse sounds and broad cultural influence,” said Kyle Young, CEO of the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum. “In another year characterized by the complexities of the pandemic, the continued pursuit of social justice and more, country music stood out as a microcosm of American culture. This exhibit offers perspectives on music and events that shaped the genre in 2021.”
The exhibit runs through Feb. 5, 2023.
Ezra Furman has announced a new headline tour of the UK and Europe to take place early in 2026 – see all the dates below.
The Chicago-born singer-songwriter released her 10th studio album ‘Goodbye Small Head’ in May via Bella Union and is already set to take the record on the road around North America in August and October this year.
Now, she has added a slew of dates on the other side of the Atlantic, kicking off in Vienna, Austria on January 19 and taking in dates in Graz, Linz, Munich, Prague, Berlin, Hamburg, Amsterdam, Antwerp and Paris.
The tour rounds off with four UK dates – Glasgow, Manchester and Bristol are followed by a huge final show at the O2 Forum Kentish Town in London on February 4. Tickets are on sale now and you can find yours here.
JANUARY
19 – Vienna, Arena Wien
20 – Graz, Dom Im Berg
21 -Linz, Posthof
22 – Munich, Strom
24 – Prague, Cargo Gallery
25 – Berlin, Columbia Theater
26 – Hamburg, Molotow
27 – Amsterdam, Paradiso Tolhuisten
28 – Antwerp, Trix Club
29 – Paris, Le Cabaret Sauvage
FEBRUARY
1 – Glasgow, The Art School
2 – Manchester, New Century Hall
3 – Bristol, Electric
4 – London, O2 Forum Kentish Town
Furman described ‘Goodbye Small Head’ as being “vivid with overwhelm”, adding: “They’re not about someone going off the rails, they are inside that person’s heart. The songwriting here is a revision to William Wordsworth’s famous proclamation that ‘Poetry is the spontaneous overow of powerful feelings: it takes its origin from emotion recollected in tranquillity’. I can agree with that, except for the tranquillity part.”
Furman continued: “This poetry, my poetry, arrived in the midst of the storm. It was written as I teetered toward the edge. (I did the edits once I was safe again).”
