Toby Keith

Country Music Festivals: The good, the bad and the smelly

Ohhh, the weather outside is... not as bad as they said it was gonna be? Okay, it still sucks. But soon -- yes, soon... too soon in fact! -- it will be summer, and it will be really stupidly hot, and we'll be going to music festivals and become reacquainted with the sweet summer smell of a beer-and- ... More >>

Kathleen Edwards and Tig Notaro at Wits, 4/19/13

Wits with Tig Notaro and Kathleen Edwards Fitzgerald Theater, St. Paul Friday, April 19, 2013 With a name like Wits, come expecting to laugh, but also come expecting to be moved by the musical guests. Friday's session of Wits had its guests trading roles with musical guest Kathleen Edwards showing ... More >>

The 12 best country shows in February

February brings a number of fine options for catching country music at local venues, whether your taste runs singer-songwriter, country rock, Red Dirt or old-time Appalachian-influenced fiddle music. Oh, and you should totally take your parents to see the John Denver tribute at the State. They'll th ... More >>

American Idol ISO country judge: our predictions

The country music world's been abuzz all week with Idol chit-chat about - cue Ryan Seacrest voice - Who will be... the next American Idol judge. Steven Tyler and Jennifer Lopez have vacated their seats, with Mariah Carey joining tenured judge Randy Jackson for the program's twelfth season, and rumor ... More >>

Kid Rock and 22 examples of hick-hop's evolution

Country rap, or "hick-hop" as it's sometimes called, may seem to capture either the height of musical irony, or the height of its stupidity. Probably both. But in the book The Accidental Evolution of Rock 'n' Roll, prolific music journalist Chuck Eddy traces the sub-genre's roots all the way back to ... More >>

Don Gibson and trailer park songs, on this day in country history

Trailer parks have a bad rap, no doubt about it. But there's no use denying their pervasiveness in American culture. These semi-permanent structures are cheap and easy enough to transport.It was on this day in 1957 that country singer Don Gibson sat in his home in a Knoxville, Tennessee trailer par ... More >>

Country Music Festival Season Preview: Have you ordered your Mini-Biff?

"Load up the RV, mama - we're goin' to WE Fest." You wish. Working stiffs like us don't get Fridays off, and we ain't got no RV. Maybe you ain't even got no mama. Poor you. But for those with mamas, vacation time, and an RV (or the dogged tenacity to sleep in a hot, muddy tent next to the portable ... More >>

Weekend Checklist: "Are You Local?" Showcase, Punch Brothers, Galactic, Buddy Guy

​SXSW is right around the corner. And though the yearly music trade festival in Texas is definitely not happening here, there are several events that serve as our local equivalent. The first is the Vita.mn Are You Local? showcase tonight at First Avenue. A couple CD release shows to note this week ... More >>

11 country songs for "Occupy MN"

You load 16 tons, whaddya get? Well, you'd be lucky to get a coal mining job these days. Okay, so lucky's perhaps not the most apt word, but plenty of folks would be happy to get one, anyway. Today, in recognition of the horse muck the folks in power have gotten us stuck in, and in honor of the fo ... More >>

Toby Keith tops Forbes' "Highest-Paid" list

Photo by Nikki MillerGimme fifty mill and I'll sell you a Ford pickup truck!​No, he didn't out-earn Lady Gaga, who topped Forbes' list of highest-paid celebrities, but at his $50 million to her $4.5 billion, Toby Keith was at the top of the list of country artists, thanks in part to his chain ... More >>

Hard Rock Cafe closing September 30. What will replace it?

​Hard Rock Cafe's story is as quaint as it is homespun, or at least, that's what their website is shucking.  Local hero and folksy humble-as-pie British megastar Eric Clapton donates his guitar to his favorite London restaurant, a quaint hangout called the Hard Rock Cafe...A week or two later ... More >>

Marc Anthony woos fans at the Minnesota State Fair

Photo by Erik Hess​As part of our ongoing coverage of music at the Minnesota State Fair, we sent photographer Erik Hess to catch salsa kingpin Marc Anthony in the Grandstand last night -- and he returned with some incredible images. Click here for Erik's full slideshow, and see below for links to ... More >>

Wanda Jackson, Justin Townes Earle, Travis Tritt and more this weekend

Photo courtesy of wandajackson.comWanda Jackson​Ahem. Perty little lo-ove song. Perty little lo-ove so-oh-ong. Perty little lo-ove song... bang bing bong. Take a second to learn the real lyrics to this song* when the Marshall Tucker Band opens for Travis Tritt at the Otsego JamFest Friday ... More >>

10 country songs about fightin'

​On this day in country music history, in an evening session in a studio on Nashville's storied Music Row, Johnny Horton recorded "The Battle of New Orleans." While his version became the best known over the years, peaking at Number One on both Billboard's Hot Country Singles and its Hot 100 lists ... More >>

David Allan Coe at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, 1/13/11

Photo by Nikki Miller​David Allan Coe January 13, 2011 Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, St. Louis Park David Allan Coe at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, on a Thursday. What can one expect of a night like this?

David Allan Coe to play Toby Keith's tonight

​Toby Keith's I Love This Bar and Grill, open since last year in St. Louis Park, has been described by one yelp.com reviewer as "Think LoneStar Steakhouse meets Hooters," and by another as "Sucky seriously Sucky food." David Allan Coe has been described as a tongue-in-cheek liberal redneck gay ... More >>

Rocket Club and Lost Highway to ring in New Year at Toby Keith's

Photo courtesy of rocketclub.info​Wanna ring in the New Year country style - and maybe with your first mechanical bull ride? Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill is hosting a New Year's Eve Celebration Friday night featuring local band Lost Highway and local band-gone-big Rocket Club (12/31, m ... More >>

10 country musicians to watch in 2011

​As I culled through lists of new and upcoming releases from new and up-and-coming country artists, I couldn't help but notice a pattern: many were by women, and most of those by women who seemed to be taking country in a slightly new direction (occasionally, the "new" direction one that count ... More >>

Ringo to close this weekend

Goodbye Ringo--or should we say, au revoir or adios?​On the heels of Sauce's closure, another West End tenant will shut its doors: The Star Tribune reports that Ringo has announced it will close after service on Dec. 18. The news is disappointing, though not surprising--here's why:

Jamey Johnson to play benefit at Fine Line Friday

Courtesy of jameyjohnson.com​So you're a hipster who hates country music but loves Waylon Jennings. Despises Keith Urban and Toby Keith but digs on Cash. Thinks Carrie Underwood and Taylor Swift can burn in a pyre of blonde extensions and Auto-tune processors but thinks Loretta in her black wi ... More >>

Patriotic country songs: The good, the bad, the ugly

​Happy Armistice slash Veterans Day! This is the day we're supposed to be patriotic, but without blowing anything up. And so on this day, I'm going to remember that services for veterans are woefully underfunded, that Don't Ask Don't Tell is bullshit policy, that women comprise over 14% of active- ... More >>

West End to lure shoppers with wine bar, crepes, 24-hour diner

Coming soon to St. Louis Park: Le Crepe Nanou, Wine Loft, and Huey's 24/7 Diner​St. Louis Park's West End shopping complex is already a restaurant mecca, home to Cooper, Crave, Ringo, Rojo Mexican Grill, Sauce Pizza and Wine, and Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill. If those aren't options ar ... More >>

'Equality is the prime rib of America' and other surreal political moments in pop music

​Lady Gaga proclaimed yesterday that "Equality is the prime rib of America," simultaneously empowering and confusing the hell out of legions of GLBT activists as they rallied against "Don't Ask, Don't Tell." While the nation's top socio-political scientists try to decode what Gaga could have possi ... More >>

Toby Keith meet-and-greet, Trailer Choir, and Marty Stuart this weekend

​Many of us, our friends over at Hot Dish not excluded, have buzzed about Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill, which opened earlier this summer in St. Louis Park. "I hear they have a mechanical bull!" "Mechanical bull?!?" "Down-home Southern comfort food? Say what?" "Will Toby really put a bo ... More >>

Month in Review: Open, Closed, Coming Soon July '10

​ OPEN FACES, St. Paul (David Fhima reboots LoTo) Uptown Cafeteria and Support Group, Minneapolis I Love This Bar & Grill (Toby Keith's deal), St. Louis Park Depot at First Avenue, Minneapolis D'Amico's PARMA 8200, Bloomington Sauce Pizza & Wine, St. Louis Park Mango Tango, Brooklyn Center

Kathy Mattea at Orchestra Hall, Burns & Poe at "I Love This Bar & Grill"

Montana brand Bluebird boots, in the style of Gene Autry, to be worn at fancy, sit-down recitals​I'm a little torn on how best to spend a Saturday night - put on my immaculate, fancy inlay boots from Schatzlein's and sit prim and proper at Orchestra Hall... or hoof it on down to Toby Keith's I Lov ... More >>

Toby Keith's I Love This Bar & Grill: Now Open

​Last weekend, Toby Keith opened his eighth I Love This Bar & Grill at The Shops at West End in St. Louis Park. The measurements are impressive: the 14,700 square-foot restaurant has a capacity of 850, and 38 HDTV monitors for viewing sporting events. There's live music (Tues-Sun) and dancing- ... More >>

Miranda Lambert and Blake Shelton are gettin' hitched

Photo by Nikki Miller​ Nashville has flooded, the incomparable Doc Watson is playing a sold-out show at the Cedar on Saturday night, and 7th-grade Nikki's favorite band ever, Brooks & Dunn, are bringing their farewell tour to the Xcel on Friday (with Jason Aldean, who'll likely treat us to his ... More >>

Country Festivals: Decorate your RV! Win a John Deere!

Your guide to the hottest, the sweatiest, the smelliest country music festivals this summer. Somebody grab the cooler.

Five for February: Country acts comin' our way

Nepotism and lady beer guts: three acts to see if you've got nothin' better goin', and two not to miss.

Are You Ready For the Country: Your cheatin' heart will tell on you

Blame it on your lying cheating cold deadbeating two-timing double-dealing mean mistreating loving heart.

Weekend slideshow wrap-up: No Doubt, Haley Bonar, Elvis Costello & more

It was a good holiday weekend to stay in the Twin Cities.

This week's "Best of Hot Dish"

Toby Keith's opening up shop, new SPAM ads are taking to the airwaves, what more could we ask for?

Toby Keith opening restaurant in Minn.?

Country music singer Toby Keith to open an "I Love This Bar & Grill" restaurant in Minnesota.

Minnesota State Fair

Don King's knockout video game tops this week's pop culture picks

Gnarls Barkley added to State Fair lineup

Breakfast of Champions 4/2: Electronic bread, digital circuses

WHAT'S PLAYING

Top Ten Spins This Week at KEEY, 102.1 FM

Concert Highlights for the Week of August 1 - 7

Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music

Ten reasons to tune in country radio in 2006

Twenty Damn Records That Can Make You... Break Down and Cryyyyy. Or Dance or whatever.

One man's journey through 2005's best recorded music

Toby Keith, "Honkytonk U"

In TV Land, You're Better Off Red

Boob tube news swings hard to the right

Will Smith, "Switch"; Brad Paisley, "Alcohol"

I'll Have a Blizzard with a Topping of Basic American Decency

Listening to John Prine at the mouth of a freeway

Real Life Rock Top 10

Lou Reed struts like Brando; a NASCAR Nazi salute; and voting isn't just for old people

Let's Roll...and Rock

Attaxploitation: Pop stars respond to 9/11