Country Music

Ever since I first watched the annual country music awards in the mid 1990s I've been a big fan of modern country music. I only manage to catch the awards show on television every 2 or 3 years, but until now it has been my main source of information on new artists. When I see new artists, most of them were born in the 60's and 70's and have been singing for a couple of decades, but they're very rarely mentioned over here in the UK.

My favourite country artists to date are Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, LeAnn Rimes, Carrie Underwood, the Dixie Chicks, Tim McGraw, Chely Wright and Jessica Andrews.

In the past I have subscribed to various music sites so that I could try new music and play albums that I don't own. Having recently cancelled my subscription I had a look around and found last.fm - a wonderful free site for playing music. You can type in your favourite artist and then get a constant stream of songs by similar artists. This has been wonderful for my country music education and already I have found some new artists that I really like - Deana Carter, Jo dee messina, Lila McCann, Blake Shelton & Julie Roberts.

I'd definitely recommend trying last.fm and for anyone interested in country music the film Walk the Line is a must-see.