'An Old Cowhand,' Sonny Rollins, and Jazz and Country Music's Overlapping History

Who's a real cowboy? The question has been central to American culture (popular and otherwise) for almost as long as it's existed, filtered through novels and songs and (of course) endless Westerns, where myths around the tough, rugged and macho American West were consolidated by posh

Put A Record On: The 2026 Summer Playlist (Spoiler, It's Disco)

The summer playlist is a pretty beloved (by me, at least) tradition here at DRTI — paying subscribers have access to all the previous ones here — and as we've discussed quite thoroughly, the country trend of this summer seems to sync up with our pre-existing interest in disco

When Will Women in Country Music Get to be Mediocre?

Lainey Wilson works her ass off. This ability to keep going, at first against all odds and now to keep up with the ravenous demands of her career, is the centerpiece of a new documentary about her life, Keepin’ Country Cool, which debuted last month on Netflix.  Working hard is

Put A Record On: It's A Disco Country World

Welcome back to Don’t Rock the Inbox. Here’s this week’s music recommendation post and playlist, which are for paying subscribers only. If you’re interested in paid content but not able to afford it, shoot us an email. The Good "Crisco," Miranda Lambert: Not Miranda

On Mothering and Work

I'm writing this the day after my first Mother's Day as a mother, in the hour and a half or so I have each night after the baby has gone to bed and before I go to bed if I plan to get any sleep at

🗨 Don't Rock the Comments Section: Middle of Nowhere

Yee-fucking-haw: there's a new Kacey Musgraves album in the world. Middle of Nowhere has been out for a week now, so hopefully you've all had enough time to sit with it for more than a few listens - enough listens, to discuss here! We chatted

What Do You Do When You're Lonesome?

I've probably told this story here before, but the man that really drew us to Nashville was Justin Townes Earle. We'd come to visit during a now-defunct music festival called Soundland, and Justin was playing in a small room off the Korean Veterans Boulevard roundabout,

Put A Record On: Don Schlitz Beyond 'The Gambler'

Earlier this week, we paid a slightly belated homage to the gone-too-soon songwriter Don Schlitz. In spite of the fact that he wrote one of the most widely beloved pop songs of the last century (it was even turned into series of TV movies), he was hardly a

R.I.P. Don Schlitz, Master Of American Song

At the far-too-young age of 73, we've lost one of the people whose work defined the very best of what it meant to be a Nashville songwriter. "The Gambler" will be in all the headlines — understandably, given its place in the American pop canon

Put A Record On: Ethical Yearning And Viral Sensations

Welcome back to Don’t Rock the Inbox. Here’s this week’s music recommendation post and playlist, which are for paying subscribers only. If you’re interested in paid content but not able to afford it, shoot us an email. The Good "Long Con," Creekbed Carter Hogan:

Tonight! Don't Rock The Inbox Book Club on Alice Gerrard and 'Custom Made Woman'

Hello friends!! Tonight we will finally be hosting our Alice Gerrard edition of the Don't Rock The Inbox Book Club at 7:30 p.m. CT — all paying subscribers are welcome to join our Zoom discussion of Alice Gerrard's memoir, Custom Made Woman: A Life In

Proust-ish Questionnaire: MORGXN

Another day, another stupidly hateful action in my beautiful state of Tennessee: namely, the news that our Governor signed a resolution last week that June - aka Pride Month - will now be designated as "Nuclear Family Month," celebrating households that consist of "one husband, one wife, and any