Free Republic

Just two songs into Gillian Welch and David Rawlings’ sold-out set at the Masonic on Wednesday, the mainstays of San Francisco’s Hardly Strictly Bluegrass festival declared an early demise in their show. “It’s already happened,” Welch deadpanned. “We chucked the setlist.” The auditorium swelled with applause as the audience inched forward in their seats with eager ears to hear what the Americana duo would play next. Rawlings, clutching his signature small archtop guitar, teased out the first few notes of “Empty Trainload of Sky,” which opens their latest album, “Woodland.” As he canvassed the fretboard with a dialed precision, dropping...

The popular 1970’s Christian music group, 2nd Chapter of Acts, has premiered their music archive on a new Christian streaming service—and the person behind that platform is a registered sex offender and husband of a band member. Steve Greisen, husband of 2nd Chapter’s Nelly Greisen, was convicted in 2023 of attempting to solicit sex online with a minor in Colorado Springs, Colorado, El Paso County’s sex offender registry reports. Greisen evaded jail time through a plea deal. A year later, 2nd Chapter of Acts shared about partnering with ExploreFlix in a Facebook post. The streaming service aims to “bring faith-affirming...

Hearing The Pogues and Kirsty MacColl’s iconic Christmas ditty Fairytale of New York will be poignant for fans this year following the death of Shane MacGowan. The Pogues frontman’s death at the age of 65 was announced on November 30, 2023, following years of battling health issues. His funeral is taking place today (December 8) with Johnny Depp arriving in Nenagh, Tipperary to give a reading. Often voted the nation’s favourite Yuletide song, it is the UK’s most-played Christmas single, and you can often find it getting everyone on their feet during annual parties. It has been sold more than...

"We were so lucky to have had him in our lives and are thankful for the amazing memories we have," wrote the group on Wednesday. S Club 7 member Paul Cattermole has died, the UK pop group confirmed on Friday. He was 46. "We are truly devastated by the passing of our brother Paul. There are no words to describe the deep sadness and loss we all feel," wrote the group on Instagram. "We were so lucky to have had him in our lives and are thankful for the amazing memories we have." The statement continued, "He will be so...

Brian “Brizz” Gillis, a co-founding member of the 1990s boy band LFO, died Wednesday at 48. Gillis is the third LFO member to die: In 2010, Rich Cronin, 36, passed after a stroke while battling leukemia, and Devin Lima died at 41 of adrenal cancer in 2018. Member Brad Fischetti announced Gillis’ death Thursday on LFO’s Facebook page, writing that he does not know the details of his former bandmate’s death.The group was managed by notorious boy band manager and convicted fraudster Lou Pearlman, who died in prison in 2016.

Reality stars Todd and Julie Chrisley have been sentenced to 12 years and seven years in prison respectively months after they were found guilty in their tax evasion case. The couple, best known for 'Chrisley Knows Best' on USA, was sentenced Monday by an Atlanta judge to a combined total of 19 years in prison, less than two days after one of their sons was seriously injured in a car crash in Nashville. Todd, 53, and Julie, 49, will also serve 16 months of probation each upon their release, according to WBS-TV. The news comes five months after the Chrisleys...

"You can stop us using the songs but you can’t erase our memories shame on you Noel Gallagher"Liam Gallagher has claimed that there will be no Oasis songs in his upcoming Knebworth 22 documentary because Noel Gallagher “blocked them”. Announced earlier this week, Knebworth 22 will document Liam’s return earlier this summer to Knebworth, where he performed 26 years on from Oasis’ pair of 1996 shows at the Hertfordshire site. READ MORE: Liam Gallagher live in Knebworth: rock’n’roll star takes a leap of faith – and somehow pulls it off Asked by a fan on Twitter earlier this morning...

We’ve been witnessing attacks against conservatives and their principles for quite some time so this recent example really should be of no surprise. Just this week on Twitter, liberal artist Cher went on her predictable tirade against Senator Rand Paul suggesting he was against civil rights for minorities. Of course she was lying and twisting her interpretation of what Sen. Paul’s stance is on the matter, but is that not what liberals in Hollywood and media are known for? Morris Communications is a multi-media conglomerate that seems to have been a recent target of liberal website Gawker as well as...

Justin Timberlake is not in awe of Taylor Hicks’ talent. “People think he looks so normal, and he’s so sweet and he’s so earnest, but he can’t carry a tune in a bucket,” Timberlake told Fashion Rocks, a supplement of Vanity Fair. Timberlake also thinks that Hicks’ fame is fragile. “If [Hicks] has any skeletons whatsoever, if God forbid, he’s gay, and if all these people in Mississippi who voted for him are like [then he takes on a thick southern accent], ‘Oh my god, I voted for a queer!’ It’s just too much pressure.” The “Justified” singer has mixed...

Disappointing airplay for the first two singles from the new album by the Dixie Chicks exposes a deep -- and seemingly growing -- rift between the trio and the country radio market that helped turn the group into superstars. "Taking the Long Way," due out May 23, is the band's first album since singer Natalie Maines sparked a major controversy in 2003 by declaring that she was ashamed to hail from the same state as fellow Texan President George W. Bush. Radio boycotts ensued, and many fans abandoned the band. The first single, "Not Ready to Make Nice," peaked at...