Dawn McCoy's MySpace lists her as pop/country, but really I think she's neither and yet both. Her CD is a lesson in fun. I get so tired of having to label things and think that a lot of music just needs to be categorized as a good time rather than country, pop, rock, whatever. Why must it be classified by a name rather than just by how it makes you feel?

For most fans in the United States George Canyon is but a footnote in the history of country music for his runner-up status on the 2nd season of Nashville Star. While George did release one album in the states on Universal Records South, he has had a remarkable run of success in his Native Canada. He's won numerous CCMA and Juno (Canada's "Grammys") awards since 2004 and even released a cover album of his favorite 'classic' Country songs in 2007.

Josh Ward, lead singer/songwriter, and Neal Cowan, lead guitar player, made their start at open mic nights and singer/songwriter competitions that received a great response from listeners. Ready to take that next step, Neal and Josh began the process of putting together a band that would emulate the soul of Texas country music.

This Texas band's guitars rock with an authority their Nashville counterparts rarely manage, but the songs on this Radney Foster-produced disc are pure country, such as Somebody Take Me Home, in which a guy takes to sleeping on the floor when the memories in his bed crowd him out.

Based in the south Texas town of George West, this aggressive and talented country-rock outfit includes vocalist-guitarist Michael Wright, rhythm guitarist-banjoist-singer Justin Wilcox, bassist Bonner Baker and drummer Michael Faltysek.

After a lifetime of performing, Serena Ryder stands poised on the brink of big things. Armed with a riveting stage presence, powerful three-octave range and songs of intense passion, she invites the listener to observe her soul stripped bare.

Written, produced, recorded, and released by the artist and his band, Rodney Hayden’s homespun 12 Ounce World is a truly independent project in every sense of the word. And who needs a high-powered record label or a big recording budget when you can make music like this on your own? 12 Ounce World may not be a musical revelation, but it very well may be indicative of the coming music industry revolution–it is, after all, the finest self-made country album I’ve ever heard.

It turns out that music today suffers from a severe lack of accordion. Luckily, the Doc Marshalls are here to remedy this with their mix of Louisiana country and Brooklyn swagger in quite possibly the best combination since chocolate and peanut butter. On their second record, Honest for Once, the band moves seamlessly from tear-in-beer honky tonk to Flying Burrito Brothersesque alt-country to raucous Cajun dancehall tunes that make damn near every other country record released in 2008 pale in comparison.

The foot-stomping, harmony-driven combo of The Magnificent 7's deliver a crowd-pleasing, high-energy blend of roots, retro-rock, and inspired originals, with visits from Bruce, Hank and Elvis. Three Banjos! No waiting.

On their new album, the band straddles the line between traditional bluegrass, new-grass jams, and even veers a little into country pop territory. I know what you are thinking and despite my somewhat questionable description and the diversity of the record, nothing sounds labored.

It was a cold January day on a remote highway in Idaho. A young man stopped to help other travelers who were trapped in an overturned truck. As the man was working to rescue them, another car skidded off the road and struck him at highway speed. That man was Lee Penn Sky.

If you like Hayes Carll, Jon Dee Graham, Joe Ely, Robert Earl Keen, and those kinds of guys, Leaving, TX, is right down your alley. In Anywhere On Good Roads, the boys from Leaving, TX have come up with a fine sophomore release filled with songs about drinkin’, smokin’, lyin’, and killin’. And drinkin’. Okay, pretty much all the songs are about drinkin’.

Once or thrice before in Brian Burns’ career it’s been heralded from the rooftops that the man has arrived. There was that Angels and Outlaws album that spawned some tremendous airplay in the Dallas-Fort Worth area, and thereby in the nation’s largest country music market, getting Burns recognition from sea to shining gulf. And then The Eagle and the Snake record, with its faithful rendition of Texana and history, launched an entire educational program that landed Burns in the middle of schools all over the state and tasked with breathing life into the minds of Lone Star children. Heavy Weather, man, that one got some reviews. Mystical, they called it. Intense. Mature. The Turning Point.

Christmas with the Smithereens features three original tunes, and as rock & roll Christmas albums go, this is good fun and admirably eclectic. The Smithereens are pretty broad-minded when it comes to what constitutes a Yuletide melody, given the presence of "Christmas," a not especially seasonal tune from the Who's Tommy, and they dig up the Beatles rarity "Christmas Time Is Here Again," as well as cutting a version of "Rockin' Around the Christmas Tree" that's a dead ringer for the Fab Four.

Just Passing Thru is the latest 2008 CD Release from Janet McGarry. It marks the 8th recording by our reigning Eastern Canadian Bluegrass Association’s Female Vocalist of the Year, a title Janet has held for the past five years, in addition to many other awards and nominations she has received for her music.