Jonathan Bernstein

Lots of predictable dunking on this line-up in the replies, so let's provide some actual context here.

None of these four are in their commercial prime-- collectively, none have hit #1 at country radio more recently than 2020-- but the three who aren't Kid Rock are not unknown acts. 1/x

yes!

Of Note 022: Bowie's Blackstar anniversary, Marisa Dubice interview, Justin Townes Earle biography Howdy folks! The new year has kicked off with a wealth of great music writing. This month’s selections have put me in a time machine or some kind of liminal,...

Of Note 022 is out!

Highlighting work from:

@natechinen.bsky.social on Blackstar
@elienis.bsky.social with M. Dubice
@jonbern.bsky.social's JTE bio
@stevenhyden.bsky.social on Pitchfork
@ericdharvey.com on Bob Marley
@tombreihan.bsky.social on The Greatest
@marissarmoss.bsky.social asks a question

Minneapolis’ Hotel Workers Are on Edge Staff across the city told NOTUS how their lives have changed since the start of the federal immigration operation. “It's frightening,” one said.

I visited hotels all over Minneapolis, went into back rooms & talked to the staff.

They're afraid.

One told me she resents how her undocumented coworkers spend their days cleaning the rooms of agents who are “hunting down their family members.”

@notus.com:

www.notus.org/immigration/...

would like to manifest a live band karaoke night where you can only sing warren zevon

Minnesota Rapper Violently Detained by ICE: 'I Assumed I Was Going to Die' Minnesota rapper Nur-D, who was detained by ICE while protesting the killing of Alex Pretti, tells us what happened and why he won't stop fighting

Nice piece on Nur-D from @jonbern.bsky.social

YouTube video by Nur-D - Topic Franklin Ave.

I recommend, in this moment, his song "Franklin Ave"

www.youtube.com/watch?v=dofA...

Spoke with the Minnesota musician and rapper Nur-D about being violently arrested by masked Federal agents.

Help Families Pay The Rent — Stand With Minnesota Donation Directory Donate to help immigrant families in Minnesota pay rent during ICE occupation. Emergency housing support rooted in dignity and community care.

Today is my 53rd birthday: if you have yet to do so (+ can) please join me in donating to help families impacted by the ICE raids in MN who cannot pay rent.

Jonathan Bernstein on Justin Townes Earle, Addiction, and the Music Th Jonathan Bernstein did not set out to sanctify Justin Townes Earle, nor to reduce him to a cautionary tale. With What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome, Bernstein instead accomplishes something far more

Jonathan Bernstein’s biography of Justin Townes Earle, 'What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome', is rooted in the quiet devastation of 'Saint of Lost Causes'.

Over and above everything else HE PRONOUNCED NICOLLET AVENUE CORRECTLY my god this man

YouTube video by Bruce Springsteen Bruce Springsteen - Streets Of Minneapolis (Official Audio)

Bruce singing about Nicollet Ave
www.youtube.com/watch?v=wWKS...

A Nurse Who Served Veterans Was Killed. Where You At, Country Music? I'm not going to lie to you, newsletter readers: it's hard to newsletter "normally" today, though, to be fair, I could almost say that about any day for the last near decade. Outside my window, the to...

A Nurse Who Served Veterans Was Killed. Where You At, Country Music???

Alex Pretti Helped Veterans and Owned a Gun. Why Is Country Music Silent About His Death? Country artists love to sing about the military and guns, but few have said anything about the death of VA nurse and legal gun owner Alex Pretti.

Alex Pretti Helped Veterans and Owned a Gun. Why Is Country Music Silent About His Death?

Book Review: What Do You Do When You’re Lonesome Documents Justin Townes Earle's Time in Portland When Justin Townes Earle rolled into Portland in 2016, he had already lived a long life for a 34-year-old. Born in Nashville, Earle had been making music since he was a kid and earning plenty of compa...

Grateful for this thoughtful piece about JTE (focusing on his later Portland years) from the @portlandmercury.com
www.portlandmercury.com/books/2026/0...

YouTube video by New West Records Robert Ellis - "California" [Official Video]

One of the stranger scenes in ABC's Nashville, which I may or may not be rewatching: In Season 5, Rayna James watches the music video of "California" by Robert Ellis (great song!) and then decides her label can't afford the female model from the video.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=m0ap...

What It Feels Like Getting Stopped by ICE My work for Texas Monthly demands hundreds of hours on the road each year. Being pulled over by immigration enforcement officers has felt like an inevitability for months.

Taco editor José R. Ralat's work for Texas Monthly demands hundreds of hours on the road each year.

For him, being pulled over by immigration-enforcement officers has felt like an inevitability for months. https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/taco-editor-stopped-by-ice/

What an honor to go on the Nashville Banner podcast with @genuinehumandk.bsky.social (as a non-Nashvillian!) and talk about JTE and much more.

Big thanks to @steveharuch.bsky.social

Alex Pretti was a colleague at the VA. We hired him to recruit for our trial. He became an ICU nurse- I lover working with him. He was a good kind person who lived to help and these fuckers executed him.

White. Hot. Rage.

If you’re not from here, I need to explain this execution was on Eat Street, a commercial corridor of restaurants and coffee shops that literally everyone goes to. Normies, queermos, weirdos, neighborhood folks. Whatever that place is in your city, imagine ICE executing someone in cold blood there.

Live: Man shot by federal agent in south Minneapolis this morning, witnesses say More than a hundred protesters and observers have gathered near E. 26th Street and Nicollet Avenue.

There’s video floating around. You don’t want to watch it.

News feed will be updated continuously. No paywall.

www.startribune.com/ice-raids-mi...

Candi Staton Is a Survivor. At 85, She’s Also a Grammy Nominee.

Candi Staton Is a Survivor. At 85, She’s Also a Grammy Nominee.

The singer’s journey through gospel, soul, disco and Americana has been plagued by setbacks and struggles, but she has always found the path forward.
www.nytimes.com/2026/01/23/a...

It’s -9 degrees. Downtown Minneapolis is packed for the anti-ICE rally and the crowd keeps growing

A new biography of Justin Townes Earle clarifies the singer-songwriter's complex legacy In the late 2000s, Justin Townes Earle emerged as one of the most magnetic singer-songwriters in roots music. He died in 2020 of a fentanyl overdose in Nashville, and now journalist Jonathan Bernstein...

Total honor to talk JTE and much more w/ @jewlyhight.bsky.social on Nashville Public Radio:
wpln.org/post/a-new-b...

YouTube video by Lucinda Williams - Topic Low Life

This might be my favorite song Lucinda has released in the 21st century:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr8A...

www.dontrocktheinbox.com -woman owned mom owned worker owned writing about whatever we feel "country music" means that day bsky.app/profile/lizp...

like how are you going to complain this much about p*tchfork without telling people to subscribe to @hearingthingsco.bsky.social

Is the Touring Business Broken for Indie Acts? Artists, agents, and managers say that touring is more expensive than ever, and it's becoming harder for indie artists to make money on the road

up now at rolling stone: my report on the perilous state of the touring business for indie acts.

"It was definitely much, much, much more doable just a few years ago. It’s not even about making a profit. It’s about actually being able to do it at all."

www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...

Lucinda Williams on Trump-Bashing New Album: 'Should I Be Afraid?' Lucinda Williams talks about meeting Bob Dylan and why people ask if she's afraid of bashing Trump on new album 'World's Gone Wrong.'

Lucinda Williams told me about co-writing with Big Thief, telling Bob Dylan she's been called "the female Bob Dylan," and imagining getting dragged offstage by the FBI due to her anti-Trump material.
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...