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There sure has been a lot of discourse this year about who can play country music. But at the Country Music Hall of Fame’s annual Medallion Ceremony on Sunday, officially inducting this year’s class, the answer was “anyone who showed up.”

That included two members of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Keith Richards and Elvis Costello; Nashville’s latest pop arrival, Post Malone; bluegrass pioneer Del McCoury; Americana poet Lucinda Williams; and genre pillars Vince Gill and Emmylou Harris.

All of them, along with Eric Church, Blake Shelton,...

An animated video for Mark Knopfler’s all-star charity single “Going Home (Theme From Local Hero)” – which brought together a stunning lineup of over 60 guitar gods to raise funds for Teen Cancer America and the Teenage Cancer Trust – has been released. It features the final recording of Jeff Beck along with contributions by Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Slash, Ronnie Wood, Joan Jett, Eric Clapton, Pete Townshend, and Sting.

The song came out a week ago, but it was difficult to discern who was playing what part throughout the ten-minute song.

Mark Knopfler has teamed up with a host of fellow guitar legends to record a version of his song “Going Home (Theme from Local Hero)” to raise funds for Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.

The Dire Straits frontman tapped Eric Clapton, Slash (Guns N’ Roses), David Gilmour (Pink Floyd), Brian May (Queen), Tony Iommi (Black Sabbath), Pete Townshend (The Who), Alex Lifeson (Rush), Bruce Springsteen, Ronnie Wood (The Rolling Stones), Joan Jett, and many more, forming what he has dubbed “Mark Knopfler’s Guitar Heroes.” Notably, the star-studded version opens with the final recorded guitar track by the late Jeff Beck.

Knopfler’s longtime collaborator Guy Fletcher handled the production of the track, which might be the greatest assemblage of guitar talent to co-exist on a single song. The Sgt. Pepper‘s-style artwork was created by Sir Peter Blake.

The full song can be heard below now, featuring...

Dire Straits’ Mark Knopfler has united with over 60 artists — including Bruce Springsteen, David Gilmour, Slash, Eric Clapton, Ringo Starr, Ronnie Wood, Jeff Beck, Pete Townshend, Sting, Brian May, Joan Jett, Nile Rodgers, and Brian May — to create a new version of his 1983 instrumental “Going Home: Theme of the Local Hero.”

The song arrives on March 15, though you can hear a brief sample right now. It’s the final recording Jeff Beck created before his death in January 2023. All proceeds from the release will benefit Teenage Cancer Trust and Teen Cancer America.

Rodney Crowell’s nutty-as-a-fruitcake video for “Christmas Everywhere,” the title cut from his wholly original holiday release, is chock full of seasonal nostalgia even as it plays out like a chaotic, curdled egg nog-induced fever dream. Co-written by Crowell with acclaimed gypsy jazz guitarist John Jorgenson the tune, which also features the Mavericks’ Eddie Perez on guitar and album producer Dan Knobler on bass, is set to a giddy Western swing beat with lyrics that celebrate the ubiquitous, often dizzying nature of the season.

The video features a cast that includes Crowell’s daughter,...

Former Led Zeppelin star Robert Plant and his new performance partner Alison Krauss were the toast of the 51st Grammy Awards in Los Angeles on Sunday night after claiming a fistful of honours.The duo picked up awards for Album of The Year, Record of The Year, Best Pop Collaboration, Best Country Collaboration and Best Contemporary Folk/Americana Album.

Lil Wayne, who was the most nominated artist at this year's Grammys, took home three prizes and a share of the Best Rap Performance for a Duo or Group for Swagga Like Us with Jay-z, T.I. and Kanye West.

Coldplay were also triple winners, claiming Song of The Year, Best Rock Album and Best Pop Performance By A Duo Or Group With Vocals.

Double winners included Metallica, Al Green, Daft Punk, gospel star Kirk Franklin, Brad Paisley and Peter Gabriel and composer Thomas Newman, who won honours for their work on the Wall-e soundtrack.

Neil Diamond, the Four Tops, Dean Martin and music mogul Clive Davis were among those honoured with special awards during the ceremony.

The night was a star-studded affair - with more performers than ever before hitting the stage at the Staples Center in Los Angeles for the event.

Highlights included Miley Cyrus and Taylor Swift's duet on the country star's 15, Jennifer Hudson's stirring rendition of Diane Warren's You Pulled Me Through - backed by a gospel choir, the Jonas Brothers' collaboration with Stevie Wonder, Coldplay's performance with rapper Jay-z and Lil Wayne and Robin Thicke's rousing tribute to New Orleans with Terence Blanchard and Allen Toussaint.

Rockers U2 kicked off the 51st Grammys with new song Get on Your Boots and heavily-pregnant M.I.A., who was due to give birth on Sunday, performed Paper Planes/Swagga Like Us with rappers Lil Wayne, Jay-z, T.I. and Kanye West.

As we said in our Grammy Predictions, we have a love/hate relationship with the Grammys. But hey, we love music, so we're watching to see what happens. Could be a big year for Lil Wayne (did you see his interview with "Miss" Katie Couric?). Could be a controversial night if Coldplay's alleged Joe Satriani rip-off grabs some hardware ("Viva La Vida" by Coldplay and Satriani's "If I Could Fly"). But plenty of great artists are nominated (M.I.A., Allison Krauss/Robert Plant, Radiohead, Gnarls Barkley, Daft Punk, Brazilian Girls....we could go on), so as always, it'll be worth watching, especially for the performances. Unlike the Oscars, where the show is pretty much all about the host, the Grammys are all about those live performances (remember when Beyonce stole the show with Prince back in 2004?). Hang with us and add to the conversation in the comments!

11:30 (Josh and Nick): Goodnight,...