Monday, May 2, 2011

Goodbye to the 9513 - The Web's Premiere Country Music Blog Retiring

I received some sad news today, and I couldn't let the day go by without writing a few words about it.  The 9513, deservedly the web's number one country music blog, is retiring, as announced today by editor Brody Vercher.

Since it's first post in 2006, The 9513 has defined what a great country blog should be, featuring reliably excellent writing, a wide variety of music covered, and a consistent standard of high-quality content, all overseen by founders Brady and Brody Vercher.  News roundups were posted regularly, helping readers keep thoroughly well-informed on all the goings-on in the world of country music.  In addition, it included the insightful musings of columnists such as Barry Mazor, Paul W. Dennis, and Chris Neal.  Impossible to forget are the site's detailed, well-thought-out, and unabashedly honest reviews of current album and singles, authored by talented writers such as Jim Malec, Blake Boldt, Karlie Justus, Juli Thanki, and C.M. Wilcox.  The 9513 was valuable for the way it introduced us to talented artists of the independent music scene, while still giving mainstream country generous coverage as well.  The 9513 writers always praised the music where praise was deserved, while never hesitating to offer criticism when such was warranted.

If it were not for The 9513, The 1-to-10 Country Music Review would not exist.  It was The 9513's insightful, yet always entertaining content that inspired the creation of my own little blog.  I've been happily blogging away for over a year now, growing as a writer, meeting great new people, and having a good old time.  I have The 9513 to thank for that.

We'll miss it.