If you're a dad in need of a good cry, consider this your warning: Luke Combs’ album Fathers & Sons hits hard. In this episode, the Country Music Dads give a full, unfiltered review of Fathers & Sons because, honestly, it was inevitable.  The Dads weigh in on the best and worst songs and the overall impact of this album on country music, modern fatherhood and their emotional state of mind. 

Plus: Dave goes full throttle in an impassioned “Minivan Rant” and tries to change Donnie’s mind once and for all.

03:11: First Reactions to the Album as a Whole: After Donnie recovers from "snot-bubble crying" during his passive listen, we discuss the songwriting quality, sincerity of the lyrics in a "songwriting-by-committee" approach and how "Take Me Out to the Ballgame" doesn't seem to fit (even though it is very sad).

14:01: The Dad Life Sound Check: Donnie is a better parent thanks to "Huntin' By Yourself" (even though he doesn't hunt), and Dave finds a pillar of his parenting philosophy in "Whoever You Turn Out to Be."

25:06: The Best Tracks from the Album: The Dads share more of their favorites, including "Front Door Famous" and "The Man He Sees in Me," and how those songs inspire us to live up to the higher expectations that modern dads rightfully (and finally) are measured against.

32:36: The Worst Tracks from the Album: The Dads discuss the songs, like "All I Ever Do is Leave" and "Little Country Boys," that seem more like filler material to get an LP out of this concept album.

36:00: "Fathers and Sons" Album Rating: The Dads wrap up the album review by rating "Fathers and Sons" on a scale of 1-5.

37:50: Change My Mind About Minivans: Dave launches into an impassioned and memorable "Minivan Rant" to change Donnie's mind about the classic and highly versatile “FUV,” the family utility vehicle.

Thank you for listening. The best way to support us is to subscribe to the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or whatever podcast platform you use. If you want to see new episodes and more content delivered straight to your email inbox, please subscribe to our newsletter: countrymusicdads.substack.com. You can find everything we do on our website: countrymusicdads.com. And we’d love to hear what you think, so send us comments, suggestions, friendly banter on Instagram @countrymusicdads, or via email [email protected].

• Intro Music: "Dark Country Rock" by Moodmode
• "Hurricane" by Luke Combs
• "When It Rains It Pours" by Luke Combs
• "Take Me Out to the Ball Game" by Luke Combs
• "The Grand Tour" by George Jones
• "Huntin' By Yourself" by Luke Combs
• "Whoever You Turn Out to Be" by Luke Combs
• "In Case I Ain't Around" by Luke Combs
• "Front Door Famous" by Luke Combs
• "Remember Him That Way" by Luke Combs
• "The Man He Sees in Me" by Luke Combs
• "All I Ever Do Is Leave" by Luke Combs
• "Long White Line" by Sturgill Simpson
• "Little Country Boys" by Luke Combs
• "Beer Never Broke My Heart" by Luke Combs

The Country Music Dads dive headlong into the world of children’s literature, pop culture and its intersection with country music. We discuss the viral video of Ludacris’ incredible rapping of the book Llama Llama Red Pajama, discuss our favorite kids' books, which ones would make incredible country music songs and who should cut them.

2:22: The Kids Books We Love and Love to Hate: Dave and Donnie discuss the nighttime classics and some modern-day page turners for kids (and those reading them to kids). And what would a podcast episode be without some conflict -- so we jumped on a few we wish would just fall behind the bookshelf.

21:27: Books That Sound Like Country Songs: Before diving into who should sing our kids' book songs, the Country Music Dads explore the fairly significant crossover between country music songwriting and children's book writing -- and some of those people who did both. Namely, Shel Silverstein.

38:34: Who Should Sing These Kids' Book Country Songs? From Colter Wall to Miranda Lambert, the Country Music Dads consider the best artists to bring these books to life.

46:57: Dad Life Sound Check: This recurring segment is an opportunity for Dave and Donnie to discuss a song that is hitting home in recent days. For Dave, "Buy Me a Boat" by Chris Janson had been resonating in his house, while Lasers Lasers Birmingham’s "Shorter Letter" was touching a chord for Donnie.

52:22: Change My Mind: Donnie challenges Dave to think differently about the glories of shopping at Costco -- from the sea of beautiful TVs, to rows of top-shelf bulk-size booze to Costco staples, like rotisserie chicken, availability of eggs and the $1.50 hot dog and soda. 

• Ludacris rapping "Llama Llama Red Pajama."
• "Magic Candies" animated short film
• "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" is a GRAMMY Award-winning recording by Boris Karloff in 1968.
• "The Masked Singer"
• Haley Brown Spence of The Doohickeys
• Dolly Parton talent search
• Willow Avon
• "Goodnight Songs" by Tom Prout and Emily Gehry
• The Highwaymen
• The Highwomen

Thank you for listening. The best way to support us is to subscribe to the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or whatever podcast platform you use. If you want to see new episodes and more content delivered straight to your email inbox, please subscribe to our newsletter: countrymusicdads.substack.com. You can find everything we do on our website: countrymusicdads.com. And we’d love to hear what you think, so send us comments, suggestions, friendly banter on Instagram @countrymusicdads, or via email [email protected].

Books

• "Magic Candies" by Baek Heena
• "How the Grinch Stole Christmas" by Dr. Seuss
• "Goodnight Moon" by Margaret Wise Brown
• "The Going to Bed Book" by Sandra Boynton
• "Brown Bear, Brown Bear, What Do You See" by Bill Martin Jr., Illustrated by Eric Carle
• "Hatchet" by Gary Paulson
• "The Last Stop on Market Street" by Matt de la Pena, illustrated by Christian Robinson
• "Oh Look, A Cake" by J.C. McKee
• "The Alphabet Book" by Dr. Seuss
• "Little Blue Truck" by Alice Schertle
• "Little Blue Truck Leads the Way" by Alice Schertle 
• "Goodnight, Goodnight Construction Site" by Sherri Duskey Rinker
• "Otis" by Loren Long
• "Two Little Trains" by Margaret Wise Brown
• "Goodnight Songs" by Margaret Wise Brown
• "Giraffe and a Half" by Shel Silverstein
• "Tow Truck Joe" by June Sobel
• "Harold and the Purple Crayon" by Crockett Johnson
• "Where the Wild Things Are" by Maurice Sendak
• "Runaway Bunny" by Margaret Wise Brown
• "Green Eggs and Ham" by Dr. Seuss
• "The Old Man and the Sea" by Ernest Hemingway

 Songs

• Intro Music:⁠⁠“⁠⁠Dark Country Rock⁠⁠” by Moodmode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• "Hello Walls" by Faron Young (songwriter: Willie Nelson)
• "Success in My Mind" by Lizzy Passion
• "I Love" by Tom T. Hall
• "A Boy Named Sue" by Johnny Cash
• "Queen of the Silver Dollar" by Emmylou Harris
• "One's On the Way" by Loretta Lynn
• "Redneck Yacht Club" by Craig Morgan
• "Highwayman" by The Highwaymen
• "Highwomen" by The Highwomen
• "Luke 2:8-10" by Tyler Childers
• "Something 'Bout a Truck" by Kip Moore
• "JIM BOB" by HARDY
• "The Coyote & the Cowboy" by Colter Wall
• "Evangelina" by Colter Wall
• "Joy to the World" by Hoyt Axton
• "Geraldene" by Miranda Lambert
• "Buy Me a Boat" by Chris Janson
• "Shorter Letter" by Lasers Lasers Birmingham

Country Music Dads is BACK for Season 2! And we are kicking things off by talking about the change (or lack thereof) that often accompanies the start of a new year. “New Year, new me” we say in January before seeing the “same ol’ me” staring back at us in the mirror in March. But is that such a bad thing? George Jones and Dierks Bentley provide support via two songs separated by 40 years but with the same name (different spelling), “Same Ole Me.” The Dads wrestle with self-improvement vs. self-acceptance, change vs. growth, and bro country vs. traditional country.  

We also discuss changes to the podcast itself. What is different for Season 2, what is staying the same, and what, Dear Listener, do you have to look forward to when you follow the Country Music Dads? True to form, it’ll be the same ole show, but a little bit different.

Show Notes:

• 02:12: Dave shares a preview of Season 2 of the podcast: what has changed, what is staying the same, and how feedback from our early-adopting listeners has influenced our plans.
• 06:26: Meet Country Music Dads’ new co-host: Donnie C. Cutler!
• 08:22: Dave and Donnie discuss George Jones’ “Same Ole Me,” Dierks Bentley’s “Same ‘Ol Me,” how they think about goal-setting, personal change, and growth, and how their pursuit of improvement could influence their kids.
• 35:02: The Dad Life Sound Check: Donnie shares how the competing pressures of life on the road and family life in Jeremy Pinnell’s “Night Time Eagle” resonate with his own attempts to balance self-care pursuits and being there for the bedtime routine. Dave admits that “Halo” is his favorite Beyonce song and that Joshua Ray Walker’s highly countrified rendition of it takes him back to a simpler time before kids when weddings were ragers.
• 45:41: In our new, recurring segment called “Change My Mind,” Donnie posits that Bro Country is BAD for the country music genre. Self-proclaimed “recovering bro country aficionado” Dave attempts to convince him otherwise.

Mentioned in the Show:

• Country Music Dads podcast Season 1, Episode 9: “Country Cutler Talks Parenting, Country Music in LA and Strawberry Pie For Breakfast”
• The Country Cutler Substack newsletter
• "Atomic Habits" by James Clear
• The Marfa Tapes
• Dierks’ bluegrass album, “Up On The Ridge” from 2010
• HomeDadCon: the annual convention for at-home dads
• The backlash surrounding the “Bluey” Season 3 "Exercise" episode
• Eddie Izzard on British vs. American films

Thank you for listening. The best way to support us is to subscribe to the show on Spotify, Apple podcasts, or whatever podcast platform you use. If you want to see new episodes and more content delivered straight to your email inbox, please subscribe to our newsletter: countrymusicdads.substack.com. You can find everything we do on our website: countrymusicdads.com. And we’d love to hear what you think, so send us comments, suggestions, friendly banter on Instagram @countrymusicdads, or via email [email protected].

References:

• Intro Music:⁠⁠“⁠⁠Dark Country Rock⁠⁠” by Moodmode⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠
• "Same Ole Me" by George Jones
• "Same Ol' Me" by Dierks Bentley
• "Forever and Ever, Amen" by Randy Travis
• "She Thinks My Tractor's Sexy" by Kenny Chesney
• "Some Beach" by Blake Shelton
• "I Don't Need Your Rocking Chair" by George Jones
• "Don't Give Up on Me" by Jason Aldean
• "Night Time Eagle" by Jeremy Pinnell
• “Halo” by Beyonce
• "Halo" by Joshua Ray Walker
• "Cuz I Love You" by Joshua Ray Walker
• "Dumpster Diving" by Joshua Ray Walker
• "Canyon" by Joshua Ray Walker
• "Cruise" by Florida Georgia Line
• "I Had Some Help" by Post Malone feat. Morgan Wallen

With the Holiday season upon us, here are our favorite Christmas songs. We have songs by classic country artists, new renditions of the classics, original compositions, and some that just make us laugh and smile at the joy of the Christmas season. Grab a glass of eggnog, sit back and enjoy the sounds of a Country Christmas.

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This was our first live podcast recording with some of our

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Please share your feedback on the Socials or via email at

References:

The second half of the fifth season of the "Yellowstone" TV series is slated to come out on November 10th. In preparation, the Dads compiled a list of the best country songs featured on the show over the years. Take a listen as you prepare for Yellowstone's return and let us know which of your favorites we missed!

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We are so grateful to interview Art Eddy for our show! Art is the host of one of the premiere podcasts for Dads, "The Art of Fatherhood". Art has interviewed over 500 Dads over the years about their fatherhood journeys, and we are so honored to get him on the other side of the microphone this week.

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Thank you for listening. You can find back episodes and our playlist on Spotify and via our ⁠⁠⁠webpage⁠⁠⁠. Please follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook @countrymusicdads. Correspondence can be sent to [email protected]. Most importantly, please give us a 5-star review and share the show with all of your friends.

References:

The Dads discuss the complicated and sometimes controversial phrase, "Mr. Mom," which also happens to be the name of Lonestar's early-2000's hit song. In the stay-at-home dad world, this phrase is bound to get certain people as riled up as ⁠George Jones getting pulled over⁠. We talk about why that is, and what we as active, engaged fathers can do about it. The Country Music Dads share their own experiences hearing that moniker, and only get slightly riled up. This episode was so important, Mick showered for it. And you can totally tell, even over audio.

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You can find back episodes and our playlist on ⁠Spotify⁠ and via our ⁠⁠⁠⁠webpage⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠ @countrymusicdads. Correspondence can be sent to ⁠[email protected]⁠ Most importantly, please give us a 5-star review and share the show with all of your friends.

Small town living, hard work, and hay are common themes in country music. We learn how all of these things came together to give the ⁠Country Music Dads⁠ their biggest social media post to date. Our guest is the star of that social media post: Officer Isaiah Lemasters from the Missouri Highway Patrol. Perhaps better known (on the internet) as the hay bale-lifting cop, Officer Lemasters joins us to talk about his viral video, small town life, and a little country music.

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You can find back episodes and our playlist on Spotify and via our ⁠⁠⁠webpage⁠⁠⁠. Please follow us on ⁠⁠⁠Instagram and ⁠⁠⁠Facebook @countrymusicdads. Correspondence can be sent to [email protected] Most importantly, please give us a 5-star review and share the show with all of your friends.

References:

This week, the Dads take a deep dive into one of Mick's all-time favorite artists: Montgomery Gentry. The 5 songs we analyze build a life narrative that any dad can relate to, whether you're a Montgomery Gentry superfan (Mick) or a Montgomery Gentry newb (Dave). Take a listen and "roll with me" as we unpack some of the biggest hits from this early aughts country music super-duo.

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You can find back episodes and our playlist on ⁠Spotify⁠  and via our ⁠⁠⁠⁠webpage⁠⁠⁠⁠. Please follow us on ⁠⁠⁠⁠Instagram⁠ and ⁠⁠⁠⁠Facebook⁠ @countrymusicdads. Correspondence can be sent to ⁠[email protected]⁠. Most importantly, please give us a 5-star review and share the show with all of your friends.

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