Introducing...The Country Minute Show

Introducing...The Country Minute Show

We told you things would be changing, and we meant it.

Introducing The Country Minute Show, a new podcast, web series, or whatever you want to call it from us, James and Laura Shotwell, the same people who make Country Minute. It’s the only show about country music filmed in a Midwest basement, and in many ways, it’s the perfect next step for our community.

So, what is it?

There’s a lot going on right now, not just in country music, but in the world and in all of our lives. Keeping up with every video we post would be an impossible feat for almost anyone. So we came up with a solution.

A few times a week, Laura and I sit down and break down the latest headlines, rumors, and everything in between happening in country music. Most of the time, that happens in the studio we built ourselves here in West Michigan. Other times, we’ll be on site at festivals like Crash My Playa, Tortuga, and the other events we’re heading to in 2027.

A few things we want to make clear:

This is not a traditional podcast. We’re not going to waste an hour of your day talking about things just waste our collective time. Every episode runs around 20 minutes, giving you just enough to know what’s going on without boring you.

It’s going to evolve. Special guests? Interviews? Something else entirely? Probably. Maybe. We’re figuring it out as we go, and honestly, that’s half the fun.

Why we’re doing this

The goal of Country Minute has always been to build a community of people who love country music in all its forms, want to support the genre as a whole, and want to connect with fans who feel the same way. That’s why we put ourselves on camera in the first place, and it’s why we’re making this show. We want to give you a bigger seat in the conversation and a chance to get to know us as a couple.

We’ve spent our lives working in music. Laura spent 20 years in morning radio. I’ve done everything from managing a stage on Vans Warped Tour to helping roll out the return of metal legends Tool. Together, we bring nearly 40 years of music industry experience to this show, along with two lifetimes of loving music in a way we never felt understood until we met each other.

Y’all have shown us there are a lot more people like us out there. Our hope is that this show grows the Country Minute community even larger, so more people can feel a little less alone in this world through the power of country music.

Here’s the best part

The show is completely free, and the first three episodes are already out.

In our latest episode, we break down:

  • The return of Morgan Wallen’s Sand In My Boots (which we’re really hoping to attend in 2027) and the leak behind the news
  • Megan Moroney’s Victoria’s Secret Fashion Show performance
  • Ella Langley’s chart battle with Taylor Swift
  • Luke Bryan’s wild Cancun destination event, Crash My Playa

We also get into country music’s place in the culture right now and what the genre needs to do to keep the momentum it’s built over the last few years. And we reveal one of the festivals we’ll be attending in 2027, something we plan to keep doing as each new event gets locked in.

Watch or listen on YouTube, Spotify, or wherever you get your podcasts.

Thank you for your patience while we put together the pieces of what we see as the future of Country Minute. We love this show, we love making it, and we think you’re going to love it too.

More very soon.

James and Laura
Country Minute

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