Even though I have seen Walker Hayes live on stage a few times, his 2021 EP Country Stuff is in fact the first Flyctory.com review I am doing of the US country artist. He did quite a change in appearance the last years – so I was also interested in how this could lead to an impact on his music. Release date of the six songs has been 4th June 2021.
Walker Hayes – About The Artist
Charles Edgar Walker Hayes was born on 27th December 1979 in Mobile, Alabama. He moved to Nashville at the age of 25. Five years later, he debuted with the single Pants, which has been quite successful regarding it was his first one. The second single Why Wait For Summer also placed in the 40’s of the US Country Charts, but the corresponding album Reason To Rhyme could not settle in the charts. In 2016 and 2019, he released three EPs all called 8Track with an additional sub-title. His next major success was the 2017 single You Broke Up With Me, however, which also became a double platinum record in the US. Boom, the related album, made it up to the sixth spot in the US Country Album Charts after its December 2017 release. He released a few songs thereafter (and the third 8Tracks EP), but overall, no song could connect to it. Country Stuff is already Walker Hayes’ fifth EP.
Walker Hayes – Country Stuff – Track by Track
The six track EP lasts 19 minutes
1. Country Stuff (feat. Jake Owen)
Hard to argue against that the title track, a collaboration with Jake Owen, is a cool track. Very modern pop country track with hip hop elements and a superb groove. Fun to listen, for sure.
2. Fancy Like
Apart from that this is a solo track without Jake Owen, I could use almost the same words I used for the opener for Fancy Like as well. Modern, Pop country (definitely more pop than country), a groove… Especially in this running order, Fancy Like is just facing a huge issue: the song is significantly worse and lacking really catching elements. It’s not (only) Jake Owen. The song is just not more than average, maybe even less than that.
3. Make You Cry
Not only because the song has a significantly higher country music touch, Make You Cry is pleasing me much more than its predecessor. A nice country song with pop elements. The song is good, but definitely does not meet Walker Hayes best productions.
4. I Hope You Miss Me
I hope you’re living out by the ocean
That’s always where you said you were going
LA baby on Sunset Drive
City of angels you should fit right in
You want the part baby go get it
Can’t wait to see your name in those credits
Hope you find yourself but selfishly
I hope you miss me
This song with an easy melody is driven by a really nicely told break-up story. Will that girl ever fulfil her dreams, becoming big as an actor, running into Jennifer Lopez and doing all these other celeb things? Or will she simply miss Walker Hayes. We won’t know. But we enjoy listening to the fourth track of this EP.
5. What If We Did (feat. Carly Pearce)
From my perspective, Walker Hayes already had a smile on my face with that track before I even listened to it. Teaming up with Carly Pearce, one of my favorites, can’t be that bad, can it? The song starts not too promising from my point of view, but it gets better. Unfortunately Carly is more or less (ab)used as a high quality background singer in this song – which is overall a bit too thin. Even including the Carly-factor in my review.
6. Briefcase (feat. Lori McKenna)
Another big name on the EP. Lori McKenna is so amazing, especially on the songwriting side. Much better collaboration than the song before – and a beautiful story. Really enjoyed to listen to these two people at the end of the EP.
Walker Hayes – Country Stuff – Spotify
Here is Country Stuff on Spotify:
Walker Hayes – Country Stuff – My View
Cpuntry Stuff is rather average. The title track is great, but there are too many weaker songs on this EP as well. The lyrics are typically not too bad – but this unique cheeky, ironic touch in Walker Hayes’ tracks feels to be faded. Bad luck, I loved it.
2021 Country Music Reviews
Here are all my 2021 published Media Reviews related to country music:

Nick Walker – It’s All South From Here EP
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Lucinda Williams – Have Yourself A Rockin’ Little Christmas (Lu’s Jukebox Vol. 5)
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Wade Bowen – Where Phones Don’t Work EP
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Alena Neubert – A Life That’s Good
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Armanda Shires – For Christmas
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Jason Aldean – Macon
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Billy Bragg – The Million Things That Never Happened
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Dennis Adamus – Right For You
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Brett Eldredge – Mr. Christmas
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Tenille Arts – Girl To Girl
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SixForty1 – Started Right Here EP
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Det Haggard – Teamwork 2.0
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Ryan Hurd – Pelago
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Cassadee Pope – Thrive
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Toby Keith – Peso In My Pocket
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Josh Turner – King Size Manger
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Crystal Leigh – Trading Skylines EP
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Jesse Cole – SAND (Some Are Never Done)
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Miko Marks & The Resurrectors – Race Records EP
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Brandi Carlile – In These Silent Days
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Logan Mize – Welcome To Prairieville
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Billy Strings – Renewal
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Mickey Guyton – Remember Her Name
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Taylor McCall – Black Powder Soul
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Charley Crockett – Music City USA
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Peter Maffay – So Weit
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Mitchell Tenpenny – Midtown Diaries EP
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Riddy Arman – Riddy Arman
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Ashland Craft – Travelin’ Kind
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King Calaway – Midnight EP
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Ashley Cooke – Already Drank That Beer Side A
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Kalie Shorr – I Got Here By Accident EP
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Jayne Denham – Wanted
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Dan + Shay – Good Things
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Clare Dunn – In This Kind Of Light EP
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Emily Rose – Wings EP
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Chris Young – Famous Friends
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Laci Kaye Booth – Laci Kaye Booth
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Leah Blevins – First Time Feeling
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Jim Lauderdale – Hope
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Son Volt – Electro Melodier
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Ryan Kinder – Room To Dream
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Clay Walker – Texas To Tennessee
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Los Lobos – Native Sons
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Jolina Carl – Mexican Overdrive
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Rodney Crowell – Triage
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Charlie Worsham – Sugarcane EP
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Alee – Feels Like This
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Midland – The Last Resort EP
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Lucinda Williams – Lu’s Jukebox Vol. 2 – Southern Soul: From Memphis To Muscle Shoals
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Callie Twisselman – Closure EP
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Tigirlily – Tigirlily EP
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The Flatlanders – Treasure Of Love
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Lauren Jenkins – Miles On Me, Part 1 EP
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The Wallflowers – Exit Wounds
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LANCO – Honky-Tonk Hippies EP
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Riley Green – Behind The Bar EP
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Brent Moyer – Song Rider
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The Heels – I Am
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Vincent Neil Emerson – Vincent Neil Emerson
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Gary Allan – Ruthless
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Meghan Patrick – Heart On My Glass
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Amythyst Kiah – Wary + Strange
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pez – All Lowercase EP
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Richie Necker – New Songs and Untold Stories
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Kylie Morgan – Love, Kylie EP
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Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real – A Few Stars Apart
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Brett Young – Weekends Look A Little Different These Days
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Andrew Jannakos – Gone Too Soon EP
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Black River Delta – Shakin’
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Brynn Cartelli – Based On A True Story EP
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Southerland – Boot Up EP
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Lori Rayne – 1926 EP
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Blackberry Smoke – You Hear Georgia
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John Hiatt With The Jerry Douglas Band – Leftover Feelings
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Alexander Ludwig – Alexander Ludwig EP
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Jordan Davis – Buy Dirt EP
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Blake Shelton – Body Laguage
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Oliver Wood – Always Smilin’
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Jesse Keith Whitley – Breakin’ Ground
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Dillon Carmichael – Hot Beer EP
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Alan Jackson – Where Have You Gone
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The Steel Woods – All Of Your Stones
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Emma Moore – the table EP
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Travis Tritt – Set In Stone
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Matt Castillo – How The River Flows EP
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Thomas Rhett – Country Again: Side A
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Priscilla Block – Priscilla Block EP
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Ronnie Milsap – A Better Word For Love
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Todd Snider – First Agnostic Church of Hope And Wonder
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Elvie Shane – County Roads EP
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Adam Douglas – Better Angels
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Justin Moore – Straight Outta The Country
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Carver Louis – Take Off EP
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Eric Church – Soul
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Eric Church – &
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Eric Church – Heart
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Brett Kissel – What Is Life?
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Charlotte Young – Coffee and Conversations EP
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Fancy Hagood – Southern Curiosity
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Rev. Peyton’s Big Damn Band – Dance Songs For The Hard Times
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Jon Randall – Neon Texas EP
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Canaan Smith – High Country Sound
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Leslie Jordan – Company’s Comin’
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Truck Stop – Liebe, Lust und Laster
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Tyler Braden – What Do They Know EP
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Carrie Underwood – My Savior
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Esther Rose – How Many Times
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Sara Watkins – Under The Pepper Tree
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Timo Scharf – Everything Ever Always Is All Forgotten EP
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Kora Naughton – Nineteen
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Midland – The Sonic Ranch
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Loretta Lynn – Still Woman Enough
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Morgan Wade – Reckless
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Joey Hendricks – Between The Clouds EP
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Alyssa Trahan – Baby Blues & Stilettos
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Christina Taylor – Covers Vol. 1 EP
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Jimbo Mathus & Andrew Bird – These 13
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Track 45 – Big Dreams EP
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Adam Warner – Big Storm
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Kaylee Bell – The Red EP (EP)
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Hayden Joseph – Different
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Willie Nelson – That’s Life
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Adam Hambrick – The Flipsides EP
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Jess Moskaluke – The Demos
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Carly Pearce – 29 EP
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Jack McBannon – True Stories
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Lainey Wilson – Sayin’ What I’m Thinkin’
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Callista Clark – Real To Me EP
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Haley Mae Campbell – Growing Up EP
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Tobacco Rd Band – Worth Fighting For
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Florida Georgia Line – Life Rolls On
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Dustin Bird – Unscripted
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Colton Chapman – Can’t Hide The Truth EP
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Alex Hall – Six Strings EP
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Ben Ransom – Brave New World
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Daniel Holmes – Dead End Town
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Lucero – When You Found Me
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Jake Hoot – Love Out Of Time EP
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Langhorne Slim – Strawberry Mansion
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Logan Mize – Still That Kid
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Matt Wynn – Matt Wynn EP
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Tebey – The Good Ones
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Jimmy Weber – Black & Blue Heart
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Willie Jones – Right Now
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Chelsea Berman – Can You Just Not EP
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Kerri Watt – Neptune’s Daughter
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Petric – Flashbacks
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Devin Dawson – The Pink Slip EP
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Whitney Duncan – Heartbreaker EP
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Morgan Wallen – Dangerous – The Double Album
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Colby Keeling – Catch Me If You Can EP
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Aaron Watson – American Soul
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Barry Gibb & Friends – Greenfields – The Gibb Brothers’ Songbook Vol. 1
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Tanner Sparks – Living A Nightmare
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Museums and Exhibitions in Rhineland / Ruhr Region
Here are all museum and exhibition reviews tagged with All around Cologne:

Road Stop Motel Mettmann (Presidential Suite)
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German Röntgen Museum Remscheid
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House of German History (Haus der Geschichte) Bonn
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Visiodrom Wuppertal
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Bergisches Museum for Mining, Craft & Trade Bensberg
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Deutsches Museum Bonn
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Chocolate Museum Cologne (Schokoladenmuseum)
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Arithmeum Bonn – A Museum about Calculations
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Historic Mustard Mill Cologne
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Stars Of The Galaxy – A Star Wars Shrine in Mönchengladbach
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Andernach Geyser
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German Blade Museum Solingen
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The Scherz-Tour – A Different RheinEnergieSTADION Cologne Tour
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Bergisch Historic Trams Wuppertal
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Museum Plagiarius Solingen – The Place for Copies
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Lindlar Open Air Museum
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Alte Dombach Paper Mill
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Ratingen-Cromford Textile Factory
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The Eau de Cologne Giants – 4711 vs. Farina
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History of Gaming in Cologne’s City Museum
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