# Country: New & Noteworthy



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*This thread is for country artists you think are putting out great NEW country music. *

I'll kick it off with one of my favorite young artists, Charlie Crockett whose new album is just out: _The Man from Waco - _a concept album that contains some well-written songs.






_The Man from Waco_

℗ 2022 Son of Davy marketed and distributed by Thirty Tigers

Released on: 2022-09-09

Producer: Bruce Robison
Mastering Engineer: Jim Wilson
Music Publisher: These Are Pulse Songs/American Songs Beta/The San Benito Kid Publishing (Concord)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Kelsey Waldon - "Sweet Little Girl"*
from her album No Regular Dog, produced by Shooter Jennings. 






Kelsey Waldon is an American country singer and songwriter. She has released four EPs and six full albums, the most recent being "No Regular Dog" released on August 12, 2022.

Waldon was born in Ballard County, Kentucky, and raised in the rural Western Kentucky town Monkey's Eyebrow, Kentucky. Waldon's family roots in the Bluegrass State date back over ten generations, from tobacco farmers to cattle raisers, and some of her first jobs were in farming and planting tobacco.

She picked up the guitar at age 13 to deal with her parents' divorce, and continued to use music as an outlet throughout her teenage years. After high school, instead of pursuing a college degree, Waldon moved to Nashville, Tennessee to see if she could make it in the music industry. She picked up any small gigs she could find, and continued to insert herself in the Nashville community. After two years she decided to enroll in Belmont University majoring in songwriting and music business so that she could learn more about the music industry. (Wikipedia)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

The Milwaukee-based band *Long Mama* weaves tall and not-so-tall tales of mountain manhunts, doomed honeymoons, stalled engines, and gravel roads into an experience as captivating as the landscapes that songwriter* Kat Wodtke* has traveled. Their new album, _Poor Pretender_ (Oct. 28), presents a haunting 10-song journey through wide-open spaces and tight spots, with a collection that explores loneliness and love, harm and healing, resistance and resilience. The band’s next single, ”Half Love,” is out today; it’s about outgrowing old habits and deciding to nurture the relationships that make us feel like the best version of ourselves. (Vivascene)






*“Sonically, “Half Love” has the kind of arrangement that will make you want to close your eyes and let the groove take you. It’s the kind of laid-back, bluesy, guitar-heavy music that is perfect for a relaxing day in the sun.” – Outsider*


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Town Mountain – Lines in the Levee*






With their latest album, _Lines in the Levee_, *Town Mountain* offers glimpses into the tensions between staying home and taking to the road, the temptations just outside the stage door, and the frustration of trying to write a song that has not already been written.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Those intimately familiar with the name *Courtney Patton* will need no coaxing to pay attention to a new album from her. No long-winded critical assessment is necessary, they pre-ordered this thing weeks ago, and much attention and love will be given to it for the weeks and months to come. Her extraordinary songwriting along with the organic and grassroots way she approaches her career has created a personal connection with fans of her in Texas where she’s from, and in listening rooms well far beyond.

Though performing solo with an acoustic guitar is how Courtney Patton is mostly known out there on the road, _*Electrostatic *_is a full-bodied musical experience that in many ways is reminiscent of some of those peak *Rosanne Cash* records from the 80s that were produced by *Rodney Crowell*—_Seven Year Ache_ and the like. Everything is centered around the songs themselves, and the music isn’t as concerned about being country as it is about being emblematic and respectful to the sentiments found in the writing. (Saving Country Music)

*Dog Gettin' Blues*


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

_Live Forever: A Tribute to Billy Joe Shaver_ is gearing up to be released via New West Records on November 11th with participation from *Willie Nelson*, *Ryan Bingham*, *Rodney Crowell*, *Miranda Lambert*, *Steve Earle*, *Allison Russell* and more. But perhaps the track many were anticipating the most has already arrived in the form of *George Strait* covering Billy Joe Shaver’s “Willy The Wandering Gypsy.”

This song was really the linchpin to Billy Joe Shaver’s entire career. While hanging out back stage before Willie Nelson’s legendary Dripping Springs Reunion in 1972—aka the Hillbilly Woodstock—Billy Joe Shaver was picking on “Willy The Wandering Gypsy” when Waylon Jennings got a whiff of it. Jennings then invited Billy Joe Shaver to Nashville to help write songs for his next album.

Perhaps to Waylon, it was one of those “stop by if you’re ever in town” sort of invitations that you never expect someone to take you up on, because when Shaver arrived in Nashville, Waylon spent the next few months dodging ol’ Shaver. It was a showdown in the hallway of Tompall Glaser’s renegade “Hillbilly Central” studio when Billy Joe Shaver finally got Waylon to pay attention. Shaver threatened to kick Waylon’s *** “in front of God and everybody.” No *** kicking happened though. Waylon listened, and recorded an entire album of Billy Joe Shaver songs, now known as the immortal _Honky Tonk Heroes_. (Saving Country Music)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Blanco Brown – Nobody's More Country *






"Nobody's More Country" is the first taste of brand-new music from the 37-year-old musical innovator, created during his recovery from a near-fatal 2020 motorcycle accident. Blanco, who burst onto the music scene with his joyful 2019 viral hit "The Git Up," says he's grateful for the opportunity to return to the road and reconnect with fans for his first lengthy headlining trek. (the boot)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

IN EARLY 2020, just before the pandemic, *Waxahatchee*’s *Katie Crutchfield* and *Jess Williamson* exchanged albums. _Saint Cloud_ and _Sorceress_ sparked a bond between the two songwriters, and now they’ve formed the duo *Plains*.

As the name suggests, the project shows Crutchfield venturing further into the Lucinda Williams-esque country she leaned into on _Saint Cloud_, blending her voice with Williamson on the lead single “Problem With It.” Their new album, _I Walked With You a Ways_, arrives on Oct. 14. (*rolling stone*)






*Katie Crutchfield/Waxahatchee* is an American indie music project, formed in 2010. The band is named after Waxahatchee Creek, in Alabama, where Crutchfield grew up. Originally an acoustic solo project, her recordings now tend to involve a backing band, and the music has increasingly been performed this way. Crutchfield, as Waxahatchee, has released five albums to date: _American Weekend_ (2012), _Cerulean Salt_ (2013),_ Ivy Tripp_ (2015), _Out in the Storm_ (2017) and _Saint Cloud_ (2020).

*Jess Williamson *is an American singer-songwriter based in Los Angeles. Her fourth album, _Sorceress_, was released on Mexican Summer in May 2020. Williamson was born in the suburbs of Dallas, and began playing music while a student at the University of Texas at Austin. She released her first two albums on her own imprint, _Brutal Honest: Native State in 2014_, and _Heart Song_ in 2016. Following Williamson's move from Austin to Los Angeles, her third album, Cosmic Wink (2018) was released on the label Mexican Summer.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Dailey & Vincent | *_*Let’s Sing Some Country!*_

We’re used to country bands and artists these days going bluegrass for a little change of pace. Alan Jackson, Dwight Yoakam, Sturgill Simpson and the like have done this over the years to some good success. But it’s rare for a purely bluegrass outfit to flip the script and go country. That’s exactly what Grand Ole Opry members and 35-time IBMA winners *Dailey & Vincent *decided to do with their first original album in five years, and they pull it off with flying colors. (saving country music)






*Jamie Dailey* is from Gainesboro, TN (pop. 950) - the town I've called home for the last four years, and for the foreseeable future. Well, I don't live right in town but about five miles out. Still, you can't miss the signs at the city limits, 'Home of Jamie Dailey". 

He just hosted a music festival, and is in general a booster of his hometown, and is a generally good guy.

This song by *Karen Staley* is a well-written, traditional country song and Dailey & Vincent do a fine job with it. Great production - no drum samples, hip-hop references, or autotune in sight. These guys can just sing.

Other favorites are *Steve Earle'*s "Hillbilly Highway", and "If I Die Drinkin'" (*Ashley Monroe*, *Vince Gill*).

Of course I don't want them to spend too much more time away from their bluegrass style, but this record is nice to have for at least two reasons: a reminder of what country music oughta sound like, and to hear these talented musicians and singers perform some good songs.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

A native of West Virginia, *Charles Wesley Godwin* makes cinematic country-folk that's as gorgeous and ruggedly raw as his homeland. It's Appalachian Americana, rooted in Godwin's sharp songwriting and backwoods baritone. With 2021's _How the Mighty Fall_, he trades the autobiographical lyrics that filled _Seneca_ — his acclaimed debut, released in 2019 and celebrated by everyone from Rolling Stone to NPR's Mountain Stage — for a collection of character-driven songs about mortality, hope, and regret, putting an intimate spin on the universal concerns we all share. (artist website)






He has a new album _How the Mighty Fall_, here's the first song "Over Yonder".


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Cole Chaney - Grind *






22-year old Cole Chaney, songwriter from Catlettsburg, KY, performing his song "Grind" in a private residence in Nashville, TN. Cole Chaney's music is a compilation of storytelling and introspection, seated in the roots of Appalachian culture. The subject matter of Cole's songs may venture from family stories, passed down from generation-to-generation, to the realities of growing up as a young man in modern-day Appalachia, to tales of loss and those of triumph.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

_Tug of War_ isn’t *Jenny* *Mitchell’*s first rodeo. But it is her best work, worthy of every award it will inevitably collect.

You can’t help but feel that you are inside the room in which Jenny Mitchell wrote _Tug of War_. The album’s opener, “If You Were A Bird”, is a love song that swoops on you. Its closer, a love song of a different nature, is an ode to her grandfather, Bruce, with her Aunty also lending a spine tingling verse in te reo Māori on “The Bush & The Birds”. (rolling stone)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

Country’s greatest living legend, *George Strait*, dropped a new album on March 29, _Honky Tonk Time Machine_. (Strait has retired from regular touring, but not from recording.)






I make no bones about it: I’m biased and I’m okay with it. George Strait is my favorite artist of any genre, he was my first real concert, and he defines what country music should sound like. No one is perfect, but my fellow Texan can do little wrong. The man may not know songwriting, but he knows music, and perhaps that’s even better. George Strait can listen to a rusty demo, find a gem, and turn it into something we can all connect with, and isn’t that what music’s all about? When you hear the first two notes of The Chair, Amarillo By Morning, Wrapped, Check Yes or No, Fool Hearted Memory, or any one of 100 others – you’re home. And with 60 #1 hits and dozens more in the top 10, it really is 100 others.

_Honky Tonk Time Machine_ is a little uneven, but still good. It’s not up there with anything from Strait’s spectacular runs in the ‘80s, 90’s, or ‘00s, but it holds its own with his last few outings, and gives us more of that classic sound we’ve been yearning for. (Hard Times No More)


----------



## bharbeke (Mar 4, 2013)

Honky Tonk Time Machine may be a good and even noteworthy album, but it fails on the "new" count. It was a 2019 release.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

bharbeke said:


> Honky Tonk Time Machine may be a good and even noteworthy album, but it fails on the "new" count. It was a 2019 release.


2019 is new enough, especially for an artist of the stature of George Strait. I should have edited the blurb I quoted and added the year, but I failed to notice it at the time.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Forrest McCurren | Oh Me, Oh My* (Self-released, 2022)








> Forrest McCurren looks like a young man, but sings like a much older person. He has a roughened voice that sounds nearly just like John Prine's at times, and his detailed songs are utterly believable slices of life. You feel like you're visiting McCurren's blue collar neighborhood; one that is unquestionably very real, unlike the old imaginary Mr. Rogers' hood.
> 
> The title track is a fingerpicked acoustic guitar-driven meditation, colored by steel guitar, and it details McCurren's desire to turn over a new leaf in life. He sings about leaving his rowdy friends behind, getting out of the big city and even purchasing Nicorette gum in order to finally give up those cigarettes. McCurren then ups the tempo for "Heavy Old Hearts," which describes a hard-living lifestyle. With "Pray for Sun," the track incorporates plenty of fiddle and steel guitar, as it expresses McCurren's practical approach to life. "Pray for sun," yes, "but prepare for rain." (country standard time)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Wade Bowen - Somewhere Between The Secret And The Truth* (Official Audio)








> It's always rewarding whenever the meaning of song sneaks up on you, which happens with the tile track ("Somewhere Between The Secret and The Truth") of Wade Bowen's fine album. He sets us up all the way through, dropping hints about all the little ways he's keeping secrets from his spouse. It's sung so sadly and regretfully you just know he's going to end the song in an illicit affair. But that's not what happens. Instead, he drives straight home to his woman, completely evading the temptation to cheat. This is just so anti-country! Cheating songs are a big part of the genre's history, but this is an entirely different kind of country song – a nearly-cheating song, if you will. It caps off a 12-song collection of strong, smart country music. (country standard time)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

As with many bands and artists, the pandemic forced the members of *Fireside Collective* to retreat into isolation – in their case, writing and recording new songs in a North Carolina cabin, thus substantially shrinking their world. Oddly, this time of withdrawal produced the band's most expansive album to date – an 11-track set that finds the quartet exploring new musical territory to further diversify a sound that already straddles traditional bluegrass and newgrass. The idea of growing while receding is an interesting paradox, but one that produces stellar results on "_Across The Divide_." (full review)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Alex Williams* and producer *Ben Fowler* explore the full breadth of the Outlaw country influence on this album, from the waltz-timed Willie Nelson modes of song craft complete with Mickey Raphael harmonica drifting in between the verses, to the the half time beat of Waylon Jennings with the moan of the steel guitar underpinning it all, to songs that rightly qualify just as much as rock as they do country, _Waging Peace_ is a job well done in revitalizing '70s era country in new original songs.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

A couple of weeks ago, *HARDY* announced a new album called _The Mockingbird and THE CROW_ to be released on January 20th, 2023, and released three preview songs with it. One of them is called “here lies country music,” and similar to ERNEST’s “Flower Shops,” it’s a straight ahead traditional country song. Composed as a (_Spoiler Alert_) dream sequence where HARDY laments the death of country music, it has compelled the ears and hearts of many traditional country music fans, some of whom are just happy to get the song, and some that are conflicted because the author is, well, HARDY. (full review)






This is a little outside the parameters I had established in the OP - but I thought it was so well-written, and produced, it deserved posting.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

If nothing else, country music is about nostalgia, the sad realization that you can never quite go home again, even if you never leave. On *Gabe Lee’*s _The Hometown Kid_, Lee illustrates that you can come from a big city and feel the same way about home as a little-pink-house-residing small-town purist might. Lee evokes loneliness, alienation, and pride in his hometown of Nashville on his third studio album. (....)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Tyler Childers | Can I Take My Hounds to Heaven? *(Hickman Holler Records/RCA, 2022)

At nearly two hours long, just listening all the way through *Tyler Childers*' gospel release is a challenging project in and of itself. It's an eight-song album, but each of these eight songs is played three different ways. Recorded with his band The Food Stamps, these three 'albums' are also given descriptive names. _Hallelujah_ versions captures Childers and his band playing live in the studio during a two-day period. The _Jubilee_ selections pile on the instrumentation, including horns, strings and backing vocals. Lastly, the _Joyful Noise_ edition is a collection of remixes by DJ Charlie Brown Superstar (Brett Fuller) and features samples ranging from some excerpts taken from a church service to clips derived from the old Andy Griffith Show. (review)






With each new record from *Tyler Childers* I am more impressed with his singing, his style, and his songwriting. IMO the two bright lights of today's country music scene are Childers and *Sturgill Simpson*.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

L o v e this song -

*Ashley McBryde, Caylee Hammack, & Pillbox Patti - Brenda Put Your Bra On* (Lyric Video)






The whole album, _Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville, _is great.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Zach Bryan - Something In The Orange*


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Lainey Wilson | Bell Bottom Country - "Hillbilly Hippie"*






Not since the emergence of Miranda Lambert have we seen a woman surface in mainstream country music with such promise and passion that carries a wide appeal through an infectious personality, and at an advantageous time when everything is aligning to allow her to be utterly successful, if not dominant for years to come. *Lainey Wilson* is going to be big, and it’s going to be big for country music, because unlike so many of her mainstream contemporaries, Lainey Wilson is actually country. (review)


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Elle King - Jersey Giant*






Tanner Elle Schneider (born July 3, 1989), known professionally as Elle King, is an American singer, songwriter, and musician. Her musical style encompasses country, soul, rock and blues.


----------



## SanAntone (May 10, 2020)

*Rattlesnake Milk : Chicken Fried Snake*






Rattlesnake Milk hail from the southern plains of Texas. They are more country than all the other **** kicking bands out there darkening the stoops of the honky tonks. They are more punk than all the pungent-smelling tour vans full of spiked hair and mescaline criss-crossing the fruited plain. They are more surf, mod, and psyc than all the hipster bands strewn between Echo Park and Brooklyn. 

_Chicken Fried Snake_ immediately takes you to a faraway scene on an Interstate exit somewhere in lonesome America, decades in the past, and at the stroke of midnight. As the diesels drone by on the highway, a lost soul stands in the doorway of a roadside motel, taking in the scene. Across the street, a honky tonk with a neon sign belches out jukebox music and bar chatter anytime someone enters or exits. At the truck stop across the way, a lot lizard scurries from a sleeper cab toward the restroom of a 24-hour diner serving stale coffee to a few scant customers. Meanwhile, the weight of forlornness hangs in the air in a way that’s almost too much for a soul to bear.


----------

