Beaumonster by Jesse Dayton (Hachette Books) Jesse Dayton – along with being a musical chameleon – just may be the Forrest Gump of Americana (though I expect he might bristle at that genre classification). In his fantastic memoir, Beaumonster, the Beaumont, TX-born musician, actor, director, jack of all trades shares stories of growing up in […]
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Various Artists – Highway Butterfly: The Songs of Neal Casal (The Neal Casal Music Foundation & Royal Potato) Neal Casal may not have been a household name to the casual music fan, but when he passed away in 2019 it was clear just how much of an impact he had on fellow musicians with tributes […]
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Willie Nelson – The Willie Nelson Family (Legacy Recordings) On Willie Nelson’s – and I’m guessing here, six hundredth album? – the formerly redheaded stranger and quite possibly America’s greatest musical export churns out another dozen tracks, mostly covers, songs he’s recorded before and many he’s been playing live for years, and it still manages […]
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Neal Francis – In Plain Sight (ATO Records) Channeling everyone from Harry Nilsson to Dr. John, Neal Francis’ sophomore effort – the dreamy, creatively experimental In Plain Sight – draws on everything from Greek mythology to broken hearts for inspiration. And the result is almost always eclectically sublime. The piano-heavy album continues the trajectory of […]
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Legendary Shack Shakers – Cockadoodledeux (Alternative Tentacles) Twenty-five years ago, armed with banjos and mandolins, a slick rockabilly look and a punk rock ethos, the Legendary Shack Shakers came together in Paduca, Kentucky and confused the shit out of a lot of folks. They played just like the sons of Gene Vincent and Jerry Lee […]
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Sam Phelps – Hunter Springs Road EP (Self-Released) Sam Phelps turned to some pretty relevant themes of the past year for inspiration behind his latest four-song EP, singing about loneliness, restlessness and being homesick. He manages to flawlessly capture each feeling on Hunter Springs Road with a relatability that is as sad as it is […]
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Clifford/Wright – For All The Money In The World (Cosmo’s Vault/Cliffsong Records) It may have taken 35 years, but CCR drummer Doug “Cosmo” Clifford’s supergroup, Clifford/Wright, is finally seeing the light of day. His concept was to assemble a mix of brilliant musicians, write an album’s worth of original songs, then record, mix and master […]
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Mercy Bell – Golden Child (Self-Released) The first line of the first song off of Mercy Bell’s latest EP tells you everything you need to know about this stellar record. “Plan B and a Gatorade, another Walgreens on a Sunday/Blonde hair driving getaway, so no one has to know,” – from the title track – […]
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Shannon McNally – The Waylon Sessions (Compass Records) It takes a lot of courage to try and tackle an entire album’s worth of Waylon Jennings classics. But Shannon McNally’s pulls off the deed beautifully on The Waylon Sessions, managing to rework a number of Hoss’s songs into her own style while still holding true to […]
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Oliver Wood – Always Smilin’ (Honey Jar/Thirty Tigers) By John B. Moore Oliver Wood, co-founder of The Wood Brothers, didn’t intentionally set out to make his first solo record during the midst of the global pandemic lock downs. “The year before the pandemic, people would come through Nashville where I live and I’d set up […]
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