JW Francis Magic River Indie-folk artist JW Francis unveils his new album, Magic River, the result of a canoe journey down the Mississippi River. Francis explains, “I wrote ‘Magic River’ while canoeing the Mississippi, and I think of it as a record I carried home from the river. It’s about being alone long enough to […]
Ryan Bingham They Call Us The Lucky Ones Ryan Bingham’s first album in seven years, They Call Us the Lucky Ones, arrives with the weight of a long afterglow. Seventeen years have passed since “The Weary Kind” first introduced a wider audience to his deliciously scratchy baritone through Crazy Heart, a song so all-conquering it […]
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Yarn Saturday Night Sermon Yarn releases their new studio long player, Saturday Night Sermon, an album that finds the band adding tangs of gospel and soul – via brass, organ, and a gospel choir – to their Southern rock sound. Talking about Yarn’s evolving sound, frontman Blake Christiana shares, “The band has officially established something […]
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Brooke Ashton The Love of Song For Brooke Ashton, songwriting has always been less about churning out another song than connecting with music itself. Her new album, The Love of Song, feels like an album that arrived when it was ready. It wasn’t rushed or released before its time. This album reveals a patient process. […]
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Sassparilla Honey, I’m Using Again Portland-and-Colorado-based Americana and back-porch soul band Sassparilla releases their new album, Honey, I’m Using Again, a collection of songs exploring motifs of loss, addiction, and survival. Produced by songwriter Kevin Blackwell and recorded in his studio basement in Golden, Colorado, Blackwell credits producer/engineer Chet Lyster for teaching him how to […]
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Tim Easton fIREHORSE Singer-songwriter Tim Easton unveils his new album, fIREHORSE, produced by Nashville producer Kevin Nolan, and featuring the rhythm section from Lainey Wilson’s band, with Matt Nolan (drums) and Tommy Scifres (bass). The cover art for the album is from a painting by Easton’s sister, Susan Easton Burns, reflecting an abstract-realist style, painted […]
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Mid-West-based Americana singer-songwriter Kenny Hotopp releases his new album, The South Looks Good on You, an exploration of love, loss, introspection, and family. The South Looks Good on You showcases Hotopp’s evolution as an artist, shaped through his work with Nashville musicians who took his songs and expanded them into fully realized arrangements. As the […]
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The Lowest Pair Always As Young As We’ll Ever Be Listening to Always As Young As We’ll Ever Be, I’m impressed by how The Lowest Pair manages to make vulnerability feel not just brave but inviting. After six years away from the studio, Kendl Winter and Palmer T. Lee return with a collection that feels […]
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Picking 10 of the best albums of the year is not only difficult but highly subjective. As the adage says, “One person’s meat is another person’s poison.” It took quite some time to select only 10 albums from the available choices. Lots of inner debate took place – me arguing with myself about the merits […]
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Lora Kelley Where I Am Now Americana artist and trauma-informed story work coach Lora Kelley recently released her newest album, Where I Am Now, which delves into themes of loss, recovery, and rebuilding life. Produced by Jeremy Casella, Where I Am Now features the talents of Matt Stanfield (piano), Josh Hunt (drums), Jacob Lowery (bass), […]
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