Country & Folk
Golden State, the second full-length from singer/songwriter Logan Ledger, marks a stylistic departure from the timeless country noir of Ledger’s critically lauded debut. This time around, Ledger worked with producer Shooter Jennings, dreaming up a lush and spirited sound partly inspired by the California country-rock scene of the late-’60s and early-’70s. The result is a sublime setting for Ledger’s layered meditations on loss and despair and the search for transcendence.
Multiplatinum-selling artist Chris Janson is known for his unabashed and raucous style both as a songwriter and performer. His free-spirited approach has captivated country music’s newest generation and his latest album, The Outlaw Side of Me, is turning up the heat. Each track on the album was carefully selected to showcase who Janson is as a man and performer – from the reflective sentimental like “All I Need Is You” to the barn burner “Tap That,” this album is a tapestry of Chris Janson.
Little Songs is the highly anticipated new album from Canadian singer-songwriter, Colter Wall. On Little Songs, fans of Wall’s will find the same hardscrabble voice they’ve loved over the years connecting the contemporary world to the values, hardships, and celebrations of rural life. The album is produced by Wall and Patrick Lyons, and features 8 new original songs, as well as two fan-favorite covers – Hoyt Axton’s “Evangelina” and Ian Tyson’s “The Coyote & The Cowboy.”
Little Songs is an upbeat, sometimes somber glimpse into the rural work and social life of the Canadian West, and, more so than with previous albums, opens emotional turns as mature and heartening as the resonant baritone voice writing and singing them.
Reba McEntire will be releasing her companion album to her upcoming book-"Not That Fancy: Simple Lessons on Living, Loving, Eating, and Dusting Off Your Boots" which will be released on October 6th. All songs are stripped down/acoustic versions of some of her biggest hits and was produced by Grammy Winning producer, Dave Cobb. It will also include 3 new classic stripped down/acoustic songs that have never been released, and it will also include a brand-new song- "Seven Minutes in Heaven".
LUCKY is the debut album from rising Nashville star, Megan Moroney. The album is produced by Kristian Bush, and is a showcase of Megan’s distinctive voice and honest, conversational lyrics.
Buzz has been building around Megan Moroney since the release of the hit track and video, “Tennessee Orange.” She is the 2023 CMT Award winner for Female Breakout Video of the Year has been dubbed a “2023 Artist to Watch,” as well as one of CMT’s Next Women of Country for 2023 calling her “a musical risktaker with powerhouse pipes.”
Speaking about LUCKY, Megan said, "If you know anything about me and my story, a lot of things (both good and bad) happened to get me to where I am today, and I just feel very lucky. I couldn’t live out this dream without the support of my fans, family, and team. I can’t wait to bring these songs on the road with me this year & I hope everyone loves them as much as I do!”
NOW That's What I Call Country, Volume 16 is the latest installment in the popular NOW series and features the latest songs from today's country superstars. This project is a joint venture from Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. This release is part of the multiplatinum NOW That's What I Call Music! compilation series with sales topping 250 million copies worldwide and 94 million in the U.S. alone. NOW That's What I Call Country collections have sold over 3 million copies.
NOW That’s What I Call Country Classics: 90’s Dance Party will be the latest installment in the popular NOW series and the 4th in the Country Classics series. The project is a joint venture from Universal Music Group and Sony Music Entertainment. This release is part of the multi-platinum NOW That’s What I Call Music! compilation series, the world’s best-selling multi-artist albums with sales topping 250 million worldwide and 94 million in the U.S. Now That’s What I Call Country Collections have sold over 3.5 million. NOW Country Classics: 90’s Dance Party will include country superstars- Shania Twain, George Strait, Reba McEntire, Vince Gill, Brooks-n-Dunn, and many more.
A collection of unreleased songs from Kenny Rogers' archives that tells the story of the love, life, loss and faith between Kenny and his wife, Wanda, and their two children. The album features the long sought after "Goodbye" written by Lionel Richie, interpretations of Eric Clapton's "Wonderful Tonight" and "I Wish It Would Rain" originally recorded by The Temptations, and "Tell Me That You Love Me" a lost duet between Kenny and Dolly Parton.
In a time when the popular choice is to chase the double yellow line down the road to country radio, Boy Named Banjo thrives on its fringes. The Nashville-raised five-piece is a fusion of contemporary country, Americana and folk-rock stacked on a foundation of bluegrass. The band, which has been together in some iteration since members were in high school, includes Barton Davies (banjo), Ford Garrard (bass/standing bass), Sam McCullough (drums) Willard Logan (mandolin, acoustic/electric guitar) and William Reames (acoustic guitar/harmonica). Reames and Logan played in a middle school garage rock band together, but it wasn't until Reames met Davies in high school that Boy Named Banjo started taking shape. Garrard and McCullough joined later and together the five guys comprise the band Boy Named Banjo that we know today. Boy Named Banjo has crafted a sound that incorporates an energetic blend of country, bluegrass, alt-rock, and folk-pop telling their stories through an honest, emotional, roots-driven perspective. In April 2020, Boy Named Banjo signed a record deal with Mercury Records Nashville and released their debut EP, Circles, the following year. Boy Named Banjo spent 2022 on the road playing some of country music’s largest festivals including Dierks Bentley’s Seven Peaks and Country Jam, Kip Moore’s Fire on Wheels Tour, they made their CMA Fest debut playing at the Ascend Amphitheatre Nighttime Concert, and played a sold-out hometown show at Nashville’s Brooklyn Bowl. The band most recently released the tracks “Heart In Motion” and “Heart Attack,” and is currently prepping its next project to be released in spring of this year.
Lukas Nelson & Promise Of The Real
Sticks and Stones [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Dark Blue w/ White Swirl LP]
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real are back with Sticks and Stones, releasing 7/14 via 6ACE Records / Thirty Tigers. This self-produced, honest and emotional new album highlights Nelson's strength as a songwriter and the band's uncompromising commitment to clarity, compassionate tones, and exceptional melodic moments. Lyrically, Sticks and Stones spans the themes of Drinking, Heartbreak, Love, Lying, Hope, Nature, Self-Reflection, Work-Life Balance, Settling Down, Home, Time, Longing and more.
10 Year Anniversary Edition of Sturgill Simpson's debut album High Top Mountain. The anniversary edition includes an "Old King Coal" blacked out album cover with a glossy embossed jacket, and is pressed on translucent black vinyl. Sturgill Simpson's authenticity stands out like an island of hope in a sea of tacky. Pure and uncompromising, devoid of gloss and fakery. High Top Mountain’s dozen instant classics evoke the sound of timeless country in its many guises and brings back the lyrical forthrightness and depth that permeated the music Simpson absorbed during his Kentucky childhood. Bonafide mountain hillbilly soul, as pure as you are going to find anywhere.
Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives
Altitude [Indie Exclusive Limited Edition Transluscent Blue LP]
Vinyl: $31.99 Buy
Singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Parker McCollum is following up his breakout major label debut, Gold Chain Cowboy, with his forthcoming studio album, Never Enough, out May 12 (MCA Nashville). McCollum earned his first-ever No. 1 hit with his double-platinum certified premiere single, “Pretty Heart,” and his follow-up gold certified single, “To Be Loved by You,” also hit No. 1 on the charts.
Over 3 decades ago, Peter One was a STAR. A country music star, in West Africa. With his singing partner Jess Sah Bi, Peter played to sold out arenas. In 1985, Our Garden Needs Its Flowers, launched the two Ivory Coast musicians into regional stardom across greater West Africa. Now solo, Peter One ultimately decided to emigrate to the US to further his music career. Come Back to Me features songs in English, French and his native African language.
Same Trailer Different Park: 10th Anniversary Edition [Limited Edition Picture Disc- Zoetrope LP]
Kacey Musgraves will be releasing a limited edition Zoetrope Picture Disc Vinyl in celebrating the 10th Anniversary of her debut Platinum and Grammy winning album- Same Trailer Different Park. The album went to #1 on the Country Album Charts when it was released in 2013. Kacey co-wrote all 12 tracks and co-produced the album with Luke Laird and Shane McAnally. Album won the Grammy award for the Best Country Album at the 56th Annual Grammy Awards. The album featured the break-out singles- “Merry Go Round”, “Blowin’ Smoke”, and “Follow Your Arrow”.
Kip Moore will be releasing his 5th studio album, Damn Love, on April 28, 2023. The album will feature 13 tracks including the single “Kinda Bar.” Kip Moore’s four studio albums include: Up All Night, Wild Ones, Slowheart, and Wild World. Moore has charted a total of 12 entries on Billboard’s Hot Country Songs and Country Airplay charts including the number-one "Somethin' 'Bout a Truck" and four additional top-ten hits. He has also written songs for Frankie Ballard, Thompson Square, and James Wesley.
Multiplatinum-selling recording artist Josh Turner is celebrating the 20th anniversary of his hit album, Long Black Train, and the album’s lead single of the same name, which were both certified Platinum by the RIAA. On May 19, 2023, the album will be released on vinyl for the first time to coincide with the anniversary of the single’s original 2003 release date.
Just nine months after his 3x Grammy-nominated record Growin’ Up was released, reigning CMA Entertainer of the Year Luke Combs is back with a new companion album, Gettin’ Old, releasing March 24 via River House Artists/Columbia Nashville. In advance of the release, lead track, “Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old,” written by Combs, Rob Snyder and Channing Wilson, is out now.
Produced by Combs, Chip Matthews and Jonathan Singleton, Gettin’ Old is Combs’ fourth full-length album following 2022’s Growin’ Up, 2019’s 3x Platinum What You See is What You Get and his 4x Platinum debut, This One’s For You. Across these eighteen new tracks, Combs continues to establish himself as one of music’s most authentic and powerful voices, as he reaches new lyrical depths exploring themes of family, legacy, love and personal growth.
“I know that I have never allowed myself to write and release songs as personal as these now feel to me.” – Joe Henry
Joe Henry is one of those artists you are rarely able to find nowadays. He is passionate about his work, unbelievably talented in multiple ways and a grand singer-songwriter, not to forget a Grammy award winning producer. The prolific singer has been reshaping the definition of American folk music. Adored for his wise and thoughtful lyrics and music, he always manages to find the right words and right tunes. Not only is Joe Henry a successful musician, but he also produced albums for artists ranging from Solomon Burke (Grammy Award!), Hugh Laurie, Aimee Mann, Rodney Crowell to Elvis Costello.
“All The Eye Can See” was mainly self-recorded at Joe Henry’s home during a phase of worldwide lockdowns. Henry: “I assumed as I began this process that, owing to circumstances, I would be making the most skeletal album of my career; when in fact, I have in many ways made my most expansive record to date.”
On “All The Eye Can See”, Henry is joined by more than 20 musicians, among them his trusted long-time musical companions and friends – Levon Henry on saxophone & clarinet, David Piltch on bass, Patrick Warren on piano & keys and John Smith on acoustic guitar.
It is an intimate album, highly emotional, amazingly quiet, beautiful, and relaxed, with simple yet skillful tunes, touching lyrics featuring 12 new and unforgettable songs, framed by an instrumental prelude and prologue.
Their fifth studio album, Celebrants marks a highly anticipated return for the beloved trio and explores the inherent dynamics of human connection. Across the 18 tracks, the trio addresses love, friendship and time with lyrics both poetic and plain-spoken, as they see bridges built, crossed, burned and rebuilt. Recorded at Nashville’s RCA Studio A, the album was produced by longtime collaborator Eric Valentine (Queens of the Stone Age, Grace Potter, Weezer) and features Mike Elizondo on bass.
In celebration of the release, the band will perform three very special sold-out shows at Nashville’s historic Ryman Auditorium this spring on April 27, 28 and 29.
Together a sum of more than their staggering parts, Nickel Creek revolutionized bluegrass and folk in the early 2000s and ushered in a new era of what we now recognize as Americana music. In a 2020 retrospective entitled, “The Year Folk Broke: How Nickel Creek Made Americana The New Indie Rock,” NPR Music praised, “20 years ago this month, an album arrived that seemed to speak all these languages at once: unafraid to push the boundaries of its primary genre, and packing the musical chops to bring such an eclectic vision to life. Behind it were three musicians just barely old enough to vote” and continued, “That makes Nickel Creek and its unofficial debut a critical point along a storied timeline, one whose innovations offer countless connections between the genre’s origins and its future. Once dubbed ‘progressive newgrassers,’ the three musicians now fit firmly within the ranks of Americana music—however nebulous, layered and diverse that realm may be. They have only themselves to thank.”
After meeting as young children and subsequently earning the respect of the bluegrass circuit for a decade, the trio signed with venerable label, Sugar Hill Records, in 2000 and quickly broke through with their Grammy-nominated, Alison Krauss-produced self-titled LP. Since that effort, the trio has released three more studio albums to date: 2002’s This Side, which won Best Contemporary Folk Album at the 45th Grammy Awards, 2005’s Why Should the Fire Die? and 2014’s A Dotted Line.
Dierks Bentley will release his 10th studio album on Capitol Records Nashville on February 24, 2022. The brand-new album will include 14 songs and features duets with Ashley McBryde and Billy Strings. His latest hit single, “Gold,” is currently rising on the Country charts. Dierks has sold over 10M albums worldwide and garnered over 4.2B streams. He has 21 #1 songs, 3 CMA Awards, 14 GRAMMY nominations and is a member of the Grand Ole Opry.
Amongst the nearly 150 albums that Willie Nelson has released, he has a number of amazing full-album tributes to songwriters from Kris Kristofferson and George Gershwin to Ray Price and Cindy Walker. Adding to that list is a new studio album dedicated to songwriting legend Harlen Howard who has scores of country hits including a number that crossed over to pop and even R&B charts. A member of both the Country Music Hall of Fame and Songwriters Hall Of Fame, Howard wrote hits for Ray Charles (“Busted”), Buck Owens (“I’ve Got A Tiger By The Tail”), Conway Twitty (the title track), Bobby Bare (“The Streets Of Baltimore”) and so many more. Produced by longtime collaborator Buddy Cannon and featuring a murderers’ row of crack Nashville musicians, I Don’t Know A Thing About Love is an amazing addition to Willie’s unparalleled catalog.
Tyler Hubbard will be releasing his debut solo album on January 27th. With 19 No. 1 singles on country radio, countless awards, and sold-out tours, Tyler Hubbard has already had a remarkable career as a songwriter and as one half of multi-platinum duo Florida Georgia Line. Now, Hubbard is embarking on a solo career with his debut solo album Tyler Hubbard. The 18-track album includes his hit single “5 Foot 9” and the songs “Dancin’ In The Country” and “Small Town Me”. The self-titled project was produced by Hubbard and Jordan Schmidt with Hubbard writing on all of the tracks. This Double LP will be special Cobalt Blue Vinyl.
Five-time GRAMMY® award winning and multi-platinum selling icon, Shania Twain, announces her new album, Queen Of Me, out February 3, 2023 on Republic Nashville, a division of Republic Records. Her sixth original full-length album, Queen Of Me, is the superstar's most triumphant-feeling body of work; an album about standing in your own power and worshipping yourself. Its lead single “Waking Up Dreaming” was co-written and produced with BTS hitmaker David Stewart.
Chris Stapleton’s never-before-released song, “I’m A Ram,” which is featured in the national TV commercial for RAM trucks, will be available on a limited edition 7” vinyl single exclusive to indie retailers. It also includes a live version of this classic Al Green song.
"As long as I can remember I wanted to make a record with my dad,” Billy Strings says. The dream to make a proper studio album is finally realized. Me and Dad, out November 18, is a collection of 14 classics that Billy and his dad, Terry Barber, know like the back of their hands. It's the music that made Billy the musician and human he is today. The album represents a lifelong goal finally achieved and a way for the Grammy-winning musician to honor the man who taught him how to play guitar.
Each order for vinyl will also include a signed print.
Ondara found a hero just when he really needed one: The Spanish Villager. Sure, the Grammy-nominated singer and songwriter created the character himself, but the mysterious man with the potent message has proven to be a versatile guy: he’s the subject of a short story Ondara wrote and turned into a graphic novel, and he’s also the namesake and inspiration for the Minneapolis-based musician’s gorgeous new album, Spanish Villager No: 3.
“He formed himself during some of my darkest times, and as he came to life, he carried in his heart all the anxieties I had about my journey and about this new world I had moved to,” says Ondara, who grew up in Kenya before relocating to Minnesota when he was 20.
If the Spanish Villager is a proxy for Ondara’s inner turmoil about the state of the American experiment, Spanish Villager No: 3channels those feelings into 11 new songs that are at once musically expansive and emotionally intimate. Though Ondara’s new songs take a sharp look at America and the world, Spanish Villager No: 3 is not a protest album. “I think of myself as more of a traditional journalist, reporting on the goings on within me and in the world around me in the form of art, and leaving it to the audience to make their own deductions,” he says.
With production from Mike Viola (Jenny Lewis, Dan Wilson) and contributions from Taylor Goldsmith and Griffin Goldsmith of Dawes, Sebastian Steinberg, Tim Kuhl and Jeremy Stacey, Spanish Villager No: 3 is a lush affair, full of rich piano lines, layers of guitars, flashes of brass, and harmony vocals on aching melodies that hang in the air. The album is Ondara’s third, following 2020’s Folk N' Roll, Vol 1: Tales of Isolation and his 2019 debut, Tales of America, which received a Grammy nod for Best Americana Album.
After the success of her critically-acclaimed 2021 release Daddy’ s Country Gold, Melissa Carper, dubbed “HillBillie Holiday” by friend and collaborator Chris Scruggs, was eager to get back in the studio. With co-producers Andrija Tokic (St. Paul & The Broken Bones, Hurray For The Riff Raff) and Dennis Crouch (The Time Jumpers) behind the boards again at Tokic’s analog paradise The Bomb Shelter in Nashville, Carper assembled that same crew of magical music makers - plus a few more - to embark on her newest effort, Ramblin’ Soul, set for release November 18th via Thirty Tigers.
Carper’s deep, old-timey music roots were firmly planted as a child, playing upright bass and singing in her family’s traveling country band in rural Nebraska. Her love of country classics was cultivated as she laid beneath the console listening to her parents’ record collection. Hank Williams, Patsy Cline, Loretta Lynn, Ray Charles, Elvis Presley, and more became the soundtrack of her youth. When Carper’s father gifted her a collection of Jimmie Rodgers’ recordings, she began to find her voice and calling as a songwriter.
Carper attended the University of Nebraska-Lincoln on a music scholarship, and spent much of her time in the music library, instinctively drawn to the great jazz classics and jazz vocalists such as Billie Holiday, Ella Fitzgerald, Frank Sinatra, and Nat King Cole. She also discovered Lead Belly, uncovering a deep well within when singing his songs. Carper stands firmly on the shoulders of American ramblers, crooners, and songsters - the building blocks of her musical foundation. In 2020, grappling with the loss of regular gigs, Carper and Patek moved to a friend’s farm near Austin, working in exchange for housing, organic vegetables, and fresh, country air. The simpler life afforded Carper the space and rejuvenation needed to channel her muse, and begin writing for her next album.
“I had a handful of songs about rambling around and living a free life that I wanted to weave through the album,” Carper recalls. “I wrote the title track driving back home to Texas, and it felt like the seeds of the next album were planted. I also knew I wanted Ramblin’ Soul to have a different feel than Daddy’s Country Gold, with more upbeat and diverse styles and grooves.” Ramblin’ Soul features a co-write with life long ramblin’ buddy and bandmate Gina Gallina, a song penned by friend and frequent collaborator Brennen Leigh; a reimagined classic from folk pioneer Odetta; and ten Carper originals. The album ventures into blues, early rock and roll, and old school soul, along with Carper’s signature styles of country, western swing, and jazz. Carper’s lifelong, steadfast listening has come to fruition in the songs on Ramblin’ Soul. Her childhood love of the family record collection planted the seeds of what is her own bountiful orchard today.
Capitol Records Nashville presents multiplatinum hitmaker Jon Pardi's fourth studio album, Mr. Saturday Night. The 14-tracks include the singles, "Last Lonely Night," and "Fill `Er Up." Jon says about the album, "A lot of time was spent living with the songs on this record. There is more life experience on Mr. Saturday Night than any album I've released before." It was produced by Jon with Bart Butler and Ryan Gore, the same team behind his award-winning 2019 album, Heartache Medication.
Not Just A Girl (The Highlights) features 18 tracks, spanning Shania Twain's illustrious career. Achieving five GRAMMY Awards and three RIAA diamond-certified albums, she has sold over 100 million albums and is one of the best-selling artists of all time. This collection serves as the soundtrack to her 'Not Just A Girl' documentary which includes Shania's biggest hits and fan favorites, "You're Still the One," "That Don't Impress Me Much," "Man! I Feel Like a Woman!" and more, plus one new song.
The universe feels real on The Turnpike Troubadours because the band resolved to let the album happen on it's own time. Moving out to the Prairie Sun recording complex in the desert country of Cotati, California, setting up in former chicken coops converted into studios, they metaphorically unplugged the clock and worked studiously through 12-hour sessions, wrapping up only when each story and every note rang true. There's "7 Oaks", recounting a life made desperate by poverty, made more vivid by an incongruous hoedown accompaniment. "Bossier City," focused on a sad mill worker who blows his pay regularly on gambling and booze.