BGS 5+5: DownRiver Collective

Artist: DownRiver Collective
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Latest Release: “Come On Back” (single)
Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): The Upstream Association

Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?

Well, this one is pretty easy for me, as it’s the artist I’m named after, Alison Krauss. One of my earliest memories is of my dad and I driving around town with her album, Live, on repeat. I was only about 4 or so at the time, but you best believe I sang every single word at the top of my lungs. The wild thing is, I still can’t rid myself of that album. It still plays through at least 4 times a week on my commute to and from work. That album, that voice, changed the course of my life. It was through singing along to Alison that I nurtured my love for singing. I found myself at an early age trying to mimic every bend, run, and glottal.

Through the course of my life, I found myself listening to other artists and genres, but somehow it always came back to Alison. I never saw myself singing bluegrass music, but it was in college when I broke out my Alison Krauss repertoire that I fell in love with the genre all over again. And I couldn’t be fully transparent about my adoration of Alison Krauss without mentioning the fact that she’s an absolute boss. Seeing a woman pave her own way for a younger generation of ladies in a male-dominated genre is so inspiring to me. – Ali Vance, lead singer

What has been the best advice you’ve received in your career so far?

I feel like some of the most meaningful advice that I’ve gotten from artists that I look up to has been pretty simple. I was told to always, first and foremost, be yourself. People are able to connect with songs more easily if there’s authenticity behind it. Another impactful piece of advice I got was to not ever compare yourself one-to-one with the artists that you look up to. Everybody has their own path and career arc to follow, and it’s always going to be different for everybody. I feel like these two things really go hand in hand. – Rico Wallenda, mandolin

What is a genre, album, artist, musician, or song that you adore that would surprise people?

This would come as a surprise to absolutely no one who has spent any time around me, but I absolutely adore pop divas. Right now, the ladies that are in regular rotation are Ariana Grande, Sabrina Carpenter, Dua Lipa, and Chappell Roan. I know it’s a little cliché, but there is something to it. On the one hand, it’s all about the vocalists. Any time a vocalist is as good as any of those ladies, I just find it so compelling and moving. I’ve also been really into Celine Dion, Kelly Clarkson, Whitney Houston– the list goes on. It’s just so awe-inspiring to listen to gifted singers like that.

On the other hand, the pop stars I listed all have a believablity factor that you can’t ignore when you listen to the music. That authenticity draws me to many different genres and artists, but it’s especially compelling with some of these current pop stars. Bailey [Warren, fiddle] and I often talk about these singers when we’re on the road, drowning the rest of the van in Olivia Rodrigo albums (Bailey’s favorite) and Ariana Grande records. – Jonny Therrien, guitar, Dobro

Does pineapple really belong on pizza?

Here’s the deal: Yes. I think we need to broaden our scope, expand our horizons. Food is just so good. And it isn’t nobody hurting anyone or damaging anything by putting a delicious fruit on their pizza. I think we live in a world where we can celebrate pizza as a pillar of food heritage and be thankful for all it has given to us while we push the boundaries of our pizza pleasures and discover new food frontiers. I love a classic pizza as much as anyone, I even order plain cheese pizza from Domino’s as an adult (did that last week). I also love a nice Hawaiian pie. There are multitudes in between, and here’s the good news: It’s all good. So let’s put this thing to rest once, at least for us right now. Pineapple does belong on pizza. Life is too short, and pizza is too good to be choosy. These are some things that I live by. – JT

What’s the toughest time you ever had writing a song?

We’ve spent a lot of time over the last few years figuring out how we write best together. We’re a big ensemble and getting that many creatives to be on the same page about anything can be tough. What used to be sort of a tricky thing to figure out has turned into each of us individually knowing our strengths and weaknesses better while chipping away at what it is that makes us sound like us. Mixing all our influences can be hard because sometimes those influences and the reflexes they’ve instilled into each of us individually can be at odds with one another.

The specific song that comes to mind is one that we recorded in January for our next album. The song was originally inspired by a sassy Alison Krauss number, which was a tune we had fallen in love with covering. Our earliest iterations of the song were marked by herky-jerky feels, strangely placed jazz chords, and lyrics that didn’t really convey the feeling we were after. At several different points, we were convinced the song was nearly finished except for maybe a lyrical tweak here and there. Finally, when we were in pre-production with Caleb Edwards and Eli Broxham, who co-produced our album, we explored a lot options: we re-arranged the structure, wrote new verses, found homes for the spicy chords, and settled on a rhythmic feel that matched the song’s sentiment perfectly. It felt like we had done the impossible: we pleased each of our artistic instincts in a song that we all had loved and hated at different times. In our show, we talk about this song as being the one that we had to write three times before it was good enough for the record.

That’s not even the end of the song’s story! I was talking to [John] Gray, our banjo player, last week and told him I dug what he did on the intro kick to the tune. Gray told me, “Yeah, I asked Caleb about the very last phrase of it, and he said he liked it, but had doubts about the other parts. The last phrase was the only part of the kick that I had doubts about, I was sure about everything else. So that’s when I knew that the whole intro was right.” – JT


Photo Credit: Tippy // Emily Cowherd

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Danny Roberts, Dallas Ugly, and More

The music release cycle marches on, bringing us to our first premiere roundup of March!

Below you’ll find new tracks and videos from artists like Big Love Car Wash, who take us on a tour of our collective subconscious with a bluegrassy-folky track, “Dream Journal.” Plus, mandolinist Danny Roberts – who you may know from The Grascals – pays tribute to two of his mandolin heroes with his new instrumental, “Lawson Sizemore.” And Dallas Ugly bemoan a bit too much indulgence and “sweets” with “Sugar Crash,” a deliciously saccharine number produced by Justin Frances from their upcoming album, See Me Now.

Country rocker Joel Timmons returns to his recent release, Psychedelic Surf Country, with a lyric video that tells the story of his dad burning piles of Christmas trees on “Just a Man,” complete with vintage 8mm family footage. Don’t miss singer-songwriter Grayson Jenkins turning over aging, mortality, and the constants of life on “Taxes & Time” with a charming video and a clean honky-tonk sound.

It’s all right here on BGS! Scroll for more, because You Gotta Hear This.

Big Love Car Wash, “Dream Journal”

Artist: Big Love Car Wash
Hometown: Austin, Texas
Song: “Dream Journal”
Album: Daydream
Release Date: March 14, 2025 (single); June 6, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “For me, ‘Dream Journal’ is about a fork in the road, about making a pivotal decision. The decision that inspired this song was between attending law school and dedicating myself to music. At its heart though, ‘Dream Journal’ is about really listening to yourself. When you’re dreaming peacefully, where are you?” – David Rabinowicz, songwriter, guitar, lead vocals

Track Credits:
David Rabinowicz – Guitar, lead vocals, songwriter
Sol Chase – Mandolin, harmony vocals
Everett Wren – Fiddle, shaker
Taylor Turner – Double bass
Joseph Holguin, Arlyn Studios – Recording, mixing engineer
Andrew Oedel – Mastering engineer


Dallas Ugly, “Sugar Crash”

Artist: Dallas Ugly
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Sugar Crash”
Album: See Me Now
Release Date: March 6, 2025 (single); April 18, 2025 (album)

In Their Words: “This song was inspired by the reliability of a low showing up after a high, specifically in a romantic setting. You know if you keep playing with fire you’re going to get burned, but it’s just so much fun. Besides, even when things are going well, falling for someone is a mix of fear and excitement. Sonically, we wanted to make this a sweet little candy bop and our producer, Justin Francis, nailed it with the warbley synth sounds he added. We also went for some cheekier arrangement choices to just really drive the playful aspect home. Hope this little twangy, twee song makes you dance!” – Libby Weitnauer

Track Credits:
Libby Weitnauer – Acoustic guitar, vocals
Owen Burton – Electric guitar, vocals
Eli Broxham – Bass
Brandon Combs – Drums, percussion
Justin Francis – Programming, percussion, acoustic guitar, keys


Grayson Jenkins, “Taxes & Time”

Artist: Grayson Jenkins
Hometown: Greenville, Kentucky
Song: “Taxes & Time”
Release Date: March 7, 2025

In Their Words: “‘Taxes & Time’ spilled out onto my notebook page early one morning after a restless night of sleep spent on an air mattress at a family member’s house. Nine times out of ten, those things go flat in the middle of the night – no fault to my hosts. This time, though, it also happened to be in the middle of the pandemic and one of the first times I had left home and my own bed in many months. I woke up at 5:00 am or so thinking about my grandfather, including a very distinct memory from my childhood of someone saying something to the effect of, ‘Papaw doesn’t travel outside of this many miles from home, because he has to get back to sleep in his bed.’ In about five minutes, I’d written the whole song with no melody or instrumentation in mind. This all happened around the time I turned 30 and it was cathartic to put my thoughts on paper about getting older, feeling and looking older, and thinking about what the important things in my life should be moving forward.” – Grayson Jenkins

Track Credits:
Grayson Jenkins – Songwriting, acoustic guitar, vocals
Paddy Ryan – Drums
Aaron Boehler – Bass
Jesse Aycock – Dobro
Fats Kaplin – Fiddle
Kevin Gordon – Backing vocals


Danny Roberts, “Lawson Sizemore”

Artist: Danny Roberts
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Lawson Sizemore”
Release Date: March 7, 2025
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “While I was putting together songs for this record I knew that I wanted to salute two of my favorite mandolin players – Doyle Lawson and Herschel Sizemore. Both of these men not only had an impact on me musically, but personally as well, and I wanted to pay tribute to them by writing a song that would show their influence on my playing and ‘Lawson Sizemore’ is it. I really enjoyed writing this tune and I hope I did two of my mandolin heroes justice with ‘Lawson Sizemore.'” – Danny Roberts

Track Credits:
Danny Roberts – Mandolin
Andrea Roberts – Bass
Tony Wray – Acoustic guitar, banjo
Jimmy Mattingly – Fiddle


Joel Timmons, “Just A Man”

Artist: Joel Timmons
Hometown: Folly Beach, SC
Song: “Just a Man”
Album: Psychedelic Surf Country
Release Date: February 7, 2025 (album); March 7, 2025(video)

In Their Words: “‘Just a Man’ is the true story of my early childhood introduction to pyromania. The lyrics tell the story (fairly accurately) of my father gathering a pile of Christmas trees in our backyard and setting it on fire, nearly burning down our house and neighborhood. Woven through this humorous recollection is the realization that my dad is ‘just a man.’ Though he seemed like a flame-wielding mythical god to me as a little boy, he was full of his own dreams, doubts, questions, hubris, and fears. I edited together the lyric video with some vintage 8mm movie film footage that my mother shot. The final result feels like an intimate home movie night and it’s a visual love letter to my dear dad, Clyde. The recording features fantastic fiddling from another sweet man that I love, Jason Carter.” – Joel Timmons

Video Credits: Videography by Carlin Timmons. Edited by Joel Timmons.


Photo Credit: Danny Roberts by Sandlin Gaither; Dallas Ugly by Betsy Phillips.

WATCH: George Jackson, “Alhaji”

Artist: George Jackson
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Alhaji”
Album: George Jackson’s Local Trio
Release Date: July 18, 2023 (video); August 18, 2023 (album)
Label: Adhyâropa Records

In Their Words: “I feel a much stronger sense of identity with this record. In many ways, it’s still working with the concepts that I was getting at with Time and Place, trying to be a part of something with a long history while also trying to bring myself to the table as an outsider, but now there’s a lot more confidence in bringing together the different elements I’m interested in and continuing to form my voice with less fear of ‘doing it wrong.’

“(Banjoist Frank Evans) can go very deep in old-time as well as bluegrass music, and also has an interest and proficiency as an improviser and with jazz concepts. He just feels like such a natural fit for me musically. (Bassist Eli Broxham) has such a fearless spirit in the way that he approaches music.

“Fellow fiddle player John Mailander (Bruce Hornsby, Billy Strings) produced the record, collaborating closely with the trio to achieve this boundary-pushing vision. Something that I’m proud of with this record is that it doesn’t sound like music that has been made before — we were able to push old-time in genuinely new directions using arrangements, samples, and recording techniques.” – George Jackson


Photo Credit: Libby Danforth