Tag: Good Country

Midland Continue to Lead Country’s Vintage Revival

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Ever since they injected vintage swagger and rhinestoned style back into the country mainstream with 2017’s “Drinkin’ Problem,” Midland’s Mark Wystrach (lead vocals), Cameron Duddy (bass/vocals), and Jess Carson (guitar/vocals) have been on a journey.

The GRAMMY-nominated trio have welcomed new stages of life alongside new physical stages, rising from roadside honky-tonks into the legendary clubs they still consider home, and on to the biggest venues in the world. Their climb mirrored their evolving country influences, which began with a love for the treble-and-twang sound of the 1960s and progressed on through the ’70s, ’80s, and beyond, helping lay a revivalist foundation for this current new generation of neo-traditionalist artists. Despite all these changes, they never lost sight of their own brotherhood – or their bar-band roots. Their new album Stages is the proof.

Working primarily with producer Trent Willmon for the first time (Jamie Moore also contributed), Stages finds Midland looking back to their road-dogging Texas beginnings, while bringing their throwback renaissance toward the rich tones of the ’90s era. As a former artist with a late-’90s/early-2000s Texas pedigree, Willmon knows that form well, and it fits Midland like a tailored Manuel suit. Over 10 new tracks, timeless barstool themes unfold under gentle, genuine twang and three-part harmony, taking the masters of modern retro to a new peak.

Good Country spoke with Jess Carson about the current stage of Midland’s story and where the classic-country resurgence may go next. We also touched on the band’s ideal venue, covering bluegrass tunes, and the best course of action when encountering a song written by Dean Dillon.

Midland has always struck me as being about more than just throwback nostalgia. There’s a theme and message behind your work, so what’s the title Stages mean to you?

Jess Carson: I think there’s definitely a part of it that is self-referential for us. I think it’s there in the title, it kind of references our own journey all the way back to The Sonic Ranch, which we ended up releasing later, but was the first time we got together– shoot, 12 years ago. It’s been a long road and journey and we’ve been through a lot of stages. And we’re also very much a road band, so there’s that play on words that’s so popular in country music.

Different physical stages too, right?

Yeah. Which is really where we’ve grown up. From playing in dive bars around the Austin, Hill Country area to … I mean, our last show was at [Arlington, Texas, stadium] Globe Life Field.

That’s amazing. There’s a lot of growth there. You guys have gone through a lot together.

We have, yeah. We’ve done a lot of growing up – but are still pretty immature, probably.

“Young at heart” is a better way to put it, maybe.

Well, part of being a musician is that Peter Pan thing. It’s hard to imagine Keith Richards on the phone trying to figure out some bank charge or something.

I’m interested in the physical stages idea, because your band has stayed really committed to and supportive of smaller stages [like the Palomino Club in LA, which Midland reopened for one night in 2019 to record a 2020 live album], even as you’ve leveled up to the biggest venues in the world. I just wonder why you love the small stages so much?

I think as a musician, you’re always going to love that. It’s the most intimate. It’s where you start out – for us and country music. The kind of dive bar honky-tonk thing is always going to be the most intimate and at least for us, it’s where things feel the most at home. These places around here [in Austin], The Broken Spoke and Gruene Hall, Luckenbach, and places like that. That’s where it feels like the music is at home and it’s the easiest place to catch a vibe. If you play at Global Life Field, for example, you can see the people right in front of you. But you can’t see the people way up in the upper deck.

Where did you want to take the sound this time? Over your career you’ve always blended Texas, Nashville, and California country influences very freely.

I don’t know. All of our albums are really a mix of what we’re listening to at the time, what we’re inspired by. For some reason I was reading this Tom Waits interview recently and he said that he’s in the salvage business. More than being a musician, he’s salvaging all these different bits of inspiration. I can identify with that. Going through the stages of our history and our catalog, I think in the beginning we were maybe inspired by stuff that was even older than where we are now. Maybe our stuff sounds more ’90s now than when we started, when there was a lot more, like, ’60s influence.

It’s just whatever place we’re in. I don’t know how thought out it is. I don’t know how thought out anything we have ever done is. [Laughs]

Maybe that’s the secret. How do you feel about where the country mainstream is right now? I would imagine you’re really enjoying this, because you have a lot of like-minded artists out there with you.

Yeah, I think we played a big part in opening the door for what’s going on right now.

Absolutely.

There was a handful of people. Cody Johnson is one that was really doing that sound in 2014 and is massive now, and Jon Pardi. And then I think we inspired a lot of acts. That’s a big part of our legacy. We were in that class of people who kicked the door down and got steel guitar on the radio again, or at least back on the radio during a time when the mainstream was really thriving. So yeah, I’d say more than ever since we’ve been doing it, it’s like classic country is having this moment. Like, that’s being valued now. You know what I mean?

Totally. I wonder though, do you feel like maybe it’s time for a second wave of this renaissance that you guys helped kick off? Now you can have steel guitar on the radio. Songs with a honky-tonk edge are taken seriously commercially. But could we go further? I mean, do we need some Eddy Arnold-style crooning?

Ooh, that’s a good question. I mean, I don’t know. The older stuff feels more difficult.

You’re saying it could go too far.

It’s like, the stuff that’s ’90s influenced right now, it feels very effortless. Who’s going to say they don’t love Alan Jackson or George Strait, Keith Whitley, Clint Black, Shania Twain?

The ’50s stuff, I love all of that. “Make the World Go Away” and all that kind of stuff, I love it. For whatever reason, it’s harder to make that not feel like cosplay. But, that would be super cool if there was somebody who felt like they came out of this time warp and it felt authentic, because that’s some of my favorite songwriting. Willie Nelson’s songwriting from back then. Tin-Pan-Alley-meets-Nashville/American-songbook type songwriting. It’s the coolest in my opinion. But I think maybe it is harder to do that and have it not feel like a shtick in 2026.

Tell me a little bit more about the album here. Was there a moment when Stages started coming into focus for you creatively, and when was that?

Well, we work on albums through the tour cycle. We don’t really take time off to work on the album, so they definitely have their own way that they take form over time. … This one was the way we’ve done the other albums, where we’ll go to Nashville and spend two days here or four days there. I think the first song we did was “Drunk Enough” and that was like – I don’t even know, over a year ago?

“Drunk Enough” almost felt like a follow-up to “Drinkin’ Problem.” Like, it’s a little farther on in the story. You’re still having fun in the “Drinkin’ Problem” time period, but then things progress and it gets a little sadder.

Well, actually I think “Drunk Enough” is, to me, as close as we probably can get to doing that old American-songbook type sound. With the chord changes and the melody, I think there’s a lot of that old inspiration. If there’s something that could be tied to Eddy Arnold, it would probably be that one from the album.

Can you tell me a little about where “Marlboro Man” is coming from? It seems like there’s a cost that comes to living the way you guys do. Have you felt that?

Definitely. We didn’t write that one, but when we heard it, it was like, “Yeah, we can identify with the aging cowboy.” Or just the guy that’s acknowledging the sacrifices and what it takes to get to this place. All three of us can certainly identify with that character.

It was really fun to go down to Southern Arizona and shoot that music video and also tap into the visuals, the images in that song and the cinematic quality of it, too. But yeah, that’s an old Dean Dillon song that he wrote a while ago. I don’t even know, maybe 10 years ago.

Well, his are all timeless immediately.

Yeah. If you can get an old Dean Dillon song, take it.

Another I want to ask you about is “Drinkin’ Dark Whiskey.” BGS [the parent outlet of Good Country] is a bluegrass outlet at its core, and I remember that song from the SteelDrivers back when [Chris] Stapleton and Mike Henderson were there. What made you want to record that and turn it into something new?

That was one the label sent over and they just felt like it would be great to get an uptempo [track] on [the album]. I think our albums, you want to hit these different cornerstones and especially to be able to integrate into the live set. We’re always going to want to have a “Mr. Lonely,” or we’ve been playing “Boot Scootin’ Boogie” in the set since we re-did that with Brooks & Dunn [for Reboot].

Certainly from the SteelDrivers and Gary Allan, the song had a life before us getting to it. But I think we’re able to put our own spin on it and we’re already playing that one live. It’s just a fun one in the set.

What about “Up In Texas.” You co-wrote this, and it features Clint Black. You mentioned some of the famous Texas dancehalls earlier in the chat here, and this song is kind of a tribute to all the cool things that make Texas what it is, right? Do you still have a lot of love for Texas?

Oh yeah. I’ve been here for, gosh, close to 20 years, and it’s where I’m going to stay. It’s where the band was formed. Mark’s in Colorado now. Cameron and I are still here in Texas. We’ve always been a Texas band. We never did move to Nashville. We probably would’ve gotten a lot farther if we had. But I very much see ourselves as a Texas honky-tonk band still. And there’s been so many songs written about Texas.

Totally.

It’s like that old saying, “How do you tell if somebody’s from Texas? Just wait 10 seconds and they’ll tell you.” People here are so proud of Texas. But you got to do it. The thing is, you can tell if it’s forced. You can tell if you’re pandering.

When we did “Up In Texas,” Josh Osborne came in with that line, “Out of 10, it’s 11/ I bet even in heaven/ They say ‘Up In Texas.’” That was one of those ones that when he said that, it gave me goosebumps. Lines like that don’t come along that often. I love that payoff so much.

Let me get your take on what you think is next. Not just for your band, but what’s next for your kind of music? For country that still feels rooted in the past, but also has a progressive soul. Life has changed for everybody and now you’ve got AI coming online. Where’s your music headed?

We’re hoping to get some AI robots that can just take over touring for us. [Laughs] We’re trying to build something in the garage right now. No, man, who can even say they know where this is all going to land with AI stuff?

I saw an Instagram post yesterday of this guy, it was a Bronc rider and it was a video of his ride, and somebody commented, “AI ain’t taking this guy’s job.” I think in music we hope that there will always be this kind of soul that you can’t replicate. … I don’t know that I have too much wisdom. We don’t have any interest in using [AI] for songwriting or anything like that. I think that’s pretty obvious. … I think we are purists in that way and the stuff that we love was done very organically, and we’re going to just continue to do what we do.

Photo Credit: Harper Smith

Ringo Starr and T Bone Burnett in Conversation

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

On a sunny day in late April, I stood outside an ad hoc interview room at the Sunset Marquis in West Hollywood waiting for my turn to speak to Ringo Starr.

Sporadic laughter boomed through the door as the hazy afternoon light danced on the doorknob hanger. Instead of the usual “Do Not Disturb,” this one simply said, “Peace.” The verbiage, apropos for Ringo, served as one part levity and one part beta-blocker as I prepared to speak to a Beatle.

When the door opened, I was surprised and delighted to come face to face with Phil Rosenthal (of Somebody Feed Phil). The unabashed smile on his face foreshadowed the similar joy I would feel taking the same steps through that door just 25 short minutes later.

And yet another revelation unfolded as I walked in the room to find both Mr. Starr and T Bone Burnett, producer of Ringo’s newest album, Long Long Road. The ensuing discussion covered their relationships with genre, synesthesia, and inevitably bobbed and weaved across the rich musical history of these two icons.

Do I get both of you today?

Ringo Starr: Yes!

Excellent!

T Bone Burnett: Only if you want.

RS: Hi. I’m Ringo.

Ha! Yes. The man of the hour. How are you?

RS: Good. Excellent.

Thank you so much for having me.

RS: Oh, it’s our pleasure.

TB: Her dad is a great songwriter, a great guitar player from Muscle Shoals.

RS: We were just talking to someone else about that today.

Really? You were talking about Muscle Shoals today?

RS: Well, we didn’t actually mention it, but we were talking about the music that, for me, started with Johnny Ray and people like that. I was a teenager, and then it went up to country music, and then I got into blues music, and then I got into pop of the day music.

I love country music. And he’s the country boy [as he points to T Bone Burnett].

That’s a fantastic segue to my first question. So as we mentioned, I grew up in Muscle Shoals, and I had this record player that was a little battery-operated blue Volkswagen bus. Do you remember these?

TB: Yeah, I do!

It would ride around the record, and it had a little speaker in it, and I would lay on the ground, and I’d listen to Abbey Road. But it was also around the same time that the video for “Act Naturally,” the duet with Buck Owens, came out. So, for me, you were very genre-fluid from a very early age. I’m curious about a couple of things genre-wise, and T Bone, please jump in on this too.

TB: Okay, I’ll jump in, and I’ll say that the Beatles probably invented what became known as “country rock.” You know, with “I Don’t Want to Spoil the Party.”

RS: And what were the two that were Carl Perkins?

TB: “Honey Don’t” and “Matchbox.”

RS: “Honey Don’t” was the best line I ever heard.

TB: Yeah, it is a killer title.

RS: “Matchbox” was a blues song, really.

TB: Well, “Matchbox” was an old Blind Lemon Jefferson song.

RS: Yes. The interesting thing is I did those in the ’60s, and we just found a Carl Perkins tune that we’d never heard, and we’ve done it on this record. “I Don’t See Me in Your Eyes Anymore.”

I love it.

RS: It is so beautiful and he was just a cool guy. You know, I was a teenager when I first heard him, and it was like, “Oh yeah!”

T Bone: Yeah, he was cool. He, [Carl], had heard “Matchbox” or his dad had heard it by Blind Lemon Jefferson, but they could only remember a few words of it, so he rewrote it as a rockabilly song.

So you knew of country music when you were growing up, you were aware of it.

RS: I did. I was aware of country music. I loved it because it was emotional, and I was a teenager. That’s what we are at that age.

[Ringo singing:] “ Well the wife is dead and I’m leaving home. I got no money for the jukebox.”

Perfect for teenagers.

When I say the words “country music” to you now, what do you think of? Who or what or how do you think of it?

RS: I still think a lot about the people from yesterday, who I came in with. You’ve got to say Willie. I mean, he’s magical and still out there. Thank you, Willie. And who used to open for Willie?

TB: Waylon?

RS: Waylon! He was great. I have to think back.

TB: Well Hank Williams…

RS: Well, no, Hank was where we came in. And Hank Snow. No one mentions him. He was Canadian. Patsy Cline. There’s too many really.

I was talking to someone the other week and they asked, “What is your all-time favorite record?” I couldn’t answer. There is too much that I love. “Who’s your favorite artist?” I start with Ray Charles. And Stevie, and down that line. But I can’t answer it. We were on TV, and I stopped it. I said, “I just can’t answer.” There are too many in my life to say, “That’s the one.”

Plead the 5th.

Do you ever feel constrained by genre? Or inspired by it? What is your relationship with the idea of it?

RS: I’m a pop-rock music drummer. I’ll play whatever you’re gonna give me. If you want it heavy, I’ll hit the cymbals. Heavy metal has some great acts going down. We would jam sometimes and be that.

TB: Oh, well, I mean, the Beatles invented heavy metal, really.

RS: Yeah. It’s just playing the same shit, but heavier.

TB: “Everybody’s Got Something to Hide Except Me and My Monkey” or “Helter Skelter.”

RS: “Helter Skelter” was a jam. We had no song, nothing, we were just jamming, and then Paul came in with, “Hey! Helter Skelter.” Like “Say It’s Your Birthday,” there was someone in the newspaper who we knew, and it was their birthday, and we were jamming. Paul stepped up again, and we got another song. We were like that. You could jump in, any one of us could jump in. I’ve got odd lines we aren’t gonna talk about on certain tracks.

[A publicist chimes in to say:] “T Bone you have five more minutes before you have to leave and then you’ll go and he’ll stay in.”

RS: And then I’ll go and then you’ll stay in. [Laughter]

Well, let’s go back to the Volkswagen.

RS: Let’s get back to it.

Because I have a little bit of synesthesia, I think.

TB: I have that, too.

RS: What have you got?

TB: I see colors when I hear music.

RS: Oh, great!

So, “Octopus’s Garden” was very purple for me. “Act Naturally” is very orangey gold. I’m curious if you’ve ever experienced anything like that. And if it’s not colors, if there are certain textures that you’re looking for in a song, when you’re casting songs for an album? And T Bone, this question’s for you too, since you have it.

RS: T Bone will give me a lot of songs, and I listen to them and I picked my six at the beginning. There were only three I didn’t use. That’s how we started this. In the end, we were talking in my little studio and I said to him, “How many songs have you got?” And he had nine. It gave me the courage to ask him if he would produce the record. All the songs were not on my mind; we were just hanging out like two guys. But it turned into a fellowship.

TB: Well, I can tell you that the Beatles stuff that first came out was very dark blue, all of it. “Don’t Bother Me” especially was the most dark blue of them. It was interesting that the album cover that first came out over here [in the U.S.] was dark blue. So it all sort of coalesced, I think.

That was one of those blessed moments that happen occasionally on earth, you know? Where everybody heard the same thing at the same time.

Absolutely.

RS: I never saw colors. I mean, I did see colors some days… You know what I mean?

[All laugh]

RS: When I listened, it’s how I felt. A sad song, a happy song, a rock song– some of it will move you, and some of it moved me.

TB: Well, I’d better go. But thank you, great to see you again.

Yeah, you too. Nice to see you again.

[As T Bone got up to leave, his wife entered the room and chatter ensued, but he added before walking out the door:]

TB: By the way, “I Want to Hold Your Hand” was very dark blue.

Well, you know, what’s funny is, I had a synesthesia question for Ringo about you, because I didn’t know you were going to be here. But I was going to say that your musical color and texture is exactly like what you are wearing, to me.

TB: Oh, is that right? That’s wild. Thank you! Nice to see you all.

RS: God Bless, peace and love!

Tell me about what it is like for you working in Nashville? Tell me what it feels like working with those players.

RS: I did have experience in the early ’70s when Pete Drake invited me to come, because we were working on a George Harrison record. You know, we keep talking about the steps we take, the moves we make. And I was there with George, and I’m playing for him and he’d called Pete – I didn’t know Pete. Pete had landed at Heathrow, and the car George was sending broke down, so we sent my car. And then he arrived. “Hey, hoss, I see you like country music.”

“Yeah, yeah, I do. How do you know?”

He said, “All those cassettes in your car.”

And then a few days later, he’s saying, “You should come to Nashville.” And I thought, “I’m not going to Nashville. I’m doing stuff here. I don’t have a month or six weeks to go to Nashville.” He said, “A month? Six weeks? Nashville Skyline took two days.” And I said, “I’m coming.” And I went, and we did the same thing.

On the first day, five songs were picked in the morning. Between us, we listened to them all. Five songs were recorded, and five songs were finished. And the next day, we picked five songs. Anyway, it went on the same way, and it was finished. And it took two days, so that was great.

Well, Ringo, you have one of the finest reputations in the music business.

RS: As a drummer or else?

EM: As a drummer, as a human.

RS: Or as a tall person?

The tallest around.

Just for being so kind to people and emanating peace and love, obviously. And you’ve been such a beacon of that for so many decades. Especially in the last couple of weeks I’ve been thinking a lot about that, after finding out that I was going to talk to you. I was curious, I’m sure it’s mostly innate, but do you ever feel like it’s a responsibility – in terms of how you are in the public, in terms of what songs you’re picking? I’m particularly thinking of “Choose Love.”

RS: I just do my best, you know, to pick the songs that give you some movement, and you say, “Oh, I’d like to sing that.” That’s what I’m with these two country songs with T Bone. I mean, I don’t really do it in a political way, that it says this or that. It’s usually peace and love. If I write it, it’s always peace and love – I don’t know what the question was.

Just wondering if it ever feels like a responsibility to you.

RS: You know, I’ve had many a good year, but some years I’ve made really bummer mistakes. It’s like that’s when your brain wins. I mean, even on this record, I’ve got the lines about “let the stuff come in, but let it go.” And I’ve been pretty good at that for a long time. Not that it’s every second of my life. Sometimes it gets in. And it stays in your thoughts. Then you’re in hell. I’m blessed that that doesn’t happen half as much anymore. I can just dump the thought that comes in and deal with whatever it is.

I was going to ask you about that line in particular, because I think it does this beautiful job of talking about a meditative quality of finding peace without being preachy or telling people “how to” and I really love that.

RS: I meditated this morning. I meditate every morning, this time since ‘92. You know, we went to the Maharishi in India with the boys. And I was worried, you know, “Am I doing it properly?” I was talking to him [Maharishi] and he says, “Ringo, even if you fall asleep, you must have been tired.”

And it taught me a great lesson. I was into like, madness and stuff, you know, “It must be this. It must be me. What’s the problem?” And now I get quite calm.

That’s wonderful. Yeah. It comes across on this album. You’re talking about your own experience and that’s–

RS: What else can I talk about? I can’t talk about yours, you know? But thank you.

Tell me about the band that played on this record.

RS: T Bone’s whole band is great. The rest of Nashville is so great. They all came out to help me. To be there. It is in my heart.

Last January, when I was there and back three times. And every time when I’ve played at the Ryman… I’ve been playing there for the last 15 years with the All Stars, but when I go on that stage, I feel all the guys and all the gals who stood on that stage.

And then what happens? The Grand Ole Opry invited me to do three songs. And I go on that stage that has the Ryman circle that the singers stand on. It is magical. For me, coming from England, it was really magical to get on that stage. And the people are great. It is built for music coming out and hitting everybody, because it was a gospel church. I’m still moved. I get on the stage, and I have to go through a minute of, “Wow, wow!”

Photo Credit: Dan Winters

10 of the Best Jo Dee Messina Songs

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

It’s been a minute since Jo Dee Messina graced us all with an album of new material.

The flame-haired singer from Framingham, Massachusetts, made an immediate splash on the country music scene with her self-titled 1996 debut. Her 1998 sophomore set, I’m Alright, was even more successful. Messina became the first female country artist to have three multiple-week, chart-topping singles from the same album. Burn, which arrived in 2000, was also a smash, delivering the popular title track and the Tim McGraw collaboration, “Bring on the Rain.”

Admittedly, Messina has been less prolific over the past 25 years or so. Her fourth studio outing, Delicious Surprise, came out in 2005. Record company challenges preceded the release of Unmistakable, which was supposed to be her next album; instead, it wound up being a series of three EPs. Her next proper studio album, which was simply called Me, did not appear until 2014.

Messina returned on June 5 with her long-awaited sixth album, Bridges, released through her own label. She has weathered a number of personal and professional ups and downs in the dozen years between the new album and Me – and some of that is reflected in the lyrics of her new songs. Bridges is Messina’s most personal disc to date, and she wrote (or cowrote) all but one of its 11 songs herself.

To coincide with the release of Bridges, and to celebrate her being our Artist of the Month, we’ve gathered 10 of Jo Dee Messina’s best songs – from her debut to the present.

“Some Bridges” (2026)

The track that inspired the title of her new album, “Some Bridges” is a slow-building statement of purpose and offers hard-won perspective. “Some bridges are meant to build,” sings Messina. “But some bridges are meant to burn.”

“Message In A Bottle” (2026)

Also from Bridges, “Message In A Bottle” is pretty catchy for a song about alcoholism. “Feeling 10 feet tall on 80 proof/ But the midnight lies, ain’t it the truth?” she sings. And you know she’s singing from experience.

“Don’t Let Them Hide Your Beautiful” (2026)

The centerpiece of her new album, “Don’t Let Them Hide Your Beautiful” is a moving, midtempo ode to being yourself. It’s a common theme across Messina’s entire career and discography.

“A Woman’s Rant” (2014)

The underrated “A Woman’s Rant” appeared on Me, Messina’s first studio album after a lengthy break. It pairs an old-time, bluegrass sound with a more modern, feminist lyric. To wit: “Husband, kids, work all day, I got PMS and PTA/ Find the thing my kid can’t find, I need a drink but there’s no time.”

“Bring On the Rain” (2000)

“Bring On the Rain,” a contemplative duet with Tim McGraw, is from Messina’s third album, Burn. It’s a true modern classic, having peaked at No. 1 on the Billboard Hot Country Songs chart, been certified Gold, and garnering tens of millions of streams. McGraw also co-produced the GRAMMY-nominated vocal event with Byron Gallimore.

“Downtime” (2000)

Another one from Burn – and a good song to listen to in the aftermath of a breakup. “I’ve been down this road a time or two/ I’ll get on my feet and over you,” Messina sings over electric guitars. “I’m just goin’ through a little downtime.”

“Because You Love Me” (1998)

From Messina’s sophomore set I’m Alright, “Because You Love Me” is a song about a love that stood the test of time. It proved that Messina could also pull off ballads. The double-platinum success of I’m Alright also helped Messina collect the 1999 CMA Horizon Award.

“Bye Bye” (1998)

The ridiculously catchy “Bye Bye,” also from I’m Alright and written by Phil Vassar and Rory Michael Bourke, scored Messina another big hit. A rollicking kiss-off to a former guy who is noncommittal, it finds her singing “Bye-bye, love, I’ll catch you later/ Got a lead foot down on my accelerator…” And suddenly we’re all singing along!

“You’re Not in Kansas Anymore” (1996)

The opening song from her debut LP, “You’re Not in Kansas Anymore” is another upbeat tune about a guy who left the Midwest for the Hollywood lights. It contains the great opening line, “He said, ‘I grew up in Wichita, in a Mayberry kind of town.’”

“Heads Carolina, Tails California” (1996)

Messina’s first single, from her self-titled debut. This upbeat jam about hitting the road reached the Top 10 on both the U.S. and Canada country charts. A definite fan favorite, it’s also the title of a 2023 greatest hits collection. Certified platinum, it’s easily landed in the 200 million-plus streams category – it’s such an iconic song, it’s birthed other country songs that reference it. Namely Cole Swindell’s 2022 track, “She Had Me at Heads Carolina.”

Explore more of our Artist of the Month content on Jo Dee Messina here.

Photo Credit: Madison Sharp

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Swamp Dogg, Allison Russell, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Another week, another batch of excellent new roots music! You Gotta Hear This…

There’s plenty of Good Country to enjoy below, as we kick things off with Dallas Burrow’s brand new track, “Underdog.” In his heart of hearts, Burrow has always considered himself something of an outsider. He channels the angst and emotion of being an underdog through the rocking, passionate crescendo of the gritty country track. Then we immediately follow that up with more from similar sonic territory, as Whey Jennings and Karen Waldrup join forces on a song they co-wrote, “Damned If I Stay.” We’re sharing the new video for the number, a thoughtful Outlaw-steeped ballad that was begging for the duet treatment – which Jennings and Waldrup execute very well. It’s as relatable as it is personal.

In bluegrass (or from nearby!), banjoist Max Wareham launches his new album, If The Cosmos Were Whiskey…, today. To celebrate, we’re sharing the music video for “Closer To You,” as cosmic and enchanting as the record title. It’s experimental string band music that falls somewhere in the nebulous territory between neo-folk, indie, and trance. The psychedelia of jamgrass, but more deliberate and “slowed down.” When you read Wareham’s inspiration behind the track, these connections make even more sense.

Also arriving directly from the magical musical cosmos is a new track from the ethereal Allison Russell. Timed for release on Juneteenth, “Black Lavender” features Brittney Spencer and is a song about extending grace, comfort, and care – and the importance of community to lift each other up. “We saved this song for Juneteenth for a reason,” she explains. “Black women have been showing up for each other in this way as long as we’ve been here, and we can’t stop, won’t stop now!” Listen to the timely track below.

You’ll also want to hear new music from an Americana legend Swamp Dogg. His new album, Swamp Dogg Contemplates The Afterlife, is out today. But the Dogg doesn’t want you to be too concerned that our roundup selection, “Final Approach” is about mortality. “‘Final Approach’ uses an airliner metaphor, but it’s more about a homecoming than dealing with the end of life,” he explains via email. “[But], I’m OK with this ‘final approach,'” he continues. “I’ve been blessed and that’s something to sing about.” The song is smooth, grooving, and dripping with Swamp Dogg’s personality.

It’s all right here on BGS and You Gotta Hear This!

Dallas Burrow, “Underdog”

Artist: Dallas Burrow
Hometown: New Braunfels, Texas
Song: “Underdog”
Album: Modern Day Vagabond
Release Date: June 17, 2026 (single); September 25, 2026 (album)
Label: 40 Below Records

In Their Words: “Like the character Dally from The Outsiders – a rebel through and through – in my heart of hearts, I’ve always felt like a little bit of an outsider, an outlier, an underdog, but I always found that, on some level, to be a point of pride. It gives you a unique perspective when you’re on the outside looking in. That’s the basic spirit of this song, though it was also inspired somewhat by my own experiences within the music business, where so many people are telling you who they think you are and how things ought to be done. Usually in some attempt to conform you to their vision of who you ought to be, when each of us, ultimately, has our own path.

“I grew up listening to hard rock and metal as a kid, before I got into the more restrained approach of the singer-songwriters who I have come to love and admire. But there’s always something in me that, at some point, wants to dig in, let loose, and rock out, so it was very liberating for me to lay this track down. It gave me a chance to scream my heart out a little bit in the song’s crescendo; a guttural catharsis that is hard to achieve through any other means except rock ‘n’ roll.

“The band really brings this one to life: Mark Tokach’s searing electric guitar, Larry Chaney’s booming distorted baritone, Kullen Fox’s fiery B3 organ track, Katie Shore providing her tastefully avant-garde harmony part in the chorus, legendary producer Mike McClure on second acoustic guitar, and Adam Odor on bass, and finally Cameron Martin from my touring band on drums, who comes from a rock ‘n’ roll background – and who were all chomping at the bit to rock this one out.” – Dallas Burrow

Whey Jennings & Karen Waldrup, “Damned If I Stay”

Artist: Whey Jennings
Hometown: West Texas
Song: “Damned If I Stay” with Karen Waldrup
Album: Baptized By Fire
Release Date: June 18, 2026 (video/single)
Label: Dirt Rock Empire

In Their Words: “‘Damned If I Stay’ is about being caught between staying and leaving when both choices hurt. It’s that tension a lot of people don’t talk about. This song called for a duet and Karen’s voice added the contrast that helped bring the full emotion of the story to life.” – Whey Jennings

“Writing this song with Whey Jennings was such a career highlight for me. He is such an emotional singer and that’s what this song needed. I have such a special friendship with Whey and it’s incredible to see that friendship spotlighted on such a personal song for both of us from our own life experiences.” – Karen Waldrup

Video Credits: Director/producer – Gio Gotay.

Allison Russell, “Black Lavender”

Artist: Allison Russell
Hometown: Montreal, Quebec, Canada
Song: “Black Lavender” with Brittney Spencer
Album: In The Hour of Chaos
Release Date: June 19, 2026 (single); July 10, 2026 (album)
Label: Fantasy Records

In Their Words: “We are swimming in rivers – flash floods! – of adrenaline right now. ‘Black Lavender’ is a song about extending grace and soothing comfort to a chosen sister… the kind I have trouble extending to myself. But the beautiful thing is, she’s the same way – and she gives it all back and some. Brittney Spencer is a voice for all the ages who we need right now. We saved this song for Juneteenth for a reason. Black women have been showing up for each other in this way as long as we’ve been here, and we can’t stop, won’t stop now! Incomparable . That’s what we all are, you know? Precious… magical.” – Allison Russell

Video Credit: Directed by Athena Kulb.

Swamp Dogg, “Final Approach”

Artist: Swamp Dogg
Hometown: Portsmouth, Virginia
Song: “Final Approach”
Album: Swamp Dogg Contemplates The Afterlife
Release Date: June 19, 2026
Label: S-Curve Records

In Their Words: “‘Final Approach’ uses an airliner metaphor, but it’s more about a homecoming than dealing with the end of life. That’s something that’s inevitable, but the life I’ve lived has been truly fulfilling and I remain both hopeful and thankful. I cite some of the music pioneers – Sam Cooke, Otis Redding, and Chuck Willis – who went before their time. While I’ve come as far as I have for as long as I have, and that’s something spiritually uplifting. The great work of those guys lives on and so do I, which is why I’m OK with this ‘final approach.’ I’ve been blessed and that’s something to sing about.” – Swamp Dogg

Max Wareham, “Closer To You”

Artist: Max Wareham
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Closer To You”
Album: If The Cosmos Were Whiskey…
Release Date: June 19, 2026

In Their Words: “I wrote this one thinking about 8th-century Chinese mountain poets and Milarepa, the Tibetan yogi who sang his way to enlightenment in a cave, which is either the most pretentious thing you’ll read this week or the most honest. There’s a figure wandering through it, searching for something that keeps shape-shifting: person, place, idea. The song refuses to say, and that refusal is the whole point. To me, it has the patience of something that’s been waiting a long time.

“Chris Sartori, formerly of Twisted Pine, plays an inspired bass part like he’s keen on the trail of this ghost. Give it a listen and see what you think you’re looking for.” – Max Wareham

Track Credits:
Max Wareham – Banjo, vocals
Jack Holland – Guitar
Chris Sartori – Bass
Karl Helander – Percussion
Lily Sexton – Harmony vocals

Video Credits: Grant Bouvier

Photo Credit: Swamp Dogg by Cooper Davidson; Allison Russell by Mason Poole.

Country + Disco?
Country + Bluegrass?

Posted on by Shelby Williamson

Editor’s Note: Each issue of Good Country, our co-founder Ed Helms shares a handful of good country artists, albums, and songs direct from his own earphones in Ed’s Picks.

Dailey & Vincent
Dailey & Vincent

A premier modern bluegrass duo, Dailey & Vincent return today with a brand-new album, A Beautiful Life. Their harmonies, polish, and showmanship are unparalleled in bluegrass – and beyond. Yes, they have bluegrass and string band music in their bones, but limiting them to just ‘grass would be selling them short. They’re also country, gospel, Americana, and so much more.

Watch for more coverage of Dailey & Vincent and A Beautiful Life coming soon to BGS.

Miranda Lambert
Miranda Lambert

From Sturgill Simpson to Abbie Callahan, from the Cowgays to Miranda Lambert, the intersection of country and disco is a hoppin’ address at the moment! Lambert’s quippy, light, and fun track built on a portmanteau of the two genres is as Southern as it gets, from vegetable shortening to the dance floor sparkling under a disco ball. Country-disco is a decades-old tradition and we’re here for this resurgence.

The Red Clay Strays
The Red Clay Strays

Speaking of blending styles, the Red Clay Strays are doing it better than almost anyone these days. To the GC team, the skyrocketing Alabama outfit always sound like country, but it’s obvious their sound is so much more – rockabilly, soul, grunge, punk, golden-era rock and roll, garage country. Whatever they infuse into their music, it always feels right at home in Good Country. Their brand new album, Grateful, is out now.

Joshua Ray Walker
Joshua Ray Walker

Last month, Texan country crooner Joshua Ray Walker returned with a new LP, Ain’t Dead Yet. Don’t be dissuaded by the thread of winking mortality and silly macabre that he continues to trace through his songs; after his own brush with death – he was diagnosed with cancer in 2024 – Walker’s sardonic and witty style of country & western has found a charming and entertaining edge by staring the shortness of life dead in the eye. (Pun intended?) Another excellent set from an essential contemporary traditionalist.

Bella White
Bella White

Another excellent artist who bridges country, bluegrass, and more – but perhaps from the opposite end of the continuum from Dailey & Vincent. Bella White’s music feels elemental, channeled from across time, but never anachronistic. Her songwriting and style feels in the vein of other country oracles like Gillian Welch, Iris DeMent, and Lucinda Williams. But it’s also all her own. Her latest album, A Sign In The Weather, was released June 5.

Listen to this issue of Ed’s Picks in one YouTube playlist here.

Listen to the full Ed’s Picks archive playlist here.

Photo Credits: Dailey & Vincent by Gregg Roth; Miranda Lambert by Robert Ascroft; The Red Clay Strays, Grateful album cover; Joshua Ray Walker by Mike Dunn; Bella White by Tamara Flemming

Caleb Caudle Has Learned to Trust Himself

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

For nearly two decades North Carolina folk singer Caleb Caudle has traveled the country bringing his music to fans wherever they’ll listen, but on his forthcoming eighth studio record he adds a new role to his repertoire – producer.

Released June 5 via his newly launched imprint Hand Plow Records, Heavy Thrill looks to be his most ambitious work yet, as it melds his personal evolution and artistic journey into one singular vision. Whether he’s ruminating on a bumpy road to self-improvement on “Slow Growth,” analyzing self-doubt with “Anxious,” or examining how people deal with adversity on “Path of Desire,” Caudle’s words tell the story of his individual journey through a world that’s changing too fast for him to keep up with.

Although the bulk of the record was recorded at Johnny Cash’s former retreat-turned-studio, the Cash Cabin, Caudle actually recorded his bits for the album at a friend’s studio in the Pocono Mountains – before returning to Tennessee to wrap things up at the same place he captured his projects Better Hurry Up (2020) and Forsythia (2022). He says that the familiar setting not only helped him hone in as a producer, but also helped him to tap into the building’s history as continues chipping away at perfecting his retro modern sound.

“I feel like I’ve started to develop my own sound over the past 20 years that marries traditional elements with more modern sounds,” Caudle tells BGS.

“Because of that I’ve never been afraid to try new things. In many ways I think of what people like Sturgill Simpson, Tyler Childers, or myself are making as modern country music, but in a different timeline where people aren’t as focused on songs about pickup trucks and shaking your ass,” he continues, laughing.

Caudle spoke with BGS about learning from other producers, fatherhood, artificial intelligence, and more.

This is your eighth studio record, but your first time self-producing one of those projects. What motivated you to finally take the plunge?

Caleb Caudle: It’s been one of my end goals for a really long time. I’ve always wanted to produce my own records, but I wanted to go and work with people first that I could learn from. Each has brought different things to the table I’ve picked up on. I’ve also always been involved in the process and have a good idea for how I wanted things to sound. Then after talking with some of my past producers and telling them my plan they all gave me their votes of confidence.

Once I jumped in I wound up doing a lot more pre-production than I’d ever done in the past. I also had great mixing and mastering engineers – Jacquire King and Pete Lyman – who were my safety net in case anything went off track. It turned out to be a really fun experience that even has me thinking about producing records for other folks someday.

While producing the record was new for you, the place you did most of it at – the Cash Cabin – was not. Tell me about what drew you back there to record for the third time?

That place is like my second home now. I’ve done several video sessions there and written with John Carter Cash a bunch. This time around I also kept the band leaner there than I had ever done before. It was just five people total, with no features or guest vocalists like some of my past records have had. I instead wanted to make something that was more self-contained. I knew I could make a record the other way, so I wanted to see what it’d feel like if I took some of those pieces out and really relied on my own instincts above everything else.

It’s also a place with so much history that I’m able to tap into even though I’m writing mostly about my own modern-day experiences. At the end of the day, I love Ralph Stanley just as much as I do Big Thief. They all come from a place that’s honest to that person, which is what I’m after, too. I love what indie rock bands like Bonny Light Horseman do with melodies, but I also love Flatt & Scruggs. It’s all music to me – I’m just trying to take bits and pieces from all of it that I feel would suit my sound.

With that in mind, I also think it’s important to listen to music outside or your own genre. Sometimes when I’m struggling with songwriting I’ll start listening to a ton of jazz to provide that spark that gets me writing again. Other times I’ll go a month listening to music with no lyrics before I grab the pen again. Whether it’s a playwright, actor, poet or songwriter, I always find myself drawn to folks that are passionate about what they’re doing.

Tell me about the writing process for this record… Did anything stand out compared to previous writing sessions? And how many leftover songs did you pen for it that didn’t make the cut?

I’ve had extras every time I’ve made a record. For me, there’s the obvious ones that are going to make the record that everyone feels good about, then there’s another batch of songs that I wouldn’t call “filler,” [that] are less immediate. We do our best to decipher which of those are the missing puzzle pieces for the story we’re trying to build. It’s like having brother and sister songs on the record where something on Side A reminds you of a tune on Side B – it’s all very cohesive. Trimming the fat is such a big part of songwriting for me. As a writer you want to focus on giving people what they need and not all the fluff surrounding it.

Since writing and recording these songs you and your wife learned you’re expecting your first child this summer. How has that knowledge shifted the perspective you have of these songs?

While I didn’t know I was going to be a dad before I wrote it, it almost feels like a record that’s preparing me for that whole process. It’s a really measured and honest look at where my life is right now. There’s a lot of mass confusion in our world currently with artificial intelligence and inflation that feels out of my control. That’s the macro side of it, but I’m also looking at things on a micro level by taking care of the earth and those around me.

With this new label I’ve set up, with every 100 records I sell I’m providing 1,000 meals to the Second Harvest Food Bank of Northwest North Carolina. I want to do all I can to help the people around me in a meaningful way. I’m not saying to disregard the big stuff by any means, because I do believe it’s important to be tapped into what’s going on in the world, but for me personally I feel like my time is best placed in my own community with the people of Appalachia around me.

You just mentioned your label, Hand Plow Records. Tell me more about launching that and the intentionality behind its name?

I live across the street from my great uncle who has a single-horse hand plow that belonged to his great-grandfather and goes back multiple generations. My parents used to plow tobacco near Winston-Salem and sold it to RJ Reynolds, so it’s something I’ve always been around. It also seems like really hard work, which has me drawing lots of parallels between what I do as a musician and the farming they did. I weather storms the same way they did, by putting in the work, planting seeds and constantly nurturing them while they blossom and grow. Farmers are critical to our way of life, so I wanted to use the name to honor them for their hard work and sacrifice.

Is “Slow Growth” reflective of that hard work and change, whether it be on a farm, internally, or in society at large?

That’s a song about honing your craft and trying to become a better person each day. I’m not out here looking for shortcuts, even though so much of society right now is about “how I can get things done the quickest,” especially with AI – which in music feels like cutting corners on something I’ve dedicated 20 years of my life to. I don’t know that anything meaningful will ever come of that process, because lessons learned are the whole point. I don’t think I’d be writing the songs that I’m writing now had I not written the songs that I had before them.

AI feels like a very cheapened version of real life, and I’m not interested in that. It’s a huge threat to the existence of art and creativity – both things that can’t be faked or fast-tracked. It’s a slow process where you have to put the work in every day. There’s days where I pick up and play for two hours but don’t write a single word, but it still feels important. It feels like part of this bigger process where I’ve dedicated my life to this thing, so the fact that someone could use AI to generate a song that sounds like me is scary. It can give them an approximation of what I may sound like, but it’s not getting at where I’m at currently. It’s replicating what’s already been made, but I’m out here trying to tell new stories. It’s the opposite of progress.

Another song that reminds me of stepping away from technology and plugging into the moment is “Sequoia Polaroids.” Tell me about what inspired that one.

I’m constantly trying to pay attention to the small details. [My wife] Lauren and I were on a solo tour opening for Ray Wylie Hubbard in California a while back and we made a trip out to Sequoia National Park. That song is almost like a page from that day. We wound up taking a bunch of Polaroids and throwing them on the dash of the car. The song is about being present in those moments and spaces that feel ancient and vulnerable.

Places like Sequoia are majestic and big and we have an opportunity as humans to help preserve or destroy them. Those spaces are so important to me, so it was really cool to get a song out of that day. The trees out there shrink you in a way that’s very humbling – it’s a beautiful thing.

Nature is a great way to get in tune with yourself, just how vinyl is a great way to interact with music on a deeper level. On that note, I know the physical version of Heavy Thrill incorporates some cool imagery taken from its title track. How did that come to be?

I’ve got to shout out Skillet Gilmore, who did the art. He’s an incredible artist in Raleigh that I love working with. The ants carrying the peach pit [that appears on the center of Heavy Thrill on vinyl] come from a lyric in the title track about how an army of ants can lift up a peach. [That] is symbolic of our chaotic world and how we’ve got to work together to get things done, setting aside our differences along the way in order to find some common ground. When we do that you’ll realize we all have a lot more in common than we think and that our goal should be to help everyone be happy and thrive. A rising tide lifts all ships, so it’s important to work together and show empathy to your fellow humans, because you never know what sort of hard times they’re going through. It’s like Mr. Rogers once said: “Look for the helpers.”

One of my favorite parts of the record is the instrumental transition two thirds of the way through “No Show,” which feels like a new composition entirely. How did it come about?

That instrumental piece is something I’ve been playing at sound checks for a couple years called “June Bug Crawl.” I included it on the record because I was always a fan of when folks like Doc Watson included instrumentals on their records. I thought the song was really cool even though it’s in a different key than “No Show” is, but I still wanted them to live together on the record. I give a lot of credit to my buddy Philippe Bronchtein, who played pedal steel and keys on the record. He’s very good with the more electronic side of things. We basically had to get the instrumentals into a different moment to execute that transitional moment. It was executed flawlessly and really works well given the context of the song and record.

On a more reflective note, what has bringing Heavy Thrill to life taught you about yourself?

It’s taught me to trust myself. This is the first time I’ve seen an album all the way through calling the shots myself. I’ve spent 20 years doing this and developed good instincts over that time, so it’s important to believe in those and remain confident in what I’m doing.

Photo Credit: Joseph Cash

Are the Brudi Brothers More Cowboy Than You?

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

With three-part sibling harmonies and acoustic arrangements that harken back to the music of the 1940s, the Brudi Brothers are still somehow right in step with the modern era.

Seattle-based brothers Johannes, Conrad, and George Brudi charmed millions on social media with “Me More Cowboy Than You,” a catchy and clever number written after a winter trip to San Francisco. In the midst of tech workers in puffy L.L. Bean jackets, the brothers couldn’t help but notice the occasional random guy in 1960s cowboy attire. The anachronism naturally lent itself to some gentle ribbing. Who among us hasn’t seen someone, camera in hand, doing a country fit check?

When “Me More Cowboy Than You” took off on TikTok in January 2025, the Brudi Brothers already knew how to sing loud and hold a crowd, giving them a runway to a touring career. They’ve signed business deals with Mom and Pop Records and CAA, but they’re still leaning toward the DIY aesthetic. (For example, their best friend from school is their tour manager; he even built out a trailer for them.)

@brudibrothers Wrote a mean song because we’re bad boys. Let us know if you want to hear more of it #folk #country #americana #blues #fyp #fypシ #guitar #seattle #LA #local #localmusic #harmony #bass #nationalguitar @Welles ♬ original sound – The Brudi Brothers

In the summer of 2025, the brothers broadened their audience on bills with fellow former busker, Sierra Ferrell. They’ll join her on dozens of dates this summer, too. Last November, the band made their Nashville debut at the Ryman Auditorium on a bill with 49 Winchester and Noeline Hofmann. While the brothers weren’t familiar with the history of the venue, being from the Pacific Northwest, they are well-versed in the golden era of country music.

“Being in the back of the Ryman, we saw all these photos of these legends of the national country scene from the ‘50s and ‘60s and ‘70s,” Conrad Brudi says. “In the photos, you can see that you’re standing in the same doorway as the photo was taken. That was pretty exciting.”

Already this year they’ve opened select concerts for The Head and The Heart, headlined a club tour, and confirmed a pair of hometown dates in Seattle warming up the crowd for Kacey Musgraves. They’ve also brought in one of their favorite folk musicians, Eleni Govetas (violin and percussion) to tour with them, adding not only musical dexterity, but also a hint of instrumental mystique.

Good Country tracked down the Brudi Brothers by phone somewhere in Ohio, as they spent a day off driving to their next gig to promote their new Dark and Stormy EP.

When you hear the phrase “dark and stormy,” you might think of that literary line, “It was a dark and stormy night.” Or you might think of a rum cocktail. Now it’s the title of your EP released in April. What was it about that phrase that kind of sparked your interest?

Conrad Brudi: Actually a dream that Eleni was having. She was talking in her sleep while we were camping, and she said, “Who’s your Mr. Handsome Darkened Prairie?” – a weird character in her dream that was like a sexy version of Mr. Clean. I woke her up, like, “What’s going on?” And she said, “It was like this sexy, bald guy on a burnt prairie.”

[The title] “Mr. Handsome Darkened Prairie” would be a little bit too avant-garde. So I just changed it and wrote a song about a guy we used to busk with who died, from the perspective of his dogs. This guy was a real piece of work. Basically, there were some girls that liked him, but mostly just his dogs liked him. And I figured his dogs must miss him. So I wrote that song sort of about these two dogs who stuck with him despite the fact that he was kind of a bad guy.

You’ve been performing since you were young, right? How old were you when you started?

CB: We have been doing this since we were teenagers. I was 16 or 17 when I started. George was 14. So we have over a decade of busking and learning traditionals and standards and all these folk songs of jazz and ragtime, and bluegrass standards. We busked a lot in Europe. We were, at times, one of very few American acts in a city at that time. For much of our busking career, we’ve been sort of a novelty in town. And so coming back to America, it was daunting, not knowing how we would be accepted in the actual American music community.

How did you get linked up with Sierra Ferrell?

CB: It was just being part of the same busker circuit. All of her friends are buskers or in that community, so we know so many people who busked with her in various groups that she was part of or leading. We’ve sort of missed [crossing paths with] her for years now, but we’d always known about her and saw her online stuff and heard stories about her. So we met her on the first of May last year, officially, and we played a show with her in Albuquerque on May Day.

George Brudi: But how we got linked up is a lot less romantic than just happenstance. It was our agent who linked us up.

CB: We had been told by bookers before that we should sign with their booking agency because we could play with people like, say, Sierra Ferrell.

That’s a good pitch, right?

CB: We said, “Nah, we’ll pass on this one.” They’d say, “I guess you’ll never play with Sierra Ferrell.” So we ended up playing with her anyway.

At the Exit/In show in Nashville, you played “Moon Over Montana,” and it’s not that often you hear a Jimmy Wakely shout-out. What made you want to record that song for this EP?

CB: It’s one of those songs that does well busking, and we enjoy singing it. And it’s a fun, three-part harmony tune. Then you have that cool violin part for it. So, it was sort of thrown in last minute, actually. We were trying other songs because we wanted to put one cover on the EP. We were trying all these other things. We tried recording “Goin’ Up the Country” and we didn’t really like that. Then we tried “Moon Over Montana.” It came out naturally and sounded much better than anything else that we had tried, cover-wise, that session.

Listening to that song on the EP, you’re an impressive whistler. How did you learn to whistle?

CB: From cowboy movies, like The Good, The Bad and the Ugly. Ennio Morricone, “The Ecstasy of Gold.” I loved whistling that when I was a kid. That was my favorite movie, and we had really good acoustics in the bathroom where we went to school. That’s where I learned to whistle.

At that show in Nashville, you were playing originals, but you pulled out a Lonnie Johnson song and a Lead Belly song and a Sons of the Pioneers song. How did you discover this wealth of music? Where did you hear about these older artists?

CB: Our grandparents. We lived with our grandparents, and our grandpa was a Dixieland banjo player and harmonica player. Also our dad had a lot of CDs, and played fiddle and guitar. We just grew up with it. Some of it was the atmosphere we were in that led us to discover the kind of music we actually related to, as opposed to just listening to whatever our friends in school were listening to, the Top 40 or something. I think all of us have an aversion to music that doesn’t feel good to us. I don’t know how else to say it.. We all don’t listen to a whole lot of music, but when we do listen, we’ll obsess over one artist or one song or one album. And so it’s not necessarily a wide breadth, but it’s a deep trench. [Laughs]

George, when did you gravitate towards playing the upright bass?

GB: It was a little more than a year ago, right before we played “Me More Cowboy.” I was telling Johannes that I should get an upright bass and we should sing into one microphone. The bassist standing in the middle, then two guitars on the side, and we sing three-part harmony. And then I got the bass without really realizing you actually have to learn how to play upright. So, this last year, I’ve been trying as fast as I can to figure out how to play the instrument.

How did that go for you? Did you pick it up pretty quick?

GB: I think I picked up the basic technique of it quickly, then I plateaued really heavily. I’m slowly digging myself out of it, because it’s hard to make notes, but to have them be in tune is the harder part.

How did “Me More Cowboy Than You” change the game for you?

GB: It’s the reason why we’re able to tour now and why we have a record deal and all that stuff. It’s like, that’s to thank for it. But I hope that it’s seen as a jumping off point, and isn’t just like the thing that people recognize, and then they’re like, ”All right, moving on.”

Are you getting that vibe? It seems like it fits in pretty well with a general show.

CB: It’s more of our concern that the suits will see it that way. “Well, write another hit,” you know? … There was even a write-up in a big magazine that put an article out saying that “Me More Cowboy Than You” was clearly about our experience in Nashville. I looked into it. The writer was from London. It was just sort of him guessing.

I noticed as soon as you played that song in Nashville, all the phones came out. “The flickering screens,” right on cue. It’s got to feel good to have a song that everybody’s excited to hear. What is it like to travel the country with a song that people love?

GB There’s nothing really to compare it to. We played the Ryman last November and when we played that song, looking at the stained glass windows and the crowd of people in the beautiful theater, that was a pretty cool moment to realize, like, “Wow, this is the reason why we’re here.”

Photo Credit: Kat Vandergriff

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Wyatt Flores, Larry Keel, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

New Music Friday is here! And here’s what we’re listening to today. You Gotta Hear This:

Kicking us off, Western North Carolina’s premier bluegrass outfit Balsam Range bring us a bluegrass classic: a train song. “Life I Left Behind” is out today, the latest single from the IBMA Award-winning group is soulful and brooding, built on strong harmonies and the clean modern bluegrass sound the band has become known for. Below, bassist and singer Tim Surrett describes how the track is personal to him and his family.

From north of the NC border and a few steps towards jamgrass, guitarist and singer-songwriter Larry Keel has dropped a new, hilarious song this week entitled “Butt Dial.” Yep, it’s about exactly what you think it’s about – and it was co-written with bluegrass legend Peter Rowan. Keel and Rowan each tell us about the song and its inspirations and you can take a listen as well.

Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light share a new music video today for “Yodelay,” a cozy and vibrant song about the afterglow of good times and fellowship. Written by Sumner and Dinty Child of Session Americana, the group tracked the song at eTown in Colorado after winning studio time at the Telluride Bluegrass Festival band contest last year. An EP, also titled Yodelay, is on the way later this month.

Country star-on-the-rise Wyatt Flores has a new single out this week as well, as he looks ahead to his next album, Scared of Heights, coming in late July. “Half The Man” showcases the level of contemplation and introspection always evident in Flores’ writing and the grit and red dirt he brings to modern, mainstream country.

Rounding out our collection this time is Memphis-via-New York singer-songwriter Kate Prascher, whose new song “Jubilee” was inspired by a stroll across an old train trestle in the Hudson River Valley. Folky in a timeless fashion with a delicious and slow sonic build, “Jubilee” carries some of the eeriness Prascher felt when writing the song walking that train track.

Trains, butt dials, good times with good friends – exactly what we want in our weekly round-up! Enjoy, ’cause You Gotta Hear This!

Balsam Range, “Life I Left Behind”

Artist: Balsam Range
Hometown: Haywood County, North Carolina
Song: “Life I Left Behind”
Release Date: June 5, 2026

In Their Words: “There has always been a connection between bluegrass and trains. It’s personal for me because my dad worked nights for 30 years on the Norfolk Southern Railroad. Sometimes he would take me to work with him so I could ride the trains all night. There is a mysterious romantic quality about the freedom of the rails, and I think this new song has a bit of that. There’s a conflict between the freedom of going and the life left behind.” – Tim Surrett

Track Credits:
Caleb Smith – Acoustic guitar, lead vocal
Tim Surrett – Upright bass, resonator guitar, harmony vocal
Marc Pruett – Banjo
Alan Bibey – Mandolin
Stephen Hudson – Fiddle, harmony vocal

Wyatt Flores, “Half The Man”

Artist: Wyatt Flores
Hometown: Stillwater, Oklahoma
Song: “Half The Man”
Album: Scared of Heights
Release Date: June 5, 2026 (single); July 31, 2026 (album)
Label: MCA/Island Records

In Their Words: “I finally feel like I know who I’m supposed to be, right here in this moment. I’m not second-guessing myself anymore on what the music’s supposed to be, what I’m supposed to be chasing, or who I’ve become. This is who I am now in 2026. Still figuring out my struggles and mental health but finally getting the confidence to step back into this and to believe in myself again.” – Wyatt Flores talking about his upcoming album, Scared of Heights.

Larry Keel, “Butt Dial”

Artist: Larry Keel
Hometown: Lexington, Virginia
Song: “Butt Dial”
Release Date: June 3, 2026

In Their Words: “‘Butt Dial’ is a real-life, happy accident story that led Peter and a friend to reconnect and have a fun, late-night phone conversation. The lyrics are mostly Peter’s and I tweaked some words and phrasing to sync with the music I wrote for the song. Collaborating with Peter is such an easy, natural process. Can’t wait for more!” – Larry Keel

“Butt dialing is one of those phenomena of the guess times we live in. Sometimes you are listening to a soundtrack of a friend’s life, like entering someone’s dream, you can only wonder what is going on! In the song the butt dialing friends finally connect! Writing with Larry Keel is like that, jumping into an unknown dream!” – Peter Rowan

Track Credits:
Larry Keel – Guitar, vocals
Winston Mitchell – Mandolin
Justin Doyle – Bass
Kyle Tuttle – Banjo

Kate Prascher, “Jubilee”

Artist: Kate Prascher
Hometown: Memphis, Tennessee
Song: “Jubilee”
Album: Sunday Afternoon
Release Date: June 3, 2026 (single); August 28, 2026 (album)
Label: First City Artists

In Their Words: “‘Jubilee’ follows a ghost train. I wrote it while walking on an old train trestle in Rosendale, New York, a town ringing with the eerie history of a stone quarry, carrying memories of my hometown across it. By the time I climbed down from the track, the song was mostly written. It’s a lyrical exploration of the word ‘jubilee’ as both a signal of celebration and of forgiveness.” – Kate Prascher

Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light, “Yodelay”

Artist: Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Yodelay”
Album: Yodelay
Release Date: June 5, 2026 (single); June 19, 2026 (EP)
Label: Bridge & Key

In Their Words:  “‘Yodelay’ is about having such a good night out that you decide to dwell in that feeling a little longer. Instead of jumping right back into work or the next thing on the calendar, it’s about lingering in the glow of a great evening, sleeping in, and appreciating life, love, and light. Dinty Child (Session Americana) and I wrote the song together after the chorus came to me before a show we were playing. We ended up finishing it from separate songwriting retreats, sending ideas back and forth over text. The song felt playful from the beginning and I loved the way the title seemed to carry more than one meaning. I’ve always been drawn to songs that let sound and language blur together a little bit.

“After Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light won the Telluride Bluegrass Band Contest last year, part of our prize was studio time at eTown in Boulder, Colorado. We decided to use it to record a cowboy EP featuring a mix of old songs and new originals. ‘Yodelay’ became the title track because it captures the spirit of the record so well – inviting and fun on the surface, with a little more waiting for the listener underneath.” – Rachel Sumner

Track Credits:
Rachel Sumner – Guitar, vocals, songwriter
Kat Wallace – Fiddle, vocals
Mike Siegel – Upright bass, vocals
Dinty Child – Songwriter

Video Credits: Video by Dylan Ladds.
Title artwork by Dan Blakeslee.

Photo Credit: Wyatt Flores by Matt Paskert; Larry Keel courtesy of the artist.

Maoli Fully Embraces His “Island Country” Point of View

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

In an era of polarization, social division, and dissent, Glenn Awong, the Hawaiian country reggae star better known as Maoli, believes we’ve all got more in common than not. Awong came to this realization in the late 2010s while he was touring through the US with his band. Show by show, he discovered that life in the American South wasn’t too dissimilar from the cattle ranches and pineapple fields where he grew up on Maui’s North Shore.

Once Awong had those shared realities in mind, he observed that island reggae pop and the soulful sides of country, folk, and bluegrass weren’t that different either. Emboldened, he began to cover popular contemporary country hits like Brett Young’s “Mercy” and “In Case You Didn’t Know,” imbuing their lilting melodies, range-roving rhythms, and plainspoken storytelling with a breezy, coastal shuffle. The results spoke for themselves, catapulting the big-hearted singer into a new tier of success, paving the road towards 2023’s hit-laden Maoli Music Overload album and the innumerable singalong singles that have followed.

Prior to his transformative revelations about island and country, Awong and his band had spent a decade building audiences across Hawaii, the Pacific Islands, and the American West Coast. Once he wholeheartedly embraced his fusion style, the rest of America and locations as far flung as Australia and New Zealand welcomed him with open arms. Since then, it’s been one rodeo after another.

Ultimately, the secret, as Awong has come to understand it, is leaning all the way into his island country upbringing and lifestyle. He didn’t need to disguise himself as someone else. He just needed to be the most unapologetic version of himself.

“I’m really that island guy, but I can go into the country right now and do my rodeo cowboy thing,” he says, grinning from ear to ear on a video call from Maui. “I can hunt, go down to the beach, enjoy a beer, jump in the water and start fishing, all in the same day.”

Several weeks before the release of his latest single, “Runnin’ Me Off” featuring Nashville’s Maddie Font (formerly of Maddie & Tae), Awong spent 45 minutes in conversation with Good Country. Punctuating his thoughts with an infectious laugh, he spoke generously about his musical heroes, island and country life, his experience in Nashville, and the realities of life on the road as an entertainer.

I noticed you follow Aaron Neville on Instagram. What does he mean to your music?

Maoli: Aaron Neville is one of my musical heroes. My grandmother introduced him to me when I was a kid. I was always fascinated by his music. His voice is super unique. He moved me in a way that made me feel like he was the greatest. I used to try to mimic him. You can hear it in my music.

I grew up on his music as well. I was impressed by how effortlessly he could work across genres while always sounding like himself.

I really loved it when he sang a cover of “The Grand Tour” [by George Jones]. I love it more than the original. He’s transcended genre multiple times. He did what I’m trying to do right now. I look up to people who take risks and do things that are not normal. He didn’t limit himself. I love people who take that to heart.

What do you see as the values that underpin your music?

When it comes to country and reggae, it’s really like a lifestyle for me. It’s really who I am. Reggae music comes from Jamaica. Jamaica is an island, but so is Hawaii. We can relate in Hawaii, because we’re both island people. A lot of people don’t get to see this, but in Hawaii, we live country lives as well.

If you weren’t a singer, who do you think you’d be?

I’d probably be some type of farmer or cowboy. I’d probably be cowboying for a living, or I’d be a construction worker, like a lot of people out here. I’d be in some line of labor work.

Which would have probably led you to write songs anyway.

Yeah, that’s true. That’s how songwriting is done. You’re inspired by things that happen around you.

I like how you’ve identified that your music is the outgrowth of a lifestyle.

I see a lot of artists try to copy other people. What they’re missing is that you have to find out who you are. I studied the greats as well, but I always wanted to find my own voice.

What you’re talking about is a durational exercise. It doesn’t happen overnight.

I didn’t find crazy success until five years ago. People don’t understand this, but I was in the game for 15 years before that. I was trying to discover my voice, and it led me back to where it all began, my country lifestyle.

Who are the gold standards for you in country music?

There are so many good country songwriters. Zac Brown is one of them. I love his style, which also comes from that Jimmy Buffett feel. Then Kenny Chesney or George Strait, but I can’t say George was a writer, but I love his songwriters. That type of country. George Jones. I’m an old school guy.

Songwriting, recording, performance. These are all art forms that have to work together. Often, it takes a team.

That’s what I’ve learned in the business. I’ve done covers. I used to get a lot of shit for doing covers. If that’s a crime, you might as well take Whitney Houston and Elvis Presley out of the picture. A lot of your favourite artists do not write their own music.

There’s a process where you find the great songwriters, you find the perfect producer, the perfect engineer, and all that stuff. You gotta create that team. You can’t always do it all yourself. The best of the best have teams.

What are some of your favorite covers to sing, and what did you learn from them?

My favorite cover to play live is “Every Night, Every Morning” [by Maddie & Tae] because that’s the only time I can rest. The crowd sings the whole song. [Laughs] Doing covers helped me as a songwriter. I get to see how these people put these masterpieces together. I don’t just do any cover; it has to move me. The melody and lyrics have to move me.

I thought I was a good songwriter until I went to Nashville and started writing with the best songwriters. They really know what they’re doing. What I learned with them is you gotta have good storytelling, the melodies just gotta come, and all that stuff. It was cool going out there and learning how to write.

What do you think makes a good story?

It has to come from a place of truth. It can’t be fake. I’m not going to name names, but I’ve listened to songs where they’re talking about drinking and partying, and they’ve never touched a beer in their lives. How do you understand that energy if you’ve never partied?

Not everyone will be familiar with the relationship between country music and Hawaii.

People ask me all the time what my shows are like. I always say it’s something you have to experience. It’s the same with our relationship with country music. I’d really have to take you where I’m from so you could see how we live.

Country is country, right?

The country that I love is the songs that really talk about that cowboy life. Hard work, heartbreak, leaving when times are rough, and finding yourself in a bar, drinking your sorrows away. That’s real shit, right there. That’s where the relationship between island and country is very similar in ways. I spent a lot of time in Texas and Nashville. If Polynesians knew how these cowboys really live, they would realize that we’re the same.

If I asked you to name-check some Hawaiian musicians who were combining country and reggae music before you, who would you mention?

I would have to shout out the Kaʻau Crater Boys. They’re the original group that brought country covers and gave them an island reggae feel. I’d also have to say Kapena. Those are the two groups I looked up. They’ve done this stuff longer than I have. I can’t say I created it. They were really popular here. Some people didn’t know their country reggae songs were covers. They became a staple in Hawaii. Even Israel Kamakawiwoʻole, one of our greatest singers, did a cover of “Country Roads” by John Denver. It was one of the biggest songs in Hawaii. People here thought that he wrote it.

At this point, there’s a back-and-forth relationship between American country music and different scenes all over the world.

People don’t always understand. Even for me, when I started going to Nashville, it took me a while to get used to their customs and culture. I would sit in on songwriting sessions with some really incredible songwriters who had written platinum songs and had never heard of me before. I sold 42,000 tickets in Hawaii. I sold out shows in Tahiti and Samoa. I’m not trying to brag, I’m just saying that, for example, I could do all of that, and they still had no idea who I was in Nashville. When they found out who I was and what I could do, they wanted to write with me. If I hadn’t gone there, I wouldn’t have known who they were either.

It’s an interesting situation to be in. When you’re building a career like you have, you might be famous in one country and unknown in another. How do you keep yourself grounded through it all?

I don’t let any of it get to me. I stay neutral. If you tell me I’m the goat, I’ll say thank you. If you tell me I’m a piece of shit, I’ll say thank you. The way I feel is whether I’m selling 42,000 tickets or an unknown in Nashville, I’m the same. You’ve got to be humble in your success. I love going places where they don’t know me, because I can really be myself and not worry about people pulling out their phones to film me.

It seems like a hard thing to navigate in the social media era.

I’ve gotten better at the post-and-ghost thing. When you have a certain level of success, everyone on social media has an opinion. I try to spend as little time as possible on that stuff. There are great things about it as well, but I have a team to handle that stuff. I don’t let it get to me. You can get trapped on social media. Whether what they’re saying is good or bad, you don’t always need to hear it. I don’t want to break my humility. I’m just a regular guy doing my thing.

How important has the West Coast of America been to your growth as an artist?

I think it’s been really important. They were my voice when it came to the States. I started in small little bars with maybe fifty people showing up. I remember playing in venues where I counted 10 people, including security. I just told myself one day I’m gonna sell out arenas. The West Coast really helped me with that. They helped me to cross over to the Midwest and the East Coast, too. The West Coast has always been good to me. I consider them my voice when it comes to the mainland. It all started there.

Those ten people at those shows had a good time, right?

Right! I think the security guards even bought me a couple of drinks. [Laughs]

You must have had some interesting conversations with fans.

People have told me I brought their marriage closer, or I stopped them from committing suicide. There are those people who just come up, say thank you, and tell me they loved the experience. It’s all over the show.

It’s a lot of energy to give out and take in.

It takes a lot of energy to go on stage every night. At the end of the night, I just go back to my bus, green room or hotel, and decompress. It takes a lot, but you get a lot back. I’ve been backstage puking my guts out, or on an IV drip to get hydrated before performing, because I know there is someone in the audience who spent months saving to watch me. I’ve had fans drive 400 miles or fly halfway around the world to see me perform. I don’t take any of that lightly.

Did you watch cowboy movies when you were younger?

I wasn’t really a television guy. We spent a lot of time outdoors. On the weekends, I’d help dad with the pigs and goats, or herding the cows. That was my lifestyle for a long time.

If you could go back, what would you say to that kid?

I would tell that kid to just keep going. Be passionate about what you do, and never give up. They’re going to tell you that you’re crazy, but just keep going. As long as you don’t give up, you’re destined to succeed.

One of the hardest things to master in life is patience. When you’re planting, it takes time. It takes time for the plants to grow and bear fruit. You’re not going to plant the seed and get the fruit tomorrow. You’ve got to water it, let the sun do its thing, and be patient. Everything happens when it’s supposed to happen.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

Cole Chaney: In His Own Words

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Editor’s Note: Last month, we featured an interview with singer-songwriter Cole Chaney on the site for the very first time. The Kentuckian artist was more than generous with his time, spending a couple of hours speaking to BGS and Good Country contributor Alison Richter. 

Many lovely portions of their interview ended up cut for length, so we’re excited to share a few selections from those edits here as a bonus follow-up to our feature conversation. Below, enjoy Chaney discussing how songs morph and change over time, his practice regimen, guitar and songwriting as crafts and forms of expression, and much more. 

Songs Evolving Over Time

The intention is the same as it was back then [when they were written], but your taste grows as you develop as an artist and musician.

When you listen to the Mercy version of “Ill Will Creek” (above) and the Live AF version, those are two almost completely different songs, but they’re still the same. The thread, the root of the song, remains the same. They’re just wearing a different coat.

Practice and Technique

I don’t have a concrete practice routine. I’ve never been able to sit down and make myself do scales or anything like that. I’d probably be a lot better guitar player if I did more technical playing.

I’ve always idolized guys like Hendrix, and if you look into how he looked at it, he didn’t have time to practice because he was always writing riffs and coming up with cool guitar licks or creating in some capacity. That’s what I do when I have a guitar in my hands. I warm up and play some scales or whatever, but it eventually turns into, “Oh, man, that sounds cool. What can I attach to that?” and I start writing riffs. That’s just how I do it.

I would be a much more technically proficient guitar player if I actually did sit down and make myself practice a lot. But I think a lot of that creativity comes out of me having a weird picking style and not being necessarily educated on what is supposed to sound good and where that’s supposed to go, and just letting stuff happen where it happens.

Guitar As Expression

Especially in recent years, as we talked about the bands I’m influenced by – very guitar-heavy bands, for me – it always starts with a riff. I like chunky, heavy stuff a lot of the time. A song doesn’t always call for that; sometimes you write something that may sound a little more sensitive, but the direction it’s gone with me has been catchy riffs that stay in your head when you play it. That’s when I know I’ve got something cool and that I should keep plugging away.

I sat down last night with a little $300 Breedlove and plucked away at this riff I’ve been messing with for two-and-a-half hours, just seeing what I could add in here, if this would sound cool there. And so, yes, the guitar is just as important, if not more, to my music as the lyrics.

The Craft of Songwriting

It’s not always riffs first, lyrics second, but I find that is most often the way it goes down. I don’t know. I can’t give you a way my songs come together. It feels like it happens in a different way every time. I’m very melody-driven; it’s the way I listen to music. Everybody’s got different things they’re trying to get out of the songs, but, for me, the melody is the most important thing.

Reinterpreting “Spirit” for In The Shadow Of The Mountain

It was a work in progress, because there’s a challenge in having songs be out for two or three years on their own as solo acoustic pieces.

I kind of look at the OurVinyl [Sessions] as demos– in a way, that was not necessarily what I saw as the finished product for any of those songs. And then they get the attention, that becomes the versions of the songs that people know and love, and it puts pressure on the situation of, “Oh, damn, people care about this song now, so I have to do it justice.’ It has to be tasteful, it can’t be too much, and all these things. It’s an equation that you’re trying to find the answer to.

“Spirit” maybe took the longest out of all of them. There’s me and Duane Lundy and Zachary Hamilton co-producing. If you talked to them, they would probably tell you the same thing – it took us the longest to get that song to where we were all feeling really good about it.

We were maybe one day away from having to have the mix completely wrapped up on everything and send it off to be mastered. I was listening to “Spirit” on my way to the studio and I was like, “This sounds really good, the groove is there, but something’s missing and I don’t know what it is.” It was driving me nuts. I was wracking my brain. “What would sound good on this? What would sound good?” And I was like, “It needs a piano, an actual piano.”

I’m a huge Bruce Hornsby fan, so I wanted something nimble like that. The one person I knew I could lean on to do it was Aaron Bibelhauser. I called him, and it was one of those “something that’s meant to be” type of things. It was, “Man, I don’t know if you can get in here today. We’ve only got one day left to finish this thing, but ‘Spirit’ really needs a piano on it. And if you’re around” — he’s from Louisville — “and you can make the trip, I’d love to get you to put some piano on it.” He said, “I’m actually in Lexington right now, so I can just run right on over.”

I think it really tied the whole song together and made it the full picture that I had been envisioning for that song the whole time.

Looking Ahead

I still write and love to write folk songs, but I keep running into this issue while I’m writing folk songs of trying to make them a little too brooding or complex when they don’t need to be all the time. You can have complex folk songs. I think Billy Strings is a good example of that. “Gild the Lily” is a fantastic song, and that’s complex, but it’s still very much a string band song.

There’s a lot of creative energy flying around in the Cole Chaney realm right now. I don’t know what it looks like yet, so I can’t step out on a limb and say a whole lot about it, because there’s nothing certain happening.

But we’re all working on contributing towards something that will be really interesting and cool, if it ends up coming to fruition, which I think it will. It will probably be a thing on its own. I need to do a dedicated rock project — I’ll just leave it at that. I think it’s safe to say at some point there will be electric guitars involved.

Read our full interview with Cole Chaney here.

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Photo Credit: David McClister