This month, BGS is celebrating 100 years of the Grand Ole Opry! It would be hard to overstate the influence of the Opry on American roots music – hell, on music in general – over the past century.
From Earl Scruggs joining Bill Monroe to create the sound of bluegrass; to DeFord Bailey becoming the first Black Opry star and the first Black musician to break into the commercial music scene in Nashville; to the legendary meeting of Johnny Cash and June Carter; the Opry has been a catalyst for so many iconic moments. Below, we kick off our “Artist of the Month” celebration with our Opry 100 Essentials Playlist, which includes some of our favorite live recordings from the Opry, songs famously debuted on that legendary stage, and some of our favorite roots songs written about the Opry and its lore, too.
Did you know that Dolly Parton made her first Grand Ole Opry appearance in 1959 at the age of 13 and received three encores? To get a sense of how young Dolly might have sounded on that stage, we’ve included one of her very first singles, “Girl Left Alone,” (the B-side of the now well-known “Puppy Love”), recorded when she was just 11 years old and released the same year as her Opry debut.
Elvis famously made his Opry debut in 1954 at the age of 19, singing “Blue Moon of Kentucky” in a style that was so poorly received a manager told him to “go back to driving a truck,” or something of that nature. You can hear his rockabilly version on our playlist.
In 1969, Linda Martell was the first solo Black woman to perform on the Opry, singing “Color Him Father” for her debut. Although she faced rampant racism throughout her career, her first performance on the Opry was met with two standing ovations and she went on to perform there 12 times over the years.
The Opry has also been fodder for songwriting, inspiring many tracks over the years. Early Opry star David “Stringbean” Akeman met Bill Monroe while playing semi-professional baseball and went on to play clawhammer-style banjo in his band from 1943 to 1945. After parting ways with Monroe’s band, Stringbean became an Opry star in his own right and penned the song “Opry Time in Tennessee.”
Stringbean and his wife were tragically murdered in 1973 by thieves who had heard of him storing cash in his home. In 2009, Sam Bush released his song, “The Ballad of Stringbean and Estelle,” co-written with Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson. “The thieves laid in wait for hours/ But things didn’t go their way/ But he wouldn’t let go of his Opry pay,” sings Bush on his album, Circles Around Me.
Shortly before the Opry was moved from downtown Nashville’s Ryman Auditorium to the newly built Opry House in 1974, John Hartford released “Tear Down the Grand Ole Opry,” a scathing commentary on the commercialization of country music. “Right across from the wax museum/ They used to line up around the block/ From east Tennessee and back down home again … Broad Street will never be the same,” Hartford sings nostalgically on his legendary Aereo-Plain album.
While the Opry is known as a country music gold standard, over its 100 years as a live-broadcast radio show it has held clout across the genres and in popular culture – not just in country. This year, as part of the celebration of its 100th anniversary, the Opry has been featuring 100 Opry debuts and first-time performances. These special appearances have showcased the broad impact of the Opry, hosting the likes of pop star Sabrina Carpenter who said, “My mom raised me on the artists who have stood up here.”
Whether in country, bluegrass, Americana, or beyond, the Grand Ole Opry continues to be a musical powerhouse, 100 years after its barn dance birth. While we look ahead to the next century of Opry magic, we’re beyond excited to join the Grand Ole Opry family in celebrating Opry 100 for the entire month of November. Enjoy our Opry 100 Essentials Playlist below and relive the Opry 100: A Live Celebration television special on NBC from earlier this year here, too. Plus, stay tuned all month as we have brand new and archive articles, interviews, and features we’ll be sharing here and on socials all spotlighting the incredibly legacy and community of our beloved Grand Ole Opry as we countdown to November 28, 2025 – the Opry’s official 100th birthday!
Lead Image: Opening of the Grand Ole Opry House in 1974, courtesy of Ryman Hospitality Properties.
This is a Mixtape of songs I enjoy listening to in nature. I hope you listen to it while hiking or laying in the grass. Hiking and walking are my ways of meditating and connecting with myself. Especially now that we have our baby coming next month. Really trying to center myself in preparation for this beautiful life change.
I never go on a hiking or camping trip and regret it. It always helps to put things into perspective for me. My worries and stresses feel insignificant when I’m staring out at a mountain range after climbing to a peak. The title track of my new album, Mammoth, is about hiking and all of the artwork and music videos were taken while either hiking in the Swiss Alps or the Colorado Rockies. My love for nature seeps out of this new project. I hope it finds its listeners craving the outdoors. – Lydia Luce
“Head in the Clouds” – Mocky
This song is one I keep coming back to. I have spent many moments in nature with my husband camping or in our Skoolie listening to this song. It’s one of our faves.
“Free Treasure” – Adrianne Lenker
Adrianne has a beautiful way of reminding us there is treasure all around us in nature and with loved ones – and we don’t have to pay for it. There have been so many times that I have found what I’ve been looking for just by sitting outside.
“The Wind” – Feist
This song is a perfect poem about the wind. Leslie sings about the power of nature, connecting us to ourselves and to each other. She sings, “You find you, keep on the horizon.”
“Quiet as a Star” – Jon Middleton
This song reminds me of camping by the ocean. The waves, the glow of a fire, and the stars above. It’s such a simple, stunning song.
“Hello Sunshine” – Damien Jurado, Richard Swift
In Nashville we have a big lake called Percy Priest with tons of tiny islands. I love kayaking out to the islands to camp. I’ve done a lot of solo camping trips out there and this song reminds me of those times. Paddling out to watch the sunset glow.
“Pretty Stars” – Bill Frisell
This song is so beautiful. The guitar melody reminds me of night swimming. Growing up in south Florida my brother and I used to go snorkel at night to see the bioluminescence. It feels like swimming in the stars; when you pop up out of the water you see the stars glowing up above. Some real magic.
“The Moonlight Song” – Blaze Foley
There is nothing like camping in the autumn. When the season changes and making a fire to stay warm is a necessity. This song reminds me of camping in the fall with buddies. It sounds like he’s singing to us around the fire, pulling us into the moment.
“The Ocean” – Richard Hawley
I have this distinct memory of driving out of the tunnel in Santa Monica where it turns into the PCH listening to this song. I have lived half of my life close to the ocean and I miss it so much. I moved to Nashville eight years ago from Los Angeles and this song brings me right back to staring out at the Pacific Ocean.
“Pink Moon” – Nick Drake
Who doesn’t love this song? It’s just a perfect song. I love Nick Drake’s open tunings and melodies. This song reminds me of hiking and though I have heard it a million times I never get tired of it.
“Brassy Sun” – S. Carey
This is another song that takes me back to solo camping on the lake. Microdosing mushrooms and watching the sunset. Appreciating the solitude in nature.
Artist:Sam Burchfield Hometown: Seneca, South Carolina (now Jasper, Georgia) Latest Album:Nature Speaks (out October 24 on Cloverdale Records) Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Sammy B. Rejected band name: Sam & The Samwiches.
What was the first moment that you knew you wanted to be a musician?
Around the same time my older sister started playing electric bass, I saw O Brother, Where Art Thou? and I heard “Eruption” by Van Halen for the first time. These memories all felt very important to me wanting to start playing guitar. As soon as I started playing guitar there was no going back. It consumed my life in the best way. Started my first band in 7th grade and ever since I have been writing songs and putting out records. (Long live Kelly Sparks The Fuse, my experimental garage rock band from middle school.)
What’s the most difficult creative transformation you’ve ever undertaken?
Becoming a parent. Ha!
But for real, it has so drastically changed who I am. It feels like I have finally unfolded from within myself. The past 3 years – we just had our second child six months ago – have shown the biggest overall life challenges as well as growth that I’ve yet to experience. My wife and I have been pushed in every way to dig deep and push forward. It’s beautiful, it’s painful, it’s meaningful. Creatively, it has really focused me and helped me to cut away some of the fluff.
If you had to write a mission statement for your career, what would it be?
Going off the last question, it has been so hard to keep pursuing being an artist as a “career” over the last decade. I think it has also made me really value the core reason that I’m doing all of this and putting myself and my family through so much chaos sometimes.
Ultimately, I want to inspire people to see the truth, beauty, and goodness of the world.
Does pineapple really belong on pizza?
Without a doubt, but only when it’s next to that ham, babayyyyy!
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
Well my first dream job was professional Lego builder. So probably that.
Although, nowadays I really love a good home project. Currently building an addition on the house and there is nothing as satisfying as throwing up a freshly framed wall. So maybe a carpenter!
As you might guess, there’s tens of dollars to be made working in folk music. One of the more macabre ways I’ve made a living is… um… off the dead, performing educational programs on gender inequality in murder ballads for more than a decade with my band, ilyAIMY (i love you And I Miss You).
Maybe I was just born spooky (Halloween birthday!), but I’ve made the most of my curiosity for folk music’s unnerving and often misogynistic underbelly. All while collecting a few outliers that turn the old tales on their heads.
First found in Europe in the 1600s, murder ballad poems and songs have since become heavily associated with traditional American music. A mainstay in country and folk – whether it’s Polly or Omie falling prey to poor choices, or “Stagger Lee” (a staple since 1897), or Brokeneck Girls: The Murder Ballad Musical selling out its 2023 run – we’re still pressing play on cautionary tales of love inextricably woven with violence and remorseless outlaws. But we’re also starting to look back at the facts, wondering more at why the women of murder ballads are voiceless victims and rarely vigilantes.
I’ve kept the body count relatively low on my new album, Panic Room with a View, but there are a few graves. It is October after all. So, witches, black widows, and wanton women – who makes it out from this Mixtape alive? – Heather Aubrey Lloyd
“Bang, Bang” – Nancy Sinatra
This one might be a metaphor, but the messaging sure isn’t. Love is interlaced with violence right from childhood: “He would always win the fight,” and she should have known better. P.S. Sinatra may be singing it, but this lament from the “female perspective” was written by Sonny Bono.
“Come All Ye Fair And Tender Ladies” – Odetta
In rare cases, it’s not a man’s voice behind the mask, but women warning one another to “lock their hearts” against lying lovers. Cause of death here will eventually be sorrow, but don’t worry – we’re getting to the grisly bits and what happens when you don’t heed the warnings.
“Pretty Polly” – Coon Creek Girls
Appalachian, music academic, or horror movie fan, we all know the rules: the girl getting “busy” is the first body to drop. This song has roots in 1750s English ballads, where the pregnant and unwed victim at least sometimes gets revenge as a ghost. Not so with most American versions of Polly, or North Carolina’s Omie Wise, where the vague-but-violent tale is told with little remorse or consequence.
This is the blueprint of the classic American murder ballad. He’s dug the grave in advance or brought her to the river (no obvious sin-cleansing symbolism here) and “her blood, it did flow.” In some versions of “The Knoxville Girl,” his friends still try to bail him out of jail. Though countless renditions exist (The Byrds, Béla Fleck & Abigail Washburn, etc.), this stark presentation by the Coon Creek Girls has always been my favorite.
“Barbara Allen” – Joan Baez
Controversial opinion alert! I’ve always had a huge problem with the claim of “the world’s most-collected English-language folk ballad.”
Barbara Allen doesn’t die because she loves a man, but because she simply doesn’t. When women refuse there are still consequences, and “hard-hearted” Barb’ry follows “sweet” William to his grave, where he entwines with her in death. Ew. Still, it’s hard to argue with Baez’s perfectly mournful vocal take on this tune.
“The Dreadful End of Marianna for Sorcery” – Malinky
Or, if she says no and doesn’t die of sorrow, you can always cry “witch” and get her burned at the stake. Happy Halloween! You might think it’s a traditional, but this modern murder ballad from the year 2000 has a feminist twist; Marianna gets to tell on the men who wronged her, their hypocrisy revealed, her virtue extolled. This is a significant evolution from the third-person narrator (or male murderer’s perspective) pervasive in classic murder ballads.
“Frankie and Johnny” – Pete Seeger
Let’s get to a murderess. What if I told you Pete Seeger was singing you a lie? Did Frankie shoot her cheatin’ man? Yup, on October 14, 1899, Frankie Baker did. Was she sentenced to the electric chair for it? No. Songwriters didn’t bother waiting on the verdict. Besides, what ideas might women get if they thought they might get away with it?
Just days after the shooting, the streets of St. Louis were already singing. Frankie’s philandering beau, Allen, became “Albert” then “Johnny.” And Frankie, who unsuccessfully sued once a movie was made, was hounded by hundreds of renditions before she died in 1952.
“The Valley Is Ours” – Heather Aubrey Lloyd
Does a folk singer owe listeners absolute truth, or do we use bits and pieces of honesty to shed light on greater truths? As a songwriter and a former journalist, I’ve spent a while reconciling that question. This song from my freshly released album is a perfect example. I weave true stories from various eras of flood-ravaged Ellicott City, Maryland – a news article about a drowning victim, my time sanitizing debris from my friend’s submerged apartment – into a fictional family, unifying the experiences for the greater story representing all those who brave disaster and rebuild.
“Independence Day” – Martina McBride
If you’re an ’80s baby like me, this 1995 CMA Song of the Year (and one of Rolling Stone’s 100 Greatest Country Songs of All Time) was probably the first murder ballad you heard on the radio. Domestic violence, the standard trope, drives the battered wife to finally burn down the house with them both in it, leaving their surviving daughter to wonder, “I ain’t sayin’ it’s right or it’s wrong/ But maybe it’s the only way.”
I’ve spent years thinking about just how many other ways there should be for that woman. And maybe that’s the point of a great line like that. (I was too nervous to ask Gretchen Peters, the song’s writer, when I opened for her in 2022.)
“Silent Little Bells” – ilyAIMY
We all start by mimicking the art we loved growing up. So, it’s no wonder that in 2010 when it came time to write a murder ballad for my own band, ilyAIMY, I couldn’t seem to let the murderess get away with it, either. But my questions were starting. How do I reconcile my love of murder ballads with their problematic or outdated ideas? Can the women get more say in their stories?
“Can it be a sin/ For a woman done wrong to do the man done it/ Do that man right in?”
“Country Death Song” – The Violent Femmes
And I probably threw my fictional characters down a well, because I subconsciously remembered it from this song. We are all the culmination of everything we’ve ever heard and only think we’ve forgotten. This song’s presentation is so deadpan it’s almost parody, like a scary Halloween costume. An innocent daughter falls victim to a father’s starvation and madness. And when the victim is a woman child, at least, the murderer can’t live with the guilt and punishes himself.
“Delia’s Gone” – Johnny Cash
You can’t have a murder ballad Mixtape without Johnny Cash. The man in black – also a kind of persona/costume – put plenty of women in the ground through song, with a vocal delivery that’s dead serious. We know little about Delia’s actual “trifling” offenses, and as with early American murder ballads, much is left to the imagination.
“So if your woman’s devilish/ You can let her run/ Or you can bring her down and do her/ Like Delia got done…” references the old trope that men are somewhat justified killing sinful women, be it 1762 or 1962.
“Church Bells” – Carrie Underwood
Between 2000 and 2016 women got a lot of mixed messages about spousal abuse and murder ballads. The Chicks’ infamous “Goodbye Earl” was met with 14% of Radio & Records reporting stations refusing to play it with accusations the song “advocated premeditated murder.” Um … “Folsom Prison” much?!? Why not the same uproar for 2007’s “Gunpowder & Lead” wherein Miranda Lambert shows she’s willing, but we never get the actual trigger pull, or Underwood’s similar poisoning of an abusive husband in 2016?
Answer: It’s all about the aftermath and the attitude. The Chicks were too undeniably happy. “Church Bells,” meanwhile, walks the line that the bells toll for her in remorse and damnation, or that she finds absolution in the church.
“Pocket of God” – Cory Branan
When asked how the genre is evolving, I can’t hit play fast enough on this tune, featured on BGS in 2022. It has all the vicious, remorseless teeth I want in my bloody ballads – along with a surprising respect for its female victim. “Pocket” is reminiscent of a narcocorrido (Mexican drug ballad), narrated by a dealer who falls for a woman that becomes “a punch” he “couldn’t counter” and someone he “admired” for her intelligence. It’s only when she double-crosses him in business that he’s forced to kill her, like any other rogue henchman, as an example. But she haunts him.
“Oh (Field Recording)” – Laurel Hells Ramblers
Young artists keeping old Appalachian song traditions alive might be killing off a new kind of character – their former selves. Trans songstress Clover-Lynn follows up this boy’s murder by asking her father, “Oh, tell me daddy/ Can you ever forgive/ The death of your son/ So your daughter can live?”
“The Ballad of Yvonne Johnson” – Eliza Gilkyson
Trigger warning: this one’s a hard listen, but the truth always is. Instead of exploiting “Stagger Lee” as a Black anti-hero powerful enough to usurp the devil, or fetishizing Frankie in her kimono, we get the thorough, unflinching story of a Canadian Cree woman’s childhood abuse and the murder it drove her to, told in her words (Johnson shares a writing credit) through Gilkyson. All so that listeners can “awaken to themselves and to all people of this world.” When it comes to the fate of women in murder ballads, we’re starting to make room for greater complexity.
“Sisterly” – Jean Rohe
I’m skeptical that a song can change the world, but this song definitely changed me. When Rohe witnesses an assault on a woman from her window, she hesitates to get involved “in the name of it wasn’t me.”
“I’m not known for being sisterly/ Let the strong girls win and cut the weak ones free/ The boys lie, they say the boys are mean / Said I better get myself a spot on the boys’ team.”
We’re left uncertain of the girl’s fate, but mine was revealed. I was Rohe at the window, who didn’t like women I viewed as weak. I’d learned the rules to survive and they hadn’t. After I couldn’t look away from that part of myself, I started performing with more women, looking harder at where I stand in life and in the songs I love.
Editor’s Note: Each issue of Good Country, our co-founder Ed Helms will share a handful of good country artists, albums, and songs direct from his own earphones in Ed’s Picks.
Rolling Stone describes young country phenom Carter Faith as “a bright light for the future of country” – but she’s definitely illuminating the genre in the present! Her debut full length album, Cherry Valley, released earlier this month, displaying in full her gritty, fun, down-to-earth, and modern brand of Good Country.
Something special is happening with Ghost Hounds, a Pittsburgh Americana outfit combining blues, rock and roll, alt-country, soul, and much more. Their latest album, Almost Home, features the group’s new lead singer and frontman, SAVNT; a lineup change isn’t foiling this dynamic band, it’s building their momentum. They just made their Grand Ole Opry debut this week!
Perhaps our first repeat Ed’s Pick, but Vince Gill is always Good Country, right? The singer-picker-Country Hall of Famer-Eagles vocalist just announced a new series of EPs celebrating his lifelong career in music. The series, titled 50 Years From Home, begins with its first EP, I Gave You Everything I Had, today. We’re so grateful for all the years, all the music, and all you’ve given all of us, Vince!
Singer-songwriter-artist and Gar Hole Records co-proprietor Nick Shoulders is the real deal. He’s part of a broad movement of country musicians recentering the industry, its stakeholders, and its fans so the music better reflects all of the kinds of folks who love it. If you like Good Country that sticks it to the man, seeks justice, imagines a better world, and still sounds like “Grampa Music,” look out for his upcoming album, Refugia Blues (out October 31).
From Broadway in NYC to Lower Broadway in Nashville, MORGXN has done it all, but we find the singer-songwriter-performer thriving as he “reclaims his Nashville roots,” subverts expectations of musical and cultural stereotypes of country, and unabashedly celebrates queerness – especially so on his new twangy EP, Heartland: Part II. More MORGXNs like this in country, please and thank you.
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Photo Credits: Carter Faith by Bree Marie Fish; Ghost Hounds courtesy of the artist; Vince Gill by David McClister; Nick Shoulders by Shelby Merry; MORGXN by Gabriel Starner.
Fall marks the beginning of “over the river and through the woods season,” whether your destination is grandma’s house, an off-season beach, a u-pick apple orchard or pumpkin patch, a spangled and harlequin forest, or an autumn music and arts festival. As you navigate the changing season and enjoy leaf-peeping, apple butter, hot cocoa, and hot dogs roasted over the fire, there’s one genre certain to accompany you through each and every picturesque context the “-ber” months give us – that’s Good Country.
Country is perfect for fall, whether you’re raising a beer, whiskey, or cider alone or among friends. From driving through tobacco country during curing season in September, to tailgating at the football stadium, to winding your way over the Smoky Mountains, to soaking in the last bit of summer sun, there’s a country song ready to soundtrack your falling back in love with cozy season.
Dripping with nostalgia, evocative text painting, a rich and deep connection to nature, and a reverence for community, folkways, and tradition, country music just may be synonymous with fall – and our playlist certainly helps make that case. We hope you enjoy listening and we wanna know: what country songs always get you in an autumnal mood? Did they make the list?
Photo Credit: Album cover, New Harvest… First Gathering, Dolly Parton.
Six years ago, I found myself in the hospital for a period of a few weeks with a mystery illness, unsure of whether or not I would make it out alive. I did survive, of course; but the experience changed me fundamentally. It brought me closer to many of my heroes, both living and dead, who have walked before me, people who know a whole lot more about life and its passing than I do. As near-death experiences do for many, it led me to live differently, cherishing each present moment and honoring life’s transitory nature rather than fearing it. Retrospectively, it was a gift, because it helped me to realize that I have been fortunate to have been given a free life and my hope is to use my experience of healing to help others heal too.
My new album, Streets Of September, marks my reflection upon the anniversary of that life-altering event. It is a collection of songs that, to me, honor the beauty of being alive and the magic of alchemizing grief into something beautiful, created out of thin air in the moment we have before us. It is an ode to brevity and the wonder that can be found there: to be appreciated for a moment before being washed away.
As I have navigated the path of healing myself, these songs have served as anchors during some of the darkest of times. They are beacons of light I’ve looked to when I was uncertain of how to shift my consciousness from a place of grief to one of hope. We are all growing and healing one day at a time, and everyone else’s reality is as real to them as our own is to us. Wherever this music may find you, my hope is that there may be something here to give you the courage to press on, to continue on your journey, whatever it may be. – Jack Schneider
“Looking For Space” – John Denver
I first discovered this song when I was in middle school. That was a dark time for me. I felt different and yearned for a place to belong, wondering if it was something that even existed. This song helped me to look inward, to find peace in the home within my heart. As I continue to grow up I keep coming back to it. It reminds me to stay true to that journey, to open myself up to the space of my soul. It’s not about arriving at that place. Ultimately, it is about the continuous practice of aiming for something that we know we will never reach within our consciousness, but that the growing is what makes us who we are, stronger and more resilient, committed to the path as it disappears, which is how we can tell that it is the right one.
“Secret Of Life” – James Taylor
My parents took me to see James Taylor perform a solo acoustic show when I was nine years old. He played this song and the idea of the “secret of life” stuck out to me. At that age I barely knew what living meant. I’m still not sure I do. But coming back to that song now, having survived a near-death experience, it has more depth than I ever could have understood before. Our task in being truly present and grounded is through the power of the now and “enjoying the passing of time.” No matter how dark or difficult the road gets, nothing is forever, and if we can remember to shift our awareness and accept the unfolding of things in the time that they are meant to unfold, we can surrender to the joy of living and experience the full extent of our aliveness.
“Sweet Seasons” – Carole King
When I was growing up, my mom had an art studio in our house that she used to paint in. Every now and then I’d get to go hang out with her in there and we’d listen to music together. My mom put this song on a lot back in those days and hearing it reminds me of those special memories, of being encouraged to connect deeply with my creative energy. “Sometimes you win, sometimes you lose/ And most times you choose between the two…”
The older I get, the more I realize that we really do get to choose how we show up to the present. The hope is to be able to embrace the passing seasons as they come and go and find the beauty in watching life flow.
“I Got A Name” – Jim Croce
Jim Croce was one of my first musical heroes. I can’t remember how I found my way to his music, but his songs sound as if they always existed. I especially love this one, largely because of the last line of the chorus, “Moving ahead so life won’t pass me by.” Healing is not a linear journey and the dark times are necessary to help build and reveal our character. Time continues to pass and it is in the forward motion that we find ourselves connected to the magic of life, continuing to be reborn every time we open our eyes.
“That Lucky Old Sun” – Big Mama Thornton
A favorite song of mine and my favorite version of it. Perfect in every way.
“Shine A Light” – Rolling Stones
This was my grandmother’s favorite song. At her request, we played it at her funeral. She used to quote the lyric all the time, “May every song be your favorite tune.”
“If You Want To Sing Out, Sing Out” – Cat Stevens
My dad first showed me this song, and I’ve always loved the simplicity of its message.
“Go Wherever You Wanna Go” – Patty Griffin
I remember listening to this song leaving home, on my way to college. I cried so hard. The possibilities of the future were endless. And with that came the necessity to accept the changes happening around me and within me and the loss of the grounding presence of my family and the home I knew. I was bound to chase my dreams with tremendous uncertainty, hunger, and hope.
“One Of These Days” – Emmylou Harris
I love the line in the chorus of this song “ I won’t have this urge to go all bottled up inside.” Writing and singing songs is my outlet for processing my emotions, but I often struggle to create the space to bring them to light in my day to day life. Growing is recognizing where or who you hope to someday be, and then each day waking up and striving towards that dream, one moment at a time.
“Good Again” – Sunshine Grocery
“For us, there is only the trying. The rest is not our business” – T.S. Eliot.
“Bells Of Harlem” – Dave Rawlings Machine
A song of hope and redemption, capturing the essence of the kind of clarity that comes through after a season of darkness. The sun rises again. “A little joy, at long last.”
“Pilgrim” – Steve Earle
I was fortunate to have been at the Grand Ole Opry a couple weeks ago when Steve Earle was inducted. After becoming a member, he chose to play this song. Emmylou Harris, Vince Gill, Don Schlitz, and Connie Smith sang it with him. It was such a special moment, and I am grateful to have witnessed that kind of history. We don’t know where our journeys will lead us, but the path is homeward.
Artist:Lauren Lovelle Hometown: Newton, Kansas Latest Album: My EP, Other Dreams, released September 9! Personal Nicknames (or rejected band names): Lolo or Lo. I really liked the band name “Lauren Lovelle and the Matter Babies,” too.
Which artist has influenced you the most – and how?
I’ve always been mesmerized by Linda Ronstadt’s voice, and the passion she channels when singing. She pours her entire heart out. Every song she ever sang felt like it was completely her own.
What’s your favorite memory from being on stage?
My favorite memories onstage are with my dad’s band as a child. There is something supernaturally special about making music with kin. I started playing with him when I was four. The memories of my father and grandpa teaching me to play and perform pass through my mind to the soundtrack of that ABBA song, “Thank You For the Music.”
“Thank you for the music, the songs I’m singing/ Thanks for all the joy they’re bringing… Thank you for the music, for giving it to me.”
What other art forms – literature, film, dance, painting, etc. – inform your music?
I absolutely love to dance. It’s so necessary and healing. Just like my therapist would tell me to do with emotions, I like to identify where exactly I feel the song in my body. It can be powerful to share the emotional embodiments of the songs with the band to help us communicate and feel it as a unit. Sometimes, I write something that I feel in my legs and feet and it makes me want to stomp and strut around the stage. Sometimes I write something in my shoulders and chest and it makes me feel like I’m floating. Sometimes the song springs from my gut or hips where it feels more natural to dig my feet in, staying planted and upright.
If you didn’t work in music, what would you do instead?
I’m a nursing school dropout. I was a CNA for awhile, so I could’ve likely continued down that path. I always told my mom I’d be a truck driver so I could listen to music and sing in the car as loud as I want all day. But when I was old enough to find out they can’t smoke weed, I decided that was no longer in the cards for me.
Since food and music go so well together, what is your dream pairing of a meal and a musician?
It’s simple, but listening to Hank Williams and eating beans or chili and cornbread feels right. I have done it before on purpose and by accident. Real cowboy meal. Makes me feel close to my grandpas.
My new album’s theme, along with the theme of this Mixtape, is a roots-inspired journey through the South, with songs that evoke the feeling of traveling across its landscapes and into the heart of the Deep South. I hope the fans enjoy the journey of these songs and all the sounds and people it takes to make them come to life on Southern Sky – it takes a village.
That village comes to life across the nine-track journey of Southern Sky, where Irish roots fuse with Southern soul driven by Dobros, fiddles, and rich storytelling that soar with Appalachian tradition and Southern warmth. Inspired by the textures of the South, the spirit of the album is like Allen Toussaint’s Southern Nights, where Appalachian tales intertwine with the deep twang of the South.
Southern Sky features a multitude of musical titans – Vince Gill, Tim O’Brien, Ricky Skaggs, and Sam Bush to name a few – all contributing to the exceptional sound that I strive for. – Danny Burns
“Summer in Siam” – The Pogues
I always loved this tune, growing up listening to the Pogues and having met Shane many moons ago.
“My Old Friend the Blues” – Steve Earle
Steve is one of my favorites. I’ve had the honor to sing with him, open shows with him, and hang on his bus. His songs are epic; this is a great example of that.
“Southern Nights” – Citizen Cope
I first met Clarence Greenwood in New Orleans when I was driving him, Neal Casal, and Jon Graboff (the Cardinals) around while they were playing Tipitina’s. I fell in love with Clarence’s songs and his performances. Another great American artist and songwriter.
“Whenever You Come Around” – Vince Gill
I’m a huge fan of Vince and this track is about as good as it gets. I’ve always admired his songs, his voice, and everything he brings to the table.
“Locals Only” – ERNEST
I first heard this song down in Mexico during the pandemic while hanging out on the beach in Puerto Morelos. It became a bit of an anthem for those days by the water.
“Waiting On You” – Cecilia Castleman
A truly killer talent. Cecilia can play, she can sing, and I’m sure her skills as an engineer and producer are just as strong. This song is fantastic.
“Angel Flying Too Close To The Ground” – Willie Nelson
This has always been one of my go-to lonesome Willie tunes.
“That’s How Every Empire Falls” – John Prine
Epic song written by RB Morris out of Knoxville. I love both versions, but it was John’s take that first introduced me to it.
“The Lucky One” – Alison Krauss & Union Station
What can I say about Alison’s voice– absolutely world-class. Pair that with a world-class band, production, and song and it’s just unbeatable.
“Years” – Sierra Ferrell
This is pure ear candy. So intriguing and instantly captivating. It feels amazing and sounds incredible. Perfect work!
“Colony” – Damien Dempsey
A heavy hitter in the Irish scene, this track is a prime example of his finest work.
“Settle For A Slowdown” – Dierks Bentley
I really loved this album; it feels like a perfect introduction to where country meets bluegrass with a modern twist.
“Señor” – Tim O’Brien
Love Tim and his take on this epic Bob Dylan song.
“Linger” – Áine Burns
Love Áine’s take on this Cranberries hit – can’t wait to hear more from her before the year’s end.
Editor’s Note: Each issue of Good Country, our co-founder Ed Helms will share a handful of good country artists, albums, and songs direct from his own earphones in Ed’s Picks.
Among the many excellent Texan country & western bands Asleep at the Wheel have been standing tall for more than 50 years. Their new album, Riding High in Texas, collects ten of the best songs about the state from some of country’s most iconic artists and writers – and it features quite a few stellar guests as well, like Lyle Lovett, Brennen Leigh, and Billy Strings.
A few short weeks ago, no one would have faulted you for not knowing who Eastern Kentucky bluegrass band the Creekers were. Now, their track “Tennessee” is seemingly everywhere on the internet. The song has been used on more than 36,000 TikTok videos and the group has quickly amassed upwards of 60,000 followers on the platform – plus, “Tennessee” has been streamed more than 3 million times on Spotify and has racked over half a million spins on YouTube! Let the catchy tune do the explaining why.
Here’s some Good Country! Now, it’s true not every track from this Mississippian genre-bender’s brand new album, Miss Black America, would be “permissible” on country radio, there are still plenty of rural, down-home, red clay, Americana moments throughout this impeccable collection. From the visuals of the album and her social media accounts to tracks like “The Man,” “Reparations,” “Mama Don’t Worry,” and “Thick n Country” it’s clear KIRBY and her material would fit right in alongside the best of today’s pop country and country trap – and would certainly outshine most songs in those subgenres, too.
The GC team was first introduced to this incredible singer-songwriter, Sabine McCalla, through her equally talented sister, Leyla. But soon after that she took the internet by storm with her Western AF video performance of “Baby, Please Don’t Go” – which rests comfortably at 1.1 million views on YouTube. McCalla just announced her debut full-length album, Don’t Call Me Baby, arriving November 7 via Gar Hole Records and we can’t wait. The singles she’s released so far promise more lovely and innovative heart-wrenching indie-roots music.
New Margo Price music is always cause for celebration. We’ve worked with Margo a lot over the years, from Bonnaroo to the Good Country Goodtime at Newport Folk Festival this July, and we’re constantly impressed by her drive, grit, tenacity, and the way agency is at the center of all of her work. That’s certainly true for her brand new album, Hard Headed Woman. Don’t ever change, Margo.
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Photo Credits: Asleep at the Wheel by Curtis Clogston; The Creekers courtesy of the artist; KIRBY by Justin Hardiman; Sabine McCalla by Camille Lenain; Margo Price by Yana Yatsuk
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