Tag: singer songwriter

Amy Grant Launches New Podcast Exploring The Me That Remains

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Amy Grant didn’t set out to make her first album of original material in more than a decade. What started as a way to reconnect with herself gradually became The Me That Remains (released May 8), a deeply personal collection of songs about healing and finding ourselves again.

As a compendium to the project and in tandem with host Khalil Ekulona, Grant has launched a new podcast that invites listeners to delve deeper into the stories behind the songs and learn more about what and who shaped the record. (Watch the first episode of the podcast, which has just premiered, below.)

I recently sat down to speak with Grant about the unexpected path that led to The Me That Remains, which she created alongside producer Mac McAnally – full disclosure, that’s my dad. Her candid reflection on some of her life’s most difficult moments was crafted into something that deeply resonates with her fans and is a great reminder that sometimes, when we close a door or two, we open new ones.

Well, I feel very honored to have been tapped to do this, and I also think it’s an interesting perspective because I got to have a backseat to the making of this record through Dad’s eyes. I know he’s told you, but he was just so thrilled and joyful to work on this. We had some screen-free, dedicated listening sessions in the studio and he gave me lots of behind-the-scenes stories about the recordings and some of the stories behind the songs. It was a really special time for me to get to see him through that process, and I hope you know how much it meant to him.

But I was curious as to what led you to pick him for this project.

Amy Grant: I didn’t realize we were doing a project. I reached out to Mac when I had written a song, really the first lyric that I wrote as I was launching into being creative.

To me, this whole project was such a chapter of life that was a recovery journey. I had a bike wreck the summer of 2022 and then not quite two years later I had to go back to Vanderbilt to see a neuropsychologist to get my new baseline. I did a day of testing. I received three different scores. Two were in the 90s, and a third was under 30 percent. I was like, “Oh my gosh, this makes total sense to me.” It makes sense how I’m experiencing life. Everything is happening in the family room, and I’m down the hall in a back bedroom, three steps behind.

The doctor asked how it was exhibiting in my life and I said, “I feel a slow withdrawal in me from everything.” And his advice was, “Lean in. Lean into the things that matter to you, even when you feel uncomfortable. If you feel like you are three beats behind, lean in.”

Within a few weeks, I had created a space in my home to be creative, because creativity is leaning in for me. My watercolors. My dress-up clothes. I know it sounds silly, but my grandkids and I dress up. And I have a record player and my 45 collection and my instruments. Creativity always grounds me, always makes me glad to be alive.

When I created that space, I sat down in the only chair in the room – which is a child’s chair – and top to bottom, I wrote the lyrics to “The Me That Remains.”

Wow.

I was just talking to myself and said, “Hey, this is who you are.” At the time, I was bored with my own musical ideas and still dealing with my short-term memory. I reached out to Mac to say, “I’ve got a lyric. Any chance you would help me with some music?” I think I instinctively reached out to him because he’s fun to be with and a great storyteller. On some level, I trusted him as a person and I felt at ease.

He said, “I’m so busy right now; this could take a while.” Weeks would go by, but he’d say, “I think I’m on to something.” Months went by. I told him, “No sacred cow. Change anything you want.”

In the meantime, I was leaning into creativity and lyrics were coming. So I initiated more conversation with Mac and let him know I was writing more songs. By the end of 2024, life was busy for all of us, but I reached back out and told him that I had two songs I would love to record. “Any chance you would put together a rhythm section? Would you oversee this?” It was such a natural step, and he said yes. But we didn’t have a contract. I didn’t have a record deal. That’s how the whole rest of the record emerged. Weeks would go by, and I would reach out and tell him I had more songs.

“Any chance we can do that again?”

Six weeks later, he’d booked a double session. By then, he was saying, “Hey, I’ve got some songs I’d like to play you.” A month later, we had another session, and then he said, “Hey, we’ve got a whole record.” I so appreciate Mac and his style of producing. It is “come as you are.” He’s very welcoming of everyone’s ideas.

My friends joke about me that it feels like I could hobble together my life, clearly and completely, with a roll of duct tape and a roll of twine. I couldn’t care less if things are perfect. And I really found a great creative match in Mac. He’ll work on something exhaustively. He’ll sing every potential background part until he knows what he wants, and that’s what he’ll ask the singer to do. But he’s also open to things. He looks for honesty and believability over perfection.

And Mac and Vince [Gill] are old friends, and they get in the same room, and the storytelling starts. You feel lucky to be in that space.

That’s wonderful. I find it very inspiring that creating the space for yourself and pulling together the things that make you feel like you helped open those gates. Do you feel like they’re still open?

I do. Yes. I was in that space today. It’s funny. It’s just a little pass-through room, but you can actually close the doors. We live in a house that’s very open and sprawling. There’s not a space that I can close the door and feel like nobody’s going to walk in. I think sometimes, for some of us, that’s important creatively.

I nicknamed that space “Craftopia,” and I was encouraged to create that space by my youngest daughter. She pointed out that there are lots of places to sit, but no place that I can cloister away. She said, “This house, you’ve got a lot of places to sit.” I love to cook, but our kitchen’s wide open. I’ve got my desk with all my books, but it’s a pass-through area. It’s like my life is an open passageway. And just to say it was okay for me to close the doors, be alone, and welcome myself. That’s good for everybody.

Well, that’s a good segue, talking about your daughter. One of the things that gave a twinkle to Dad’s eye was your daughters singing on this record. He loved that process. Can you talk a bit about what that was like for you, and what brought that about?

Well, I have two daughters singing on this project and my daughter Sarah was singing on a song that I wrote with Tom Douglas. Sarah sang underneath me on the song, “The Other Side of Goodbye,” and I wanted Corinna to sing above me. She quietly asked Mac, “I’m not asking to be on the record, but would you let me have the experience of going into the vocal booth? Can I sing with my mom on this song, ‘Beautiful Lone Companion’? I listen to it all the time, and I have all these parts that I sing.”

And I’ll never forget what Mac said to Corinna. He said, “Corinna, you will spend the rest of your life taking what is in your head creatively and getting it out, and then deciding if you like it. I got nothing but time.” She went and got her journal and she had done a chart, just like with solfège. I don’t really know the do-re-me-fa-sol-la-ti-do, like I wouldn’t know how to make a chart with that, but she had made a vocal chart. She ran through it once and asked if she could have another track to double the part and Mac said, “You just saved me from asking you to do that.”

Here’s what was so beautiful. Mac had hired an arranger to do what he was calling a “mandolin symphony” that took up that same space as her parts. His openness to hearing what she had was so lovely. To watch him look at that song, or listen through her lens. At one point, she asked me to come into the vocal booth to listen, and I wrapped my arms around her and she burst into tears. Vince was in the doorway and he came in and we had this three-way hug.

It is true that music comes to us and through us. Creativity is a sacred space. With songwriting, I find that if I’m writing with someone in the same room, you can have an idea musically or lyrically and they’ll say, “Okay, sing it to me.” But I’ll get choked up, even if it is a fun song, because the emotion of landing on something is, well, hard to explain. But it is emotional.

I have this very silly thing that I’ve had since I was a kid, where if I sing gibberish, just words flowing out of my mouth, I cry. It can be the silliest noises coming out. It makes my husband laugh so hard. I can do it at the drop of a hat. Immediately, tears stream down my face. It feels like a deep emotion that I can’t really put my finger on. Not joy, not sadness.

Free. It’s free. We’re all born with a freedom to just be. To classify, not categorize. And we lose that. I think anything we can do to return us to being childlike is good.

Now I want to hear you sing gibberish. I’m not going to ask you to do it right now, but I think I want to try that. It’s funny because, six months ago I started doing a pattern of movements in the mornings, and I do it consistently. It is basically just moving like a child. I call it child’s play. It always makes me laugh.

That’s wonderful.

It is a pattern that I do four times a day: first thing in the morning, last thing at night, and a couple of times during the day. I’m just mimicking the way children move. If you want to be exhausted, follow a 2-year-old around for five minutes and do what they do. There is not a pilates workout that will put you through [that]…

Well, I’m actually really excited that we’re talking after the release of this album, because I’m curious to hear about how you feel about it now that you’ve been able to play this in front of audiences. What has it been like to be out in the world with these songs?

Well, it has felt so comfortable. The response I’ve mostly gotten is that people say, “I feel like I’m stepping into a conversation that’s already going on in my head. You are singing my life.”

I know that there’s such a welcoming, honest observation of life in all these songs. And the songs that are hard are never “us and them.” You know, whatever we’re sitting in, we helped create it. And if there’s moving on, then we will think of a way to move on. The record is very observational and honest and hopeful.

It just makes me so glad to be making music at 65, because my intention is not to try to be center stage anywhere. Job well done is just the experience of creativity. You can’t control it. This project has been met with exponentially more positive feedback than I ever imagined. Well, I didn’t imagine anything. I was just glad for the experience, and that was the gift. The gift was being in the studio with all those incredible musicians, and with Mac.

At the end of the third day of recording, we were just sitting around and Glenn Worf said, “You know, when I first came to Nashville, I wanted to be in a band and I had several misfires, and then that dream kind of went by the wayside. I became a studio player and that’s been great. Time and technology are kind of editing that experience in all of our lives. But we all just had the experience in the studio of feeling like we are in your band.”

I had that same experience. I love my road band. Music truly creates road families. But that experience of being in the room with everyone, Chris Stone at the soundboard, I mean, everybody. I’m so glad we had that.

Yeah, that was a lovely group of deep-feeling people in one room.

Has your relationship to the songs evolved now that they’re out in the world? Have you fallen more deeply in love with any particular song on the album since it’s out there?

Well, first off, these songs all wear well with time, and the relationship I had to develop with the songs was to not get choked up because you can’t sing with a lump in your throat. With “How Do We Get There From Here,” I got to sing that with the Staten Island PS22 fourth- and fifth-graders. I had to steel myself. It’s just hard not to get emotional. Kind of the same as when you are doing your gibberish singing. I feel a greater appreciation for each one of the songs.

The songwriting, whether it’s the songs I wrote alone or with other people, nothing happens without great patience, intention, and time. I know that each one of the writers on this took a great deal of time and attention and patience writing these songs, and I feel very grateful for it.

I’m reminded of the story about Sherwood Anderson and William Faulkner when Faulkner was experiencing some misses, and Anderson encouraged him to write about what he knew. And that is when he created Yoknapatawpha County. It doesn’t matter how specific something is to you. It will resonate with others.

I feel like this record is a great example of that because it is very specific to you. To that pass-through room with the closed doors. To everything that you have been through in the past few years. It is resonating because it is specific.

Let’s talk about the new podcast, The Me That Remains, hosted by Khalil Ekulona. It’s a wonderful companion to the record. Tell me how it came about with Khalil and what it was like to make it.

I met Khalil when he was a guest in our home for Easter one year. My sisters and I all cook. My nieces and nephews add to it. It is definitely a big spread, and I’m always meeting people in my home because somebody else invited them.

I was on a Southwest flight not too long ago, and the flight attendant said, “I came to a party at your house once.” And I said, “I thought you looked familiar.” I’m the youngest in my family, and there were just always people in my parents’ house. And so an open door is the way I grew up.

I met Khalil, and then he invited me to be on [the show he hosted on WPLN], “This Is Nashville.” It’s such a rich exploration of Nashville, and I so enjoyed talking to him that when it was time to create some material, we chose him as the interviewer. He’s such a lovely human, and so thoughtful. I enjoyed my first conversations about these songs being with him.

That’s wonderful. I particularly loved the episode about the album artwork. The way it was pulled together is really beautiful. I strongly encourage readers to check out that episode. It’s wonderful.

Every one of our lives should be turned into a multimedia art piece, because only you know what is important to you.

That’s right.

When you see it all gathered together, it’s extraordinary. I had so many collections when I was younger. Now I’m kind of at the point of passing things on or letting go, and I do think there are stages in our lives.

There’s a collection stage, when you are appreciating that season of life, whatever it is, and the things that you’ve collected. And then there comes a time to lighten the load. And to leave a minimal imprint in some areas, you know?

Photo Credit: Ed Rode

Gina Leslie’s “Making Music with My Friends” Playlist

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

This Mixtape brings a spotlight to the vibrant community that I call home in New Orleans. This is a list of some recordings I’ve been part of as a side musician. There are so many bands that I have played and recorded with through the years, I feel honored to be at their sides. Here are a few memories of moments from the making of these records – and I’ve noted what I contributed to each song.

Thank you for trusting me with your tunes! The life I love is making music with my friends…

I should make a disclaimer – my memories run together and I can’t always remember complete credits for every person on every song… forgive me, for I know these are incomplete! There are so many people who work behind the scenes. One thing I realized while writing this list and wanted to note: Ross Farbe (Video Age) is either a recording engineer, mixing engineer, producer or performer on almost half of these songs. He mixed my whole record. It’s often those working just out of view who make the magic happen. – Gina Leslie

“The World Is Changing” – Gina Leslie 

I’ll start off this listening session with the opening track of my new album, I Love You Always No Matter What Happens. I wrote this song sitting around a campfire on a long haul drive from Louisiana to Colorado while going through it. I went to therapy and all I got was this self-love and ability to cope?!? I’m obsessed with the guitar riff that my co-producer Nat Smith added after the hook.

“Little Things” – Bella White

(Bass, harmony vocals.) It’s been a treat to record on Bella’s new album and play in her live band for the past few years. When we met, we immediately clicked about our similar bluegrass childhoods and endless love of singing three-part harmony, and we never looked back. We recorded this album at our friend’s house by the levee in New Orleans.

“Had To” – Esther Rose

(Bass, harmony vocals.) After playing with Esther here and there through the years, we finally got together for a full record together. I loved playing bass and singing harms on her album Want, recorded live to tape at the Bomb Shelter in Nashville. Esther is a well of songs and I’m constantly inspired by her commitment to writing.

“New Believers” – Sam Gelband

(Bass, harmony vocals.) I’ve been playing in different versions of Sam’s band for a long time and we recorded his new album at his house in New Orleans. There’s something about his songs that makes me perfectly happy and sad at the same time. Sam and I are also a rhythm section team, playing with a lot of the bands on this list.

 “Jay’n Bee Club” – Max Bien Kahn

(Acoustic guitar, harmony vocals.) Max and I have both been playing bass in each other’s live bands for years. This song is from his upcoming unreleased album where everyone switched instruments constantly; sometimes we would do a take of a song and then everyone swap and do another take. I love how alive it feels.

 “Louisiana Hound Dog” – Sabine McCalla

(Bass, harmony vocals.) I’ve got a Louisiana hound dog of my own and she goes wild for Sabine, much like most anyone who hears her. The recording session for this album was the beginning of me playing in Sabine’s band and we’ve been all over the place since then. I love how this album covers so much sonic ground and is layered with harmonies and little ear candies everywhere.

“I Really Do” – Leonie Evans

(Bass, harmony vocals.) Nearly 10 years ago, I got a bootleg copy of a home recording of Leonie singing and nearly crashed my car when I put it on for the first time. I couldn’t believe she was real. Then a few months later, I manifested her into my life and she came to my house straight from the airport to work up harmonies for a gig that night. We’ve been harmony sisters ever since.

 “Long Gone” – Chris Lyons

(Bass, harmony vocals.) I was standing outside when Chris put on the rough mixes at closing time at beloved neighborhood dive bar BJ’s, and through the walls I thought it was an old record from the ’70s. Then I came inside and realized it was the Chris Lyons record we had been working on that week. Chris has that classic folk rock sound.

“No Mama Blues” – The Lostines

(Bass, harmony vocals.) The Lostines – songwriting & singing team Casey Jane Reece-Kaigler and Camille Weatherford – were one of the early bands I started playing with when I moved to New Orleans. We recorded this record at the Tigermen Den in early 2022 with a revolving door of friends to ice the sonic cake.

“Chicken Pocket” – Chicken Milk

(Harmony vocals.) I met Dave Hammer, the mastermind behind local cult icon Chicken Milk, on the very first night I came to New Orleans in 2016. We started a band together a few days later. I’d guess we’ve played thousands of hours of music together at this point. Chicken Milk create some of the most unique, joyful, hilarious songwriting and playing I’ve ever heard. I often can’t get through a song without bursting into laughter. This is a tame one.

“Left Side” – Stelth Ulvang

(Bass, harmony vocals.) The day that I met Stelth, we went straight into the studio minutes later and started setting up mics and jamming his songs, capturing some of the first times we ever got through the songs. I love how Stelth is so playful and not precious about the creative process, with everything fully live and breathing. The backing band includes a few of my beloved and most frequent collaborators – Howe Pearson on drums and Max Bien Kahn on guitar.

“Misty Mama” – Rainy Eyes

(Harmony vocals.) The session for this album began in a little cabin in Bolinas, California, before Irena Eide (AKA Rainy Eyes) took a meandering journey to Lafayette, Louisiana, several years later to finish the album. I was so happy to be a part of bringing it to the finish line. Irena writes classic and confessional songs that speak truth to my wandering spirit.

“Oaxaca” – Maggie Koerner

(Bass.) Absolute powerhouse Maggie slid into my DMs a few years ago and asked if I wanted to hang out and try making some music together, wanting more women in the room on her next record. I was so glad to play bass on her album UPSTATE, recorded at Lil Squeeze studio by Ajai Combelic. Maggie’s voice stops me in my tracks.

“Anna Rose” – Ric Robertson

(Harmony vocals.) When I quit my job in 2016, packed my car, and started driving, it was Ric Robertson who told me to come down to New Orleans, where I could sublet a room, have a band of my own, and play every night of the week. It changed the course of my life. He co-produced my EP, No, You’re Crying, and it’s been so special to be a part of each other’s music. I loved singing harmonies here with Appalachian songbird Dori Freeman.

“Yellow Motorcycle” – Gina Leslie, Elise Leavy 

(Guitar, vocals.) I couldn’t possibly talk about loving music with my friends without a mention of Elise Leavy. We’ve been dancing with the mysterious art of writing songs together for years, and have never yet run out of songs to sing together. My new album features her on a lot of the harmony singing, as well as two stripped down acoustic duets that we co-wrote.

Photo Credit: Rett Rogers

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

You Gotta Hear This: New Music From Bronwyn, Sophie Wellington, and More

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Welcome to our weekly collection of new music! You Gotta Hear This…

First thing today, you should know it’s a bluegrass-rich week in our roundup – which we love! The Binoculars start us off on a strong bluegrassy foot with their cover of “Lorene,” a Louvin Brothers song that will be included on the duo’s upcoming album, Double Whammy, out July 17. Like the Louvin Brothers themselves, the Binoculars do a great job of bridging rootsy sonic territories, country, bluegrass, old-time, and more. For a taste of bluegrass gospel, we’re celebrating the release of Eighteen Mile’s new album, Peace Be Still (out today), with the title track, written by vocalist and guitarist Jack Ritter. It’s fresh, modern bluegrass built on faith and tradition.

We’ve got several great fiddlers represented in our list today, too. A huge – and still-growing name – on the current bluegrass and jamgrass scene, Bronwyn Keith-Hynes, is dropping her surname for a new era under a mononym, Bronwyn. Today, Bronwyn announces her upcoming album Rattlin’ Bones, her first LP under the new name, which will release in August. We’re sharing the track from which the LP draws its title, “Sticks and Stones.” It showcases the growth in Bronwyn’s songwriting over time – and features Darrell Scott. Plus, if you’re familiar with fiddler Libby Weitnauer, she’s now releasing music under the artist name Libby Dale. “Empty Tank,” which came out yesterday, is indie Americana with a Gothic, Appalachian undertone and excellent rootsy touches. Dale’s songwriting is impeccable and the production is built on a fascinating blend of roots styles.

An old-time and Americana favorite, Sophie Wellington, has unveiled a new single and video, “Scolding Wife.” Wellington has a new album coming in early July. This track and video showcase her unique, multi-hyphenate approach to music-making; it’s a simple, stripped-down arrangement featuring only guitar and percussion – provided by dance. It’s lovely and entrancing, no matter how basic or elemental in its construction. Singer-songwriter Kate Waters has a new song out this week, too. “Words” arrived on June 10, juxtaposing steel guitar, mandolin, and acoustic guitar in a folk-meets-string band-meets-Americana sound. It’s a contemplative lyric that searches inward and outward for the right thing to say.

You’ll enjoy the music video for the title track of Dailey & Vincent’s album, A Beautiful Life, released today. This feel-good song is the duo’s special way of sharing what they’re grateful for. We’re also thankful that Bill Anderson and Jon Randall (who co-wrote “Whiskey Lullaby”) teamed with Carrie Underwood to write it. And our own Justin Hiltner (editor of BGS and Good Country) and Jon Weisberger (BGS contributor) are back on the site again – for the first time since 2022 – as musicians and artists, rather than writer or editor. Hiltner & Weisberger just announced they’ve signed with Mountain Home Music Company to release music as a duo again. “Marinda” is their first single with Mountain Home, a song about a woman in California built on low-tuned long-neck banjo and an all-star band – that includes Libby Dale (Weitnauer) on fiddle, by chance, as well. We hope you enjoy the track and don’t mind the BGS team’s bias, we think these guys are pretty okay and, yeah… maybe, just maybe, You Gotta Hear This, too!

There’s plenty of bluegrass, Americana, old-time, and more to enjoy. Get scrolling and get listening– You Gotta Hear This!

The Binoculars, “Lorene”

Artist: The Binoculars
Hometown: Brooklyn, New York
Song: “Lorene”
Album: Double Whammy
Release Date: July 17, 2026
Label: Jalopy Records

In Their Words: “As huge fans of the Louvin Brothers, it’s hard to resist covering all of their songs. ‘Lorene’ really stood out to us, as a secular number and with a letter-writing theme! We both frequent the postal service for transmitting love letters and postcards. There is a spirit in handwritten letters that just can’t be replicated in a text or in the vacuum of social media. We find the lyrics strike an even more dynamic chord in these modern times, where rejection can be felt in a single swipe, and the appetite for approval and response is insatiable and aggressive. This song transports us to a slower more ponderous time, when that ache of not knowing your lover’s position gnaws at your heart. You can feel those empty mailbox blues.” – The Binoculars

Bronwyn, “Sticks and Stones”

Artist: Bronwyn
Hometown: Charlottesville, Virginia
Song: “Sticks and Stones”
Album: Rattlin’ Bones
Release Date: June 12, 2026 (single); August 14, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “‘Sticks and Stones’ started coming to me a couple years ago as I was lying awake in the middle of the night, rolling down the road on the bus. It was a rough ride through the mountains, enough to rattle your bones, and some lines from the chorus started banging around in my head as I was drifting in and out of sleep. The chorus is the heart of this devil-may-care traveling song: ‘Sticks and stones/ Burning down the highway/ Rattling bones/ I don’t need no heartache/ I’ve been gathering a whole lotta sticks and stones…’

“‘Sticks and Stones’ has a hard-won swagger to it, a feeling borne out of years of being on the road as well as the requisite slight romanticism of it that keeps me going. That feeling is clearly heard in the last verse— ‘Heard a guy on a record singing walk that line/ He was saying what I’ve been thinking all my life/ Turned it up loud enough my truck began to shake.’ It’s self-sufficient, self-aware, and a little bit pissed off.” – Bronwyn

Track Credits:
Bronwyn – Fiddle, lead vocal, songwriter
Darrell Scott – Harmony vocal
Harry Clark – Mandolin
Bryan Sutton – Guitar
Frank Evans – Banjo
Jeff Picker – Bass

Dailey & Vincent, “A Beautiful Life”

Artist: Dailey & Vincent
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “A Beautiful Life”
Album: A Beautiful Life
Release Date: June 12, 2026
Label: Pillar Stone Records

In Their Words: “There are songs you record because they’re great songs, and then there are songs that become part of your story. ‘A Beautiful Life’ became that song for us. It captures so much of what we believe – that even through life’s challenges, we have so much to be thankful for.” – Jamie Dailey

“This song became the title track because it perfectly reflects where Jamie and I are today. We’ve been blessed beyond measure, and this lyric serves as a reminder to never take those blessings for granted. It’s a celebration of faith, family, friendship, and the gift of life itself.” – Darrin Vincent

Track Credits:
Greg Morrow – Drums
Craig Young – Bass
Seth Taylor – Acoustic guitar
Andy Leftwich – Fiddle, mandolin
Michael Rojas – Piano
James Mitchell – Electric guitar
Jamie Dailey – Lead vocal
Jaelee Roberts – Harmony vocal
Darrin Vincent – Harmony vocal

Libby Dale, “Empty Tank”

Artist: Libby Dale
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee
Song: “Empty Tank”
Album: Freehand
Release Date: June 11, 2026 (single)

In Their Words: “‘Empty Tank’ was inspired by recordings like Lucinda Williams’ ‘Crescent City’ and Emmylou Harris’ ‘Leaving Louisiana’ – both twisted anthems for less-than-perfect places. It’s an airing of grievances and a love letter for my life in Nashville. Pothole-riddled streets, the music industry rat race, and summer heat are certainly prominent characters, but so are good dances and a great band. Producer Thomas Bryan Eaton helped me bring this track to life with a fantastic rhythm section (Chris Gelb and Jonathan Beam) and the GRAMMY-winning mixing chops of Justin Francis. All parties mentioned brought the relentless groove and thunk I had envisioned for the song. ‘Empty Tank’ is the second single off my debut LP, Freehand, due in October of this year.” – Libby Dale

Eighteen Mile, “Peace Be Still”

Artist: Eighteen Mile
Hometown: Upstate South Carolina
Song: “Peace Be Still”
Album: Peace Be Still
Release Date: June 12, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “I wrote ‘Peace Be Still’ on the better side of a bad year. While the tune was there, I struggled to find words that could convey my testimony throughout the song. The more I thought about my testimony and walk with Christ, the words came quickly and became what you hear today. I wanted this song to not only be a personal testimony of God’s grace and mercy, but a message to those who are struggling that my Lord and Savior can provide peace that is beyond all understanding. I’m so honored and never would have thought that a song I wrote would become the title track of our first album with Mountain Home. I’m so thankful to my friends for choosing it.” – Jack Ritter, lead vocalist, guitarist, songwriter

Track Credits:
Jack Ritter – Acoustic guitar, lead vocal
Hallie Ritter – Upright bass, harmony vocal
Carson Aaron – Acoustic guitar, harmony vocal
Savannah Aaron – Fiddle
Steve Pettit – Mandolin
Rob Ickes – Resonator guitar

Justin Hiltner & Jon Weisberger, “Marinda”

Artist: Justin Hiltner & Jon Weisberger
Hometown: Nashville, Tennessee & Brevard, North Carolina
Song: “Marinda”
Release Date: June 12, 2026
Label: Mountain Home Music Company

In Their Words: “On a mountaintop in Western North Carolina I met a fabulous woman named Marinda. ‘Like Miranda, but with the letters swapped,’ I think she told me. She’s a great cook, made us a delicious lentil salad. Then she told me where she was from: Marin County, California. I couldn’t believe it. Marinda from Marin.

“There are so many bluegrass songs that take their titles from women’s names, I guess it was time Jon and I added such a track to our catalog of co-writes. I love how this one turned out, evoking iconic and familiar images of California and singing praises to a powerful, entrancing woman. She may be a fictionalized version of my friend Marinda, but her inspiration comes all the way through. I love the long-neck, low-tuned banjo here and the way the fiddle, banjo, and mandolin all join in together on the melodic hook. When I’m missing the Bay Area – or Marinda’s lentil salad – I play this tune.” – Justin Hiltner

Track Credits:
Justin Hiltner – Banjo, lead vocal, songwriter
Jon Weisberger – Upright bass, harmony vocal, songwriter
Seth Taylor – Acoustic guitar
Libby Weitnauer – Fiddle
Jenni Lyn Gardner – Mandolin
Wendy Hickman – Harmony vocal

(Editor’s Note: Justin Hiltner is the editor for BGS and Good Country, and Jon Weisberger is a former contributor to BGS.)

Kate Waters, “Words”

Artist: Kate Waters
Hometown: Dallas and Houston, Texas, and Taos, New Mexico
Song: “Words”
Album: Some Comfort
Release Date: June 10, 2026 (single); August 21, 2026 (album)

In Their Words: “This is the oldest song on the record, from my earliest stages of songwriting as an adult. I was wrestling with why I felt intimidated by writing lyrics, like words couldn’t ever fully capture what I wanted to say. I mean, that’s why I’m a musician, truly.

“The sentiment still holds true – words can do a lot, but they also fail a lot of the time. We see it so much these days, politically speaking – people talking past each other and never truly understanding one another. I’m a music therapist, and as someone who’s worked professionally with nonspeaking people for most of my professional life, I know how important it is to tune into other aspects of communication and human connection.” – Kate Waters

Sophie Wellington, “Scolding Wife”

Artist: Sophie Wellington
Hometown: Staunton, Virginia
Song: “Scolding Wife”
Album: Her Bright Smile Haunts Me Still
Release Date: June 8, 2026 (single); July 10, 2026 (album)
Label: Adhyâropa Records

In Their Words: “This fiddle tune has complex phrasing and tells an intriguing melodic story. Marion Reece, the source fiddler for this tune, plays this in calico tuning (AEAC#) which give it haunting, suspended quality. While I can’t remember where I first learned this tune, I fell in love with it again in 2025 when playing it with Sally Jablonsky and Stefan Amidon at Cascade of Music and Dance, a social dance camp run by Country Dance & Song Society. We played this tune late into the night, locking in with one another and allowing the space to breathe and the notes to sing. For me, old-time music shines brightest in my friendships and shared memories of playing. I’m fascinated with how to best adapt this music for guitar, allowing it to feel fluid and free on that instrument.” – Sophie Wellington

Track Credits:
Sophie Wellington – Guitar, percussive dance

Video Credits: Pat Piasecki and Chris Dempsey, with special thanks to Barbara Hauser.

Photo Credit: Bronwyn by Alexa King Stone; Sophie Wellington by Pat Piasecki.

Basic Folk: The Milk Carton Kids

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

Kenneth Pattengale and Joey Ryan, the Milk Carton Kids, are calling their latest album, Lost Cause Lover Fool, “the one.” They have finally figured out how to feel and sound like themselves with a broader sonic palette. They attribute that to sharing one mic when they sing with each other. The songs on the album enlarge small feelings and moments, working to turn them all into eternity. Moments that “usually pass too quickly to notice.” The guys have spent their careers making a case for staying small, staying present, and listening closely.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • AMAZON • MP3

We loved our conversation with Kenneth and Joey so much – in fact, immediately following Lizzie sent me a voice recording expressing just that. She said it was so real: “What great guests and what great hosts!” We learn that Joey is a nepo folk baby as his mother, Debbie, was in a folk duo in college. We dig into what death–and the banjo–are up to on their new album. We explore what it means to be labeled “weenies” versus “gentle” or “the titans of yearning.” We also hear from the guys about how they do not actually feel pressured to be funny, they just are.

Photo Credit: Max Wagner

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

Keyland’s Friends in Low Places Playlist All About Tulsa

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

The music scene in Tulsa, Oklahoma, is alive and well. If I’d thought otherwise at any point in time, it wouldn’t take long for a stranger in an Austin dive or a songwriter in Nashville to remind me – and they have. I’ve called Tulsa home for 10 years and gladly claim and evangelize her as often as I can. This little-big town’s reputation of producing quality singer-songwriters and musicians is justified, however biased I am.

Come with me, Keyland, on a little walk through a Tulsa-Mixtape journey. Before we begin, I’d like to offer a few important listening notes:

1) I regret that I will inevitably leave some folks out, merely due to the limitation of brevity. My sincerest apologies. But I’d like to point out that this list is composed of my personal friends in the Tulsa music scene. Beers on me at the Mercury Lounge to any friends I leave out here…

2) This is a list of current artists. The Tulsa music scene is often associated with only a handful of eclectic deceased writers and musicians. God bless them – but Tulsa has changed a lot in the last 50 years or so. My friends included here do an amazing job of looking ahead at what the future holds.

Let’s jump in! – Kyle Ross, Keyland

“Dripping Coffee” – Ramsey Thornton

Ramsey is one of my best friends and most likely the very best musician I know. He plays drums and sings harmonies in my band, Keyland, and he is an incredible guitar and banjo player. In the best way, this album is more a composition than anything else.

“Stranger” – Wilderado

This is my favorite band. I so respect the way these guys approach rock and roll with a blue-collar “dad” mentality. It’s truly inspiring, and the way I want to approach music as a career.

“Coyote” – Ken Pomeroy, John Moreland

This is a two-for-one selection: Ken and John are both powerhouse songwriters and singers. Both these artists are gifted in very special ways and I’m glad they make music.

“Get to You” – Micah Felts

Micah Felts is hilarious, a fantastic songwriter, and an all-around great dude and friend. He is also a stellar acoustic guitar player.

“Better If Worse” – HAFFWAY

Sam Westhoff is slipping in this Tulsa music list, because I sure as hell wasn’t going to leave him out. He is one of my best friends and has produced all of my music. He lives in Nashville now and is famous (rightfully so).

“Comanche Moon” – John Ferrell

John Ferrell is one of the most rawly talented players and singers I know. I met John while we were both in college and he learned to play guitar better than me and all my other friends in like three months.

“Marigold” – Chris Bo Jones

Also sneaking in this Tulsa list is OKC rockstar Chris Bo Jones. Lineman by day, rock star by night, Chris is one of my favorite singers.

“Outside” – MORE&MORE, Beachfriends

Brady Ballew (the happiest person I know) used to play professional soccer. Now his band MORE&MORE and Keyland like to sell out shows in our favorite Tulsa dive, the Mercury Lounge. I’ve listened to this song 10,000 times.

 “Call Me Anytime” – Sports

Christian introduced me to nicotine toothpicks and Australian beer one time after a HAFFWAY show. These guys produce a lot of cool stuff in Tulsa. And Sports is like a huge band.

“Bullfighter” – Joleen Brown

Joleen Brown is Tulsa’s sweetheart. Her voice is crazy good and she is the sweetest, coolest person you will meet.

“Wishes” – Travis Linville

I’m new to Travis’s music and I’m so glad I found it. This is like a Tom Petty song in the best way. I don’t know Travis super well, but it seems like he has a really grounded view on the reality of what it means to be a musician in 2026, and for all the right reasons.

“More” – Kalyn Fay

Kayln Fay just put out a really cool record that highlights and honors her Cherokee culture and roots.

“This Damn Funky” – Johnny Mullenax

Johnny plays guitar 1000 miles per hour. Johnny’s band plays their music at 1000 miles per hour also. The live show is insane.

 “South and Pine” – Zach Bryan, King Cabbage Brass Band

I have not met Zach yet, but I have drank one million beers at 5 or 6 of his concerts. The horn section in this new record of his is a Tulsa band called the King Cabbage Brass Band and it is physically impossible to not have fun at a show of theirs. And they also do really cool work in our community by teaching band camps for kids – they recently held a concert at Cain’s Ballroom and their band camp kids absolutely crushed a song on the main stage.

“Cowboy Song” – BC & the Big Rig, Jacob Tovar

This is another two-for-one selection: Brandon Clark was one of the first people to ever believe in my band, Keyland, and let us play our first real gig with them. Jacob Tovar has a buttery voice and one of the funniest people you could give a microphone to. You can catch both of these gentleman holding down separate residencies at local dives – Tonkin’ Tuesdays with Tovar and BC’s Sunday Service – you guessed it, at the Mercury Lounge.

Photo courtesy of the artist.

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.

The Other 22 Hours: Matraca Berg

Posted on by Justin Hiltner

We often treat commercial success as the final destination of a creative life, but for legendary songwriter Matraca Berg, it was just the first act. Her songs became major country hits for Martina McBride, Trisha Yearwood, Deana Carter, Kenny Chesney, the Chicks, Patty Loveless, and Reba McEntire, among many others. Matraca’s catalog defines generations of American songwriting.

LISTEN: APPLE • SPOTIFY • AMAZON • MP3

We sit down with the GRAMMY-nominated member of the Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame on the Other 22 Hours to explore the realities of achieving massive success while battling paralyzing stage fright, the transition from the multi-platinum physical sales era of the 1990s to modern streaming, and how she keeps her creative tank full as the industry has changed around her. In a culture obsessed with youth and immediate output, Matraca offers a grounded, reassuring perspective on aging within an art form, artistic alignment, and learning to trust.

In This Episode:

– Matraca Berg
– Ep 147 – Jeff Hanna
– Sudie Calloway
– Mel Tillis
– Joni Mitchell
– Bluebird Cafe
– Clint Black
– Nanci Griffith
– Ep 60 – Lori McKenna
– Bobby Braddock
– Harlan Howard
– Ashley McBryde
– Gary Harrison
– Ep 28 – The Wood Brothers
– Zach Berkman
– Tiger King
– Chris Stapleton
– Ella Langley
– Jessi Colter
– Waylon Jennings
– Maggie Gyllenhaal
– Peter Sarsgaard
– Hill Country Barbecue
– Jake Gyllenhaal
– Minnie Pearl

Go Deeper: 

Watch: View this entire conversation above or on YouTube.
Explore: Find similar conversations in these themed playlists.
Connect: Join the conversation on Instagram.

The Other 22 Hours is hosted by Aaron Shafer-Haiss (producer, mixer, musician) and Michaela Anne (songwriter, artist, creative coach). More about Aaron’s work. More about Michaela Anne’s work.

Produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss. Original music written, performed and produced by Aaron Shafer-Haiss.

Photo Credit: Glenn Rose