Sam Williams Carries His Country Music Legacy to Late Night Debut

On his primetime television debut, Sam Williams makes a powerful statement. Grandson of the legendary Hank Williams and son of Hank Williams Jr., the rising recording artist previewed his debut album, Glasshouse Children with a riveting performance from his grandfather’s old house in Franklin, Tennessee. In an extended one-shot capture, Sam Williams does his name proud with a beautifully-written song called “You Can’t Fool Your Own Blood.” Out of a less-than-usual childhood and recent family tragedy, he has emerged with a style that is both poetic and hard-hitting, pulling no punches in his blend of honesty and vulnerability.

With an undoubtedly heavy burden of expectation, Williams blossoms in this realm of singer-songwriters who are more forlorn than raucous, standing with the likes of artists such as Donovan Woods and Ruston Kelly. Although his television debut was one for the books, perhaps the more exciting news is of the debut full-length record, set for a release later this summer on UMG Nashville. Music from Sam Williams has undoubtedly been a long time in the making, but the good news for us is that it’s almost here. Watch his performance on The Late Show with Stephen Colbert below.


Photo credit: Claire Joyce

WATCH: Gabriel Kelley, “Hard in America”

Artist: Gabriel Kelley
Hometown: Nashville, Tennesee
Song: “Hard in America”
Release Date: July 2, 2021
Label: Epidemic Sound

In Their Words: “‘Hard in America’ was written as a reflection of the commonality between us all as Americans, both within our hardships and our joys. As we have spent the last almost two years dealing with an almost unmanageable amount of hardship and uncertainty, my goal with this song was to find some form of hope and solace in spaces that remind us we are all the same, all one family in unison. I sat down alone at the piano early one morning towards the end of quarantine with not even the slightest hint of an idea of a song. I just sat down to feel the keys for a little while… to discover what I was feeling underneath. Early mornings with instruments somehow always take me on that journey.

“After being off the road for so long, I had become less tied to my own rooted identity as this traveling/touring artist. This slower pace of life had almost forced me, in a way, to reconnect myself to a deeper aspect of who I was and still am. I went further and further into this common space of the simple human condition. We all need love, we all need hope, we all need a little grace. We all need a smile from time to time. This song fell out in about the time it took to play it down. That’s only happened a few times in my life and when they do they are special to me. It’s like it had been marinating in me without my knowing for the last year and a half and then just jumped out. It’s always been very easy for me to connect with my own material but something about this song made me feel connected to everyone in this beautiful and crooked country.” — Gabriel Kelley


Photo credit: Sunny Davis

LISTEN: Pat Byrne, “I Woulda Done It for You”

Artist: Pat Byrne
Hometown: Borris, County Carlow, Ireland
Song: “I Woulda Done It for You”
Album: Into the Light
Release Date: July 9, 2021

In Their Words: “‘I Woulda Done It for You’ is fun, quirky and upbeat, belying the tragic lyrics. The central character is dealing with the immediate aftermath of a breakup, listing all the crazy things he would have done for his recently estranged partner — and a final plea for one more chance. This song is a co-write with Miles Zuniga of the band Fastball. We met shortly after I moved to Austin and immediately hit it off. Like most songwriters, I was guarded about my work and tended to think none of it was good enough. I had written like ten or eleven verses, too many. After having the song in my notebook for years, it took Miles five minutes to hone the verses and gift me with a chorus. I learned a lot from the experience and am so lucky to have mentors like Miles.” — Pat Byrne


Photo credit: Samantha Della Fave

WATCH: Rachel Sumner, “Lose My Love”

Artist: Rachel Sumner
Hometown: Boston, Massachusetts
Song: “Lose My Love”

In Their Words: “A lot of the songs I write are carefully crafted over long stretches of weeks, months, and even years. ‘Lose My Love,’ however, was one of those songs that came to me fully formed in an instant. I was in the shower when I started singing the chorus and realized there was a little film noir playing in my mind underneath it. I rushed out, wrote it down, and let my imaginary movie guide the verses. At the time I was one of the writers and lead singers of the bluegrass band Twisted Pine, so we recorded and included it on our eponymous album released in 2017. After parting ways with the group in 2019, I decided to reclaim and rearrange this song for my live solo shows where it’s become a favorite of mine to play amid the trove of new songs that I’ve been working on for my debut LP — more on that soon, so stay tuned!!” — Rachel Sumner


Photo credit: Hannah Cohen

WATCH: Erik Shicotte, “Flint”

Artist: Erik Shicotte
Hometown: Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Song: “Flint”
Album: Miss’ry Pacific EP
Release Date: July 16, 2021
Label: Black Country Rock

In Their Words: “Sprawled along the medicine of a two-lane highway, ‘Flint’ came as the soundtrack to my own cinematic heartbreak and the wandering repercussions of ineffective escapism. Drawn over a steady stalwart 4/4 roll, the desperate defiance of a yearning heart plays out over a defining romance cut short, and the humming tires that follow. This is a song about hurtin’ and runnin’ out from under the inescapable and sometimes inexplicable wanting that often comes from the naiveté and hopefulness of a spark. The instrumentation is deafeningly present, and I even let myself chug out a simple pseudo-lead on the Telecaster. If ever there were to be a movie made about me being all sad and pissed off, this is the song that would accompany the southwestern sunrise and cigarette breath as I drive into the golden ether.” — Erik Shicotte


Photo credit: Destiny Frack

WATCH: Jeffery Straker, “Ready to Be Brave”

Artist: Jeffery Straker
Hometown: Punnichy, Saskatchewan, Canada
Song: “Ready to Be Brave”
Album: Just Before Sunrise
Release Date: May 7, 2021

In Their Words: “At its core ‘Ready to be Brave’ is about reconciling; about mustering up the bravery to have a difficult conversation. In working with director Dylan Hryciuk we came up with this story together and I felt that telling it through a cast that didn’t include me would be an interesting approach. I love the way he brought the song to life visually — there’s so much love in it. And what better way to share such a beautiful story than during Pride month.” — Jeffery Straker

“As a director, there’s nothing more exciting to me than working on a project that you know will matter. It was an amazing experience creating this film with our cast and crew for Jeffery’s deeply personal song “Ready to be Brave.” I really think it’s one of the most important stories I’ve had the privilege of telling and I hope it resonates with people and maybe even sparks positive conversation.” — Dylan Hryciuk


Photo credit: Ali Lauren

WATCH: Hollow Coves, “Blessings”

Artist: Hollow Coves
Hometown: Gold Coast, Australia
Song: “Blessings”
Album: Blessings EP
Release Date: June 11, 2021
Label: Nettwerk Records

In Their Words: “‘Blessings’ is a song of gratitude. It’s about recognizing the little blessings that life has to offer. If we don’t take a moment to acknowledge them, we can often miss them. Practicing gratitude is known to be good for mental health, yet anxiety and depression seem to be more and more prevalent in our generation. I think we are just too distracted to stop and take time to practice gratitude. We hope this song helps people realize that there are blessings all around if you just look up and take the time to think about how much we have to be grateful for.” — Ryan Henderson and Matt Carins, Hollow Coves


Photo credit: @Leniflashes

WATCH: Tré Burt, “Sweet Misery”

Artist: Tré Burt
Hometown: Sacramento, California
Song: “Sweet Misery”
Album: You, Yeah, You
Release Date: August 27, 2021
Label: Oh Boy Records

In Their Words: “To me, the chords sound melancholic but also have this really sweet and playful quality about it but also like that innocence is being hounded by some utterly miserable force of nature. When I was writing this song, I already knew what the chords would say if they could talk, so the lyrics reflect that. Sometimes songs can feel like it’s something hung up in a museum, meant to be observed behind a velvet rope from 10 feet away. My songs are as much yours as they are mine. I wanted to try and show that.” — Tré Burt


Photo credit: Allan Baker

WATCH: J.M. Clifford, “Kick the Drum”

Artist: J.M. Clifford
Hometown: Allendale, New Jersey
Song: “Kick the Drum”
Album: On a Saturday Night
Release Date: August 26, 2021

In Their Words: “’Here’s to the music that we make at night till we feel alright.’ I honestly don’t know what would have become of me if I hadn’t fallen in with the bluegrass community at Sunny’s Bar in Red Hook, Brooklyn in 2017. The music and the musicians got me through some very dark times. This is really a love song to that whole scene. This was the first tune I wrote for the record (although it went through about a hundred revisions). In fact, it’s the first thing I had written in a long, long time. Stylistically it was very different from anything I had done before. I integrated some of the prominent features of the old folk and bluegrass music I’d been immersing myself in with my singer-songwriter background and landed on something that felt fresh to me. That approach informed all of the songs that came after it.” — J.M. Clifford


Photo credit: Nicole Mago

LISTEN: L.A Edwards, “Here Comes My Train”

Artist: L.A. Edwards
Hometown: Julian, California
Song: “Here Comes My Train”
Album: Blessings From Home Volume 2
Release Date: June 4, 2021
Label: Bitchin’ Music Group

In Their Words: “‘Here Comes My Train’ is a song that I’ve had for several years. I finally got around to finishing it when I was writing for Blessings from Home in Puerto Rico over Christmas holiday. There was lots of drinking and dancing so it came out pretty upbeat. It’s about young love, setting out to find your fortune, the idea of making a name for yourself, and the arrogance of youth. It would have turned out a lot different if I had finished writing it a few years ago as a younger man.” — L.A. Edwards


Photo credit: Miller Hawkins