PAUL McGEE
It’s been another challenging year for many. The Covid virus, and its variants, continued to dictate the manner in which our lives have changed. Even with the easing of restrictions, there were still a lot of constraining factors; not least the challenges faced by the music industry.
With live gigs shut down for most of the year, certainly in Ireland where I’m living, the opportunity to earn much needed income was hugely curtailed for most performing artists. It was a time to retreat to homes and local studios in order to create new music that reflected the mindset of musicians and songwriters. Many dusted off old songs that had been unfinished and others took the time to reimagine previous work in new formats. Creativity brings its own rewards of course and I recall a quotation; “Difficult roads often lead to beautiful destinations.”
Well, in Lonesome Highway we’ve been given many gifts throughout the year, in the form of new music from all corners of this troubled globe. Despite the anxiety and unease, the creative output of artists and musicians has been a continued source of inspiration and motivation to me.
The choices that I have made for my year-end list are comprised of music that I have reviewed. There are so many other albums that have impressed and moved me, but I have decided to focus on actual review albums in my top picks. The other categories are also choices where I have personal experience of the selections – whether books that I have read or films that I have seen.
Top 20 Favourite albums:
Steve Dawson - At The Bottom Of A Canyon In The Branches Of A Tree
Dar Williams - ’ll Meet You Here
Jackson Browne - Downhill From Everywhere
Hiss Golden Messenger - Gently Blowing It
James McMurtry - The Horses and the Hounds
Sean McConnell - A Horrible Beautiful Dream
Craig Cardiff - All This Time Running
Garrison Starr - Girl I Used To Be
Annie Keating - Bristol County Tides
3HatTrio - Lost Sessions
Jesse Terry - When We Wander
Doug Hoekstra - The Day Deserved
The Golden Roses - Devil’s In The Details
Brigitte DeMeyer - Seeker
Georgia English - Pain and Power
Clint Morgan - Troublemaker
Suzie Ungerleider - My Name Is…
Joe Stamm Band - Midwest Town
Brandon Isaak - Modern Primitive
Evans McRae - Only Skin
Best Irish Albums:
Jane Willow - Burn So Bright
Sammy Horner - Far Away Places
Rev Sam & the Outcasts - Stet
Best UK Folk Albums:
Henry Parker - Lammas Fair
Jim Ghedi - In the Furrows Of Common Place
John Smith - The Fray
Best Live Albums:
Danny and the Champions Of the World - Los Campeones En Vivo
Laura Nyro - Trees of the Ages: Live in Japan
Neil Young and Crazy Horse - Way Down In the Rust Bucket
Best Compilations:
Highway Butterfly - The Songs Of Neal Casal
Bruce Cockburn - Greatest Hits (1970 - 2020)
Joni Mitchell - The Reprise Albums (1968–1971)
Books:
Richard Thompson - Beeswing
Cowboy Junkies - Music Is the Drug
Mary Gauthier - Saved By A Song
Christa Couture - How To Lose Everything
Kelefa Sanneh - A History of Popular Music in Seven Genres
Best Films:
Songs For While I’m Away - The Phil Lynott Story
The Sparks Brothers - Sparks documentary
Respect - Aretha Franklin biopic
Live Gigs:
Kila - Opium October 2021
Paddy Casey - Whelan’s October 2021
Richard Thompson - Vicar Street November 2021
The Remedy Club - The Grand Social December 2021
Live music returned in early October, on a restricted basis, as Covid constraints began to unwind. This proved to be a source of happy release for everyone. The joy of musicians playing to an audience was almost overwhelming after eighteen months of silence in the venues of Dublin. Sadly, at the time of writing, new restrictions have been introduced for the Christmas season, which has led to many gigs being cancelled or deferred. So much for a return to the timeless pleasures of live music. We watch this space…
Honourable mention also for three worthy albums that were released in 2020 but were reviewed in 2021 for reasons beyond my control:
Martin Simpson Home Recordings
Dave Clancy The Path
Scott Cook Tangle Of Souls
DECLAN CULLITON
Country:
1 Sierra Ferrell – Long Time Coming
2 Bobby Dove – Hopeless Romantic
3 Mose Wilson – Self Titled
4 Mike & The Moonpies – One To Grow On
5 Charley Crockett – Music City USA
6 Jesse Daniel – Beyond These Walls
7 Connie Smith – The Cry Of My Heart
8 West Of Texas – Heartaches, Hangovers & Honky Tonks
9 Charlie Marie – Ramble On
10 Charley Crockett – Ten For Slim
11 Melissa Carper – Daddy’s Country Gold
12 Summer Dean – Bad Romantic
13 Wild Earp & The Free For All – Dyin’ For Easy Livin’
14 Hannah Juanita – Hardliner
15 Katie Joe – Pawn Shop Queen
Americana:
1 Margo Cilker – Pohorylle
2 The Felice Brothers – From Dreams To Dust
3 Starry Eyed & Laughing – Bells of Lightning
4 Esther Rose – How Many Times
5 Mac Leaphart – Music City Joke
6 Dori Freeman – Ten Thousand Roses
7 The Pink Stones – Introducing The Pink Stones
8 Hope Dunbar – Sweetheartland
9 Shannon McNally – The Waylon Sesions
10 Son Volt – Electo Melodier
11 Ana Egge – Between Us
12 John R Miller – Depreciated
13 Rose City Band – Earth Trip
14 Riddy Arman – Self Titled
15 Holly Macve – Not The Gir
Favourites outside the Country / Americana genres:
1 Stuffy Shmitt – More Stuff Happens
2 John Murry – The Stars Are God’s Bullet Holes
3 Peter Bruntnell – Journey To The Sun
4 Side Pony – Lucky Break
Compilation:
Choctaw Ridge – New Fables of The American South 1968 – 1973
Covers Album:
Shaye Zadravec – Now And Then
Live Album:
Glen Campbell – Live From The Troubadour
EILÍS BOLAND
Top 10 albums (in no particular order):
Justin Moses - Fall Like Rain
John Blek - on ether & air
Darin & Brooke Aldridge - This Life we’re Livin’
Billy Strings - Renewal
James McMurtry - The Horses and the Hounds
Nora Brown - Sidetrack My Engine
Bela Fleck - My Bluegrass Heart
Israel Nash - Topaz
Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming
Amythyst Kiah - Wary & Strange
Top gigs:
Mary Coughlan - The Black Box, Belfast Dec
Peter Bruntnell - The Half Moon, London Oct
John Murry - The Ulster Social Club, Belfast Sep
Malojian - The American Bar, Belfast Oct
James McMurtry - Facebook live
Top movie: Wildfire
STEPHEN RAPID
Firstly I would like to thank, on behalf of the Lonesome Highway team, all the PR persons, Labels and Artists who continue to make music against the odds. Not everything we receive gets reviewed or works for us on certain levels. That would be an impossible task physically and since the lockdown we receive many more considerations than previously but we do thank those who continue to send both digital and physical product. However, it is also quite apparent that a great many people who send music to us have no idea who or what we are and many of the releases are totally off target. We are first and foremost fans and from those that we appreciate, we make our selections.
Sticking to the roots of country (in no ranked order):
1 Legendary Shack * Shakers - Cockadoodledeux
2 Moot Davies - Seven Cities Of Gold
3 Stephen Flatt - Cumberland Bones
4 West Of Texas - Heartaches, Hangovers and Honkytonks
5 Jesse Daniel - Beyond These Walls
6 Ward Hayden & The Outliers - Free Country
7 Elijah Ocean - Born Blue
8 Sierra Ferrrell - Long Time Coming
9 Jason Ringenberg - Rhinestoned
10 Dallas Moore - Rain
11 The Shootouts - Bullseye
12 Wild Earp - Dyin’ For Easy Livin’
13 Jason Boland & The Stragglers - The Light Saw Me
14 Bard Edrington V - Two Days In Terlingua
15 Sturgill Simpson -The Ballad Of Dood & Juanita
16 JP Harris - Don’t Marry No Railroadman
17 The Flatlanders - Treasure Of Love
18 Zachary Lucky - Songs For Hard Times
19 Mose Wilson - Self Titled
20 Mike & The Moonpies – One To Grow On
Americana The umbrella for the rest (in no ranked order):
1 Charles Wesley Goodwin - How The Mighty Fall
2 Heath Cullen - Springtime In My heart
3 Chris J Norwood - I Am Nor Cool
4 Kiely Connell - Caslumet Queen
5 Ross Adams - Escaping Southern Heat
6 Ian Fisher - American Standards
7 Nathan Bell - Red, White And American Blues
8 Daniel Meade - Ever Wonder Why You Get Outta Bed?
9 Starry Eyed And Laughing - Bells Of Lightning
10 Rod Picott - Wood, Steel, Dust And Dreams
11 Steve Almaas - Everywhere You’ve Been
12 KC Jones - Queen Of The Inbetween
13 Mary Duff - Razor Blade Smile
14 Tim Grimm - Gone
15 Malcolm MacWatt - Settler
ARTIST CHOICES
JASON RINGENBERG
Shovels and Rope The Human Race
Bob Dylan Springtime in NY
Jason Isbell Georgia Blue
Tommy Womack I Thought I Was Fine
Charlie Crockett Music City USA
MARY DUFF
1 Julian Lage - Squint
Unadulterated genius on the pointy end of the jazz stick.
2 John Murry - The Stars are Gods Bullet Holes
Brilliant lyrical webs are spun by earnest vocals and captured without production pretense.
3 Melissa Carper - Daddy’s Gold
Pure enjoyment from start to finish with a hint of nostalgia and not a shred of flimflammery.
4 Carolyn Wonderland - Tempting Fate
Carolyn playing guitars, singing and Produced by Dave Alvin …WINNER!
5 Jade Bird -Different Kinds of Light
Great Writer, Great Singer, Reliable Observer. I like to jog on the river to this record.
6 Heartless Bastards - A Beautiful Life
Revolution.” Enuff said.
7 Samantha Fish - Faster
She’s licking a Gibson Firebird on the cover and she plays her ass off, as usual! The songs are great, production is just about flawless and she swings from the best of Blues, Pop, Rock & Cry your eyes out Ballad. All Ice No Whiskey should sell as many records as Britney’s Toxic.
8 Side Pony - Lucky Break
So honest and raw yet polished, packaged and Perfect! These women as solo artists are divine, but together they create A Duosonic Delight!
9 Jose Gonzales -Local Valley
HIS VOICE!!!!! The sound of a nylon guitar is special. Willie always made that obvious but Jose takes it somewhere else and his hypnotic style and compositions always impress me.
10 Mathew James Adkins -Stoned on my Own
For a debut record, I was pretty blown away by this one but it’s no surprise when you consider it’s on Whistle Pig records and Produced by Detroit’s own Bunky Hunt. Sincere and packed with Mighty Feels, Matt’s debut deserves EARS!
JERRY DALE McFADDEN (The Mavericks)
Flyte - This Is Really Going to Hurt
Thad Cockrell - In Case You Feel the Same
Aimee Mann - Queens of the Summer Hotel
The Mavericks - En Español (Edición Deluxe)
WILD EARP
Sturgill Simpson - The Ballad of Dood and Juanita
I love concept albums, and this one is so well produced. I liked Sturgill’s bluegrass stuff just fine, but this one with a prologue, epilogue, and sound effects is my bread and butter.
Melissa Carper - Daddy’s Country Gold
This album is pure fair weather back porch Sunday afternoon. She’s got the vibe dialed in just right, and the songs are all winners. I find myself singing “Would You Like to Get Some Goats?” fairly often.
Jesse Daniel - Beyond These Walls
When it comes down to it, I probably like Jesse’s 2020 Rollin’ On a little better as a whole, but this one has some great tunes and some ambitious moments. I had only heard Clayton Was a Cowboy once during a livestream of his, but I realized when I heard it on the album I already remembered so much of the song. He’s making some great country music, and I’m really rooting for the guy.
Charley Crockett - 10 for Slim
I thought Charley did a really great job with these songs, and the genuine admiration for James Hand comes through clearly. Of course any album that starts with a spoken word intro is definitely starting off on the right foot in my book.
Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming
Sierra seems to be everywhere online, and has for the past couple of years (I’ve also randomly run into her a couple times in Nashville, which adds to a sense of her ubiquity). I was surprised that this was her first full-length, and the name speaks to that, but it’s a super solid record all around. She really runs the gamut across her varied musical styles, and I’m all for it. I especially dig her darker, minor key offerings. I saw her recently on tour, and she and her band just crushed it.
MARGO CILKER
Ten Thousand Roses - Dori Freeman
I find everything about Dori’s art charming- her songs’ hooks, her vibrato, her living in small-town Virginia… Every time I bring up this album with someone else on the Freeman Train, there’s a moment where we burst into “Today I felt just like a movie staaaar, driving down the highway cryin’ in my caaaaar”. Her songs feel anthemic. Dori owns the space she holds in the world. They resonate straight to the core of the listener (at least this one). One more thing I’ll add is that I like how the production doesn’t distract, but digging into the guitar parts and drum parts after the first few listens is truly a delight in itself.
Home Sweet Nowhere - Lowstar Rodeo
Kevin Carducci, half of the California country band The Easy Leaves, released my favourite “quarantine album” in January 2021. He’s singing what the freshly unemployed songwriters were thinking in the months of bewilderment… Will things reopen? Is it worth writing songs? Should I write a song about “These walls”? Does my friend have a good enough home recording set-up to overdub pedal steel for me? It’s weepy, and that’s what makes certain lines on the record so triumphant: “Today must be my lucky day… this guitar in my hand sounds like a five-piece country band”. We’ve been there. The peaks and valleys of the last few years were strangely familiar territory to the artist community, as devastating as they were. Carducci comes across here comfortable looking for the silver lining.
Warm Buildings - Junior
There’s a nostalgia for me in this Missoula band’s latest effort Warm Buildings … maybe the same kind of partner ripped our hearts out; maybe we’ve driven the same Montana back-road crying, or smoked behind the same bars. It’s chock-full of great imagery- see “Midnight Summer”. That song will paint you right into that night with a cold drink in your hand. On another song, Blue Bathroom we see an excellent use of repetition I’ve come to love about their music. Both the chorus “I worry about you in your blue bathroom” and the kind-of haunting anti-chorus “Wasn’t gonna work out” ring in your head after listening. For all the luxurious clouds of I-IV changes to sink into, the record also has some outside-the-box chord progressions that add to the experience- especially while bolstering the lyric “Cause I’m the raccoon at your cat door”. Woman of the Woods, indeed. I’ll also add I love a recording effort that features multiple songwriters, and Junior executes this well. Eric Heywood pedal steel, stacked harmonies, heart-wrenching takes on friendship and love, perfectly droned out strings, and guitar fuzz al gusto… I’m sold.
Favourite Singles of the year:
The Whiskey Wouldn’t Let me Pray- Queen Esther
New Bikini- Cassandra Jenkins
TONY POOLE (Starry Eyed And Laughing)
Introduction: I’ve liked so many releases during this weird time, including quite a few ‘mainstream’ best sellers, but I’ve listed some here that are possibly more obscure, in the hope that they at least get checked out by your readers ...
Nelson Bragg - Gratitude Blues
Nelson was a long-time member of Brian Wilson’s touring band, and this, his 3rd album, is a beautiful peak Beach Boys\West Coast\Byrds sounding collection - great songs and incredible harmonies. Hopefully not his last (as he modestly claims). The CD package is a work of art too ...
The Green Pajamas - Sunlight Might Weigh Even More
A group who’ve been under the radar for almost as long as Starry Eyed & Laughing ... 33 albums since 1984, and this new one continues and develops their psychedelic excellence - this is Electric Banana (The Pretty Things) for the 21st century.
Susanna Hoffs - Bright Lights
The Bangles deserve so much more respect than their great hit singles indicate - they kept alive the music and spirit of the 60s when it was completely out of fashion. And this beautiful album by Susanna continues that, with perfect choices and versions of important songs by some of my favourite artists.
The Coral - Coral Island
I’ve been a fan of The Coral for 2 decades now - they seemed to carry a brilliant torch in a line from all my favourite 60s ‘groups’ through later decades favourites The Las and Cast, and this album continues that excellence.
Aimee Mann - Queens of the Summer Hotel
Been a fan of Aimee Mann since I heard her incredible Fifty Years After The Fair with Roger McGuinn’s Rickenbacker and harmony vocals (is that a surprise ?!) on her first album Whatever. But this new record is completely the opposite of that jangle sound, with aching Bacharach-like arrangements and Judee Sill-like melodies - though her amazing wordcraft and beautiful voice remain a constant.
MICHELLE BILLINGSLEY
Even if the pandemic is putting a damper on live music as we know it (or at least as we can remember what it used to be), so much good music came out this year. There’s been a lot of thought into each of the artists who chose to release music this year, and I’m sure a ton have played it safe and held onto their releases, so I’m glad some brave souls thought now is the time. Here’s some of my favourites:
Melissa Carper - Daddy’s Country Gold
My favourite album of 2021. Sweet, dreamy, perfect. It’ll make a western swing fan out of everyone. I listen to it at least once a month.
Bill and the Belles - Happy Again
Fun and inventive, with amazing harmonies. Queue this one up after Daddy’s Country Gold on long car rides.
Wild Earp & The Free for Alls - Dyin’ for Easy Livin’
Earp knows how to make an album that makes you feel like you’re in the front row of a rowdy show. But then you listen again, for the lyrics this time, and you realize how dang GOOD he is at ALL of it.
Mikaela Finne - Time Stands Still
Sometimes you need some badass gal energy to pep you up when you lose yours. She’s got you.
Noel McKay - Blue, Blue, Blue
As soon as it ended, I listened to it all the way through again. It’s a cloudy day on the couch album, it’s a hanging out on a summer porch album, it’s a tinkering on your car album. There’s a song for every mood.
My most favourite Song of 2021:
Charlie Marie - El Paso
Such a fantastic melody and lyrics, and her voice! I listen to it once and it’s on repeat in my head for three days.
MAC LEAPHART
The Pink Stones - Introducing the Pink Stones
I’ve really been digging this album-very cosmic/hippie country vibes. Great guitar & steel work, and I really like Hunter’s vocals-he puts this extra emphasis/half shout thing on some lines that I think is really cool.
Gotten to play some shows on the road with them, as well. Fun to hang out with, and they do a great version of the George Jones song, Her Name is. Fantastic stuff.
Melissa Carper - Daddy’s Country Gold
First time I heard a track off this album, I genuinely thought it was an artist from the 60s that had flown under my radar. The songs and the production are fantastic. I heard the album made the initial list in the Grammy Roots category. I don’t think it made the final cut, but it certainly should have. It’s a great record.
Bobby Dove - Hopeless Romantic
I met Bobby at a Gram Parsons Tribute in Nashville and Bobby was definitely one of the artists I remember from that night. We released our albums right about the same time, and I just thought it was a great record Top To Bottom. Solid stuff-fantastic album.
John R Miller - Depreciated
This album has great songs and also quite a bit of groove, which is something I don’t hear enough of in the Americana world. Great Sunday morning coffee album.
Mike & The Moonpies - One To Grow On
These guys seem to put out a great new record every year-very consistent quality. I still haven’t seen them live, which is on my list, because the recordings scream: “Great live band!”
Anglea Autumn - Frontiers Woman
This album wasn’t on my radar, but we ended up on the same bill and she put on a stellar set, and ended up singing with me on my song, Window From the Sky as well as the old Townes tune, Snowin On Raton, I went home and listened to her album and it was just fantastic. Great stuff. Excited to hear more from her.
Hunter Hicks - Self Titled
Hunter was a recommended artist from Angela Backstrom’s Spotify page-and I checked it out, and it was some really vibey cool stuff. Can’t wait to hear more from him, either.
ANA EGGE
Dua Lipa - Future Nostalgia Moonlight Edition
It was necessarily a good year for dancing at home and I probably danced the most to “don’t start now” and “levitating” from this album. I really love the production on “don’t start now” it starts out with that loud bass line and vocals and then the bass completely disappears for the first chorus. Less is more and more! Also, fun fact-some of that video was filmed at a small venue I’ve played many times called Pete’s Candy Store in Brooklyn.
Allison Russell - Outside Child
What a phenomenal album. So beautiful, haunting, brave. Highly recommended! It’s really incredible. We toured together for a while in a band called Salt and I helped co-produce an EP for them years back that ended up getting repurposed as individual tracks for another album. I hope she wins a Grammy or two or three!
Judee Sill - Down Where The Valleys Are Low: Another Otherworld (tribute album produced by Lorenzo Wolff)
Wow, I love this record! When I first heard it, I got pulled in more and more with each track. Every song features a different singer. (Check out The Pearl, feat. Bartees Strange!) Upon first listen, by the third track I’d pretty much decided I wanted to work with whoever produced this magic on my next album. And I did. Lorenzo produced Between Us.
Joy Oladokun - In Defense Of My Own Happiness
I saw her tiny desk performance immediately loved her writing, her voice, her presence. I already got tickets to her next show here next spring.
Mick Flannery and Susan O’Neill - In The Game
I’m a lover of Micks past albums and he and I co-wrote a bunch of the songs on my new album Between Us. This is another great collaboration.
GRACE MORRISON
Music for me this year has been a big ol’ mix of the old and the new. Taylor Swift’s Evermore and Folklore were the soundtrack to my drives to the studio to put the finishing touches on my album. They’re so elegantly written and produced, and have created a musical soundscape all their own. And selfishly, knowing they were written about figures and homes from Newport, Rhode Island (a half hour drive from me) makes them feel particularly close to me.
A voice in country music that I love is Kacey Musgraves. Star Crossed is pretty different from her first couple of records, and it took me a couple of listens to get into it. But I’m glad I gave her the time. Such quirky turns of phrase, and accessible vocals. Her singing doesn’t show off any vocal acrobatics that I can think of…and she doesn’t need to. The songwriting is just so good.
Prior to writing with her for my record, I hadn’t listened to much of Lori McKenna’s solo stuff. I can’t tell you why, but what a loss for me. I’ve really dug in over the past year, and The Bird and the Rifle is hands down one of my favourite records of all time. The song Old Men Young Women, I don’t even know what to say. It’s perfect. And when that chorus hits, it gets me every time.
These last two aren’t albums, but songs that I’ve fallen in love with. I was fortunate enough to be a finalist in a songwriting competition judged by Kim Richey and Walt Wilkins. It was a lovely weekend long event at the most gorgeous ranch in Texas, and the whole thing ended with a concert by the judges. I was particularly blown away by Kim’s song Chase Wild Horses and Walt’s Trains I Missed. If you haven’t heard ‘em, you gotta hear ‘em!!
BECKY WARREN
In no particular order, my favourites have been:
It’s a Beautiful Day and I Love You - Jillette Johnson
Daddy’s Country Gold - Melissa Carper
American Siren - Emily Scott Robinson
Blue, Blue, Blue - Noel McKay
Stand for Myself - Yola
Catspaw - Matthew Sweet
AYCOCK TERRY
Dori Freeman - The Storm
Highway Butterfly - The Songs of Neal Casal
Starlight Cleaning co. – Self Titled
Daniel Romano’s Outfit - Cobra Poems
Karen Paris - A Song is Way Above the Lawn
Kieth Hudson - Flesh of my Skin Blood of my Blood
Popol Vuh - Acoustic and Ambient Spheres (vinyl box set)
Bob Dylan - Springtime in New York
Micheal Hurley - The Time of the Foxgloves
Scott Hirsch - Windless Day
BOBBY DOVE
I thank you for asking me to participate, my favourite albums of the year - I’m honestly not sure... I heard snippets of songs and albums mostly and was often lost in my own Dove shaped rabbit hole.
But let me think about it:
I tend to listen to the same old The Best Of Joe Ely 20th Century Masters The Millennium Collection when in doubt!
More recently, there is Nick Campbell (my 17yr old prodigious honky tonk/western swing/rockabilly pal in Peterborough, Ontario) who released his debut record Livin and Other Western Ideas shortly after mine.
I would also like to mention my badass friend (and paramour), Bebe Buckskin who is indigenous from Alberta. She put out a great blues-rock album this year called Captain Medicine - recorded at Fame studios in Muscle Shoals, Alabama.
John Prine’s single I Remember Everything (or was that 2020?) Either way feels like this has all been one stupid year and that song tore me apart, and should be mentioned as often as possible.
MOSE WILSON
Melissa Carper - Daddy’s Country Gold
Melissa Carper’s Daddy’s Country Gold is not only my favourite album of the year, it’s my favourite of the last 10, and one of my favourites of all time. It is country song writing at its finest with some of the best players Nashville has to offer (which, in my opinion, means they are the best in the world.) Her voice is high and lonesome and feels like it came from an era before FM radio and coloured TV. Sad never sounded so good.
Sarah Jarosz - Blue Heron
When asked to list my favourite records of the year, I realized how little I listen to modern music. I get stuck in the old stuff, and I am grateful for the opportunity to write this article because it forced me to explore new waters and find records like Sarah Jarosz latest release, Blue Heron. It is a uniquely beautiful blend of folk, pop, bluegrass, and classical themes. Just roll a J, set the needle down on the record, sit back, and enjoy the ride.
John R. Miller - Depreciated
Mr. Miller proves he is an original with Depreciated. It’s as funky as it is twangy, and his smooth delivery of clever and captivating lyrics make for a great piece of art. I was humming his tunes long after listening.
Garrett T. Capps - I Love San Antone
I met this Texas Honky Tonk hero last November when I played his club in San Antonio. I had not heard his music before meeting him, but had heard his name. So, on the long drive back to Nashville I gave his latest record, I Love San Antone, a listen. What I found was a proud San Antonian that knows his Texas country music. From western swing to Tejano and everything in between, Garrett T. Capps delivers on his new release; I love San Antone.
Hannah Juanita - Hardliner
I nearly didn’t put this record in my list because I had so much involvement with it and felt I was being biased. But the more I thought about it, the more I realized I couldn’t leave it out because what I love most about this album is what made me want to produce and play guitar on it in the first place––the songs. Hannah Juanita‘s writing is catchy, clever, at times heartbreaking but always fun. And she sings them with the same integrity as greats like Dolly, Tammy, and Loretta. If you are a true country fan, then you need to give this record a spin.
SHAYE ZADRAVEC
I’ve come up with a list of albums that caught my ear and heart this year. I’m listing them randomly and completely without a rating system. I love them all equally.
James McMurtry - The Horses and The Hounds
Beatrice Deer - Shifting
The Flatlanders - Treasure of Love
Samoa Wilson with the Jim Kweskin Band - I Just Want to be Horizontal
John Wort Hannam - Long Haul
Shaela Miller - Big Hair, Small City
Del Barber - Stray Dogs (Collected B-sides /Volume 1.)
Sierra Ferrell - Long Time Coming
Side Pony - Lucky Break
Aaron Lee Tasjan - Tasjan! Tasjan! Tasjan!
JERRY ZINN WEST OF TEXAS
Mike & the Moonpies – One to Grow On
Summer Dean – Bad Romantic
Hannah Juantia – Hardliner
Mose Wilson – Mose Wilson
Jeremy Pinnell – Goodbye L.A.
Kevin Carducci – Home Sweet Nowhere
Jesse Daniel – Beyond These Walls
David Miner – Silver Valley
Charlie Marie – Ramble On
Sturgill Simpson – The Ballad of Dood & Juanita