It was one of the more unlikely major-label releases of 1992: it had nothing to do with grunge, and was certainly not a last holdout from '80s mainstream sludge. On the flipside, it wasn't really the incipient alternative country/No Depression sound, either; for all that, there was a clear influence from the likes of Gram Parsons and fellow travelers throughout the grooves. This wasn't a sepia-toned collection of murder ballads or the similarly minded efforts that were almost overreactions to Nashville's triumphalism throughout the '90s. At base, Hollywood Town Hall found a finely balanced point: accessible enough for should-have-been success (sclerotic classic rock station programmers were fools to ignore this while still playing the Eagles into the ground) but bowing to no trends. Its lack of variety tells against it a bit – while there are certainly stronger moments than others, most of the songs do have a tendency to blend into each other – but the core strengths of the group come through. George Drakoulias fleshed out the sound just enough, with the side help of performers like Benmont Tench and Nicky Hopkins adding fine extra touches without swamping the identity of the group.

Produced by Wilco’s Jeff Tweedy, Alpenglow is the Minnesota-based sextet’s tenth album. The album, named after the optical phenomenon that takes places when the sun casts a reddish glow across the mountains at dawn and dusk, opens with the wistful beauty of “It’s So Hard To Hold On”. The narrator contemplates the passing of time and how imperative it is to savor it while you have it.

Russell County, Virginia-based 49 Winchester is following up their 2022 breakthrough hit, Fortune Favors The Bold, with their latest album, Leavin’ This Holler. Since their last release in 2022 the band has mined success across the globe by playing multiple sold out tours in the US as well as a sold out run of arena concerts opening for Luke Combs across Europe. Crowds have celebrated and supported this band across the globe and the band’s hard working ways continue to help build their devoted following. Leavin’ This Holler is a soulful anthem of liberation and renewal. The album narrates a journey of breaking free from the chains of the past to pursue happiness and freedom. With a resolute spirit and a clean washed heart, 49 Winchester embraces change and sets out on a quest for new heights. Fortune has favored these bold boys and fueled by determination and the promise of a bright future, Leavin’ This Holler is a powerful ode to resilience and the pursuit of personal fulfillment.

Justin Townes Earle released Kids In The Street, his first record on New West Records, in May of 2017. The album received critical acclaim and further cemented Justin’s legacy as one of the best active songwriters in music. Songs like “Champagne Corolla” showcased his wry sense of humor as well as his deft ability to build upon the music that came before him while at the same time creating something unique and new. Familiar, inventive, creative, and clever.

Sturgill Simpson makes his long-awaited return to music this year with a new album under a new name, Johnny Blue Skies. After promising to release only five studio albums under his own name, Sturgill Simpson marks the beginning of a new era with Johnny Blue Skies and the release of Passage Du Desir. Released on his own independent label, High Top Mountain Records, the album includes eight songs produced by Johnny Blue Skies and David Ferguson and recorded at Clement House Recording Studio in Nashville, TN and Abbey Road Studios in London, England.

Fireflies. June Bugs. Cicadas. Menthol Lights. Heirloom Tomatoes. Duke’s Mayonnaise. Cherokee Purples. American Aquarium frontman and songwriter BJ Barham knows that the smallest details often make for the most vivid memories.

In 2018, country music is still well and truly alive and kicking. We’re not talking about the alien world of mega festivals and musical compromise for the sake of commerce, we’re talking about the art of songwriting, the rootsy pull on heartstrings and mainlining of heartache and devotion through the songs and stories of musicians from across the wide Australian expanse. Take Me To Town lays its mission statement out with its title. It’s a collection of alternative country songs. 47 of them. They’re the kinds of songs you’ll hear in pubs, bars, cafes and bowling clubs on any day of the week. Whether there are five people and a dog in front of the artist or a raucous room, packed to the gunnels, hot and noisy; these musicians sing their stories and play their instruments with heartfelt conviction.

Grammy-nominated Kim Richey returns with her first album of new music in six years. The album's 10 tracks share a common thread of nostalgia and longing for times gone by. The album, except for one song, was produced by Doug Lancio in Nashville. Piano, fugel horn, pipe organ and acoustic guitars elevate these songs to a place that defies genre, but live somewhere in the folk, country, rock universe and illustrate what an incredible songwriter and singer Kim Richey is.

Recorded at April Base studio and co-produced by Bon Iver drummer and acclaimed solo artist S. Carey, Pieta Brown’s lush new album, Freeway, is a delicate yet forceful reckoning with change that’s marked by the push and pull of unabashed intimacy and a slow-burning intensity. Brown cut the album with an all-star band that included Carey, bassist Mike Lewis (Bon Iver), and guitarist Jeremy Yivisaker (Andrew Bird), and the resulting recordings reflect the foursome’s seemingly telepathic bond, a deeply organic chemistry fueled by a shared passion for emotional exploration and sonic discovery. Released September 20, 2019 on Righteous Babe Records, Freeway is Brown’s most experimental collection to date, but it’s also her most confident and direct, an honest accounting of bittersweet endings and hopeful beginnings, of painful loss and traces of liberation in the aftermath, all captured here with a raw spontaneity and fierce self-assurance.

It’s obvious listening to Sarah Shook and the Disarmers’ clear-eyed, biting, and unafraid songs that integrity is the most important thing to the Chapel Hill, North Carolina, country-punk outfit. “A lot of artists are in this industry for fame, recognition, and money but those things don’t mean anything to me,” says bandleader River Shook. “Songwriting is it for me. It’s the only real healthy coping mechanism I've ever had. It’s life-saving. I don't care about any superficial things when I’m making a record.” On their resonant fourth album Revelations, produced by Shook and out March 29 via Thirty Tigers, these raw and resilient tracks come first. Throughout, Shook’s deft storytelling documents regular people getting by and keeping on, all presented without filter or pretension. In 2022, Shook was remarkably productive. They released two albums: debut solo indie rock record Cruel Liars under the moniker Mightmare (Kill Rock Stars) and a third Disarmers full-length called Nightroamer (Thirty Tigers).

When you're a musician used to a certain creative groove, it's disorienting to have this rhythm disrupted. But that was just the position Grant-Lee Phillips found himself in spring 2020: Months before the release of a new full-length, Lightning, Show Us Your Stuff — an album he was already previewing on an early 2020 tour with John Doe and Kristin Hersh — the pandemic led to the cancellation of tour dates and other promotional plans.

The American south isn't just Brent Cobb's home. It's his muse, too. A Georgia native, he fills his Grammy-nominated songwriting with the sounds and stories of an area that's been home to southern rockers, soul singers, country legends, and bluesmen. Cobb has a name for that rich tapestry of music — "southern eclectic" — and he offers up his own version of it with his newest album, Southern Star.

David Ryan Adams (born November 5, 1974) is an American rock and country singer-songwriter. He has released 29 studio albums and three as a former member of Whiskeytown.