This is the third album for Cunningham, on Verve Forecast Records, following her wonderful collaboration with Andrew Bird when they reworked the classic ‘70s Buckingham Nicks Fleetwood Mac precursor (which has recently been reissued, by the way.) Ace is another example of Cunningham’s wonderful blend of pop, rock, folk, and jazz, with rich layering and texture thanks to production work from her and Robbie Lackritz.Listen on Apple Music

After last year’s Rick Rubin-produced release focusing more on the soul side, Greenville, SC native Marcus King is returning to his blues and country roots, reuniting with his longtime live band for their first album since 2018’s Carolina Confessions. Kaitlin Butts, Jamey Johnson, Billy Strings, and Jesse Welles are among the guests joining them, as well. Many of the songs are love songs to his wife, but perhaps also to his hometown of Greenville, too – as well as the clarity and gratitude that comes with a commitment to sobriety.

Brennan Leigh -- Don't You Ever Give Up on Love

The genesis of this album, which follows Plant’s previous collaborations, began during the lockdown in “The Shire,” his home in the English countryside. It was here that Plant connected closely to this group of musicians, who, through their own experiences, had a shared lean towards his much-loved corners of evocative song. Together, Plant and Saving Grace – vocalist Suzi Dian, drummer Oli Jefferson, guitarist Tony Kelsey, banjo and string player Matt Worley, cellist Barney Morse-Brown – have spent the past six years gelling their sound and selecting these songs, which come from Memphis Minnie, Bob Mosley (Moby Grape), Blind Willie Johnson, The Low Anthem, Mimi Parker & Alan Sparhawk of the band Low, Martha Scanlan, and Brevard’s own Sarah Siskind!Listen on Apple Music

Reunited with producer Matt Ross-Spang (Midwest Farmer’s Daughter, All American Made), and recorded in the historic RCA Studio A, Hard Headed Woman features duets with Tyler Childers and Jesse Welles, contributions from Kris Kristofferson and Rodney Crowell, and a Waylon Jennings song that his widow, Jessi Colter, urged her to sing.

As Glide Magazine writes, whenever an established group releases a self-titled album in the middle of their career, it acts as a symbol of rebirth, a new direction, course correction, or perhaps a last gasp. St. Paul & The Broken Bones’ self-titled release finds them centering their sound and style, as frontman Paul Janeway states, “I think the band in general feels reignited”.

Did you ever make it to one of the now-famous Lockn’ Festivals in Virginia, perhaps to see the TTB among others? This recording marks the first time the iconic tribute performance to this 1970 Joe Cocker album has been available anywhere since the original concert 10 years ago. It’s an audio companion to a documentary film the band released in 2021. “There was no better act to reproduce the Joe Cocker/Leon Russell-led infamous Mad Dogs & Englishmen ensemble than the Tedeschi Trucks Band…TTB’s musical tribute captures and exudes the exhilaration and significance of an archetypal if brief moment in rock and roll history.” – Rock & Blues Muse

Released twenty years to the day after Hurricane Katrina devastated the Crescent City, Second Line Sunday, the new collaboration from Trombone Shorty and New Breed Brass Band, is more than just a party; it’s a reflection on culture and tradition, on family and community, on survival and resilience. “This album is a celebration of everything we thought we lost,” says Trombone Shorty. “It’s a celebration of all that we’ve been through and all that we’ve learned along the way. It’s a celebration of New Orleans.”

There’s a lot of Tweedy around here these days, between our Southern Songs & Stories podcast on Jeff (found here), his certain influence on the new Autumn Defense release from two of his Wilco bandmates, his son Spencer providing drums on the latest recording from Case Oats, and now this big new release from Jeff himself. Twilight Override is an intentional, sprawling three-disc album, a testament to creativity in the face of overwhelming darkness. Recorded and self-produced at his Chicago studio, The Loft, Twilight Override features Chicago-based friends and family: James Elkington, Sima Cunningham, Macie Stewart, Liam Kazar, and Tweedy’s children Spencer and Sammy. The three chapters of Twilight Override stand alone, but together, they tell a story of the past, present, and future.