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After pledges to not perform and/or record again, at least under his own name, we now have a new album that is most certainly a great Sturgill Simpson album! “Passage du Desir (“Pah-SAZH doo de-ZEER”) is fittingly wistful and forlorn, a romantic take on the fundamentals that have made bluegrass, Americana, and outlaw country such a key part of American music history” (Pitchfork)

The trio of Joe Bellanti, Corey Kertzie and Dave Ruch met in 1983 as members of a Buffalo, New York Grateful Dead cover band called Wild Knights. Then in 2020 they pivoted to this funky organ-based trio Organ Fairchild. Their latest album is an eclectic reworking of classics by Bob Marley, Leonard Cohen, the Beatles, and (of course) the Grateful Dead, among others.

This new album spawned out of demos that Johnny recorded in 1993 at LSI Studios in Nashville. John Carter Cash, who played guitar on the original sessions, and co-producer David “Fergie” Ferguson, stripped the songs back to just Johnny’s powerful, pristine vocals and brought in a handpicked group of musicians that played with Johnny, including guitarist Marty Stuart and the late bassist Dave Roe, along with drummer Pete Abbott and several others, to the Cash Cabin, where they recorded new parts for the songs and reinvigorated them. John Carter and Fergie also brought in a couple of special guests for some of the songs – Dan Auerbach on electric guitar on “Spotlight” and Vince Gill on vocals.

He’s the “mystery man” of country music with his trademark fringed mask and rhinestone jacket, though we have learned that he is a native of South Africa and was previously in a Canadian punk rock band! This new album might further the mystique behind just what his image, and direction are… It’s an eclectic blend of originals and covers here, with each song featuring a guest artist, from Willie Nelson and Margo Price, to bluegrass phenom Molly Tuttle, to EDM star Diplo, to Nathaniel Rateliff, to Beck!

Lee’s 11th studio album and first new collection of original songs in more than two years, and has 12 songs touching on soul, jazz, folk and pop stylings. He and his band recorded it together in a studio in rural upstate New York. “I really wanted us to be all in the room, making music together, listening to each other and responding to each other,” says Lee. “In this age where you can do everything at home and fly it in, there’s something really beautiful about getting in a room and starting at the top, the drummer counting in the song and everybody just playing. I would call it vulnerability.”

Get to know this new(ish) voice in Americana/country music. Ramey herself says "Baptized By The Blaze is my empowerment album. I am stripping away the stigma around trauma and mental health and I am telling the story of how I walked through the fire of facing my trauma and came out on the other side stronger. My hope for this album is that it will inspire, entertain and empower everyone who hears it.” It’s officially released Friday the 23rd, and she’ll be one of the showcase artists at next month’s AmericanaFest in Nashville.

Check out this firy new release from the “Soggy Bottom Boy” and member of Alison Krauss’ Union Station, recorded at The Mother Church in Nashville, TN. “A ferocious performance”, as Bluegrass Today calls it, from Harry Clark on mandolin, Jason Davis on banjo, Gaven Largent on Dobro, and Tyminski on guitar and vocals. Great new versions of “I Am a Man of Constant Sorrow, “Cumberland Gap”, “The Boy Who Wouldn’t Hoe Corn”, and others.

Get to know two of our favorites, together on their 2nd collaboration. This follow-up to 2018’s “Downey to Lubbock” has the Texas Flatlander Gilmore and Southern Californian Alvin alternating songs, which include covers from the likes of Blind Willie McTell, Brownie McGhee, and fellow Flatlander Butch Hancock. There’s also an Alvin-penned tribute to Alan “The Blind Owl’ Wilson of Canned Heat fame. Released this month on Yep Roc Records, the two are on an extensive national tour that takes them to the Cat’s Cradle in Carrboro on August 31st.

It’s the first new release from this California Cosmic Americana band since 2012! And they continue that kaleidoscopic, Laurel Canyon sound with a bit more of an indie-pop crispness. Known for summoning the spirit of Southern California in the late ‘60s, they also might flash you back to the late ‘90s when they were formed, or sound like something fresh out of, well, 2024. This new one, on bassist Brent Rademaker’s Curation Records label, was produced by Chris Robinson (Black Crowes), and was largely debuted at AVL Fest the other week.

Boy Golden is Liam Duncan and a revolving cast of longtime friends and collaborators known as the Church of Better Daze (many formidable artists in their own right) including FONTINE, Austin Parachoniak, Roman Clarke, Dani Nash and more. Boy Golden found success on his debut LP, Church of Better Days, with breakout hit “KD and Lunch Meat” hitting #1 at Canadian Alternative radio. In For Eden, Boy Golden searches for the best of all possible worlds. Utopic and wistful, this journey is a continuation of his “follow your art” motto that began with his debut. A counterpoint to 2023’s For Jimmy, For Eden is largely a work of solitude; recorded to cassette with an SM57 in a cabin in the woods. The album’s origins - analog and off-the-grid - speak to the more personal, self-reflective mood of the collection.