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We’ve got two soul/blues-inspired women in a row for New Tunes at 2 this week. Sierra Green, hailing from New Orleans’ vibrant 7th ward, emerged from the church choir to become the Queen of Frenchmen Street. She recorded this album of originals and well-known hits with terrific players in Nashville, and there are nods to the legendary sounds of Detroit and Memphis with the horns and basslines, too. Here We Are comes out via Big Radio Records / Select-O-Hits on June 21st.

Born and raised in rural southeast Texas, Nick Taylor captures that Red-Dirt Americana sound in this debut album. The result is an impressive combination of sounds that veer from the gentle reflection of “Futures Past,” the evocative tones of “3AM On The Interstate” the easy embrace of “Carry You Home,” and the heartbreak and happenstance of “Broken Souls,” through to the sashay and serenade of “Getting Along,” the heartfelt homage to a special “Kentucky Girl,” and forward through the driving and determined “Heart on the Run.” As the name of the album suggests, Taylor hopes that these tracks will help his listeners to feel less alone in their struggles.

Taylor is a chart-topping British blues-rock guitarist, who was first discovered at age 16 by Dave Stewart of the Eurythmics. She had great success with her previous three albums, and this one bridges those together in a fusion of contemporary soul-pop with traditional blues roots. It’s coming out on June 7th on Journeyman Records, known to fans of Joe Bonamassa.

He’s a favorite of ours: for his songwriting, his spirit, and his multi-talented music prowess. Will is known as a great producer (including for Shemekia Copeland’s last three albums), a guitarist (including for Emmylou Harris for her recent tours), and as a member of Daddy and Willie Sugarcapps among other projects. Now we have his 11th full-length solo album, and it’s got at least a couple tunes that address some rather uniquely American themes for this Independence Day evening.

As we celebrate Independence Day all day Thursday, are there any voices more uniquely American than that of The Man in Black? 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.

No doubt you’ve always noticed that Southern (Gainesville, Florida) drawl of one of America’s greatest rockers. But have you ever thought of his music as Country? See what you think after hearing some of these new covers, from the likes of Dierks Bentley, Dolly Parton, Margo Price, Marty Stuart, and Willie & Lukas Nelson.

The bassist for Acoustic Syndicate has this to say about his first solo album: “This record has been years—even decades—in the making, with some compositions dating as far back as 1994. It is at once a meditation on impermanence and an exploration of my motivations and influences as an artist. Seven original compositions are accompanied by a tone poem dedicated to the Voyager spacecraft. My music is animated by my immensely talented friends and collaborators including Zack Page, Steve Alford, Jacob Rodriguez, Justin Ray, Evan Martin, Tyler Housholder, Casey Driessen, Julian Dreyer, and Clay Miller.” Jay celebrates the release of this album on Friday the 12th at AyurPrana Listening Room in Asheville.

It’s the follow-up to his album Almost Proud, which we’re awfully proud to play for you! 13 great bluegrass tunes here, including tributes to icons Kenny Rogers, Roy Orbison, and Elvis Presley. Molly Tuttle also guests here on a song, too, and Del and his son Ronnie produced it. "I get a big feeling of accomplishment when I get a new record out," says the 85-year-old legend. "I never get tired of it."

They’ve become international stars lately, and this year they play some of the most coveted stages in the country: Colorado’s Red Rocks, L.A.’s Greek Theatre, NYC’s Madison Square Garden, The Late Show With Stephen Colbert. But we still remember their 2010 debut jazz-folk CD in a two-tone cardboard sleeve, and gigs at smaller venues like the Flat Rock Music Festival and the WNCW Air Studio… They’ve always been quite the tight, collaborative band, and this time they’ve perhaps gelled even further, by writing together in drummer Mike Calabrese’s Vermont home. “In the past we’d written pieces of songs and shared them with each other and built them up from there, but we always had the space to listen and reflect in total privacy,” details singer Rachael Price. “At first it was terrifying to write together in the same room, but as soon as we got started it felt so fun. We very quickly realized, ‘Oh, we need to do this again and again.’”

We’ve got the band’s 4th studio record, courtesy of Stax/Concord/Fantasy Records. Produced by Brad Cook (Waxahatchee, Bon Iver, Kevin Morby) it blends both sides of Rateliff’s immense talent: emotionally potent, vivid storytelling and the rugged, R&B revivalism that has powered the band to worldwide acclaim over the past decade.