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It can be a workout trying to keep up with Americana’s most prolific songwriter! But for those who’ve lost count this is his 37th, and it’s filled with 11 wonderful new originals, performed by the band he’s been out on tour with lately. That tour recently included MerleFest (his “Favorite Place”?) and SkunkFest in our area. It will be officially released on June 21st on Sky Crunch Records.

As you might expect, this is some exquisite pickin’ from two of the best in the business! Recorded live on April 7, 2024, at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82, this new album features the acclaimed duo performing 20 traditional bluegrass and folk songs. They particularly highlight some favorite tunes of Doc Watson, Tony Rice, and Clarence White, but also perform covers from the likes of Bob Dylan and Blaze Foley.

Grammy-winning musician Jon Batiste has his 9th album out, covering a wide variety of influences we dig here at WNCW. “This album is a statement regarding humanity, capitalism, Americana, the inner child, and the irony of faith,” says Batiste. “Written and recorded mostly live in single takes over two weeks, the album captures the raw immediacy of this moment for me. Collective creative expression draws on the roots of our earliest music in this country as a communal power.”

Over 50 years! That’s how long Ray Benson and his band Asleep at the Wheel have been together in Texas, continuously finding that balance between preserving the original magic of Western swing while freshening it up with each new album and personnel change. As a result, they remain the most important force in keeping the sound of Western swing alive. They’re celebrating with an extra-big emphasis on their love for the Lone Star State here, with help from folks like Billy Strings and (fellow Texan) Lyle Lovett.

Paul Cebar is well-known for his gigantic breadth of musical interests – from the obscure R&B and soul gems that he brought to his early band The R & B Cadets to the wide range of world rhythms he injected into his dance-friendly originals for the more recent projects The Milwaukeeans and Tomorrow Sound. This solo album, however, seems even wider in scope while featuring lyrics that feel more intimate in nature.

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.”

"Who Is the Sky?" is Byrne’s first album since releasing the acclaimed 2018 American Utopia, which was later adapted into a hit Broadway musical and HBO film. It was produced by the Grammy-winning Kid Harpoon (Harry Styles, Miley Cyrus), while its 12 songs were arranged by the members of New York-based chamber ensemble Ghost Train Orchestra. Guests include Paramore’s Hayley Williams, St. Vincent, and The Smile drummer Tom Skinner. "It’s subtle, self-critical, and unmistakably Byrne, merging thought-provoking storytelling with warm, artful instrumentation." – Consequence

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.

The Houston Kid may be living in Nashville these days, but on this new album, his heart is in Louisiana. The Pelican State is the centerpiece for these songs on this, his 20th album. Rodney is joined here by guitarists Tyler Bryant and David Grissom, pianist Catherine Marx, bassist Rachel Loy, drummer Conrad Choucroun, accordionist Dirk Powell, and Rebecca & Megan Lovell of Larkin Poe, among others. Bryant also produced it.

Hayes crafts songs that allow us to take a good look at ourselves – the good, the bad, and even the absurd – through his character narratives and sage perspectives. On his tenth album (release date August 8th on Thirty Tigers), Carll turns the mirror back on himself for the most deeply introspective, reflective work he has created to date. "Like John Prine, Carll has a clever, concise style of communicating serious concepts, frequently through dark humor, displaying world-weary truths underneath wry lyrics." (American Songwriter).