by Shannon Smith
From the first song of Wildflower, Zandi Holup makes it clear she is here to bare her voice to tell stories in song. It’s a debut that feels like a set of songs that understands restraint is as powerful as release. Producer Ryan Hadlock frames her in warm sonic settings of Bear Creek Studios’ warm wood and Pacific Northwest stillness. The album’s mood leaving space for her to work her magic of instinct and craft. You hear her draw from the long tradition of country storytellers, a well of emotional honesty that makes vocal performances stay with you.
“All That’s Left Is Me” is the first seed in this garden, a medium-tempo [...]
by Shannon Smith
Megan Moroney’s “6 Months Later” is a country glitter-dipped goodbye you’ll want on repeat. Leave it to Moroney to turn heartbreak into a hair-flipping power move. With “6 Months Later,” she closes the book on an old flame as she dog-ears the page, adds glitter, and turns the whole thing into a summer anthem for anyone who’s ever gotten that “you up?” text from the past. Spoiler: she is not.
Built on a sweet tangle of acoustic picking, strumming, fiddle flares, pedal steel moans, and a glint of synth sparkle, “6 Months Later” walks that delicious line between modern country radio and something you might blast [...]
by Steven Miller
If bluegrass is a tradition built on memory, then Live At The Legion is its muscle memory rendered audible. Captured live on April 7, 2024, at Nashville’s American Legion Post 82, this 20-track collaboration between Billy Strings & Bryan Sutton is a showcase of repertoire and its tradition of timing, tone, and touch.
Forget studio polish. This is the sound of two guitars, two voices, and two minds working in millisecond synchronicity. The stereo mix tells you everything you need to know: Strings panned left, Sutton right. It’s a gift to listeners who understand that flatpicking is more [...]
by Shannon Smith
Released in October 2024, Kelsea Ballerini’s fifth studio album, Patterns, marks a significant evolution in her blend of country roots and mainstream pop appeal. Ballerini steps into a more introspective and sonically adventurous space with this release. Co-produced with Alysa Vanderheym, the album collaborates with artists like Noah Kahan and boasts her highest charting debut yet. Beyond its commercial success, Patterns invites a deeper reflection on the cyclical nature of relationships and self-discovery, an aspect that permeates the album but has yet to be fully explored in reviews.
The album’s title, [...]
