A mix of highlights from well-established roots-driven and emerging pop-country acts dominate this week’s roundup of the latest and greatest from the world of country music.
Click here to take a listen to the following tunes.
Old Crow Medicine Show – Paint This Town
Alongside working with artists like John Prine and Jason Isbell, producer Matt Ross-Spang counts Old Crow Medicine Show among his clientele. Their latest, “Paint This Town,” bears his handiwork. The band notes via a press release, “At the end of the day, we’re still just trying to stop you on the street and get you to put a dollar in the guitar case. Then once we’ve got your attention, we’re gonna tell you about things like the opioid epidemic and the Confederate flag and what’s happening with the environment—but we’re gonna do it with a song and dance. We feel a great obligation to talk about the more difficult things happening out there in the world, but we also feel obligated to make sure everyone’s having a great time while we do it.”
Nick Wayne & Abby Anderson – Lonely Might
Country artist Nick Wayne lists as one of his hobbies being a “professional bourbon drinker,” thus his latest EP being titled Bourbon Neat is entirely on-brand. He pairs with country singer-songwriter Abby Anderson, a frequent touring and collaborative partner.
“Playing shows and being able to meet people face to face and see people in the crowd singing the words to my songs back to me, that’s my favorite part, without a doubt,” he notes in an interview, so the personal impact of lyrics like “You didn’t call me to remember / Call me to forget / Call me for another thing that you’d regret / We’ve both got our reasons, reasons for the why / If the hurt doesn’t kill us, the lonely might,” powerfully connect.
Honey County – Chess
The pop-country duo of Dani Rose and Sofie Lynn are rooted in storytelling driven by Bible Belt and Texas roots and professionally motivated by time spent in Los Angeles. Thus, they are well-acquainted with the type of sound, style, and influences required to excel in Nashville at present. They’ve toured the world and been featured everywhere from NFL commercials to Paramount+ program Yellowstone. “Chess,” like many of their best-regarded tracks, is, as noted in their bio, is an anthemic song with soaring harmonies that spotlights “two empowered women [running] the show.”
Angie K – Laredo
Following up a single entitled “Country Is As Country Does” with a track titled “Laredo” means that Angie K, if anything, understands precisely who she is and what she’s attempting to accomplish. El Salvador-born and Georgia-bred, she offers a unique perspective and voice to country music’s ever-broadening and deepening conversation. In a recent conversation, she noted, “I have friends that are fishermen in El Salvador that have more in common with some country boy in Alabama than they do with anyone in New York.” Her next point places an exclamation on her creative inspirations: “There’s country living everywhere.”
Chris Lane – Stop Coming Over
A novel take on taking a relationship to the next level defines what makes Chris Lane’s latest track a standout. “Hey, what you say we decorate and slap some paint on these doors / Soon as I met you, knew I’d let you get to making it yours / We can drop that under the mat, get you a key of your own / And you’re gonna stop coming and start coming home,” he sings. Via a press release, he adds, “When I listened to this song for the first time and heard that hook, I knew I had to record it. It’s so catchy and the songwriting is so clever; I just loved everything about it. I can’t wait for everyone to hear this one and perform it live for y’all on the road!”