Jul 13

Jul 13 Cole Allen: Regular Dude, Extraordinaire and his new album Dry County Culture

East Texas native Cole Allen isn’t what you’d typically picture when you imagine a root’s musician. He has no top hat, wears no conchos, has no tatted sleeve, and I’ve never spotted him in any vintage pearl snaps. In fact, if one was to conjure up a visual for Cole, Dick Van Dyke’s portrayal of Bert and his one-man-band in the original Mary Poppins isn’t too far from the mark. Most of Cole’s live gigs involve just himself with what appears to be fifteen instruments strapped to his various appendages (though he claims to employ just a harmonica, guitar, and a Farmer Foot drum kit). His folksy solo approach was born of necessity according to Cole’s own bio, as early in his career he worked by day as a civil-engineer and spent his weekends traveling the circuit as a competitive bull rider, leaving little time to form a proper band. I first caught Cole live 5 or 6 years ago in Lindale, Texas and his introduction of himself at that time as an everyday, normal, working man lucky enough to get to perform some music by night was both unassuming and endearing, if not a tad overly modest.

Jul 5

Jul 5 Jaret Ray Reddick: Just Woke Up

Lucas Wayne Nelson

“Holy shit. Holy shit. Holy shit,” I loudly exclaimed as I scrolled through the available reviews and found my childhood hero, Jaret Ray Reddick, on the list. You may know Reddick from the popular band Bowling for Soup, or you may recognize his voice from the theme song of the hit TV show Phineas and Ferb, or maybe you know him as the voice of our favorite pizza-loving mouse, Chuck E. Cheese. When I was a young boy, my family had dinner with a colleague of my father’s and he gave me everything in his iTunes library. I brought my 500 GB external hard drive and filled it with everything I possibly could and out of it all my absolute favorite record was Bowling for Soup‘s A Hangover You Don’t Deserve. Imagine my excitement, when I look at the tracklist and behold! A song from my favorite album, Country Fried. Reddick told me he was trying to bridge the gap between country and punk, saying that the two genres have more in common than folks think. There was always a part in the OG version of ”Ohio” that had a little country acoustic guitar break and I always imagined what this song would sound like if it were a pure country tune. And now my imagination has manifested into reality. We started our phone interview with some jokes and reminiscence of Hangover, and even talked about how punk rock George Strait is for never writing bridges.

Jun 24

Jun 24 The Damn Quails: Clouding Up Your City

Victoria Scott

The Damn Quails highly anticipated album Clouding Up Your City firmly reclaims the group’s status at the forefront of Red Dirt and Americana music. Following Down the Hatch (2011) and Out of the Birdcage (2015), fans hadn’t expected another release from the group after an abrupt cessation of touring in June 2016. Band members needed time to tend to their families and personal well-being. Life goes on… but so does the music.

Jun 21

Jun 21 Drive-By Truckers: Welcome 2 Club XIII

Phillip Ring

Drive-By Truckers and Club XIII are a story that feels custom fit for an American rock band documentary. In the musical shadow of Muscle Shoals, with a powerhouse songwriter born to a member of the now legendary Muscle Shoals rhythm section, and still managing to go so far outside of expectations that the pre DBT band Adam’s House Cat could barely catch a gig. It could easily be the story of a band that didn’t make it, playing to empty rooms until their egos collapse and they just move on. Listening to an album like Welcome 2 Club XIII, I’ve never been more grateful for the power of persistence.

Jun 10

Jun 10 The Dancing Rabbit Music Association Puts McAlester on the Live Music Map

Mandy Mitchell

Sitting on the patio of Spaceship Earth, a vibey little coffee shop in downtown McAlester, Oklahoma late on a windy evening in early May, I reflected on the night’s events in a state of pleasant perplexion. Happy, indistinct chatter folded itself into wonderfully warbly melodies wafting from the singer-songwriter sized stage from the back of the establishment. A large crowd had gathered, some in business attire, some as funkily clad musicians, and some came as casually clothed rural citizens straight from a hard day’s work. All conversed freely and happily with each other, mingling in and out of groups and exchanging hugs and pleasantries in between turning to give the band a rousing round of encouragement. Earlier in the evening, and just a block or so up the street from where I currently sat, I had caught the live sets of the talented Canadian folk artist with a cult-like following, Joe Pug, who had opened for possibly the most talented lyricist Oklahoma has ever produced, John Moreland.

Jun 10

Jun 10 Red Clay Strays Bring Moment To Life

Derek Scudder

“This is the biggest crowd we’ve ever played in front of in the state of Alabama,” exclaimed Red Clay Strays front man Brandon Coleman. Over 2200 people filled the Halstead Amphitheatre in downtown Fairhope on Saturday May 7th to welcome the Strays back to their LA (that’s “Lower Alabama”) home for the record release concert celebrating Moment of Truth and the first show of their upcoming extensive tour. The band’s debut album is five years in the making and this show was their first ever with a record for sale at the merchandise table.

Jun 6

Jun 6 Matt York: Gently Used

Lucas Wayne Nelson

Matt York’s Gently Used, is a tasteful, well put together record that leaves listeners with a nostalgic feeling of something they’re sure they’ve heard before but can’t quite put their finger on. York has a style of his own, blending elements of country, folk, and rock’n’roll. Spinning one track to the next, you’ll find a delightful listening experience in what York and his dynamite team of players have crafted.

Jun 2

Jun 2 S.G. Goodman: Teeth Marks

Mandy Mitchell

When S. G. Goodman’s lilting warble drops in on the title track of her upcoming album, “Teeth Marks,” one immediately senses the absolute deftness with which Goodman has found the cathartic vein of empathy coursing largely untapped through her listeners. The rise and fall crescendos of her “distinct warble” accompanied by the rush of soul-wasting pain and tempering moments of searing joy draw her audience in to revered silence as we listen to ethereal highs and lows brought to us on waves of new Southern Punk’s latest patron saint, who Billboard has also dubbed endearingly “the queer farmer’s daughter.”

The album has two good feet known to us as empathy and trauma. Goodman uses them to walk us through lessons in heart pains we have all experienced, but the message, mood, and tone come to us filtered through a haunted voicebox born through years of harmonizing with Goodman’s elderly church choir members while growing up in rural Appalachia. Just as her breakout album, “Old Time Feeling,” was consistently stellar from start to finish, so, too, does her upcoming 2022 offering follow suit.

May 25

May 25 Premiere | The Flycatchers: The Ledge

Melissa Payne

Today we’re premiering the new single, “The Ledge” from Oklahoma City based band, The Flycatchers. If you’re wondering if this is the same band as Chris Jones & The Flycatchers, it is, in a way. As it did for many of us, the pandemic forced some changes for the band, as it lost members and ultimately fell apart, shows were canceled and Chris found himself back to square one and rebuilding from the bottom. The name has changed, but it’s still featuring a superb line-up of incredibly talented musicians, including Isaac Stalling, Ken Pomeroy, Chris Jones , Mike Rose and Ethan Teel. The line-up and name aren’t the only things that are different. Although hailed as an Americana band, the new single, “The Ledge” with its tinges of synthesizer and guitar riffs, seems to embrace more of a rock feel that previous songs and albums that the band has released. Change is always good, and it seems to have been a welcome thing for The Flycatchers.

May 16

May 16 Clancy Jones: Found My Way

Phillip Ring

When you think of Country Music you often think of a place, a sound, a voice. Clancy Jones was born into a family of songwriters and music-makers on the coast of Texas. Written by a wanderer, Found My Way is an album that speaks to those who see home as a moving target. An album that feels like the call to adventure in the grand tale of myths and tells the tale of a man on a journey, not in search of a destination, but just enjoying the ride.

May 13

May 13 Cody Tyler & Gypsy Convoy: Stare Your Demons Down

Susan Wood

The debut full length album from Cody Tyler & Gypsy Convoy is titled with a lyric from the opening banger ‘One to the Heart’:

…if you find yourself on the wrong end of love,

Wrong end of a pistol, no guidance above

Just take a deep breath, there’ll be no time to cry

Stare your demons down and kiss your ass goodbye… .

‘One to the Heart’ is a rip-roaring ode to stepping up and making things happen, consequences be damned. Featuring the backing of a horn section that sneaks up during the chorus and brings it home, this song is the ear-opener that gets your attention and demands to be heard.

May 9

May 9 Cody Howard: Appalachian Dream

Ryan Bush

Music transcends life.

It travels beyond the hollers and dark foothills of the countryside, weaving and diving its needle into the fabric of every breath that we take in and exhale. The words tumble through the mind and fuel lost hearts with vigor. One cannot help but smile, cry, laugh and welcome the highwall of emotion that is conjured with each note and within each verse.

Imagine a place where all of this mystique and complex power babbles and flows. And there you will find Cody Howard, sharing his magic from his debut album, Appalachian Dream.

Howard is, perhaps, as damn humble as a successful musician and songwriter may come. In a room full of people, the most creative and genuine personality in the entire scene would probably be Howard, quietly sharing a soft crooked smile from the side of the room. He's a young mind with an old cherub’s warmth and an “awe shucks” Eastern Kentucky drawl.

May 6

May 6 Aaron Raitiere: Single Wide Dreamer

Victoria Scott

Witty, folky, yet not over-seasoned, GRAMMY Award-winning songwriter Aaron Raitiere’s debut album, Single Wide Dreamer, is something you didn’t know you’ve been missing. Raitiere’s distillation of the everyday ups and downs of a regular person who’s “been through it” shines like the crooked grin of a long-lost best friend.

Out May 6 on Dinner Time Records/Thirty Tigers, Single Wide Dreamer is the fruit of decades of paid dues. Already a well-known songwriter with cuts by Maren Morris, Brent Cobb, Miranda Lambert, Ashley McBryde, Anderson East, The Oak Ridge Boys, Midland, Shooter Jennings, Hayes Carll, Raitiere won a GRAMMY for Best Song Written for Visual Media for A Star Is Born’s “I’ll Never Love Again,” co-written with Lady Gaga, Hillary Lindsay and Natalie Hemby.

Apr 29

Apr 29 Joe's Truck Stop: Yonderings

Jolene Horihan

Traversing the country and appreciating nature’s offerings are the forefront themes woven into the newest album from Joe’s Truck Stop, Yonderings. But not only that, it’s carving a path of self-discovery on the figurative and literal road to life. It’s appreciating those who have joined you along the way – guiding you up the steep slopes, riding the wave back down and greeting you around the bend. It’s leaning into each other to hold yourselves upright.

Apr 28

Apr 28 Red Clay Strays: Moment of Truth

Derek Scudder

When the Red Clay Strays posted a question on social media a few months ago asking fans what they would call the type of music the band plays they got a lot of different responses. One that caught my attention was “Southern Soul.” I deplore putting labels on music but I also understand the need to point listeners in a direction so they don’t get lost, and this was an excellent description of what the Strays do best. Centered around the vocals of Brandon Coleman, the band often is laying down a groove or pumping out a cushion for his soulful vocals to ride. Their first full-length record, Moment of Truth (released 23 April), mines that soulful vein deeply. Anticipation for this release has been building for a good while.

Apr 22

Apr 22 Evan Barber: Until the Thunder

Jolene Horihan

As a lifelong Georgian, hailing from the Flint River city of Albany – the birthplace of Ray Charles, Evan Barber frames his debut solo release, Until the Thunder, around anecdotes culminated from growing up in an area that has seen its fair share of triumphs and failures. The landscape is beautiful and there is an undeniable Southern pride, but its history harbors a shame that hangs heavy like the sultry summer air. Into this album, Barber weaves those themes along with the inspiration he draws from Drive-By Trucker’s frontman Patterson Hood’s “duality of the Southern Thing.”

Under the Thunder is a departure from the albums Barber is used to making. His previous work has been with a full touring band, the Dead Gamblers. Bronze (2014) and Evan Barber and the Dead Gamblers (2010) are albums that were played live on the road long before recording in the studio.

Apr 20

Apr 20 Jayce Turley: Opening Act

Phillip Ring

Jayce Turley is a young, quickly evolving musician who is starting his music career by making appearances this summer at some fairly prestigious festivals, and opening for some fast up and coming names. His EP, Opening Act, feels aptly titled. It’s clear from the record that Jayce is just beginning. Jayce represents the upcoming generations’ eyes forward by examining the road back;drawing inspiration from both modern musicians inspired by vintage sounds, and the vintage sounds that paved the road for those influences.

Apr 13

Apr 13 Premiere | Ragland: Better to Be Lonely

Melissa Payne

oday we’re premiering a new single from Oklahoma based band, Ragland. Ragland was formed in 2015 by husband and wife, Autumn Ragland and Sam Cox. Although the band has gone through a few different versions of lineups and even taken a brief hiatus, they’re back and better than ever, playing shows all over the region and appearing on the Texas Radio charts. They’ve opened for everyone from The Damn Quails to Sunny Sweeney and you can catch them on the festival circuit this summer, including the local festival out of Tahlequah, Diamond Stone.

Apr 8

Apr 8 Dillon Vanders: Wildfires

Phillip Ring

Not all folk records are full protest, not all indie records are downtempo sad songs, and not all pop country is bad. A record like Dillon Vanders’ Wildfires reminds us why it’s important to avoid prejudgment, and remember that sometimes we have to keep our ears open, and our mouths closed here and there. A record that feels like it fits in the “country” genre loosely, it also tells the tale of Vanders’ experience in the SoCal indie scene, splashing in folk with its lyrical focus and gritty vocals. The ambience of steel and the poke of compressed lead guitar throughout the record pays homage to the relationship between folk and country, while still sounding fresh.

Apr 1

Apr 1 Bobby Duncan: Maybe This Time

Amy Watts

The first studio album in a decade from Texas singer-songwriter Bobby Duncan turns out to be worth the wait. Maybe This Time takes us on a journey through thoughtful, meaningful songs that have mirrored Duncan’s own journey in the last decade. Since Forever from Here was released in 2012, Duncan has gotten married, become a father to twins followed closely by another child, moved across the country and back. I asked Duncan why he waited so long and he said he’s really been working on the album this whole time. Duncan said it’s his most personal album to date; “it definitely pulls back the curtain more than in previous albums.”