MUSIC REVIEWS

Billy Gilman’s latest single, “Waylon,” is not just a moving Bluegrass ballad—it’s a lifeline disguised as song. Released in partnership with the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention (AFSP) during Mental Health Awareness Month, the track is as tender as it is vital. Featuring a quiet, acoustic backdrop of fiddle, mandolin, …

The Cold Stares return with The Southern Part II, which equals or even better’s its counterpart, The Southern. Originally from Kentucky, they became a power trio before making these two albums which find them exploring their southern roots, apart from already being a blues-rock band not far removed from the …

Hecojeni’s new single is the aptly titled Human Race, a particularly pertinent title given the semi-dystopian sociopolitical landscape. In true, artistic fashion, Hecojeni is unapologetically throwback, providing a raw, acoustic sound harkening back to the two-thousands, when autotune and electronic manipulation wasn’t the norm, and a heavy-handed beat didn’t throw …

Rachel DeeLynn isn’t just riding a wave — she’s making her own, with fists clenched and guitar in hand. Her latest single, “Egomaniac,” is more than a catchy pop-rock anthem; it’s a thunderous clapback that proves DeeLynn’s place among today’s most daring and emotionally transparent artists. Currently at #3 on …

If you’ve ever driven with the windows down on a Friday night, FM radio cranked, and your mind set on shaking off the workweek, James Robert Webb’s Weekend Outlaw is already speaking your language. As a modern country radio DJ, I listen for more than just slick production or catchy hooks—I listen …

There’s a moment in EJ’s new single “Fancy Car” — right after the second chorus crashes into a neon-lit guitar solo — where time dilates. It’s not just music. It’s memory, melancholy, and motion all at once. The kind of sonic vertigo that makes you remember every time you stood …

On his latest single “Jack the Lumberjack,” from the upcoming album Disruptor Chronicles, David Simmons delivers a delightfully cheeky, acoustic-powered anthem that fuses whimsy with a quiet undercurrent of ecological reckoning. Clocking in at just under three minutes, the track plays like a fairy tale retold by someone with a …

Country music is in its “main character era,” and honestly? It’s never been more fun. Gone are the days when the genre was boxed in by pickup trucks and porch swings. These days, the most exciting music coming out of Nashville isn’t afraid to flirt with pop, get a little …

In a landscape dominated by overproduction and hyper-polish, New York City’s Skyfactor offers a refreshing return to the fundamentals of great songwriting on their latest album, Master Plan. This ten-track collection doesn’t try to reinvent the wheel—instead, it polishes it until it glows. Skyfactor, fronted by singer-songwriter Bob Ziegler, has …

In the ever-expanding cosmos of indie rock, it’s rare to find a track that hits like a cinematic crescendo that never lets up. But “Phoenix Rising Soul” by Different Moon, the latest release from North Carolina-based songwriter-producer Jim Piper, is exactly that—an epic resurrection anthem that soars with mythic intensity …