Stephie James has found hers and is sharing it with the world today. “These Days” oozes with sentiment and is universally relatable—it may end up being the melody that keeps your heart from giving up. Inspired by the constantly changing neighborhoods of her hometown in Detroit, James uses melodic guitar picking to convey an ambiguous longing.
Billy Keane is a founding member of Americana group The Whiskey Treaty Roadshow, a collective of singer/songwriters backed by Wilco’s Pat Sansone on bass and ex-Black Crowes drummer Steve Gorman. With his band and as a solo artist, Keane has been featured previously in Rolling Stone, American Songwriter and No Depression, and he has shared bills with Kris Kristofferson, Trampled by Turtles, Steep Canyon Rangers, Los Lobos & more.
New single “Never Give Up” is a soulful, anthemic ode to strength and solidarity created against the backdrop of the Covid-19 crisis. The song was written and recorded in a flash of inspiration just as the nation was ordered to shelter in place.
The “Coffeehouse | Chilled Acoustic” playlist from Mahogany has amassed more than 57k views since it was posted on May, 24.
‘Darlin’ is the latest single from Los Angeles-via-Nashville husband-and-wife duo Neon Moon. They’ve been covered previously at PopMatters, No Depression, Wide Open Country and more.
When Neon Moon wrote and recorded the song at Nashville’s Forty-One Fifteen studio with producer/bassist Taylor Bray (front-of-house engineer for chart-topping road dogs Dan + Shay), they’d been listening to a lot of Willie’s Roadhouse on SiriusXM, and were trying to tap into the essence of iconic country songs like “Crazy.”
Based in Chicago, Billingsley attracted the attention of legendary producer Brian Deck (Josh Ritter, Iron & Wine, Nathaniel Rateliff), who recorded and plays drums & percussion on her forthcoming debut album, Not the Marrying Kind (out June 12). American Songwriter recently called Michelle’s work “charming” and Glide said it was “biting & enigmatic” with the “knock ’em dead bravado of Nancy Sinatra and the blunt storytelling of Neko Case.”
New single “Once in a While” is a gorgeous, sparse Americana ballad—a duet with country & Western revivalist Wild Earp that sounds plucked straight from ’70s Nashville-outsider doc Heartworn Highways. As evidenced by this track, at her best, Billingsley channels Townes Van Zandt, Guy Clark & John Prine as good as anybody working today. “Once in a While” is as genuine as they come, a nakedly honest series of vignettes about a steady hookup with an expiration date, yet one that’s anchored by a disarmingly sweet and genuine mutual appreciation that’s unburdened by expectations…
I’ll be your once in a while, babe
Just for so long, babe
Gone by the morning’s first light,
you’ve got to be getting on
One side of an album, babe
No time for breakfast, babe
I’ll be your once in a while
Young Antiques’ latest, Another Risk of the Heart, their first album in nearly a decade, is a bold reaffirmation of purpose, an impassioned, hook-laden love letter from singer/guitarist Blake Rainey — to his bandmates, Blake Parris (bass, backing vocals) and John Speaks (drums), and to the act of making rock ‘n’ roll itself.
The jangle/power pop band’s new video for “Goin’ Home,” a heartfelt track which features Kelly Hogan (Decemberists, Neko Case, The Rock*A*Teens), makes a relevant statement about being alone… together.
