Cream of the Crop – Twang Nation Top Americana and Roots Music Picks of 2019

2019 continued to be a stellar year for Americana and roots music, but with the genre’s growing popularity it’s getting harder to find off the beaten path talent. Since starting this blog finding great music has moved from rutting through a forest of the mundane to dig up occasional tasty sonic truffles to having mounds of music arrive in my inbox.

This is a good problem to have but it’s a growing concern that I’ve probably missed something great out on the fringes. I hope to continue to look for those artists in the upcoming new year.

Below are the albums that have stuck with me for a variety of reasons. Winnowing down to only 10 is getting harder each year for reasons outlined above and I’m sure my list will not reflect the subjective preferences of all.

Criteria – Calendar year 2019. No EPs, live, covers or re-release albums no matter how awesome.

Don’t see your favorite represented? Leave it in the comments and here’s to a new year of twang.

Mike and the Moonpies – Cheap Silver & Solid Country Gold [artist site | buy]
Kendell Marvel – Solid Gold Sounds [artist site | buy]
John Paul White – The Hurting Kind [artist site | buy]
Kelsey Waldon – White Noise/White Lines [artist site | buy]
Vandoliers – Forever [artist site | buy]
Molly Tuttle – When You’re Ready [artist site | buy]
Hayes Carll – What It Is [artist site | buy]
Cody Jinx – After the Fire and The Wanting [artist site | buy]
Boo Ray – Tennessee Alabama Fireworks [artist site | buy]
Chris Knight – Almost Daylight [artist site | buy]

Watch Out! Kelsey Waldon – “Sunday’s Children”

Kelsey Waldon

Kelsey Waldon has released a lyric video for “Sunday’s Children,” he second single from her upcoming Oh Boy! Records release “White Noise/White Lines.”

The song is a Southern-fried soul-song urging awareness, unity, and understanding and to accept each other’s differences and look for “universal truth.”

It’s a cool song and Waldon pulls it off without beating the listener over the head with an overt partisan sermon. That’s a rare thing in these times.

The first single from the album, “Anyhow,” was released in early July.

Pre-order “White Noise/White Lines.”

Cream of the Crop – Twang Nation Top Americana and Roots Music Picks of 2016

Cream of the Crop – Twang Nation Top Americana and Roots Music Picks of 2015

The year in music for 2016 is best defined by the classic Dickensian line from “A Tale of Two Cities,” “It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.”

Mortality cut a wide swath across some of the greatest and influential musicians of the twentieth century. Roots and country artists like Merle Haggard, Guy Clark, Ralph Stanley, Leon Russell, Jean Shepard, Glenn Frey, Red Simpson, Joey Feek and Steve Young among other greats like Prince, Sharon Jones, David Bowie and Leonard Cohen seemed harshly unrelenting. This level of loss will be felt in our cultural fabric in ways we’ve yet to understand.

To quote the late, great George Jones “Who’s gonna fill their shoes?”

Let’s hope that those passed legends shine as a beacon to the next generations to create great work that ties us together in song, music and common humanity. From what I know about 2017 I do see greatness coming.

But there was a silver lining. The influence of roots music in mainstream and, in a cultural equivalent of time folding in on itself, mainstream country music. This trend of influence occurs without Americana surrendering its identity of innovation and authenticity. To some artists, the genre was found too constricting and they lit out for another terrain better suited to their art.

And here’s to a more equitable arrangement between tech companies and the musicians that provide the bedrock to build their empires. Much to be done here…

As others sacrifice to create, let’s us, the audience, push ourselves to discover, share, attend live shows and financially reward the creators. Most which are hauling thier own gear and traveling to shows in cars or vans not tour buses.

Without them, this life is much less joyful.

Criteria – Calendar year 2016. No EPs, live, covers or re-release albums no matter how awesome.
Don’t see your favorite represented? Leave it in the comments, and here’s to a new year of Twang.

Matt Woods – ‘How to Survive’ – (iTunes | Amazon) – Tennessee troubadour Matt Wood’s third studio album ‘How to Survive’ offers taut songwriting that cuts to the emotional quick. Not an overtly political album but something more effective in sowing understanding – a topical album.

Paul Cauthen – ‘My Gospel’ – (iTunes | Amazon)
Paul Cauthen’s ‘My Gospel’ takes a page from the book of Paycheck and Waylon, a mix of juke box secular and pulpit gospel songs both personal and ethereal confessionals. These testimonials through Cauthen’s big baritone that suits these sonic vignettes of contemporary southern soul.

Brent Cobb – ‘Shine On Rainy Day’ – (iTunes | Amazon) Like Chris Stapleton and Kacey Musgraves Brent Cobb worked the Music Row ear worm mines for years before moving front and center with his own wares. Those dues paid off. His debut is both breezy and heavy like the great music of the country crossovers from the 70s but fresh with life and rich with authenticity and tradition.

Darling West – ‘Vinyl and Heartache’ – (iTunes | Amazon) The Norwegian trio Darling West takes their smooth pop chamber folk aesthetic to a new high on their sophomore release ‘Vinyl and Heartache.’ Mari Sandvær Kreken’s voice transcends each original cut, and a superb cover of Fleetwod Mac’s ‘The Chain,” to take the extraordinary musicianship even higher.

Karen Jonas – ‘Country Songs’ – (iTunes | Amazon) All you need to know about Fredericksburg, Virginia-based Karen Jonas’ is right there in the title. ‘Country Songs’ picks up where Jonas’ 2014 debut ‘Oklahoma Lottery’ left us – somewhere between heartache and hangover. Her voice lies between sass and sultry as Jonas’ accounts a woman longing for more and being fed up. All the while fitting perfectly with classic barroom weepers without resorting to threadbare nostalgia.

The Buffalo Ruckus – ‘Peace & Cornbread’ – (iTunes | Amazon) The Buffalo Ruckus’ sophomore album ‘Peace & Cornbread’ still embodies the soul of all those barrooms the band has torched with their fiery live shows but brings the more feral elements to heel that pays off with cohesion and great songwriting. Here divinity mixes with road tar to create a great Southern soul album

Dori Freeman – ‘Dori Freeman’ – (iTunes | Amazon) One of the surprises of 2016, Freeman’s debut exudes the confidence of a veteran performer and songwriter influenced equally by her native Appalachia as she is classic pop, bar room country and uptown jazz and moves deftly across it all to deliver an astounding cohesive treasure.

Kelsey Waldon – ‘I’ve Got a Way’ – (iTunes | Amazon) Kelsey Waldon’s sophomore release has vulnerable resolve and classic country running through it like the coal veins in her home state of Kentucky. And just as bracing and satisfying as it’s bourbon. Her plaintive voice and keen eye for human nature makes for these sterling tales of hard roads and tender hearts.

Austin Lucas – ‘Between the Moon & the Midwest’ – (iTunes | Amazon) Austin Lucas’ latest release is a moody, pedal steel laden arc traveling among broken hearts and bitter tears. His signature croon sits between jubilant and forlorn and bears the marks of a man that’s been through trouble but comes out the other side stronger and with better stories.

Whiskey Myers – ‘Mud’ – (iTunes | Amazon)
Few musical genres are as maligned as Southern Rock. But then a band comes all with an album that makes you believe again. Whiskey Myers’ ‘Mud’ is that album. The band worked with Americana Auber-producer Dave Cobb to create an album that pushes lyrical and music boundaries established by their 2014 breakout release ‘Early Morning Shakes.’ The pride of Palestine, Texas mixes country, rock and blue-eyed soul to achieve one of their strongest efforts yet.

Robert Ellis – ‘Robert Ellis’ – (iTunes | Amazon) On Robert Ellis’ fourth solo album, the Texas songwriter further moves from the school of George Jones country crooning even further into the adult pop of James Taylor and Paul Simon, and tackles adult themes of despair, restlessness and loss of love. A disciple of music styleS and texture, as well as songcraft and extraordinary fret work, Ellis delves into Chet Atkin’s jazz-flavored country (Drivin), bossa nova (Amanda Jane) and even a neo-classical dirge (The High Road) and ties. It shouldn’t work but damned if Ellis doesn’t pull it off.

Hayes Carll – ‘Lovers and Leavers’ – (iTunes | Amazon) Carll’s latest suggests his 5-year recording hiatus has been a rough if introspective stretch. ‘Lovers and Leavers’ is Carll’s solemn of his career without tipping into being a dour bumfest. These days there’s more on Carll’s mind than drinking, hootin’ and ahollerin’. This is an authentically more personal, emotional and confessional work that moves Carll into the realm of Guy Clarkian genius.

Margo Price – ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter’ – (iTunes | Amazon) An overnight success 13 years in the making, Jack White saw something in Margo Price that Music Row didn’t when he signed her as the first country artist on his Third Man Records label. Life’s harsh beauty pours from each song and common resolve is there with grace. Stuff too real for Music Row confections. Price sits well within a current musical groundswell proving that soulful roots music has an audience hungry for something real and is here to stay.

Lori McKenna – ‘The Bird & The Rifle’ – (iTunes | Amazon)
‘The Bird & The Rifle’ – When she’s not penning mega hits for the likes of Tim McGraw and Little Big Town, Lori McKenna puts her considerable songwriting skills to weightier faire like her latest, ‘The Bird & The Rifle.’ Intimate stories of small town hopes hitting the hard choices and their unforeseen consequences. We see ourselves in gems like “Halfway Home” and “We Were Cool” and brings more dimension to McKenna’s own “Humble and Kind” which was a hit for McGraw. These songs create a web that ties our experiences together in common humanity.

Sarah Jarosz -“Undercurrent” – (iTunes | Amazon) Jarosz’s 4th full-length studio album surprised many fans who’ve been listening since 2009’s debut ‘Song Up in Her Head.’ The then teen wunderkind has built on her time in the bluegrass genre and arrived an accomplished arranger, songwriter, singer and musician. Traditional forms are reworked as contemporary personal reflections of maturity and sophistication. experimental pop fuse with classic songwriters like Paul Simon, Joni Mitchell and Carol King.

B.J. Barham – ‘Rockingham’ – (iTunes | Amazon) Inverting the country contemporary music trope of quaint small town nostalgia American Aquarium vocalist B.J. Barham focuses his deft songwriting eye on the gutting of the small town American dream. The album title, Rockingham, is the North Carolina, a town of a few thousand where Barham was raised, is the starkly real and metaphor for many forgotten towns. Steely-eyed truth sketches each hardscrabble scenario where desperation lingers thick in the air like the funk from the local tobacco company.

Robbie Fulks – ‘Upland Stories’ – iTunes | Amazon) Fulks is the unheralded hardcore alt-country troubadour. Though not as well known as Steve Earle or Chis Knight for decades Fulks is the guy the Earle and Knight would listen to closely for economy of songcraft and rich imagery. his newest offering is grammy nominated and might rightly put him at the top of Americana legends lists. Appalachian break downs and honky-tonk weepers driven by his voice that echos the ages makes this a glorious addition to the roots music canon.

Miranda Lambert – “The Weight of These Wings” – (iTunes | Amazon) Break-up albums are a mixed bag. When done well, as with Beck’s ‘Sea Change’ and Willie Nelson’s ‘Phases and Stages,’ the work can become an iconic confessional moment in a profession that trades on personal reflection. Miranda Lambert’s double album ‘The Weight Of These Wings,’ split into two sides — The Nerve and The Heart, written in the wake of her tabloid fodder divorce from Blake Shelton shows Lambert taking a step back and licking her wounds with songcraft instead of chasing chart toppers. This is a 24-song thesis on survival, healing and returning back to Texas roots.

John Paul White – ‘Beulah’ – Out of the ashes of one of the most celebrated pop-folk duets of modern times rises a forlorn beautifully crafted from folk, classic country and adult pop. An album that is both rich lyrically and melodically. John Paul’s post Civil Wars is a moody beauty with keen songwriting sharper and more cohesive than his CW days. Sparse arrangements- B3 organ, cello, drums, bass and the ever present acoustic guitar – build a fitting texture to frame the songs. Harmony is not forgotten with the Secret Sisters lending a subdued vocal hand on songs like the country weeper “I’ve Been Over This Before.” This gets better with each spin

Wanted! – Notable Americana and Roots Music Releases for 2016

Ghosts of Highway 20 - Lucinda Williams

2015 was another bumper crop year for Americana and roots music, and 2016 show vast signs that the great music will continue to come. As our Cream of the Crop favorites from 2015 makes plain we might be experiencing a new golden age of roots music as a growing influence on our contemporary culture and as a sustainable , and viable, business for young and old artists alike.

That last part is crucial as it provides seed corn for the future of this music we truly love.

The list below is a collection of 2016 notable Americana / roots releases. Some anticipated releases from artists like Sturgill Simpson, Elizabeth Cook, Robbie Fulks, Lydia Loveless, Al Scorch and Brandy Clark have no release dates yet, but when I’m aware of them and others I will be updating the list through the year and will send word through my twitter account

If you know of a release not listed leave it in the comments and I might add it.

Look for new things coming in the 2016 at Twang Nation. With your help it’s going to be a great year folks.

January 11th
Keegan McInroe – “Uncouth Pilgrims”

January 15th
Dylan LeBlanc – ‘Cautionary Tale’
Randy Rogers Band – “Nothing Shines Like Neon”
Hank Williams Jr. – “It’s About Time”
Dawn Landes And Piers Faccini – ‘Desert Songs’

January 22nd
The Cactus Blossoms – ‘You’re Dreaming’
Simon Linsteadt – Self-Titled
Aoife O’Donovan – “In the Magic Hour”

January 24th
Michael Chapman – ‘Fish”

January 26th
Brad Armstrong – “Empire”

January 29th
Buddy Miller and Friends – ‘Cayamo Sessions at Sea’
Sierra Hull – ‘Weighted Mind’
Aubrie Sellers – ‘City Blues’
Miranda Lee Richards – “First Light of Winter”

February 5th
Lucinda Williams – “The Ghosts of Highway 20”
Dori Freeman – ‘Dori Freeman’
Luther Dickinson – ‘Blues & Ballads (A Folksinger’s Songbook: Volumes I & II)’
The Infamous Stringdusters – ‘Ladies & Gentleman’
Freakwater – ‘Scheherazade’
The O’s – ‘Honeycomb’

February 12th
Vince Gill – “Down to My Last Bad Habit”
Wynonna Judd – “Wynonna & the Big Noise”
Lorrie Morgan – ‘Letting Go … Slow’
Joey + Rory – “Hymns That Are Important To Us”
Malcolm Holcombe – ‘Another Black Hole’
Wheeler Walker Jr. ‘Redneck Shit’
Alex Dezen – ‘Alex Dezen’
Matt Patershuk – ‘I Was So Fond of You”
Applewood Road (Emily Barker, Amber Rebirth and Amy Speace) – ‘Applewood Road’

February 19th
Lake Street Dive – ‘Side Pony’
Austin Lucas – ‘Between The Moon and the Midwest”
Mike June – ‘Poor Man’s Bible’

February 26th
Shooter Jennings – ‘Countach (For Giorgio)’
Waco Brothers – ‘Going Down in History’
Kathryn Legendre – ‘Don’t Give A Damn’
Michael Daves – ‘Orchids and Violence’
Jane Kramer – ‘Carnival of Hopes’
Paul Burch – ‘Meredian Rising’
Bonnie Raitt – ‎’Dig In Deep’‬
Caleb Caudle – ‘Carolina Ghost”
Jen Lane – ‘This Life of Mine’
Ashley Monroe – ‘Live At Third Man Records”

March 4th
Loretta Lynne – ‘Full Circle’
Chris King – ‘Animal’
Anielle Reid – ‘Love Song’
Dead Tongues – ‘Montana’

March 11th
Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real – ‘Something Real’
Waylon Jennings – ‘Return of the Outlaw: The Abbott, Texas, Broadcast 1973’

March 18th
Various – Dave Cobb’s ‘Southern Family
Grant Lee Phillips – ‘The Narrows’
Sean Watkins – “What To Fear”
The Roosevelts – ”The Greatest Thing You’ll Ever Learn’

March 25th
Parker Millsap – ‘The Very Last Day’
Margo Price – ‘Midwest Farmer’s Daughter’

April 1st
Elephant Revival – ‘Petals’
Robbie Fulks – ‘Upland Stories’
Teddy Thompson and Kelly Jones – ‘Little Windows’
Left Arm Tan – ‘Lorene’

April 8th
Hayes Carll – “Lovers and Leavers”
Tim McNary – ‘Above the Trees’ EP

April 15th
Hackensaw Boys – “Charismo”
Pauline Andres – “The Heart Breaks”
The Lowest Pair – ‘Fern Girl and Ice Man’ / ‘Uncertain As It Is Uneven’

April 19th
Crow Moses – “Nightshades”

April 22nd
Nate Leavitt – “Someone Send a Signal”
Derek Hoke – ‘Southern Moon’

April 29th
Larry Hooper – ‘No Turning Back’

May 3rd
Robert Ellis – ‘Robert Ellis’
Jeremy Nail – ‘My Mountain’

May 6th
Mary Chapin Carpenter – ‘The Things That We Are Made Of”
Jimbo Mathus – ‘Band of Storms’ EP
Vaudeville Etiquette – ‘Aura Vista Motel’

May 20th
Crystal Yates – ‘The Other Side’

May 27th
The Lowest Pair – ‘Fern Girl and Ice Man’ and ‘Uncertain As It Is Uneven’
Bonnie Bishop – ‘Ain’t Who I Was’

June 17
Sarah Jarosz – ‘Undercurrent’
Kris Kristofferson – ‘Cedar Creek Sessions’

June 24
The Felice Brothers – “Life in the Dark,”

July 1
Sara Watkins – ‘Young In All The Wrong Ways’

July 4
James Scott Bullard – “Box of Letters”

July 8
Mark Chesnutt – ‘Tradition Lives On’
Rob Ickes & Trey Hensley – ‘The Country Blues’

July 15
The Earls Of Leicester – ‘Rattle & Roar,’

July 22
High Bar Gang – ‘Someday the Heart Will Trouble the Mind’

August 5
Chelle Rose – ‘Blue Ridge Blood’
Summer Dean – ‘Unladylike’

August 12
Kelsey Waldon – ‘I’ve Got a Way on’
Boo Ray – ‘Sea of Lights’

August 19
Lydia Loveless – ‘Real’
John Paul White – ‘Belah’

August 26
The Devil Makes Three – ‘Redemption & Ruin”
Dietrich Strause – “How Cruel That Hunger Binds”
Waiting for Henry – ‘Town Called Patience’

September 9
Blue Highway – ‘Original Traditional’

September 16
Amanda Shires – “My Piece Of Land”
Jesse Dayton – ‘The Revealer’
The Buffalo Ruckus – ‘Peace & Cornbread’

September 30
Drive-By Truckers – ‘American Band’
Jim Lauderdale – ‘This Changes Everything’

October 7
Shovels and Rope – ‘Little Seeds’
Hiss Golden Messenger – ‘Heart Like a Levee’
The Dexateens – ‘Teenage Hallelujah’

October 28
Aaron Lee Tasjan – “Silver Tears”
Various Artists – ‘Highway Prayer – Tribute to Adam Carroll”
Jasmine Rodgers – ‘Blood Red Sun’

November 4
Kent Eugene Goolsby – ‘Temper Of The Times’

November 18
Miranda Lambert – “The Weight of These Wings”

Americana Music Association Announces 70 Additional AmericanaFest Acts

americana-fest

Building on an already stellar first-round lineup The Americana Music Association announced an additional 70 artists to perform at the 16th annual Americana Music Festival & Conference, which takes place in Nashville and runs September 15-20, 2015.

The six-day, city-wide festival fills Music City with fans, legends, newcomers, and tilts the quest for glitz into the early direction of a quest for a great song. With over 150 artists and bands scheduled, the event continues to dominate as the premier showcase for roots music and culture.

In addition to previously announced acts such as Los Lobos, Patty Griffin, and Lee Ann Womack, AmericanaFest will feature Ry Cooder, performing with Sharon White and Ricky Skaggs, Donnie Fritts performing with former Civil War John Paul White, former Old Crow Medicine Show member Willie Watson, current member of Old Crow Medicine Show Gill Landry supporting his solo effort.

Also included are Cale Tyson, Lindi Ortega, Luther Dickinson, Kelsey Waldon, Buddy Miller, Jim Lauderdale, Gretchen Peters, American Aquarium, Legendary Shack Shakers and Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear who held a mesmerizing performance last year at Jack White’s Third Man performance space.

The list of the second round announcements is below, and a complete list can be found here.

Showcase wristbands ($50, increasing to $60 on August 15) allow admission into all showcase venues, some sanctioned parties and special events, and can be purchased here. Festival and Conference registrations ($365 for members/$465 for non-members) offer priority admission into all showcase venues, sanctioned parties and events, daytime educational panels, come with one ticket to the critically acclaimed Americana Honors & Awards show at the historic Ryman Auditorium, and can be purchased here.

List of Artists Added to AmericanaFest 2015:
Adam Faucett
American Aquarium
Amy LaVere
Andrew Leahey & The Homestead
Band of Heathens
Buddy Miller
Buxton
Cale Tyson
The Carmonas
Daniel Romano
Darrell Scott
David Wax Museum
Dirty River Boys
Donnie Fritts & John Paul White
Doug Seegers
Dreaming Spires
Dustbowl Revival
Eddie Berman
Eilen Jewell
The Fairfield Four
Gill Landry
The Good Lovelies
Great Peacock
Gretchen Peters
The Hillbenders
The Honeycutters
Humming House
JD & The Straight Shot
JD Souther
Jeffrey Foucault
Jim Lauderdale
Jonathan Tyler
Josh Rouse
JP Harris
Kacy & Clayton
Kelsey Waldon
Legendary Shack Shakers
Lewis and Leigh
Lindi Ortega
Los Colognes
Low Cut Connie
Luther Dickinson
Margo Price
The Mavericks
McCrary Sisters
Michaela Anne
Miss Tess & The Talkbacks
Nathaniel Rateliff & The Night Sweats
Paper Bird
Pine Hill Project (featuring Richard Shindell & Lucy Kaplansky)
Pony Boy
Porter
Possessed By Paul James
Raised By Eagles
Ron Pope & The Nighthawks
Ry Cooder/Sharon White/Ricky Skaggs
Ryan Culwell
Sam Outlaw
Spirit Family Reunion
The Suffers
T. Hardy Morris
T Sisters
Taarka
Those Pretty Wrongs
Town Mountain
Uncle Lucius
Whitney Rose
Willie Watson
The Wood Brothers

Cream of the Crop – Twang Nation Top Americana and Roots Music Picks of 2014

TNCream2014

It defies all marketing logic.

Take thoughtful, and oftentimes uncomfortable, music built unapologetically (and more importantly, without irony) from instrumentation and melodies that reflect the past and drag it into the present.

Brazen sentimentality in the face of a blase world and lack of absolute style and ideological boundaries allows Americana to attract strange cultural bedfellows, Reminiscent of the 70’s when Saints Willie and Waylon brought the rednecks and hippies together under the tin roof of Austin’s Armadillo World Headquarters, this music hits us at the human core. Good music strips away the bullshit, shows our humanity, and can make us whole.

This is why it’s the greatest music being created today. That’s why it’ll last as fashions fall and technology and cultural isolation encroaches.

But it’s shit for mapping out a contemporary music career. So how does this great stuff keep happening?

With no apparent thought to charts, hit singles, karaoke reality shows or clutching at the greased pig of contemporary music taste people believe so deeply and completely that they sit in a van for 200 plus days a year, in freezing snow and burning summer heat, to play barely filled rooms at a level like they’re playing the Ryman or Beacon. Because that girl near the stage, with the band logo tattoo, is singing every word to every song. In spite of increasingly remote odds of economic sustainability they keeping lining up and enduring.

They have no choice, the spirit fills them. And we are moved by it. It affects us all.

And that extraordinary music is not just culturally and stylistically satisfying, there’s a viable market. Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson have gone from tight quarter vans and half-full seedy clubs to spacious buses and sold-out theatres. Movies and TV shows are using more and more roots music to set a mood. The genre is snowballing in fans and new music and the influence is felt everywhere. It’s no longer our little secret.

This is good, it’s evolution. It’s is growth. The risk of commercial popularity resulting in diminitionment of quality is assured. But just as Americana is not fed from one influence it is also not any one band. There is a wealth of choice. some of which I hope I’ve been able to list below.

2014 leaves us in turmoil and cultural upheaval. Roots music has historically been a cultural channel to discuss injustices from the point of view of those most affected. From Woody to Dylan to Alynda Lee Segarra roots music provides a poetic reflection of where society and humanity are and where we’d like to be.

But it’s not all topical earnestness. There’s plenty of toe-tapping tomfoolery and easy fun to melt away your troubles and woes and sing at the top of your lungs.

We cry, we laugh, we get drunk and do both simultaneously. No airs, no regrets, no AutoTune.

Lists are subjective, and no more so than my own. But each year I hope to place a loose marker around where I feel we are, and where we’re headed as disciples of this mongrel aesthetic.

This year we can be assured that country music has finally been saved, so enough of that. Roots music continues to make inroads in the mainstream without losing it’s way (or soul.) As happened so music last year, many mainstream media best of country music year-end lists to purloin from the rootsier side (like this and this – http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/40-best-country-albums-of-2014-20141210 ). I applaud this. Bro-country’s foe is not the same tepid, lazy style wrapped in a dress. It’s better music without boundaries and gatekeepers.

2015 shows no sign of waning in output or fan interest. New releases from Steve Earle, Allison Moorer, Ryan Bingham, James McMurtry, Caitlin Canty, American Aquarium, JD McPherson, another from Justin Townes Earle, Rhiannon Giddens, The Lone Bellow, Whitehorse, Robert Earl Keen’s bluegrass album, and possibly a new Emmylou Harris and Rodney Crowell collaboration has the new year is looking rosy.

Criteria – Calendar year 2014. No EPs, live, covers or re-release albums no matter how awesome.

Don’t see your favorite represented? Leave it in the comments and here’s to a new year of twang

26. Mary Gauthier – ‘Trouble & Love’
The only way to best your demons is to look them in the eye. Gauthier does just that on ‘Trouble & Love’ With her wonderfully roughewn voice to inner struggle in the wake of love lost (or, more appropriately, taken) Misery loves company and Gauthier keeps some of
Nashville’s finest – Guthrie Trapp, Viktor Krauss, Lynn Williams, Beth Nielsen Chapman, The McCrary Sisters, Darrell Scott, Ashley Cleveland. Catharsis rarely sounds this good.

25. Old 97s – ‘Most Messed Up’
Remember alt.country? I sure do. And so does Rhett Miller. The Dorian Gray of roots rock and his faithful compadres Ken Bethea, Philip Peeples and Murry Hammond still bring the heat to their blend of Tex-power pop in even the most road-weary, blase’ moments. This is a work of fury, fun and not giving a damn. here’s to that!

24. Angaleena Presley – ‘American Middle Class’
Presley steps out of the shadow of her super group Pistol Annies and digs deep into her history to deliver an album deeply steeped in country music traditions. Presley writes songs of hardship that rings true and is too busy making a living to sing hands and despair.

23. Sunny Sweeney – ‘Provoked’
Who needs bro-country when you have Sunny Sweeney. Her voice is your afternoon sweet sun tea but her wit is the bourbon you stir in. ‘Provoked’ is Sweeney’s true voice and it twangs true and kicks some serious ass.

22. Billy Joe Shaver – ‘Long in the Tooth’
Billy Joe Shaver is not about to sit on his long and prestigious laurels. No sir, not if Todd Snider has anything to say about it (Todd prodded Shave into this) Shaver takes aim at Music Row ( ‘Hard To Be An Outlaw’) love (“I’ll Love You as Much as I Can”) and teh absurdity of life ( “The Git Go”) God bless Billy Joe Shaver and everything he represents!

21. Rodney Crowell – Tarpaper Sky
Following his Grammy-winning collaboration with Emmylou Harris ‘Tarpaper Sky’ finds Crowell relaxin into a zone of a craft he’s spent 40 years refining. Songs from the rearview (“The Long Journey Home”, “The Flyboy & the Kid”) , heart-busters sit beside cajun frolick (“Fever on the Bayou”) to create a satisfying release.

20. Kelsey Waldon – ‘The Goldmine’
Great country music is rooted in the blood, sweat, and the threadbare hope of those just out of the reach of the American Dream. Kelsey Waldo’s songs richly reflects a lives hobbled by hard decisions and opportunities never given. While ‘The Goldmine’ reflects a hard realism, Waldon smartly ensures that it is never devoid of hope.

19. Doug Seegers – ‘ Going Down to the River’
A story too absurd to be true. Swedish documentary features homeless Nashville busker leading to a number 1 single on Swedish iTunes Charts for 12 consecutive days and a Will Kimbrough produced full-length featuring collaborations with Emmylou Harris and ex-tour mate Buddy Miller. But it’s true, and ‘ Going Down to the River’ is deep with truth.

18. Robert Ellis – ‘The Lights From the Chemical Plant’
Ellis moved to and works in Nashville. But he’s still got the heart if a Texas musician, wandering and unbridled. His love for George Jones is as much a part of him as his love for Jimmy Webb. ‘The Lights From the Chemical Plant’ reflects not only his versatility on the fretboard but his command of the songwriting craft. He reflects multiple styles, sometimes within the same song, and makes it behave. And across it all his voice glides across each with its own high lonesome.

17. The Bones of J.R. Jones – ‘Dark was the Yearling’
Brooklynite J.R. Jones, aka Jonathon Linaberry travels even further down his moody roots road with his second effort ‘Dark was the Yearling.’ Fitting comfortably with with moody-folkies like Lincoln Durham and Possessed By Paul James, sparse production ‘s soulful croon, haunting blues picking and percussive stomp make Darkness Was the Yearling is a galvanization of Linaberry both as a songwriter and a producer.

16. Marah – ‘Mountain Minstrelsy of Pennsylvania’
Pennsylvanian folklorist Henry Shoemaker long-ago cache of American song lyrics are discovered and interpreted by Marah’s David Bielanko and Christine Smith performing live around a single microphone in a ready-made studio set up in an old church, doors open to allow local performers and the generally curious to gather and join along. The result is a startlingly cohesive work driven by a ramshackle spirit. ‘Mountain Minstrelsy of Pennsylvania’ opens a contemporary channel to the restless, rustic ghosts of Big Pink more authentically than the recent T Bone Burnett helmed effort.

15. The Secret Sisters – ‘Put Your Needle Down’
Shedding the gingham shell that encased their debut The Secret Sisters , Lydia and Laura Rogers, apply their exquisite sibling harmony to push their songwriting chops and build a testament to contemporary roots music. I’m looking forward to riding along with the Rogers as they take us from the past toward a brave musical adventure.

14. Lee Ann Womack – ‘The Way I’m Livin’ ‘
Music Row superstar hangs out with motley Americana crew and ends up making a spectacular roots album? ANd it’s up for the Country Album of the Year Grammy?! Bask in genre confusion and the beauty of great songs performed by a master.

13. Hurray for the Riff Raff – ‘Small Town Heroes’
Few bands have the roots chops of Alynda Lee Segarra and her Hurray for the Riff Raff. Social-minded tunes performed with poetry over preachiness strikes a delicate balance most of the Guthrie-inspired falter. Segarra and crew prove you win hearts and minds my tapping toes and shaking asses on the dancefloor.

12. Lera Lynn – ‘The Avenues’
Lynn’s warm honey voice might lure you like a Siren, but the smart songwriting will truly wreck your ship. No, no this is a good thing! Stripped down guitar, drums and doghouse bass and cause you to sit on shore amongst the wreckage and let bask in ‘The Avenues’ glint and shimmer.

11. Cory Branan – ‘No Hit Wonder’
I defy you to find a better contemporary songwriter that is as deft and studied at the craft as Cory Branan (DEFY YOU!!) As evidence I submit to you “The No-Hit Wonder.” a work expansive yet grounded in the classic folk and country styles. That’s a fancy way of saying it’s badass.

10. Shovels & Rope – ‘Swimmin’ Time’
This follow-up to their 2012 acclaimed ‘O’ Be Joyful,’ has Michael Trent and Cary Ann Hearst has a tighter focus and arrangement of songs. This can sometimes come off as too eager to please. But when their indy-rock-meets-Carter-Family spirit overtakes, like in “Mary Ann and One Eyed Dan,” it hits on all cylinders and transcend crowd-pleasing.

9. Karen Jonas – ‘Oklahoma Lottery’
Small town character studies have always been a staple of country music. Karen Jonas builds scenes with her breathy drawl that make you feel like you lived through the desperation, danger and loneliness and litters the landscape of this excellent release.

8. Nikki Lane – ‘All Or Nothin’ ‘
Every night is Saturday night on Nikki Lane’s ‘All Or Nothin’ ‘ The Black Key’s Auerbach sets the mood and get’s out of the way as Lane fuses SMART SONGS, 60’s B-movie pop and country music gold to make her mark. So hang on, hold on and have the time of your life. But bring bail money and, be assured, there’ll be a broken heart…and a scar.

7. Hiss Golden Messenger – ‘Lateness of Dancers’
M.C. Taylor is a wandering soul. His fourth full-length as the moniker Hiss Golden Messenger continues his (hiss) quest across a troubling yet hopeful human landscape. This time the pat taken is in the form of his usual folk and country traditions with scenic asides in rock and R&B resulting in his best so far.

6. Old Crow Medicine Show – ‘Remedy’
From buskers to roots music ambassadors Old Crow Medicine Show has shown great songs and keen instrumentation does have a place in the mainstream. The band faces their newfound fame by doing what they know best, Delivering a solid ‘Remedy’ that appeals to long-times fans and garners new ones that wouldn’t be caught dead at a bluegrass festival.

5. Ben Miller Band – ‘Any Way, Shape Or Form’
If you’re looking for a band that mashes old forms with new look no further than Ben Miller Band’s latest ‘Any Way, Shape Or Form.’ The traditional folk chestnut “The Cuckoo” is taken to a tribal-drum psychedelic level. “Any Way, Shape or Form” pushes the Ben Miller Band form just another string band toward something vibrant and a forceful.

4. The Felice Brothers – ‘Favorite Waitress’
On their new release the Felice Brothers have returned from their sonic diversion in “Celebration, Florida” to their usual rustic terrain where Big Pink meets Brooklyn (with a little Velvet Underground thrown in) Gliding nimbly from ramshackle folk to smokey piano ballads to unbridled zydeco ‘Favorite Waitress’ is a fine stylistically homecoming to their splayed and gangly jams.

3. Marty Stuart & His Fabulous Superlatives – ‘Saturday Night/Sunday Morning’
Country music. like life, has always been steeped in the struggle between the light and the darkness, sin and salvation. This double album takes us on a boxcar across the dark
(‘Jailhouse, ‘Geraldine’) and the light (‘Uncloudy Day,’ ‘Boogie Woogie Down the Jericho Road’) Stuart was there when Country and Americana music was the same thing. Thank goodness he’s still on his game and cares to remind us.

2. Caroline Rose – ‘Will Not Be Afraid’
This sonic offspring of Chrissie Hynde and Wanda Jackson debut release is everything that’s great about music. It grabs you by the throat immediately with ‘Blood on your Bootheels,’ a cut on racism and violence void of sanctimony that hits like a topical bomb. ‘Tightrope Walker’ is a jaunty roots-rocker with spooky organ line as Rose lyrically juxtaposes two Americas and exposes us to be without a without net. Rose bends, shapes and fires words in a way that would make Dylan envious. This is a daring debut is the kind of record that will make you remember where you were when you heard it.

1. Sturgill Simpson – ‘Metamodern Sounds in Country Music’
Shocking, right? But sometimes the hype does reflect reality. Simpson will surely be all over Americana and mainstream country best of lists (the latter showed a tendency to reach over the fence last year when Jason Isbell sat alongside Tim McGraw and Band Perry), and rightly so. The Kentuckian’s success is more than a bro-country backlash. The praise from NPR Music to UK’S Telegraph speaks to than a more than a mere clerance of Music Row’s current low bar. Simpson channels 70’s hard outlaw country, spiked with bluegrass dexterity into songs that feel genuine. His topics are a contemporary a Kristoffersonion introspection of spirituality, identity and mind-altering substances. Simpson isn’t saving country music, he’s just reminding a us all that there’s a hunger for vibrant music that is vibrant, thriving, and unrepentantly ornery.