10 Best Americana/Country Songs from 2024's First Half

by Julian Spivey

Photos: Anti Records, Late August Records, Son of Davy & Leo33

*Songs are in alphabetical order by song title 

“Bonneville Salt Flats” by Luba Dvorak with Ryan Bingham
Luba Dvorak, born in Czechoslovakia, raised in Canada and now calling Houston home, has come out with his finest Springsteen-esque song about needing to feel the speed in “Bonneville Salt Flats,” off his latest album Dumpster Fire, featuring Texas country star Ryan Bingham on backing vocals and a terrific harmonica performance. It’s one of the best story songs of the year thus far. 

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“Damn My Love” by John Craigie feat. TK & the Holy Know-Nothings
I’m the kind of music lover who often has to hear a song a few times before truly knowing how I feel about it – to separate it from average to something a bit better (I can usually pinpoint why I don’t like a song on first listen). But I loved “Damn My Love” by John Craigie featuring TK & the Holy Know-Nothings from the first listen. It has this infectious, bouncy melody throughout. Some of the lyrics are an absolute chef’s kiss that makes me jealous of Craigie’s songwriting like: “pink trees raining such a beautiful mess/walking in on nature like she’s still getting dressed” and “I was over-dressed and under tattooed/cowboy hats and neck tats all around the room.” I’d bottle this song up and wear it if I could. 

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“I Lie” by Zach Top
Zach Top’s sophomore album Cold Beer & Country Music has shot him to the forefront of the nonmainstream country music world. Honestly, with upcoming opening slots on Lainey Wilson’s tour, he might even trickle into the mainstream, with his throwback sound that hearkens back to the best of the neo-traditionalists of the early ‘90s. There’s a lot to love on the album but the one I’ve been digging most thus far is “I Never Lie,” co-written with Carson Chamberlain and Tim Nichols, about the futility of trying to cope with heartbreak. It reminds me of something Tracy Lawrence or Mark Chesnutt would’ve knocked out of the park 30 years ago. 

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“Right Back to It” by Waxahatchee feat. MJ Lenderman
Waxahatchee has often been considered more of an indie or indie-folk artist but the latest release Tigers Blood certainly has an alt-country/Americana sound to it, especially the album’s lead single “Right Back to It.” The song sees Katie Crutchfield dueting with MJ Lenderman, who was called in to play guitar on the album, and the harmonization between the two is incredible. Crutchfield told NME that she wanted to write love songs that are “gritty and unromantic” but find a “newness or an intimacy” with the same person. She accomplished it brilliantly here. 

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“Same Water” by The Secret Sisters
The Secret Sisters – Laura Rogers and Lydia Slagle – have always had brilliant harmonies. That’s one of the best aspects of their music. On “Same Water,” off Mind, Man, Medicine, sees that beautiful harmonizing on a serious song about dealing with depression and extending an empathetic hand to others dealing with the same problems. “We’re all drowning in the same water as you” is a beautiful line about struggling through these moments and this world together. 

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“Sober Thing” by Cody Jinks
There are a handful of selections off Cody Jinks’ latest album Change the Game that could’ve made this list but the one I’ve probably listened to the most thus far is “Sober Thing.” The lead-off track on the album paints a picture of a man fighting, and potentially losing, a battle against alcoholism. It’s a classic country music theme and Jinks’ baritone fits the song perfectly.

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“Solitary Road” by Charley Crockett
​Honestly, I could’ve placed any number of songs from Charley Crockett’s excellent $10 Cowboy on this list but the one I’m going with today is “Solitary Road,” which opens with a fantastic guitar that follows along for its entirety. Written by Crockett and Billy Horton, it comes off almost as a country version of the Bob Dylan/Jimi Hendrix classic “All Along the Watchtower” in tone and theme telling a tale that feels almost mythical and apocalyptic. 

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“Watch Me Gone” by Mark Knopfler 
Mark Knopfler has had an interesting career going from guitar hero and frontman of one of the biggest rock bands of the late ‘70s through the mid-‘80s in Dire Straits, to premier Americana singer-songwriter as a solo artist. His return on One Deep River, his first album in six years, sees him having not lost a step. The breakup tune “Watch Me Gone,” which sees Knopfler in his famous whispery growl, is my favorite off the album – even if the chorus of female voices on backing vocals annoys me. 

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“White Lies, White Jesus and You” by Katie Pruitt
Katie Pruitt had one of my favorite songs of 2020 “Loving Her,” a beautiful song about same-sex love. Now, she’s released “White Lies, White Jesus and You,” off her latest album Mantras, a devastating look at people failing to respect and love others because of their sexual identity or preferences and the hypocrisy of using religion. The line: “speaking of some things I’ve put behind me: white lies, white Jesus and you” might be the best I’ve heard all year. 

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“Yearnin’ For You” by 49 Winchester
49 Winchester’s song “Russell County Line” and album Fortune Favors the Bold were among my favorite country music songs and albums of 2022 so the band’s upcoming album Leavin’ This Holler, debuting August 2, is one of my most anticipated of the year. The album’s first single, “Yearnin’ For You,” which was released in early April, is a roaring testament to longing to be home with the one you love while living the life of a touring musician. It’s essentially a more up-tempo, raucous take on “Russell County Line.”