​Caitlin Cannon – Amarillo and Little Rock
Caitlin Cannon’s “Amarillo and Little Rock” will just about drop you to your knees with its story of breaking down – both figuratively and literally - somewhere on the road between Amarillo and Little Rock. I completely understand lines like: “always running behind, never can catch up.” It’s such a well-written song by Cannon with a nice conversational tone. 

​Sundy Best – Bad Imagination
This must be a particularly moody year for me thus far based on my 10 best of the year so far and Sundy Best’s “Pure Imagination,” from its album Feel Good Country, is certainly one of my favorites. The song, co-written by Nicholas Jamerson and Adam Landry, sees a narrator who’s stopping himself from being happy in life and features one of the year’s most unique, original and simply interesting melodies. Jamerson also cut a version of the song for his solo album, Peace Mountain, which is quite a bit different in its overall sound (I prefer the Sundy Best version) but still worth a listen for sure.  

​Colby Acuff – Boy and a Bird Dog
There are a lot of depressing, longing, sad songs on my 10 best of 2023 so far in the country and Americana genres list, but this ain’t one of those. Colby Acuff’s “Boy and a Bird Dog,” from his album Western White Pines, is a fun slice-of-life tune about a young boy spending all of his free time out in a field hunting with his best friend, his bird dog. It’s lovely and you’ll be sure to whistle along. 

​Brandy Clark – Buried
Brandy Clark’s “Buried” is one of the most beautiful and devastating songs I’ve heard so far this year in its tale of undying, but unreciprocated love. In the song she tells of all of the things she can do to pass the time and not think about her past love like reading “Lonesome Dove” and falling asleep to “Hallelujah,” but you can tell by her vulnerability in her voice that it’s next to impossible. The final line of the song will flatten you. “Buried” reminds me a bit of one of my all-time favorite country songs – “I’ll Think of Something” (Mark Chesnutt’s version). 

​Boygenius – Cool About It
I’m honestly not sure if Boygenius – the super trio of Phoebe Bridgers, Julien Baker and Lucy Dacus - should be included in the seemingly ever-encompassing Americana genre (Indie rock and folk rock are what their Wiki page labels them), but I like the song, so it’s here. “Cool About It” has the trio beautifully singing over a softly picked guitar about a seemingly young relationship that isn’t working out. I particularly love the line: “I can walk you home and practice method acting.” 

​Colter Wall – Evangelina
I realize what I’m about to say will be blasphemous for some, but some of Colter Wall’s recent past stuff has been a bit too Canadian wilderness, old-timey for me. I enjoyed his 2017 self-titled release but hadn’t heard a lot that hit my ear since then. His cover of the old Hoyt Axton Western song “Evangelina” immediately hit my ear. It tells the tale of a cowboy looking to get back home to the Mexican woman he loves through the hot desert sun. 

​Josiah and the Bonnevilles – Jersey Giant
“Jersey Giant” is freakin’ everywhere. The song was written, but never recorded by Tyler Childers, why I don’t understand, but he made it available recently for other artists and multiple ones immediately bit the hook. I first heard the song from the wonderful rendition by Elle King on her latest Come Get Your Wife, but my favorite performance of the song is by Josiah and the Bonnevilles. “Jersey Giant” sees the narrator recalling a past love and all the good times they had together and how he’s more than willing to relive some of them if his love just says yes. 

Ashley McBryde – Light on In the Kitchen 
Ashley McBryde is one of the best singer-songwriters currently in the country genre and the great thing about her music is it’s crossed over a bit into the mainstream – even if it hasn’t been as successful in the mainstream as it should be. She really gets the country life down in her music and “Light on In the Kitchen,” which she co-wrote with Jessi Alexander and Connie Harrington, is a perfect example of this as an advice song from one’s elder about life. I can’t wait for her latest album, The Devil I Know, which drops on September 8. 

​Jason Isbell – Middle of the Morning
Jason Isbell has been my favorite singer-songwriter over the last decade and his latest album Weathervanes just came out a few weeks ago and I’m still taking my time with it – but “Middle of the Morning” was one of the album’s singles released some time before the album that I’ve had longer to let sit in my head and it’s truly one that’s spoken to me – which is kind of unfortunate because it’s not exactly I happy song. Isbell has a knack for writing songs and lyrics that I really identify with and, of anything released this year thus far, this is the one that gets me the most. 

Brennen Leigh – Running Out of Hope, Arkansas
I like creative wordplay and some of the best of it I’ve heard thus far in 2023 is Brennen Leigh combining the phrase “running out of hope” with the city of Hope, Ark. in her bluegrass number “Running Out of Hope, Arkansas” off her latest album Ain’t Through Honky Tonkin’ Yet. Getting out of your small town and seeking something greater in life has always been one of my favorite musical themes, and Leigh has this feeling down well on this track. 

by Julian Spivey
Today is Kris Kristofferson's 87th birthday. He's one of the greatest songwriters ever. That's inarguable.

I've seen him once. It was Willie Nelson's Fourth of July picnic in 2015 in Austin, Texas. Because it was a festival most artists were doing 30-minute sets. So, my only time seeing Kristofferson (who's since retired from performing) was a short set. It was still glorious - except for one thing - because it was just Kristofferson on stage with guitar, harmonica and mic (honestly the optimum way to see Kristofferson - though probably not in an outdoor venue) it wasn't loud. You really had to listen. Why wouldn't you though? It's Kristofferson! It's the guy who wrote "Me & Bobby McGee," "For the Good Times," "Sunday Mornin' Comin' Down," "Help Me Make it Through the Night." And he performed ALL OF THEM.

It should've been a great memory. Later that afternoon, David Allan Coe - a man who is probably everything that Kristofferson is not. A man whom I refuse to listen to due to his profiting off of racism. An asshole. A man, whom I wish these other artists (especially Willie Nelson) would tell to fuck off and never be heard or seen again. A man who's set I intentionally walked around the grounds of the venue to avoid seeing him during his set. Well, he was going to play soon. And the woman behind me was ecstatic. He was one of the artists she was most looking forward to seeing. And during Kristofferson's set, she talked the entire goddamn time - seemingly about Coe, but it may have been about other things too.

I love Kris Kristofferson. I hate David Allan Coe. And, lady, wherever you are I'm never going to forget you. And I hate that too. 

The Foo Fighters brought their rock act to the 2023 Bonnaroo Arts & Musical festival on the final night of the four-day festival in Manchester, Tenn. with a mixture of classic fan favorites and new songs off their recently released 11th studio album But Here We Are.

I had the pleasure of viewing the set thanks to the live stream via Hulu, which was doubly nice because I’d really wanted to see them in my home state of Arkansas on the Wednesday before but was unable to obtain tickets due to high demand, ticket scalping and the increasingly annoying trouble of the concert ticket buying process.

It was the band’s Bonnaroo debut after their 2021 scheduled performance at the festival was washed out due to heavy rain in the area that caused flooding.

It was an emotional night too, as they all are lately for the band and fans seeing them for the first time following the death of drummer Taylor Hawkins in 2022. Josh Freese has taken over drums for the band and did a fantastic job on Sunday night, even if it’s really weird to see someone else hammering away on the set behind Foo Fighters frontman Dave Grohl on the stage.

The Foos began their Bonnaroo set with “All My Life,” their Grammy-winning 2002 track off One by One. They would follow it up with the hard-rocking “No Son of Mine,” off 2021’s Medicine at Midnight, which was the band’s final album with Hawkins.

The first new song would follow with “Rescued,” the first single off But Here We Are, which came out at the beginning of the month. Much of the album feels like it came apart as a result of Hawkins’ death and in tribute to him. The band described the song and album as: “the first of 10 songs that run the emotional gamut from rage and sorrow to serenity and acceptance, and myriad points in between.” “Rescued” quickly went to No. 1 on the Billboard Rock Airplay chart after its release in April.

Among the other new songs off But Here We Are performed at the festival on Sunday night were “Show Me How,” with Grohl’s daughter Violet joining on vocals and “Under You,” which I think could become a huge hit (or as big of a hit as a rock song can become in 2023) for the band. It has that quintessential Foo Fighters sound and is catchy enough to scream along with.  

Prior to the performance of “Show Me How,” Violet had joined her father on stage for a performance of “Shame Shame,” off Medicine at Midnight, which proved to be a fun Father’s Day moment for the elder Grohl.

Even though I’ve seen it before in person and multiple times between concert streams and concert films it’s always a blast seeing Grohl, guitarist Pat Smear, guitarist Chris Shiflett, bassist Nate Mendel, keyboardist Rami Jaffee and now Freese on drums go through classic song after song spanning more than a quarter-century now of great rock music. The band rifled off terrific hit after hit like “Walk,” “The Pretender,” “Learn to Fly,” “Breakout,” “This is a Call,” “Monkey Wrench” and “Best of You” during the show showcasing pretty much something off every one of their albums.

Hayley Williams, vocalist of Paramore which performed at the festival prior to the Foos, would join the band on stage for a bit of its performance of “My Hero,” though her participation seemed minimal (not sure if it was a sound issue).

One of the most emotional performances of the evening was the stripped-down version of “Times Like These,” which has seen Grohl performing most of the song acapella without the band before bringing them on to rock the house down for the finish. It works as sort of a tribute to their fallen bandmate.

At the end of the set, Grohl performed “Aurora,” off 2001’s There Is Nothing Left to Lose, which he told the packed crowd was Hawkins’ favorite Foo Fighters song. It was on Hawkins’ first album as the band’s full-time drummer.

The band then finished the evening and the festival off the way every Foo Fighters show should come to an end with a fantastic performance of “Everlong,” which is probably universally considered the No. 1 song for the band and with good reason.

It was truly nice to see the band bounce back from tragedy and heartbreak and continue doing what they do best and it’s great they’re continuing with fantastic new music too. 

by Julian Spivey
Today is the 10th anniversary of the release of Jason Isbell’s seminal album Southeastern, a modern classic and Americana all-timer that sent Isbell’s career skyrocketing in popularity. It’s also one of my all-time favorite albums, which is why I wanted to celebrate its “tin” anniversary by breaking it down track by track. 

Cover Me Up
“Cover Me Up,” the opening track on Jason Isbell’s Southeastern, has probably become the most beloved song of his discography (though it could easily be any of a dozen songs depending on which Isbell fan you ask). Seeing the song performed in person it definitely gets the biggest reaction from the crowd when Isbell sings the line: “I sobered up and I swore off that stuff forever this time.” “Cover Me Up” is potentially the most personal song on a obviously personal album for Isbell as you can tell it’s about his, at the time burgeoning, relationship with his future wife Amanda Shires and the need to conquer his demons to adequately pursue that love. I hate that one mainstream country asshole covered this song and that some people associate it with him instead of this all-time beauty of a track. You have my permission to punch anyone in the face who claims that cover is a better version.

Stockholm
“Stockholm” has always been one of my favorite tracks on Southeastern. It’s likely because it’s one of the easier songs to sing along with on the album and is quite catchy and fun – something that you’re not really going to get much from the album. It’s about relationships perhaps wanting to be with his new love, perhaps dealing with his addiction or both. It is perhaps one of the more cryptic songs on the album and parts of it – even perhaps my favorite parts – I’m not sure I fully understand, but as Taylor Goldsmith of Dawes puts it brilliantly at the end of his masterpiece “A Little Bit of Everything”: “it’s like trying to make out every word/when they should simply hum along.”

Traveling Alone
“Traveling Alone” was the first song I ever heard off Southeastern – I think it may have been released as a single before the album came out – and I loved it from the beginning. Interestingly, it probably wound up being one of my least listened-to tracks on the album over the last decade. The song perfectly encapsulates a traveling musician going from town to town to play shows and the loneliness they can experience living such a life. There’s some hopefulness to it as he finds himself asking someone to tag along with him on the ride – most likely Amanda Shires, who at the time was his girlfriend, not yet his wife, who joins him in harmony on the chorus.

Elephant
If you’ve ever Googled “Saddest Songs of All-Time,” it’s likely “Elephant” is on that list and if it isn’t it damn well should be. The song details the devastating tale of a young woman dying of cancer from the perspective of a male friend who loves her. It’s touching because it’s an experience nearly everyone has gone through either personally or has seen a loved one go through and is such a helpless feeling and situation to be in. There are some strikingly gut-wrenching lyrics in the song, but the one that always hits me the hardest is: “There’s one thing that’s real clear to me/No one dies with dignity.” It’s not a track you’ll want to shout along to and it may make you cry every single time you hear it, but it’s undoubtedly one of the most impressive songs on a modern classic of an album.

Flying Over Water
“Flying Over Water” stands out on Southeastern because it’s only one of two rockers on the album and it comes up first. It makes for a nice respite from the naked, stripped-downness of the album. In the song, the narrator and his partner (possibly Isbell and Shires, but maybe even Isbell’s first wife Shonna Tucker or both), take off on a flight – possibly their first major trip from home – and the anxiousness such a thing can lead to. Critic Steven Hyden brilliantly compared the imagery of the song to the final scene of the classic 1967 Mike Nichols film “The Graduate,” saying: “A thread that connects Isbell’s relationship songs concerns lovers who might be too broken to actually be together.”  

Different Days
“Different Days” is a nice, acoustic folk song about trying to escape an old life and find something new while maturing with age. It’s filled with terrific lyrics like the entire penultimate verse: “And the story’s only mine to live and die with/And the answers only mine to come across/But the ghosts that I got scared and I got high with/Look a little lost.” I believe it’s Isbell coming to grips with the man he is now and the man he used to be.

Live Oak
“Live Oak” isn’t the only song on Southeastern that’s more of a story song than personal, though there are obvious personal moments in its lyrics – especially the opening and closing: “There’s a man who walks beside me/her it is who I used to be and I wonder if she sees him and confuses him with me,” but it’s the only one that takes us back in time. The time period is never expressly stated, but I’ve always felt it was set sometime in the late 1800s. It’s the story of a killer and robber who flees to another part of the country to begin life anew and falls in love, but when the rumors of his past life catch up to him he’s forced to kill and run again. Sometimes horror can be devastatingly beautiful.

Songs That She Sang in the Shower
I’ve always loved the lyrics to “Songs That She Sang in the Shower,” from the wittiness of the first verse where the narrator mouths off to someone he views as beneath him intellectually to the specificity of the heartbreak of a failed relationship and the pain of never hearing certain songs the same way again. I can’t help but wonder if the song is about Isbell’s first failed marriage and if songs like Pink Floyd’s “Wish You Were Here,” Willie Nelson’s “Yesterday’s Wine,” Dusty Springfield’s “Breakfast in Bed” and Anti-Flag’s “Bring Out Your Dead” had important meaning to that relationship or if they just rhymed easily with the rest of the lyrics.

New South Wales
“New South Wales” has always been my least listened-to track from Southeastern and I don’t really know why – it’s certainly not lacking in comparison to the rest of the album. I’ve never really understood why the title shares its name with a state on the east coast of Australia, but commenters on songmeanings.com seemingly in the know say it’s about the time Isbell toured Australia with fellow singer-songwriter Justin Townes Earle and bad experiences on that tour with substances was one of the catalysts to him seeking sobriety. I wish the supremely talented Earle, who died in 2020 from an overdose of fentanyl-laced cocaine, had done the same.

Super 8
I don’t know how much truth there is to “Super 8,” the hardest rocking track off Southeastern, but it certainly seems and feels completely real, especially knowing Isbell’s bout with alcoholism early in his career. It’s complete rock & roll debauchery with drinking, drugs, women, fights, wrecking motel rooms, puking in sinks, almost dying and being resuscitated. It sounds like a nightmare that comes off as humorous for having survived it all.

Yvette
When Southeastern first came out I had “Yvette” as the highest-ranked track from the album in this website’s end-of-year best songs of Country and Americana Music list. The album has some dark songs and themes, but I’m not sure any are darker than this song about childhood sexual abuse from one’s father and the teenage neighbor witnessing the vile act and deciding to assassinate the father from his bedroom window. It’s one of the few, if only, song(s) on the album that doesn’t seem to have anything to do with Isbell’s life at the time, purely a fictional story song complete with terrific slide guitar from Isbell. It (along with potentially “New South Wales” – I can’t remember) is the only song from Southeastern I haven’t had the pleasure of seeing Isbell perform live in concert.

Relatively Easy
“Relatively Easy,” as the final track on Southeastern, must be some sort of summary for the piece as a whole – potentially that the songwriter has been through the hell of alcoholism and the struggle to get sober and has come out the other side of it with a bit of wisdom in that even though life is hard there’s always someone else out there struggling even more.