There is a wealth of talent producing country music right now. Here are three artists you should take the time to listen to:
Nick Wayne
He has a sound that has been described as a mix of Justin Timberlake and Chris Stapleton. If you area a fan of Dierks Bentley, Keith Urban, and John Mayer you should definitely check out this album.
It may sound like a fairy tale to have one of your heroes record your song before you even have a publishing deal. However that is exactly what happened to newbie Nick Wayne. Keith Urban heard “How Do I Get Close” shortly after Wayne penned it in 2015 and cut it right away. Then, by chance, Tim McGraw and Faith Hill recorded it. Neither version made it onto their albums, but the buzz was enough to give Wayne the boost he needed.
On his new two-song EP, Two Sides, the Nashville native demonstrates his profound love of both soul and country music. On it he draws inspiration from Bill Withers and Usher to Dierks Bentley and Keith Urban.
He believes some new country artists come to this genre trying to make it for a little bit before crossing over into what they truly want to achieve, which is become a mainstream pop artist. He´s from Nashville and the honesty of it all means he’ll only make it if it’s genuine and good.
There may be many musicians like that, but there are also many artists who keep the rest of the world from listening to country music. It simply doesn’t feel as authentic, and there’s a reason for that.
Wayne’s falsetto voice and soulful melody take center stage alongside bluesy guitar on his own version of “How Do I Get Close,” a sparse arrangement that strikes a striking balance of light and shade.
Cashavelly Morrison
Fans of Neko Case, the Watson Twins, and David Lynch-style film noir should appreciate Morrison’s style.
Cashavelly Morrison sings in a coolly expressive voice that conjures up a cinematic feel. It’s a perfect match for her lyrics’ exquisitely drawn mini-dramas. Ryan MacLeod, her husband/partner/co-writer, grew up playing old-time folk-music murder songs in his native North Carolina (where they live), and his day job is as a psychiatrist. The ideal skill set to invoke dark ways.
The duo’s second album Hunger combines gorgeous sounds to create terrifying stories with a staggeringly high death count. They’re currently promoting the record with a series of finely choreographed videos, while also finalizing tour plans for 2019.
Their first record was inspired by an attempt to create a novel set in West Virginia in the early 1900s. She was conducting research and speaking with an old miner. He gave her these incredibly vivid anecdotes about the world of coal-company communities.
‘Ashes White’ on this album was inspired by him telling her about black men disappearing into coke ovens without anyone ever knowing.
Kellogg, Stephen
Fans of Tom Petty, Ryan Adams, and Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska era will want to listen to this singer´s work.
Although Stephen Kellogg has published eleven albums and performed over 1500 performances in the previous decade, the main portion of his career has been spent as the front man for his band the Sixers. With the release of his new solo album Objects in the Mirror this month, Kellogg is ready to establish himself as an artist capable of replicating the force and energy of a full band with only his voice and guitar.
Objects in the Mirror, produced by Will Hoge was recorded in a single week in Nashville. It captures Kellogg’s songwriting talent, candor, and sensitivity and offers it in a soulful, folk-rock style that is refreshingly free of pretense and studio polishing. Kellogg has also published a companion essay collection called Objects in the Mirror: A Storyteller’s Take on What Matters Most, which will be published next year. Kellogg is now on a solo headlining tour that will last until the end of December. After that he will embark on a full-band tour in March.
He seeks to play music to explain the contents of his heart. In order to accomplish that he approaches it conversationally. He achieves this by editing all of the songs live and leaving the vocal passes unedited.
