The Danish guitarist and songwriter Asger Tarpgaard is releasing the warm, thoughtful single “I Wear Shades” as he presents his brand new project Souldier. His music is inspired by older british and american songwriter traditions and the track tells the story about hiding yourself behind a pair of sunglasses. At some point, you should consider taking them off.

Ric Robertson’s Strange World EP drips with syrupy trance-funk like an intergalactic spacecraft rising from swampy waters at the far edges of the galaxy, crash-landing in the middle of Frenchmen Street. Where his 2018 full-length debut The Fool, The Friend channeled the lovesick wryness of John Prine, Randy Newman, and Paul Simon, Strange World leans into the rhythmic enchantment of George Clinton, Sly Stone, and Dr. John.

“The backing track for this song is from a piece called ‘Prelude to Play It Like The Record.’ A great piece of music to improvise to on guitar. We looped it, got a great tone from my Nash ‘telecaster style guitar’ on the neck pickup by using my late 1970’s Fender Deluxe Reverb amplifier and Full Tone’s Full Drive 2 pedal. We recorded multiple takes and over time engineer Jose Salazar masterfully edited the piece together. He and I take very detailed notes on guitar tones and what we did to get them.

Noa Zimmerman is honest. The 21-year-old songwriter, producer feels as though it’s her responsibility to be. Having written songs since before she can remember, Zimmerman has always felt that pursuing music was less of a choice and more of an instinct. Her multiple self produced folk-pop records, as well as her acceptance to the University of Southern California’s Popular Music and Production programs are a testament to that.

Based in Rome, GA at the foothills of the Appalachian Mountains, The Georgia Thunderbolts are a young, hard-hitting southern rock band who write classic and timeless songs steeped in southern swagger, blistering blues, and raw rock. With a wide swath of inspirations, ranging from southern gospel and Hank Williams to Neil Young, Merle Haggard, Little Feat, and Lynyrd Skynyrd, the band has cut their teeth performing with everyone from The Kentucky Headhunters to Blackberry Smoke.

Raised on a small alpaca farm in West Virginia, twenty-two-year-old Trae Sheehan began writing songs as soon as he started learning how to play. Having lived in both New York City and Nashville, along with touring the country in his converted minivan, there is no lack of inspiration for Trae. His 2019 release Arizona reached No. 7 on the Roots Radio Charts and received international airplay.

Today, award-winning singer-songwriter Treva Blomquist releases her new record Snakes & Saints. This record is a step into uncharted territory for Blomquist; experimenting with lo-fi drum loops and polyphonic synth soundscapes, Treva explores a musical world more akin to indie-pop while still nodding to her Americana roots. We caught up with Treva to discuss the creative process that went into making this record and what life looks like in quarantine for the Nashville-based artist.

Jefferson Berry and the Urban Acoustic Coalition released their third full-length album, Double Deadbolt Logic this spring and it is a collection of danceable, blues-tinged, folk-rock inspired tunes that you can imagine hearing around the campfire. The musicianship of the players assembled – including Bud Burroughs, Dave Brown, Uncle Mike, David Rapoport and Marky B. Berkowitz – elevate and buoy Berry’s evocative and spiritual songwriting focused on city life, good love/bad love, and these strange times.

From writing songs to Tom Petty ("Song for Tom Petty") to covering Randy Newman’s “Blue Shadows on the Trail”, The Satin Cowboy has outdone himself once again with his new sorrowful country ballad, “I’m No Good at Being Sad”.  The song’s old country guitar rhythm and plaintive lyrics are a throwback to traditional sing-along country music, while the crisp production and fiddle bring the song into the contemporary Americana realm.

The road to Golden Shoals has been a long, fruitful journey for Amy Alvey and Mark Kilianski. The duo has toured on foot—gig to gig with backpacks and instrument cases—for weeks at a time; called Asheville, Boston, California, and New Jersey home; and lived in various moving vehicles on the road for the past seven years under different names and incarnations.