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Who Is Braedon Barnhill? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Braedon Barnhill? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

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Braedon Barnhill // Photo credit: David OD

Quick Facts:

Full name – Braedon Barnhill
Birthdate – 11/13/2001
Hometown – Marble Falls, Texas
Current city – Austin, Texas
Musical influences- George Strait, Bruce Springsteen, Randy Rogers Band
Label – The Valory Music Co. (Big Machine Label Group)
Current Song – “Front Porch Lights” (as of date of article: 4/14/2025)
The Beginning:

This week our spotlight shines on Valory Music Co. artist, Braedon Barnhill. The young star in the making is as humble and as talented as they come. Keep reading to learn more about his story, his new music, and where he’s headed!

“I grew up in a small-town. It’s not so small anymore because Austin is exploding, it’s called Marble Falls, Texas. It’s a big lake town, but there’s still not that much to do,” began the singer. “My whole family is really into music, so I went to shows a lot growing up.”

Growing up in Texas, Barnhill recalls being immersed in the country music scene from an early age. He spent a lot of time listening to artists on the Texas country music circuit, falling in love with artists like George Strait, Randy Rogers Band, and Wade Bowen. “I kinda was like “oh there’s people that sound like what I do.” The first time I heard Randy Rogers, I was probably fifteen or seventeen, and I thought I could do that because that’s what my songs sound like.”

Throughout his upbringing, Barnhill spent time cultivating his sound, believing that he could maybe make it on the Texas country circuit, but never dreaming of reaching a national audience. “I played instruments, just to mess around because they were always around since I was really little, I started really learning how to play instruments and writing songs when I was fourteen, I thought I might have a shot at this when I was seventeen, eighteen, but I never thought in a million years, I would get a record deal, especially this quick.”

The Turning Point:

Upon graduating high-school, Barnhill spent time working during the day and playing shows at night across Texas. “No matter what I was into in my life, I was always into music,” he shared, adding, “I was working valet at a hotel in Austin during the day and playing shows at night. I remember after a show, this person offered me free demo time. […] I went and made this demo.”

The singer heard through the grapevine that his demo was being passed around in Nashville, but he didn’t quite think anything of it. Eventually, one day, immediately after a gig, his dad called him with news that would change his life. “[My dad] told me to sit down and said remember that demo you made, and one way or another it got on Scott Borchetta’s desk, and he wanted to meet me right away.”

Barnhill found himself in Nashville just two weeks later. “This person who is now my A&R guy picks me up in an SUV and drives me to hi house. It’s all very like a movie. It’s all very surreal. […] They give me a guitar and asked me if I had been writing anything recently, so I played them a song and then another one,” he shared. “I played like six songs in a row, just me and a guitar in the living room for these two guys. We talked for three hours, and the next day they wanted to show me around all of these offices.”

Almost immediately following the meet-up, the team flew his family out and told him that they wanted to sign him. Barnhill officially signed with The Valory Music Co. (Big Machine Label Group) at the top of the year. “My life changed really, really quickly.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Barnhill is releasing music for his growing fanbase! Most recently, the singer-songwriter shared his song, “Front Porch Lights,” following his debut single, “Dashboard Dreaming.”

“That song came out, I was dating this girl at the time. We hadn’t broken up yet, but you could kind of tell that we were getting into it. We just couldn’t get along really. It wasn’t these angry fights, it was just really hard,” he shared, talking about the inspiration for “Front Porch Lights. “We started talking and getting to know each other, the first week I went up to Nashville. And there’s a line in the song that says, “you never really had me at my best,” and it’s because I always told her, I felt really bad for her because she never knew the normal me. Me before all of this.”

Sonically and lyrically, the song hits all the right notes. The song is honest, relatable, and catchy, all qualities that fans look for in a young and new country artist. “I wrote that a couple months before we actually, for real, broke-up,” he shared. “It wasn’t a love song, it wasn’t a break-up song.”

While Barnhill is still at the beginning in his blossoming career, the singer is ready to keep fans excited. He is already in the studio working on new music and has other songs ready to go. “I think some of the best work isn’t even out yet.” Stay tuned!

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Braedon Barnhill announcements and releases.

To keep up with Braedon Barnhill follow him on Instagram and TikTok.

Braedon Barnhill’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Kat Luna? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music

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Who is Kat Luna? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

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Kat Luna // Photo credit: Matthew Berinato

Quick Facts:
Full Name – Kat Luna
Birthdate – December 21st
Hometown – Miami, Florida
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical Influences – Chris Stapleton, Celia Cruz, Adele, Carrie Underwood, Selena
Label – Sony Music Nashville
Current EP – That Girl (as of date of article 4/7/25)
The Beginning:

Today’s spotlight shines on a star in the making: Kat Luna. Luna is the real deal. Her signature country sound mixed with Spanish influences is unique, fun, and exciting to listen to. Keep reading to learn more about Luna and her blossoming career.

“I’m first generation American,” began Luna. “I grew up in a household, where my parents knew English, but they didn’t really speak it to me because they wanted me to learn Spanish. That was my first language, and then going to school, I learned English.”

Despite living in a duel-language household, Luna’s unsaid third language was music. “My mom always said, “you came out singing.” I always loved performing and singing. Since I was a baby, I was allaying singing. I told my mom that I was going to be a singer one day,” she shared, adding, “I didn’t know anything different. I didn’t see anything different for my future. It’s what I think God called me to do.”

Growing up, the songstress recalls listening to blend of music, with country music cementing its place as her favorite. “My grandfather, we called him the Cuban cowboy because he loved western movies and country music, so I grew up listening to Garth Brooks and Johnny Cash, and I also had Celia Cruz, so I also had those influences too, and it was like a melting pot of two worlds.”

Country music as a whole became Luna’s biggest love. “I feel like the collective of them is what made me fall in love with country music, and for artists, Chris Stapleton truly whenever I started hearing his music I kind of found what I wanted to sound like in country music. I would hear his music and I would just cry and it would touch my heart, and I wanted to do that.”

The Turning Point:

Early in her adolescence, Luna began following her dreams of being a singer. “My love for signing, I always had since I was a kid, but then I went to a Magnet school for the arts for high-school, and that’s where I really got to learn how to sing properly and gained more knowledge as to what music was and pretty much figuring out my sound.”

She continued to hone her skills as a singer, and later as a songwriter. “Songwriting started later on in my career. […] When I started doing it, I just starting ironing the kinks out and figuring out what works best for me. I just found a new love for music through songwriting. I feel like it added another layer of love for something I loved my whole life,” shared the artist.

Throughout her young career, Luna also participated in two latin, singing competition shows that helped her to understand the industry even more. “It was really cool and I learned a lot about myself and grew more and more. Then I was in a duo for a little while, and it was really fun. I don’t think it was truthfully my sound, but I learned so much about music.”

Eventually, the songstress found her home at Sony Music Nashville, as a solo artist, finally making the music she was called to create.

Today:

Flash forward to today, Luna just released her incredible EP, That Girl, featuring eight songs that tell a personal, beautiful, and relatable story. “This whole thing was a learning process of getting to find my sound and who I was as an artist and a girl. These past two years have been the hardest, but the most rewarding because I’ve gotten to truly learn to love me and learn what I wanted and who I wanted to be,” shared the singer.

“‘That Girl’ the whole EP was my healing journey through going through something really traumatic. It was like a time capsule for every step of the way of getting to be where I’m at now. I think it’s really, really cool, and I hope it helps all the other girls going through the same thing.”

Luna is giving young girls like her the chance to see Latin representation in country music, something she didn’t see when she was younger. “Country music is my favorite because of this storytelling, the raw life of the people that we write about. You can gain such a deep connection to people.”

When it comes to the project, the songstress poured her heart and soul into the project. “Truthfully from the top to the bottom, it’s my healing journey. I went through a pretty tough divorce at a pretty young age. The songwriter in me, the only way I knew how to deal was by writing it down. That’s what I did. The first song on the track is “I Don’t,” and it takes you through the really tough times and the last song is “Happiest I Ever Been” and it’s where I’m at now. I hope it gives hope to the girls that are going through something similar. It’s an EP of self-discovery and empowerment I think.”

New and old fans of Luna alike will get to see a lot more of her moving forward. Stay tuned!

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Kat Luna announcements and releases.

To keep up with Kat Luna, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Kat Luna’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Timmy McKeever? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Timmy McKeever? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

who-is-timmy-mckeever

Timmy McKeever

Quick Facts:
Full name – Timmothy Joseph McKeever
Birthdate – 11/16/2006
Hometown – Huntington Beach, California
Current city – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical influences- Eric Church, HARDY, Riley Green, Johnny Cash, Luke Combs
Label – Droptine Music (Jim Catino)
Current single- “I’ve Known Better” (as of date of article: 3/31/2025)
The Beginning:

Nashville is a true mecca for talented artists in the music industry. Timmy McKeever is one of those artists. The eighteen year old has a passion for music and is wise beyond his years. We chatted with the singer-songwriter about his love for music, his latest project, and everything in between. Keep reading to learn more!

“I was born in Huntington Beach, California, and I started playing music when I was nine years old, and it was kind of weird because nobody in my family is musically-inclined by any means. So when I picked up the guitar, it was kind of random,” began the singer.

McKeever credits his third grade teacher for introducing him to music. “My 3rd grade teacher would sing and play worship music for us everyday after class, and I was pretty interested, and we had a $90 guitar that was hanging around the house, and no one had picked it up in years, and I sort of just picked it up and started watching YouTube videos and just kind of taught myself.”

All the practicing made the rising artist fall in love with music. Music also helped him, when he had to give up ice hockey after too many concussions. “That’s when I really started pouring myself into music, and I started playing shows and writing music.”

McKeever wrote his first song at nine years old and was playing at diver bars at just eleven years old. “Pretty much my whole childhood was playing shows every weekend. I would play anywhere form 1-3 shows and cut my teeth out there,” shared the singer, adding, “Growing up, I listened to a lot of Eric Church. He’s probably one of my biggest influences. […] “I would play a lot of early Luke Combs and Riley Green. One of my other biggest influences of all time is Toby Keith. I also love Jason Aldean and Johnny Cash as well.”

The Turning Point:

Despite not knowing anything about the music industry, McKeever knew that music was his calling. “It wasn’t until I was twelve years old, when I got reached out to by a record label here in Nashville. They just reached out via Instagram. […] My dad responded to the DM because he was running my account at the time. […] We kind of started learning about the industry.”

With the help of his parents and social media, McKeever continued to make a name for himself in the genre “After that first trip, I knew I wanted to do this for the rest of my life. That was kind of the catalyst for me coming out here,” he shared. “I started coming to Nashville, when I was twelve years old, and since then I’ve come as much as I can. Now I’m living here full-time. I moved out here in June, and I’ve been loving it.”

Once the singer made the move to Music City, he began to really pour himself into songwriting. “Pretty much my main passion is songwriting. […] Growing up I would get my work done as fast as I could, so I could go home and write my music,” he shared, adding, “Before moving to Nashville, I didn’t really have much experience working with co-writers, and when I moved out here. I sat down with the head of my label, and we decided that was the biggest thing we wanted to get involved with, writing with as many great songwriters as I could.”

The singer spent the first several months in Nashville writing five times a week and getting into every room he could. It paid off.

Today:

Flash forward to today, McKeever just released his debut project, Devils and Angels featuring eight songs. The record in totality is for the fans. The singer did not originally set out to release a project this quickly into his career, but with the help of his growing fanbase and his viral videos on social media, the project was born.

“I started teasing a couple of the songs, and they just caught crazy traction on social media, and the fans were like you need to put out all this music right now. […] The creation process, I wrote the title track for that album probably two years ago, and I held on to it because it was the first song that I had written that I had felt confident about,” he shared.

Devils and Angels as a whole shows off McKeever’s unique talent as both a vocalist and as a songwriter. “The thing about my music taste is I don’t limit it to country music. I listen to a lot of different styles of music and genres. I think it comes out a lot in my music because I like to pull from all different influences when creating my songs.”

Additionally, arguably one of the best songs off the project and one of the singer’s favorites is a song called “Lightning Speed.” “I’m a big fan of heavier music, and it’s probably the heaviest song on the album. I just love the story-line. It was a solo write originally, but I hated the bridge of the song, so I sat down with a buddy of mine one night whose not even a songwriter, and he was like, “what if you just did this,” and I was like “dang.” And that’s the final bridge of the song right now, the one that he came up with. I think it’s a really special song and a good reminder of how to live your life and stay true to yourself.”

While fans continue to take in the project, McKeever still has more new music coming down the pipeline this year, as well as, more shows in the works. Stay tuned!

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Timmy McKeever announcements and releases.

To keep up with Timmy McKeever follow him on Instagram and TikTok.

Timmy McKeever’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Lavish Life? The Story Behind Their Journey To Country-EDM Music

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Who is Lavish Life? The New York-native DJ duo joined us to chat about their journey so far in the new country-EDM music scene. Get to know the rising stars here…

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Lavish Life

Quick Facts:

Full Name – Lavish Life (Thomas Pipolo and Vinny Abbatiello)
Birthday – Thomas: 2/27/1996; Vinny: 1/24/1996
Hometown – Long Island, New York
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical Influences – Morgan Wallen, Riley Green, Diplo, Thomas Rhett
Current Single – “Same Girl” Remix with Caden McGuire (As of article date – 3/17/2025)

The Beginning:

There is nothing like watching artists and fans alike flock to country music. This week’s spotlight artists, Thomas Pipolo and Vinny Abbatiello who make up the duo, Lavish Life are a perfect example of new age country artists with twist. Lavish Life is a country-EDM duo from New York that are bringing their own flavor to the genre. We chatted with them about their journey so far and their plans for the future.

Both men gravitated towards music at different times in their lives. For Thomas, music came later in life, in college. “I actually didn’t do music my whole life. I played college baseball at UMass. I kinda picked it up while I was in college. I just taught myself guitar and somehow how to sing. I would sing after we all went out, my buddies and teammates would make me go play for them. […] That’s kind of how I started.”

For Vinny, music was always there. “I’ve always been pursuing music. I played in metal bands surprisingly when I was fourteen, fifteen, traveling all over New York playing in bands. I started playing guitar when I was thirteen, maybe twelve, so it’s always been in my blood. After that, I tried to go to college, and it wasn’t really the greatest route for me because I was stuck producing music in class, and it wasn’t really working.”

Despite their different journeys, the duo has a joint appreciation for music. “I come from a little bit of different musical background. I’m definitely more into the more rock, pop. I think that’s why we blend so well, which is why we’re country-EDM,” shared Vinny, while Thomas added, “I think personally on my end, I love writing big commerically kind of songs. Bruno Mars is one of those kind of guys. […] I love music that everybody can listen to. In the country space, I really love Riley Green and Jelly Roll. […] As a duo, we’re kind of looking at being kind of like a country Chainsmokers because I sing.”

The Turning Point:

Lavish Life was officially formed a bit after Thomas finished college with his masters. “One of the first songs I ever made, I made it with Vinny. It kind of took off a little bit, and we signed with somebody, and we were writing and producing for some big artists for like a year or so. That kind of didn’t work out, and we said let’s just start this duo.”

Vinny added, “We ended up putting a song out called, “222” and it ended up doing pretty well. When you kind of meet somebody who you work well, you just want to keep that. […] From getting signed, there’s always ups and downs, and we went all in on the duo thing. That was kind of always a lingering option in the back of our heads.”

With a year of establishing themselves as a duo, Lavish Life played at EDC in Las Vegas and garnered an incredible following of loyal fans, as well as, industry connections.

As a duo, Lavish Life has leaned into this unique country-EDM space, continuing to establish themselves as djs and artists in their own right. With Vinny holding down the home base in New York and Thomas living in Nashville, and making connections, Lavish Life is truly ready to take the music industry by storm. “You just kind of have to establish yourself in one area and then you can kind of brand off and do whatever else you want.”

Knowing that, the duo continue to focus on writing and producing original music, while creating remixes in tandem to grow their following. “I think something that we’re really focusing on, and what’s funny is The Chainsmokers kind of did the same thing with indie artists in New York City is that worked with a lot of up and coming artists, and that’s kind of what we did with Caden [McGuire]. […] We did a song with a good buddy, Michael Warren too,” they shared, adding, “We kinda have an eye for what’s up next, and working with those kind of people is great.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Lavish Life is booked and busy. The duo have gigs across the country, including at Common Country in NYC this Saturday, March 29th. For table reservations, make sure to email howdy@commoncountrybar.com. The artists continue to release music, all while, teasing new remixes and vibes with fans across social media.

While their remix of Morgan Wallen’s single, “Last Night” may have kicked it off for them, Lavish Life truly shows no signs of slowing down. “I love country music. Just growing up, playing baseball, I was that guy that put country music on the playlist. […] We did a remix of “Last Night” by Morgan Wallen, and it blew up, and we just decided to go all-in on country-EDM. Nobody’s doing it, so let’s be one of the first to really go all in it,” shared Thomas.

Most recently the duo collaborated with new country artist, Caden McGuire on “Same Girl.” The remix showed a lot of range and brought new ears to both Lavish Life and McGuire. “It’s such a benefit being here. We’re able to really see what’s going on and work with people, and make connections, and writing with some big, big people, it’s been great,” shared the duo, adding, “I think the biggest thing that’s going to separate us is we can do the remixes, but we really want to focus on being more artists, and we can write and produce our own stuff. I think it’s going to be a combo of working with up and coming people, maybe doing some big official remixes, and heading into the summer, we really want to establish that country Chainsmokers thing.”

While we await new music, fans can get ready for the biggest summer of their young career. “We’ve been holding these three or four big, big songs that a lot of country artists and dj’s are wanting, and I don’t know, but I think it’s coming to a point where we’re probably going to pull them and go crazy with the content and finish them ourselves,” shared the artists. “We haven’t put anything out that is our best at all, so we’re super excited to do that.”

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news and announcements about future Lavish Life releases.

To keep up with Lavish Life, follow them on Instagram, TikTok or Facebook.

Lavish Life’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Preston Cooper? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Preston Cooper? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

who-is-preston-cooper

Preston Cooper // Photo credit: David McClister

Quick Facts:
Full name – Preston Cooper
Birthdate – 03/07/2003
Hometown – Fredricktown, Ohio
Current city – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical influences- Chris Stapleton, Bob Seger, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Foo Fighters, Erich Church
Label – The Valory Music Co. / Big Machine Label Group
Current single- “One More Place I’ve Never Been” + “Numbers On A Mailbox” (as of date of article: 3/17/2025)
The Beginning:

Today’s spotlight shines on The Valory Music Co. and Big Machine Label Group artist, Preston Cooper. Cooper is a force to be reckon with in country music, and we enjoyed getting to know his story so far. In our conversation, we covered everything from his journey to Nashville and his newest releases.

“I grew up in a small town. […] It’s a farm town. It’s not very big,” began Cooper. “I grew up being out in the woods and hunting a lot, I started playing guitar freshman year of high-school and I joined choir, did that for a little bit, and then I just started singing and playing shows especially after high-school, I started playing bar gigs around town.”

Despite loving music, Cooper did not immediately pursue his raw singing talent. He was simply a fan of music first as a young kid. “When I hit high-school, I really started to get into music. There was always something about music when I was young that just pulled me in. I remember I was in the backseat of my mom’s car when I was super little, and music was just always something that kept my mind busy,” he shared, adding, “I’ll never forget the first time I heard “Tennessee Whiskey” by Chris Stapleton on the video.”

Cooper recalls looking up to artists like Stapleton and Keith Urban, as well as, artists across other genres like John Mayer and the Foo Fighters. The artists challenged the singer to get better at his craft. “When I started playing guitar, it was more of hobby than everything else. I would play three hours after high-school. My fingers would bleed I would play so much. It was kind of an escape from everything. There was something about it that I loved. I didn’t know I was going to do it for a living.”

The Turning Point:

Cooper continued to play more and more gigs post high-school, while also working full-time as a mailman. “I worked at the post office right after high-school and played gigs at the same time, and I was making more money playing gigs, so I quit my job, and I was having fun doing it,” shared the singer-songwriter. “People seemed to love it around town, so I kept on doing it.”

As he played more and more shows, Cooper grew his fanbase and his connections. One day, he received a call from a booking agent, who invited him to play a gig in Toledo, Ohio, opening for Nashville songwriters, who he later learned were The Warren Brothers.

“I had a little 45 minute set during cocktail hour, and The Warren Brothers were in the back at a meet and greet, and they are usually never there before their set. Well this one particular day, they happened to be there an hour early, and they heard me sing, and they told their booking guy that they wanted to meet me.”

He met The Warren Brothers after the show, and they invited him to come to Nashville. “Three weeks later I drove to Nashville, and we played the Bluebird and we wrote “Weak” the first day and recorded it the first day I came to Nashville, and I stayed with them. I just kept making trips down after that, and we’d all get together, and we’d write a couple of more songs and we would go in the studio and record them.” The first song that the singer and The Warren Brothers wrote together would later become Cooper’s debut single.

Eventually after nine months of making trips to music city, Cooper made the move to Nashville, and within six months of moving to town, the singer-songwriter signed a record deal.

Today:

Flash forward to today, Cooper is making a name for himself as a country artist. So far, the singer has released three singles, including, “Weak,” “One More Place I’ve Never Been,” and his newest song, “Numbers On A Mailbox.”

The latter is the only song of the three that Cooper did not have a hand in writing. “I did not write that song, but it was about a year after I knew The Warren Brothers, they had a memory pop up on their phone, and it was that song that they wrote. They wrote it like eight years ago. Everybody in town loved it, but they never cut it because it never spoke to them personally, but I was a mailman, and a young kid that moved away from his hometown, and they sent me the song, and it just stuck with me,” he shared, adding, “So we went in, tweaked a few things, and it really became [a] Preston Cooper song.”

On the other hadn’t, “One More Place I’ve Never Been” was inspired by a story of no longer being with a girl, who has a new relationship in a new place. The single is another incredible story-driven, emotive song. “We wrote “One More Place I’ve Never Been” the second trip I came to Nashville. It sat on the shelf for three months, and we went to the studio with a band, and the band crushed it, it just really came alive.”

Cooper is sure to continue to release even more music as the year progresses. Fans can even catch him playing shows with artists like Riley Green. Check out the tour dates and get your tickets here!

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Preston Cooper announcements and releases.

To keep up with Preston Cooper follow him on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Preston Cooper’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Willow Avalon? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music

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Who is Willow Avalon? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

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Willow Avalon // Photo credit: Kristin Karch

Quick Facts:
Full Name – Willow Avalon
Birthdate – August 20th, 1998
Hometown – Carlton, Georgia
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical Influences – Lucinda Williams, Dolly Parton, Loretta Lynn
Label – Assemble Sound / Atlantic
The Beginning:

Today’s spotlight shines on musical creative, Willow Avalon. The songstress is wise beyond her years and has talent to rival anyone in the industry. We chatted with the singer-songwriter about her upbringing, how she found music, and her debut album, Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell.

“I grew up in rural Georgia. My whole family was born and raised there. I grew up with crazy, crazy Southern women raising me in a town called Carlton, Georgia. It’s really little, but packs a punch,” began the singer. “It is my favorite place in the whole wide world. I just grew up in the Baptist church, the church helped me and my Mama with a lot of stuff because my mom was pretty much a single mom for a lot of raising me.”

Avalon credits her upbringing for her love of music, sharing that her father was an incredible singer, while her grandmother and her grandmother’s sisters had a country singing group. She added, “My Mama is very tone deaf, but she’s an incredible painter and knows everything there is to know about music.”

Throughout her childhood, the singer-songwriter sang in choir at church and even learned to be both piano and guitar. “Music has been my favorite thing since I was born pretty much,” she shared. Artists like Lucinda Williams influenced her songwriting, while greats like Dolly Parton and Loretta Lynn blew her away vocally. She later would go on to take these influences to create her own special sound.

The Turning Point:

Despite always loving music, Avalon did not grow up thinking she would become what she is today. “It was something I kind of never thought would happen. I’ve had a kind of crazy life, and I didn’t expect really to be living past late teens, early twenties, and that was something that was sadly a pretty big reality where I’m from and the kind of cards that I was dealt,” she shared, adding, “Coming from a 200 population town and my Mama worked every possible job you can think of, which I also did when I left. […] The energy I felt was that I wasn’t going to be able to do what I wanted to do, and dreams were just dreams and they didn’t happen, but kind of in my heart and my head, I made myself a promise that no wasn’t in my vocabulary and if things knock you down, you just get back up.”

With inner strength that she may have not been aware of, Avalon left home at just sixteen years old. “I was a waitress for a really long time, I dropped out of high school, I never got a GED. I just worked service-industry for a long time and every other little job you can think of just to get by,” she shared. Eventually at just seventeen years old, Avalon moved to Los Angles, California.

Around the same time, the singer put out her first song, “Drive In,” which she wrote while living in her car in Atlanta at just sixteen years old. “It’s an unmixed, unmastered, MP3 with GarageBand on it, and I just threw it out there after my label dropped me, and it was right when COVID was happening. I just put it out and didn’t have any expectations about it.”

With the help of her then boyfriend, Andrew she decided to put out the single, as well as, post it on TikTok “Nothing really happened. I ended up getting some calls from management, and after I left that relationship, I ended up moving to New York and working with these mangers. I wasn’t very fond of the internet I guess. I thought TikTok was an analog clock app. […] I had no idea, so I moved here, and I made a TikTok account, and I just posted funny, silly stuff, and I had a video that went crazy, crazy viral, along with another video, and it truly just changed my life over night.”

Eventually the algorithm led her to where she is now, a signed recording artist with Assemble Sound / Atlantic Records. “The journey has been pretty windy and pretty crazy. Even when I thought something was a sure bet, it wasn’t. I kind of had to continuously put my heart on the line and just trust the process.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Avalon recently released her debut project, Southern Belle Raisin’ Hell under Atlantic. “I’ve been so thankful for Atlantic to be so kind to give me creative liberty and make the records I want to make  and the ones that feel true to me,” she shared adding, “This whole record was about trusting my gut and writing songs that felt true, pure, and real to me, and making this record with people that felt like friends more than colleagues. I’d say it’s been a rocky road, but I’m so grateful, and I couldn’t be more proud of me and everyone on the team and everyone involved.”

The record features fourteen songs that speak to Avalon’s unique talent as an artist. Each of the songs feel like a special part of her heart and her journey, evoking vulnerability every step of the way.

“I just want people, specifically women to be able to relate to it, and find some solace and understanding that no matter where you are, the deck of cards you’re handed in your life is not the deck of cards you’re going to end up with. You can do absolutely anything you want to do if you put your heart to it and don’t let anyone tell you difference. It’s okay to be raw and vulnerable, which I have been a lot in this record. Hardships in your life don’t always have to weigh you down, they can be fruitful, and they can give something incredible, beautiful, and they can make art. I hope it resonates with people in a good way.”

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Willow Avalon announcements and releases.

To keep up with Willow Avalon, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Willow Avalon’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Erin Alvey? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music

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Who is Erin Alvey? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

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Erin Alvey

Quick Facts:
Full Name – Erin Alvey
Birthdate – January 29th
Hometown – South Georgia
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee
Musical Influences – Paul McCartney, Lewis Capaldi, Shania Twain
The Beginning:

Every artist has their own unique story. This week’s spotlight artist, Erin Alvey is one of those artists. We chatted with the newcomer about her love for music, her journey, and what she has planned moving forward in her blossoming career, as she navigates music, motherhood, and her dreams.

“I was born and raised in South Georgia,” began Alvey. “I grew up loving music, but just as a casual listener, I was really into sports and playing sports. Music was something that something that kind of fell into my lap a little bit, I started getting into it in high-school, I started singing a little bit here and there, but then I really showed interest in college when sports were no longer apart of my life as much. I started playing guitar and I grew up playing piano, so I had music in my life, but not as intensely as I decided to jump into it in college.”

Despite loving music, including Irish musicians like Enya and artists like Paul McCartney and Alan Jackson, Alvey was not focused on music until college, when music kind of revealed itself as an important outlet.

“I kind of showed a little interest in music, and my cousin who was in the boy band O-Town, from MTV’s Making The Band, he said, “I’ll take you to Nashville if you write five songs, I’ll take you to Nashville to record an album or an EP, and we can get you started.” So I wrote songs in about two weeks, about five songs, and then he took me to Nashville, and that’s where my story in music starts.”

The Turning Point:

With the support of her cousin, Jacob Underwood and her parents, Alvey decided to give music a real shot “My dad, at the time, sat on the front porch with me and wrote love songs about random things. […] My sweet dad saw I had a dream and he’s so great with word crafting, and he saw I had a dream and he sat with me, and helped me write my first song. He didn’t have any music background, so I was just plucking away on the guitar trying to come up with the melody, but it’s so fun looking back at the origin of it all,” shared the singer, reminiscing about writing her first few songs.

Eventually, she headed to Nashville to record her first project with her cousin’s support. “Believe it or not, [my cousin] Jacob helped me find country. I was born and raised South Georgia, and it kinda made sense. I’ve done a little bit in the pop realm since then, but country is my roots, and I keep coming back to it. When I write, my style of writing is more country. It was the fit that made the most sense.”

Alvey continued making trips back and forth to Nashville throughout college. My parents begged met to stay, and said I could spend my summers traveling to Nashville and whatever I needed, but really wanted me to finish my degree, so my first four years, I was actually in college, during balancing my career,” she shared, adding, “After college, I started really touring. I toured the southeast for a while and many years I spent doing that up until COVID.”

Like many of us, the pandemic forced Alvey to look at her life and career and make decisions that fit who she was becoming and the dreams that were taken shape. “I decided to reevaluate my life as an artist and even my artistry, and what I wanted to write. I kind of felt like I was touring so much, and I became a glorified cover band, I was proud of what I was writing, but it wasn’t really anything super substantial, so I took that time to stay back here in Nashville and write with songwriters in town, and write with songwriters in town.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Alvey is finally sharing the music she worked so hard on. “I did that for many years, and during that time, I met my husband. And we got married, had a wedding, had a baby, and now I decided that I’m going to start releasing this work that I’ve been working so hard on the last couple of years.”

Most recently, the singer-songwriter released the first single off her upcoming project Questions + Answers. Alvey’s  single is called “End Badley”, which was inspired by love with a new twist.

“‘End Badly’ is the first track of ‘Q&A’ as a whole, so Questions + Answers. The whole EP is based off the quote “there’s years that ask questions and there’s years that answer” and “End Badly” is definably a question year, and luckily I married my husband who I’m talking about in the song, but when I first met him and we first started dating, I remember thinking “I really, really like this guy. He’s special. He’s different.” And I was horrified actually. Instead of a typical love song, it’s kind of a darker take on the idea of what it’s like when you first get into a relationship with somebody. […] It’s like if you’re going to end this at some point, please don’t be the one that got away.”

For Alvey, it’s important that her music represents her as a person and as an artist. She wants her music to tell authentic stories and to feel like her. The upcoming project will feature six songs that showcase that “With the new EP coming out, there are a lot of songs that are happy-go-lucky love songs, but there’s also a lot of heartbreaks because just because I’m in this side of life now, doesn’t mean that I didn’t experience every bit of what it’s like in your 20s, falling in love and having your heart broken and the excitement and sadness of it all. That’s what the EP is just a jumble of the past ten years of my life.”

Fans can look forward to the project, as well as, hopefully some shows later this summer. Stay tuned!

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Erin Alvey announcements and releases.

To keep up with Erin Alvey, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.

Erin Alvey’s music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Not Leaving Sober? The Story Behind Their Journey to Country Music

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Who is Not Leaving Sober? Nico Araco (lead vocals, acoustic) and James P. Long (lead vocals, rhythm guitar) joined us to chat about their journey to country music. Get to know the band here…

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Not Leaving Sober

Quick Facts:
Full name– Nico Araco (lead vocals, acoustic), James P Long “Jimmy” (lead vocals, rhythm guitar), Ronnie Fischer (lead guitar), T.J. Horner (drums), Jerry Leach (bass)
Hometown – Matawan, NJ & Hazlet, NJ
Current city – Asbury Park, NJ
Musical influences – Hardy, Morgan Wallen, Luke Combs, Guns N Roses, Green Day
Current single- “Different Kind of Country” (as of date of article)

The Beginning:

Today we shine our spotlight on a local country-rock band that everyone should pay attention to! Country Swag caught up with Nico Araco and James P Long of the band Not Leaving Sober to chat about their band, their story, and of course, their debut album, Almost Sober.

The New Jersey natives had music in their blood from an early age. Despite not forming a friendship until after college, the two crossed paths often during high-school and college, while on the same music circuit. “Me and Jimmy pretty much met at karaoke. I used to host karaoke, Jimmy used to come out to it,” began Nico of Not Leaving Sober. “He and I had been in and out of different bands in high-school that almost always crossed paths. I had seen him at some local shows, when we were in our high-school bands, and then we finally came together and wanted to do something.”

While in high-school, both lead vocalists dabbled in different types of music, drawing inspiration from artists across genres, including country greats like Johny Cash, Keith Whitley, and The Allman Brothers. “I definitely always loved music. No matter whatever else I was doing in my life, music was always a part of it. I’ve been writing music since I was a little kid. I was in a punk band in high-school. […] Before this, I was part of a hip-hop group, so a lot of that influence came into what we do now,” shared Nico.

“Since I was younger, always doing it. It was a lot of fun. I didn’t really get to a guitar until I was about twelve, thirteen, but I guess I’m a little late to that party, but once I got a hold of a guitar, and started realizing what I was doing, it was always there. And I’ve been singing my entire life, and you put one and two together, and “I’m like that’s a lot of fun.” I was in a grunge band in high-school, and in college, I had another band that was a rock group and I was in a jazz fusion band before this happened believe it or not,” shared Jimmy.

The Turning Point:

Eventually the two connected and decided to make music together. “We did some songs together, and I realized how immaculate this gentleman’s harmonies were, and I said we should do something together. […] We started playing as an acoustic duo. Then we ended up hosting karaoke together for years, and sort of, it became this special thing, he became my best friend and my music partner pretty much.”

A few years in, the rising artists decided to turn their duo into a legitimate bad, forming Not Leaving Sober officially. “We had a bunch of really talented friends and asked them if they’d be interested, and that’s kinda what led into to what it is today,” shared the singers, adding, “We call ourselves country-rock. It’s mostly southern rock. We’re very proud to be carving a niche if you will. It’s got more bite. It’s not true country, it’s something good.”

However, when 2020 hit and the world shut down, Not Leaving Sober was faced with some unforeseen challenges, but eventually rose to the occasion. “During COVID, the lockdown, there was this moment where we were like we’re not going to sit here and be stagnant and rot. There were probably more bad things than good, but we tried to turn it into a positive, and said let’s take all this downtime and write a lot of music and record a lot of music and when life opens back up again, we’re going to be in a lot better of position. We really buckled down during COVID and had everything figured out, and I think that really helped us when the world opened back up.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, some of the songs Nico and Jimmy had written during he pandemic turned out to be on their debut album Almost Sober. The record features sixteen songs in total, with five new songs making the cut and eleven previously released fan-favorite singles

“Obviously we just released five new songs that we haven’t put out as singles before, but a lot of those songs came really easy at least to me. The last five just came easy, came right out of our head, and we were able to add some depth to the album. The other ones, they had been singles, and they had been obviously a thing,” shared the singers, who highlighted songs like “Chasin’ Tequila,” a FaceTime babies as one of their favorites.

The record as a whole boasts songs that truly speak to the diversity that is Not Leaving Sober. Although cohesive, the record has depth, relatability, and unique influences that flow through each and every song off the project.

“Once the album came together, we started to realize that we do have our own sound. Like you said before, there’s influences from so many different genres. We really kind of put together five very different musicians that give us our own flavor. And being from the Jersey shore and the tristate area really, a lot of people have this stigma that country music can’t exist, and I think it’s really cool that we got to kind of put our mark on this, and we consider ourselves a country-rock band, but there’s this whole other side to this that feels unique.”

Not Leaving Sober is ready for the world to know their name and their music. Be on the look-out for a show near you! “We’re going to showcase the hell out of all this new stuff.”

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Not Leaving Sober announcements and releases.

To keep up with Not Leaving Sober, follow them on Instagram, TikTok, and Facebook.

Not Leaving Sober’ music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Jenna Davis? The Story Behind Her Journey to Country Music 2025

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Who is Jenna Davis? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about her journey to country music. Get to know the rising star here…

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Jenna Davis

Quick Facts:
Full Name – Jenna Davis
Birthdate – 05/05/2004
Hometown – Born in Plano, TX and Grew Up in Frisco, TX & Chaska, MN
Current City – Nashville, Tennessee + Los Angeles, California
Musical Influences – Shania Twain, Avril Lavigne, Miley Cyrus
Label – SMACKRecords
Current Single – “SIKE” (as of date of article 02/03/2025)
The Beginning:

The journey of an artist is filled with evolution, passion, and perseverance. Some shine brightly from the start, while others take time to refine their sound and truly make their mark. Today, we had the pleasure of reconnecting with a standout talent we first spoke with a few years ago, just as she was signing her record deal.

While many recognize Jenna Davis for her strong social media presence, her love for music and performing has been lifelong. Now, she’s making a powerful return as one of country music’s brightest rising stars.

“I was born in Plano, Texas. […] My mom was a piano and voice teacher, and I was always singing music throughout the house with her, and that’s how I discovered that I loved singing,” shared the songstress.

Ever since she was young, the singer-songwriter recalls listening to country music and falling in love with the genre. “My biggest influences are probably Miley Cyrus, Avril Lavigne, and Shania Twain,” she shared. “I think they’re the top three that I get inspiration from.” Adding later, “Country music has always been in my life. My mom introduced me to LeeAnn Rimes and Dolly Parton from a super young age. I always just fell in love with how country music told stories with their lyrics.”

At just four years old, Davis and her family moved to Minnesota, where she started doing musical theatre. “I started doing small community theatre and then graduated to doing professional theatre. After I started doing professional theatre in middle school, I turned to my mom and said that I wanted to do film and TV, and that I wanted to be on Disney channel, so when I was around ten to eleven years old, we started coming out to Los Angeles to pursue the acting world and industry.”

Recognizing her undeniable star power, Davis and her mom began traveling to LA to chase her diverse ambitions.

The Turning Point:

While in Los Angeles, Davis began sharing her vocal talent on social media. “I started doing parking garage singing covers in our parking garage in our apartment complex, and we started posting them to Instagram when I was eleven years old, and I believe we did 3-4 covers a week, just to grow as an artist and to also learn how to sing different genres. Still, I knew country music was what I wanted to do deep down.”

In order to feel a closer connection to her growing fanbase, Davis decided to showcase more of her life on social media, aside from her singing aspirations and talents. “As that grew, I decided not only to show my singing side, but also who Jenna is as a person, because I think if you are relatable with your audience and your audience can understand not only you as an artist but you as a person, it just gives them a sense of that you are actually a person and a personal connection.”

At just fifteen, Davis discovered a deeper connection to music by writing her own songs. “I started writing when I was fifteen after my first heartbreak,” she shared. “It became my outlet, and from there, I began releasing music and stepping into the country scene.”

“I always knew that it was where I wanted to be, so when I was about sixteen, we started coming out to Nashville. I startled getting involved in a little bit of the writing rooms and learning how Nashville works, and then when I was eighteen, I got signed to SMACK. They discovered me when I was seventeen, and I found my team. I’m so thankful for them and for believing in me and my music.”

Today:

Since signing her record deal with SMACKRecords, Davis has been cultivating her aesthetic and artistry. “I’ve been learning about what I want to say as an artist and what I want to put out. This past year, I’ve been collaborating with different writers and finding the people that I now call family to love and create music with,” she shared. Adding, “My biggest goal as an artist is to create music that tells stories, and I think that also stems so much from acting. I also want to create things that people can get different emotions from.”

Most recently, Davis shared her debut EP, SIKE with the world, featuring five carefully-chosen songs that depict who the singer-songwriter is as a young, rising artist. “I really feel like ‘SIKE’ has been so healing for me, and it’s been so fun. I’ve been able to take a lot of my real life experiences and putting them into a song. Something I love about this project so much is all of these stories I can kind of look back and laugh on and I wanted to make that really prevalent in the songs too.”

The record as a whole is cohesive, spunky, fun, and exciting to listen to. “All the songs are really witty and fun, and I really wanted to make this project just super witty and fun. […] I truly think these five were my favorites and that’s what made it so easy to pick. […] I’m super proud of it, and I’m excited because I do feel like they correlate together, but they’re not the same. Sonically, I wanted them all to fit together, but I also wanted listeners to click on each one and hear something different,” shared the songstress.

Moving ahead, Davis is only going to share more and more music as her career continues to take off. For 2025, fans can expect more music releases, more shows, and a bigger and more exciting year ahead!

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Jenna Davis announcements and releases.

To keep up with Jenna Davis, follow her on Instagram, TikTok, Twitter, and Facebook.

Jenna Davis’ music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.

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Who Is Joe Nichols? The Story Behind His Journey to Country Music

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Who is Joe Nichols? The singer-songwriter joined us to chat about his journey to country music. Get to know the star here…

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Joe Nichols

Quick Facts:
Full name– Joe Nichols
Birthdate – 11/26/1976
Hometown – Rogers, Arkansas
Current city – Texas
Musical influences – Buck Owens, Merle Haggard, Don Williams
Label – Quartz Hill Records
Current single- “Better Than You” with Annie Bosko (as of date of article)
The Beginning:
While we love showcasing new and rising country artists, it’s always exciting to celebrate those who’ve already made their mark. We caught up with singer-songwriter Joe Nichols to talk about his incredible journey through decades in country music, his achievements, new music, and more. Keep reading to dive into his story!

“I always had the bug to sing a little bit,” began the Arkansas native. “My dad had many jobs, but one thing he did on the weekends was he played music, and a lot of my family members played music. It was mostly country music. I kind of always wanted to be a singer. I watched him play and he was a great singer.”

Growing up on country music, Nichols recalls trying to emulate the greats that came through his airwaves. Artists like George Strait, Merle Haggard, Randy Travis, and Keith Whitley influenced him and his singing voice at an early age. “Those guys taught me how to sing. I always gravitated towards the more baritone, traditional country guys.”

Nichols took his love of music with him throughout his life, and when he hit high school, he found himself at a crossroads. “I decided my life was going into two directions, either music professionally or a baseball player professionally. Both of those things were incredible long-shots, but I kind of leaned into music, and then put together my first band around 18 years old.”

The Turning Point:

At just eighteen years old, Nichols was primed for success, playing gigs around his home state and beyond as much as he could. A year into grinding in the music scene, he earned his first independent deal. “When I was nineteen, I put out a couple of songs with a video attached to it, and had a little bit of success,” shared the singer. Adding, “It gave me a little taste of wanting to do something bigger, so I moved to Nashville. I beat the streets for a good solid four, five years, and in 2002 I got my first major-label release with Universal South called, “The Impossible.” […] I had my first number one on R&R charts.”

Once he finally landed in Nashville, Nichols was clear-eyed and ready to make his dreams come true. “We were kind of off to the races then. We had peaks and valleys, and top of the top and low of the lows, over the last twenty-two years,” shared the artist.

Throughout his time in Nashville, Nichols achieved recognition by radio, garnered millions of loyal fans, and shared many new projects. “As far as my career goes, I think I’ve had technically six number ones, five if you only count billboard number ones. […] It’s been incredible. I’m still here, making new music. […] My goal always was to do this for a living for twenty years or more, and people are still coming up to see the show and stream my music. That’s all I ever wanted.”

Today:

Flash forward to today, Nichols is still making music, and has no plans to stop any time soon! The singer most recently released his new album, Honky Tonks & Country Songs featuring eleven new songs including an incredible remake of the Hank Williams Jr classic, “Country Boy Can Survive.”

“We started recording back in October 2023, and we put together a good pile of five or six songs to feel out the direction we wanted to go with this album,” shared the singer. “What kind of formed organically, was a little bit honky-tonk music and kind of 90s throwback music. We have some two-stepping songs, line-dancing songs, and that’s kind of the feel we went for. There’s some new, kind of progressive sounding things, including the single, “Better Than You,”. The single is kind of a new, 2024, radio-sounding song, and then we got a 2024 version of “Country Boy Can’t Survive” that’s pretty rocking. There’s a lot of stuff that feels like early 2000s, late 90s. It was a really explosive time for country music.”

The record as a whole showcases Nichols staying power as an artist. There are songs for the more modern country fans, just as there are songs for the more traditional fan. Nichols music stands the test of time. To stay in the loop ant catch the singer on the road, head to his website here for tickets to his shows!

Connect:

Fans can join our Weekly Round-Up e-newsletter here, for the latest in country music and more news about upcoming Joe Nichols  announcements and releases.

To keep up with Joe Nichols, follow him on Instagram, Twitter, and Facebook.

Joe Nichols’ music is available everywhere you buy or stream music. Take a listen below and check out more new recently released tunes on our ‘New Country Music’ playlist. Be sure to give the playlist a follow for your weekly new country music fix.