Rolling Country 2020

Another one new to me
Ashley Ray, Pauline:
Country songwriting pro, on the team w Lori McKenna etc. This 2020 alb is first of hers I've heard: wild 'n' blue munchkin hop on otm uptempo tracks, a bit mumblecore on ballads so far, but that can work when I catch up, like imagery moving out of the murk on some of xpost Gretchen Peters' comsic country Mickey Newbury trib. Also, at least one of the ballads already works: "Rock and Roll," not Zep's or VU's, but another original, kinda spooky, with two hooks, one in the chorus, the other in a recurring banjo lick.

Don't know the backstory and haven't listened to the whole thing but Luke Dick's "Red Dog (Music from the Documentary" features an excellent song with Miranda Lambert called "Polyester" that I needed to fill the upsetting "no Miranda Lambert project" gap on my EOY playlist. Guess this came out a couple months ago but didn't see it posted.

https://open.spotify.com/album/33tcvg35cWhYwHFzNVH8j3?si=Au6mNLeuSomAkMWcJb24vw

Absolutely love the "there it is hanging on the wall" callback in each verse, as well as this earwormy chorus:

Hail hail trailer park hero/
Got a new car and used tuxedo/
Aw, hell, look at you now/
You got your first comma in your bank account/
Well you made it out but your still in/
We still remember when your momma was smokin' in the third trimester/
Yeah you might wear leather but you're made of polyester

Dick was a big collaborator on Wildcard. Cowrote White Trash, Mess With My Head, Settling Down, Bluebird, and Pretty Bitchin (some of the best tracks, IMO). Also cowrote Highway Vagabond and Pink Sunglasses on Weight of These Wings.

Oh wow, thanks for the tip---led me to this, on his site:
NEW ALBUM, MUSIC FROM THE DOCUMENTARY RED DOG, AVAILABLE DEC. 4
13 Track Project Features Superstars Miranda Lambert and Dierks Bentley, The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney, GRAMMY-winner Natalie Hemby and Rising Country Artist Jackson Dean

“Polyester” Performed by Luke Dick Featuring Miranda Lambert Out Now

NASHVILLE, TN (Oct. 23, 2020) – Earlier this year, chart-topping songwriter and artist Luke Dick brought his unconventional childhood story to the big and small screens with the release of the documentary “Red Dog” to Hulu, Amazon and other digital platforms. The film which premiered at SXSW, follows Luke’s journey to learn more about the Red Dog, an Oklahoma City-based topless bar where his mother Kim worked while raising him. It features interviews and stories with former dancers, employees and patrons of the Red Dog. Luke carefully wrote, performed and curated the songs that appear in the film featuring some of his superstar friends and will release MUSIC FROM THE DOCUMENTARY RED DOG via UMG’s Ingrooves on December 4, 2020. Pre-save HERE.

The album features 13 songs plus nine interludes from the film that help guide the story. This includes the lead track “Polyester” featuring Multi-Platinum artist and frequent collaborator Miranda Lambert. “Polyester” is now available on all streaming platforms and digital retailers as well as on Sirius/XM’s “The Highway.” Get “Polyester” HERE. Additionally, GRAMMY-nominated Dierks Bentley is featured on the second focus track, “Blazer,” which will be released to streaming partners on November 13. The project also features The Black Keys’ Patrick Carney as a songwriter and producer, The Highwomen’s Natalie Hemby and rising country artist Jackson Dean.

“This soundtrack is directly inspired by the lives and characters in my documentary,” said Luke. “For over 10 years, I interviewed my mother, fathers, dancers, musicians, cops and even some ghosts about the infamous Oklahoma City topless bar. They worked there, led their young lives there and most of them lived to tell the tale. I’m forever thankful to those who shared their memories, as it is somewhat of an origin story for me.”

He continued, “It’s been a long, long road for all these songs to travel. The concepts for the songs originated through so many personal experiences – through lives and hearts – and come out the other side of my weird brain. I am extremely proud of every single note of this music. The record reflects the history of real people, wrapped up in backbeats and ballads, presented through swagger and sadness. On top of it all, it encapsulates joy, pain, hope and laughter.”

An ACM and current CMA-nominated songwriter (Miranda Lambert’s “Bluebird”) and formidable musician, Luke wrote and performed every song on the soundtrack as a solo artist or with his band Hey Steve. And in addition to the aforementioned featured artists, chart-topping, award-winning songwriters Rick Brantley, Rodney Clawson, Jessie Jo Dillion, Chris Dubois, Rosi Golan, Jeff Hyde, Joey Hyde, Jason Lehning and Laura Veltz, also contributed to the track list.

MUSIC FROM THE DOCUMENTARY RED DOG Track List

1 – Red Dog Intro

2 – ”Oklahomie” – Performed by Hey Steve featuring Patrick Carney (Written by Luke Dick and Patrick Carney)

3 – Prison Tat (Interlude)

4 – Tattoo – Performed by Luke Dick (Written by Luke Dick, Laura Veltz and Jessie Jo Dillon)

5 – Got An Average (Interlude)

6 – Polyester – Performed by Luke Dick featuring Miranda Lambert (Written by Luke Dick and Chris Dubois)

7 – Plain White T – Performed by Luke Dick (Written by Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde and Laura Veltz)

8 – It Wasn’t Normal (Interlude)

9 – Blazer – Performed by Luke Dick featuring Dierks Bentley (Written by Luke Dick, Joey Hyde and Jeff Hyde)

10 – Guy Named Rachel – Performed by Luke Dick (Written by Luke Dick and Rodney Clawson)

11 – Henceforth (Interlude)

12 – Nasty Kathy – Performed by Luke Dick (Written by Luke Dick and Chris Dubois)

13 – Kool – Performed by Luke Dick (Written by Luke Dick, Jeff Hyde and Jessie Jo Dillon)

14 – Solar Dryer (Interlude)

15 – B Level Hustler – Performed by Luke Dick featuring Jackson Dean (Written by Luke Dick and Chris Dubois)

16 – Vegas (Interlude)

17 – Dance Like Me – Performed by Luke Dick (Written by Luke Dick and Rick Brantley)

18 – Five O’Clock Shadow – Performed by Luke Dick (Written by Luke Dick, Natalie Hemby and Rosi Golan)

19 – I Won (Interlude)

20 – Tiny Dreams – Performed by Luke Dick (Written by Luke Dick, Jason Lehning and Patrick Carney)

21 – You’re Beautiful (Interlude)

22 – Mothers and Sons – Performed by Luke Dick featuring Natalie Hemby (Written by Luke Dick and Natalie Hemby)

Luke is a musician, songwriter, filmmaker and artist with over two decades of creative accomplishments. He’s released multiple solo singles plus an assortment of music with his band Hey Steve, formerly known as Republican Hair. He’s written songs for Miranda Lambert, The Highwomen, Dierks Bentley, Eric Church, Kacey Musgraves, Kip Moore, The Cadillac Three, Eli Young Band and more. For more information on Luke and to watch “Red Dog,” It cuts off there, but we can find it all I reckon.

Feel like I never got around to a lot of the big country albums this year. What should I prioritize / what are the top albums you all would recommend?

My short list would be:

Katie Pruitt - Expectations
Lori McKenna – The Balladeer
Zephaniah OHora – Listening to the Music

Sam Hunt, Ashley McBryde, and Brandy Clark didn't do much for me, sadly.

If McBryde and Clark didn't do it for you, hard to say, maybe just look at comments on this thread, but possibly Marshall Chapman, Songs I Can't Live With Out (familiar titles, but def done her way), The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs of Mickey Newbury, by Gretchen Peters (speaking of balladeers!), Whitney Rose, We Still Go To Rodeos, Margo Price, Perfectly Imperfect At The Ryman (but I never got with most of That's How Rumors Get Started), Cam, The Otherside, The Tender Things, How You Make A Fool, Willie Nelson, The First Rose of Spring, Pam Tillis, Looking For A Feeling (glorious return of PT), Waylon Payne, Blue Eyes, The Harlot, The Queer, The Pusher, and Me (also speaking of balladeers).

Oh yeah, and even more (after midnight) ballads: Shelby Lynne's s/t.

Thx Dow - really enjoyed the Jake Blount recommendation. Keep it coming.

Thanks! This is the only old-tymey etc. album I've heard this year, pretty good:
Doc Watson and Gaither Carlton is a new album of old-time music produced from archival recordings by two legendary musicians. These largely unheard tapes were recorded at Doc Watson’s two earliest concerts, presented in New York City’s Greenwich Village in 1962. Those shows were among the rare appearances Doc’s father-in-law, fiddler Gaither Carlton, made outside of North Carolina. The instrumental pieces, including Gaither’s signature tune “Double File,” include intricate musical interactions developed through years of family music-making. On the songs and ballads, Doc’s instantly recognizable baritone voice is accompanied by his own guitar and Gaither’s fiddle, or by the traditional combination of fiddle and banjo. Shortly after these recordings were made, Doc Watson embarked on a career as one of America’s premier acoustic guitarists, earning the National Medal of Arts and eight Grammy Awards.
credits
released May 29, 2020
https://docwatsonandgaithercarlton.bandcamp.com/album/doc-watson-and-gaither-carlton

Only *other* old-tymey etc.

"Dicked Down in Dallas" is better than it should be. Actually a pretty ripping guitar sound.

Hailey Whitters made the top 15 for Washington Post critic Chris Richards

oh man, i've been sleeping on this Nicole Atkins album haven't i.

Brandy Clark: Your Life Is A Record
Gillian Welch: Boots No. 2: The Lost Songs, Vol. 2
Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit: Reunions
Katie Pruitt: Expectations
Willie Nelson: First Rose of Spring

I saw RED DOG the movie and it's a good time!

John Anderson?

I'm getting to the Katie Pruitt at last.

It starts well and gets better, one of the more awesome debuts of the decade.
xp John Anderson's album seems pretty uneven to me, but some keepers.
Good thing I hadn't heard Waylon Payne before I started yon Folk Alley Top Ten---dunno who I would have kicked out of the lifeboat.
I wanna see Red Dog too!

The Tender Things are gonna end up in my top 5 EOY, Zephaniah is a solid jam-in-the-car-sing-along album but more like top 20 for me

The Katie Pruitt album is my favorite of the year I think, country or otherwise.

it's up there. would like to mobilize the ILX crew to vote for it in the yearly poll for sure.

https://images-na.ssl-images-amazon.com/images/I/71YE7tpRLBL._SY355_.jpg

This title will be released on February 26, 2021.

Honoring the enduring inspiration of Frank Sinatra, That’s Life is Willie Nelson’s second album of classics made famous by The Chairman Of The Board. Willie’s first ode to Frank, 2018's My Way, earned Willie the Grammy for Best Traditional Pop Solo Album, and That's Life finds Nelson (who has penned a few standards himself) inhabiting 11 more of the most treasured songs in the Great American Songbook including the title track, "Luck Be A Lady,” "Nice Work If You Can Get It," "I've Got You Under My Skin," "You Make Me Feel So Young," and "I Won't Dance" (a duet featuring Diana Krall).

Produced by Buddy Cannon and Matt Rollings, That's Life was recorded at Capitol Studios in Hollywood--where Frank Sinatra, created a string of album masterpieces--with additional recording at Pedernales Studios in Austin, Texas. Willie delivers 11 new studio performances, coming alive in a musical landscape animated by lush string and vibrant horn arrangements on an album mixed by recording industry legend Al Schmitt (who's recorded and mixed more than 150 gold and platinum albums and won more Grammy Awards than any other engineer or mixer). The album cover features a brand new painting of Willie and his iconic guitar, Trigger, standing in the glow of a twilight streetlamp, evoking classic Sinatra album covers of yore. With one of those Gene Krupa cigs.

this motherfucker is immortal

xxxpost reminder
(THIS EVENT IS FREE TO WATCH WITH RSVP*. PLEASE CONSIDER SUPPORTING THE KESWELL SCHOOL BY MAKING A DONATION.)
LUCK PRODUCTIONS & CITY WINERY PRESENT: 6TH ANNUAL JOHN HENRY'S FRIENDS
A BENEFIT FOR THE KESWELL SCHOOL
On December 13th, 2020, Luck Productions, City Winery and Steve Earle will join together to host the 6th annual John Henry's Friends benefit concert to raise funds for children diagnosed with autism. In this first virtual fundraiser, Steve Earle & The Dukes will be performing, along with sets from an incredible lineup of guest artists including Warren Haynes, Lucinda Williams, Emmylou Harris, Josh Ritter, Jason Isbell and Amanda Shires, Jackson Browne, Graham Nash, Shawn Colvin, Matt Savage and The Mastersons for an unforgettable night of music.
*RSVP yall:https://luck.stream/johnhenrysfriends?utm_source=Mailing+List&utm_campaign=ab4c45c0e5-EMAIL_CAMPAIGN_2020_12_11_02_23&utm_medium=email&utm_term=0_9d7f017887-ab4c45c0e5-415586925&goal=0_9d7f017887-ab4c45c0e5-415586925&mc_cid=ab4c45c0e5&mc_eid=3ce2be0c08

Hailey Whitters made the top 15 for Washington Post critic Chris Richards

― curmudgeon, Wednesday, December 9, 2020 10:37 AM (one week ago) bookmarkflaglink

The lyrics on "Ten Year Town" impressed me in 2019, but the album's got some serious hooks. "Dream, Girl" sounds a bit like Maren Morris. Great record.

Yeah this Whitters album was the knock out I was sure was out there that I'd slept on. Was thinking, wow "Janice At the Hotel Bar" sounds a lot like Lori McKenna's best tunes, and then "Happy People" came on -- didn't know that was cowritten by Whitters. There are also apparently cowrites with Brandy Clark and Hillary Lindsey, but I can't find detailed credits.

Anyway, RIYL: Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Lori McKenna, Brandy Clark, etc.

#1 on Marissa Moss's list: https://www.stereogum.com/2110043/best-country-albums-2020/lists/year-in-review/2020-in-review/

Any other good country-specific/heavy year-end lists you've seen?

Rolling Stone
https://www.rollingstone.com/music/music-country-lists/best-country-albums-2020-1095488/

Bitter Southerner
https://bittersoutherner.com/feature/2020/best-southern-albums-of-2020

SCM Album & Song OTY Noms
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/saving-country-music-2020-album-of-the-year-nominees/
https://www.savingcountrymusic.com/saving-country-musics-2020-song-of-the-year-nominees/

"Janice at the Hotel Bar" is "Humble and Kind" redux in the best of ways:

And stay off the pills
But get on the pill if you ain't ready to start a family
And pay all your bills
But give some away
All that money won't make you happy
Make good love, good company
Drink good wine, make good coffee
Keep your chin up, but every once in awhile
Have a good cry
Go on and make a good livin' girl, don't forget
To make a good life

I also like the "Heartland" double meaning - kind of thing Kacey Musgraves would do.

Her voice actually reminds me of Kacey's

Unless Musgraves is increasingly your go-to guru, and/or The Golden Hour is your touchstone or wellspring or Sgt. Pepper's, I'd say not to waste time with most of this---although "Red White & Blue" is a keeper: here she actually seems to push back against her chronic sluggishness, in a way I don't think I've ever heard (that wordless, rec cry is not a hook in the usual sense, but keeps me waiting for its return), and "Dream, Girl" is a little sneaky, and "The Devil Always Made Me Think Twice" has that stalkin', smokin' beat and riff, the kind of thing she needs way more of---or a sax solo, steel guitar, hick-hop beats--anything to distract from the drab vocals, trite tunes, triter advice, that the people who might possibly benefit from are not likely to hear, because not enough sweetening for the pill to go viral---also, does she really listen to herself? "Happy people don't cheat"? Well, maybe if the cheatee has already made them happy and ready to take things further---but then, also, just to touch all the bases, "do whatever makes you happy"---so that includes, I dunno, cheating, mass murder, shoplifting, gtfo
RIYL: Maren Morris, Miranda Lambert, Lori McKenna, Brandy Clark, etc I do, but this don't.

Sorry yall, it's just hitting me rong (been listening all afternoon, per your recs)

i will try whitters but i wanted to say a big THANKS for the Jake Blount album, which hit on all cylinders. Solid lo-fi, down homey bluegrass all the way through with some very able playing and just the right attitude. Aces stuff, makes for a great companion to the Tyler Childers album.

Dunno dow - it's right in that Musgraves/Morris/Pruitt pocket of young upstart songwriter with lots to prove; smart and sly lyrics with a clear pov; and loads of hooks. I like that she mixes sounds and styles and would hate if the whole thing was your typical Nashville overproduced mess. The simplest tunes ("Ten Year Town" and "The Faker") are two of the best, but the new wave influence on "Dream, Girl" and the Stapleton swagger of "Devil" keep things moving.

As for the trite advice, as I mentioned upthread I think this is a hallmark of McKenna ("Humble and Kind") and crops up in the two songs they cowrote, "Janice" and "Happy People." Maybe a bit on "The Days," too, but that feels more like her take on Musgraves' "Follow Your Arrow."

If I've got a gripe it's her voice is very thin and doesn't touch Morris/Pruitt; though I agree with bunny slopes that Musgraves is closer, she stays in more of a pocket, and some places on the Whitters definitely grate a bit like the overdubs on "Heartland."

Pruitt album is solid, though lugubrious. Maybe I'm not built anymore to endure a song like "Normal."

xxp glad you enjoyed Jake Blount, forks---I still need to check this year's Childers set (have you heard Country Squire? That's the one that really sold me on him). Also Sturgill's current bluegrass chunks, right there on bandcamp---but so far I've liked his unmistakably country voice and attitude the more contrasty thee setting, esp. last year's Sound and Fury, wnich I tagged as "illin' ZZ Rex." The great example of that in 2020 is xpost Elizabeth Cook's post-sadcore silver spacesuit tequila surveyAftermath. And don't sleep on the lyrics, which come across best (or at least benefit from confirmation) on her site--wotta sound, though.
xpost Yeah, if you really like recent Musgraves and that side of McKenna's writing, Whitters is okay, although we agree on the thinness of her voice, the need for more production solutions to that.
Pruitt's voice tends to remind me of Ronstadt's, and this is all new to her, part of her big upfront earnest breakthrough testimonial, still in early chapters----Chely Wright and Waylon Payne are considerably older, and on record the gayness is more allusive, part of the world view in their mood rings---hard to imagine Pruitt getting to that any time soon---will she be more like, say. Taylor Swift for girls who like girls---?

pruitt sounds fucking great to me. i can understand hearing "normal" as po faced but it's also tremendously heartfelt; she's coming from an honest place i think.

Good list of 2020 songs here:
https://dontrocktheinbox.substack.com/p/dont-rock-the-inbox-issue-3

I nom'd and will be voting for Emily Scott Robinson's "Time for Flowers" in the ilm song poll -

“Time for Flowers,” Emily Scott Robinson: An exquisite meditation on how to find the strength to keep going when it feels like the walls are crashing down (or holding us captive), “Time for Flowers” is also a reminder that the good things always come back around, if we wait patiently - but we have to make sure we tend to the garden, because beauty can only grow out of despair if we give it what it needs to thrive. —MM

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5d1Xp1wzWZM

Oho, didn't know about this song or list, thanks. Yeah forks, i can understand hearing "normal" as po faced but it's also tremendously heartfelt; she's coming from an honest place i think.

Time will tell whether she's said it all here, but still.

Whoah---just now played Kelsey Waldon's covers EP, which is not one of your covid-alibi barebones potboilers: it's well-produced, swirling around and further shading, supporting her deftly deployed Appalachian inflections---and dig this track list:
1.
The Law Is For Protection Of The People 04:33
2.
Ohio 04:01
3.
Mississippi Goddam 04:54
4.
Sam Stone 04:29
5.
They'll Never Keep Us Down 02:51
6.
With God On Our Side 07:30
7.
I Wish I Knew How It Would Feel To Be Free 03:11
So the righteous weary narrator of "The Laws" is too close to home, ditto Kent State and the whole of MS, where now I'm especially struck by how this "hillbilly"-tagged Kentucky woman audibly relates to
Yes you lied to me all these years
You told me to wash and clean my ears
And talk real fine just like a lady
Also Dylan's entrophic balladeer setting out on a new day's slog:
Oh my name it ain't nothin'
My age it means less
The country I come from
Is called the Midwest
7:30 minutes of that, no more or less relentless than the razor detail of "Sam Stone," remembered, as a matter of fact, by the local junkie's offspring, with a brittle briskness more effective than the relative weepiness of Prine's original track---would like to see her do more by him, for sure.
Ends with the atypically upbeat "I Wish..." providing some refreshment, but not letting nobody off the hook: https://kelseywaldon.bandcamp.com/
(The inner warpage of continuing citizens here reminding me of several on Johnny Cash's recent Easy Rider: Best of the Mercury Recordings, incl. some that might be The Man In (or near) The Diner, getting head set for another visit from the New York Times---not all of the material is equally good, but it's all done his way and pulled me right through)(incl. some speedy remakes of Sun-era classics)

Should have edited this before posting on savingcountrymusic.com, where some are going after Maren Morris etc. etc.:

Your comment is awaiting moderation.

CMA set itself up for all this via inconsistency: on the one hand, testing and , maybe, exclusions (though no doubt some of those would have happened anyway, with the more cautious performers staying home), on the other, televised lack of social distancing and masking, onstage and off (seems likely that’s why the AP photog wasn’t allowed to take lasting evidence). If they’d had a mask mandate, would have been trouble with that audience, but a virtual event (though taken as an insult by many) would have saved them from the present controversy, and won new defenders, representing the saner side of country. *some* new defenders, but still catching it from the kneejerks and worse.

Just listened to Pruitt's album againL holy crap, what a *sound.* So many facets, right off---some have associated it w Fleetwood Mac, but here's how to assimilate and *learn* from that (Margo, producer Sturgill), as you're rolling along your own path. Always to a purpose, which is never just a show of strength, though that's part of it, rallying herself as much as anyone, while dealing with the doubts and other shadows, like "How did I get through all that, how am I still getting through it, and yet here I am with you, how did and does that happen---like this!"
So the well-chosen details, incl. still-recent memories, come to the foreground and confirm impressions of the words that found their way through the boom-boom of the first half, and "Normal" sounds forthright, incl. the problematic "If I could be normal, trust me, I would." Not abject, not anything reassuring, either, just how it is in her.
But right now, wow: https://rounderrecords.bandcamp.com/album/expectations

one of my great covid concert regrets of 2020 was the cancellation of her tour

Emily Yahr on Charley Pride and Covid issues in country music in Washington Post. Here's part of it:

A CMA spokeswoman said: “Out of respect for his family, we do not have further comment.”

And yet it’s hard to imagine country music’s year in the pandemic ending on a worse note. The genre has made a slew of unflattering headlines over the past 10 months, from Chase Rice’s not-socially-distanced summer concert to Morgan Wallen being dropped as the “Saturday Night Live” musical guest after violating the show’s coronavirus protocols. Then there was the strange tone of the CMA Awards, the format’s biggest night in the national spotlight to celebrate music known for capturing real life and “three chords and the truth,” trying to project an image of cheerful normalcy in a tragedy-filled year.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entertainment/music/country-music-covid-charley-pride/2020/12/26/ac51bd2e-4566-11eb-975c-d17b8815a66d_story.html

Not sure how I missed this but Ingrid Andress had a cover of Charli XCX's "Boys" on the deluxe edition of Lady Like that's surprisingly good! I guess Andress was a cowriter of the song? Curious to know more about how she got looped in on that project if anyone knows more.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XCMMYXvWvpA

cool, thank you!

Mandolin a surprisingly good replacement for the Super Mario Bros coin sound

https://www.nashvillescene.com/music/cover-story/article/21145509/21st-annual-country-music-critics-poll-the-results

: 1. Mickey Guyton, “Black Like Me” (Capitol Nashville)
2. Chris Stapleton, “Starting Over” (Mercury Nashville)
3. Ashley McBryde, “One Night Standards” (Warner Music Nashville)
4. The Chicks, “Gaslighter” (Columbia)
5. John Prine, “I Remember Everything” (Oh Boy)
6. Eric Church, “Stick That in Your Country Song” (EMI Nashville/Big EC)
7. Tyler Childers, “Long Violent History” (Hickman Holler/RCA)
8. Mickey Guyton, “What Are You Gonna Tell Her” (Capitol Nashville)
9. Miranda Lambert, “Bluebird” (Vanner/RCA)
10. Sam Hunt, “Hard to Forget” (MCA Nashville)

Lists go further , but here’s cut and paste of top 10 album choices

Albums
1. Ashley McBryde, Never Will (Warner Music Nashville)

2. Chris Stapleton, Starting Over (Mercury Nashville)

3. Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Reunions (Southeastern)

4. Brandy Clark, Your Life Is a Record (Warner Music Nashville)

5. Margo Price, That’s How Rumors Get Started (Loma Vista)

6. The Chicks, Gaslighter (Columbia)

7. Waylon Payne, Blue Eyes, the Harlot, the Queer, the Pusher & Me (Carnival)

8. Sturgill Simpson, Cuttin’ Grass, Vol. 1: The Butcher Shoppe Sessions (High Top Mountain)

9. Elizabeth Cook, Aftermath (Agent Love)

10. Hailey Whitters, The Dream (Pigasus)