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HalleyAnna Finlay
Balmorhea
Singer/songwriter HalleyAnna Finlay has quite the Texas music pedigree. Her parents owned and operated the fabled Cheatham Street Warehouse in San Marcos, Texas, nurturing the craft and careers of many of the area’s best singer/songwriters. Her new single (from a forthcoming album) is a soothing, breezy Americana number that will have you eyeing your car keys for a much-needed escape to that swimming pool out west.
Blackberry Smoke
Be Right Here
Georgia-based Charlie Starr and company are keeping the Southern Rock homefires burning and then some with their fifteenth album. From the catchy, heavy-boogie opener, “Dig a Hole,” to the almost pop-like “Be So Lucky,” and the more wistful “Azalea,” the album also serves up a little more depth and variety than past albums. “Hammer and the Nail” is bound to be an instant anthem, with its refrain: “The whole world swings the hammer, and I’m the nail.” But that still doesn’t stop them (or us) from having a great time grooving along while we can.
Marcus King
Mood Swings
Greenville, South Carolina native Marcus King expands on his R&B-tinged, blue-eyed Americana soul with his fifth album. All eleven songs manage a modern edge and relevance that keep him from being yet another retro act. He cut his teeth really young playing with his father, a revered guitarist in the area, which explains the prowess and soulfulness well beyond his 28 years. He and legendary producer Rick Rubin deliver a sweeping, raw, and human record that makes it feel so good to pull right up close to heartache and ruin.