With independent Country being the buzziest it has ever been, everyone is searching for the next Zach Bryan, Charles Wesley Godwin and Sam Barber to appear on their Spotify recommended playlist. Whether it is TikTok, Instagram or Twitter, young, budding independent artists are just waiting to be discovered seemingly every minute.
Here are five independent artists that need to be on your playlists right now.
1. Wyatt Flores
For many dedicated independent country fans, Wyatt Flores might seem like an extremely obvious choice. However, it doesn’t change the fact that he is one of the most exciting young artists in the genre today. Thanks to his distinct voice and “sadboy” writing style, the Oklahoma native has blown up on social media, garnering nearly 300k followers on TikTok and 90k on Instagram only two years after releasing his debut single, Travelin’ Kid. His primarily acoustic production style harkens back to the early days of Zach Bryan which has surely connected to fans of the Something in the Orange singer.
Essentials: Please Don’t Go, Losing Sleep, Break My Bones
It seems a bit tired to call an artist’s sound timeless; however, with Joel Adam Russell, it seems like there’s no other way to describe the Texas native. With heavy doses of fiddle and steel throughout nearly every song and mature writing that feels lived in, Russell’s music strikes a brilliant balance of sounding classic without feeling like it’s trying too hard to recreate the sounds of yesteryear. Unlike many independent artists lately, Russell has been around for quite a few years. With two studio albums filled top-to-bottom with quality songs under his belt, it’s baffling that he hasn’t amassed a greater following.
Essentials: Burned, Dice for a Dollar, Ouachita
3. Low Gap
In an independent country scene that seems to be getting younger by the day, Low Gap stands out due to their age. At only 18 and 16 respectively, brothers Gus and Phin, already have a studio album released and a growing audience with almost 30k monthly Spotify listeners. Their songwriting coupled with some excellent, traditional instrumentation make each and every one of their songs feel much more mature than what you would expect from any other teenage group. To learn more about the duo, read Country Chord’s exclusive interview here.
Essentials: Mockingbird, Feelin’ Goodbye, Dear the Man
Brennan Edwards is definitely the newest artist to appear on this list. With his debut EP, Till the End of My Days, coming out just over a month ago on June 16, there’s nowhere to go but up for the Virginia singer/songwriter. He’s already gained over 37k monthly Spotify listeners in his first month. It’s no surprise why Edwards has experienced such success this quickly. Till the End of My Days is an exceptionally well-rounded, well-polished EP that showcases his strengths as an artist. His songwriting is off-the-charts, creating strong imagery and introspective lyrics throughout the six songs. The runaway hit from the project is the title track which showcases his excellent songwriting better than any song on the project. Till the End of My Days feels like a reverent, pining love song very similar to Tyler Childers’ Lady May.
Essentials: Til the End of My Days, Perfect Storm, Golden, True and Pure
5. Joey Adams
Joey Adams most likely has the most mainstream appeal out of the five artists on this list. That being said, however, there’s a beauty in being able to traverse an acoustic, low-fi sound while simultaneously being able to deliver a heavier, crowd-pleasing one. I could see Adams doing just as well in a large ampitherater setting compared to an intimate, smaller-scale venue. It’s a testament to his versatility both sonically and lyrically. His ability to write acoustic, introspective songs such as East Ohio and My Home and balance them out with full-band, rocking tracks such as West Virginia Girls and Beer & Cigarettes is impressive.
Essentials: Mountain Mama, West Virginia Girls, East Ohio