It’s no stretch to say that Tyler Childers is one of the founding fathers of the independent country renaissance that we are currently in. Debuting in 2011 with Bottles and Bibles, Childers was often called one of the most exciting voices in the indie country scene. With the release of Purgatory in 2017, he began to gain national attention. With multiple Grammy nominations and Americana Award wins, Childers has firmly planted himself as a staple in the independent country and Americana scene. With so many incredible tracks in his discography, it felt like an impossible task to pick just 10…
Author: Brennen Kelly
If you were a country fan in the 2010s, the name Franke Ballard is sure to ring a bell. The Sunshine & Whiskey singer experienced some major radio success following the release of his debut album, also titled Sunshine & Whiskey back in 2014. All three of the singles present on the record, the title track, Helluva Life and Young & Crazy, all went #1 on Billboard’s US Country Airplay chart. With a hot start to a career that shockingly netted Ballard more #1s than Kip Moore, one would think that he would have a discography that spanned multiple albums…
There was a time when Charles Wesley Godwin was the biggest hidden gem in all of country. With the release of Seneca in 2019, Godwin firmly planted himself in the independent country zeitgeist. Since then, Godwin has been one of the most prominent names in independent country. From touring on multiple runs with Zach Bryan and releasing a song with him to signing a major label deal with Big Loud earlier in the year, it seems the sky is truly the limit for the Lyin’ Low singer. Today, I’m charged with the seemingly impossible task of ranking all three of…
If there was any debate on who the most popular artist in country music is, last night all but settled it. Last night at the Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs), Morgan Wallen took home the most awards with a whopping 11, just edging out Taylor Swift (10) for most awards of the night. It’s one thing to dominate the country genre; it’s another thing to dominate the entire awards show. That’s exactly what Wallen did last night at the BBMAs. On top of winning every single country award that he was nominated for including artist, male artist, touring artist, album and…
One of the youngest, budding independent duos, Gus and Phin Johnson, better known as Low Gap, are back with a brand new single, Other End of a Heartbreak. After being propelled by the success of Mockingbird back in 2022, the teenage duo released their second single of 2023. The pair announced the song’s release back on October 27. View this post on Instagram A post shared by Low Gap • Country Band (@low__gap) Written by Gus, the track shares some similarities to Ashley McBryde and Carly Pearce’s Grammy-winning song, Never Wanted to Be That Girl. In fact, Gus noted that…
In a year that seems filled to the brim with compelling indie releases from artists such as Sam Barber to Dylan Gossett to Flatland Cavalry, Wyatt Flores keeps the independent country train rolling with the release of Life Lessons. The EP marks the second studio project from the Please Don’t Go singer. Flores took to social media on November 2 to announce the EP’s release, sharing the psychedelic, Grateful Dead-esque cover art. I’m proud to announce life lessons the project is dropping November 17th. It’s been an extremely crazy year and I can’t thank y’all enough for joining me on…