It’s been nearly four months since indie juggernauts, the Turnpike Troubadours, made their triumphant return with A Cat in the Rain back in August. It felt like one of those moments where the entire independent country community banded together and celebrated one of the best bands in the industry finally reuniting to give us new music. This is, of course, a testament to just how brilliant of a band Turnpike truly is and how good their body of work has been since their debut in 2010. This is easily one of the most difficult rankings to compose simply due to…
Author: Brennen Kelly
Brennen Kelly
Hailing from the Chicagoland area, Brennen graduated from Valparaiso University with a BA in Communication and a minor in Cinema and Media Studies. After covering Arts & Entertainment at his university's newspaper, he began writing for Country Chord in March of 2023. Known for his love of independent country and authentic songwriters, Brennen has a long-history of championing the likes of Zach Bryan, Jason Isbell, Tyler Childers and many others.
If you’re like me, you can’t get enough of Flatland Cavalry’s new album, Wandering Star. From the romping The Provider and Oughta See You (The Way I Do) to the tender Mornings With You and Don’t Have To Do This Like That, the record is regularly getting placed in top indie country albums of the year. Three weeks ago the band posted an acoustic version of their song Wool, an original track made for the newly-released film, The Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds & Snakes. Yesterday, they posted the second video from this acoustic session, none other than Don’t…
Nate Smith has quietly been establishing himself as one of the most successful new artists in the entire country music genre. His self-titled, debut album released back in April, achieved the largest album debut from a new artist this year, selling over 20,000 units in its first week. This new-found success has catapulted the World on Fire singer to perform with some of the biggest acts in country music, ranging from Thomas Rhett to Morgan Wallen. In an exclusive interview with Country Chord, Smith tells Hannah Lane about his most memorable moment on stage while singing his hit song, Wreckage:…
With independent country growing more popular by the day, it’s no surprise that some of the most talented, rising stars in the subgenre are not only experiencing massive success online but also being scooped up by major labels. Today, Dylan Gossett is the latest independent star to not only experience viral success online with over 4.4 million monthly listeners on Spotify but also to be signed to a major label. He joins fellow independent powerhouses such as Zach Bryan, Charles Wesley Godwin and Colby Acuff as the latest formerly independent acts to sign to a major label over the past…
It’s officially December, Thanksgiving has come and gone, and that means it is time for Christmas music. Country artists are no strangers to Christmas tunes, with legends such as Willie Nelson and Merle Haggard releasing songs to modern-day stars, Cody Johnson and Kacey Musgraves releasing full Christmas albums. Today, however, one of today’s most notorious outlaws, Koe Wetzel, has thrown his hat in the Christmas ring (or should I say wreath?). Wetzel teased the EP’s release back on November 20 on Instagram with a Reel of a drunken Santa sitting at a bar with the caption “Time to wake this…
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…