A couple of months ago, I heard Addison Wesley and Tyler Childers back-to-back on Ninebullets Radio and I thought to myself “hmm — there sure is a lot of great music out of Kentucky!” So that got me to looking through the Adobe & Teardrops archives to see who all is coming out of the state. Unsurprisingly, some of my favorite bands and artists from the past 10 years. You’ll hear country, folk, punk, and indie rock on this list, but the unifying themes tying these disparate artists together are a radical sense of self — and a healthy respect of cigarettes.
I know I’ve forgotten a few people, so please do let me know in the comments who else you’d like to see on the list!
- I premiered Josh Nolan’s video for “Kein Hirte” from his gorgeous album Kind Heart to Follow when it came out. The song has stuck with me ever since — if not the music itself, then its energetic warmth. So excited to see what’s next for Josh.
- “I Wish You Could’ve Been a Cowboy” is Adeem the Artist‘s epic takedown of Toby Keith — but also an indictment of the mainstream country music industry, a strong thread running through this playlist.
- Not to be That Guy, but I did write about Tyler Childers‘ Live on Red Barn Radio way before you knew about him. So it only makes sense to include the song that launched him into Americana stardom.
- I feel so lucky that I got to interview S.G. Goodman on the Country Queer Spotlight podcast. (You can also read excerpts of it here.) Goodman is deliberate about how she portrays her identities and what that can mean for Southern culture. On “The Way I Talk,” Goodman explores these complex themes in three impactful verses.
- Diving into punk territory Tucker Riggleman & The Cheap Dates recently put out a fantastic album. Riggleman is a veteran of the punk scene, toying with the edges of Americana. On “Manic,” which you can read more about here, Riggleman encapsulates his signature blend of anxiety and muscular rock that makes you want to move.
- Music seems to run deep in the Nolan family. Josh’s sister, Chelsea Nolan, is an accomplished artist in her own right. I wrote up her last album on No Depression and featured her way back on episode 35 of the podcast. Chelsea’s smoky take on Southern soul is easy, breezy — and makes you want even more when her album chelsea. rolls to a stop.
- I am not yet familiar with Addison Johnson, but “Cherokee Blues” makes me want to take a deeper dive. The man’s got a voice as smooth as — I’m sorry — bourbon, but his lyrics are about a rough-and-tumble life. As you can see, I have a long history with the other artists on this list, and am looking forward to building one with Johnson.
- Jeremy Pinnell is nothing if not rough-and-tumble, as you can hear on “The Sound of Country Music.” Here‘s my take on his first solo album, OH/KY, back in 2015 when country radio was quietly suppressing women instead of not-so-quietly supporting racists. Pinnell has become even more confident — and rowdier — in his releases since.
- One of Kentucky’s proudest daughters is Kelsey Waldon, whom I had the pleasure of interviewing for No Depression on the release of her White Lines/White Noise album in 2019, and whose take on Nashville in the song “Dirty Old Town” delighted me in 2016. Last summer, she released a powerful album of protest music with some of the best in the business along for the ride: Adia Victoria and Kyshona.
- Easily in my all-time top 10 is State Champion‘s 2011 album Deep Shit. While the narrator in “Red Dog Black Brick” is as unsavory as they come, the song captures the idosyncratic band’s signature Southern rock psychedelia and jaw-dropping command of the English language.
I think that following me on Spotify is a thing you can do to make sure you get a new playlist from me every Friday! You can also follow Tuesday Teardrops, a playlist of new and exciting songs that refreshes every — you guessed it — Tuesday! As always, buy music and/or merch directly from the artists because Spotify is a horrible and exploitative platform!
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