Grammy Award-nominee Charley Crockett has unveiled his new album Lonesome Drifter releasing March 14, his official debut for Island Records. Crockett will release the album’s title track and accompanying video tomorrow (Jan. 31).

The 12-track album was co-produced by Crockett alongside Grammy award-winning Shooter Jennings over the course of just 10 days at the legendary Sunset Sounds Studio in Los Angeles.

“Shooter and I barely talked about it,” shares Charley. “I just brought all of my guys out, and the album made itself. It was live without a lot of overdubs. There were no inhibitions. I wasn’t being judged, and I didn’t feel self-conscious. Shooter knew how to cut loose and let this thing unfold.”

His vision for the project comes to fruition in the first single and title track, “Lonesome Drifter.”

“I started writing the song back when I was still playing in subways in New York,” he recalls. “It’s how I learned to play electric guitar with an amp on my shoulder. While I was waiting for the next train, I wrote songs. A few years later, I was in California working on the ganja farms, and I came up with the ‘Lonesome Drifter’ section. When I arrived on the West Coast, I worked to stay out there as a drifter, so I could get away with playing music for a living. At night, I was doing heavy electric blues and hillbilly shit at local bars for six hours. Shooter got me back into that mindset. The burden of becoming a troubadour is you’re standing in a position that gives you a clear perspective of the struggles of humans. When all is said and done, everyone is just swinging a hammer to survive.”

For years, Crockett has quietly kept his head down and delivered music at a relentless pace, refining his “Gulf & Western” sound and evolving as both a songwriter and performer. All of that work paid off as he and Shooter prepared to record Lonesome Drifter.

In the album, Crockett pays homage to an array of his musical influences such as Waylon Jennings, Bill Withers, Bob Dylan and Woody Guthrie. He pulls on themes from his unbelievable, true experiences and stitches them together with a slow-burning vocal delivery and rustic instrumentation to create a real, cohesive body of work.

Lonesome Drifter Track Listing
1. “Lonesome Drifter” (Charley Crockett)
2. “Game I Can’t Win” (Charley Crockett)
3. “Jamestown Ferry” (Bobby Borchers, Mack Vickery)
4. “Easy Money” (Charley Crockett)
5. “Under Neon Lights” (Charley Crockett)
6. “This Crazy Life” (Charley Crockett)
7. “The Death Of Bill Bailey” (Charley Crockett)
8. “Never No More” (Alan Block, Don Hect, Rita Ross)
9. “Life Of A Country Singer” (Charley Crockett, Shooter Jennings, Kyle Madrigal, Richard Lenz, Brotherton Jr.)
10. “One Trick Pony” (Charley Crockett, Francis Farrell-McDaniel)
11. “Night Rider” (Charley Crockett)
12. “Amarillo By Morning” (Terry Stafford, Paul Fraser)

Country music media brand Country Swag has partnered with NYC hotspot, Common Ground, to bring a new bar and event space celebrating southern flair and country music culture to the Big Apple. Aptly named Common Country NYC, the spot is located at 344 3rd Ave. in New York City.

Country Swag and Founder, Stephanie Wagner, is at the helm of programming, bringing in her expertise in the space and her strong relationships in Nashville. Common Country aims to be an ideal setting for viral pop-up moments and exclusive, intimate events, including album release shows, listening parties, brand collaborations and more.

“As a country music fan from New York, I’ve always felt the city was missing a venue that blends country music with NYC’s vibe. It’s taken the right team and timing, and with Common Ground’s crew and the rise of country music, now is the perfect moment,” Wagner shares. “I’m excited to bring to life concepts I’ve long dreamed of, from live music to unexpected surprises. Most importantly, both fans and artists now have a true home for country music in NYC, and I’m thrilled to be a part of it!”

Wagner launched Country Swag in December of 2015 to become a consistent voice for country music in NYC. She has hosted sold-out events featuring chart-topping stars like Jake Owen, Russell Dickerson and acclaimed songwriter Nicolle Galyon, among many others.

“Stephanie knows country music in NYC like no one else,” Noah Aussems, Managing Partner of Common Country shares. “Our partnership with her and Country Swag is an essential piece to our early success. With her help, we have been able to create and cultivate a space where country music can thrive. Together we are pushing the boundaries of what’s previously been done in New York City.”

Wagner can be reached at swagner@countryswag.com to discuss collaboration opportunities, event appearances and more.

Alison Krauss & Union Station are set to release their first new album in 14 years, Arcadia, on March 28 via Down The Road Records.

The first single from the new project, “Looks Like The End Of The Road,” introduces another new chapter for the band and now. The track reunited the band and reignited their focus to carve out the 10 songs on Arcadia. 

“Usually, I find something that’s a first song, and then things fall into place,” says Krauss. “That song was ‘Looks Like The End Of The Road.’ Jeremy Lister wrote it, and it just felt so alive – and as always, I could hear the guys already playing it.”

Self-produced by Alison Krauss & Union Station, Arcadia’s songs transcend time, reveal beautiful and tragic truths, and reaffirm why the group remains one of the most influential acts of the past four decades. Even during an extended period apart where each member was building a thriving solo career and earning a collective total of more than 70 Grammys and selling tens of millions of albums, they continued to search for and patiently collect music that might one day bring them back together.

Largely penned by writers including Robert Lee Castleman, Viktor Krauss, Bob Lucas, JD McPherson and Sarah Siskind, Arcadia‘s songs are contemporary reflections of history. The album welcomes brand new member Russell Moore, who is best known as the frontman for chart-topping group IIIrd Tyme Out and is IBMA’s most-awarded male vocalist of all time, on co-lead vocals, guitar and mandolin. Moore joins Krauss (fiddle, lead vocal), Jerry Douglas (Dobro, lap steel, vocals), Ron Block (banjo, guitar, vocals) and Barry Bales (bass, vocals) on the new collection.

“The stories of the past are told in this music,” continues Krauss. “It’s that whole idea of ‘in the good old days when times were bad.’ There’s so much bravery and valor and loyalty and dreaming, of family and themes of human existence that were told in a certain way when our grandparents were alive. Someone asked me, ‘How do you sing these tragic tunes?’ I have to. It’s a calling. I feel privileged to be a messenger of somebody else’s story. And I want to hear what happened.”

Arcadia rejoins Alison Krauss & Union Station with Rounder Records founders Ken Irwin, Marian Leighton Levy, Bill Nowlin and John Virant, who are now heading up their own Down The Road Records. They first signed Krauss when she was 14 years old, and first worked with Douglas in 1975 when JD Crowe & The New South released their eponymous album, commonly referred to as Rounder 0044.

On the heels of Arcadia‘s release, Alison Krauss & Union Station will perform the music live at 75 tour dates across North America, with stops in Atlanta, Memphis, Cincinnati, Phoenix, Nashville, Richmond and more. Featuring Douglas, the “Arcadia 2025 Tour” is the band’s first run of shows together in more than ten years and kicks off April 17 in Louisville at The Louisville Palace.

Arcadia Track List:
1. “Looks Like The End Of The Road” (Jeremy Lister)
2. “The Hangman” (Maurice Ogden, Viktor Krauss)
3. “The Wrong Way” (Dan Tyminski, Robert Lee Castleman)
4. “Granite Mills” (Timothy Eriksen)
5. “One Ray Of Shine” (Sarah Siskind, Viktor Krauss)
6. “Richmond On The James” (Alison Krauss, G.T. Burgess)
7. “North Side Gal” (Jonathan David McPherson)
8. “Forever” (Robert Lee Castleman)
9. “Snow” (Bob Lucas)
10. “There’s A Light Up Ahead” (Jeremy Lister)

The MAX Inducts Five New Members In Mississippi

The Mississippi Arts + Entertainment Experience (The MAX) inducted five new members into its Hall of Fame on Jan. 23, at a ceremony in downtown Meridian. Folklorist William “Bill” Ferris, historian and novelist Shelby Foote, poet Natasha Trethewey and singer-songwriters Bobbie Gentry and Mac McAnally were inducted in front of 700-plus attendees who filled the historic theater at the Mississippi State University Riley Center.

Ferris, McAnally and Trethewey were all on hand to accept their awards, while Huger Foote accepted on behalf of his late father. Video tributes honoring each of the five new Hall of Fame members played throughout the night. The MAX president and CEO Penny Kemp delivered a memorial tribute for the late Marty Gamblin, longtime music industry professional and founding director of The MAX. McAnally capped off the ceremony with a performance of “Back Where I Come From,” including a reprise of the chorus that had the 700+ in attendance singing along just before the ceremony closed.

 

Country Music Cruise Raises $90K For Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum

The Country Music Cruise and parent company StarVista LIVE announced a charitable relationship with the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum last year, and the patrons on last week’s sold-out cruise raised $90,000 for the Museum. Two Gibson guitars were autographed by artists performing on this year’s cruise and sold via live auction prior to Neal McCoy taking the stage. One guitar was purchased for $40,000, and the other raised $50,000. Each winner was also presented a complimentary Honor Society membership to the Museum, which includes an invitation to its exclusive Medallion Ceremony, the annual induction of new Country Music Hall of Fame members.

Y’ALl 106.7 To Debut Talkin’ With Taylor

Y’ALL 106.7 will launch a new weekly radio show, Talkin’ With Taylor, airing every Sunday at Noon beginning Feb. 16. Each week, on-air personality Taylor Stanford will be joined by a celebrity guest co-host to continue the country music conversations on-air taking listeners behind the scenes of the music industry with an inside look at the artist’s lifestyle while playing fan favorite songs from the ’80s, ’90s and early 2000s.

“It’s amazing to see how generous artists have been with their time, just dropping by the Y’ALL studio to share their music and stories,” says Brand Manager Ron Allen. “We have our podcast, website and social media where we can post this content but I feel it’s time to share these cool conversations directly to our on-air audience and with Taylor’s truly conversational interview style Talkin’ with Taylor is going to be just fun to listen to.”