Ben and Zach pull back the curtain on the albums that defined the last year and the artists poised to explode in 2026.

From hard-working storytellers out of North Carolina to "super groups" creating interplanetary harmonies, this conversation isn't about a random "best of" list...

...it’s about the JEWELS and POWERHOUSE ALBUMS records that stayed on repeat.

Why You Need to Listen:

- The "Sonic Bloom": Discover why one artist’s live show was nicknamed a "sonic boom" and which sister-duo is currently "melting faces" with electric slide guitar.

- Breaking New Ground: Ben and Zach dive into the "chaotic and erratic" sounds of a band pushing the genre's boundaries, proving that Americana is far from stuck in the past.

- The Legacy & The Future: Hear the moving tribute to a legend who recently passed, and get the first look at a debut album from a former child soldier whose story and voice are described as "interplanetary."

- The "Bite List": Find out which icon is pushing balances further than ever after a life-changing trip to India.

Americana music is grounded in storytelling, and as the hosts remind us, "thoughts become things."

Whether it's the strategic touring of rising stars or the prolific writing of veteran road warriors, these are the voices keeping the genre's heart beating.

"We are here to spread the wealth, spread the word, and make Americana really sing high... and make it your favorite genre."

Listen now to find your next favorite artist and LEAD YOUR COMMUNITY BY SHARING THESE ARTISTS WITH THEM!

And welcome back to Americana Curious.

Wonderful artists and albums.

These are our favorites.

I'm hesitating from calling it the best because you've got your best.

We don't like to come on here and tell you what the absolute best is, but we do love to talk about our favorites and we also like to tell you why.

And so by the end of this episode, you should have a treasure trove of artists maybe you don't know that you can go listen to immediately and support them and also see them live because many of them are on tour.

A lot of them are touring.

Absolute beast.

And they come to your area and you may be the only person in your local community of your friends that knows who they are because you heard them right here.

And you can round up your posse, go see them and buy a bunch of merch and have a good old time and tell them you heard about this on Americana Curious.

And you may hear an album that you did hear a little bit about, but you haven't heard how Zach and I may be talking about them.

We are here to spread the wealth, spread the word, and make Americana really sing high, expand globally and make it your favorite genre.

And I gotta give a shout out to Zach who's gonna tell you about his.

His first favorite album because y', all, Zach, like, I learned about so much music from Zach and I'm really excited to share with you stuff, but I'm maybe a little bit even more excited to hear from Zach because I know he's got some jewels coming up.

So Zach hit it.

Yeah, I. I don't like to label them as like top one through so many, you know, because there's was so many albums this year that.

Okay, you know what I mean?

That.

So.

So you're not giving us all your number one favorite.

You're gonna give us.

I'm gonna give you.

I'm gonna give you the ones that.

That I literally spent the most time with unapologetically, where I just kept going back to over and over.

I'm going to save what I think is the most important album of the year for a little bit later.

But I'm going to start with the band fast out of new out of North Carolina.

And I know I turned you on to these guys, but this album came out in March of last year.

It's called Big Ugly.

They are made up of kind of.

It seems like hard working down to the earth Stories.

You know, they tell stories of real life.

You know, there's a song called Jody where it's about kind of a high school love that now has lasted.

You know, they've been doing this since high school, fighting and getting back together.

But it still remains that he would never know any other different.

He wouldn't want anything different in his life other than this one relationship.

That.

That album Big Ugly by Fast, probably I think was my most listened to, but.

And I got to see them live two times, which was really exciting, in small rooms.

That was all.

They were just brilliant.

Just.

What.

What was the crowd like?

What was the energy like?

The energy.

I was.

I saw him at the 7th street entry, which is the side room to the.

The main room of First Avenue.

So it's small, very small.

There's maybe cap of a hundred and people just glued to this guy's every lyric.

You could hear a pin drop.

But they play loud.

I mean, some of their songs are softer.

He's got a unique voice, but you can.

They are loud and it's just really special.

I. I'm.

They're going out on bigger tours now, so I'm glad I caught them in a small, small venue.

Well, when you sent me this, you text me this band maybe a month ago, I was like, fussed, like, what is this name?

But I tell you, I started listening to that song Mountain Language and it just like catches you.

The way I describe it, I was trying to think about this.

I was like, it's like Blitzen Trapper meets.

Meets Sun Volt meets like Driving and Crying.

Like.

Like, if you like any of those three bands, you're gonna love them.

I still dream in mine.

But if we can make it up the mountain again, we'll be back with.

Country Friends.

And there will be language on the mountain again.

Oh, a country Friends.

Is this.

The first time I heard them?

Yeah, the first time I heard them, I was.

It was like taking me back to high school when I just discovered Uncle Tupo.

Who is Uncle Tupelo?

Well, Uncle Tupelo is Jeff Tweedy and Jay Farrar, who would be Wilco and Sun Volt.

It reminded me so much of that sound.

And Uncle Tupelo was probably.

I mean, they are, in my opinion, what started kind of the alt country Americana bands with the Jayhawks, in my opinion, that now we get all these bands that kind of listen to them and are inspired.

Oh, man.

That y'.

All.

If you don't want to listen to Fuss now, we just threw down like Icons of Americana.

And it's.

It's cool to see a band that hearkens back to these sounds, but also doing their own thing, and you're getting them early.

And I.

And I can't tell you how meaningful, important is to Zach and I for you to listen to these bands now because they may not get big, and if they don't get a little bit bigger, they may not keep going and touring and making albums.

So we want you to go to their shows to listen to them, and we got to get fast, obviously, on the show, Zach.

So I would love that.

That would be very, very good.

So.

All right.

So for me, this is a very hard thing for me to come up with, but one of the ones that I didn't realize how big it was for me until recently was a band who we've had on here, the Wood Brothers.

And we've.

And we've had Oliver.

He was.

That episode.

Dang it.

Zach couldn't make that day.

That's all right.

So we need Oliver Wood back on because you want to hear Zach's questions.

They have an album this year called Puff of Smoke, and you might listen to it, and it's like, oh, there's some catchy songs on there.

It sounds very Wood brother ish.

But when you start digging into it, and I've.

I've researched this.

The Wood Brothers have taken on a lot of meditation and mindfulness practices, and these songs are about that Puff of Smoke.

A couple lyrics.

Every day is a puff of smoke.

Or maybe it's a river flowing Taken where you're going no matter you fuss and fight, you're gonna ride.

And then there's another song on there called the Trick.

The trick is not to give a damn.

To be a window, not a wall.

And it's there.

And we.

And we saw them at a place in Charleston called the Refinery do this.

And I've seen them multiple times.

I have never seen them as high energy, I think, as they were at this show.

And even though it's an album with, like, it's sort of about their own meditation practices and whatnot, on a deeper level, introspection, it's also rock and roll and Americana, so they really sort of thread the needle.

Interesting way.

And when there's so much chaos in the world, which there always is chaos, by the way.

I know we're saying there's, like, now.

There always is.

It's nice to have a listenable record that's not a protest type thing about.

Or it is about, hey, we need to refer, return to ourselves.

Think about where we're channeling our thoughts, because thoughts become things.

And taking a more mindful approach that day.

And that can bring a lot of happiness, joy, and change in and of itself.

Yeah.

Every day as a puppy smoke maybe it's a river flowing taking you where you're going.

No matter how you fuss and fight, you're going to rise.

You know, the thing that I love about the Wood Brothers is that no album has ever sounded the same.

There is they.

And I love, you know, me about taking chances with music, not just staying silent.

And they have a different sound every album.

And I love their experimentation with John O. Ricks playing the play, you know?

Yes.

They're one of my favorite bands to see live.

Just the dancing.

It's some of the worst dancing.

But it's good dance.

No, it's entertaining.

Yes.

No, I love that album, too.

Money song really sticks with me on that one.

The kind of the melody and the.

You don't.

It seems like you're listening to change, like rattling or something.

I. I just love it.

All right, Z, who's next for you?

Oh, this is so hard, Ben.

Because there are albums like James McMurtry's, you know, just.

He's always greato.

Yeah, he's always the greatest songwriter, but he has a.

You know, if I had to pick one of my most interesting songs of the year, it comes from that album Pinocchio in Vegas.

When I first heard that song.

I don't know if you've heard that song, but imagine Geppetto has passed away and Pinocchio is trying to get his estate.

And James McMurtry takes you through this world of Pinocchio as a man without Geppetto, lost in the world, trying to figure it out.

And it is just the way he writes.

It's.

I just feel like he.

Other than John Prine, he's kind of my goat of a.

Of a writer.

And he's got a song called Annie, you know, where he's talking about waking up and not knowing the 911 had happened.

And everybody's wondering why he hasn't reached out or said something.

And he was sleeping and he woke up to this world that's changed.

And that's just how James writes.

Man.

Thank you for bringing that up.

I have not listened that album enough, or I will do an album actually at all.

I saw him.

Zach texted me last year.

Was like, James McMurdy's coming again to Charleston.

You need to be there.

And I did.

I did not regret it.

He was incredible.

And my favorite part is when he turns off the mic and just.

Yes.

Literally is coming out into the crowd.

And he's been out a long time, man.

He has.

And there is a song on the new album that's.

It's called Sailing Away.

And.

And it's about, you know, James is, I gotta imagine, in his 70s now, something like that.

And it's about struggling with.

Should he stay in this business or not?

At the age of 70, does he want, you know, there's a lyric in there about opening up again for Isbull.

You know, is this all that it's gonna be?

But it's at the age of 70 to contemplate whether you're a good songwriter baffles me.

And just, it's.

It's just he's an inspiring guy.

You know who his dad is, right?

No.

Larry McMurtry, who wrote Lonesome Dove novels.

So he's got a pedigree of writing.

Pinocchio's in Vegas with his eye on a prize.

He's a real boy now.

His dick grows when he lies but his face stays frozen like it's still made of wood.

It displays no emotion as it cleans them out good at that backroom table most any Friday night.

He don't even need the money.

He's just in it out of spite.

Mrs. Old Geppetto gone now two years, the boy's spending real money and his cross crying real tears.

You'd have thought it been a straight and simple untaxed estate.

It was nearly out of probate when it blew up in his face.

There were whispers in the shadows all around the town Heretofore unknown relations Old Geppetto got around.

Who were my grandmother's friends.

Used to.

Play bridge Every Tuesday at 10. Who were the neighbors next door When I was still crawling on the floor.

When the claims came to light.

Wow.

The pressure.

Yeah.

Your dad wrote A Lonesome Lonesome Dove.

What can you do, James?

Yeah.

No, it.

Wow.

Didn't.

I didn't realize that.

That's something I love about Americana music too.

There's so many great.

Like in our genre we talk about, we're passionate about.

We get into storytelling that a lot of other genres really just skip over.

Yeah.

I think.

I think modern radio, they don't really support, like, story based songs.

You know, there's.

There's just not a story.

No.

And I love the.

And the world, by the way.

That's how we evolved as humans and how we would.

Like before there was writing, there was storytelling.

Around the fire.

That's how they passed down things from generation to generation.

And so no America is grounded in that very notion that we remember the messages behind great stories.

And so shout out to James in the 70s and just still touring like crazy.

Yes.

Angrier than ever.

And engaging.

Oh, my gosh.

Engaging.

Yeah.

How long is that Choctaw Bingo song, his classic.

10 minutes.

It's like a long song.

And he always does it.

I don't.

He fits it all in.

I mean, he tells the story.

He doesn't.

I don't think he breathes one time in the song.

No.

That's incredible.

All right, give me another one of yours for me.

And it's one that Zach and I talk about.

We have not hosted them on the show yet, but we were trying.

Larkin Poe.

Larkin Poe, you know, they've been around for a while.

Two sisters, distantly related to Edgar Allan Poe.

And they are.

It's.

It's Americana.

It's also blues rock, all at the same time.

I think they describe themselves a lot as Americana.

They did their album Blood Harmony, won best Americana album.

Then they followed that up with Bloom and Bloom.

And by the way, Angela, my wife, is.

Is hugely into Larkin Poe.

And my daughter, 15, just got her first electric guitar.

I saw the picture.

That's exciting.

Really, really nice.

Little Fender having it.

Having a good old time with it.

And she loves Arkin Po.

And we went up to the Orange Peel in Asheville, like, four hours away from here, and saw an incredible show.

She took one of her buddies and they just blew the.

The place to smithereens.

Really, really good.

And even though it's like a nickname, like, the album's name is Bloom, but I have nicknamed it Sonic Bloom because, like a sonic boom, seeing them live.

And one of their songs, Mockingbird, a lyric like a mockingbird singing a thousand songs that don't belong to me but if you listen closely, you might just hear my melody, my secret melody.

Also, they've got a cool song about called Bluephoria, which kind of mixes like the blues, which is like sorrow, but also there's a lot of joy in this song.

And it's just them bringing, like, a connection to the previous greats of blues and Americana music, but also putting their incredible spin on it.

And.

And I think if you go like new, Leave, Leave this, you put them on your list.

Maybe you've heard them before.

But if you hadn't heard Bloom, you're missing out.

There are many, many songs on here.

It melts your face off with a guitar.

The messaging is great.

And it's the one of the sisters plays electric slide guitar harkens back to yes, I'm going to say it.

Dwayne Allman, you know, rest in peace.

And they.

And they can cover.

Oh yeah, like you never seen.

And Megan's voice guitar playing.

Amazing.

So really a powerful album.

Can bird hid him within my palm the one that's just for me.

But if you listen closely and get a little bit lucky, you just might hear my melody.

Didn't you say that.

That she was like nine months pregnant as well?

Yeah, she was right at the brain.

Yeah.

We saw her at their last stop before she on maternity leave.

She since had her child.

I think they're going to be in Europe before they come back and do some American shows, maybe in the summer.

But it's commissioning to see, you know, how the songwriting changes.

You know, as a parent, usually what I see what happens with that is it gets even better.

And I can't even imagine it getting better, but it's going to get even better now with the.

With the richness around that.

So there you go, y' all bloom.

Yeah, Check it out.

Yeah.

What you got, Zach?

I'm gonna give you kind of a three pack.

And I hate putting them all together, but all three of them were just incredible female records this year.

And they're all individual artists, but.

So that's why I feel bad kind of lumping them in.

But they were all just special, special albums.

Brandy Carlisle's Return to me, which, you know, I felt like Brandi went a different direction the last four so years kind of with Elton and I mean her height has been at an all time.

It's crazy where she went from the first time we met it.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Brandy's special to us, y'.

All.

That's where Zach and I met.

Yeah.

Down in Mexico.

This album, I felt like.

And I had a conversation with your wife about this.

I felt like she wrote this for me, like she was coming back to me.

Returning to Zach.

Yes, I appreciate.

And then secondly with that one, Amanda Shire's album, I think through all that she's been through, it's just a powerhouse album with lyrics.

And I don't think she's gotten her due on that album.

And I really think that she.

She should.

It's.

It's an incredible, beautiful album.

And the other female that I'd like to.

Or artist I'd like to put in there is Margot Price's Hard Headed Woman.

It's just A tremendous country record, and got to see her at Newport this year and just.

She just gets better and better every time live that I see her, and I'm just.

Her album's just so good.

Those are some powerful women of Americana.

Yeah, they are.

They are mega stars.

Couldn't I find myself in jail?

Oh, keeper, how I love you I love you and you and you.

I'm.

Returning to myself Is such a love lonely thing to do.

Yeah.

And by the way, if you're listening to this and you're like, you know what I'd like to hear?

Those people interviewed Americana Curious.

You're right.

You would like to hear them interviewed on Americana Curious.

We just need you to send them an email or text them personally if you have their personal cell phone and tell them, talk to Ben and Zach.

Yeah.

The show might actually explode if Brandi Carlisle came on here.

It might have to cease to exist.

I have to rename it the.

We're just gonna call it the Brandy Carlisle Podcast.

Yes.

After that point where she comes on.

Yeah.

You know, really, really good.

Really, really good.

I want to go in a bit of a different direction for our listeners now.

Someone that came on earlier this year, and honestly, I didn't realize it was one of my top listened to artists until my Spotify rap came out.

And I was like, wow, I did listen to that.

I think I'm one of the top listeners.

J.D.

clayton.

J.D.

clayton, who we interviewed on his album Blue Sky Sunday.

And I know the listeners.

Unless you heard that episode, you probably don't know who J.D.

clayton is.

And the good news is now you do, because it's like, okay.

I was trying to think of ways to describe this.

It's like 70s heartland rock with a whole bunch of fun songs about growing up in Arkansas.

And.

And then I was like, well, it's got a little bit of CCR on that album, a little bit of the band.

And then that album, the albums were like, Dylan has organ playing, like that organ sound thing, which I don't know how he's gonna duplicate that on tour.

I hope he does.

And it's so, like, if that sounds like your jam or if it doesn't, I think you're gonna like this.

And so a lot of these songs going back to narratives, a lot of JD's songs on this album are narratives.

And the one that I listen to the most is a narrative.

Let you down.

Oh, yeah.

And Zach's probably like, I know this song, but Ben, why listen to it?

Okay.

It's a narrative, and it Happens it's like three different parts and like builds and the song.

And I asked him about this when we interviewed him and I'll give you a little bit of description.

This song, this is sort of like whet your appetite about it.

The song let you down.

He basically turns a frustration he has into a deep observation on human nature.

So they're in Nashville with his bass player on a rainy night and they ask a barista, barista there about where they should go have dinner.

And she gives them literally five different options.

And that night they go out to go have dinner at one of these restaurants and they go to all five.

And all five of these restaurants are closed.

Yes.

And they're irritated, maybe a little pissed, and they're feeling let down.

And he talks about this in the song.

And y', all, it is such a good song.

Yeah.

Just all I can say, just go listen to it.

You will enjoy it.

One of the quotes, pretty people let you down because they're the ones you trust the most.

So like we tend to trust the pretty people even though we shouldn't.

And they let you down.

So it's a kind of, kind of a funny notion.

But it's such a great album of stories and this song is.

Is great and, and JD's one of the few on my list that I actually haven't seen live yet.

But really want to.

Cuz I hear shows are great.

Cause sometimes people.

Damn.

Pretty people let you down Let you down real slow and even if we don't make a sound they're just letters.

Down.

I missed them all.

Love that album.

That was good.

I'm glad we got him on because I don't know if we'll be able to get him on in the future.

He's skyrocketing right now.

I know.

I feel so proud of him, you know, like, it was kind of hard to get him on the first time.

Cool guy.

He could tell.

He's a smart, smart individual.

Yeah.

When we talk to him, like I encourage you to go listen to his episode.

You really get the feeling like he ain't just winging this.

Right.

He's got a family at home.

And he's like, hey, I've got to support my family.

I can't just stay on the road indefinitely.

Right.

I have to like be very strategic about where I tour, how I'm building my business, because I want to do this for my whole life and gotta support the family and not be away from them.

So it's a good episode to kind of understand what artists are facing out there too.

They're kind of like, man behind the music.

Yeah, I love that.

All right, I gotta go.

Before I get to my most important album of the year.

I'm gonna go to one that I.

When it first came out, I liked it, but, you know, it was more nostalgic for me because it was.

It was Todd Snider's High Lonesome and then some.

And Todd's a.

An absolute legend.

And I, you know, I loved it.

It was fine.

But, you know, about two months later, I saw him at you got Gold, which is John Prine's kind of festival, where they just sing his songs and we, we celebrate.

John and Todd came out a couple times saying in spite of ourselves with Margo Price at one point, and then led the whole Ryman Auditorium in Lake Marie.

And it was special.

Unbelievable.

And then about a month later, Todd passed and I went back and listened to that last album and what he.

It was almost an introspective thing that I didn't hear in the music the first time I listened through.

But you could hear more the career as a.

This whole thing wrapped into this one last album.

And unfortunately it's his last album.

But I'm so glad that we got to see him that night.

Three weeks or four weeks before he passed because the him, John being a big, you know, idol of his, him singing like Marie.

And then it just blew my mind.

Ben, you know me.

Tears in my eyes.

Yeah.

Who Ms. Todd.

Yeah.

A question comes to mind.

What do you think it is about when an artist dies that makes us revisit their music in a different kind of way?

I don't know.

And I was feeling a little.

It was, it was a whole weird thing because when Todd passed, it made me think of the first time that I got that I listened to Todd and it was my brother in law.

I was out in Colorado.

I used to leave college and go out to Colorado and spend time with my sister and my brother in law.

And my brother in law over the years passed me down so many of my musical likes.

And I remember having zero money to get back to college and my brother in law and sister filling up my car, giving me an extra 40 bucks to get the thousand miles from Colorado to Mankato, Minnesota.

And he said, did you have you listen to the new Snyder?

And I was like, oh, I don't really know who.

And he gave me his CD and he said, I'll buy another one.

And I spent that whole ride with new connections by Todd Snyder.

And since we had A tough year because my brother in law passed away this year.

And it made me.

When Todd passed away, it made me kind of go back and think of that moment.

And I just imagined Todd and my brother in law Jeff up there maybe enjoying a little, you know, maybe something green and just having a good old party.

Lonesome and then.

What mine had been was always meant to be.

High.

Lonesome and then some.

Still looking for someone Looking for something.

All Americana artists and fans go to heaven.

That's the good news.

I like that message.

It's kind of a riff off the movie All Dogs Go to Heaven.

Yes.

The animated adventure.

But, y', all, it's good news if you're Americana.

Like, that's halfway there.

Maybe it's all the way there.

They're both right.

Yeah, they're both up there for sure.

Yeah.

No, thank you.

And one of the things that comes about Americana, too, there's so much legacy in it, man.

It's like the passing down from generation to generation.

And whenever Zach and I create our Americana Music Museum one day.

Yeah.

Like, have all the lineages down, you know, for everybody to understand the roots connections and.

Yes.

Well, you can.

You can figure out our roots connection of Americana if you want to listen to our episode with Kepsicor, who also put out a great solo album this year.

You know, kind of.

I mean, I love Old Crow Medicine show, and it's kind of the history of that band in the beginning.

Yeah.

And I mean, Catch gave us quite the wisdom on his thoughts on Americana and Ritz music.

And I would tell people to go listen to that.

Yes, definitely go to YouTube to see that one.

So you can see Catch is full.

Full facial expressions.

The man is just so animated.

He can barely sit in one place.

On all the time.

I.

He's cracking jokes.

He's hilarious.

Yeah.

He's everybody what he's saying, you know, he's everything that I imagined he would be if I met him, you know?

So I'm really glad we got to spend the time with him, man.

What?

Yeah.

And we've got to get Catch back on, you know, at some point to do more.

But he.

He was wonderful.

Yeah.

One I want to talk about that Zach and I, I think, have been fairly close to this year is.

Are from our friend Paul McDonald.

Thank you for bringing that on.

Yeah.

Came on album so long to the dark side.

And y', all, if you don't know Paul's story, like, I'm not going to unwind the whole darn thing here, but it is Deep.

It is powerful and you ain't gonna forget it.

If you've seen American Idol, if you've ever been to la, the Range Rovers and all that, and then all of that, you know, changing at a moment's notice and being humbled and starting over and finding your way through darkness to an incredible album.

His story is for you, and I want to highlight so Long to the Dark side.

This song feels good when you hear it.

So the album is so Long of the Dark side, and he's got a version that came out later called the Light side Sessions.

Yes.

He's got another version of the song, so Long of the Dark side.

It feels good, but when you unwind that thing, there is a lot going on in there.

And I love.

I'm a huge fan of when.

It just, like, feels so good to hear it and you enjoy, like, the feel and then you hear it two or three more times and you're like, man, this is.

This is just deep.

And if you've struggled in life, which we all have, because you're.

Because y' all are humans like we are, you're going to have tough times and you're going to need songs like this one from Paul McDonald to help give you a bright spot.

And I'll tell you, he came to Charleston this year and we saw him, y' all ride in on a horse into a bar.

And I.

And from seeing Paul ride the horse in, I don't think he rides many horses.

It's a long story of how it happened, but he rode in.

He had to, like, duck coming into the bar because the bar door was not that tall.

He stayed on his horse.

He gets on the stage and just like, completely just.

He and the band do a great job.

And Paul is extremely interactive.

He gets into the crowd, he dances with the crowd he was dancing that night.

And I just can't.

I just can't tell you enough to listen to his music.

But if you get the opportunity to see Paul perform, don't miss it.

Zach, what are your thoughts?

My thoughts, I love that album.

And I was.

You know, I was a fan of Paul's, but he had gone so long without releasing an album.

And we just reached out to him and he wanted to come on and came and talked.

And what I remember about it is he talked about the possibility of this album coming out, but it was kind of like in and out.

It seemed like he wasn't so sure of himself or the music because he says he releases or did this album, but never released it.

Did another Album, but never released it.

And I remember he texted it to us, and I just wrote, this is incredible.

And I'm not taking credit for him putting it out.

I'm not saying that.

I remember having a text message.

It was done.

It was done before he came to us, before we interviewed him.

And I remember texting back, these songs are incredible.

And then I had a conversation with them.

And I remember going home that night to my wife and being like.

I was Talking to Paul McDonald on text messages for like, a couple hours today, thinking, what a.

What a weird twist of a life.

But, yeah, the.

The song Forgiveness, where he.

Oh, thank you.

Spins his voice in ways that I don't understand.

How voices spin is incredible.

Unwind, you know, I love unwind.

Oh.

Top to bottom, it's.

It was in my top five of most listened to for sure, on the Spotify wrapped.

I'm just glad he put it out there.

Yeah, me too.

It was.

It was glorious.

And it's just.

The coolest part is, like, the album is wonderful, and it's so great when the live show is equally or even better.

So, like, I can truly recommend.

I've seen Paul twice now.

I could truly recommend his show wholeheartedly.

And it's worth going out of your way, staying up late on a Monday or Tuesday night to go hear it and see him do his thing and just to get to meet him, stick around afterwards and.

And meet him.

Wonderful dude.

Well, I want to be free I wanna be wild and I wanna see through the eyes of a child and I want to shine and I want to shine bright so long, so long to the dark.

Yeah, that's.

I mean, that's one thing we love about BJ Barum of American Aquarium.

No matter how much energy he puts out on the stage, like Paul, they stay around and talk to people afterwards, which they don't have to do it, but it's so appreciated.

Well, we'll talk about albums.

We're listening.

We're looking forward to maybe in a second, but are there any other albums that are coming?

I have one other one that I feel is my most important album.

So this is.

Let's just say this, Ben, when you.

We don't want just a goose.

We like geese.

Okay.

This album, getting killed by geese.

I mean, I don't even know where to start with this thing.

It is.

It's different.

It's exciting, it's fun, it's rhythmic, it's intense, it's chaotic.

Chaotic is like, one of my favorite words for this album.

But it's also the songwriting from Cameron Winter.

And his voice, it's just special.

I mean, I spent so much time with this album that the other day we were.

My son was singing in the back, just in the house.

He was walking around.

He must have heard it too many times.

Are you a sailor?

He was singing.

I don't speak French, but a paz du cocaine, which is.

There's no references of cocaine in the song, but.

Which I think means house of.

I mean, don't ask, but he's walking around the house going, I'm a sailor in a big green boat.

I'm a sailor in a big green coat, but you can come home.

I mean.

And it's just the melody of that song is beautiful.

Taxes is Taxes.

Yeah.

Probably one of my favorite songs.

Cobra.

You can dance with the cobras, but you can't dance with me.

It's just brilliant.

Cameron Winter did.

Had a solo album the beginning of the year, and I've gone back and listened to that.

And he.

Unfortunately, he did a solo on the bike stage at Newport.

But unfortunately, Geese got rained out due to the lightning storm.

So I didn't get to see Geese that day.

But I saw Cameron, and he's.

He reminds me, if you see that Dylan movie, he reminds me of that era of Dylan where he's changing the world.

I mean, that's how much I think about this guy.

So go listen to Getting Killed by Geese.

The first song is completely erratic and crazy, and then it just settles in so brilliantly the rest of the way.

I. I found out about them because of you.

And I heard that first song.

I was like, what did Zach send me?

Like, I don't understand the first song.

Yes, it is not melodic.

No.

But.

But if you go to, like, per se, like, their most downloaded.

Yeah.

There's a reason that one's not the top one.

There's a lot of other ones, and it is very catchy.

I feel like I need to listen.

Like, I. I'm.

It is definitely checking all the boxes for me in terms of, like, listenability.

Like, listening.

Like, I don't always get all the lyrics.

So if you're.

Well, like.

And I'm glad you're kind of going down, like, I feel like I need to spend some more time on the lyrical train to understand everything.

But it's highly listenable and very enjoyable, and it does feel like it's breaking new ground.

Yeah.

On that lyrical.

That's exactly it.

It's breaking new ground.

Because sometimes with the lyrics, I have no idea what he's talking about, but in the song Half Real, where he's talking about a relationship that's only kind of.

They only only kind of lived it.

Half Real, where he talks about.

It's always been in this back of my mind.

The back of my mind, the back of my mind.

I got half a mind, but it's also been in the front of my mind.

And maybe I'll get a lobotomy to get rid of all the bad times and all the good times, too.

I mean, it's in that.

That song blows my mind every time I hear it, and it's so strange.

And I just.

I just love that band.

So.

So not me normally to experience, but I've just fell in love with getting killed by geese.

Doctor, doctor, heal yourself Doctor, doctor, heal yourself.

I will break my own heart.

I.

Will break my own heart from now.

On, that's y' all just.

And I like Zach the width.

Like, the.

Like, y' all can hear the passion, see the passion that Zach has for this.

This is how we are about our music.

Like, we're not in our show.

We're not just, like, stuck in the past trying to say, well, hey, this is what Americana has to be.

And there are a lot of other genres of music where the people just argue constantly about, like, what is this music, what is country, what is rap is not.

And we don't roll that way, y'.

All.

Geese is, you know, they are pushing the boundaries, and we're actually excited about that.

We're not pissed off about it.

No.

And.

And that's how we roll on Americana.

Curious nation.

Yes.

I've got a couple of ones I just want to quickly roll through.

One is Justin Osborne from Susto Susto String Band.

One of my top listened to albums.

And even if you don't like.

Even if you don't like sister or don't know who Sue Sto Even is, the rock and roll band is.

Is Americana.

And it's.

It's very, very cool.

He met up with this holler band choir from the Carolinas and redid a whole bunch of their songs in a way that will hook you hard and make you even.

Like, you won't even.

They sound like totally different songs, and they're beautiful.

And there are a couple new ones on there specifically for me.

The one about never losing you.

Like a.

Like.

Like a message to his children.

And so go check that sucker out.

We also, my family and I saw.

I'm with her.

And they have a new album out.

Big fan.

Wild and Blue and that.

That's a super group of three incredible Americana women.

Sarah Jarros, AIF o' Donovan and Sarah Watkins from Nickel Creek.

I. I thought their show would be really good, but it was, it was interplanetary, stellar.

Like they are incredibly musicians.

Sometimes you get these super groups.

Everyone's just kind of like, kind of like it's like they're all doing their own thing on each song and just kind of combining it on one album.

They are making brand new beautiful music.

And this ancient light song that kind of really gets the kicks off the album is such an incredible feature of their voices and their harmony, but it's also about like chaotic world and sort of finding that connection to like nature and the things that have been elemental, elemental and fundamental out there for long before humans even walked the earth.

And being connected, finding peace through that.

Yeah, we saw them at Newport on the harbor stage and it was great.

Let's just say that they are.

They're tremendous talents.

That's my favorite stage too, at Newport.

Get them on the show, Ben.

Try.

So not.

Not an unexpected one, but my daughter and I went to see Mumford and Sons do their show and they're kind of.

I would say they're like giant stars kind of thing.

But their Rushmere album, if you already heard it, go check out again.

It really harkens back to what Mumford and Sons maybe used to be in some degree with like their musicality.

They like bring a lot of banjo, which y', all, if y' all been listening to the show, you know, we love our banjo and it's full force fun.

Rush mirror.

But the theme of this thing that I hear in this is they're looking back on a lot of things and their music career that were big challenges.

Marcus Mumford, if you haven't heard of solo album y', all, I'm not going to get into that, but he had some terrible times.

And they're looking back, y', all as all these obstacles, as the very things that help them grow and become the artists they are today.

They're not spitting on the past.

They're like, hey, these were like, I think about Ryan Holiday's book the Obstacle is the Way.

And that's what comes to me on this album.

And so once I've been viewing it through this lens, I'm getting way more out of it.

And I'm giving it that big, warm Americana hug, that injury.

So.

And the last thing I Want to ask you before we get into the things talk, Tyler Childers.

Oh, yeah.

Well, Bite list.

You got to.

I mean, the stuff that he's doing on that album is so inventive.

It's.

Once again we're going to go back to people not doing the same thing over and over.

And, you know, he gets a lot of flack for not having purgatory.

You know, that.

That first album that he's writing, way more importantly.

And about the weirdest stuff.

I mean, koalas and biting list, I think that can go for anybody that wants to disagree with Tyler.

You just go get on his bite list.

Yeah.

Pushing the balance.

Yes.

And his trip to India.

Yes.

Like, what he learned.

It's.

There's a song about a Go watch or something.

Yeah, it's.

It's out there.

It's so good.

He's got that.

I can't remember the name of the song, but it's just.

There's hilarity in it and importance and I. I just appreciate what he does.

Isaac.

So take us forward.

So we've.

What are you looking forward to and what do people need to be?

So if you're into Spotify and some other platforms you can pre save.

So these are ones you.

As they come out.

Some might not be announced yet, but, like, which people be pre saving and have their thing so they could be one of the first people to go out and appreciate this music.

All right, two albums, I'm going to give you that people should definitely pre save because they're both going to be incredible, the singles off of them.

I don't normally listen to singles because I like to hear the whole album from start to finish.

I'm kind of a snob in that fact, but I have listened to these because I'm just in love with the Lone Bellow.

And their new album comes out in a couple months, and we were lucky enough to have Zach on, which was really awesome.

But their singles are so good right now, and I'm really looking forward to that one and Langhorn Slim's new one.

I think it's been a while since Langhorne has put out something, and the singles are great.

And he's a different person now that he has a son and he's married and still sober.

And, I mean, it's just.

I think it's going to be a really good one.

But I do have to talk about this album that came out today.

All right, all right.

Before you do that.

And I don't okay.

Okay.

All right.

Langhorn Slums is.

He's got three or four songs out for that album, the Dreaming Kind.

And I am extremely excited about that album.

In fact, we're gonna go see him live when he comes to Charleston in a couple weeks.

The.

Those songs that are already out.

Rock and roll.

Dream Come True.

On fire.

Like those.

Haunted Man.

Those are the first four songs released, and they're all great.

So I'm just saying.

Yes.

Like, you can't go wrong.

Yes.

With that album.

Yeah.

The Lone Bellow has a song called Common Folk out right now that's gonna be on this new album, and I just love it.

And they did a cover of Islands in the Stream, which is pretty awesome.

That cover of Islands in the Stream, I think, is excellent.

I. I really.

And I was like, oh, my God, they're doing that?

Yes, they're doing that.

And they're doing it extremely well.

So even if you think you're like, I'm a purist for Dolly or whatever, you're gonna love this.

This cover.

And it's so bold.

God, it's bold.

Yes.

I love it.

Yeah, I do that.

No, they're really credible.

Okay.

So Newport Folk this year.

There was this young man that did a set.

His name was Monrovia.

I don't know how old this kid is, but ever since I heard him stand on that stage with this.

I don't think it's a ukulele, but it's like a tiny little guitar.

And then he belts out this beautiful voice.

Okay, well, here's Monrovio's debut album.

Came out today.

It's 10 or it's 11 o' clock where I am.

I've listened to it four times.

Monrovio isn't his real name.

That's his artist name.

He's from Monrovia, Liberia.

He was born into a civil war, made a child soldier.

Parents were killed.

A missionary adopted him to Appalachia.

And that's where he gets his inspiration from this album.

That's how good this album is.

It's so heavy.

We don't get political on this show, but in the times, with his struggles in his life, with what's going on in our world, it's.

It's incredible.

And this kid is just the voice.

It's.

I'm telling you, Ben, if you don't listen to this by the end of the day, we're not friends anymore.

No.

All right.

It isn't what it seems, man.

That's a different kind of green.

We all see the kind of text I get from Zach like that.

And y', all, this is why we all need Zach.

We all need our Zachs.

Or you get.

If you're lucky, like me, you get the Zach.

Because I haven't.

I'm not familiar with this, so I wasn't.

I didn't know.

I didn't.

I haven't heard about him before.

The story is compelling, though.

Absolutely.

And wait till you hear the lyrics in this.

I mean, this young man, he's seen some stuff.

So I've got my.

I got my homework.

And before we get off here, Angela, my wife, was like, ben, I forgot to mention someone that's been on our show whose album is Leon Matchson?

Oh, yeah.

Am I saying their last name right?

Leon Mason.

Yeah.

Mates.

Yeah, we.

We had him on, I think he was our fourth episode.

Go list like episode number four or five when he came on this guy.

So his.

His and I wrote down the song, but he just go listen to the album.

We don't listen to his music in general.

He's released like three albums.

Yeah.

This year make Making a Living, Not a Killing is the one that is.

Is the album.

He's got a bunch of pedals songs.

The guy, he.

His songwriting is hearkens to me, a lot of it to John Bryan.

And you mentioned that in our episode.

Yeah.

And you need to go check him out.

But Angela's like, ben, make sure to mention it is a very good album.

She's listened to it a lot.

I've listened to it a lot.

And he just keeps pumping out stuff.

It's.

It's.

It's amazing, the writing.

Prolific.

Checked out the subar Walking to the truck with a cup of coffee in our pocket Topping off the tank Just trying to stay awake I'm talking to a picture in a locker Said I've been gone, been all over now Gotta make the next show I'll try you in the heena mud no be sleeping and I don't know when I'll be home Ain't that the way it goes when you're on the road Ain't that the way.

We need to get him on again to talk about this.

So hopefully Leon will join us again soon.

Quick reflection on Zach.

Brian and his haven't listened to her yet.

28, 25.

8.

28 songs.

So apparently y' all he.

Zach came out with a. Zach.

Brian came on the new album, and he's come out, and he.

He tends to drop albums that have giant numbers of songs on them.

And then I read that in three days, he's going to release an album of all acoustic versions of these songs because people complain about him being overproduced.

Yeah.

Watch it.

Get back.

I listened to two songs this morning.

I just haven't spent.

Had enough time to spend enough time with it.

I got reached out by Jack McEwen, who was on our show way back in the day.

Yes.

So he's got new music coming out.

He doesn't have an exact date on it, but he wants to come back on the show and share the details.

Okay, well, we got to get him back on.

That guy.

Talking about storytelling.

Oh, my God.

Yeah.

Yeah, let's.

Let's get him back on.

And, bj, tell us about what you know about American Aquarium.

They obviously made a huge splash on our show when he came on his previous album.

And y'.

All.

That episode blasted off like a rocket.

Like a NASA rocket ship into the.

And I mean, what incredible album.

What an incredible.

I mean, they're one of the top touring bands in terms of numbers of shows they do each year.

I think they were just the second most shows this year by whoever keeps those tracks or those staff.

So the reason I mentioned that is not to brag, although that's impressive, is that you need to be on the lookout because he's probably coming near you, and it's really on you.

If you haven't do An American Aquarium show, because you are.

Yeah.

There's no excuse at this point.

You will not regret it.

Anybody that's been.

BJ is, I would say, one of the top performers.

Yeah.

But what I know about the new album is I don't know there's an exact date yet.

It'll come out this year.

He sends.

I'm a patron member.

And he has released a couple songs that we are told not to share.

Obviously, they are good.

He just released one yesterday.

Phenomenal.

He also has some sort of album, like a secret album that he recorded at a old studio that was shutting down that meant dear and really a lot to him.

And he.

So he recorded something there.

He's been teasing it a little bit.

So we're gonna get two albums from bj, One of what we know is going to be new originals.

And then there's this secret album that was recorded at the studio that shut down recently.

So he just doesn't stop.

And I'll be seeing him at Road Trip to Raleigh here in about three weeks.

Yeah.

So we could probably do.

So we.

Last year, Zach and I went to Road Trip to Raleigh.

After that, we did like a special episode where we talked about that experience.

There's a lot to unpack about American Aquarium.

The history, their.

Their deep catalog, what their show's like.

A story that I like to tell is my very.

I didn't know American Aquarium until Zach's like, ben, I got a text.

BJ's coming to Charleston, American Aquarium.

You need to go see them.

And I was like, okay, well, I don't say.

I don't say no to Zach.

So I go to.

I. I go.

And he's like, ben, whatever you do, don't leave at the end.

And I was like, well, why?

He's like, well, bj, he stays around and he meets every single person.

And I thought, yeah, right.

So I go to the show, I bring my.

I bring a friend of mine.

And BJ did the energy.

I. I can't even describe it.

It's just non stop energy.

And you think this.

And he's really taking the mantle on his own shoulders.

He's powering everything.

Like, he's not like, if you go to these big concerts, the band takes over and they're like doing smoke shows and all to try to keep everybody, get the guy, get ready to break.

Well, BJ takes no break and he just keeps going.

And then at the end of the show, he just comes out and starts meeting everybody.

I'm like, how in the world.

And I actually asked him, I was like, how do you have read everybody after doing a full energy?

And he's like, man, I can't go to sleep after the show.

I'm way too hyped up.

So I just go meet everybody.

And since then, you've done a road trip to Raleigh.

We've seen them in Nashville at the Ryman.

I've seen him at Jim Nolte's show on Edisto at his house.

Like, Jim?

You don't know Jim Nolte.

You only know Jim.

He's like basically the.

The president keeper of the fam club.

Yeah, wonderful dude.

He also has a lot of.

He.

We have a lot of common interest in music.

He does a lot of stuff with it.

I got a lot of gratitude for the music in life and that it just keeps.

It keeps showing up for us.

Even though I would say we as a world don't always show up for.

Keeps showing up for us.

It keeps asking us to listen, to think of our higher selves, think about community.

It invites us in for experiencing life on a deeper way.

Even though we seem to be a world obsessed with just chaotic headlines and crazy stuff, it's calling to us, and I'll say inviting us to be better humans.

And so I got a lot of gratitude, and it makes me excited for what's coming up.

How about for you, Zach?

I cannot follow that, Ben, that beautiful speech that you just gave, I will.

Just say ditto soliloquy.

Yes.

But if you want to, if it's out there, these.

These artists are making incredible music.

That's important, and it's just going to be another year of good music, I hope.

And it starts with Monrovia.

Yeah.

I mean, why don't.

So.

So in terms of your.

So speaking of listeners now, if you've been with us these 57 or so minutes, it's been a longer episode.

Thank you for giving us the time.

Your call to action is really to get to, like, tee these people up to listen to them, and then secondly, to go to their Instagram to go to their website and see if they're coming to a place near you.

Okay.

And if they are, open up your calendar.

Okay?

Put it on your calendar.

And then when you put it on your calendar, think about three, four, five, six friends and just invite them.

Okay?

Now, you may not end up going because you have a conflict, and it's like, three months away, or your friends may not be able to go.

But just.

I think the key is to, like, have it on your calendar and hopefully you'll find a way to go and to listen to them in person, because y' all listening to Spotify or Apple doesn't really put a lot of money in their pocket.

It just doesn't.

A lot of people think they make a lot of money.

They're not.

What they do is they generate their.

Their living through their live shows and through their merch, and so that's the way you can support them.

But I think it's so, like, that will be a call to action.

Like if you have.

And I think all of that, you know, would be a fun activity for you.

And then, you know, like, these artists, like Monrovia, you know, I'm, I'm taking away, I'm going to be listening.

So we want to, we want to support the rising artist maybe even more than we support the big artists, because the big artists that are already big, they've got their fan club, they've got their money making machine, you know, they're able to go and you know, I'm cheering them on too.

I'm, I'm happy for them.

But you know, these rising bands, a lot of which we talked about today, they need you.

You know, they need you.

That's how you support them.

Love it.

Y' all have fun.

Go get them.

Thanks for joining Zach and I for this episode of Americana Curious.

Subscribe where you listen to your podcast so you are notified when a new episode is released.

I'm Ben Fanning and it's been great sharing these artists and music with you.

Until next time, stay Americana Curious.