Browsing Tag

Honkytonk

Doomscroll Rodeo: Sam Carlson’s On My Phone (and I Missed It) Is Honkytonk Americana for the App-Trapped Age

Posted on 10 July 2026

Honkytonk breached the 21st century through Sam Carlson’s tragically relatable latest single, On My Phone (and I Missed It). If the twangy Americana earworm didn’t carry its cheeky quintessential charm, it would probably send everyone who hears it into an existential spiral once they realise how much of life has slipped by as they were staring into the architecture of time-stealing apps.

Somewhere between satirical, observational and confessional lyricality, On My Phone (and I Missed It) resounds as the ultimate sign of our mind-frayed times, as Carlson squares up to his digital addiction with enough jovial barroom levity to keep the sermon from becoming sanctimonious. The track has that rare old-country knack of making a joke land first, then letting the punchline brew into uncomfortably potent truth.

Written in Key West with local poet laureate Tortuga Jack Hackett, an 80-year-old kayak guide with ties to Shel Silverstein, the single carries the spirit of folk humour passed through a modern malaise. Updating the premise of Silverstein’s I Was Stoned and I Missed It for the age of phones gives Carlson a perfect vehicle for his plainspoken wit.

With a ten-track album, Any Minute Now, planned for vinyl later this year, and 500 vinyl copies already sold of 2024’s The Second Hand without online promotion, Carlson clearly knows how to reach listeners beyond the algorithm.

On My Phone (and I Missed It) is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Rootsy Americana Revolved Around Siren-Ignited Heat in Michael B Tipton’s ‘Hot Headed Lover’

Posted on 12 May 2026

Michael B Tipton singed beyond the fringes of HonkyTonk Americana with his latest single, Hot Headed Lover; a rootsy allegory of how it feels to surrender yourself to a mercurial force beyond your control and catch the sparks of their fervour as they ignite to the excitement of danger. It’s the kind of catchy foot-tapping earworm that will spread an all-knowing grin through an entire audience; a testament to Tipton’s cheeky but rooted-in-reality observations of how the fairer sex doesn’t always play fair. 

There are serious songwriting chops etched straight into the core of the single, attesting to how Tipton has evolved into a troubadour of truth and a rhythmic revolutionary, whose tracks refuse to bend into mediocrity or pay pale tribute to the lineage of roots history.

The release lands with the easy confidence of an artist who knows exactly how to let a story swing. The groove keeps the temperature high, the hook rolls with a roguish charm, and the whole arrangement carries the road-worn snap of a seasoned performer who has lived inside the lineage he sings from. Across more than 26 years, Tipton has moved through country, folk, rock, and Americana, building his name on sharp songwriting and relentless touring. After returning fully to his songwriting roots in 2020, he pushed forward with Out Of The Woods in 2023, then sharpened his live reputation through more than 60 shows in 2025.

Hot Headed Lover is now available to stream on all major platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Mikernan Arrell  Delivered Rhythm-Drunk Defiance in His Infectious Country Confessional, ‘On My Travels’

Posted on 16 February 2026

There was no room for tired lyrical tropes in the brutally honest, raucously amplified country confessional Mikernan Arrell delivered in On My Travels. The firebrand singer-songwriter leans straight into the admission that maturity remains elusive at 35, and that the trials and tribulations of life have left scars instead of strength and wisdom. Through that confession, Arrell leads a riot of honkytonk candour, shattering the illusion many of us were sold: that age carries some natural proclivity towards maturity. Instead, he lays it bare. We are all just rolling with the punches, hoping fate doesn’t screw us too hard, and, if we are lucky, ambling across iconic hits in this punchy country-punk-rock vein.

The chaotic edges of the arrangement match the lyrical exposure. There is a ramshackled electricity in the rhythm, a rough-and-ready rapture that feels almost rhythm-drunk in its breakout urgency. As the title track of his latest three-track EP, the earworm surges with unfiltered energy, refusing polish in favour of electrifying volts of resonance. If you have smattered Steve ‘N’ Seagulls, The Cleverlys, The Dead South, and Iron Horse across your playlists, this release will land as an intravenous shot of high-spirited grit, delivered with a grin and a bruise.

Based in Portland, Oregon, Arrell carries decades of global stage experience behind him. A multi-instrumentalist who has fronted hard-rock trio Master Splinter, composed for alternative-rock duo Unanimous, and explored alt-country and Celtic-folk textures in his solo work, he brings that accumulated fire to his solo work. Beyond performing, he runs his own studio and independent label, building a self-sustained ecosystem that mirrors the autonomy in his songwriting.

On My Travels is now available on all major streaming platforms, including Spotify. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Michael B Tipton’s ‘Walking the Wire’ Spins Honkytonk into High Voltage Neo-Country 

Posted on 25 September 2025
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Just as some film directors allow the fourth wall to be broken, in his latest single, Walking the Wire, the true-blue neo-country troubadour Michael B Tipton erupts from the airwaves with his vocal presence alone. His presence feels larger than life, death and everything in between as he blazes through the upbeat honkytonk-soaked track. The pedal steel twang and accordion motifs keep it grounded in the neo-traditional pocket, but the charge comes from Tipton’s own alchemic songwriting and knack for turning country tropes into something soul-shaking. Instead of inflating the sound with overdriven guitars, he channels his reverence for country music and boundless stage energy into a juggernaut of serotonin. The result feels like watching sparks fly in a dark Kansas sky.

Kansas City’s own Michael B Tipton has been steadily building his country cred, with his debut album Out of the Woods landing on Saving Country Music’s “Most Anticipated Albums” list in 2023 and his music featuring on shows like Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

Known for his clever lyricism and heartfelt storytelling, he has shared stages with Grammy winners Bronwyn Keith-Hynes and Jason Isbell. Backed by his seasoned band, The Scoundrels, Tipton is the kind of performer who leaves every last drop on the stage, night after night. Walking the Wire is another notch in his growing belt, perfect for fans of Turnpike Troubadours and Hayes Carll who crave a hit of raw country elation.

Walking the Wire is now available on all major streaming platforms, including SoundCloud. 

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Honkytonk echoes the unspoken in The Stone Hill All-Stars’ seminal single, What I Left Unsaid

Posted on 11 September 2024

If their latest standout release, What I Left Unsaid, is anything to go by, The Stone Hill All-Stars more than live up to their moniker. The band may have borrowed from the blues in their honkytonk country folk-rock track, but the aural escapade is anything but mournful; the track exhilarates as it pulses with a liveliness that’s downright infectious, supported by the band’s unmistakable charisma.

Hailing from Baltimore’s music scene, the members of The Stone Hill All-Stars originally played with notable groups such as Two Legs, Mambo Combo, and The Polkats. Together, as a powerhouse, they traverse a smorgasbord of genres, adding depth, vigour and devil-may-care soul wherever they see fit.

With the production quality throwing back to the timbres of college radio rock nostalgia, image-evoking folk tales running through the lyrics and the confluence of crying harmonicas, blazing horns, fiddles flaring and guitars amplified through old tube amps, the band constructed a solid sonic foundation that celebrates musical roots while forging new expressive pathways.

Through their craft, The Stone Hill All-Stars pay homage to their diverse influences while offering and distinct take on what modern folk-rock can be.

What I Left Unsaid is now available to stream with the Wednesday in Winter LP on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Christa Joy and the Honeybees – Omens: Irreverently Witty Alt-Country

Posted on 15 August 2024

Christa Joy and the Honeybee’s superlatively seminal Alt-Country single, Omens, from their eponymous fourth studio album, charts a profound journey mapped by emotive storytelling and artfully affecting sonic processions. If any contemporary country singer-songwriter can instil an infinity for Americana in the new generation of music fans, it’s Christa Joy with her irreverently witty lyricism.

The single initiates with Christa’s hauntingly reflective, pensively tinged vocals, adeptly drawing listeners into a world filled with imagery-evoking melancholy before the salving honkytonk instrumentals accompany and soothe Christa’s poetically outpoured pain as a parable for the sanctifyingly uplifting nature of the soundscape.

The tale of how endless time can feel in the wake of a breakup which leaves your world feeling cold has been told countless times before. Yet, by playing with light and shade, interplaying torment with gratitude and injecting some quintessential country humour through evolving lyricism centred around the dog that was left behind, the single unravels as a tenderly heartwarming revelation of how disorientating it can feel to step into the world, unsure of what paths to take to heal.

With the 4th LP from the Western Massachusetts singer-songwriter in the pipeline and due for release on August 24, there’s never been a better time to tune into the artist’s alchemic approach to conjuring emotion through artfully orchestrated alt-country. The album promises an exhibition of the band’s chemistry and Christa’s maturation as a songwriter, featuring tracks that range from classic honky-tonk to gospel-tinged country ballads

Omens was officially released on August 2nd; stream the single on Bandcamp and SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Sarah McCulloch painted a mountainous vignette with her honkytonk hit, Back In Them Hills

Posted on 25 March 2024
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Sarah McCulloch’s single Back In Them Hills is a vivid portrayal of the landscape her soul calls home, offering listeners a sanctuary in its upbeat honkytonk rhythms. The track goes beyond a mere tribute to country folk’s roots; McCulloch becomes a conduit for the genre’s enduring spirit. Her vocal lines which spill over with soul are as panoramic as the landscapes she paints with her lyrics.

McCulloch, a renowned folk singer-songwriter and country artist from Florida, is known for her exceptional storytelling and poignant lyrics. Her ability to weave captivating stories through her music has earned her a loyal fan base and critical acclaim, with Americana-UK and Lonesome Highway praising her previous works for her modern yet traditional sound.

McCulloch’s upcoming full-length acoustic album, Driving Me Home, produced by Jim Bickerstaff and featuring Florida musicians like Raiford Starke and Jeanie Fitchen, is an inspiring collection of aural stories which reflect themes of triumph over adversity and the courage to embrace vulnerability. Born in Miami and raised near the Big Cypress Seminole Reservation, McCulloch’s music, recognised by the State of Florida’s Division of Arts and Culture, draws inspiration from her unique upbringing.

Back in Them Hills was officially released on March 22nd; stream the single on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Little Jane and the Pistol Whips – Montana Can’t You See: A Heartfelt Homage to Americana

Posted on 12 March 2024

Little Jane and the Pistol Whips‘ single, ‘Montana Can’t You See’, from their 2023 LP ‘Long Road Ahead’, is a vibrant tribute to the heart and soul of Americana. The aural entryway into the nostalgic realm of Honkytonk is wrapped in the beauty of Montana’s landscapes.

The panoramic vignette of Montana’s magnetic trappings envelops you from the first verse as the upbeat country folk arrangement, including folk strings, ensures that a flood of feel-good momentum courses through the sepia-tinged ravines of the single that, despite the polished production, could have been released in any era.

Ashly ‘Little Jane’ Holland’s dynamic voice is the centrepiece of this musical masterpiece. Her ability to infuse serotonin into the souls of her listeners is unparalleled, bringing a sunny disposition that’s infectious. Her vocal style, reminiscent of legends like Loretta Lynn, adds a vintage country feel to the song, yet across her expansive discography, her range allows her to traverse from haunting ballads to up-tempo cowgirl romps with ease.

No true Americana fan would be able to resist the temptation of the rest of her repertoire after hearing Montana Can’t You See.

Montana Can’t You See is now available to stream on Spotify.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

The decades washed away in the latest synthesis of rockabilly and honkytonk country from Kristi Jean and Her Ne’er Do-Wells, ‘Long Haul Lady’

Posted on 5 January 2024
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Kristi Jean and Her Ne’er Do-Wells struck a resonantly nostalgic chord with their latest track, ‘Long Haul Lady‘, a vibrant fusion of rockabilly and country that redefines the genre with a modern twist of female empowerment. From the opening verse, the song is a narratively rich journey, weaving a tapestry of vivid imagery set against the backdrop of jive-worthy rhythmic honkytonk finesse.

The upbeat, panoramic release showcases the band’s tight orchestration and Kristi Jean’s commanding vocal presence; The Stray Cat strut pales in comparison to the swagger of Long Haul Lady, a song that not only entertains but also breaks down gender stereotypes with its infectious charm. The feel-good grooves are potent; capable of erasing the past seven decades and bringing listeners into a realm where the old is new again.

The way Kristi Jean embodies the ultimate femme fatale in this song, seamlessly melding masculine strength with feminine beguile, creates an impossible-to-ignore statement of artistic integrity and stylistic flair. You’ll want her pouring through your speakers for days after you hit play.

Long Haul Lady will debut on January 5th; stream the single on SoundCloud.

Review by Amelia Vandergast

Barnyard Stompers – Punk Rock Girl: A Honkytonk-Punk Rock Antithesis of a Love Story

Posted on 13 January 2023
Barnyard Stompers

I never knew how much I needed a gritty Americana track with psychobilly tendencies about the incompatibility between honkytonk guys and punk rock girls until I heard Barnyard Stompers’ narratively enticing single Punk Rock Girl. If you thought that Nick Cave could weave a compelling set of lyrics, prepare for your idol to be sonically knocked down a peg or two by Barnyard Stompers with their quintessentially country tones and ability to reel you in hook, lyric and sinker.

With touches of desert psych to the rolling basslines in the intro that give way to the definitive twang of Americana guitars and the astute observations about the contrast of the two cultures, “he doesn’t have a clue why you want to burn shit down”, it’s impossible not to get immersed in the antithesis of a love story.

Towards the outro following the Gretschy psychobilly riffs that fade into distorted obscurity away from the solid rockin’ rhythms, there is a twist! The honkytonk man was once a punk rock boy; he liked the new wave, ska, hardcore, psychobilly, and oi but threw away his DMs because there’s nothing punk about punk rock anymore. I can wholly relate.

Punk Rock Girl will officially release on January 13th. Check it out via the band’s official website.

Review by Amelia Vandergast