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One Liner: Strong voiced Brit singing hard-edged and confessional pop
Wikipedia Genre: Pop, R&B, Soul
Home: Croydon, UK
Poster Position: Top Line - 2 (up from line 16 in 2024!) Both Weekends. Date/Time
[location]
Thoughts: Welp, another one who was just here in 2024. I guess there just aren't any other artists out there so we need to see the same things over and over...
This is not the first Lola Young that comes up on Wikipedia, who is the Baroness Young of Hornsey, and a British actress, author, crossbench peer, and Chancellor of the University of Nottingham. Instead, this is a gal who alternatively reminds me of both Amy Winehouse and Billie Eilish. Her Wikipedia is pretty useless. I know she is English and was born 1/4/01 and that she was nominated for the Brit Award for Rising Star in 2021 and then placed fourth in 2022 in the BBC Sound of... competition. In an interview, she claimed to have more shoes than brain cells.
Four albums - 2019's Intro, 2023's My Mind Wanders and Sometimes Leaves Completely, 2024's This Wasn't Meant for You Anyway, and 2026's I'm Only F**king Myself. My normal reaction to a pop star who reminds me of Eilish would be to tell you that I hate this, but instead, I have actually enjoyed listening to it. The backing music is a little funkier and harder, and her voice can sometimes do the annoying whispery shit, but can also belt in an appealing way. I guess I now see why she is already back to the 'Fest, because one of the tracks on the 2024 album blew up in a massive way. Like, dwarfing all other songs in the catalog for sure. "Messy" fires up 1.1 BILLION streams. I guess this struck a chord on TikTok.
It used to weird me out if I hadn't ever heard a major hit, but now it feels semi-normal to realize that the kids are jamming things that never cross my space. But I can see the teenagers doing stuff with this one about being too messy or too clean or whatever. I actually like it. And listening to the whole album, this just really sounds familiar to me.
Her top single from that 2023 album, this is "Don't Hate Me," with 43 million streams.
Her lips are so ridiculously full. Like Jennifer Lawrence playing Roseanne Barr. Almost a rap track, but I'm definitely grooving on it. The second most streamed tune is a single that came out after the albums, "Conceited," with 99.8 million streams.
That is the one that feels even more like Eilish/Winehouse crossover. But in her own way - she's not exactly like either of those but just flashes it here and there. "Wish You Were Dead" is pretty solid too, with a well-written look at a shit relationship.
Then the newest album also works pretty well. "SPIDERS" makes me think of Olivia Rodrigo with the rock and roll edge and confessional lyrics. I honestly came here to bag on this, thinking that I would tear it up for being another repeat visitor doing nothing but generic pop music, and then I found myself really enjoying it. She has some swagger and good lyrics and its not just a vacuous pop money grab thing. I might go see it.
One Liner: Throwback soul from another Aussie Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia - classic soul Home: Sydney Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 12 Day: ? Both Weekends.
[location]
Thoughts: This freaking guy was here just last year. Can we really not find something new? Well, here is my review from then for you to re-enjoy.
I really wish that this guy was one of the four listed Don West people named in Wikipedia. Don West (educator) (1906–1992), American writer, poet, educator and civil-rights activist; Don West (wrestling) (1963–2022), American pitchman, television personality and professional wrestling broadcaster; Major Don West, a fictional character on the TV series Lost in Space; Don West, a lawyer in the trial of George Zimmerman in 2013. Instead, we have a soulful supermodel-looking dude from Australia. More Aussies on Saturday! What is going on!?
Anyway, the sound here is (mostly) some classic Stax/Motown-era soul music. Real instruments, real recording, etc. Occasionally, he angles into a classic rock sound like the Black Keys might. Very limited catalog for now with only singles and on 2024 EP named Don West. Biggest single so far is called "Small Change." 55.8 million streams (up from 22.7 last year).
I mean, look at my guy. If he is not modelling on the side then someone is asleep at his agency. On top of that, to have a beautiful singing voice to go with it? Who could say no!? The horns and falsetto in there just make me happy. That is a fun tune. He apparently taught himself guitar with his dad's classic guitar, and then joined his brother's band - Sons of the East - as a bassist. How you gonna keep that sexy bastard off to the side behind a bass?
Second-biggest streamer is "Friends," with 35.3 million streams (up from 11.3 last year).
And then this one brings all the vibes to the table. Just slow and sultry and groovy to the max. Although it is hard to understand how you claim you can just be friends right after you just claimed that you still touch yourself when you think of her.
Great tunes. Easy call to go and let this classic sound just wash over my early afternoon.
One Liner: Soulful belting from an Alabama gingah Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but soul, southern rock Home: Decatur, AL
Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 18 Day: Sunday. Weekend One Only.
T-Mobile Stage at 12:45.
Thoughts: Listening to this fella has been really weird, because he appears on a single called "Ms. Mocha," by an R&B crooner named Wade Brown, and so each time that song keeps popping up in the playlist, my brain does a hard left and is like "oh wait, this guy is D'Angelo?" it is very offputting. Because his normal music is pretty dang soulful, but it still sounds like a white dude cranking out the soul through the red hair coifed atop his head.
He started playing the guitar as a teenager, and then appeared on America's Got Talent. Dude looks terrified. Not sure if it is the glasses or the paleness, but
I think he was trying to be something he is not on that show - dude is a soul singer, not a pop thing. Prior to that appearance, a cover of a Ray Charles song had gone viral and gotten him a taste of fame. But it was a cover of "Rubber Band Man," reposted by Questlove, that got the attention of Dave Cobb and a label signing. His first single available on Spotify is a cover of "Love and Happiness" that sounds legit. 1.6 million streams.
He has a 2018 self-titled EP, but otherwise nothing but singles. I assume that an album is on the way, as he has two recent singles where the newest one also includes the earlier one on the single (which is annoying to me). That newest one is kind of fun though, "Oh Shit! (I'm in Love)" with 54k streams so far.
Those horns - any good soulful rock song with horns added gets my attention. I also like how you can't really tell that he's cursing in the chorus unless you know the title of the song. Sounded more to me like he was singing "she" instead. Kind of an Alabama Shakes vibe there.
I'd go watch this guy. I wonder if he might be better suited for a smaller environment, rather than a huge field, but still, this is enjoyable...
One Liner: Powerful neo-soul singer winning awards back in London Wikipedia Genre: pop soul, soul, neo-soul Home: London Poster Position: Top Quarter - Line 6 Day: Saturday Both Weekends.
American Express Stage at 2:30.
Thoughts: I know it should be no surprise anymore about me not knowing artists, but she's on the 6th line and none of this is familiar at all. Just odd. Similarly interesting, I have made it down to her live album (2024's Live at Eventim Apollo) and the crowd is singing along to every word. So, even if this is outside of my worldview, she's got some devoted fans!
Born in London, and named Olivia Lauryn Dean because her parents loved Lauryn Hill. She took musical theater lessons and at 15 was accepted to the BRIT School (a performing and creative arts school with a lot of famous alumni like Adele, Amy Winehouse, and Tom Holland). At age 17, she was hired as a backing vocalist for a drum and bass band called Rudimental, but it wasn't long before she broke out on her own. In 2021, Dean was named the breakthrough artist of the year by Amazon Music and in 2023 she was selected as BBC Music Introducing Artist of the Year. One of my favorite things about reading Wikipedia entries about Brits is that it will invariably say what soccer team they support. So funny. Like, as if at the end of George Strait's entry it mentioned that he supports the Houston Astros. Anyway, Olivia backs West Ham.
Her second song on Spotify is entitled "Just For You (L.L. Bean Christmas Advert)." It rings a bell and is pretty catchy. Her first big hit was a single from 2019 called "Ok Love You Bye." 100.5 million streams.
Excellent voice, catchy little tune. Hard not to bop along! Loads of singles and EPs and whatnot up until her 2023 album Messy. it sounds like another album is on the way soon, but for now just the one disc. It has her other two big songs on it, with the biggest being "Dive" at 150.7 million streams.
I've just been letting her stuff roll for the past two days as I get some work done, and it is really a nice thing. Fantastic voice - I don't think I can go so far as to compare her to Adele, but she flashes that power here and there.
She's got a handful of new 2025 singles, so I am betting a new album is on the way. I'd go watch this. Not my normal thing, I would almost always angle towards the harder rock stuff, but I am interested in that powerful and beautiful voice.
One Liner: Classic soul sounds from a killer voice Wikipedia Genre: Indie soul Home: L.A. (via Chicago and Nashville) Poster Position: Bottom Quarter - Line 22 Day: Saturday Weekend One Only.
BMI Stage at 5:15.
Thoughts: All of us have considered it. Maybe in a slightly different way, but I know that you have also considered the idea. Jeffrey Goldford was living in Chicago, working a corporate job, finding no passion in his day-to-day life. He went through a tough break-up, and instead of just licking his wounds and heading back to the office, he went for it in the music business. And now he has co-signs from SZA, Sam Smith, Noah Kahan, and James Blake!
Now, he had been a musician - he was a season 4 finalist on American Idol in his 20's. But he has said that he was expected to go get a "real" job and so that is how he found himself in a boring sales job making a living but being sad.
He had a hit at the start of the pandemic with the lovely track "Walk With Me," which has since been used in lots of commercials and TV shows.
For a Jewish white boy, that voice is magic. He jokes that this song sort of wrote itself as the pandemic unspooled and everyone in California was just trying to figure out what to do.
Slightly limited output in the 12 years he's been out there - 2013's Shed a Little Light, 2019's Deconstructed EP, 2021's Dreams of Sunshine EP, and 2024's Orange Blossoms album (and a handful of singles). But his top track is the title song to that new disc. 53.6 million streams.
The whole disc is this sort of soulful groove and I am extremely here for it. What a lovely sound. His earlier album is not nearly as self-assured and warm. It sounds more like someone who isn't sure about what he wants to be, like the kind of album an American Idol contestant would make in a hurry to capitalize on attention. I don't know if that happened or not, but just my feel. I'd go watch this guy.
One Liner: Throwback soul from another Aussie Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia - classic soul Home: Sydney Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 15 Day: Saturday Both Weekends.
Tito's Tent at 3:00.
Thoughts: I really wish that this guy was one of the four listed Don West people named in Wikipedia. Don West (educator) (1906–1992), American writer, poet, educator and civil-rights activist; Don West (wrestling) (1963–2022), American pitchman, television personality and professional wrestling broadcaster; Major Don West, a fictional character on the TV series Lost in Space; Don West, a lawyer in the trial of George Zimmerman in 2013. Instead, we have a soulful supermodel-looking dude from Australia. More Aussies on Saturday! What is going on!?
Anyway, the sound here is (mostly) some classic Stax/Motown-era soul music. Real instruments, real recording, etc. Occasionally, he angles into a classic rock sound like the Black Keys might. Very limited catalog for now with only singles and on 2024 EP named Don West. Biggest single so far is called "Small Change." 22.7 million streams.
I mean, look at my guy. If he is not modelling on the side then someone is asleep at his agency. On top of that, to have a beautiful singing voice to go with it? Who could say no!? The horns and falsetto in there just make me happy. That is a fun tune. He apparently taught himself guitar with his dad's classic guitar, and then joined his brother's band - Sons of the East - as a bassist. How you gonna keep that sexy bastard off to the side behind a bass?
Second-biggest streamer is "Friends," with 11.3 million streams.
And then this one brings all the vibes to the table. Just slow and sultry and groovy to the max. Although it is hard to understand how you claim you can just be friends right after you just claimed that you still touch yourself when you think of her.
Great tunes. Easy call to go and let this classic sound just wash over my early afternoon.
One Liner: Great British power soul singing like a Winehouse or Adele
Wikipedia Genre: British soul, alternative R&B, jazz, neo-soul
Home: Brighton, England (via California)
Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 12 Weekend One Only. Saturday.
Ladybird Stage at 3:30.
Thoughts: Fifteen seconds in, and I'm already naming Amy Winehouse. But also, the top song (by a ton, by the way) is instantly familiar. I played it for the wife and she agreed. Looking it up, and it was sort of funny - it was apparently the go-to song for poignant moments in the streaming shows we have watched recently, with appearances in Ted Lasso, Nobody Wants This, Outer Banks, and two other shows I didn't watch. This is "Strange," which is an excellent song, by the way. 235.9 million streams.
Like Winehouse mixed with the whispy-raspy thing of Macy Gray. What I keep hearing in her other tunes is an angle that sounds like either she is trying to make a James Bond theme or she just wants to dance with somebody in a British club. But if you like that sort of soulful, jazzy, storytelling chanteuse thing of Adele and Winehouse and Glynn and whatnot, then this is truly great. Her voice is top tier.
Fascinatingly, she was actually born here. Born in Culver City, California to an English mother and Jamaican father, but then she moved to Dagenham and then Brighton as a toddler. She started writing music as a teenager and was uploading songs to the Internet with some success before she was discovered and became the generic power-voice on some hits from EDM guys like Avicii, Tieks, and Real Lies. Lots of singles and remixes and whatnot, until her 2021 album Not Your Muse. That disc has several of her top songs, and it all sounds pretty damn good. The other biggest streamer from it is "Stop This Flame," with 95.9 million streams, which
Shows that dance party side of her. Makes me think of, maybe like Orbital? Moby? Like, a song from the soundtrack for that Leonardo Decaprio movie The Beach. That is the vibe I get there. Anyway, again, her voice is so good. Fascinatingly, no other album. She's gotten a lot of support in the UK - Elton John told people to watch out for her, Forbes UK 30-uinder-30 list, James Corden said he couldn't stop listening to her, BBC Radio has championed her and she won a BBC Music Award, and she also won a BRIT for Rising Star in 2020. It very much feels like she was one who was poised for massive success (as predicted at the start of 2020 by publications such as Vogue, The Guardian, NME, GQ, The Independent, and Ticketmaster UK), and then the pandemic shut everything down and her momentum fizzled.
I think she sounds amazing. Hard to fault any of these songs that I have been rotating through for a day and a half. Feels like she ought to be huge.
One Liner: Massively popular Irish blues rock with "Take Me To Church" and "Too Sweet"
Wikipedia Genre: Indie rock, soul, blues, folk, R&B, blues rock
Home: Ireland
Poster Position: Headliner! Both Weekends. Friday.
T-Mobile Stage at 8:15.
Thoughts: He was last here in 2023, and as far as I can tell, no new music since then. Oh, no, wait, that is not true. After his 2023 album, he released the Unheard EP that features his second-biggest streamer overall that has taken my household by storm. Very good song, but we will get to that later.
This guy confounds me a little bit. I really liked his first album, but I haven't paid attention to him much since then. And yet when he was named as a Headliner (!?!?!) for 2023's Fest, I heard multiple people straight freaking out that he would be here. My niece-in-law (is that a thing? The lady married to my nephew.) said that she is dying for a Hozier tattoo. I heard more than one person say they were more excited about Hozier than anything else on the 2023 poster. Which is, huh?
Now, don't get me wrong, I loved that 2014 self-titled album. I've professed my love for it repeatedly on this blog. In my preview for his eventually cancelled 2014 ACL show. In my top ten for the 2015 Fest. In a short review of his album. In my top albums of 2014 post. In my review before he came to ACL in 2015. This disc is full of very great music. That first disc went 6 times platinum in Ireland and 5 times here in the States. It was a major album that any artist would kill for in this age. It also came out eleven years ago though!
"Take Me to Church" is the juggernaut, the unstoppable tune that has FUCKING THREE BILLION FUCKING STREAMS despite being rock and roll. Holy shit. I CANNOT believe that this song has over 3 billion streams. That is seriously mind-boggling.
Jacked up video though... You might recall that he was scheduled to come to ACL in 2014, but called in sick or something and we missed out. Which bloooooowwwwws. Then he came back the next year and was very good. The portions that I didn't like in 2015 were his cover tunes, so hopefully now that he has a few discs out there he'll shy away from dumb Ariana Grande songs. But, if "Take Me to Church" is all you know from this guy, then by all means, keep listening. He's good. I heard a cover version of "Work Song" the other day, and it reminded me how damn pretty that one is. Also from that debut album. 786.1 million streams.
Beauty. The excellent "Someone New" has 675.9 million streams, and the similarly nice "Cherry Wine" boasts 558.3 million streams. These are big hits. But my favorite from all of them is "Jackie and Wilson." 345.1.
Hells yeah. It is honestly hard to believe this dude is from Ireland. Great tune. I still listen to that one today.
After that original disc, he released a four song EP, called "Nina Cried Power," in 2018. The first track, featuring Mavis Staples, is a power blues rocker about stepping up in the face of oppression, that gives shouts to everyone from James Brown to John Lennon for fighting the power. The second tune is a dark, slow, burning warning to those who might mess with his baby called "NFWMB." I like that one a lot. Third song is a more traditional blues rock stomper, "Moment's Silence (Common Tongue)," that sounds like Hozier's prior songs. "Shrike," the fourth and final tune, has that lilting Irish guitar sound that he uses to great effect on the first album, which adds some cool depth to an otherwise relaxed ballad. Aside - what is a "shrike?" "a songbird with a strong sharply hooked bill, often impaling its prey of small birds, lizards, and insects on thorns." Criminy. I need to go listen more closely to those lyrics, is this a song about Bird the Impaler? Yep, the chorus says that he wants to be reborn as "the shrike to your sharp and glorious thorn." So, in his next life, he wants to be the killer that uses her thorn to store his murdered prey? Or he's going to stab her in the stabber? I'm more confused now that when I started.
After that, he came out with 2019's Wasteland, Baby! It does not appear that I ever reviewed it - this is what I mean, he just kind of fell off the map after his big debut album. I say that, and yet it is a really good disc. I've just run through it several times and it is lovely music. Why did I start ignoring this cat? The hit was "Almost (Sweet Music)," with 536 million streams.
oooh, super wide angle video! So cinematic! Lovely little tune - his voice is really singular. Hard to believe he's an Irish dude when he sounds like a soulful throwback singer from some 50's rock band. Speaking of which, who is this dude? I've talked a lot about his tunes but not about him.
Andrew John Hozier-Byrne was raised in County Wicklow, Ireland, which is on the eastern shore of the island and is named after the Old Norse for Vikings' Meadow. Badass. Also, sounds like a beautiful place - known as the "Garden of Ireland." Born in 1990 to a blues drummer and an artist, he was a class clown and that school was a monotonous nightmare. He taught himself guitar and sang in his school choir as a teenager and then studied music education at Trinity College Dublin. At Trinity he sang in a choral ensemble, touring internationally. But after that time, he wrote "Take Me To Church" in 2013 during a period when he was playing open mics and trying to get noticed. The tune went viral and scored many multi-platinum designations, leading to his first album by 2014. He has stated that his dad's love of blues helped inform his musical education - John Lee Hooker, Otis Redding, Nina Simone - and you can hear that in his bluesy rock.
Finally, 2023's Unreal Unearth. There are multiple versions of this album now, all because a B-Side throwaway blew up so insanely large. But on the original album itself, where that song was culled and cut, the big hit was "Eat Your Young." I guess that has been on the radio or something, totally rings a bell. 252.2 million streams.
Cool video. Song is okay - not blowing my mind. I like the duet with Brandi Carlile on here. Also, this album is too damn long. Over an hour for a Hozier album? What do you think this is, a Drake release? But, like the 2019 album it is good stuff. Dawning on me that I really like Hozier. Who knew?
Finally, finally, he fired out a little four song EP called Unheard in 2024, and struck absolute gold. These songs came from the Unreal Unearth sessions, and were apparently inspired by Dante's Inferno. But it shows you what a terrible mistake he made by removing these songs from the album, being that "Too Sweet" rose to #1 on the Billboard Top 100, making him the fourth Irish artist to top the chart. I'll be damned if this little EP doesn't showcase some of his best stuff anyway. The first song, "Too Sweet," sounds like he joined up with the Black Keys for some southern, soulful riffage. "Wildflower and Barley," with Allison Russell, has a funky shuffle but otherwise is an ethereal little burner. "Empire" builds in a really tasty way. "Fare Well" starts out really quiet and sneaky, and then erupts into a dance party. "Too Sweet" is crushing it though - 1.5 BILLION streams! Nothing else here breaks 40 mill.
I find myself just singing "I take my whiskey neaaaaaaaaaaat" at random times now. And my girls wore this one out around the house for sure. Not sure what he means by taking his bed at three, but it's a funky little tune. Good stuff.
The other massive song that he has going for him right now is a duet with Noah Kahan that definitely is getting a ton of play. My girls jam this all the time. 468.9 million streams for "Northern Attitude."
Look at those two glowering, long-haired beauties. Very enjoyable tune.
So, I guess me and my question marks as to why this fella is considered a headliner can just check myself. Two songs with more than a billion streams. Many more with hundreds of millions. Also, this freaking outrageous beauty that my middle kid played for me a little while back and is going to make me tear up all over again. "Do I Wanna Know" cover on BBC, live.
Crush that up and pour it directly into my earholes. This dude is amazing, and he is rock and roll, and he means that I will probably miss out on Luke Combs, Cage the Elephant, and Empire of the Sun.
One Liner: Retro soul-tinged rock and roll perfection Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia - rock, soul Home: London Poster Position: Third Quarter - Line 17 Day: Saturday Weekend One Only.
Beatbox Stage at 1:45.
Thoughts: I think I was conflating this with the Brand New Heavies. Remember them? Like, sort of rap, sort of jazz, sort of funk. This ain't that - this is a duo doing soul-tinged rock and roll that sounds like something from 50 years ago. Oh, and a cover of Father John Misty that sounds pretty true to the real thing. This stuff sounds impeccable.
Did you know that there is another band called Heavy Heavy Low Low that is apparently mathcore? And that a Scottish indie group called Young Fathers released an album called Heavy Heavy in 2023. The Madness greatest hits album was called The Heavy Heavy Hits. As I think you can tell from that recitation, this band is not listed in Wikipedia.
Well, just kidding about it being a duo. Even though all of the photos are of a curly-haired lady with a curly-haired dude, this is apparently a five-piece band. I am guessing those are the co-founders Georgie Fuller and William Turner. Band was formed in 2019, the band mates met and lived together in a London flat while they started dreaming about the band. Turner was from a small town and played in a handful of psych-rock bands, and Fuller is a classically trained singer who has acted in London theater. This has that throwback vibe going in spades, and it sounds rad as hell.
One EP, 2022's Life and Life Only, and then one album, 2024's One of a Kind. Their bio on their website makes it sound like they are super different from each other, but I don't guess I really notice. Maybe the new stuff is a little smoother and the old a little rawer? Both sound very retro cool. Biggest streamer for sure is the second track from the EP. "Go Down River" has 10.8 million streams.
Just smooth and chill as you can get. Sounds like COVID shut the band down right as it was getting on its feet, and so once that was over they were finally able to get some live shows going and found some interest. Their voices sound supremely good together. On the full disc, I was kind of hoping that "Miracle Sun" was the big track, because that one grabbed my attention both times I ran through the album. "Everything" is kinda dope too, a little Allman/jam-band-ish with the guitars. But it is "Happiness" instead - 1.5 million streams.
Yeah, if you told me that was a track from 1970, I would absolutely buy it. Perfectly spot-on classic vibes. Vocal harmonies for days. All in. I'm moving this album into the new music queue so that I write a proper review of it after all of this is over, and so that I can save it in the mega playlist of good stuff. Still grooving it after the weekend. This album is classic.
Wikipedia Genre: Southern soul, R&B, Americana, roots rock, blues rock Home:Nashville Poster Position: Second Quarter - Line 12 Day: Sunday Both Weekends.
T-Mobile Stage at 2:15.
Thoughts: I don't know why I expected this to be country, but it is most definitely not country. Got that blue eyed soul thing going. There is an artist that plays on KUTX a lot who this makes me think of, but I can't think of his name. Sorta Marc Broussard, but that's not who I'm thinking of. Maybe Ray Lamontagne.
Michael Cameron Anderson is originally from Athens, Alabama, but has been in Nashville for a long time. He performed an original song at his seventh grade talent show, after teaching himself piano because of an inspiration from Ben Folds. He moved to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to attend college and study to be a musical engineer, and then moved to Nashville. I actually drove through Murfreesboro a month or so ago. What a weird ass name for a place. That is too many r's around an f. I don't believe anyone can say that without sounding like Sling Blade. Anyway, homie originally recorded as Mike Anderson and then realized that name sucks butt. HIs self-released original album is weird, in that he made two discs - the White disc was apparently progressive soul, while the Red disc was apparently a darker rock sound. I have to say apparently, because those are not available to me on Spotify. The first album available there is 2015's Delilah. Also, random, but he dated Miranda Lambert for a minute. She was awesome at Two Step Inn.
"Falling" is terrible - sometimes he gets deeply cheesy. When that song just came on it made me want to finish this post and move on to something else. Yuck. Sorry. Maybe that was rude, but that song really broke up my vibe. I also can't say I love the cover of "Always Be My Baby."
Three albums (that we can see) - 2015's Delilah, 2018's Encore, and 2021's Maybe We Never Die. Maybe new music is coming, because it seems weird for him to be here with nothing new at all. HIs top songs, other than the one on the 50 Shades soundtrack, are from that 2018 album. "This Too Shall Last" is his top track with 45.8 million streams.
That is significant neck beard, Mike. Maybe clean that shit up for your next cover. But yeah, nice little tune. Strong voice. Speaking of which, a live song popped up as I drove home yesterday, and it honestly sounded like he was struggling a little with the notes. It was "Hold On, I'm Comin'." I mean, I'm not selling albums and packing rooms, so far be it from me to be a jerk and criticize, but it was a little loose. "All On My Mind," also from that album, is his second biggest tune, but I'll reach back to an earlier one and give you "Satisfy Me" from his first disc. 18.3 million streams.
All three versions on YouTube were live, so I guess you get the top one. Sounds pretty much like the real thing though. Again, great voice! Adds that rough edge to it so that it feels like he really cares. I'm sort of torn on him - in moments I really enjoy it, and then at other moments I really want it to stop. We'll see how the schedule shakes out.
Wikipedia Genre: Country, soul, Southern rock, bluegrass
Home: Lexington, KY to Nashville
Poster Position: Headliner! Both Weekends Friday at 8:30.
AmEx Stage.
Thoughts: Why aren't the headliners starting at 8? I want a full two hour set from the best thing on the poster, dammit!
I unreservedly love this guy. I am piecing together the review below from a bunch of sources, because I have already written a lot about him. I was trying to add it up and I think I have seen him play live 5 times so far. I think that is right.
Before I get to the albums, I want to start back at the beginning for me. I first found out about Stapleton through a friend who played "Whiskey and You" for me on the back porch of a little cabin in the Hill Country while we watched a massive rainstorm pound a canyon wall in front of us. Which was a cool time in itself, but that song just clicked and made me want more. I think the thing about him that makes him so different and amazing is the pure soul that just seeps out of his voice. He's not trying to do some affected "country" voice like half of the new country guys these days. He's just belting out pure vocal honey over the top of his seriously legit guitar.
So, he moved to Nashville from Kentucky when he was 18, in order to attend Vanderbilt and get an engineering degree. How bad ass is that? Vanderbilt is hard as hell to get in to in the first place, but much less their engineering department (although, he was the valedictorian of his high school). His dad was an engineer in the coal mines back home in KY. But because he is amazing, he dropped out to pursue his music. He signed with a label and started writing songs for other folks, but in 2007 he became the frontman for a bluegrass band called The Steeldrivers. They are fine, not nearly as good as his solo shizz, but they are fine. But by 2013 he was doing his own thing.
His first album was 2015's Traveller.This album is fantastic. His voice and tone are a little more bluesy than expected in country, but he also cranks out a pretty legit old school country sound, plus some Springsteen-esque tunes as well (see "Fire Away," particularly the intro). "Whiskey and You," "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore," "Fire Away," these are all really great songs. "Daddy Doesn't Pray" has stuck in my head for days - "guess he finished talkin' to the Lord" gets me. Maybe maudlin, but it is beautiful. Love that song. Here is the title song from the album. 200.9 million streams.
Sounds very much like an old Austin staple, someone that would open for Arc Angels, Los Lobos, or Lyle Lovett comfortably on any given night. I listened to it multiple times while mobile for a few hours the other day, and I love it. "Whiskey and You" is a killer lover's lament - I can't decide whether that is the best song on this album over "Daddy Doesn't Pray," but either of them is a well-written gem. "Whiskey and You" has 120.7 millionm streams, most of them by me.
"One's the devil, one keeps driving me insane, sometimes I wonder, oh, if they ain't both the same." I want to sing that in full throat at any given time. It's not just the boss lyrics, the sound is just soulful and strong and warm. "Devil Named Music," a brutal indictment of missing out while out on the road. "Outlaw State of Mind" and "Might as Well Get Stoned" are the tough guy tunes, but also great. Now I'm just apparently going to name every song on the album. He also runs out a cover - "Tennessee Whiskey" - that hews too much to country formula (feels lame to sing "you're as smooth as Tennessee Whiskey, sweet as strawberry wine" after the rest of these great lyrics), but has, predictably become his biggest song. 1 BILLION streams.
Nice tune, although I prefer his original tunes quite a bit more than that one. In addition to getting to work on his solo albums, according to Wikipedia, over 150 of his songs have appeared on albums by folks like Adele, Darius Rucker, Tim McGraw, Luke Bryan, and Brad Paisley. He also worked with Justin Timberlake, John Mayer, Bruno Mars, Ed Sheeran, Taylor Swift, the list is crazy. He's had at least 4 #1s for other artists.
This debut album, which was released in 2015, won a bunch of the CMT awards - Best Male Vocalist, New Artist of the Year, and Album of the Year. He also won the Grammys for Best Country Album and Best Country Solo Performance. I don't know if you recall his performance at the Grammys that year, with Gary Clark, Jr. and Bonnie Raitt. Electric and good stuff.
I should move on to the next album, but this was the disc I personally ranked as my #3 album of all of the 2010's. I think "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore" is a killer track. So great. 34.9 million.
Those lyrics just kill me, man. Couldn't sound more like a country anthem, with prayer, and daddy, and a break between the two. Oh, and then I also found a Tiny Desk for Stapleton, which is excellent.
Hell yes. That L.A. Nights track ("When the Stars Come Out") is good stuff too. Cool tidbit about that video, that is his wife, country singer Morgane Stapleton, doing some sweet harmonies with him in the Tiny Desk. Love it.
I loved his show in 2016, and then after that, I was lucky enough to get to go see him do an ACL TV show taping. It was fucking outrageous. I was seriously blown away by just how amazingly good the Stapleton ACL taping was. Other than the Paul Simon one, I'm pretty sure I've never been to an ACL taping that affected me more. It helped that I was in good seats and with three people who were likewise having a blast, but the music and performance was top notch.
(holy damn, that video is the saddest shit I've ever seen. WTF. Why am I tearing up right now?) His voice is just something else. He can go from the most tender ballad (like the absolutely stunning "Whiskey and You" that he did last night, or the excellent "Daddy Doesn't Pray Anymore," that he sadly didn't include in his set) to a soulful jam like "Broken Halos" or "Traveller" to the most raucous barn-burning rocker like "Nobody to Blame" or "Might as Well Get Stoned." He can do a fine falsetto, a powerful, soulful tenor, and drop it down into baritone when needed. I just feel like all the emotions are packed right into that voice. I must have shown my wife the goosebumps on my arms 5 times at the taping. Surprisingly, his guitar work is damn good as well. At one point, one of his solos got me to thinking about Stevie Ray Vaughan. I mean, his playing on the albums is fine, but damn, when you watch him peeling notes from the strings with all the love and soulful soft touch in the world, I mean, he can jam. And shred as well, they got into a jam circle at one point that was pretty legit. He literally switched guitars between every single tune, and one of the friends I had brought with me was geeking out in a major way, talking about how rare it was to see a Jazzmaster being played like that, or how it was rare for a Telecaster to have a black head, or OMG a hollowbody (something-or-other, I dunno, he got real excited). The band was super basic, just drums, bass, and Stapleton handling lead vocals and guitar, but they were strong as hell. He also had his wife up there singing the harmonies with him, and she was just endearing as can be, watching him do his thing and joining in to accent the vocals. So lovely (I just wish her mike had been turned up a touch higher). My only other beef with the entire show was how businesslike Stapleton was. Other than saying "Thanks" or "Maybe I should move to Austin," he pretty much said nothing. Never introduced his band or his wife. Never mentioned that he has a new album coming out soon. He did respond to a big woohoo! that came from the upper decks at one point, but generally, he just charged forward into the next track and then said thanks. Which, on one hand, I respect because some bands can talk too damn much from the stage. But on the other hand, a little bit of banter and humanization is very cool at the ACL tapings. 2017 saw the first of his From a Room albums. He apparently named them that to reference Nashville's RCA Studio A. Which is a dumb ass reason to name these two albums that same thing. Really? Again, the guy can freaking wail, and keeps the flame of traditional country alive in a way that makes me still able to say that I like country music, despite all the absolute garbage that passes for country these days. The lovely balladry of something like "Either Way," or the rocking shake of "Second One to Know," or the great covers like "Last Thing I Needed, First Thing this Morning," all are so good. I'll give you the album opener, because it is the one that gets stuck in my head and won't leave. Here is "Broken Halos," which has 415.4 million streams.
Tuneful, pretty, soulful, and well-written, just sounds like a classic. If you are into Kenny Chesney or something, then I get that you wouldn't enjoy, but so long as you enjoy country (or even country leaning rock) then you should enjoy this album too. He won his second CMA Album of the Year for this one as well, while "Broken Halos" won Song and Single of the Year at the CMAs. He won Male Vocalist of the Year for the fourth time.
Also in 2017, hey, more songs that were recorded in a room! Who knew?! Songs from a Room Vol 2 was released in late 2017. While I wish he had stuck this album together with Vol. 1 to make life even better, it's still excellent on its own. The album opener, "Millionaire," is another smooth sailing track of soulful country goodness, then the second track ("Hard Livin'") kicks in some classic outlaw country swagger. I love Stapleton's ability to go from down-low, low-down blues like "Nobody's Lonely Tonight" into a drinking/stoned rock swagger track like "Tryin' to Untangle My Mind" or "Midnight Train to Memphis."
This next video isn't the most popular track on the album (that would be "Millionaire" at 247.5 million streams) but it is a really sweet one. " A Simple Song," which has just 79.3 million streams.
The title is perfect, it's just a simply plucked little tune, supporting a classic country sentiment of happiness despite things not being perfect.
Next is 2020's Starting Over. The opening track, which is also the title track, is magic made with his wife. 352.6 million streams.
Unbelievably sweet to think about getting to sing that song with your wife manning the piano and singing harmonies with you. Just a perfect picture. "You Should Probably Leave" ended up with more streams, at 497.2, but the whole disc is, as usual, good stuff.
His discography gets a little weird in here, maybe the pandemic led him to some odd new places. He has a song with Tom Morello that sounds like shit. HIs cover of "Nothing Else Matters" for the Blacklist compilation is cool. The Santana one is kind of fine. And the Kelly Clarkson Christmas tune is whatever.
Finally, we get to 2023's Higher. Such an amazing talent - Soulful and soaring and rich in ways that a Jason Isbell or Zach Bryan or Luke Combs or the other current crop of country stars just are not. Like, take the power rock of "White Horse," immediately followed by the soul and falsetto balladry of "Higher." Totally different songs, but they are both anchored by the magical voice. So good. The aforementioned "White Horse" is the definite top streamer, which jams its way to 197.1 million streams.
The first time I heard that track was at a Texas baseball game and I was like "Stapleton has new music? Stapleton has new MUSIC!" You know the man is big time when he hasn't put together a video for a hundred million stream song. Any smaller artist would be doing everything they could to pump up those numbers, but he just cranks the guitar one notch louder and wails at his lover. Excellent track, I can see it being amazing in a live setting. "It Takes a Woman" is lovely, as is "What Am I Gonna Do" and "Higher." Front to back, great stuff.
Now, here is the lover's conundrum. I've seen him several times. But I also love him. I've never seen Blink 182. But I generally like them without a true and deep love. So do I go watch one of the best, or do I go for something new and possibly bratty and shitty? I REALLY wish that they would have put him on Saturday against the DUAL IPA. WOuld have been an easy call. Hmmmmm.
Wikipedia Genre: No Wikipedia, but this is funk and soul and a little hip hop
Home: unknown, maybe Chicago?
Poster Position: Late Addition. Weekend Two Only. Friday at 1:40.
BMI Stage.
Thoughts: ooooh baby, I like me some funky stuff. This sounds like they keep grabbing other vocalists to come in and add something over the top of what they have going, but I still dig it. A website called "onestowatch.com" claims this: "A collective with the “funky spirit of Parliament, yet room to experiment like the Gorillaz,” Vanilla is Black has come to dismantle apathy, elicit groove, and redefine the industry by honoring what it used to be and catapulting it ions beyond." I assume they mean eons? I doubt they are trying to catapult past some molecules...
Three guys - Chuck Inglish, Kevin Roosevelt, and Kenneth Wright. Kevin and Chuck apparently ran into each other at a taco spot, both telling the other that they were looking to try to put together a band, and this thing was born. I wish they named the taco spot. Apparently Chuck Inglish is a rapper with solo projects and also was part of the Cool Kids (a duo with Sir Michael Rocks). He is from Michigan but moved to Chicago at some point. Wait, Kevin Roosevelt is Keb Mo's name. Is this Keb' Mo'? I am guessing not since none of the articles mention that. Would be weird tho. Also, the reason for the band name? Because vanilla is actually black. Woooooaaaaaahhhhhh.
Just one album, 2024's U.Aint.Neva.Lied, with nine songs of funky shizz. The top song features 6lack (and I've mentioned this before, but I still can't say that in my mind as anything but SLACK. Which I know is 100% wrong every time, and then I say it that way in my head again). "Baby Boy" with 162k streams.
Feel that funk all up in your soul, baby. I like it. Second most streamed is "Mezcal," and it actually has a real video. 78k streams.
Smooth and funky and groovy for sure. That bass line is sick. And who needs SLACK in there? The main guy does a bang up job of singing that one - almost a Weeknd sound. I'd for sure go catch this, if it wasn't the first show on Sunday of Second Weekend!
One Liner: Lovely little R&B song (and for now, just the one)
Wikipedia Genre: No WIkipedia, soul and R&B?
Home: Santa Clarita, CA
Poster Position: 26 Weekend One Only. Sunday at 12:10.
BMI Stage.
Thoughts: I was really hoping for a nice palette cleanser I could use after the deathbyromy experience, but this is just one song. Not very helpful, lady. I need to get some work done this morning and need the tunes to just roll along for a while!
"unintentional," featuring something named Pink Sweat$, makes me wonder which of them is the lady and which is the guy. Generically pretty love song with a light trap beat and acoustic guitar meanderings. 2 million streams.
Appears to be that the lady is Marley and the dude is Sweat$, just FYI. A bio that sounds like it was written by her agency says that she is in the musical lineage of Chuck Berry, and that her father and brother are both in the music industry (although unnamed). She apparently gained fame with TikTok videos, receiving likes from Drake and Timbaland, and that led to a deal with Republic Records. Sounds like an album is upcoming, but for now, sure. Pretty voice and generic track - good job.
I mentioned in my last post how I have been listening to this podcast by Rob Harvilla. I love it. But his guest said something this morning that cut me a little bit when talking about some dude who gave Mary J. Blige's debut album a terrible review. She said something to the effect of how harmful it was to have someone with zero background in a genre thrust into the critic's chair to weigh in on something that they have no context for. That is a million percent me when it comes to R&B music like this - I have never cared for any of it. So, while I can recognize that this song is really pretty, and relaxing, and has a nice little groove to it, I also have no clue how this fits into the larger context of the genre, the way I might when talking about a new Sturgill album or new Foo Fighters disc or something. Anyway, I just want to apologize if you think I'm being a prick about R&B, soul, EDM, or non-English things. Smooches.
One Liner: Strong, soulful voiced Brit singer over dance beats
Wikipedia Genre: Pop, R&B, dance, soul
Home: Hampstead, London, England
Poster Position: 7 Both Weekends. Sunday at 5:25.
Miller Lite Stage.
Thoughts: Last here in 2016. Reminds me of Amber Mark, who was here twice since then.
When listening to this music, I see in my mind hot women dancing out on a crowded dance floor, whipping their hair back and forth, and scanning the room with their eyes to make sure they are being noticed by everyone in the crowd. She's got a great voice, but the music behind her is pretty plain jane dance electro with some disco influence. Her biggest song on Spotify (over a billion streams) is just her singing a hook in a song by something called Rudimental that also features Macklemore.
Her original big hit, with 459 million streams, is "Hold My Hand," and will show you exactly what I am talking about.
Happy, sunshine-y track. Catchy thing, although it sounds like a million other tracks that have used that (or a very similar) piano riff of a bouncing chord beat. I'm not sure what the video is all about with the weird sand-spitting ATV crowd cranked up all around her? Anyway, it is a fun track. And I happened to hear it while sitting in a bar in Boston one time, which made me feel super cool for being able to identify her and the fact that she is coming to ACL this year. It's the little things, folks. But that track is on the 2015 debut album I Cry When I Laugh. In the weird way of musicians sometimes now, there is also a song on her debut album which is credited as being by Clean Bandit and featuring Jess Glynne. And yet, it is on her album? That is weird. But that track has 1.3 billion streams, so maybe we should check it out too. "Rather Be."
Oh yeah, I've heard that song before. Or at least a remix of it? How weird that it only features her and yet is on her album. That is weird. But again, crazy powerful voice belting out a fun vocal over the top of a relatively simple beat. Until the chorus, when this one soars like something special.
Her original name was Jessica Hannah Goldstein, but her grandfather changed the last name to Glynne years ago. She had tried out for the TV show X Factor when she was 15, but dropped out of the process early on. Years later she appeared on the show as a judge. She ended up winning a Grammy for Best Dance Recording for that Clean Bandit track. At one point, Glynne became the first British female solo artists to have seven number one singles on the UK singles chart. She was a Forbes "Most Influential People Under 30" winner in 2019.
She's also got several versions of her song "Kill the Lights," which was apparently used on the HBO show Vinyl and released as a 2016 single. Never saw the show, saw it was cancelled before a second season, so I think I'll leave it alone. Anyway, here is that disco-fied track, 86 million streams.
More good times are balled up inside of that track, and as with her other tunes, her voice is weapons-grade awesome.
Here second album was 2018's Always In Between, and is honestly more of the same. The big one on there was "I'll Be There" with 477.8 million streams.
Amazing vocals, mediocre and unmemorable beat popping along in the background. She has some of that vibrato going heavy in her voice that is calling out Miley comparisons in that one when she keeps her voice down low. Loads of singles in the intervening years here, before she gets to the 2024 album JESS. No heavy streaming traffic yet on any of these songs, but "Silly Me" is winning for now with 6.1 million streams.
You can barely tell it is her voice on the start of that. She definitely turned down a lot of the fireworks on there - she can still cruise on the beat, but she seems to take it easy on us. Other tracks on that album definitely crank the voice back up.
However, I'd be lying if I didn't tell you that listening to her whole first album (2015's I Cry When I Laugh) a few times was a little tiresome - catchy beats and piano riffs for days. This isn't the type of music I'd choose to listen to on a normal basis (I'm comparing it mentally to Rihanna - dance music that is well sung), so it doesn't change my generalized opinion about that music now. That being said, I bet people will have a fun ass dance party at her show. I doubt I'll be part of it, but I can see it happening.
Wikipedia Genre: Modern soul, neo soul, funk nu disco, dance Home: London Poster Position: 3 Both Weekends.
Saturday at 7:10.
Miller Lite Stage.
Thoughts: Last here in 2018. I didn't see it despite enjoying my preview, but they were up against Greta Van Fleet, and I don't miss those guys. This is an impressive spot on the lineup, for a band who has been around for a decade and yet never really made a ton of noise.
I clearly remember their big hit. Long ago, I found out about them by reviewing their one album, 2014's Jungle. Here is the big hit from it, "Busy Earnin'." 169.6 million streams (52.3 million back in 2018, FYI).
That is a bunch of people getting down to the neo soul funk! A couple cool things from their Wikipedia page, the two dudes who founded the group (Tom McFarland and Josh Lloyd-Watson) have tried to avoid being seen as the leaders, but instead just part of the collective. I dig that. They have been friends since they were nine years old and neighbors. Second, they have pushed for the songs to remain organic and based on real instruments, instead of just computers and synthetic instrumentation. Also dig that. That first album was shortlisted for the Mercury Prize but did not win. Something called Young Fathers - Dead was the winner that year. Which, OF COURSE! Also on that first album, "Time" has a great funkiness and bounce to it. After that album, they have released three more - 2018's For Ever, 2021's Loving in Stereo, and 2023's Volcano. Their biggest streamer overall came from that new disc, "Back on 74," with 251.7 million streams.
Tasty track there too - old school groove. And a heck of a dance party for the video. Some of these tunes make me think of when Daft Punk tried to re-do disco funk. Other times it sounds like MGMT. But pretty much all the time, except for some of the sterile remixes in their catalog, it sounds like a good time.
I've heard great things about their live show, both from the Internet and from one friend, so let's see what they look like on stage.
Looks and sounds like a pretty damn fun dance party. This type of neo soul may not be the type of music I aim for on a daily basis, but for a live show good time? May be the best kind of thing there is. I think I'm in.
One Liner: Three classically trained singers over the top of Nile Rodgers funk
Wikipedia Genre: Psychedelic soul
Home: Brooklyn
Poster Position: 12 Both Weekends. Saturday at 3:10.
Miller Lite Stage.
Thoughts: Reading about them was way better than listening to them. Wikipedia says this is self-described as discodelic soul with dreamy harmonies that prominently combines disco and 70's funk. Which, that sounds dope! But about two songs in, their voices are bothering me so very much. Which is totally unfair, these are obviously very talented singers doing their thing, and the music is pretty funky, but it is bothering my brain anyway.
Two members met as neighbors in the same apartment building when they could hear each other practicing their singing - all three members of the band are classically trained singers. They later met the third singer at a Harlem rooftop party and started making harmonies together.
I need to give you a song so that you can hear it. I feel bad not loving it - I love psych and I love funk so this should work but something about it feels just wrong, like those people in theater who tried too hard to please the director, if that makes any sense. Two albums - 2022's Prism and 2023's Silver. Silver has most of their more popular songs, but the top streamer is the title track from Prism. 6.3 million streams.
The background tune is lovely. Their voices are pretty and the harmonies locked in. And yet I want to move on immediately. Second-most streamed tune is from the newer disc - "Forget Me Not" with 3.6 million streams.Yeah, those little trilly voices at the start of that one set me on edge for sure. Definitely like that one less. "Entry Level" is better, but "C'est Si Bon" makes me want to run away. I am fully sure that everyone who goes to see this is going to love it and have the absolute best time, but I just cannot get there.
