Country Music Holiday Declared Official on July 25th, 2025
writers are, during the writing process, focusing or meditating on their own mental health. But little bits of my own struggle, and the struggles of those closest to me, have made their way into the lyrics of some of these songs.” This is an album through and through,” Nichols continues. “It’s heavy subject matter but it’s through the lens of trying to navigate life with a little more grace.” The critical reception to In The Heart of the Mountain may be quite high not just due to the long wait, but because this is Nichols’ first full dive into a solo project in quite some time, an endeavor he says “rewired his songwriting brain.”
Joshua Ray Walker – Glad You Made It
The first single from Joshua Ray Walker‘s forthcoming album Glad You Made It is the gut-puncher “Set the Grass On Fire,” the detailing of the tribulations of small-time marijuana dealers selling their wares to the affluent and desperate in order to feed their own poverty. The song begins with the acrid odor of weed wafting through a Chevy Cruze, as two friends pack the trunk for a run across town, while the internal dialogue remains fixated on the emerging deja vu when it comes to the consequences one might face. Walker’s empathy-laden tone throughout “Set the Grass On Fire,” is strikingly detailed, both complex and plain, the production nuanced in what feels like a lost country music partnership, one of bare necessity yet of utmost emotional urgency. Tears cascade down faces, evoking the sense of a grief-stricken father’s badge to rest on their breast; and while the violins ascend, Nic Adams’ pedal steel taps in. Glad You Made It becomes as evocative a record as debut Wish You Were Here, the grand Texas tradition of not hiding anything, even when honesty stings.
Whitey Johnson – For All I Know
Whitey Johnson is not Whitey Morgan, Some may refer to the Whitey Johnson persona as simply a “character.” This may be akin to how Jason Boland along with other artists have used pseudonyms to pull off side projects, but with Whitey Johnson, it’s more a way for Whitey Morgan to tap into a variety of blues-related material that doesn’t completely suit Whitey Morgan and the 78’s. For instance, Whitey Johnson took on the task of releasing a solo album of all original music during a pandemic in 2021, while Whitey Morgan was silent. Now, Whitey Johnson howls back with more emotionally-driven material. For All I Know was a pandemic release from Whitey Johnson delayed due to pressing plant issues, but is now available. Whitey Johnson is the blues counterpart of Whitey Morgan, and typically performed in pre-Covid times when the need for solo shows became evident to pay the bills. Songs about life’s hardships and socioeconomic matters were inherently imbued in a blues context, essentially opening the door to a different style without forsaking personal truth or the realness expected of any Whitey Morgan/Morgan Hughes project. Whitey’s willingness to take on other personas, from Whitey Morgan and the 78’s, to then Whitey Johnson during down times, shows not just versatility but a desire for expression separate from the expectations from a strict country or rock format. Whitey Johnson’s live performance favorites were chosen alongside never before released tunes for For All I Know, displaying diverse influences packaged in a genuine nature.
Koe Wetzel – With The Stoney Larue Set
Set to be released on Independence Day, July 25th, 2025, Koe Wetzel sits in the esteemed position of where some artists often reside, those weary recliners populating the intersection of rock and country. With The Stoney Larue Set finds Koe Wetzel at a crossroads where some meet to lament, drink, smoke, or two-step. With Wetzel, it’s as filtered through a sweaty headlining set, four-on-the-floor rhythms under dark lights of a barroom. With more rapid-fire lyrics than previous albums on full display, punctuated with melody crafted behind barrel-chested stories that keep surpasses rollicking heights and low lows. “I wanted to write something everybody’s going to want to listen to,” Koe says on the record. And anybody that catches the forthcoming live shows on tour from this album’s announcement, will feel the thrills of dynamics Wetzel gave with Stoney LaRue providing perfect accompaniment, ready to stand alongside the Bad Horsie Woman, Ragged as any Mexicantown.