Now that we’re safely past a year many would prefer to forget, we can look forward to the possibility of a better future in the next 12 months.
Yeah, we said that in 2021, but this year, we mean it. Really.
Country certainly has a new hand to play in 2022, with at least 15 acts prepared to release their debut albums or EPs during the first six months of the year. The list includes Priscilla Block, who scored her first top 20 single in recent months with her TikTok-bred debut, “Just About Over You.”
But it also features four acts — Rod + Rose, Texas Hill, George Birge and Jessica Willis Fisher — who have retooled their careers in a new configuration. The first two are a duo and a trio consisting of members who were initially established as solo artists. Birge and Willis Fisher, meanwhile, reimagined their careers in the opposite direction, leaving a duo or a large group to pursue solo work for the first time at a national level.
“I’ve been given a second chance, and I do feel like the stars might finally be aligning this time,” Birge says. “That’s how Nashville is: You bang your head against the wall until it falls down, and I’m hoping it might be starting to fall down this time.”
Here’s a look at many of the artists with similar hopes as they prepare their first albums or EPs of significance for release between now and June 30:
• George Birge (RECORDS Nashville) — Following a seven-year run as the lead voice in the duo Waterloo Revival, Birge reintroduced himself as a solo act with the catchy 2021 single “Beer Beer Truck Truck.” A forthcoming EP mixes classic steel and modern programming beneath smooth Keith Urban-like phrasing and melodicism.
• Priscilla Block (inDent/Mercury Nashville) — Block’s cleverly titled debut album, Welcome to the Block Party, arriving Feb. 11, features one of the most compelling country voices to emerge from TikTok. Her tone cuts through steel and her lyrics cut to the chase, whether she’s self-deprecating (“Thick Thighs”) or catty (“Peaked in High School”).
• Johnny Dailey (Johnny Dailey Music) — The indie singer-songwriter grew up in Alabama and honed his live skills in Charleston, S.C., before heading to Nashville, where he signed a publishing deal with Warner Chappell. Dailey’s debut EP will arrive in March with a heartland jangle conveying his unpretentious interpretations of small-town life.
• Jackson Dean (Big Machine) — Growing up 25 miles north of Brothers Osborne’s hometown in Maryland, Dean fashioned a blues/rock sound with Hank Williams Jr., Kenny Wayne Shepherd and The Cadillac Three overtones. With two EPs under his rough-cut belt, Dean’s first full album is on the way in March.
• Jordan Fletcher (Triple Tigers) — There’s something folksy and nostalgic about the Jacksonville, Fla.-bred Fletcher, who laces a Drake White sort of timbre with Jack Johnson-level deliberation and restraint. He landed on SiriusXM with his first Triple Tigers single, “Rather Be Broke,” and follows with a debut EP on Jan. 28.
• Styles Haury (River Rock) — There’s always a place for a burly, Eddie Montgomery-like voice in country music, and Haury is the latest contender for that slot, entering the sweepstakes with his first formal album, One Life Ain’t Enough, on Jan. 28. It’s loaded with small towns, broken hearts, Mom, Dad and beer. Decidedly country.
• Randall King (Warner) — King’s sturdy baritone echoes honky-tonk heroes George Strait, Joe Diffie and Keith Whitley with an understated emotionality and an affinity for classic country wordplay and instrumentation. Jon Pardi’s producers, Bart Butler and Ryan Gore, oversaw King’s major-label debut, Shot Glass, due March 18.
• Erin Kinsey (RECORDS Nashville) — The 21-year-old Texan is a female version of Luke Bryan or Cole Swindell, using a distinct Southern accent to keep her optimistic material on the country side of the arena-rock border. “Just Drive” helped amass 175,000 TikTok followers and SiriusXM play. It heads to terrestrial radio in February.
• Josh Mirenda (Average Joes) — A proven songwriter (“Somewhere on a Beach,” “They Don’t Know”), Mirenda issued his first single for an established label, “‘Til the Neon’s Gone,” on Jan. 14 with an EP expected in late spring. He infuses his material with smart melodies, pulsing modernity and a grainy soulfulness.
• Rod + Rose (Curb) — Gravel-voiced Rodney Atkins and airy singer-songwriter Rose Falcon apply the yin and yang of marital life to an introductory EP of artsy twang. The curse and reward of everyday familiarity are embedded in the material with a frank vulnerability as they celebrate the bumps and beauty of commitment.
• Conner Smith (Valory) — As a teen, Smith used his Nashville locale to his advantage, splitting time between high school classes and Music Row songwriting sessions. Now 21, his debut EP — Didn’t Go Too Far, released Jan. 14 — exudes an uncommon confidence with a wisened intonation applied to age-appropriate themes of love and life.
• Sean Stemaly (Big Loud) — Stemaly developed his voice by singing along to country songs over the growl of a big-ass tractor in fields outside Evansville, Ind. Thus his major-label debut that’s due Feb. 18, Product of a Small Town, is appropriately titled, reflecting his dirt-road resonance and rural imagery.
• Texas Hill (Texas Hill Company) — Adam Wakefield, Craig Wayne Boyd and Casey James — each of whom was introduced on American Idol or The Voice — fold country, gospel, soul and Southern rock into a harmony-rich package with alternating lead voices on debut album Heaven Down Here, available Jan. 21. Bittersweet “Neon Heart” is a hit waiting to be discovered.
• Jessica Willis Fisher (Bard Craft) — The eldest child in the 14-member Willis Clan, Fisher reemerges after a six-year hiatus with a forthcoming album that showcases her Dolly Parton-style quiver in bluegrass, folk, country and blues/rock shadings. Her voice and writing recognize a dark history while convincingly embracing a brighter horizon.
Subscribe to Billboard Country Update, the industry’s must-have source for news, charts, analysis and features. Sign up for free delivery every Monday.
