Brent Cobb Announces New Album “Southern Star”

Brent Cobb continues to be one of the brightest stars in the independent country music crown. His songwriting elevates the craft for everyone else. He delivers everything with an authentic Georgia drawl and charm enveloped in a sound that defines country soul in the modern era. Whenever Brent Cobb sings, you best shut your mouth and listen. That’s why it’s worth getting his new album Southern Star on your radar ahead of the release on September 22nd via Ol’ Buddy Records/Thirty Tigers.

“Down here, there’s a lot going on and there’s nothing going on at the same time,” Brent Cobb says. “You’ve got all these different cultures in the South, and everything is mixed in together. Otis Redding and Little Richard were from the same town in Georgia. So were the Allman Brothers. James Brown and Ray Charles grew up right down the road. All these sounds reflect the South itself, and that music has influenced the whole world. It’s definitely influenced mine.”

Brent Cobb left Nashville a few years ago where he’d been a prominent songwriter penning tracks for folks like Miranda Lambert, Luke Combs, Kelly Pickler, and others. He’s still a prominent songwriter, but staying closer to his family and better connected to his Georgia roots became a priority as he became older, and it only enhanced his songwriting. The name of the new album is taken from a bar that Cobb used to frequent with guitar player Jason “Rowdy” Cope, best known for playing with the band The Steel Woods.

“Rowdy was like my older brother,” says Cobb. “He loved the music that came out of Georgia, and he helped me appreciate it even more. A lot of artists like to branch out and become experimental as their career continues, but I sort of go the opposite way. I feel like I can never go wrong if I continue to get closer and closer to the core of who I am and what I love, musically. Coming back to Georgia helped me with that. ‘Southern Star’ is the sound of me getting closer to the source.”

To get as close to that sound and source as possible, Brent Cobb utilized Capricorn Sound Studios in Macon for the new album. It’s where The Marshall Tucker Band, Charlie Daniels, and many others recorded landmark albums as well. He also used all local musicians and personnel except for a few exceptions, including his co-producer and engineer Oran Thornton.

“Sometimes, there ain’t shit going on down here,” says Cobb, laughing. “But since there’s nothing else to do, you learn to be laid back. You learn to use your imagination, and you wind up imitating your surroundings. These songs sound like the place that inspired them.”

There is one song that somewhat bucks this trend though. Called “When Country Came Back To Town,” it was first featured on Saving Country Music back in early 2022. It chronicles how independent country artists like Brent Cobb came to Nashville starting in the ’00s and helped save country music from the commercial interests on Music Row, giving rise to the independent country revolution we currently enjoy.

“You know how when you’re growing up, you’re told that if you ever get lost out there, look for the northern star to help find direction back home?” Cobb asks. “Well, I’m from Georgia, so I always look for the southern star. Historically and presently, that area also happens to be the same place that cultivated a good many of the most influential artists in the whole world of music. Music as we know it would not exist without the American south. It’s funky and sentimental. It’s simple and complex.”

The title track is out now (listen below). Southern Star is now also available for pre-order.

TRACK LIST

1. Southern Star
2. It’s a Start
3. Livin’ the Dream
4. Patina
5. ‘On’t Know When
6. Kick the Can
7. Devil Ain’t Done
8. When Country Came Back to Town
9. Miss Ater
10. Shade Tree