Brent Cobb Reminisces on “When Country Came Back to Town”
While living through the musical moments of our era, it can be hard to quantify them in real time. You really have to zoom out, look at the bigger picture, and realize just how far we have come in country music over the last decade or so to be thankful for where we are now.
When Saving Country Music commenced in 2008, none of us could ever imagine our favorite little independent/underground country artists and bands rising to the point where they were topping albums charts, being nominated for and winning Grammy Awards, minting Gold and Platinum singles and albums, and selling out theaters and arenas, or even just building sustainable careers where they could support themselves and their families.
One of the many beneficiaries of this groundswell in independent music over the last many years has been the wise and reflective Brent Cobb. Who better to illustrate what has been happening in country music over that time than Cobb since he witnessed so much of it first hand. He does this more than mere words ever could with a new song and video called “When Country Came Back to Town.”
From his upcoming album Southern Star out September 22nd, the song perfectly encapsulates what we’ve experienced in independent country. As opposed to criticizing where country music has been in the near past—which is such an easy and appealing thing to do—Brent Cobb uses the names of artists who’ve risen from obscurity over the last few years to illuminate just how far we’ve come.
Saving Country Music first highlighted the song in February of 2022 when Brent Cobb debuted it live. “Took me about 15 years to write this song,” Brent Cobb said at the time. “Finally finished it up a few days ago. Next time you’re trying to tell your friends about all the cool country artists you listen to just send them to this song. I got as many as I could in there. Proud to know these folks. Been a long time comin’…“
Yeah, it’s a name dropper. But in this instance, that’s the entire point. It’s like a playlist of the best country and Americana artists from the last decade. And hopefully as time goes on, the names continue to grow, and so does the support, as country music continues to “come back to town.” See all the names mentioned in the song below the video.
Brent Cobb’s Southern Star is now also available for pre-order.
Names Mentioned:
Shooter Jennings
Jamey Johnson
Jason “Rowdy” Cope (The Steel Woods) [RIP]
Leroy Powell
Cousin Dave (producer Dave Cobb)
Cody Canada
Ryan Bingham
Hayes Carll
Brandi Carlile
Nikki Lane
Sturgill Simpson
Miranda Lambert
Chris Stapleton
Morgane Stapleton
Kacey Musgraves
Tyler Childers
Cody Jinks
Margo Price
Whitey Morgan
Adam Hood
Elizabeth Cook
Sarah Shook
Paul Cauthen
Luke Combs
Jason Isbell
Jason Eady
Courtney Patton
Mike and the Moonpies
Turnpike Troubadours
Colter Wall
Charley Crockett
August 18, 2023 @ 11:33 am
I freakin love this. And Brent Cobb. Except for that gospel album. But Southern Star is shaping up to be right on the money.
Trig, you think that “saving” part was meant for you?
Also, I want to buy that book and read it to my kids.
August 18, 2023 @ 11:41 am
That was what I thought when watching the video, “If nobody has published that book yet, someone should.” Brent Cobb did release a kid’s book a couple of years ago. I also think that might be his kids in the video.
August 18, 2023 @ 2:21 pm
He’d be a fool not to print up 500 (or more) copies to sell at shows and from his web shop. Guarantee they’d sell out quick. I don’t buy a ton of merch from musicians/artists besides t-shirts, koozies, and the occasional hat – but I’d buy this in a heartbeat.
I don’t even have kids, but these lyrics basically tell the story of my personal journey into country music. In other words, all the newer artists that got me into this genre – including Brent Cobb. I’ve since gone back to explore and fall in love with legends of decades past, of course, but these are the artists that make me feel like legitimate country music is still alive and kicking and not just corporate radio fodder. Seeing Brent live again later this year, and cannot wait.
August 19, 2023 @ 5:29 pm
You would buy at least 1 CD after seeing Tab Benoit, live.
Guarantee.
August 20, 2023 @ 2:45 pm
The book(let) is obviously influenced by the two Shel Silverstein children book releases “A Light In The Attic” (1981) and “Where The Sidewalk Ends (1974). Wonderfully done!
August 19, 2023 @ 6:07 am
Except the Gospel Album? I thought And Now, Let’s Turn The Page was a great album. Instead of just doing the typical cover of famous gospel songs in the same old traditional style, Brent brought life to the album and it’s songs with a Muscle Shoals type of southern blues. If all Gospel sounded like that, I would be listening on the regular.
August 18, 2023 @ 11:47 am
Is it weird that I got a little teary-eyed listening to this one?
August 18, 2023 @ 11:50 am
Now that’s one hell of a list! It’s crazy how he was able to fit all of those in the song.
August 18, 2023 @ 11:58 am
This song is simply brilliant. This is a nice reminder that the future of country music is continuing to look bright!
August 18, 2023 @ 12:03 pm
Oh, that felt good.
August 18, 2023 @ 12:11 pm
I think this should be the official song of SCM. Can you figure out how to make it automatically play when someone clicks on the website or FB page? I am honestly not sure this song gets written if this little website doesn’t exist. If anything the list of artists would be shorter. What a great song!
Damn it’s been a good week for independent country music
August 18, 2023 @ 2:18 pm
It’s a race between this and Daryle Singletary’s (RIP) “Too Late To Save The World.”
August 18, 2023 @ 12:46 pm
This guy has been my favorite modern country artist since the first time my ears heard “Shine on Rainy Day.” Everything he’s done since only solidifies that.
August 18, 2023 @ 12:56 pm
Great song. I appreciated the song that Wade Bowel & Randy Rodgers recently put out, “We Ain’t The Only ones”, but it didn’t feel like it had much meaning.
Brent Cobb’s song is able to do the name-dropping while also telling a story.
August 18, 2023 @ 1:01 pm
I really dig that Mel Tillis hat.
August 18, 2023 @ 1:13 pm
Man, Brent is cool. I caught one of the shows he did with Hayes Carll last year and it was a lot of fun to listen to those two shoot the breeze and play songs. He came and hung out after the show, too.
Among artists mentioned in the song, one moment I remember was when I first heard Ryan Bingham’s “Bread and Water” on WXPN out of Philly. A public radio station out of the biggest city in the state playing better country music than the stations in my rural area! That was one that really pushed my search for good music into the next gear.
August 18, 2023 @ 1:19 pm
That is a really good song. I do think someone else could do it better but that doesn’t take away from the greatness of the song.
August 18, 2023 @ 1:23 pm
What an awesome tune. This song made me realize what a great time we live in if you’re a music fan. There is so much out there to listen to and I wouldn’t know who most of them are without this site. Thank you Trigger.
August 18, 2023 @ 3:24 pm
They’re gonna fill those shoes 🎻🪕🎸
August 18, 2023 @ 3:32 pm
Kind of fun sort of like Johnny Cash’s “I was there when it happened I saw Memphis give birth to Rock & Roll”
August 18, 2023 @ 4:52 pm
Hey! Thanks for talking about this one, just want to make one note. Brent was intentionally vague about “Combs” and has said that he’s referencing both Luke and Andrew Combs in that line.
August 21, 2023 @ 6:38 am
The picture on the page of the book is Luke Combs
August 21, 2023 @ 7:40 am
you’ll notice Andrew Combs is also in the book too. Right to the left of Luke.
August 18, 2023 @ 4:57 pm
Not bad. But it sounds kind of sad? The sound doesn’t quite fit that it should be a celebration.
Nice list of singers though.
I still prefer “Cold Dog Soup”, but thats just my style.
August 18, 2023 @ 6:57 pm
Great track.
I gotta say, I’m glad to see Shooter getting credit. I know he’s far from an unknown quantity, but I don’t believe he gets enough credit in the popular country zeitgeist for just how many people he’s lead down the road to being proper country music fans. Through the acts he would tour with, just randomly shows support for, all the songs he’s been featured on, the musicians he produces for, and the folks plays on his radio show.
In fact the first time I saw Colter Wall live, he was opening act for Shooter, followed by Hellbound Glory, in Boonsboro. They both even shouted him out from the stage and expressed their love for the guy, I got to spend some time around them after the show, and Leroy and Colter couldnt have been more open about how much they appreciated Shooter, and he was very humble, and was quick to go about thanking THEM in equal measure for being at the show. it was lovely.
I’m glad to see him getting grammy’s and recieving shout outs alongside all the killer artists in this song. Its neat
August 19, 2023 @ 6:19 am
Agree on Shooter, though it would be nice to see him get back on track with recording Country albums instead of personal passion releases. It’s overdue. However, there is a personal reason for Shooter’s inclusion here. It was Shooter who first gave Cobb a shot. Brent’s first album was recorded with Shooter’s backing band The 357s, which also included Leroy Powell who also is on this list.
August 19, 2023 @ 10:15 am
Wasn’t the last album Shooter released a pure country album? The self-titled one? I thought ever since then he’s been producing albums for other people? Or are you not aware of this? A few years back he made a post that said he was focusing primarily on producing albums for other artists.
August 19, 2023 @ 10:27 am
That was 2018. Since then he has released an album with Yellawolf, along with producing and other various projects. Would love to have another Shooter country album.
August 18, 2023 @ 9:45 pm
Some of this rise of non-Nashville acts is simply superior talent to what we used to have. Turnpike is on a different planet than the red dirt acts (that I still love) when I arrived in Stillwater in the late 90s.
August 18, 2023 @ 10:56 pm
Now that’s how you do a list song!
August 19, 2023 @ 3:36 am
This guy is the definition of mediocre and uninspired. Everything he puts out is a snoozefest. If it wasn’t for his family ties I doubt anyone would’ve heard about him. And no mention of Leroy from HBG who has been really doing it for more than 15 years? Whats up with that?
August 19, 2023 @ 7:18 am
Brent Cobb was an established songwriter before Dave Cobb started to become a popular producer.
I agree that it would have been cool to mention Hellbound Glory, but as one of the biggest Hellbound proponents out there, it’s not like Leroy Virgil is out there promoting himself very much. It’s like getting mad he didn’t mention Rattlesnake Milk.
August 19, 2023 @ 10:40 am
The song isn’t just a list of artists Cobb thinks are cool or important. It’s an actual story about his career and the people along the way that he met, helped him, he toured or worked with, and who influenced him. Any omission is not a slight, they just weren’t apart of his journey.
Highly disagree with Cobb being a snooze fest by the way. Some of his music is laid back, but his catalog has plenty of variety of country, southern rock, and blues to go along with the slower folksy stuff. If anything, Cobb’s ability to weave different styles on each album while maintaining his sound is what keeps him interesting.
August 20, 2023 @ 3:16 pm
Yeah, well, like that just your opinion, man
August 19, 2023 @ 7:15 am
Love this single. Brent is great live.
August 19, 2023 @ 1:35 pm
Did Country ever leave town? It might have left Country radio and be fairly rare on the major labels but there has always been plenty of country around. Great to see some authentic genuine independent artists gain deserved success and the names mentioned are a good start. There is some great music around.
August 19, 2023 @ 3:49 pm
“Some say it never left . . .”
August 20, 2023 @ 11:36 am
What a great song. Pre-ordered and waiting. Not so patiently. And I love this site. I think 90% of the new music I purchased these past 2 years came from an article or review from this site. You generally match my tastes so if you like it, good chance I will too. I don’t live anywhere near Nashville and I would never hear about half these artists if it wasn’t for you and Elizabeth Cook on XM’s Outlaw Country show. Which is kind of a travesty.
August 21, 2023 @ 1:21 pm
What a cool moment, and it must be wild for you to see the moment which in a way is the culmination of what’s essentially been your life’s work. Thanks for turning us on to what’s been cool for all this time Trigger. You’re like the uncle that’s way younger than your dad that turns you onto the “good stuff”.
For reference here, I’m 28. I grew up on classic country and was more than a fan, I was downright studious by the time I was 12 or so. Obsessed with the power of a song and how it can take total control over your mind and spirit. I started buying records at that time because they were abundant and costed literally quarters – my dad worked across the street from CD Warehouse in Madison, TN and I’d go there when he’d pick me up and take me back with him until quitting time.I would lay awake at night listening to Haggard, 70-83 era Hank Jr, Johnny Cash, Waylon, Willie Nelson, Don Williams,Conway Twitty, Gary Stewart, Jones, Vern Gosdin, the list just went on and on. I could not stop digging. Youtube came out around then and that just opened the rabbit hole even further.
I heard Shooter Jennings’s 4th of July because George Jones was on it and became a mega fan of his which I am to this day. By the time I was 14, it was all Shooter, Jamey Johnson, and Hank 3. It’s hard to say when I first saw SCM, but it would’ve been around the time JJ put out The Guitar Song. I had my mom drive me to Best Buy to get the limited edition black and white pressing after school one day. I was definitely a weird kid and did not have any peers that would appreciate this stuff with me.
I was a freshman in college when Southeastern and High Top came out and my life was forever changed. I heard about both of those records on this very site. SCM has been THE spotlight in my musical journey and I hold you in the same esteem that the older guys would have had for Lester Bangs.
Brent Cobb is the shit, this song is the shit, and this site is the shit. Also how I mentioned earlier how I didn’t have any friends to share this with back then, now I have friends who kick themselves for not going with me to see Tyler Childers or Colter Wall back in 16/17, Sturgill back in 14/15, the list goes on. Thanks again for keeping me on the beat all these years. I hope to buy you a beer one of these days. When this crazy ride of fandom started for me, I’d bemoan how my generation didn’t have music with the transcendental artistic merit of generations past, but now looking back over the last 15 years (I’ve been in deep for over half of my admittedly short life) I’m excited to tell my daughter one day about all of the cool shows I’ve seen and friends I’ve met along the way, and it’s a lot easier to make them now than it used to be.
August 22, 2023 @ 5:24 am
This is such a damn cool post. Really enjoyed reading it. With young folks like you in the pipeline there is hope for the future. Yes, I’m old enough to have had Lester as my spotlight….. And sharing the gift of music with your daughter one day will bring you unbelievable joy. I remember when my son was about 12 years old and had dug my giant speakers and old stereo out of the attic. He found the classic rock station and was yelling from his room – ‘Dad, you gotta hear this song, get in here! Have you ever heard THIS, it’s INSANE?’ Uh no buddy, I’ve never heard Peter Frampton’s ‘Do you feel like I do’ and certainly did not do anything illegal to it with the black light on back in college………
August 22, 2023 @ 7:57 am
Blacklight posters and illegal activities never went out of style. We had a large walk in closet at the house for that, and it was usually Pink Floyd. The classic rock stuff is a basic food group.
August 24, 2023 @ 2:49 pm
Great post is right on!
Love the enthusiasm and sincerity!
This is a great site, fantastic article, comments and recommendations. I check almost every day.