Newest Adds to Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist (#115)

Sometimes people remark about this playlist, “I’ve never heard of most of these artists!” That’s exactly the point. This isn’t about feeding you what you already know, it’s about exposing you to what you don’t, including artists that deserve more exposure, but aren’t getting it from the rest of the industry. This particular update is especially loaded with up-and-comers worth getting on your radar.

The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist is built to keep you informed on all the best songs and albums coming out right here, right now in country and roots music. It’s available on most all streaming formats (see below), or you can just use the song, artist, and album recommendations to find something new to listen to. New songs just added.

Newest Additions:

William Prince – “Easier and Harder” – The chorus on this song is killer, and so is the writing. Don Williams vibes. Featured previously on Yellowstone, William Prince is getting ready to release his Dave Cobb-produced album Stand In The Joy on April 21st.

Shefton Kash – “Forever’s Not As Long As It Used To Be” – We first heard about Shefton Kash when he somehow compelled the reclusive Hank Williams III to contribute vocals to his 2017 single “Hank’s Whiskey.” Now he’s back with this excellent traditional country heartbreaker co-written with Jimmy Cable.

Gloria Anderson – “Wildwood Baby” – Gloria Anderson puts on a clinic of how to instill a song with the deepest of country music roots, but still serve it up with an immediacy that makes it reverberative and ferocious to a modern crowd. Originally from Texas where she came up playing around San Antonio and the Texas Hill Country, Gloria made her debut at Luckenbach at the tender age of 17. She’s now in Nashville trying to make a name for herself. If she keeps on releasing songs like “Wildwood Baby,” she’ll do that very thing.

SJ McDonald – “Rosemary” – This up-and-coming singer and songwriter based in Nashville is one to get on your radar, and this bluegrass-tinged murder ballad is a good example why. Originally from the Shenandoah Valley in Virginia, she co-wrote the song with Mackenzie Carpenter and Mia Mantia, and it shows off her Appalachian roots.

Zara Alexandra – “Going Back” – Don’t know much about this artist, but someone sent a suggestion to Saving Country Music headquarters to check out her new album Osage Oranges Coming Down and the song “Going Back,” and they weren’t kidding. If you like authenticity in your country music, this track will be right down your alley.

The Broken Spokes – “Moved Into A Bottle” – This Houston-based classic honky tonk band is one of the best kept secrets in all of country music, and their 2022 album Where I Went Wrong remains one of the best listens around. This song originally appeared on the band’s 2016 self-titled album, and hopefully this reissue is the first taste of more new music coming from this outfit that’s bound to blow up sooner than later.

Drayton Farley – “Above My Head” – Following in the footsteps of Jason Isbell as an Alabama-born songwriter specializing in earnest expressions, “Above My Head” exhibits cerebral songwriting about an evergreen human vexation: crippling worry. Drayton Farley’s new album Twenty on High produced by Sadler Vaden of the 400 Unit is out now.

Dirty Grass Soul – “Back to the Holler” – From North Carolina, this band made a stink by calling out Saving Country Music on Facebook. But it worked because their new song “Back to the Holler” was worthy of wider attention, and now it’s getting it from many places.

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The Saving Country Music Top 25 Playlist primarily lives on Spotify, but is also available for those who use Amazon Music, YouTubeApple Music, and Tidal. For those who don’t stream music, you can still find the song recommendations in list form below.

CLICK HERE to follow Saving Country Music on Spotify, and/or follow the Spotify Top 25 Playlist.

Please Note: The songs on this playlist are curated for listening pleasure and flow. Otherwise, they are not in any specific order.

Saving Country Music’s Top 25 Current Playlist:

  • “Easier and Harder” – William Prince – Stand In The Joy (4-21)
  • “If You Don’t Wanna Love Me” – Brit Taylor – Kentucky Blue 
  • “Forever’s Not As Long As It Used To Be” – Shefton Kash – (single)
  • “Wildwood Baby” – Gloria Anderson – Households EP (3-24)
  • “The Jealous Kind” – Charles Wesley Godwin – Live from the Church EP
  • “Moving Mountains” – Amanda Fields w/ Megan McCormick – What, When, and Without (2-28)
  • “Western White Pines” – Colby Acuff – (single)
  • “Jersey Giant” – Elle King – Come Get Your Wife
  • “.38 Special” – Rattlesnake Milk – Chicken Fried Snake
  • “For Your Love” – Michael Cleveland with Billy Strings – Lovin’ Of The Game 
  • “Above My Head” – Drayton Farley – Twenty on High
  • “Going Back” – Zara Alexandra – Osage Oranges Coming Down
  • “Bad Imagination” – Sundy Best – Feel Good Country
  • “Rosemary” – SJ McDonald – (single)
  • “Wrong Side of the River” – Myron Elkins – Factories, Farms, and Amphetamines
  • “Holler Rose” – Pony Bradshaw – North Georgia Rounder
  • “Denial” – Jonathan Peyton – (single)
  • “Straight Up Country Music” – Wylie & The Wild West – Bunchgrass
  • “I Dream Of You” – Kimmi Bitter – (single)
  • “Back to the Holler” – Dirty Grass Soul – (single)
  • “Dire Wolf” – Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway – Crooked Tree (Deluxe Edition)
  • “Blues Comin’ On – Channing Wilson – Dead Man
  • “Moved Into A Bottle” – The Broken Spokes – (single)
  • “Country Star” – Marty Stuart and His Fabulous Superlatives – (single)
  • “If The Loneliness Don’t Kill Me” – Whitehorse – I’m Not Crying You’re Crying
  • “I Found Trouble” – Teague Brothers Band – Love and War
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