AND WE'RE BACK with an information-dense video! If I were smart, I'd probably do more individual artist videos and not these roundups, but hey, I wanted to get sorta caught up, and if you only care about one of the artists here, it's time-stamped for you!! Also, I am gonna really try and figure out my lighting in this damn basement. Always a process! Also, don't get shingles. Shingles sucks. And play Country Star. It's fun. I promise.

I had the pleasure to see Charles Wesley Godwin in concert last month. I encourage any of you reading this to see him and the Allegheny High in concert even if you have to travel a few hours. The showmanship is unbelievable.

Tyler Childers may never meet the expectations that Purgatory set, because that bar was set insanely high, but he’s still putting out great music.

I agree with your points on Dan and Shay. I’ve never been a huge fan of them, but this last album is surprisingly good and melodically pleasing on the ears

Just saw turnpike last weekend! Still have that high intensity and they aren’t slowing down! Absolutely love them. No one is writing lyrics like Evan.

I love how chaotic the background is

big fan of Morgan Wade's new album!

The Emily Ann Roberts album legitimately gave me goosebumps. I’m a huge Morgan and Zach fan, but this MIGHT be album of the year. Zero skips. Just straight country heat all the way through. Has the love songs, the revenge songs, the girl going out song, just an amazing album.

Thanks to you and this amazing channel I’ve gotten into many awesome artists! Randall King, Ian Musnick, Hailey Whitters, Charles Wesley Godwin, Emily Ann Roberts- the latter twos albums I’ve listened to and I really enjoyed them both! There are many more artists I could name! P.S. Thanks to Country Star- absolutely love it! I’ve added more songs to my country playlist!

I also liked Emily Ann Roberts’ album. Whole Lotta Little is still probably my favorite, but I did also like Loves Me For My Heart. That line “he’s not just about the swing in my backyard” (might be paraphrasing slightly) is one of the most creative euphemisms I’ve ever heard, unless I just have a dirty mind and it’s just about a literal swing in a literal backyard

The CWG Family Ties review is spot on! Absolutely amazing album! One of the top albums of the year!

Dan + Shay - cannot stop listening to that album. It's on repeat. Hopefully others will listen now you've given it your stamp of approval!

So many great albums in this round up! It's packed! I am in love with the new Charles Wesley Godwin album, but who isn't? And I agree that Learned to Lie by Ashley McBryde is a straight up masterpiece. Damn that song hit me hard!

15:13 you better sang the song omg . So proud of you. I’m crying. So this is exactly what I wanted from ya. Thank you Grady 🅰️

Thank you for calling out the Turnpike Troubadours album production. It is Shooter Jennings muddy. I want those songs, because they're really good songs, re released with a different production with the bright, bold instrumentation we're used to from TT and I think we'd all have a different take on the album as a whole. Cant wait to hear these tunes LIVE! I have tix tonsee rhem in Milwaukee in December and then again next summer opening for Zach Bryan in Minneapolis!

Grady, I think it would be super cool if you made Spotify playlists to go along with these videos! I always try and keep a mental log of everything you talk about to listen to later!! A Grady smith playlist would be so much more on theme

The Rut has been on repeat since it came out. I can’t get enough of it

Nice to hear Stephen Wilson Jr get a quick mention. Saw him open for Hailey whitters a few months back and fell in love with his music. Fathers son is my jam right now but he's got some really great other stuff as well.

Psychopath is one of those albums that just keeps getting better with time. Yeah it doesn’t have that traditional country sound that Morgan captured a lot of on Reckless but damn lyrically it hits so deep. I think a lot of the songs make a connection to songs on Reckless. Phantom Feelings feels like a follow up to Northern Air. 27 Club feels like The Night Part 3.

Welcome back Grady! Great video! I’ve already heard Turnpike, CWG, and Emily’s albums and all three are some of my favorites of an already great year! And I’m intrigued to hear Dan And Shay’s new album. One album I’d throw in the ring is Logan Ledger’s “Golden State”. His sound is kind of a cross between traditional country and 60’s style pop. His voice reminds me a lot of Roy Orbison. I like it significantly more than his 2020 debut, and I still think that!’s a really good album

Don't worry about the delay, we've all been busy playing Country Star anyway. 😊 Don't forget to take care of yourself!

I always wait to listen to new albums while driving in my car. Little tradition. Learned to Lie had me BAWLING. I realy had a cry. It felt so much like my story that I could never put into words and Ashley did it so eloqeuntly. It still crushes me every time I hear it.

That gate looks 🔥 🔥!!! The skills you have to teach yourself to do these are something most people don’t have and think you work full time too…amazing!!!

Can you review Brad Paisley’s Son of the Mountains EP? Curious to hear your thoughts on “The Medicine Will” in particular. Would love to hear your perspective on the opioid crisis in WV as someone who is from Virginia. The music video is very powerful too and definitely worth a watch imo.

Dude I love your channel! I get so stoked when you put out a video. My country music journey just began about two years ago and like a lot of people in the past few years it began with the discovery of Zach and Colter for me. Since then I have been devouring and have gone back to the legends of every decade. Now lately through watching your channel I have been Discovering so many other contemporary future legends. Freaking love this rich genre! Right now I can't get enough Eric Church. Desperate man is one of the best albums ever imo. And oh man definitely nine ball for me on Zach's EP. I did that song on repeat like 4 times before even moving on to the rest lol. Can't wait to go check out a bunch of these others you talked about.

I had never really heard of Emily Ann Roberts before your top songs of the year list last year, but Can’t Hide Country is definitely my favorite album of 2023. Whole Lotta Little and The Building are of course the two biggest standouts, but I really love pretty much every song on this album.

Really enjoy MW’s album. It’s different than Reckless, but in a authentic way. Her songwriting & voice are just super compelling.

I saw Morgan Wadelive about 2 months ago and live the new songs slams! I feel she is definitely one of those artists that are so much better live.

We played Tyler's "Phone Calls and Emails" on the radio 2 weeks ago!!! :)

Oh no! Sorry to hear about your struggle with shingles. Glad to see you're back and feeling better! There are a lot of albums I'm probably not gonna get to. Ashley McBryde's was probably gonna be one, but after hearing "Learned to Lie" I'm going to need to prioritize hers.

The problem with Tyler is nothing will ever beat Purgatory. That’s a perfect album start to end.

When Boys of Faith was released, I immediately went to Spotify to hear Deep Satin. Was kinda disappointed when it didn't appear on his self-titled, but oh man was I ecstatic when I heard it on this new EP. Been playing, and singing, this song on repeat for a damn long while. Definitely one of my top 20 of his 90+ songs. Thank you, ZLB!! P.S. Grady, I was wondering if you could also do a review on one of Brad Paisley's new songs from his EP, "The Medicine Will". Been a fan of Brad's for a few years, and I was very happy when I heard him sing this song, especially his acoustic rendition on Appalachian Untold (reminds me of your "Country's Nirvana Moment" video where you mentioned that the more mainstream Nashville artists are starting to adopt and incorporate the acoustic-sound-in-the- wilderness-video approach to videos) Talking about the opioid crisis in the Appalachian states like his homestate of West Virginia, where coal miners purchase these pills to numb their pain. But in reality, it's killing them, and has been killing them for decades, and the pharmaceutical companies in that area are well aware of that, yet they continue to sell them all for profit. And Brad talks about that in this very beautiful, haunting song, which I feel that you would make a pretty good review for...

Zach is absolutely the best oh by the way "Turnpike Troubadours are back together and their writing songs".

CWG's new album has been on repeat since release for me. Makes me want to pick up my guitar again and play for my daughters.

Great video! Sorry to hear you've had shingles, feel better soon!

I've heard quite a few at this point say Psychopath goes in a more Pop oriented direction compared to Reckless, but in my ears it does anything but that, and on the contrary leans even further into Rock territory... 👀

Also, I’ve listened to that Stephen Wilson Jr album like 10 times. I still haven’t firmed a solid opinion on it. It’s quite the journey. Reminds me of a darker grungy version of CWGs new album.

Rustin' in the Rain what a banger.

Can you do a worst of/best of retrospective list for a year in the past, like many music reviewers do? Really interested in your take on the popular country hits of any given year in the 2000s or early 2010s.

I got to see Emily Ann Roberts open for blake shelton in Calgary a few weeks ago. That show was great. I also got to see Dustin lynch.

Seen Megan maroney play nothing crazy acoustic in glasgow the other month great show and someone who’s music I’ve been obsessed with recently, my favourite show of the year this year so far

I didn't know you were behind Country Star! I have been playing for a few weeks. Those swipe parts are ruthless lol Good reviews on the albums. I missed the Rebels & Renegade festival last weekend here in California. Turnpike, Wade, Crockett and so many :( But lucky I got to see Flatland Calvary last Thursday in Bakersfield at the Fox theater 🤠 fitting for the citys History. Hope you are doing better with your health now.

Love the CWG album, miner imperfections is by far my favorite song on this album!

Not sure if you have or not but you should check out Stephen Wilson Jr. debut album! Love the video man, you always do a great job with these!

In regards to cover songs on Turnpike's "A Cat in the Rain", it is just "Black Sky" (Ozark Mountain Devils) and “Won’t You Give Me One More Chance" (Lee Clayton). Unless I'm mistaken, "Three More Days" is written by John Fullbright but he has never released/performed it that I'm aware of. Fullbright has written with Turnpike before, most notably, "Pay No Rent" - one of my favorite songs of all time. As for the album, like all Turnpike songs, they will keep growing on you. Their music is like wine. BTW, don't sleep on "Brought Me" - an incredible song.

Man you totally hit the nail on the head with Tyler Childers!

Nice video!! I had similar thoughts on Zach’s album. Maybe I’m not a Noah fan and it’s ok.

Aw man. Shingles is rough. Had it a few years back. Hope you recover quickly

Hey Grady would love to hear your thoughts on Larry Fleets new album!

Dance in the rain. Such a stand out, ❤ those lyrics

I still think MW’s album is still one of the best.

"Inside Your Head" from the Warren Zeiders album is a cover of The Jompson Brothers (Chris Stapleton singing), which is absolutely worth listening to if you weren't impressed with Warren's version

Hey Grady! Just wanted to let you know that I LOVE Country Star and I'm basically obsessed with it now! One question though--is Muscadine Bloodline going to be added to it? There's all of these great small artists on there and it would be amazing if they were on the game!

I need a full on review rundown of CWGs new album! Because from my end. I haven’t stopped listening to it since it released. He’s just got IT

love to hear your thoughts on the new Brent Cobbs

Another good one is the new Logan Ledger album (also Shooter Jennings produced). Also, I'm from Eau Claire, so "I don't even like Bon Iver very much" is fightin' words

Tyler Childers’ Phone Calls and E-mails feels like a classic song because it is. Listen to Anne Murray’s Tennessee Waltz side by side and you’ll understand why Childers’ song seems so classic. Great album tho, agreed.

I really enjoy Heartache on the Map because I can hear Ernest’s writing in it, but it makes me wish I was hearing Earnest’s voice singing it 😂

I do like how you mention American Aquarium with the Shooter Jennings production, I thought Lamentations was a great album and I can definitely hear some similarities. Oddly enough, when I first heard Chipping Mill, I immediately wondered what an American Aquarium cover would sound like lol

hey yo Grady I came across this one old Brantley Gilbert song and it’s a good one. It’s called “Indiana’s Angel” Not sure if you’ve heard of it before but I definitely recommend it

You’re absolutely okay bro. Take as long as you need for new videos. Your health comes first. You’re good with me

I’m sad that Luke Combs Gettin Old wasn’t mentioned but I know you already covered it

cwg has my vote for country album of the year, it’ll go to zach bryan or christ stapleton, but cwg definitely deserves it

I was at the concert where Warren Zeiders (my favorite artist) debuted Pain Killer and it was amazing. He apologized for quote ‘I might forget the lyrics. Forgive me!’ And to get to the concert (it was a county fair that wasn’t even 1/4 block long and you had to walk past his tour bus to get to the line to enter the concert. After the concert he was thanking people for going. People would ask him for pictures and he’d say sure but security said no 😢

Grady your great at what you do keep it up.

Morgan's first album was Reckless, Wilder Days was a single and a song on it. Lindeville was about the characters in Ashley and friends songs. Lindeville was where they all lived.

Every time I listen to Rustin in the Rain, I picture you saying "good word alert" when Childers says "tizzy"

I went and watched Warren Zeiders a few months ago and I loved his show. I was hoarse for a few days after.

I hope you feel better now. Grady. Take care

Some really good songs here! ❤

I like basement Grady

I think Family Ties deserves its own video looking at all the songs. It may be because I’m biased towards anything CWG, but I think there’s a lot of themes and different subjects in the album that it deserves it’s own video. I’ve seen a number of people say it was a particularly hard album to review because of everything going on with it (Saving Country Music is the one that comes to mind), so I’d be interested in how you interpret the songs and themes.

Hey Grady, I know it's not related to this video at all lol, but... I was listening to Riley Greens' new song "Ain't My Damn To Give" and I KNOW I've heard a song that sounds very similar, I just can't remember which song/artist it is. I've literally been trying to find it for hours, lol please help me out here before it drives me insane. :')

Thoughts on the new Brad Paisley tracks? The medicine will is a nice change from a lot of his more overproduced recent stuff he's put out

Can you please review ‘All Bad’ by Nick Shoulders? His newest album came out the same day as Tyler Childers. I’ve been loving his sound.

Turnpike Troubadours latest single have been released to country radio nationally. They are on the CDX country radio charts, and closing in on the Music Row charts. Tyler Childers and Warren Zieders on the parent of the Nashville record labels both have top 60 country hits. Warren's Pretty Little Poison is in the top 40 and climbing on Billboard's radio chart. Colter Wall is now on a major label, but not a Nashville label, but his latest song was released nationally on country radio. The record labels are now seeing gold in the classical sounds and the main corporate radio stations are now playing Oliver Anthony's Rich Man North of Richmond which hit the top 40 on Billboard country radio Airplay chart. The radio stations now looking at playing songs from Independent artists more as a test run, and there seems to be a lot of feedback from country music fans.

CWG is by far my favorite life show artist right now. I was able to catch a three show run in colorado a couple months ago and him and colby acuff were just mind blowing good! Go get your small venue tickets now cause it wont be long tll those days are gone.

Thank you for this.

Can you PLEASE tell me I'm not the only one who heard the uneven timing at 1:50 on "boys of faith". It's driving me nuts.

@gradysmith would love to see you do a video on the Castellows - single coming friday. How do these girls have 1M followers on insta? Are these girls really into fishing, farming, hunting, horses, etc or is all of this manufactured? signed to warner.

Grady, have you been listening to Colter Wall’s new album, Little Songs?

It’s hard to keep up with all the releases, but Brent Cobb released a good one and Jade Eagleson is super 90s country.

Jason Hawk Harris released a new album you need to check out! It’s great

Will you be covering future releases by Maren Morris?

Loving Megan and Morgan’s albums!!! Adding them to my playlist. ❤

Honestly was sorta expecting “Teenage Dixie” by Muscadine Bloodline to be in this video

I hope you a speedy recovery from the shingles, Grady

agree about the turnpike album Grady was a lil underwhelmed but mean old sun prolly the best song on the album

Did anyone else catch the chair in the rain reference 🤣🌀22:22

i agree with you on Dan + Shay, i did not like there music til this album and WOW I enjoy this album

Can’t agree more on feeling of Pretentiousness with Tyler. Him and Sturgill are so close I feel he’s trying to mimic his enigma style persona. We all want more Tyler, it feels intentional from him to deprive us of it. Loved the album and yes, Rustin is a jam!

I think you should give Jordyn Shellhart a listen when you get a chance, if you haven't already :)

Sad this doesn't include the new Jason Isbell and the 400 unit album - Weathervanes. My favorite album of the year so far.

You should have covered Colter Wall's new album "Little Songs"

Grady just owning loving girl anthems makes me feel a whole lot more secure about my love for them aswell

You should check out Tyler Halverson his music is solo good. It really caters to the rodeo crowd of country music. My favorite is Beer Garden Baby!

Huge turnpike fan here and yes the new album is good but it’s missing the edge of its former records it is a bit of a sober record …but hey they are growing older

I actually got shingles when I was 15! Its super rare to get it when you are that young. It was awful.

Sarah's Place was the best song on that album in my opinion, I liked the folk-rock sound.

Shingles are for real. Hope you’re feeling better