Another year done and gone, and what a great year for music. These are my top ten favorite albums of 2024, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . 49 Winchester: Leavin' This Holler (New West - 8/2/24) This six-piece country rock outfit out of southwest Virginia is one of independent roots music's greatest success stories in recent years, and one of my favorites - soundtracking many a road trip and impromptu singalong. Comfort food embodied in music. The title of their fifth album, Leavin’ This Holler , may as well be metaphorical as it finds the band spreading their wings and reaching for wider horizons. Following their breakout album from 2022, Fortune Favors The Bold , here we get even more expansive compositions featuring sweeping strings and thundering choirs, finding the band in more sophisticated spaces without compromising their down home Appalachian sensibility. ...
These are my runners up and honorable mention albums of 2024, in alphabetical order by artist name . . . . Blackberry Smoke: Be Right Here (3 Legged - 2/16/24) Black Crowes: Happiness Bastards (Silver Arrow - 3/15/24) Ellis Bullard: Honky Tonk Ain't Noise Pollution (Feels So Good- 2/9/24) Charley Crockett: $10 Cowboy (Son of Davy - 4/26/24) Jesse Daniel: Countin' The Miles (Lightning Rod- 6/7/24) Friske: Forward Motion ...