VMP Magazine

The turn of the millennium marked a period of change for Dolly Parton. Having bounced around various labels, like the now-defunct Rising Tide Records, during the ‘90s, Parton found a temporary home with famed bluegrass label Sugar Hill Records, a move that gave her a chance to revisit her earliest musical roots through a landmark trilogy of bluegrass and mountain music-inspired albums: 1999’s The Grass Is Blue, 2001’s Little Sparrow and 2002’s Halos & Horns. 

Since debuting with Die Midwestern in 2020, Arlo McKinley has quickly become one of the more exciting voices on the fringes of country music. The Cincinnati native was the final artist John Prine signed to his Oh Boy Records label before his passing in 2020, about as powerful a co-sign as a singer-songwriter could get. Die Midwestern introduced McKinley as an artist capable of not only Prine-approved songwriting but crafting a singular country sound that is as informed by the late icon as it is punk acts like Black Flag and Social Distortion, something McKinley takes even further on his newly released sophomore album, This Mess We’re In.

Short careers typically aren’t the stuff of legends. Most of our musical icons, living or otherwise, earned that status after decades of honing their craft and building an audience, with a small handful — think Otis Redding, who died at 26 in 1967, or Jimi Hendrix, who joined the “27 Club” in 1970 — burning so fast and so bright that even the briefness of their output can’t temper the longevity of their music. Tragically, Patsy Cline is one of those latter artists, having died in a plane crash at the age of 30. Her death came less than a year after the release of her third studio album, 1962’s Sentimentally Yours, and just six years after her 1957 self-titled debut album put her squarely on the radar of country and pop fans alike. Like Redding and Hendrix, Cline possessed a natural brilliance; her particular brand of brilliance lent her music — paradoxically, perhaps — a sense of timelessness and served as a crystalline snapshot of a pivotal moment in country music, a genre that would grow wildly in popularity in the coming years and decades.

In 2017, Australian singer-songwriter Stella Donnelly captured the attention of listeners and critics around the globe when she released “Boys Will Be Boys,” a track off her debut EP Thrush Metal. The song made headlines for its sharp, poignant commentary on sexual assault and victim blaming, and became something of an anthem of the #MeToo movement as it grew in the wake of the sexual abuse allegations against Harvey Weinstein.

Today, we’re featuring a limited-edition version of Cody Jinks’ new album, Lifers, in the Vinyl Me, Please store. You can grab that here.

Below, read an interview with Jinks about signing to a label and finally getting some recognition at 38 years old.

When Joshua Ray Walker released his debut album Wish You Were Here in 2019, fans were instantly charmed by the country singer-songwriter's wit, craftsmanship and old-school country stylings. The Dallas-based artist was already a favorite on the Texas country circuit, but Wish You Were Here brought Walker an international audience, one that would have launched him on a 2020 European tour and a major presence at SXSW had the COVID-19 pandemic not ground live music to a halt.

In July, Walker released the follow-up to Wish You Were Here, the cleverly titled Glad You Made It. The new album builds off Wish You Were Here's traditional twang and narrative songwriting, and finds Walker sounding in just one year like a far more seasoned a songwriter, one who can deftly mix humor and tenderness on tracks like "Boat Show Girl" and channel a man's rock bottom moment with grace and compassion on "Voices."

Vinyl Me, Please caught up with Walker this fall to talk about navigating the pandemic, avoiding the sophomore slump and working closely with the album's producer, John Pedigo.

People generally love to argue about music, but blues music is one genre that inspires particularly passionate debate. It's common to hear lamentations about the state of modern blues artists, especially as beloved legacy artists retire or pass away. But for anyone who has doubts about the direction of blues music, look no further than Christone "Kingfish" Ingram. The 20-year-old Clarksdale, MS native is a virtuosic guitarist and equally talented vocalist who inspires fans and critics alike to use descriptors like “savior” and “future of the blues" when describing his music.

Ingram’s debut album Kingfish is a masterful collection of traditionally inspired blues music. The album opens with "Outside of This Town," a muscular blues rocker that nods to Ingram's small-town roots. "Been Here Before," with its acoustic arrangement and wistful lyrics, shows off Ingram's softer side. And the Buddy Guy-assisted "Fresh Out" sounds timeless from its opening notes, with the interplay between Ingram and Guy a lick-laden passing of the torch.

If you're curious about the future of songwriting, look no further than Kelsey Waldon. The Monkey’s Eyebrow, Kentucky-bred artist crafts country music grounded in traditional arrangements and thoughtful, introspective lyricism. She also counts none other than John Prine as a fan and has collaborated with the iconic songwriter on the live stage and in the studio.

In early October, Waldon released White Noise / White Lines, her third studio album and her first as a signee to Prine's independent Oh Boy Records label. Waldon's signing to Oh Boy in July of this year made her the first new artist to join the label in 15 years. This new album, as Waldon herself admits, is her most vulnerable work to date, a feat she attributes to her desire to tell her own story as truly as possible.