ACL 2022: Zach Bryan

Friday at 4pm.  I'll look at the other artists but this is the #1 choice. It's a 26 year-old from Tulsa.  His mother died in 2017 and he processed his grief by writing songs. He recorded them in an Airbnb in Jacksonville, FL and put up the album, titled DeAnn after his mother, online in 2019.  Without a label, any representation, or even a website.  Despite that, word-of-mouth from the die-hard country music fans made his album an instant hit.  I'll let Savingcountrymusic describe his debut:

Anyone who tells you they knew about Zach Bryan beforehand is probably lying, present company included. All the effort expended at Saving Country Music headquarters running down leads on promising up-and-comers, and all the time spent out in the field sifting through the lineups of grassroots festivals and events throughout the year scouting for talent, and it would be a boldface lie to say I’d even heard his name until one of Zach Bryan’s songs called “Condemned” started swirling around YouTube a few weeks ago. Aside from the fact that he claims dual citizenship in Tulsa, OK and Seattle, WA on his Twitter account, nothing much else is known about the songwriter at this point, aside from what you can glean from his songs.

Here is "Condemned".  Also check out "Heading South". 

Turns out Zach Bryan was on active-duty in the Navy for 6 years when he released the album. Since then he released a second album, also without any representation, was honorably discharged from the Navy, signed with Warner Brothers, got Dave Cobb to produce his first major-label album, and finally started touring.  Whew.  Oh, his album went #1 on the country charts.  This without any touring and hardly any mainstream media exposure.  I still can't find any articles on him in the big publications.  Here's a lot more about him.

Loved by fans of Sturgill Simpson, Colter Wall, and Tyler Childers.  He's already considered the #1 songwriter based on the songs from his album, based on Billboard's Country Songwriters Chart.   Based on reviews of his concerts the crowd is very young, very excited, and they know all the words to his songs. 

Listen to this one, called "Sweet DeAnn" about his mom.  I'm not crying...

This is another great song with a great video, too:   "Something in the Orange"  "To you I'm just a man, to me you're all I am." Damn.

He's playing Stubb's on Wednesday October 5th.  I may want that as my birthday present.

More: "Darling". Reminds me of the Overenders campfire.

More: "Someday on My Mind". 

Someday I will come to my senses
Stop sitting on fences in fear
And I will realize after all of this time
That someday was always just right here

 

Today I will hold my head up high

Knowing some day has been here the whole damn time

There's a sun set setting, I ain't forgetting

The blood that made my heart warm

Today I found what I was searching for 

More: "Mine Again". I don't think he can make a bad song.

Here's a Youtube playlist of my favorites so far. A good introduction.

I'll end with "From Austin"

ACL 2022: Gabriels

 Friday at 3:15pm.  This is more like it.  A long-in-the-making band that was just signed to Elektra.  "Rolling Stone" said it best:

Gabriels have followed a more old-school path. At a time when artists shoot out songs like they’re about to be banned from studios for life, Gabriels have put out just five songs since 2018, a mix of haunting gospel, brittle electronics, and harmony-drenched doo-wop — the combination sometimes sounds like someone is playing Philadelphia soul records arranged by Thom Bell at the wrong speed. And instead of displaying viral growth on a platform like TikTok, Gabriels have built a profile by earning nods from old-school tastemakers like Gilles Peterson and the Los Angeles station KCRW. There’s a note of pride in Hope’s voice when he calls the group “the most social media unsavvy trio.” 

It's a trio.  One from the UK (Sunderland) and two from California (one from Compton).  They are based in L.A. 

"Professional" is compared to old school Billy Holiday.   

I've heard this one. It must be on rotation on KUTX.  Maybe we heard on KCRW as well. They're my choice.  Maybe hear a little Charlotte Cardin as well.

It looks like they are opening for Harry Styles here in Austin. Great exposure.

ACL 2022: Lilyisthatyou

Friday at 3:15.  Third female pop artist in a row in this time slot.  Not sure the reasoning behind that. First, you screw the teens that have to choose between similar musical styles.  Second, you alienate fans of other genres that don't have any choices other than dance pop. 

Unlike Gayle, an 18 year-old viral sensation with a pop song about the "F" word, Lilyisthatyou is a 21-old viral sensation with a pop song about the "F" word.  Different uses, though.  It's such a versatile word.  See if you can tell the difference in the usage.

Here you go:

ACL 2022: Gayle

Friday at 3:15pm.  Another pop artist.  She's an 18 year-old from Plano signed to Atlantic Records.  According to Wikipedia her single "ABCDEFU" topped the charts in Finland, Germany, Ireland, Norway, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.  #1 in all those countries at 18.  Not bad.

168 Million view.  Damn.  

Judge for yourself:

ACL 2022: Charlotte Cardin

Friday at 3:15pm.  Four bands on at this time.  Only one I recognize is this one.  I previewed her for SXSW back in 2016 but we didn't see her.  Since then she's released an EP and her first album, which went #1 in Canada and was nominated for multiple Juno awards.  According to this article:

The breakout Montreal pop singer-songwriter was named artist of the year, while her chart-topping debut “Phoenix” received pop album of the year, and its track “Meaningless” was selected as single of the year.

"Passive Aggressive" is a nice mellow pop tune.  This was her big hit.  Has an XX bass beat.