Fall Country Music Preview 2015: 25 Essential Albums and Events

Every fall, the Americana Music Festival brings the nation's best country, folk, soul and singer-songwriter artists of all ages and (mostly plaid) stripes to Nashville for a week of parties and showcases. This year, more than 170 acts are slated to play the festival, which in recent years has become a bit of a mini-SXSW for the growing tent of contemporary roots music. Loretta Lynn, Steve Earle, Los Lobos and Patty Griffin are among the legends topping the bill. Meanwhile, genre stalwarts like Grant-Lee Phillips, Glen Hansard, Jay Farrar and James McMurtry will be on hand as well, appearing alongside rightfully buzzing favorites like Angaleena Presley, Lindi Ortega, Lera Lynn and Madisen Ward and the Mama Bear. Perhaps this year's Americana breakout star will be an emerging crooner like Sam Outlaw, whose brand of self-proclaimed "SoCal Country" takes the Topanga Canyon sounds of Little Feet and Linda Rondstadt down a dirt road into outlaw country territory. Or perhaps it'll be fresh-faced soul-R&B singer Anderson East, who hails from the same North Alabama town as Alabama Shakes and could be poised for a similar breakthrough if the response to his stellar Dave Cobb-produced debut, Delilah, is any indication. Or perhaps it'll be a 60-something-year-old singer-songwriter like Doug Seegers, who in less than two years has gone from living at the Nashville Rescue Mission to be a contender for Emerging Artist of the Year at the Americana Honors and Awards, which also take place during the festival. Adam Gold

The legendary Eagle swoops in with his first solo album in 15 years, out September 25th. Named for the northeastern Texas county Henley in which grew up, Cass County is filled with tales of life in a small town and the desire to leave for wide open spaces that is only surpassed by the yearning to return as the years pass. Recorded in Nashville and with guests including Dolly Parton, Miranda Lambert, Merle Haggard and Mick Jagger, Cass County is often sentimental, but never maudlin. Contentment isn't an emotion that the sometimes-caustic Henley often expresses (and there's still plenty of sting in songs like the bittersweet "Take a Picture of This"), but here, as he stares back at life at 68, Henley sings with a gratitude, humility and grace to sometimes stunning effect. Melinda Newman

It's always fun to see how the CMA calculates "new." Remember when Lee Brice was nominated two albums, five years into his career (and after "Love Like Crazy" broke the record for most weeks on the Billboard country singles chart)? No matter the math, this year's category should be a fun one. Sam Hunt, Kelsea Ballerini and Maddie & Tae all seem like locks, but who will take the other two spots? Chris Stapleton's May debut gives him a shot, as does Sturgill Simpson's Metamodern Sounds in Country Music. It's his second LP, but who's counting? Nick Murray

In today's tell-all country culture few, if any artists, maintain the mystery of Eric Church. Which makes the new Chief-focused exhibit at the Country Music Hall of Fame and Museum so fascinating. Titled "Inside the Outsider," and opening September 18th, the personal collection goes behind the shades (though they are included too) to showcase some of the North Carolina native's guitars, stage clothes and early song ideas. While Church may never fully step into the public spotlight on a personal level, the exhibit does offer a glimpse into how the singer-songwriter-badass became the musical trailblazer he is today. Joseph Hudak

Country stars all like to sing about back roads, but Jason Boland's Dark & Dirty Mile was one of the few albums that actually sounded like one. Nothing was clean, and there was plenty of wry charm. On "Electric Bill," the frontman and his boo use their worst mail to smoke their favorite herb. On October 9th, he and his band release a follow-up that includes tracks like "I Guess It's Alright to Be an Asshole" and "Fuck, Fight and Rodeo." The record itself is called Squelch. Let's hope it lives up to the title. Nick Murray

Brandy Clark and Shane McAnally rank as two of Nashville's most clever (not to mention irreverent) songwriters, so it's great fun to imagine what they've cooked up for their buzzed-about stage production of Hee Haw, the long-running TV variety series. While more of an homage to the country comedy show than a direct adaptation, Moonshine: That Hee Haw Musical follows small-town girl Misty Mae as she departs Kornfield Kounty for the big city in search of success and romance. Making it even more tantalizing? Justin Guarini is one of the stars. Currently in previews, the production opens September 18th in Dallas, Texas, and runs through October 11th. Joseph Hudak

Carrie Underwood may have just put a bookend on the first 10 years of her career with Greatest Hits: Decade #1, but that doesn't mean she hasn't been hard at work on new material (i.e. future Decade #2 candidates). On October 23rd, the American Idol winner with pipes of gold and legs of steel will release Storyteller, her first studio album since 2012's Blown Away, which she introduced with the fiery ode to taking a breather, "Smoke Break." With a melody much less ominous than anything on her last LP and full of barn-burning percussion, it paves the way for a set of songs Underwood's described as more "twangy" than her past offerings and intently focused on spinning relatable tales of the everyday grind. Of course, Underwood and her voice are anything but mundane, making Storyteller a surefire grab at that golden intersection between down-home and larger-than-life. Marissa R. Moss

On November 28th, 1925, the WSM Barn Dance broadcast from Nashville the first time. Today, that show — rechristened the Grand Ole Opry two years later — has become not just a Tennessee institution but an American one, providing a stage for everyone from Luke Bryan back to Uncle Dave Macon and his Fruit Jar Drinkers. Which is to say, they've earned the right to celebrate their 90th birthday a month or so early, and the first weekend of October they're doing so with four all-star episodes: Little Big Town, Joe Diffie, Diamond Rio and the Gatlin Brothers at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on Friday, then the Oak Ridge Boys, Trace Adkins and the Gatlin Brothers at the same time on Saturday. There will also be cake. Nick Murray

Consider this the No Bro Tour. With the Elvis-cool Frankie Ballard and cowboy man's man Craig Campbell opening, Randy Houser's first-ever headlining arena trek — the We Went Tour — should be an example of everything that's right about today's country music. And much of that comes from Houser himself, who after sweating it out for the past few years in all-too-short opening slots for artists like Brad Paisley and Luke Bryan, finally gets the spotlight he deserves. Best of all, the Mississippi native has both the hits ("Runnin' Outta Moonlight") and a deep back catalog of show-stoppers (the haunting "Somewhere South of Memphis") to back it up. "This tour forces me and my band and my crew to grow. We put ourselves in a position to have to get better," Houser tells Rolling Stone Country. "We have to go out there and purely kick ass." Joseph Hudak

One year before the Traveling Wilburys Vol. 1, there was Trio, Dolly Parton, Emmylou Harris and Linda Ronstadt's collection of traditional songs, covers and Dolly originals. The supergroup reunited in 1994 to record songs that wouldn't be released until 1999, and this fall, a box set will compile nearly all of their collaborative tracks. That includes the two albums you've already heard, plus a bonus disc of unissued tracks and alternate takes that you likely haven't. Due to — among other things — Ronstadt's battle with Parkinson's disease, this is likely the closest we'll get to a Trio 3. Nick Murray

For her first album since 2012, Shawn Colvin revisits the tribute-record concept of Cover Girl, her 1994 album of live-set set staples like the Talking Heads' pensive late-period ballad "This Must Be the Place (Naïve Melody)." But Uncovered is less about live performance than moody reverie, with Colvin lending her dusky voice to standards by Bruce Springsteen, Paul Simon, Stevie Wonder and others. Graham Nash's "I Used to Be a King" is a choice obscurity, and Nash's CSN partner David Crosby sings backup on Gerry Rafferty's "Baker Street" — a song that's a perfect fit for Colvin's weight-of-the-world croon. And for the perfect closing note, Uncovered ends with "'Till I Get It Right," a 1973 hit for Tammy Wynette. Colvin will be on the road throughout the fall as opening act for Don Henley. David Menconi

When we last left the denizens of Nashville, Will had come out of the closet via a press conference, Layla had caught on to the antics of worst-boyfriend/manager-ever Jeff,  corrupt mayor Teddy was led off in handcuffs, and Juliette was tossing both her snow globe and her record contract with Rayna and marching her high-heeled self right over to Luke's tragically named Wheelin' Dealin' Records. Plus, Rayna and Deacon exchanged vows (albeit unofficially) in the hospital as he headed into surgery. Cut to a montage that includes someone (hopefully Deacon's dreadful sister and not him) flatlining in the O.R.  So, in other words, the first episode of the new season has a lot of explaining to do. Melinda Newman

While many country stars take up residence in the relatively sleepy town of Franklin, Tennessee, it's never exactly been known as a thriving musical center despite its relative proximity to Nashville's Music Row. The Pilgrimage Festival, founded by Better Than Ezra's Kevin Griffin (who lives in — you guessed it — Franklin) is set to change that on September 26th and 27th, when it transforms a local farm into a two-day all-star gathering, featuring sets from Wilco, Sheryl Crow, Willie Nelson, Nikki Lane, Dawes, Chris Stapleton, the Decemberists and more. But unlike Bonnaroo — Tennessee's fluorescent flagship fest — there will be no 2:00 a.m. DJ sets or sunrise raves; Pilgrimage is strictly a daytime event, meant to cater to families who want to bring their toddlers, catch the stellar lineup and hope Griffin hops on stage for a "Good" redux. All that and home for bath time. Marissa R. Moss

Corb Lund's breed of country has been simmering comfortably under the mainstream radar for years. Born on the farming fields of Canada, he's a cowboy who makes Alberta seem like the noir version of Hank Williams' Nashville, where northern snow melts to melodic tears and dusty old cabins become weary honky-tonks. For his newest LP, Things That Can't Be Undone, out October 9th, he enlisted ace producer Dave Cobb (Jason Isbell, Chris Stapleton) to infuse some new dynamics into his music: licks of Motown, Nineties rock and Middle Eastern tones all weave their way into songs that often sound one way but mean something else entirely, delivered with a clever, restless wink and a quivery howl. Marissa R.  Moss

Fresh off the release of their debut album Start Here, Maddie & Tae will be hitting the road this fall for a 12-date club tour. By the time it's over, audiences should have no doubt that the future Vocal Duo winners (it's inevitable, really) have more to offer than just the wit and wisdom of "Girl in a Country Song." On stage, Maddie Marlow and Taylor Dye entrance with first-rate harmonies on instant fan favorites like "No Place Like You" and "Downside of Growing Up," and the country newbies already command with the confidence and charisma of an arena headliner, wowing crowds with nuanced covers of Stevie Nicks' "Landslide," Dixie Chicks' "Cowboy Take Me Away" and even Rihanna's "Umbrella." "To write songs that matter is one thing," Marlow says of the upcoming tour, which kicks off October 7th in New York City. "To bring people inside them is another." Jonathan Bernstein

Pop festivals like Bonnaroo and country fests like FarmBorough have at least one thing in common: They both send the Americana acts to a side stage. October 17th and 18th, Raleigh, North Carolina's American Roots and Arts Festival flips the script. Eric Church headlines both nights at the Walnut Creek Amphitheatre, and he's preceded by a roster that includes Willie Nelson, Warren Haynes, Chris Stapleton, Modest Mouse, Sheryl Crow, Grace Potter, Tedeschi Trucks, Edward Sharpe and the Magnetic Zeroes and — why not — the Roots themselves. Nick Murray

Selling out one show at the legendary Ryman Auditorium is a pipe dream for many artists – let alone multiple nights in a row. Jason Isbell and Sturgill Simpson, however, make it look easy: Isbell will dominate in a four-night run on October 23rd-26th (with openers like Chris Stapleton and Hurray for the Riff Raff), while Simpson will make his headlining debut at the venue with a three-evening stand a few days later, from October 30th – November 1st. When Isbell's tickets went on sale in the spring, he hadn't yet released a lick of new music from July's stellar Something More Than Free, and Simpson's groundbreaking 2014 LP Metamodern Sounds in Country Music is well over a year old: a testament to their growing power as timeless talents, not dependent on novelty or quick hits to woo an audience into snatching up countless concert tickets. Marissa R. Moss

"Silver Bell kind of kicked my ass a little bit,” Patty Griffin tells Rolling Stone Country, referring to the 2013 LP she recorded in Daniel Lanois' New Orleans studio. On September 25th, the 51-year-old singer-songwriter moves forward with Servant of Love, an independent release that sets her keen lyrics amid stark instrumentation that demands — and earns — your full attention. "Gunpowder" is as explosive as its title suggests, but "Made of the Sun" is an account of a sunny winter day so lovely that it almost makes us want to skip fall altogether. Nick Murray

On his second solo album, Didn't He Ramble, out September 18th, the Oscar-winning Once co-star and Frames/Swell Season co-leader doesn't ramble so much as murmur. You'll want to lean in and listen because Hansard has seldom sounded this quiet, only rarely raising his voice on these 10 tracks. But lower volume doesn't cut down on the emotionality a bit. Didn't He Ramble evokes a feeling similar to one of Van Morrison's Celtic-soul fever dreams, burnishing the prevailing sense of romantic fatalism with some low-key bravado on the standout track "Winning Streak" (a kissing cousin to Bob Dylan's early-Seventies' chestnut "Forever Young"). Sam Amidon and Iron & Wine's Sam Beam also show up in cameo star turns. David Menconi

In March, the Country Music Hall of Fame announced its class of 2015: the Oak Ridge Boys; late, great sideman Grady Martin; and Jim Ed Brown and the Browns. The Medallion Ceremony  honoring the three inductees at the hall and museum's CMA Theater in October will be a bittersweet one for friends and family of the latter. Just this past June, Jim Ed Brown died at 81. The late Brown — along with his surviving sisters and band mates Maxine and Bonnie – will be inducted in the hall's Veteran Era category. The Oak Ridge Boys, who are still going strong over 60 years of lineup changes, are being inducted in the "Modern Era" category. Martin, a session guitarist who's pickin' can be heard on such classics as Marty Robbins' "El Paso" and Loretta Lynn's "The Coal Miner's Daughter," and who died in 2001 at age 72, is being honored in the Recording and/or Touring Musician category. Hosting a crowd of less than a thousand, the Medallion Ceremony is an intimate affair compared to most red-carpet hooplas in Music City. Each inductee will be honored with a bronze plague and tribute performances. Adam Gold

For his second album under his own name, guitarist extraordinaire Dave Rawlings enlisted players including Punch Brothers bassist Paul Kowert and Old Crow Medicine show alumnus Willie Watson. But as always, Rawlings' most important collaborator remains longtime partner Gillian Welch. Nashville Obsolete is the seventh album Rawlings and Welch have made together, and its September 18th release comes just two days after they'll receive a lifetime songwriting achievement award at the Americana Music Association Awards show in Nashville. While they made a point of recording on old-fashioned analog tape to get the requisite atmosphere, there's nothing old-fashioned about Rawlings' brilliantly idiosyncratic flights of guitar fancy. Nobody gets more emotion out of less volume than he does. The album's centerpiece is its penultimate track, an 11-minute epic called "The Trip" – which it literally is. David Menconi

"Crash and Burn," the lead-off single from 25-year-old Thomas Rhett's forthcoming album Tangled Up (out September 25th), sounds a bit like a guy's answer to Taylor Swift's blockbuster hit "Shake It Off." The singer's 2013 debut, It Goes Like This, scored a handful of charting singles and plenty of country radio airplay, but the question is, will his sophomore release catapult him from rising country star to crossover pop sensation, à la Miss Swift? Well, if the catchy, feel-good melodies and outsized production of Tangled Up tracks like "Vacation" are any indication, he at least has a fighting chance. D. Patrick Rodgers

Helping kick off 2015's Americana Music Festival will be the annual Americana Honors and Awards at Nashville's Mother Church of Country Music, the Ryman Auditorium. Jason Isbell, who took home last year's Artist of the Year trophy, is nominated in that category once more, but in breakout trad-country songster Sturgill Simpson — who won Emerging Artist of the Year in 2014 and is still cruising on the strength of last year's Metamodern Sounds in Country Music — and established artists Lucinda Williams and Lee Ann Womack, he'll have some stiff competition. Also tough to call is this year's Emerging Artist category, where Swedish sister act First Aid Kit will duke it out against fellow young performers Shakey Graves, Nikki Lane and Houndmouth, as well as Doug Seegers, a formerly homeless singer-songwriter who released his debut record Going Down to the River last year at the age of 62. Hosted by the always charming Jim Lauderdale and featuring a house band led by the acclaimed Buddy Miller, the ceremony will also feature a slew of performances from many of the night's nominees. D. Patrick Rodgers

Country music's most successful group reunited in 2011 following a seven-year hiatus. A tribute album in 2013 featured two new songs by the band, but Southern Drawl, out September 15th, is Alabama's first full country album since 2001's When It All Goes South (the band released a gospel album last year). If songs such as the upcoming LP's first single, mid-tempo ballad "Wasn't Through Lovin' You Yet," and the gentle, longing "Come Find Me" featuring Alison Krauss, are any indication, Randy Owen, Teddy Gentry and Jeff Cook haven't missed a step. There's a reason Alabama has sold more than 46 million albums — and now a new generation will found out why. Melinda Newman

"Aw Naw" might have pushed this Tennessee native just past the borderline of bro-territory, but a good look at his catalog shows a true reverence for country music's roots. And with a voice like his, that's pretty inevitable. When Young sings hits such as the heartfelt "Who I Am With You" and "Voices," he sounds like the long lost vocal spawn of George Jones. He'll take that deep baritone on the road this fall for his 'I'm Comin' Over' tour, which kicks off October 22nd in Savannah, Georgia. The trek is the namesake of the singer's new album, due November 13th, which has already spawned a hit with the rapidly-climbing (and seriously sexy) title track. Added bonuses to the tour stops are guitar virtuoso Clare Dunn and Grammy-nominated singer-songwriter Eric Paslay.