After eight years of silence, Paul McDonald has reemerged, not with polish, but with purpose.
The Alabama-born singer-songwriter who once charmed American Idol audiences with his gravel-coated vocals and signature Southern swagger makes a thunderous return with So Long to the Dark Side. A full-length testament to heartbreak, healing, and hard-won hope. This is not just another Americana record; it’s the kind of album you don’t write unless you’ve been through hell and made the long walk back.
“The last time I put out a full record was in 2018,” McDonald shares. “Since then, I wrote and recorded more music than I care to admit… whole albums, multiple times over, only to shelve them all.” After pouring his soul into chasing a sound that kept slipping through his fingers, McDonald found himself creatively exhausted and unsure if music was still his calling. So Long to the Dark Side is the sound of him finding his way back.
And it shows. There’s a rawness pulsing through every track that feels earned, not engineered. Opener “Dark Side” sets the tone with a gospel-tinged urgency, the kind of song that kicks up dust in your chest. You can almost hear the weight he’s carrying, and the light he’s chasing. That tension continues throughout the record, teetering between cosmic Americana and Southern soul.
“Rosemarie” shimmers with nostalgia, a smoky ballad about a love that lingers just a little too long. “Unwind” offers a gentler reprieve, like the first deep breath after a long stretch underwater. An ode to letting go of the hustle and leaning into grace. But it’s “What’s the Point?” that cuts deepest: a philosophical spiral into life’s meaning, anchored by the simplest and most profound answer: love.
Throughout the album, McDonald doesn’t shy away from the darkness, but he never lets it win. “Stardust” and “Star of the Morning” flirt with celestial themes, while “Forgiveness” dives into the messier parts of being human and trying to let go. On “Never Coming Down” and “Higher Power”, McDonald reaches for something bigger. Maybe faith, maybe clarity, maybe just solid ground. He closes things out with “Good Time,” a rollicking, full-circle celebration of the now. It’s not naive joy, it’s earned joy.
Though Paul McDonald once dabbled in shiny LA pop during a public-facing relationship with actress Nikki Reed, So Long to the Dark Side is a return to his roots. To the dive bars of the Southeast, to the soul-soaked storytelling of Petty and Parsons, to a sound that doesn’t chase trends, but reverberates with truth. With his band The Mourning Doves, McDonald has rebuilt his musical foundation in Nashville, not as a comeback, but as a continuation. His annual One Big Love festival has become a quiet fixture in the community, and his live shows are part revival, part rock séance. A full-body reminder that this man was never gone, just rebuilding.
So Long to the Dark Side is imperfect in the best way: raw, human, and gloriously alive. And just like the publication you’re reading this on, it knows that imperfection is the most honest form of art.
From the heart of Nashville, Grammy-nominated bluegrass band Sister Sadie returns with their fourth studio album, All Will Be Well. A sweeping, genre-blurring body of work that reaffirms their place not only as instrumental powerhouses but as storytellers rooted deeply in resilience, community, and emotional truth.
Out now via Mountain Home Music Company, All Will Be Well arrives on the heels of a triumphant award season for the group. With co-founder Deanie Richardson earning Fiddle Player of the Year and guitarist Jaelee Roberts taking home Female Vocalist of the Year at the 2024 International Bluegrass Music Association awards. The band itself, which formed in 2012 after a one-off performance at Nashville’s Station Inn, has long defied the limits of genre and gender in bluegrass, having been crowned IBMA’s Entertainer of the Year in 2020 and Vocal Group of the Year for three consecutive years prior.
What makes All Will Be Well especially poignant is its emotional and stylistic breadth. From the first notes of “Winnebago” to the soulful closer “Can’t Let Go of Your Love”, Sister Sadie pulls from a palette that fuses 90s country nostalgia with classic bluegrass instrumentation. Guitarist and vocalist Dani Flowers, who co-wrote over half the album, describes it best: “From the studio to the stage, the songs from this record have brought us back to life and connected us to each other in brand new ways.”
One of the most arresting tracks, “Let the Circle Be Broken”, tackles generational trauma and domestic abuse with raw honesty. It’s an exorcism wrapped in harmony, somber and unrelenting, yet ultimately redemptive. This willingness to marry vulnerability with musical precision is Sister Sadie’s signature, and it’s on full display throughout the album.
The band also invited a stellar lineup of collaborators to join the journey. Steve Earle lends harmony on “I Wish It Would Rain”, while legends like Russ Pahl (pedal steel), Catherine Marx (keys), and Dave Racine (drums) elevate the record’s sonic landscape. With these contributions and performances from musicians like Seth Taylor and Mary Meyer, each track is layered with texture, intention, and deep musical kinship.
Standouts like “Make Me Stay or Make Me Go” and “The Devil Don’t Care” offer blistering instrumentation and bold vocal performances. “Orphan Train” and “Prodigal Daughter” lean into narrative balladry, while “This Is Me (You’re Not Talking To)” feels like a line in the sand. Through it all, the band’s vocal chemistry remains unshakable, each harmony feeling earned and essential.
It is a damn good record. But more than that, it’s a generous one. The kind that opens its arms to long-time fans and newcomers alike. Whether you come for the bluegrass chops, the country soul, or the stories that settle in your bones, All Will Be Well is a celebration of Sister Sadie’s evolution. Because in their world, harmony isn’t just a sound. It’s a promise.
From the very first slow chords of “Little Miss Raincloud”, you can tell that The Brookses have concocted something undeniably alluring with their debut EP Lucky Charm. An Atlanta-based father/daughter country/Americana duo, there is a certain magnetism about them that you can find in each of the twelve tracks on their new release. While songs like “Over Again”, “Evening Star”, and “Victrola” have some pep to their step, there is an overarching feeling of melancholy that encases the entire album.
But that’s the true beauty of it all. Meg and James Brooks have found a way to weave heavy lyrics into gorgeous backdrops, electrifying the project with instrumental layers and a feeling of coming home. It’s almost as though this album could only have been made in this serene and balanced way by a family band, and we’re thrilled to hear the release in its entirety as it was meant to be experienced.
Tracked live in one room at Standard Electric Recording Company with producer Damon Moon (Blair Crimmins, Big Brutus, Sydney Eloise & the Palms), Lucky Charm is an absolute masterpiece. Hold this one in your pocket for a while. If you aren’t drawn in already, you will be.
On April 5th, David Quinn releases his first full-length, an incredible collection titled Wanderin’ Fool. While we wait with bated breath for its arrival (soon!), his latest release – “Cryin’ Shame” – is a simplified, bluesy, country track that will leave you absolutely reeling. Admits Quinn of the track: “‘Cryin’ Shame’ is one of the older songs I wrote on this record but I always come back to it. It is really about falling for a wild woman, which I know from experience, and how quickly it all goes downhill.”
Though it premiered in February with the album announcement, the song has lingered in our minds as one of the best to welcome spring with. After all, aren’t we all wild women? 😉
Following up on his album Home, singer-songwriter Nathan Evans Fox has released his new album Texas Dust. The Atlanta based singer has a penchant for folk, and is bringing his country roots to his latest work. A North Carolina native, Nathan was immersed in the sounds of folk, bluegrass, rock, and country at a young age. He is also well versed with a range of musical instruments such as the fiddle and the guitar. Texas Dust displays all the talents of Fox’s songwriting, instrumentation, and musical inspirations from his hometown.
A natural storyteller, Nathan’s lyrics tell the tale of his difficulty with religion and heritage growing up. The album is composed of eleven tracks, including the album’s title track “Texas Dust.” Out of those eleven tracks, my personal favorites are “Texas Dust,” “Saint Louis,” and “Great Sky.” A bittersweet ballad to a lost love in Texas, “Texas Dust” tells the story of Nathan’s grandfather- a Southern migrant worker turned Army Sergeant who eventually left the military following the death of his young daughter. The opening line sparks personal and political controversy saying “I was raised by violent men- drinking daddy and Uncle Sam.” The chorus keeps its foreboding tone, “I can’t change all my ways, can’t change the laws of grief—back when I was 21, I was Texas Dust and you were Tennessee.”
“Texas Dust” encompasses the salty and sweet of folk, while staying personal. “Saint Louis,” a wanderlust track, discusses all the places Nathan plans to go across the USA. “It’s been a full year in Saint Louis and we still ain’t getting used to it,” sings Fox. With the Midwest blues, Fox goes on “Now I’m dreaming about that boat taking me where I want to be.” “Saint Louis” holds a feeling of hope and longing, even though Nathan is stuck there. To me, “Great Sky” is perhaps the most uplifting track on Texas Dust. With talks of starting new, Fox sings “What more do I seek from this Heaven upon me?” Fox is looking to turn a spiritual new leaf. While those three tracks remain my favorite, Texas Dust has a little bit of something for everyone- even if you are not one for folk, Nathan’s lyrical talent alone will blow you away.
