Including emerging and established talents alongside each other, Keepin’ It Country, Vol. One includes contributions by: Wyatt Hull, Angelica Cassidy, Harrison Country, Sohayla Smith, Bryan Joon, the phenomenal Richard Lynch, Todd Barrow, R.W. “Ray William” Roldan, Bill Abernathy, Steve Bonham and The Long Road, Almost An Artist, Frank Milgiorelli and The Dirt Nappers, Chakra Bleu, Hunter and the Wick’d, Billy Ray Deiz, Kate Magdalena and Natalie Jean.
If you need an eclectic mix of country and Americana music, Keepin’ It Country has just what you’re looking for. Allow me to introduce you to each of the featured artists.
Wyatt Hull is an Americana singer/songwriter from the Central Coast of California. Originally from Kansas, he implements his backwoods roots into a unique California country-rock sound. Hull was a writer for “Breaking Bad”.
Frank Migliorelli & The Dirt Nappers are an established roots-rock band recognized as, “undoubtedly talented musicians who write classic, timeless songs flavored with pop, rock and roots that you’ll want to listen on repeat”.
Sohayla Smith won the 2018 Clouzine International Music Award for “Best Country Recording” with her song “Burn it to the Ground” and her band was nominated for a 2017 TIMA for “Best Country.” The list of awards and accolades is longer than this, but you get the point!
Hunter and the Wick’d are a SoCal based Americana duo who have been building their audience by performing throughout California, Nevada and the Southwest.
Angelica Cassidy has been in entertainment since she was a child. With a very impressive resume including work in film, television and theater, she is also a recording artist and producer who has worked on country, rock, pop, R&B, soul and Hip Hop albums.
Harrison Country, based in Maryland, is an Americana group made up of Don, Karen and Amy Harrison, Jennie Harrison Young and Lexi White who are backed by top class musicians Bryan and Aidan Ewald, Josh Chapman, Larry Byrne, Brad Kimes and Brandon Bartlett. The group has charted on National Indie Radio and Independent Music Network’s country segment.
RW “Ray William” Roldan has seen quite a bit of success as a member of other bands and projects. He has also seen his songs featured on compilations with more well known names such as Tim McGraw, Billy Yates and The Bellamy Brothers as well as performing with an equally impressive list of highly talented musicians. His songs have been nominated for many “Song of the Year” awards during his time releasing music.
Bill Abernathy, a Kansas City, Missouri native, has seen quite an impressive career as a singer/songwriter since beginning the journey as a teenager. His music has made its way onto Roots Music Report’s Traditional Folk Albums chart, the Traditional Folk Songs chart as well as many other airplay charts for his genre.
Almost An Artist balances his time between Toronto and NYC working as a film composer, recording artist and multi-instrumentalist. His work as a film composer has been featured on several award-winning films.
Steve Bonham and The Long Road have seen their songs receive radio airplay in 40+ countries. Appealing to the outlaw inside each of us, the band is performing at several big festivals this year on top of receiving acclaim from Maverick Country and Rock n’ Roots.
Billy Ray Deiz is an award winning songwriter with quite an amazing career behind him, an equally impressive song catalog, and a growing list of accolades which include multiple awards or nominations for songs such as “Rather Have Sooner”, “Carolina Blue” and “Daddy’s Comin Home”. Billy was part of The Seven Souls which was one of LA’s preeminent soul groups during the 60s and 70s.
Kate Magdalena is a recording artist and songwriter from San Francisco. She wrote “Streets of Any Town” in response to a conversation with a homeless man on Nashville’s honky-tonk street, Broadway. The song is this man’s story, but it is also the larger story of men and women across America living on the streets.
Natalie Jean is internationally acclaimed, has won many awards, been nominated for even more and is a voting member of the GRAMMY’s. Writing in multiple genres and singing in multiple languages (Spanish, English, French, Creole), it’s no surprise several of her awards/nominations include Best Vocalist and Best Songwriter nods. Her list of accolades and awards is too lengthy to list here.
Bryan Joon is a versatile creative talent whose songwriting spans the genres of country, R&B, soul, pop and blues. A native to South Korea, Bryan’s family came to the States while he was still a baby. He began studying music and theory at a young age. His self-titled debut album released on his birthday (February 24th). Is the December 2016 Winner of the Coast2Coast Connections Edition.
Chakra Bleu‘s Americana founded style also mixes elements of country, pop-rock, R&B and reggae. Her catalog includes 9 album releases (to date). The songs on these albums have seen their fair share of chart placements and radio airplay. Her list of accomplishments is way too long to be mentioned in this article.
Richard Lynch is a 2019 Ohio Country Music Hall of Fame Inductee and an alumnus to these pages. We have been covering Richard’s releases for years at this point and, obviously, fully support his music and his career as a songwriter and creative talent.
Todd Barrow has such an impressive list of accolades and accomplishments I am just going to tell you to go read his bio. Seriously, it will make you say, “WOW!”
You can find Keepin’ It Country, Vol. One on CD Baby.
Learn more about each artist on BWH’s website.
