July 11th, 2025 is a HUGE Release Day. Here’s Your Guide

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Tami Neilson, Joe Stamm, Brent Cobb, Tanner Usrey


July 11th is an especially packed release day in country and roots music. And even though there might be any huge, arena-filling names on this list, there are a lot of top-level, critically-acclaimed names on it, and highly-anticipated projects that all deserve to be paid attention to. So in hopes nothing gets overlooked that might appeal to you, here’s your guide to help you navigate the release day.

Brent Cobb – Ain’t Rocked in a While 

Brent Cobb is the smooth pimp back porch swing and sweet tea Southern easy breeze for your ears every time his music tickles the air. It’s hard to get incensed about much when Brent Cobb is serving audio refreshments. But as Saving Country Music recently observed when seeing Cobb perform earlier this year, “You put Brent Cobb on a big stage with an electric band behind him, and that quiet, slow talking, easy going Georgia gentleman turns into a full-tilt Southern rocker cooking with grease.”

On cue, Brent Cobb has announced his new album Ain’t Rocked in a While saying, “I feel like sometimes when people come to our shows, there might be a disconnect. People might view me as just a singer-songwriter. You know, sit down and tell ‘em a nice, little Southern story. Sing ‘em a song. And our live show kinda rocks. Sometimes people are taken aback. I want people to have an album of reference.” (read more)

Joe Stamm Band – Little Crosses 

It’s hard to not slip into hyperbole when speaking about the impact of the Joe Stamm Band and their songs on the exclusive but very strong subset of country fans who’ve discovered this band. With an eerie consistency, Joe Stamm releases songs that touch so much deeper than the rest of music and arrest you’re emotions. You can expect nothing less on the upcoming Little Crosses.

Producing the album will be Al Torrence, also known as the guitar player and right hand man for Charles Wesley Godwin and the Allegheny High. If you’ll recall, Joe Stamm collaborated with the band on a 4-song EP in 2024 that was stellar. This is a 2025 release you don’t want to miss.

Tami Neilson – Neon Cowgirl 

The Canadian-born, New Zealand-based country soul R&B old school rockabilly powerhouse known as Tami Neilson is back with another installment in her inspiring career, this time chronicling a trip she took with her family across the United States on tour after dealing with terrible health issues, including a battle with sepsis that landed her in the hospital.

“I collected the seeds for these songs in each place along the way,” Neilson says. “When they blossomed, there were crossbreeds of Presley and Patsy, Orbison and kd lang- the blues of Memphis, the twang of Texas, the cinematic torch of Judy Garland on a Hollywood soundstage. But, mostly, it became a love letter to my Neon Cowgirl. Or, more accurately, a lovelorn letter. Because she’ll just keep on breaking a foolish heart if you let her.”

Tanner Usrey – These Days

Tanner Usrey is already a rising power in roots music with a killer live show bolstered by classic rock power and a kick ass band. Few if any have as much soul and power behind their voice, and if anyone’s poised for a big breakout moment, it’s Usrey. What better moment for that to happen than the release of a Dave Cobb-produced album recorded at Historic Studio A, as well as Cobb’s place in Savannah, GA.

“Ever since I started recording music, I’ve wanted to make a record with Dave Cobb,” says Usrey. “He’s done some of my favorite albums by huge influences of mine like Whiskey Myers, Chris Stapleton, and of course Jason Isbell. Getting to see how Dave’s mind works and building this album with him was such a great experience, to say the least. I think this album captures the sound that I’ve been going for since I started, and really pushes my voice in a way that I haven’t before, which makes the band and I that much more excited to play it live.”

Ketch Secor – Story The Crow Told Me

The frontman for Old Crow Medicine Show has now been in Nashville for a quarter century. Don’t worry, he’s not going solo to break up the band that among other accolades, are Grand Ole Opry members. But he did want to get away from the restrictive nature of the string band for a bit to tell some more personal stories … twelve to be exact. It comes with cameos from Old Crow alums Critter Fuqua and Willie Watson, along with Molly Tuttle and Marty Stuart.

“There are a lot of things happening at this point in my life that are causing me to be more retrospective,” he explains. “I’ve been in the game a long time. I do enjoy looking forward, but old-timey music is about simultaneously looking forward and backward at the same time. That’s why it’s a regressive art. You go back with it, but that’s where the strength is. The challenge is to carry the substance of the past into the present.”

Eli West – The Shape of a Sway

Those plugged into the country and roots scene on the West Coast probably don’t need to be convinced that a new album from Eli West is worth paying attention to. Long appreciated from his collaborations with Cahalen Morrison, he finds a perfect nexus between old-time, bluegrass, and country, with only the sweetest tones and melodies folded into original songs. The multi-instrumentalist makes a pleasant sound, but the words are willing to go to places both bruised and warm.

Eli West says his new album The Shape of a Sway, “is an honest inventory of my life, possibly all our lives, presented with enough abstraction that listeners will see something of themselves, of their lives.” Along with six originals are multiple covers, including a version of Paul Simon’s “Hearts and Bones.”

The Wildmans – Longtime Friend

Folks who’ve stumbled upon the brother/sister harmonies of Aila and Elisha Wildman often find themselves strongly compelled and apt to sing their praises. Originally from the outskirts of Floyd, Virginia in the Blue Ridge Mountains where old-time, bluegrass, and mountain music still ring true, their debut single on New West Records called “Take Me” took listeners on a pleasant journey, and have them anticipating the album Longtime Friend.

Aila Wildman says, “With ‘Longtime Friend,’ we’ve naturally progressed under the indie-folk umbrella. But, we still are doing old-time tunes, which ties us to our roots and how we grew up. Bluegrass and old-time is something natural to our musicianship. The other natural counterpart of that is growing it and taking it in different directions, which is something that’s always naturally happened in that music, anyways.”

Benjamin Dakota Rogers – This Ol’ Way

Raw and gritty by nature, but also dedicated and refined in his purpose, Ontario, Canada’s Benjamin Dakota Rogers has a knack for capturing human emotions in words like moths in a net, and then letting the flutters fill the souls of listeners with authentic expressions. With conviction in his voice and purpose to his songs, he presents This Ol’ Way with 10 new original songs, and one written by Fred Eaglesmith.

“Mixing by Mike Darolfi and mastering by Kristian Montano give the album its refined edge, enhancing its raw energy without sacrificing its adventurous spirit,” says a press blurb. “‘This Ol’ Way’ is a must-spin for fans of Tyler Childers, Colter Wall, and the outlaw spirit of country past. Gritty, haunting, and undeniably authentic, this album is Benjamin Dakota Rogers at his finest.”

Coltt Winter Lepley – Self-Titled EP

You might not recognize the name of this Western Pennsylvania songwriter who considers himself just as much a folklorist as a musician. But he’s already been playing some 180 shows a year, and for his first crack at recording and releasing music, roped in members of Charles Wesley Godwin’s backing band The Allegheny High as a studio crew, and had it produced by Godwin’s well-known guitarist All Torrence. That should tell you to take this debut EP seriously.

“The entirety of the album was born from Western Pennsylvania including every aspect of the songs and every musician who played on it. I’m proud of that,” says Lepley. “I don’t want to be anyone but the best Coltt Winter Lepley I can be. But I am a product of the songs, poems, and novels I’ve become obsessed with.”

Karissa Ella – Growing Wings EP

When on the search for country music that is traditional, but also sensible and accessible so it can build a bridge between traditional and contemporary fans, as well as independent and mainstream ones, Karissa Ella fits the mold, delivering emotional-laden songs with traditional underpinning that also a very accessible.

The EP is led by the single “Hall of Fame,” which Ella says, “I wrote it to honor the kind of people who never ask for recognition but deserve all of it. These are the blue-collar heroes who built their towns with calloused hands and hearts full of pride. In this song, I reflect on what my hometown used to be and how it’s changed over time—but also how the best parts have stayed the same because of the people who made it what it is.”


Bob Lefevre & the Already Gone – In Tongues -For his third album, Bob Lefevre says it’s a “L’il bit more country. L’il bit more sad.”

J Isaiah Evans and The Boss Tweed – Americana Radio – Blues and soul with a little bit of rock ‘n roll, and maybe just a little bit of country on this Americana album.

Jack Shields – Cherry Pick The Past – Rock, Americana

Murry Hammond – Songs Of The Deep (solo album from the bass player of the Old 97s)

Danno Simpson – The Kill Joy

Jake Owen – Dreams To Dream

Bryan Ruby – Growing Season EP

Pat Hatt – Self-Titled EP (rock, alt-country)

Alyssa Flaherty – Heartbreak, Thank You EP

(7-15) Tim Turophile – One More Last Chance

(7-15) The McCrary Sisters – Love Is The Only Key (Gospel roots)

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