Kashus Culpepper Announces Debut Album
Well it’s about time. Since the summer of 2024, Big Loud Records has been releasing singles on Kashus Culpepper until there’s now about a dozen of them out there, building an appetite for his tunes that find a sweet spot between country, soul, blues, folk and rock, all served with smart songwriting and a soulful voice. Kashus is like a heavyweight champion, throwing out songs like haymakers.
But we’ve been wondering for a while now when a proper album from Kashus would hit shelves as opposed to just a trickle of singles. That will finally happen on January 23rd, 2026 when Big Loud releases Act I—Culpepper’s official debut album. “Creating music has been the greatest joy of my life,” says Kashus. “What a magical thing it is. My debut album ‘Act I’ serves as a beginning of that journey.”
Those dozen already-released singles will make up the lion’s share of the album, including Culpepper’s collaborations with Sierra Ferrell on the Willie Nelson-sounding “Broken Wing Bird,” and the Muscle Shoals-inspired “Southern Man” with Marcus King. But there will be six new songs on the albums as well. Everything is co-written by Culpepper himself.
Speaking of Muscle Shoals, that’s where these songs were recorded with producer Brian Elmquist, known best for being a member of The Lone Bellow. Notable co-writers on the album include Elmquist, Brent Cobb, Natalie Hemby, and Anderson East. You can expect a lot of soul and vintage R&B influences on this album, but there will also be enough country elements to endear it to a redneck’s heart, with appearances by banjo, steel guitar, and fiddle.
Elton John might have said it best when he claimed that Culpepper sounds like “if Bill Withers made country music.” Kashus grew up singing Gospel in his local church since he was five. He then worked as a firefighter before joining the United States Navy where he picked up the guitar during the pandemic while stationed in Spain, and started writing songs to make it through tough times. He cites Leadbelly, Hank Williams, Brenda Lee, Etta James, Chris Stapleton, and Otis Redding as influences.
TRACK LIST:
1. Intro (Kashus Culpepper, Jordan Dozzi, Jacob Durrett)
2. Southern Man (feat. Marcus King) (Kashus Culpepper, Bear Rinehart)
3. Alabama Beauty Queen (Kashus Culpepper, Luke Preston, Diego Urias)
4. Woman (Kashus Culpepper, Anderson East)
5. Break Me Like (Kashus Culpepper, Grady Block, Hank Compton)
6. Believe(Kashus Culpepper, Foy Vance)
7. Stay (Kashus Culpepper, Jordan Dozzi, Jacob Durrett)
8. Mean To Me (Kashus Culpepper, Oscar Charles, Diego Urias, Matt Warren)
9. Broken Wing Bird (feat. Sierra Ferrell) (Kashus Culpepper, Brian Elmquist)
10. Better Weather (Kashus Culpepper, Luke Preston)
11. That’s The Feeling (Kashus Culpepper, Brian Elmquist)
12. Man Of His Word (Kashus Culpepper, Natalie Hemby)
13. In Her Eyes (Kashus Culpepper, Brent Cobb, Oscar Charles)
14. Is It True (Kashus Culpepper, Rhett Akins, Rocky Block)
15. After Me? (Kashus Culpepper, Mark Addison Chandler)
16. Out Of My Mind (Kashus Culpepper, Brian Elmquist)
17. House On A Hill (Kashus Culpepper, Rhett Akins, Jimi Bell)
18. Cherry Rose (Kashus Culpepper, Mikky Ekko, Brian Elmquist)
October 25, 2025 @ 9:16 am
I saw him open for Whiskey Myers this summer. He was incredible! He did a cover of Can’t You See that blew me away!
October 25, 2025 @ 9:21 am
Of the very few sets I didn’t catch at Windy City smokeout, this is the one I regret missing (didn’t regret skipping Bailey Zimmerman). It was just too early in the day to get there (by public bus).
October 25, 2025 @ 9:41 am
Love that Elton John quote. Can’t wait for this album!
October 25, 2025 @ 10:31 am
If that’s not a Mt. Rushmore of influences then I don’t know what is.
October 25, 2025 @ 11:06 am
Wonderful news! Every single that Kashus has released since the summer of 2024 is a gem. Can’t wait for this one!
October 25, 2025 @ 12:04 pm
Finally! For me he is one of the most outstanding artists who emerged around 2024. The songs he has released so far are really excellent and he already has his own unique style.
Of the outstanding new artists, the only missing debut albums left are the ones by Noeline Hofmann and the Castellows. Hopefully they’ll release their proper full length debuts in the foreseeable future.