Brent Cobb follows in the footsteps of his country music heroes with his new gospel album, And Now, Let's Turn to Page.... By offering eight familiar hymns alongside an original song written with his wife, the collection feels reverent as well as rowdy -- and completely in his comfort zone. Brent cites a near-death experience as the push he needed to finally make And Now, Let's Turn to Page.... In July 2020, the vehicle he was driving, with his young son inside, got T-boned at a rural four-way stop. That crash made him think about everything that led up to that moment -- the fact that he didn't have his daughter with him because his mother offered to watch her, or that he took a different way to his parents' house that day, or that he had to turn around and get something he'd forgotten in the house before heading out. "You just start piecing together how everything is sort of intentional," he says. "And again, I'd always had it in the back of my mind to make a gospel album. That moment of clarity, of almost getting killed, made me think I should just make the gospel album now." Produced by Dave Cobb in RCA Studio A in Nashville, And Now, Let's Turn to Page... continues a tradition established by legends such as Jerry Lee Lewis, Willie Nelson, and Elvis Presley, who could invoke their spiritual side without losing sight of their musical foundation. "I've always wanted to make a southern gospel album because it's what I come from, but also it used to seem like a rite of passage for country singers to make a gospel album," Brent says. "It all comes from gospel music. That's where country music came from. I'm just trying to carry that torch." Because Dave and Brent are cousins, there's an inherent family feeling that runs throughout these nine songs. In a literal sense, with Brent's parents and sister joining him in the studio for the first time on this heartfelt project. And also in a more symbolic manner, with Brent singing the same hymns passed down through generations of Cobb ancestors. His grandfather, whose loud singing voice still resonates in the family's memory, led the congregation singing at the Antioch Baptist Church in Ellaville, GA until he passed on that role to his Brent's father. Brent's aunts and uncles remain actively involved in the congregation, too. Born and raised in Georgia, Brent returned to his home state a few years ago after establishing a career as one of Nashville's most creative and compelling songwriters. He explains that he considers each of his past albums like a message to his kids: Keep 'Em on They Toes explores his thoughts, Providence Canyon describes the people who influenced his life, and the Grammy-nominated Shine on Rainy Day reveals who he is. For the gospel album, he adds, "this is what I believe in." "I grew up around all of this music through my dad's gospel group," he says, "and it made me learn how to appreciate it. I grew up with rock 'n' roll and my dad's band and country music. Anything that you experience in life is going to influence who you become and who you are, so it doesn't feel like I'm changing it up on this album. It's like, this is all one thing." From the openings bars of "Just a Closer Walk With Thee," a listener is invited to a place where Jesus is found at the side of a sinner. Rather than feeling like a sermon, it's a moment of encouragement where Brent's authenticity in the gospel field is unmistakable. Following that hymn, "When It's My Time" (written with his wife, Layne Cobb, and Mike Harmeier of Mike and the Moonpies) serves as a mission statement for making the most of our years on Earth -- and for living life the way you want to. He sings, "When it's my time, I'm gonna go / There is no reason for me to stay / I did all the dancing that could have been done / I would have been gone anyway." Those listeners raised in the church will instantly recognize the titles -- and almost certainly the indelible melodies -- of "In the Garden" and "Softly and Tenderly." Meanwhile, the undeniable groove and powerful vocals on "Are You Washed in the Blood" wouldn't feel out of place at a revival. In contrast, "Old Rugged Cross" lends a somber air as a simple acoustic arrangement subtly expands to include a gospel choir, steel guitar, and church organ. Adding to the sense of community, rising country artist Caylee Hammack -- who also grew up in Ellaville -- harmonizes on four of the songs. Throughout And Now, Let's Turn to Page... Brent's rich baritone keeps the album focused, though never stiff. Not unlike an altar call, the mood elevates on "We Shall Rise," a rambunctious tune that would fit neatly into his setlist. A testimony of fellowship is found in the bluegrass gospel staple, "Old Country Church," which features his father Patrick Cobb's gospel group, Antioch. In a brief benediction of "Blessed Be the Tie That Binds," he's surrounded by the people that matter the most, including his wife, mother, father and younger sister. And as their harmonies fade, it's abundantly clear that Brent is more than capable of extending this sacred country music tradition. "I know what matters to me and what I think I should focus on for my own life, but it might be different for somebody else," he concludes. "I don't know a whole lot about anything, but I know that it matters to me to incorporate the way that it all makes me feel, and to try to translate that to other people. And that's what all of this is -- my family, gospel music, and the church. All of it."

Solo artist. Frontman. Behind-the-scenes songwriter. For more than a decade, Adam Hood has left his mark both onstage and in the writing room, carving out a southern sound that mixes equal parts country, soul and American roots music. It's a sound that began shape in Opelika, Alabama. Raised by working-class parents, Hood started playing hometown shows as a 16 year-old, landing a weekly residency at a local restaurant. He'd perform there every Friday and Saturday night, filling his set list with songs by John Hiatt, Hank Williams Jr, and Vince Gill. As the years progressed, the gigs continued — not only in his home state, but across the entire country. Eventually even landing himself a three-year nationwide tour opening for Leon Russell. These days, though, Hood is no longer just putting his own stamp on the songs of chart-topping country stars. Instead, many of those acts -- including Little Big Town, Miranda Lambert, Anderson East, Josh Abbott Band, Lee Ann Womack & Brent Cobb -- are playing his songs. In 2016, Hood signed a publishing deal with Warner/Chappell Nashville and GRAMMY Award-winning producer Dave Cobb’s Low Country Sound. All while remaining adamantly focused on his own career, playing around 100 shows annually promoting third solo release, Welcome to the Big World, and now his newest release, Somewhere in Between. A showcase for both his frontman abilities and songwriting chops, Somewhere in Between shines a light on Hood's strength as a live performer. He recorded most of the album live at Nashville's Sound Emporium Studios over two quick days. Teaming up with friend and producer Oran Thornton (Miranda Lambert's Revolution, Angaleena Presley's Wrangled) their goal was to create something that reflected the raw, real sound of his concerts, where overdubs and unlimited takes are never an option. The result is a record that reflects Hood's working-class roots, mixing the upbeat thrill of his roadhouse roots-rock songs with the contemplative, stripped-down sway of his country ballads. Joining him in the studio were guitarist Pat McLaughlin, bassist Lex Price, and drummer Jerry Roe. All of whom captured their parts in just a handful of live takes while Hood simultaneously tracked his vocals. Stripped free of studio trickery and lushly layered arrangements, Somewhere in Between is an honest, story-driven record. One that’s both relatable and deeply autobiographical, with Hood writing or co-writing ten of the record’s eleven tracks, alongside friends like McLaughlin, Brent Cobb -- who also appears on the electrified "She Don't Love Me" -- Josh Abbott, Jason Eady, and plenty of others. Somewhere in Between is an album that finally finds Hood telling his own story. A dedicated family man, he wrote "Locomotive" — a heartland anthem, full of Telecaster twang and sunny swagger — after watching his young daughter develop her motor skills while playing with a set of blocks. Balancing his life as a relentless road-warrior, Hood penned highway ballad "Downturn" about a life filled with wanderlust and long drives from gig to gig. As a blue-collar songwriter, Hood shines a light on everyday experiences — from family and friends to the thrill of Friday nights. Partly because he’s stuck to his roots. The native Alabaman still lives in the Yellowhammer State and celebrates America's rural pockets with songs like "Keeping Me Here" and "Real Small Town," two songs filled with images of main streets, open landscapes, hard times, and good people. "It's southern music," he says, grouping Somewhere in Between’s wide range of music under an appropriate banner. "That's what it represents: the soulful side of southern music, the country side of southern music, the genuineness of southern culture, and the way I grew up. One of the t-shirts I sell at every show simply says ‘Southern Songs,’ and It's a good summary of what I do. It's what I've always done."

Like many great Southern storytellers, singer-songwriter Tyler Childers has fallen in love with a place. The people, landmarks and legendary moments from his childhood home of Lawrence County, Kentucky, populate the 10 songs in his formidable debut, Purgatory, an album that's simultaneously modern and as ancient as the Appalachian Mountains in which events unfold. The album, co-produced by Grammy Award winners Sturgill Simpson and David Ferguson, is a semiautobiographical sketch of Childers' growth from wayward youth to happily married man, told in the tradition of a Southern gothic novel with a classic noir antihero who may just be irredeemable. Purgatory is a chiaroscuro painting with darkness framing light in high relief. There's catharsis and redemption. Sin and temptation. Murder and deceit. Demons and angels. Moonshine and cocaine. So much moonshine and cocaine. All played out on the large, colorful canvas of Eastern Kentucky. Childers had been searching for a certain sound for his debut album for years as he honed his craft, and was finding it elusive when his friend, drummer Miles Miller, introduced him to Simpson, the Grammy Award-winning musician and fellow Kentuckian. Childers sent Simpson a group of his songs, then went to visit him in Nashville. "And he said, 'There's this sound. I know what you're trying to get at, the mountain sound,'" Childers recalled. "'So I asked, 'What are you doing?'" Intrigued, Simpson enlisted the aid of Ferguson, the Grammy Award winning sound engineer. They assembled a band that included multi-instrumentalists Stuart Duncan, Michael J. Henderson and Russ Pahl, bassist Michael Bub and Miller on drums, of course, and helped Childers make a debut album of consequence that announces an authentic new voice. "I was writing an album about being in the mountains," Childers said. "I wanted it to have that gritty mountain sound. But at the same time, I wanted a more modern version of it that a younger generation can listen to -- the people I grew up with, something I'd want to listen to."