Jay Allen – Music Spotlight artist Jay Allen is one of those rare, remarkable artists who took a terrible personal tragedy, losing his mother to early-onset Alzheimer’s and turned it into a platform to raise millions of dollars for the cause.
After his two-chair turn on Season 22 of The Voice, his single “No Present Like The Time” is out to country radio, and he has become a viral sensation on social media with his song “Blank Stares.” He has not slowed down.
When I spoke to Allen in May of 2023, I had a hard time getting through the interview because my dad had recently passed from Alzheimer’s disease as well. His story is a powerful one and it needs to be read.
Allen has since signed with a new management team and is recording new music. And while each day can be stressful, it is intentional. He thinks, “What are we trying to accomplish and how can we get there today?”
Allen is kicking off the New Year strong as he has begun his first headline tour, “The Night of Hope Tour.” He is currently traveling across the country, performing, and sharing his story. He is also planning to release a full album later this year.
He stated, “Sometimes we play to a packed room, sometimes not. But we always play like we’re playing for one person that needs to hear our message.”
Most recently Allen has released reimagined folk-pop singer Noah Kahan’s beloved heartbreaking song, “Stick Season,” infusing it with a distinct country flavor.
Follow Jay Allen on his website and his socials to see when new music is coming and if he is playing in a city near you.
Jess Kellie Adams – Jess Kellie Adams has a country music brand that she has titled “Grit With Grace.” Originally from Texas, she is an emerging Nashville artist with a powerful voice that blends classic country with a rock-n-roll edge.
She explained, “So the grit is, ‘Yeah, we’re going to have struggles. We’re going to fall down. But we’re going to be tenacious. We’re going to rise above it. But we’re going to have grace, too.’”
As with many of the artists I have interviewed, she came to Nashville to attend Belmont and never left.
In 2022, Adams opened for Lonestar twice. She asked the band leader, Dean Sams, if he would watch a little of bit her show. He reluctantly agreed but was instantly hooked and became the producer of the new music she was releasing. Her song “Homemade” has heartfelt lyrics but with a clean, crisp edge and aptly displays her Grit With Grace moniker.
Her newest single “Hold On To Me” leans more into the grit category, but is quickly becoming her most popular song to date as it was recently featured in Taste of Country magazine.
Adams will continue releasing new music throughout the year. She is releasing a new song every 4 to 6 weeks. Her next single is called “More Than Home” and will be out soon.
She is also touring throughout the East Coast and into the Midwest. Look for her to open for Martina McBride at the Clay County Fair in Green Cove Springs Florida, on April 7th.
Keep up with Jess Kellie Adams on her website and here.
Jet Jurgensmeyer – Nashvillian Jet Jurgensmeyer has made a name for himself as an award-nominated actor. Read more about that here.
When I learned all of that, my question was “Why are you doing country music too?” It turns out that one time, Jurgensmeyer’s parents were owners of the Nashville Palace, a music venue that is across the street from Opryland Hotel and the Grand Ole Opry. He was raised in country music but branched out into acting at age three. By age five, his family was making regular trips to L.A.
The confessed extravert and singer/songwriter states he never felt he had to choose one thing or the other. “It’s kind of been whatever the Lord’s been willing to put in front of me,” he admitted.
Not only that, Jurgensmeyer is a true farm boy. His family has a farm in Missouri.
“The belt buckles that I wear sometimes. They’re not for show. We raise cattle, and if I’m not here, I’m there because Grandpa needs people on the farm. So, I’m on a horse, I’m roping cattle, and I’m doctoring and doing all that,” he explained.
The 19-year-old has been releasing music since 2019. Before his voice even changed, he had a hit song, “A Lot More Love” that proved that he could irrefutably add “Country Music Singer” to his lists of achievements on his resume.
Now that he is older and has experienced dating and relationships, his singing and songwriting have matured alongside him. Not only does he write and perform his own songs, he helps produce them as well. Take a listen to his newer stuff which includes “Falling Too,” “All I Need,” and his most recent single, “Coffee Bar.”
Jurgensmeyer will continue releasing new music with a new album coming later this year.
Keep up everything Jet Jurgensmeyer. He is just barely getting started.
Joe Hermes – Joe Hermes is one of the hottest new acts in the Rock Country scene. He has a brand of music that he calls “Gunpowder Country.”
Hermes confessed that he played in rock bands straight out of high school but was on a “fast track to nowhere because the whole sex, drugs, and rock and roll thing is not a lie.”
He quit music before it got too far out of hand and after playing college football, he became a strength and conditioning coach for seven years. That is when he picked up an acoustic guitar and began songwriting.
“All of a sudden, country music started making a lot more sense,” he admitted.
Still, he couldn’t completely abandon his upbringing. His music leans more rock than country. But with the encouragement and lending hand of renowned music producer Buddy Hyatt, Hermes recorded his EP titled Souls With Stones in 2020.
In 2023, he worked alongside Grammy-award-winning songwriter/producer/manager Dale Oliver to release his full-length CD, Rockin’ A Country Town which includes his popular tunes, “Stronger Than Whiskey,” “Skyfall” and “Used To Be Me” which landed at No. 46 on the MusicRow Country Breakout Chart.
On March 22, Hermes is set to release his newest song, “Baptized By the South.” I have heard this song, and it is outstanding.
Be sure to keep up with everything Joe Hermes is doing by following his website and all his socials.
John Berry – John Berry has been coming to CRS since 1993 when his first album was coming out. In 1994, he got to play on CRS’s New Faces show along with Tim McGraw and Faith Hill. Berry played his song, “Your Love Amazes Me” and a couple of weeks later it went to number one.
Since I last interviewed him, Berry received the Carolina Country Music Association Lifetime Achievement Award in January and will be inducted into the North American Country Music Hall of Fame.
The last album he released, Find My Joy, was a gospel record and fans love his faith-based music in addition to popular hits. The song “Something Bigger Than Me” was recorded with the Utah Symphony Orchestra and Berry’s voice is exquisite and sounds better than ever.
Despite health issues which included throat cancer five years ago, Berry continues to be a desired performer and will tour as long as he is able. He is a favorite performer at Christmastime as well. Be sure to follow John Berry on his website to see where he is coming to a city near you.
Juna N Joey – Since I featured Juna N Joey in my Music Spotlight column in November of 2021, the brother and sister duo continue to hone their craft as they grow into the artists they were meant to be. Both now in college, they split their time between their Florida home and Nashville as they tour and record new music.
Though able to sing any style of music, the songs they’ve written recently lean into the country side of things. You know instantly to which genre they belong when you hear “Good Girl Gone,” “Boys In Boots,” and “Crazy Cowboy.”
On their YouTube channel they also famously cover everyone from Cody Johnson to Dan and Shay.
Besides playing around their hometown in Florida, June N Joey want to do more Writers Rounds in Nashville.
Joey stated, “Now that we’ve been writing a lot, we want to show off some of our new songs, which we’re really excited about.”
Being from a musical family, the pair have always been a formidable duo, but as their confidence grows, their music gets better as well. Make sure to follow Juna N Joey.
Ken Domash – Ken Domash didn’t even think about music as a career until he was in his forties.
Growing up Domash wanted to do magic shows and Karate. Then at age 41, he got asked to sing at a wedding. A lady came up to him and said, “You should sing.”
He recalled, “It just was like God talking to me. So. I went and got a guitar and learned to play.”
Since then, he has released several fun singles like “Drink About That” and “If I Was a Beer” and more thoughtful songs like “Snow Angels.”
Now the singer/songwriter has released “Imagining” as his newest single. It is a bit more serious than his drinking songs, but still light-hearted as his younger self imagines what could have been.
The thing that I find so endearing about Domash is that he is a self-made artist. He doesn’t have a musical background. Nobody showed him how to write a song. He just does it, and it comes naturally. You are going to want to keep up with Ken Domash.
Lanie Gardner – When I was asked to interview Lanie Gardner, I knew her name sounded familiar, but couldn’t quite place it. When I saw her Instagram post, I remembered that Sirius XM’s Ania Hammer had touted her and that she was a regular performer with the Song Suffragettes.
Gardner’s passion for music was passed down by her grandfather, who also dreamed of becoming an artist. Gardner began singing at the age of 4 and writing songs by 12 years old. Mixing her Classic Rock and Country roots, her laid-back, goofy, and magnetic personality quickly captivating audiences.
Gardner got her break when her cover of Fleetwood Mac’s “Dreams” went viral. Now the independent artist has gained fans and followers with her edgy singles like “Better Luck Next Guy” and “Daughter of a Gun.”
However, her newest release, “Six Feet Deep“, is undoubtedly my favorite and it has recently been played on Sirius XM’s The Highway. There is nothing like a good murder song to get the juices flowing.
You are going to want to keep your eye on Lanie Gardner. She is one of the fastest-rising stars I have encountered.
Makenzie Phipps – Makenzie Phipps is another artist that I’ve watched grow and mature alongside her music. Originally from Bluefield, Virginia, at 20 years of age, the traditional country crooner has undeniably secured a foothold in playing the Nashville bars and honky tonks and beyond.
With songs like “Drag,” “A Little of Both” and “You Bring the Beer,” she has proved she has what it takes to make it in this volatile industry.
Phipps told me, “Now that I’ve actually moved here, I’m able to really learn more and really be able to connect with more people and see what they’ve been through and learn different things that I can do to help me improve not only as a person, but an artist.”
Written by her band leader, Michael Bagley, her latest single, “Eighteen Wheels” is an emotional tear-jerker that helps others understand all the sacrifices truck drivers make to supply our homes and stores. The story is told from a daughter’s perspective and relates what they endured while he was on the road.
Phipps is working on a self-penned EP as she continues to tour and entertain fans.
Be sure to follow Makenzie Phipps on her website and all her socials.
Mary McGuiness – Mary McGuiness is probably the most diverse singer/songwriter that I interviewed this year at CRS.
More Americana than country, her songs relay a vibrant tapestry of cultures and experiences. Her culturally rich upbringing and her triumphant navigation of challenges have all converged into her groundbreaking album, Shadowcatcher.
McGuiness’s voice is downright ethereal in the track “Once in a Blue Moon.” “Double Vision” is an anthem of a sort and is a fan favorite. You will also want to check out the new visualizer for the song, “Keep Dreaming.”
With the retirement of 70s superstars like Linda Ronstadt, Joni Mitchell, and Carly Simon, I find Mary McGuiness’s exquisite vocals and lyrics help fill the deep gap they left behind.
Make sure you follow Mary McGuiness and stream Shadowcatcher.
MaRynn Taylor – When I first met country music artist, MaRynn Taylor, I instantly loved her energy and attitude before I even heard the first song. Thankfully, her music is just as appealing.
The track, “Dads and Daughters” is her flagship song that simply explains the profound relationship between a dad and a daughter. It sets the tone for the other music she brings to her fans.
On March 1, Taylor released her newest single “Small Town Spinnin’” a nostalgic song about the little town that she grew up in, Rockford, Michigan.
“Anyone who is from a small town is going to understand that talk goes around really fast,” she shared.
In the bubbly song, they mention Jenny painting her front door blue and nobody likes it. Events like that can only happen in a small town.
Taylor put a secret relationship into the song because “it makes it more fun.”
She mentioned a Ferris wheel like the one they always have at the carnival at the beginning of summer in Rockford. “And there’s always something that went down at that freaking carnival, “Taylor confirmed.
People who grew up in a small town will find “Small Town Spinnin’” completely relatable. And those who were not raised with such a quintessential upbringing will find the tune fascinating as well.
MaRynn Taylor is currently working on new music. When it comes out later this spring, I will be sure to feature her in my Music Spotlight column.
Bethany Writes 