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𝐁𝐢𝐠 𝐆𝐮𝐲 & 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐕𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐋𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞 𝐌𝐞𝐧
“soft hands, hard times“
Pop
★
@rlybigguy
Release; June 26, 2026
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Listen up! Full album in BiO!
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The all-new project, Big Guy & The Very Large Men, is the latest creative venture from songwriter James Droll. Best known for his work in the electronic and pop worlds, Droll has spent years writing songs performed by artists including Joy Oladokun and Noah Kahan.

With his seven-song EP, soft hands, hard times, Droll steps into deeply personal territory. The project explores the joy, vulnerability, heartbreak, and beautiful mess of embracing an authentic queer identity while growing up – and ultimately finding yourself.. in the cultural crossroads of the Bible Belt. Raised on a llama farm in Pleasantville, Ohio, Droll was immersed in a family deeply rooted in the evangelical church, an upbringing that echoes throughout these songs without ever defining them.

As compelling as the backstory is, the real magic lies in the music. While soft hands, hard times may be labeled as pop, it is Americana-adjacent at its core. The result is a collection of songs that blur genre lines with effortless confidence, pairing sharp storytelling, emotional imagery and a wit that’s as disarming as it is unforgettable.

Tender, clever, and emotionally resonant, soft hands, hard times looks fearlessly at the ghosts that shaped Droll’s past while embracing the hope, freedom, and uncertainty of the road ahead.
@meanwhile_in_music
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#NewMusic #Nashville #Ohio #Queer #pride …

Color me grateful to live in a place and time, and in a city capable of delivering a Sunday afternoon as joyful as the one we were gifted today.

The always wonderful Melissa Carper tee’d things off, followed by the incomparable Jaime Wyatt. You can’t ask for a much better end to the weekend. Here they are covering an old Flatlanders’ tune.. Dallas.

All of it brought to you by one of Austin’s finest honky-tonks, Sagebrush. …

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𝐒𝐔𝐒𝐓𝐎 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐛𝐚𝐧𝐝
“Volume Two“
Folk
★
@sustoisreal @hollerchoirmusic
Release; May 29, 2026
@_missingpiecerecords
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Listen up! Full album in BiO!
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Meanwhile In Music has never been shy about showing SUSTO some love, but what’s not to love? Justin Osborne remains one of our favorite voices in Americana-adjacent music – a songwriter capable of delivering personal and rich observations on life, loss, and redemption without ever losing sight of humor, humanity, or heart.

Released May 29th, SUSTO Stringband Volume Two arrived with the unenviable task of following one of our favorite releases of the past couple years. Thankfully, rather than trying to outdo its predecessor, Vol. Two expands the world that Osborne and company began building on the first installment, deepening the collection while maintaining everything that made it special.

Osborne writes with conviction. His songs arrive thoughtful and evocative – tackling heavy themes like suicide, substance abuse, grief, and quiet gestures of America’s failing healthcare system. Yet he’s equally capable of delivering something wildly entertaining. That’s the magic of SUSTO: profound reflection and genuine fun can coexist in the same breath. “E-350,” an anthem of sorts for touring musicians that depicts a grumpy landlord and his sewer line throwing shade on the beloved tour van.

Of course, none of this works without The Holler Choir String Band. Their musicianship serves as both engine and glue, carrying these stories effortlessly from one song to the next. The performances are loose where they should be, precise when they need to be, and consistently engaging throughout. This time around, the circle widens a bit with guest appearances from Joshua Hedley, Morgan Wade, and Madeline Dierauf.

SUSTO Stringband Vol. I set a remarkably high bar around these parts. Matching those expectations would have been an accomplishment on its own. Volume Two does more than that – it reinforces just how special this collection of musicians has become. Essential listening doesn’t have to be a classic, but these records have made their mark.
@meanwhile_in_music
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#NewMusic #music #LiveMusic #Americana #Texas …

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𝐈𝐧𝐝𝐢𝐚 𝐑𝐚𝐦𝐞𝐲
“Villain Era“
Country
★
@indiarameymusic
Release; May 8, 2026
@copacorecords @blueelan
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Listen up! Full album in BiO!
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India Ramey has been quietly building a catalogue to be proud of, & her newest release, Villain Era, is no exception. From the opening track, Ramey & her band march through the record with a ferocity that signals a clear shift into self preservation – and a sharpened sense of what she will & won’t tolerate.

Fueled by that conviction & a fresh set of songs, Ramey left the South for the first time & traveled to Los Angeles to record with two-time Grammy-nominated producer Eric Corne. Together, they crafted a soundscape that is both cinematic and cathartic.

Ramey described her vision to Corne as “Johnny Cash & Loretta Lynn rising from the dead to score a Quentin Tarantino film,” & the sessions fully deliver on that concept. To bring the project to life, Corne assembled an all-star band, including Ted Russell Kamp, Eugene Edwards, Chris Masterson, Eleanor Whitmore, Kevin Brown, Boo Bernstein, and Haley Spence Brown.

Villain Era arrives with all the bumps & bruises you’d expect from a dusty road of potholes & fractured relationships, but Ramey transforms them into something almost celebratory. With a sly sense of humor, she whips some of life’s toughest defeats into deceptively sweet, harmonious lashings of the tongue.

The record moves fluidly through country noir textures – drifting between psychedelic high desert haze, snake-charming spaghetti western energy & rockabilly swagger – all anchored by a voice that’s not only powerful but laced with intentional wit & attitude. There’s a constant undercurrent of charm that reads like a smiling “fuck you very much.” That grin is not only consistent but contagious, as you can’t help but mirror it when listening to tracks like “Cryin’ In My Lingerie,” echoing the storytelling spirit of John Prine. The song feels like it could have been a natural duet for the two – sharp, funny, and soaked in devastating truth.

Villain Era rewards repeat listens, revealing more of its clever wordplay & layered one-liners each time – best experienced loud and often. 🍷 🌹
@meanwhile_in_music …

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𝐇𝐢𝐬𝐬 𝐆𝐨𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐧 𝐌𝐞𝐬𝐬𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐫
“I’m People”
★
@hissgoldenmessenger
Release; May 1, 2026
@chrysalisrecs
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Listen up! Full album in BiO!
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Sometimes you hit play and you know you’ve landed on exactly what you needed. That’s the feeling I got with Hiss Golden Messenger’s latest release – I’m People, the first on Chrysalis Records.

The record plays with a purpose – finding balance between fight & flight.. it wanders through heartbreak, the quiet reckonings of getting older, the weight & wonders of life and the kind of longing that doesn’t always resolve cleanly. There’s disillusionment here too – but it never settles. Instead, the album arrives somewhere harder to come by: a durable, hard-earned sense of persistence – even after everything’s been worn down to the bone.

There’s a subtle mastery in the details. “Mercy Ave.” is a standout track – deceptively simple, yet intricately built. Hand drums pulse beneath saxophone & flute, while background vocals drift in and out like a second thought you can’t quite shake. That aesthetic carries through I’m People – simple complexities, carefully layered textures, & tones that never tip into excess, allowing MC Taylor’s writing to move naturally, his words settling into the rhythms.

Hiss Golden Messenger is the vehicle for North Carolina songwriter MC Taylor – a voice that’s long operated in a space of soulful folk and surrounding areas.

Produced alongside Josh Kaufman at Dreamland Recording Studios – an old church just outside Woodstock – I’m People carries a lived-in warmth. You can envision it in the making: musicians gathered in a circle, light spilling through stained glass windows onto guitars, drums, & upright bass. Nothing rushed, nothing forced.

The all-star cast of collaborators deepens that world.. Bruce Hornsby, Sam Beam, Marcus King, Sara Watkins, Amy Helm, Eric D. Johnson, and members of Dawes all contribute to a sound that feels immediate, human, and fully alive.

What did I do when the final track played through on I’m People? I hit play again.
@meanwhile_in_music …

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𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐢𝐥𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐁𝐮𝐭𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬
“No Tomorrow“
★
@thebuildersandthebutchers
Release;
@badmanrecordingco
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Listen up! Full album in BiO!
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For more than two decades, The Builders and The Butchers have carried a kind of beautifully worn-in urgency – music that feels stitched together from late nights, long roads, and an unshakable need to connect. At the center is Ryan Sollee, whose gravel-edged delivery & restless songwriting continue to anchor a band that’s never sounded overly polished, but always purposeful.

Sollee has called their longevity “an unexpected privilege,” & that sentiment lingers throughout No Tomorrow. Rather than leaning on nostalgia, the record pushes forward, shaped by a world that feels increasingly fractured. It wrestles with the slow erosion of human connection, the ongoing denial of environmental collapse, and the hollow churn of greed-driven leadership.

Still, No Tomorrow refuses to sink under that weight. If anything, it pushes back.

The Builders and The Butchers have long thrived in the space between chaos & catharsis. Sounding equal parts folk revival & back-alley sermon – No Tomorrow is raw with an unvarnished edge.. Where earlier work might have unraveled in a blaze, these songs hold their ground, letting tension build & release. The result is a collection that feels more intentional without sacrificing the band’s grit.

What resonates most is the insistence on joy – not as escape, but as resistance. Creation itself becomes a means of restoring something essential, a way to push back against a culture that often feels intent on stripping that away. That philosophy carries through No Tomorrow.. No Tomorrow leans into endurance, into the quiet power of continuing to make something honest in uncertain times.

The Builders And The Butchers have delivered one of those records in No Tomorrow that bring the masses together. It stretches & blurs genre lines, landing somewhere between Rock ‘n Roll and Americana – with an occasional edge that could even grab the metal heads.
@meanwhile_in_music
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#NewMusic #Music #Portland …