In a music paradigm increasingly focused on individual tracks, artists still have the opportunity to make a larger statement about the world and themselves through larger collections that can explore a variety of styles and emotions. This group of acts includes a dozen solo men, five solo women, a duo and two groups looking to connect with audiences by revealing their own talents and personalities.
“So far, I've just released singles, so I've been able to show people that little piece of my heart and that little side of me,” Curb said Hannah Ellis she says of her first album, released on January 12th. “I feel like this is a fully formed thought. It's something that people can hit play on the first song and they can listen to the songs, and by the end of the record, they'll really know who Hannah Ellis is.”
Here's an overview of 20 artists whose first albums or EPs will be released in the first six months of 2024:
• Ashley Anne (Ashley Anne): The 19-year-old singer-songwriter from Virginia Beach, Virginia, has released her debut EP, dear dollon Dolly PartonHis birthday, January 19. It's dominated by acoustic ballads and an unabashed southern accent.
• Austin (AUSTIN): With Morris Higham Management, the indie singer applies a soulful tenor to melodic songs that bring a touch of sweetness to coming-of-age stories. The pulse-pounding first single 'Way Too Much' arrived in December.
• Chase Beckham (Orbit): The American Idol The winner's voice is smoke, but there's fire underneath, as exemplified by his current top 15 single, “23.” His first album is due in the first quarter.
• The Castellows (Warner Music Nashville): Three Georgia sisters create a harmonic thicket that manages to slip a subtle cheer into songs with a melancholy thread. Their debut EP, A Little Goes a Long Wayarrives on February 9th.
• Steven Champion (Average Joes): The blue-green Alabaman is an edgy singer who focuses mostly on barroom and small-town stories, but takes a glassy tone on the sensitive “Always,” hinting at his versatility.
• Naomi Cook Johnson (Stony Creek): The ex Fugitive June The singer is working on her first EP. Two tracks released, “Livin' Ain't Killed Me Yet” and “Girls of Summer,” suggest a high-energy focus.
• Hannah Ellis (Curb): This girl balances bittersweet with a lucky 13 tracks that showcase Ellis' vocal strengths and sensibilities applied to stories about navigating young womanhood's obstacles.
• Charles Esten (Charles Esten): Eleven years after joining the ABC cast NashvilleEsten has put together a bunch of husky mini-dramas for the first album Love is not beautiful — Loose, coarse country from January 26th.
• Colby T. Helms (Photo Finish): Helms' debut album, Stories of Misfortunereleased on January 19, captures a raw mountain singer flanked by vintage banjo and fiddle, similar to Oh brother, where art thou? soundtrack.
• Holler Choir (Holler Choir): A seven-piece outfit from Asheville, NC, Holler Choir incorporates bluegrass, folk and Americana staples into songs about the heaviness of everyday life in Songs before they wrote themselvesreleased on January 12th.
• David J (Sony Music Nashville): Champion by OneRepublic'small Ryan Tedderthe upstate New York artist delivers a modern pop sheen (think Justin Bieber the Sean Mendes) on classic relationship issues.
• Ryan Larkins (Red Street): A co-writer of Cody JohnsonOn “The Painter,” Larkins has a classic male voice, featured on current single “King of Country Music.” His first album is expected in early June.
• Chase McDaniel (Big Machine Records): Its title track Blame it on everything in Country Music The EP, due Jan. 26, features obvious genre influences, but the lyrics elsewhere suggest that hip-hop was also playing in its old Kentucky home.
• MacKenzie Porter (Great Power): Dustin LynchHis companion “Thinking 'Bout You” stands alone beautifully with a sound that mixes strength and vulnerability. Of particular interest: the odd bit of 'Pay Me Back in Change' relationships.
• Redferin (Warner Music Nashville): Blake Redferin has the same growl as Morgan Wallen and has used it to rack up over 23 million career Spotify streams so far, on pace with earworm “Jack and Diet Coke.”
• Matt Schuster (Warner Music Nashville): A boy from southern Illinois, Schuster has a tone that suggests Keith Urbanwhile the songs capture an energetic child in the midst of a transition to thoughtful adulthood.
• Connor Smith (Valory): His first album, Smoky Mountainsarrives on January 26th. His top 15 single, “Creek Will Rise,” exemplifies the youthful optimism that informs his energetic country brand.
• Brittney Spencer (Elektra): The Baltimore native boasts a supple voice that allows her to veer between sensitive singer-songwriter material and soulful songs. Her Daniel Tasian-production album, My stupid lifearrived on January 19th.
• Tigirlily Gold (Memorial): After two EPs, Krista and Kendra Slaubaugh release their debut album in June, when the bittersweet drama in their enduring single “I Tried a Ring On” will likely raise their profile another notch.
• Zach Top (Leo33): Top's “Sounds Like the Radio” is reminiscent of the 1990s Alan Jackson, Brooks & Dunn and Doug Stone and heralds the album Cold Beer & Country Musicdue on April 5th.
from our partners at https://www.billboard.com/music/country/country-acts-releasing-first-album-ep-2024-1235587117/