It’s August 2020 and when I first pulled together this massive list it was about forty days ago. A lot has happened since then. The pandemic has simply gone away, nobody is wearing masks anymore, kids are going back to school safely, live music is back again and nobody is dying. Oops…sorry. That was a cut and paste from the Trump campaign’s Twitter account. The reality is that things still are very scary, people are dying every day, it’s too soon to know about school resuming and live music has not only completely stopped, but we’ve come to experience that live streaming is not as warm and cuddly as we thought it could be. 

Other life changing events that have impacted this list include Taylor Swift’s musical adulthood and the beautifully written and produced “folklore”, Gillian and Dave have begun to release all sorts of recordings that were almost lost in the tornado, Lori Mckenna’s album is an absolute contender for top ten, Joan Shelley and Bruce Springsteen both released live albums that are stripped down and delicious. And there’s a bunch of other new things recently released, but I’ll save those for the next time. 

I rarely rank titles, but in a moment of weakness the first ten here are (or were) my favorites of 2020, back in June. It might not have changed all that much, but in the end, who cares? I’m sharing this to help with your own musical exploration, not tout my own. I’m just a guy who has time on his hands to dig through the virtual wooden crates of albums and this is all stuff I’ve found and like. Maybe you will too.

Nathan Rateliff – And It’s Still Alright
Jason Isbell and The 400 Unit – Reunions
Logan Ledger – Logan Ledger
Bonnie Light Horsemen – Bonnie Light Horsemen
William Prince – Reliever
J.S Ondara – Folk n’ Roll Vol.1: Tales of Isolation
Tre Burt – Caught It By The Rye
Gil Landry – Skeleton At The Banquet
Eliza Gilkyson – 2020
Bonnie “Prince” Billy – I Need A Place

 

In absolutely no order whatsoever, neither alphabetically nor by release date because that was way too hard to do, here’s the rest of recent stuff I dig. And this is obviously not all that I listen to. I spend about half the day with these,  and the rest of the time I listen to a lot of older material. For example, lately I’m enchanted by Hawaiian slack key guitar, and jazz from 1940 to 1960. But those aren’t listed here. That’s another column or two. You are getting pure 100% Americana…whatever that is. I think.

Drive-By Truckers -The Unraveling
Jen Starsinic -Bad Actor EP
David Mayfield – Boy Howdy!
Nora Jane Struthers – Bright Lights, Long Drives, First Words
Sierra Hull -25 Trips
Love Me In The Dark -Love Me In The Dark
Buck Curran – No Love Is Sorrow
Honey Harper – Starmaker
The Mastersons – No Time For Love Songs
Brandy Clark – Your Life Is A Record
Steve Earle – Ghosts of West Virginia
The Mammals – Nonet
John Moreland – LP5

The Deep Dark Woods – Broadside Ballads Vol. 2 EP
Mark Mandeville & Raianne Richards – Road May Rise
Ray Remington – Texas Rose EP
Joe Edwards – Keep On Running
Teddy Thompson – Heartbreaker Please
Sarah Jarosz – World On The Ground
Mapache – From Liberty Street
The Secret Sisters – Saturn Return
Rose Cousins – Bravado

Jake Blount -Spider Tales
Tessy Lou Williams – Tessy Lou Williams
Jason Wilbur – Time Traveler
Phoebe Bridgers – Punisher
Neil Young – Homegrown
Bob Dylan – Rough and Rowdy Ways
Jonathon Wilson – Dixie Blur

The Hanging Stars – A New Kind Of Sky
Mark Erelli – Blindsided
Fairport Convention -Shuffle and Go
Dave Simonett – Red Tail
Jim Lauderdale – When Carolina Comes Home Again
Watkins Family Hour -Brother Sister
Clem Snide – Forever Just Beyond
Lilly Hiatt – Walking Proof
Swamp Dogg – Sorry You Couldn’t Make It

Waxahatchee – Saint Cloud
James Elkington – Ever-Roving Eye
100 Mile House – Love and Leave Me
Laura Marling – Song For Our Daughter
Laurie Lewis -And Laurie Lewis
Western Centuries – Call The Captain
Lucinda Williams – Good Souls Better Angels
Chatham County Line – Strange Fascination
The Lowest Pair – The Perfect Plan
Joe Ely – Love In The Midst of Mayham
Mr. Alec Bowman – I Used To Be Sad & Then I Forgot

Steve Forbert – Early Morning Rain
Damien Jurado – What’s New, Tomboy?
Gretchen Peters – The Night You Wrote That Song: The Songs Of Mickey Newberry
Krista Detor – Chocolate Paper Suites
Emily Duff – Born On The Ground
Pharis and Jason Romero – Bet On Love
Caleb Caudle – Better Hurry Up

Terry Allen & The Panhandle Mystery Band – Just Like Moby Disc
The Haden Triplets – The Family Songbook
Marcus King -Eldorado
Dayna Kurtz & Mamie Minch – For The Love of Hazel: Songs For Hazel Dickens EP
Charles Wesley Godwin – Seneca
V/A – Strut My Stuff: Obscure Country & Hillbilly Rockers
Vera van Heeringen – Won’t Be Broken
Norma MacDonald – Old Future
Zach Aaron – Fill Dirt Wanted

Many of my past columns, articles, and essays can be accessed here at my own site, therealeasyed.com. I also aggregate news and videos on both Flipboard and Facebook as The Real Easy Ed: Americana and Roots Music Daily. My Twitter handle is @therealeasyed and my email address is easyed@therealeasyed.com.