Honey Bxby isn’t letting up. The New Jersey-born R&B breakout returns with her latest slow-burning anthem, “3AM” featuring platinum hitmaker Toosii. Out now, the seductive duet sets the tone for her highly anticipated EP Raw Honey, dropping May 30.
“3AM” oozes late-night longing – all smoky vocals, simmering tension, and undeniable chemistry. Honey floats over the woozy production with her signature warmth, singing, “It’s 3 AM, and I’m still up waiting on you.” Toosii slides through with velvet-smooth bars, matching her mood and energy. It’s the kind of record made for replaying when the lights are low and feelings run high.
The new single follows the buzz of “Think I Might” and showcases another layer of Honey Bxby’s artistry – softer, more vulnerable, but just as commanding. Raw Honey promises more of that duality: sweet and unfiltered, tender and bossed up.
With major co-signs from legends like Mary J. Blige and Busta Rhymes, a fire collab with Fivio Foreign, and tour runs alongside Sexyy Red, Flyana Boss, and SAINt JHN, Honey Bxby is staking her claim as one of R&B’s most compelling new voices. Press outlets like Rolling Stone, Billboard, and VIBE are already tuned in, and the fans want more. As “3AM” sets the mood for what’s to come, Honey Bxby proves that Raw Honey isn’t just the title – it’s the vibe. Intimate. Unapologetic. Addictive.
CBGB & OMFUG – Home of Underground Rock lives on with the announcement of the CBGB Festival, presented in partnership with The Bowery Presents, taking place September 27 at Under the K Bridge Park in Brooklyn, NY. The one-day event features a stacked lineup of 21 generation-spanning bands across 3 raucous stages. Headlining the festival are Iggy Pop—his first NYC show in over a decade—and Jack White.
The lineup is impeccably curated, featuring punk legends like Sex Pistols, Johnny Marr, Lunachicks, Marky Ramone, The Damned, and Melvins; CBGB-era hardcore staples Gorilla Biscuits, Murphy’s Law, and Cro-Mags; and today’s punk torchbearers including The Linda Lindas, Lambrini Girls, Destroy Boys, Angel Du$t, Scowl, Pinkshift, Teen Mortgage, YHWH Nailgun, Soul Glo, and Lip Critic.
Fans can register now for presale access at CBGBFEST.COM. Presale tickets go live Thursday, May 15 at 10 AM ET, with public on-sale beginning Friday, May 16 at 10 AM ET.
A special “Young Punk” discounted GA ticket will be available for New York residents under 25—in person only—at a box office pop-up at Music Hall of Williamsburg on Saturday, May 17 at 12 PM ET. This limited batch of 350 tickets (an homage to the original CBGB capacity) will be priced at $73, a nod to the year the club opened: 1973.
Founded by Hilly Kristal in 1973 on the Bowery, CBGB became an icon of raw energy, rebellion, and underground music, launching the careers of the Ramones, Blondie, Patti Smith, Talking Heads, Television, and countless others.
The CBGB Festival pays tribute to New York City’s gritty, sticker-covered past through the lens of modern punk. The lineup connects punk’s originators with its fiercest future voices, all answering one core question: Who would be playing at CBGB today?
Under the K Bridge Park was chosen for its industrial grit and cultural relevance in the heart of Brooklyn. Festival-goers can expect a full day of music, vintage and new merch, local food and drink, and immersive CBGB installations—including the famous bar and stage from the original club.
For tickets, lineup details, venue info, and more, visit CBGBFEST.COM.
Full Lineup:
Iggy Pop
Jack White
Sex Pistols
The Damned
Johnny Marr
Lunachicks
Marky Ramone
Angel Du$t
Cro-Mags
Destroy Boys
Gorilla Biscuits
Lambrini Girls
The Linda Lindas
Melvins
Murphy’s Law
Scowl
Teen Mortgage
Lip Critic
Pinkshift
Soul Glo
YHWH Nailgun
Influential Los Angeles psychedelic punk rockers Frankie and the Witch Fingers have shared “Dead Silence,” the latest single from their new album Trash Classic (June 6, 2025 // The Reverberation Appreciation Society / Greenway Records).The band has also prepared an announcement that’s sure to thrill fans in London, New York City and Los Angeles – the week leading up to the release of Trash Classic will see them perform at intimate venues in each city. On May 30, the band will perform at London’s Shacklewell Arms, before returning to America for shows at New York City’s Berlin on June 5 and Permanent Records Roadhouse in Los Angeles on June 7.
The new track comes just before their impressive slate of headline world tour dates begins at The Netherlands’ Sonic Whip Festival, after which the band will criss-cross mainland Europe before doing the same back in the States later in the summer. See below for the full list of tour dates, including these new album release shows.
“This one’s got a nice little origin story,” the band says about the “Dead Silence.” “We played a festival in Boise with Spacemoth, Maryam Qudus’ brainchild, and met her for the first time there. Cut to a year later, and she’s deep in the guts of this record – producing, engineering, twisting knobs, and arranging sounds with us.
On the flight home from that Boise show, Josh threw on the Spacemoth album for the first time and got his brain microwaved. He also recorded the plane taking off, just on a whim. That roar ended up in the bridge of DEAD SILENCE. It’s a nice crusty texture, but it also weirdly bookmarks the start of it all.
Maryam’s all over this record. She sings, plays, distorts, haunts – leaving smudges on everything in the best way. She rules, and we were happy to accidentally mark the occasion sonically with a little jet-engine weirdness.”
Trash Classic follows another sort of classic, the band’s widely-acclaimed 2023 masterwork Data Doom. FLOOD Magazine had an almost prescient take, noting that Data Doom “feels much more in line with vintage dystopian sci-fi connotations, swapping weed-smoke riffs for frigid new wave pulses.” SPIN Magazine was early on the scene to declare the band has “become a heavy hitter in the underground rock, punk, and psychedelic circles,” and Exclaim! praised the band’s tendency to “walk the line between chameleonic and commanding, wielding endless inventiveness as a weapon to outsmart artificial intelligence.”
In addition to enjoying global press accolades in 2023, the band also played their biggest shows yet (including headline festival appearances), recorded a very special KEXP live session, and reached #3 on Billboard’s Alternative New Albums and #4 on Top New Artist Albums charts.
Hooks so infectious they rot on impact. Trash Classic marks a feral mutation for Frankie and the Witch Fingers—a record that snarls with proto-punk venom, angular melodies, and electronic textures that cough and sputter like dying neon lights under a poisoned sky.
This record pushes the Witch Fingers’ sound to a razor’s edge. Wiry and twitching, it bends into synth-punk and fractured new wave, with fragments of industrial grime caked under its nails. Guitars detonate and slice like cinder blocks through glass, while gnashing basslines slither through the sludge, alive and seething. Buzzy synths take the forefront, driving relentless rhythms that crack and pop, drenched in a chemically saturated sheen—part bug-eyed speed-freak pogo, part dance-floor delirium. The vocals cut through like static-laced transmissions—balancing both smirk and sneer—layering playful unease over themes of escapism, decay, and overindulgence.
The songs were born in the grime of Vernon, Los Angeles—a wasteland littered with gutted RVs and rusting machinery, where the air tastes like asphalt and dog food. But the real alchemy happened in Oakland, at Tiny Telephone Studio, where producer Maryam Qudus (La Luz, Spacemoth) helped transmute the tracks into their final forms. Unhinged tones, unconventional recording experiments, and wild sonic detours transformed the songs into something alive and unpredictable.
Every day of recording began with cartoons blaring at full volume—a Looney Tunes ritual that turned the madness of the recording process into something child-like. Late at night, sugar-fueled candy binges kept the energy spiking, pushing the sessions into a fever dream of jittery, spastic playfulness.
The result is a raw, twisted monument to rot and excess—toxic glamour and nihilistic salvation. Trash Classic isn’t just a record; it’s an auditory dumpster bible—a gutter gospel for those ready to dive into its filth.
Los Angeles psych-punk shapeshifters Frankie and the Witch Fingers have spent the last decade mutating their sound into bold, electrifying new forms. Their latest release, Trash Classic (via Greenway Records and The Reverberation Appreciation Society), plunges into a sewer-slick fusion of proto-punk venom, fractured new wave, and industrial grime. Brimming with wiry synths, angular melodies, and grooves that squirm and bite, it’s all delivered with a sly, playful wink. Fueled by relentless global touring and a fierce DIY ethos, the band has shared stages with OFF!, Ty Segall, Oh Sees, Cheap Trick, and ZZ Top, cementing their place as one of the most unforgettable live acts around. Frankie and the Witch Fingers continue to morph, dragging listeners into whatever warped direction their experimental journey takes next.
FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS TRASH CLASSIC Release date: June 6, 2025 (The Reverberation Appreciation Society / Greenway Records)
Track list:
1. Channel Rot
2. T.V. Baby
3. Dead Silence
4. Fucksake
5. Economy
6. Eggs Laid Brain
7. Out of the Flesh
8. Total Reset
9. Conducting Experiments
10. Gutter Priestess
11. Trash Classic
FRANKIE AND THE WITCH FINGERS ON TOUR 2025
5/16 – Nijmegen, NL – Sonic Whip Festival
5/17 – Diksmuide, BE – 4AD
5/20 – Lyon, FR – Épicerie Moderne
5/21 – Biarritz, FR – Atabal
5/22 – Rouen, FR – Le 106
5/23 – London, UK – Wide Awake Festival
5/25 – Berlin, DE – Desertfest
5/27 – Cherbourg, FR – Le Circuit
5/28 – Brighton, UK – Daltons
5/30 – London, UK – Shacklewell Arms ^
5/31 – Bristol, UK – Strange Brew
6/01 – Birmingham, UK – Hare & Hounds
6/05 – Berlin – New York, NY ^
6/07 – Permanent Records Roadhouse – Los Angeles, CA ^
7/15 – Felton Music Hall – Felton, CA °
7/16 – The Chapel – San Francisco, CA °
7/19 – The Den – Portland, OR °
7/20 – The Pearl – Vancouver, BC °
7/23 – Shrine Social Club – Boise, ID °
7/24 – Urban Lounge – Salt Lake City, UT °
7/25 – Mesa Theater – Grand Junction, CO °
7/26 – Underground Music Showcase – Denver, CO
7/27 – Sister Bar – Albuquerque, NM °
7/29 – Hotel Congress – Tucson, AZ °
7/30 – Rebel Lounge – Phoenix, AZ °
7/31 – Swan Diver – Las Vegas, NV °
8/01 – Belly Up – Solana Beach, CA °
8/02 – Teragram Ballroom – Los Angeles, CA °
8/31 – Bumbershoot Music Festival – Seattle, WA
9/19 – Music Hall of Williamsburg – Brooklyn, NY *
9/20 – First Unitarian Church – Philadelphia, PA *
GRAMMY-winning Quarto Valley Records latest signing, David Starr, releases his first full length Blues album, Must Be Blue. The project is a mixture of classic blues covers and brand new originals written by Starr featuring background vocals from Rock & Roll Hall of Famer, John Oates, on select tracks, and a stacked band of GRAMMY, CMA, and ACM winning musicians. His signature “Bluesicana” sound is on full display, melding traditional Blues arrangements with soulful vocals, gritty electric guitars, and Americana acoustic elements such as mandolin and acoustic guitar. The result is an energetic record with a fresh take on the genre, primed for the charts. Listen here.
The focus track, “My Favorite Color,” is a moody slow-burning original that captures the heart of the album. The song immediately intrigues the listener with an ascending lick on acoustic guitar and mandolin before electrics and the rest of the band enter on the first verse. It is the lyric behind the album title, “I think you know by now…my favorite color must be blue,” which depicts a narrator who is a sucker for pain. Jeff King (Art Garfunkel, Reba McEntire, Johnny Cash and Dave Matthews) shines on the guitar solo, trading off with Starr and Erik Stucky on mandolin on the outro of the song for a unique exchange.
Must Be Blue is his first full length album in the genre after the overwhelming success of blues singles from previous records. “Blues music has always made me feel at home somehow. Perhaps because it was some of the first music I heard as a young musician looking for his muse in gritty little clubs in Northwest Arkansas. Maybe it has to do with the timeless themes of love and loss, struggle and strife, the loud electrics, the way people can’t help but tap their feet when they hear it,” Starr shares. “Whatever the reason, playing blues-influenced songs always centers me in a way that no other music does. When I moved to the mountains of Colorado, my influences expanded to Americana and roots, and acoustic guitar became a muse of its own. This album is my version of a blues record, what you might call ‘Bluesicana’ – the grooves and electrics are there, but so is a mandolin. Call it coming home, full circle.”
David Starr is a Colorado-based Blues and Americana singer/songwriter with over 11 albums to his credit. The Arkansas native has honed his decades-long career touring internationally, sharing the stage and collaborating with esteemed artists such as John Oates (Hall & Oates), John McEuen, Steve Cropper, Jim Lauderdale, and Wild Ponies as well as opening for acts like America, Karla Bonoff, Jim Messina, Survivor, and more. He has been a showcasing artist at Folk Alliance International, Americana Fest, and Southwest Regional Folk Alliance. In 2024 he melded his blues background of growing up playing electric guitar in Southern Arkansas clubs with his time spent in Nashville exploring Americana and Folk. What he arrived at was his own brand of “Bluesicana” – a melding of the two genres for his highly anticipated project Must Be Blue. After receiving rave reviews and recognition on previous singles from editorial playlists on Spotify such as “Got Blues”, it was clear he was striking a nerve.
GRAMMY- winning label Quarto Valley Records agreed and signed Starr to a record deal for the album, releasing in 2025. He is a member of the Blues Foundation, The Colorado Blues Society, and the Pikes Peak Blues Society, and was inducted into the inaugural class of the Northwest Arkansas Musicians Hall of Fame in 2024. Starr’s prestige extends beyond the stage, having launched Starr’s Guitars in Little Rock, before relocating to Cedaredge, CO in 2001, where it is now a beloved institution. Starr is also a founding member of the board for the Grand Mesa Arts & Events Center in Cedaredge, an intimate event space aimed at attracting musicians and visual artists to Colorado’s Western Slope. In 2024, he produced the sold-out inaugural Grand Mesa Songwriter Festival, which brought 15 songwriters to Cedaredge to perform over 50 shows across five venues. For information on new music and upcoming tour dates, please visit www.DavidStarrMusic.com.
Founded by tech entrepreneur Bruce Quarto, the California-based independent label, Quarto Valley Records, represents Rock, Blues, Jazz and Americana genres with an impressive artist roster featuring legacy musicians Paul Rodgers, GRAMMY award-winning Edgar Winter, Savoy Brown as well as the legendary talent that comprises The Immediate Family, GRAMMY® award-winning producer and renowned drummer and songwriter Tom Hambridge, GRAMMY® award-winning producer and percussionist Narada Michael Walden, blues-rock artist Sean Chambers, British blues sensation Bonham-Bullick, Wings member Denny Seiwell, acclaimed Americana singer-songwriter Al Staehely, singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer Steve Postell of The Immediate Family, esteemed Americana-Blues singer-songwriter David Starr, the soulful Richard T. Bear, pianist and songwriter John McAndrew and emerging artist Dominic Quarto.
In celebration of Military Appreciation Month, Navy Federal Credit Union invites you to its first-ever MAM JAM Concert Series—an event honoring the military community and celebrating service through music. Grammy-winning duo Dan + Shay are bringing their signature sound to Cedar Park, TX (near Fort Cavazos) and Wilmington, NC (near Camp Lejeune).
Saturday, May 17 in Cedar Park, TX
Location: H-E-B Center (2100 Ave of the Stars, Cedar Park, TX 78613)
Time: 7:00 PM CT (Doors open at 6:00 PM CT)
Line Up: Dan + Shay, Redferrin, Carter Faith
Mission Marketplace: Visit the Mission Marketplace featuring Veteran-owned small businesses, including Grill Your Ass Off, Guitars for Vets, Nutree Fitness, Klenr, The Handmade Mom, and Authentically American.
Saturday, May 31 in Wilmington, NC
Location: Live Oak Bank Pavilion(10 Cowan Street, Wilmington, NC 28401)
Time: 7:00 PM ET (Doors open at 6:00 PM ET)
Line Up: Dan + Shay, Austin Snell
Mission Marketplace: Visit the Mission Marketplace featuring Veteran-owned small businesses, including Grill Your Ass Off, Guitars for Vets, Glam Solider, Klenr, and Sarge’s Shrimp and Grits Sauce.
TICKETS: Tickets are complimentary for Active Duty Servicemembers and Veterans. General admission tickets start at $75. Get your tickets at www.mamjam.com.
Yamaha Corporation announces that Yamaha Music Innovations Fund I, LP, a corporate venture capital fund run by U.S. subsidiary Yamaha Music Innovations, LLC, led by President and CEO Yusuke “Scott” Sugino, will begin to invest out of a dedicated US$50 million fund in May 2025.
To strengthen its leadership position as an innovator in the fields of sound and music, Yamaha established a business development base named Yamaha Music Innovations in Silicon Valley in April 2024. YMI was incorporated in January 2025 and has accelerated initiatives to develop new businesses through partnerships with fast-growing startups and established companies.
To lead its new venture capital fund, YMIF has appointed Andrew Kahn as Managing Partner. Andrew Kahn has been a force for investing in innovative companies in the field of music technology, being named one of “Music’s Top Investors in Tech of The Future” by leading U.S. music industry magazine Billboard in 2023 along with being recognized by other publications such as Business Insider for his efforts. Additionally, he has extensive experience in startup operations, investment and business development at the intersection of music, interactive media, and the creator economy. Now, he will use his experience and relationships to establish YMIF as a key partner and value-add investor for the startup community, where Yamaha can leverage its strengths in sound, music and a century of work supporting creative people.
Through YMIF, Yamaha will strive to create and invest in innovative businesses that will enhance its role in the lives of creative people while accelerating business development collaborations with startups that have been underway since April 2024.
Chuckie Brown is a bold new voice seamlessly blending country, rock, and pop to create something raw, authentic, and undeniably powerful. Today, this country-rock innovator releases his debut EP, The Angels — a five-track powerhouse that walks the line between the grit of rock and the polish of country.
Alongside the EP release, Chuckie delivers the official music video for the project’s focus track “The Jones.” The song takes a 180º turn with his sound — all grit and growl — a hard-driving rock track that howls against the tyranny of comparison. Chuckie hit the drum kit on this track, going back to his roots of cymbals and drumsticks and finding the song in the rhythm. The official music video follows a grocery store employee battling his inner demons, fighting the negative thoughts towards his situation.
“We’re all trying to keep up with the Jones,” Chuckie explains. “Sometimes you can just be cool being you, and you don’t always have to look over the fence to see what the other person is doing.”
The Angelsjuxtaposes upbeat grooves with darker lyrical themes, delving into the complex interplay of light and shadow in everyday life. It’s a battleground where light and dark duke it out, with optimism always clawing its way to the surface. “Humans are good in nature, but we deal with bad emotions and the bad things that happen to us,” he says. “It’s about finding your middle ground between those two polar things… that balance is what life is about.”
Chuckie came out of the gate on March 12 with an earworm lead single “One More Round.” The song charges in with a “Baba O’Riley”-inspired guitar that dances on electric strings, quickly dissipating to a laid-back country groove that carries through the earworm chorus. It’s an anthem for the summer nights that are made for living instead of thinking, leaving regrets for tomorrow.
His energetic sophomore single, “I Know IDK,” is a sugar-rush anthem for embracing uncertainty. Its sing-along hook makes you feel like it’s okay not to have it all figured out — as long as you’re still in the fight. With Chuckie’s signature powerhouse vocals riding a sun-soaked groove, this latest “get back up” anthem reassures listeners that no one has all the answers — and that’s okay.
Chuckie Brown is quickly finding his groove in a genre dubbed as “West Coast Country” by some, but one listen and you’ll find the music hard to label as anything other than real. Drawing on lessons from his time as a hockey player — perseverance, self-assessment, and discipline — he approached music with the same focus, shaping his sound with intention and authenticity. “A lot of the things I learned in hockey, I apply to my music,” he explains, as if grinding out power chords and chasing a puck through hostile ice share the same primal pulse.
Even when Chuckie sings about life’s punches — emotional, financial, existential — there’s a stubborn, bone-deep belief that better days are worth fighting for. The Angels is a record about falling down and getting back up, about facing hard truths with defiant joy. However, Chuckie Brown isn’t just making music — he’s making a stand. “It’s about finding that spirit… that ‘get back up’ spirit,” he says. “I have to have faith that on the other side of that push is something better.”
Chuckie hopes listeners will step into his world, sharing in the struggles and triumphs that shape his perspective. “I want people to feel like they’re in my brain,” Chuckie concludes, and his music delivers just that — a candid and compelling invitation to connect through sound.
THE ANGELS TRACKLISTING:
“I Know IDK”
“The Jones”
“One More Round”
“Best Night Of My Life”
“Remind Me That I’m Still Alive”
Today, indie-pop artist Blue Monkey unveils the official music video for “Gleaming,” the seventh and final single from their forthcoming 11-track debut album Ageless, set for release on Friday, June 6. As the sonic alter ego of Charlee Remitz who’s been lauded by LA Weekly, American Songwriter, and Alternative Press, Blue Monkey has long crafted music that defies boundaries, with poignant lyrics and ethereal vocals leading the charge.
The music video shows Blue Monkey in a high school cheerleader uniform, bouncing across the football field with playful dance moves and a generous dose of glitter. It’s a nod to the outsiders — the ones who never quite fit in — and a reminder to stay true to yourself, no matter the pressure to blend in. “Gleaming” (released Friday, May 2) continues Blue Monkey’s vision to promote letting go of things that are not meant to be. The track leans into emotional clarity — urging listeners to release relationships that dim their light. The track blends soft, ambient textures with lyrics that hit where it hurts. It’s an introspective, slow-burn shimmer that challenges the idea of clinging to the comfort of toxicity. Think indie-pop with raw edges and zero pretense.
A sweeping exploration of patience, freedom, and purpose, Ageless blends intricate lyrics, mesmerizing production, and evocative vocals into a genre-blurring journey. Blue Monkey thrives in the in-between — indie without a script, ambient pop without gloss — crafting a sound that embraces beauty over labels. More than artistry, Ageless is a homecoming, urging a life led by joy, not obligation.
Blue Monkey shares, “Over the years, I’ve experienced an intentional softening. I was, at one time, deeply unaffected by my own life. I was harsh and cold, and I felt like things were happening to me without my consent. In time, I wandered into whimsy. I became gentle and soft, and it was all owing to an intuition that everything I’d been through, and every choice I’d made, whether divined, careless, impulsive, backwards, intentional, or reckless was meant for me and could be rebranded as such. That the best thing I could do for myself was to try things out and tangle with the world. That it was all giving me necessary information about my life, information I needed to be the truest expression of who I am.”
In Blue Monkey’s universe, the boundaries between creator and creation dissolve, enabling art to flourish in its most genuine and primal form. Blue Monkey shares, “The moniker, in a way, removes the presence of impact, returning the art to its most primitive stages — creation, or else.” This signifies a break from rigid identities, inviting listeners to step beyond the limits of the self and delve into the essence of retaining childlike imagination, encouraging us to fully embrace our potential without the constraints imposed by society.
“Golden Rule” earned praise from Under the Radar, which noted: “‘Golden Rule’ sees Blue Monkey leaning into gentle, soft-focus folk pop, accompanying her lilting vocals with plaintive acoustic tones and feather-light harmonies.” The track also secured a spot on Apple Music’s “New in Alternative” playlist upon release.
The poetic music video for “Everything You Do Is Meant For You” — an anthem for dreamers who stumble, whether they feel behind, ahead, or perfectly on time — continues Blue Monkey’s tradition of spotlighting unexpected gems: from buying blue bananas at Nashville’s Produce Place to leaving them at the memorial for Miss Baker, the space-traveling squirrel monkey, in Huntsville, AL. The journey wraps up with martinis and a game of pool at Steve’s Cue and Grill, offering a comforting reminder that every moment, whether soaring to space or savoring life’s simple pleasures, unfolds exactly as it’s meant to.
Blue Monkey defies categorization, blending indie-pop with banjo riffs and airy synths in a sound that feels inevitable. Their music is a release — an invitation to strip down identity, reinvent, and embrace freedom. With vivid lyrics that provoke reflection and self-discovery, Blue Monkey carves out a space beyond boundaries, inspiring others to explore, play, and live without labels.
AGELESS TRACKLIST: “The Earthquake That Shook California”
“Young in Hollywood”
“Gleaming”
“Common Enemies”
“Pylons”
“Dive Bar Christmas”
“Memories on the Bleachers”
“Golden Rule”
“Pretty Things”
“Everything You Do Is Meant For You”
“Ageless”
Last week, the Arizona native debuted a new track from the project, “what are friends for?,” an introspective ballad about friend breakups. “Girl drama is a real thing, and I love how that song captures the experience of feeling frustrated and betrayed and guilty all at the same time,” Avery says.
Every song on let go letters is inspired by real-life situations that her fans shared with her in a letter series, which has long been a safe place for her listener community to ‘let go’ of experiences that may be troubling them by writing them down and sending them off. Avery read these letters and took the general themes—anything from depression, abuse, addiction, body dysmorphia, and fractured family relationships—and turned them into songs, making her fans’ experiences the center of the project to let them know they’re heard, seen, and not alone.
“I started asking people for their letters because I wanted to give them some kind of emotional outlet, but they ended up shifting my whole perspective on so many things in life,” says Avery. “After a while, it felt almost impossible not to write about the letters, and over time, this album became a way to thank everyone for being so vulnerable and sharing their lives with me.”
Looking back on the emotional whirlwind of creating let go letters, Avery reveals that the album profoundly strengthened her sense of purpose. “There was a period of time where I felt so sad from reading all the letters; some were so tragic that I memorized them,” she says. “But I kept coming back to the fact that it’s my duty as an artist to help people cope with their feelings, which really eased my mind. I think it’s a beautiful thing to connect with a stranger on a level where you can truly see them for who they are, and hold the door open for them to hopefully find some peace. So as heavy as this whole process was, in the end it was just as uplifting.”
Thanks to her boundless empathy—as well as the subtle force and spellbinding power of her vocal work—Avery inhabits the album with a depth of emotion that makes every lyric feel undeniably lived-in. Featuring 14 tracks all penned or co-penned by Avery and produced by David Fanning, let go letters follows the singer-songwriter’s celebrated 2024 debut album, Breakup Over Breakfast. The new project includes her recently released “danny don’t,” which Billboard praised her “sterling, gripping vocal that she wraps around this response to a letter from a fan who was battling internal struggles and contemplating giving up on life.” Country Central called the song “empathetically comforting,” noting that it “makes a strong statement for Anna’s songwriting talent.” “Mr. Predictable,” another previously released track on the highly anticipated project, has quickly become a fan favorite. Holler lauded that the track “doubles down on the powerful, deeply vulnerable and conversational ambiance the country prodigy has always laced into her music…that feels like she’s drawing straight from her journal.”
let go letters Track List:
1. Love, Avery (Avery Anna)
2. Mr. Predictable (Avery Anna, David Fanning, Ben Williams)
3. GRAVE (Avery Anna, David Fanning, Andy Sheridan, Ben Williams)
4. what are friends for? (Avery Anna)
5. Self Esteem 4 Sale (Avery Anna, David Fanning, Andy Sheridan, Ben Williams)
6. my mother lies (voice memo) (Avery Anna)
7. skinny (Avery Anna, David Fanning, Andy Sheridan, Ben Williams)
8. depresion (Avery Anna, David Fanning, Travis Heidelman)
10. cheerios (Avery Anna, David Fanning, Andy Sheridan, Ben Williams)
11. danny don’t (Avery Anna)
12. there’s no you (voice memo) (Avery Anna, David Fanning, Ben Williams, Andy Sheridan)
13. butterfly project (Avery Anna)
14. Wish You Well (Avery Anna, David Fanning, Jon Hume)
A member of theOpry NextStage class of 2025, Avery took the stage at the Opry NextStage Live From Texas event last week ahead of the ACM Awards. She is currently climbing the radio charts with Sam Barber on their viral duet, “Indigo.” The pair shared a performance of the track on The Kelly Clarkson Show earlier this year.
With more than 450 million global streams to date, the songstress has quickly become an in-demand touring artist. Earlier this year, Avery brought her electric live show to the main stage at C2C festival across London, Belfast, and Glasgow, and last month, she returned to Stagecoach. Billboard named her Stagecoach set as one of the ‘best moments’ of the day, lauding the “impressive amount of fans singing to her own originals,” and the way she “twirled around on stage, like she was leading her very own Fearless World Tour.” This summer, she’ll join Luke Bryan’s Country Song Came On Tour and Brad Paisley’s Truck Still Works World Tour for select dates.
Phil Vassar cranks up the heat with his brand-new anthem “All American Summer,” out today. Having premiered exclusively with Storme Warren on Garth Brooks’ The Big 615, the feel-good track was co-written by Vassar — the multi-award-winning singer-songwriter and piano-pounding hitmaker — alongside longtime collaborator Tony Mullins.
Vassar shares, “‘All American Summer’ is a song I wrote with my good friend Tony Mullins, who’s not only a great guy and incredible songwriter but also a fellow Virginian. We actually grew up just down the road from each other, so we share a lot of the same memories — the lakes, the long summer days, all that good stuff. I’ve always loved summertime songs — like ‘Six-Pack Summer’ and others — and when Tony and I came up with the idea for ‘All American Summer,’ I really feel like we knocked it out of the park. It’s just a lot of fun, and really kicks off the season the right way!”
Tony Mullins is one of Nashville’s most accomplished GRAMMY Award-winning songwriters, known for crafting chart-topping hits across country music. His credits include the 2000 ASCAP Song of the Year, “How Forever Feels,” recorded by Kenny Chesney, along with standout songs for artists like Ricky Skaggs, Rascal Flatts, LeAnn Rimes, Tim McGraw, and Craig Morgan.
It’s ‘Just Another Day in Paradise’ for Vassar as he gears up to bring his fiery keys and signature sound to stages across the nation for the “25 Years of Paradise” Tour. The 15-date (and counting) trek, kicking off May 30 at Freedom Country Fest, marks a milestone moment — celebrating the 25th anniversary of his era-defining smash “Just Another Day in Paradise.”
Phil Vassar is a two-time ASCAP Country Songwriter of the Year (1999, 2001) and ACM Top New Male Vocalist whose celebrated career includes 10 No. 1 hits and 27 Top 40 singles. As a prolific songwriter, he has penned chart-toppers for artists such as Tim McGraw (“My Next Thirty Years,” “For a Little While”), Alan Jackson (“Right on the Money”), Jo Dee Messina (“Bye Bye,” “Alright”), Collin Raye (“Little Red Rodeo”), and Blackhawk (“Postmarked Birmingham”). He’s released nine albums and toured internationally, with performances spanning Europe, Australia, and even the White House. Vassar’s enduring impact on country music is marked by fan-favorite singles like “Carlene,” “Six-Pack Summer,” “American Child,” and the iconic “Just Another Day in Paradise,” which celebrates its 25th anniversary in 2025. Whether behind a grand piano or on a festival stage, he remains one of country music’s most engaging and enduring entertainers.
