Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for May 29th, 2026. Click the artist or album links to find out more. The artist’s names link to their websites and the CD title links go to either Amazon, iTunes, Bandcamp or the artist’s site for ordering or downloading. A + sign means although not a featured release, it’s a notable album that’s still worth checking out. Also, this page will be updated as I find out about other new releases so check back again.
Willie Nelson
Dream Chaser (Sony Music)
As has been customary over the last few years, Willie Nelson used the opportunity of his Luck Reunion appearance to announce a new album. his 79th studio release called Dream Chaser. It’s not a tribute album like many of his recent releases, but one that will include more original music, including six songs co-written by Willie. One of the album’s most notable tracks is “I Can’t Read Your Mind,” a sly, lyrical co-write featuring Bob Dylan and Cannon, born from their time touring together on the Outlaw Festival. It’s a funny, sly lyrical ballad with a nice hook, the spirits of miscommunication, yearning and confusion blending in their songwriting to a tasty sauce of emotional complexity. All in all, the album delivers exactly what fans have come to expect from Willie: delivers exactly what fans have come to expect from the outlaw legend: succinct, intimate, and introspective storytelling. Clocking in at a breezy 30 minutes, the 10-track project serves as a warm, conversational meditation on aging, mortality, and the road. (edited from the Arts Desk review)
Joshua Ray Walker
Ain’t Dead Yet (East Dallas Records)
In January 2024, Walker was diagnosed with Stage 3B colon cancer (eventually developing into Stage 4). Walker woke up fast, and a journey of self-discovery began for the Dallas songwriter, who is now a year and a half cancer-free. Like most of Walker’s music, the album, produced by longtime collaborator John Pedigo, has a retro-country feel. It features pedal steel, fiddle, and Walker’s sweet tenor, all of which support songs that are deceptively simple in their lyrical approach. Much like the country singers of the 1960s and earlier, Walker can pack a punch into terse, straightforward turns of phrase. I Ain’t Dead Yet chronicles his experiences to date and, fittingly, tries to make sense of them all, to glean some wisdom from the harrowing years that preceded its release. (edited from Americana UK review)
Also new this week…
Clay DuBose – Father Time & Mother Nature (Lazy River Records)
Nathan Evans Fox – Heirloom (Free Dirt Records)
Alexis Harte – Thirsty (independent)
Jesse and Noah – The Sunshine Shop (Usonia Records)
David Serby – Broken Heart In A Honky Tonk (independent)
Susto and Susto Stringband – Susto Stringband Vol. 2 (Missing Piece Records)
Don Williams – Epilogue: The Cellar Tapes (Craft Recordings)
Coming out soon… Old Crow Medicine Show, The Two Tracks, Caleb Caudle, Colby Acuff, Grey DeLisle and Les Greene, John R. Miller, Breakfield, The Red Clay Strays, Charlie Marie, Jason Eady, Bella White, Maya de Vitry, Rodney Crowell, Corb Lund, Tift Merritt, Silverada and more!
