Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for October 17th, 2025. 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.
Alison Brown & Steve Martin
Safe, Sensible, & Sane (Compass Records)
The debut collaborative album from Alison Brown and Steve Martin, Safe, Sensible and Sane, is a collection inspired by a shared fascination with the unique beauty of the banjo. After achieving a No. 1 hit with the first tune they ever wrote together (“Foggy Morning Breaking,” from Brown’s 2023 LP On Banjo), the two musicians started dreaming up a batch of banjo-centered songs built on Brown’s daringly innovative melodies and Martin’s quirky yet profoundly tender lyrics. They are joined on the project by numerous musical luminaries, including Jackson Browne, Jason Mraz, Indigo Girls, Aoife O’Donovan, Vince Gill, Tim O’Brien, Della Mae, and others.
Todd Snider
High, Lonesome and Then Some. (Aimless Records)
At 57, Snider is still chasing something, though maybe not the same things he used to. In recent years, spinal stenosis has sidelined him, forcing him off the road and into an uneasy truce with pain. He’s spoken frankly about the condition—how it “doesn’t get better, just worse,” how he’s learning to walk again, how doctors and chiropractors keep him moving. High Lonesome and Then Some is the sound of a man who’s been to the brink, looked around, and decided to laugh rather than moan. It’s also the sound of a survivor who knows how easily the line between holding on and letting go can disappear. Throughout the record, Snider’s writing remains sharp, his phrasing elastic, his humor essential. He’s still the same guy who once called himself “a stoner with a notebook,” but the notebook’s heavier now. “Recently,” Snider says, “I heard someone say, ‘If you’re not angry, you’re not paying attention.’ So I tried it, and so far so good.” Maybe so—but what he’s really paying attention to here is life itself: the absurd, the tender, the fleeting. (edited from Americana Highway review)
Also new this week…
Blaine Bailey – Indian Country (independent)
Mike Hollon – Irving Park (Mo’s Records)
Jim Keller – End of the World (Continental Record Services) +
AJ Lee & Blue Summit – Cover to Cover V1 (Signature Sounds Recordings)
Rosy Nolan – Main Attraction (independent)
William Prince – Further From the Country (Six Shooter Records) +
Ruen Brothers – Awooo (Yep Roc Records)
Bill Scorzari – Sidereal Days (Day 1) (independent) +
Joshua Ray Walker – Stuff (East Dallas Records)
Coming out soon … Ed Dupas, Joshua Hedley, Brandi Carlile, Bernie Leadon, Willie Nelson, Miss Emily, and more!
