Here’s some the best Americana and roots-type music releases for September 25th, 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.
Mary Gauthier
Reckoning (Soundly Music)
Singer-songwriter Mary Gauthier knows what it’s like to be down and out. She’s lived it. This makes her an astute and credible observer of the human condition, told through stories, character sketches, and topics many would avoid. Reckoning has all those, with threads of survival, faith, and resilience running through many of them. The template is Bruce Springsteen’s Nebraska, almost entirely rendered by Gauthier on her guitar and harmonica. This is heady, perceptive writing from Gauthier, from whom we expect nothing less. Reckoning may well be her most impactful album to date, though Mercy Now is certainly in the same conversation. (edited from Glide Magazine review)
Ian Noe
Canyon Falls Trailer Band (Lock13 Records)
Ian Noe thinks big. Containing 16 songs and running nearly an hour, his epic third album concludes a trilogy exploring the world of his eastern Kentucky home. Mixing driving old-school country and moody ballads, Canyon Falls Trailer Band captures the performance of a fictional group auditioning for record executives at a Nashville showcase. Do these hopefuls get signed? He doesn’t say, but this is a dazzling work in any case. Blessed with an easygoing twang, Noe is a fine honky-tonk singer in a noble tradition stretching all the way back to Hank Williams. Encompassing more ideas than Noe can shoehorn comfortably into a single work, Canyon Falls Trailer Band is a concept album begging to be repurposed for the legitimate stage, where his inventive songs could be stitched into a full-fledged narrative. But it’s hardly a crime to offer too much good stuff in one serving. Given the embarrassment of riches on display here, it’s probably wise to keep an eye on Ian Noe. He’s likely headed for even bigger and better things. (edited from No Depression review)
Also new this week…
Wade Bowen – The Version of Me You Get (Bowen Sounds) +
Blue Ren – Unbecoming (self-release)
The Brook & The Bluff – Lookout Pond (Dualtone Music Group)
Dallas Burrow – Modern Day Vagabond (Forty Below Records)
Mac Cornish – Wayfaring Woman (self-release) +
Jeffrey Halford & the Healers – Used Parts (Floating Records)
The Heists – Break & Mend (self-release) +
Humbird – Morning When It Comes (self-release)
Israel Nash – Sweetheart of the Rodeo (Desert Folklore Records))
Joy Oladokun – Hope Is a Heavy Thing (Feed The Family/Concord Records) +
Bill Scorzari – Sidereal Days (Day 2) (self-release)
Coming out soon… Wynonna, Shinyribs, Margo Cilker, Laura Cortese, Todd Snider, Bruce Cockburn, Richard Thompson, Charlie Parr, Willi Carlisle, Kaitlin Butts, Josh Rouse, John Leventhal and more!
