Kacey Musgraves, the Grammy-winning singer-songwriter from Golden, Texas, isn’t done with Middle of Nowhere—her recent traditional country record featuring pedal steel, Western swing, and guest appearances from Willie Nelson, Miranda Lambert, and Billy Strings.

She’s taking it south.

On Oct. 22, she announced Middle of Nowhere Vol. 2: Tex Mex Tapes, out Jan. 15. Four of its 16 songs are sung entirely in Spanish, per Billboard, and the first two singles, “Weekend in Texas” and “Mi Tesoro,” came out the same night.

The timing is hard to miss. Musgraves, who has never shied away from politics, releases the album as deportations approach record levels and the Trump administration’s enforcement push falls hardest on Texas’s Latino communities.

Musgraves has criticized masked ICE agents, and at her Chicago tour opener she asked fans to support the Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights: “It’s not a political thing. It’s just, these kids need help.” This month the White House used her “Mexico Honey” in a deportation TikTok; the audio has since been pulled.

On Oct. 6, she released a Spanish-language “Uncertain, TX” with Intocable, the Tejano giants from Zapata, Texas.

Watch: Kacey Musgraves and Intocable perform ‘Uncertain, TX’ (Spanish Version)

It’s her first song recorded entirely in Spanish, sung with frontman Ricky Muñoz. The original, a duet with Willie Nelson from May’s Middle of Nowhere, was already a No. 1 on Texas radio.

Watch: Kacey Musgraves, Willie Nelson perform ‘Uncertain, TX’

In Dallas, five days after releasing the single, she brought out the Mariachi Brothers, three teenagers from McAllen, for “Tú Sólo Tú,” “(Hey Baby) Qué Pasó” and “Uncertain, TX.”

In February, ICE detained the brothers and their parents at a routine check-in. After about two weeks in custody, and a push from their Republican congresswoman, they were released. Musgraves invited them to open her May release shows at Gruene Hall in New Braunfels, where they played “El Son de la Negra” and “La Bamba,” then joined her for “Tú Sólo Tú,” CNN en Español reported. (Watch a clip.)

Watch: McAllen mariachi brothers say opening for Kacey Musgraves among biggest performances of careers

In March, Musgraves told NPR she grew up hearing Mexican music all over East Texas and now spends about half her life in Mexico. Mariachi, she said, is Mexico’s version of folk country. “Texas would not be Texas without Mexico in many ways.”

She’s right. Through the 1700s, Texas was the northern edge of New Spain, and Mexican vaqueros were working cattle there long before Anglo settlers arrived. Texas broke from Mexico in 1836, and the U.S. annexed it in 1845, the same year German settlers founded New Braunfels. German and Czech immigrants brought the button accordion, the dance hall, and the polkas, waltzes, and schottisches that would shape Texas music in two languages. The 1848 Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo made the Rio Grande the border, but the Mexican families north of it stayed, and so did their music.

By the late 1800s, the accordion had reached South Texas and northern Mexico, and in Jalisco mariachi was taking shape as a string band. Mariachi Vargas de Tecalitlán, formed there in the 1890s, still sets the standard for “El Son de la Negra” and “La Bamba.”

By the 1920s, Tejano musicians had paired the accordion with the 12-string bajo sexto to create conjunto, which historian Manuel Peña called “the everyday music of working-class Texas Mexicans.” In northern Mexico, the same pairing became norteño.

In the 1930s, Narciso Martínez, the father of conjunto, started recording, and Lydia Mendoza cut “Mal Hombre.” Mexico City radio and film added trumpets to mariachi.

Watch: ‘Mal Hombre’ performed by Lydia Mendoza

From the same dance-hall polkas and waltzes, Bob Wills and his Texas Playboys built Western swing and wrote “San Antonio Rose.”

Watch: ‘San Antonio Rose’ by Bob Wills

The two sounds traded freely: Beto Villa, the father of the orquesta tejana, brought big-band swing to Tejano music in the late 1940s with Martínez on accordion.

Watch: ‘Pachuca Blues’ by Beto Villa with Narciso Martínez

In 1969, Willie Nelson bought Trigger, a nylon-string Martin built for the Spanish-guitar market. He was chasing Django Reinhardt’s sound, but he ended up putting a Spanish guitar at the center of country music for half a century.

Watch: Willie Nelson playing ‘Nuages,’ by Django Reinhardt

His biographer Joe Nick Patoski notes that polka, the same music that gave conjunto its accordion, first got Willie out of the cotton fields. And when you hear Willie Nelson play polka music on his famous guitar, the similarities to traditional Tejano music are undeniable.

Watch: Willie Nelson & The Family Band perform ‘Beer Barrel Polka’

In the ’70s, Johnny Rodriguez became one of country’s first Mexican American stars with “Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico”; Little Joe & La Familia became Tejano mainstays, with songs like “¿Qué Pasó?”; and Freddy Fender topped the country chart with the bilingual “Before the Next Teardrop Falls.”

Watch: ‘Ridin’ My Thumb to Mexico’ by Johnny Rodriguez

Watch: Freddy Fender performs ‘Before the Next Teardrop Falls’

Then came Linda Ronstadt. Raised in Tucson in a family that had straddled the border for generations, she released Canciones de Mi Padre in 1987: rancheras she learned from her father, arranged by Rubén Fuentes. It became the best-selling non-English-language album in U.S. history, and its “Tú Sólo Tú” is the same ranchera Musgraves now covers.

Watch: Linda Ronstadt performs ‘Tú Sólo Tú’ (You Only You)

In 1989, Doug Sahm and Augie Meyers formed the Texas Tornados with Fender and accordionist Flaco Jiménez, giving us “(Hey Baby) Qué Pasó” and “Who Were You Thinkin’ Of.” Jiménez also played on Ronstadt’s 1991 follow-up, Más Canciones. Radney Foster, from the border town of Del Rio, scored with “Just Call Me Lonesome” in 1992; Selena took Tejano to its peak with 1994’s “Amor Prohibido”; and Nelson made 1998’s Teatro with Daniel Lanois.

In the 2000s, Nashville pop-country artists mostly used Mexico as a vacation backdrop, in songs by Tim McGraw (“Mexicoma”), Alan Jackson (“Mexico, Tequila And Me”), Toby Keith (“Stays in Mexico”) and George Strait (“The Seashores of Old Mexico”). Strait went further on 2009’s Twang, singing José Alfredo Jiménez’s “El Rey” in Spanish.

Watch: George Strait perform ‘El Rey’

On their 2018 Smithsonian Folkways album Cruzando Borders, the San Antonio conjunto band Los Texmaniacs brought in Lyle Lovett to sing Woody Guthrie’s “Deportee.” The song is also known as “Plane Wreck at Los Gatos.” Guthrie wrote it after reading a 1948 newspaper account of a plane crash in California that killed Mexican farm workers being flown home, and the article never named the Mexican victims, calling them only “deportees.”

Watch: Los Texmaniacs perform ‘Deportee’ featuring Lyle Lovett

In early 2024, Mexican superstar Carín León and country singer Kane Brown released “The One (Pero No Como Yo),” a career milestone for both artists and a landmark crossover between American country and música mexicana. The song is a stripped-down bilingual breakup ballad, and it debuted live at the Premio Lo Nuestro Awards. León later made his debut at Nashville’s Grand Ole Opry, with Brown cheering him on from the audience, the first time a música mexicana artist had played country music’s most storied stage.

Watch: Carín León perform at the Grand Ole Opry

That’s the tradition Musgraves is stepping into, and Tex Mex Tapes goes back to the source. She told NPR that Mexican music shaped her “in ways that I wasn’t even aware of.” The songs she’s covering were carried for generations by Tejano and Mexican musicians, many from the same communities now facing deportation, and they were in Texas before Texas was Texas.

She also said a night at an Austin dance hall, where Latino couples, Black and older white cowboys shared the floor, inspired the record. Tex Mex Tapes brings that whole dance floor onto one record. It’s out Jan. 15.

And if you’d like to listen to more of the music I highlighted here, check out this article’s playlist on Spotify.

Nobody tells Sturgill Simpson what to do. Not Nashville. Not the labels. Not the algorithms. And not even the fans who want him to make Metamodern Sounds forever.

If you’ve been following his career, you already know this. Mutiny After Midnight is just the latest proof.

Think about the arc. He arrived in 2013 with Metamodern Sounds in Country Music — a record steeped in classic country tradition that made him an immediate darling of the alt-country world.

Then he made A Sailor’s Guide to Earth, a soul record dressed as a love letter to his son.

Then Sound & Fury, a psychedelic rock album accompanied by an anime film.

Then the Cuttin’ Grass bluegrass records.

Then The Ballad of Dood and Juanita, a western narrative that sounded like a 1950s radio play.

Then he retired the Sturgill Simpson name entirely. He’d promised five studio albums under his own name, he delivered five, and he was done. Enter Johnny Blue Skies — and now, with Mutiny After Midnight, Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds.

This album is a dance record. A groove record. Simpson has cited the ‘70s fusion supergroup Stuff and Marvin Gaye’s 1981 album In Our Lifetime as touchstones, and you can hear both all over it. It was recorded live at Dan Auerbach’s Easy Eye Sound Studios in Nashville with his band, the musicians he’s been on the road with for 13 years, and every song was written on the spot.

“I wrote words to what is happening in the world and my life in real time, and played with a group of musicians I deeply love and respect,” Simpson said. “Together, we made an album that is very fun and will hopefully offer some relief from darkness in the world.”

Make no mistake: this is a protest album. Simpson said as much himself. In his letter announcing the record, he wrote that the mutiny “is a protest against oppression and suppression, and the only tried and tested true antidote to that is pure, unfiltered, unapologetic, relentless disco-hedonism.” The dance floor as an act of resistance. Joy as defiance. It’s an old idea — Marvin Gaye knew it, James Brown knew it — and Simpson is working squarely in that tradition.

The nine tracks open with “Make America Fuk Again” and close with “Ain’t That a Bitch,” and the politics are explicit throughout. “Excited Delirium” directly takes on police and ICE brutality. “Everyone Is Welcome” addresses the grinding exhaustion of the rat race before turning nihilistic.

And “Ain’t That a Bitch” is a full-throated indictment — of the president, of oligarchs, of a democracy Simpson sees being systematically dismantled. The poor stay poor, the rich get rich, and nobody’s going to jail for any of it.

But Simpson doesn’t wallow. In between those bookends, he pivots hard to love, desire, and pure physical joy. He described the songs as falling into two categories, the dark state of the world and the bright state of love, and said the band chose to embrace those contradictions rather than resolve them. That tension is the whole point. It’s right there in the band name: Johnny Blue Skies & The Dark Clouds.

The album’s release was pure Simpson, too: announced as a physical-only record on vinyl, CD, and cassette, then posted to YouTube two weeks early after early copies got into the wild. You can read the original press release from Shore Fire Media here. The chaos of the rollout felt fitting for an artist who has never once done things the way he was supposed to.

That’s what makes Simpson one of the most valuable artists working in and around country music today. He doesn’t make records to satisfy expectations — his fans’, the industry’s, or anyone else’s.

He makes records because he has something to say and a band he believes in. Mutiny After Midnight is loose, alive, political, warm, and unlike anything else out right now. In a genre that too often rewards playing it safe, that matters.

Rivers swelled after days of relentless rain driven by an atmospheric river stretching across the Pacific. Fields across the Pacific Northwest disappeared under brown water. Roads closed. Small towns were briefly cut off from the rest of the state. 

In places like Sumas, Washington, a rural community on the U.S.-Canada border about 110 miles north of Seattle, residents waded to pharmacies and neighbors’ homes, reliving a trauma they had already endured just four years earlier.

For rural communities like Sumas, the December floods underscored a growing reality in American disaster response: local governments are being asked to do more as federal capacity thins, leaving volunteers with shovels and sandbags to shoulder much of the frontline work.

One Storm, Two Outcomes

Mount Vernon, about 70 miles south of Sumas on the edge of the Seattle metropolitan region, experienced the same storm very differently, as reported by Cascadia Daily News.

Mount Vernon and Sumas sit in river valleys shaped by glacial runoff and sustained by agriculture. Both are accustomed to flooding and lie within counties where rivers routinely test levees and roads. In December, both watched water levels climb as the same atmospheric river pushed the region toward record flooding.

In Mount Vernon, a city of about 35,000 along the Skagit River, residents strolled the downtown riverwalk on the morning of December 13, coffee cups in hand, as rolling brown water surged past under a bright blue sky. Just days earlier, local and state officials had been preparing for the Skagit to crest over the city’s flood wall and pour into downtown businesses. It never did. The river crested at a record 37.73 feet, but the wall held.

Later that morning, Sens. Patty Murray and Maria Cantwell walked the flood wall alongside Gov. Bob Ferguson and Mount Vernon Mayor Peter Donovan. Murray, who helped secure federal funding for the wall years earlier, called it “preventative infrastructure,” noting that during major floods two decades ago she had stood knee-deep in water where she now stood dry. Mayor Donovan said the wall had saved 225 downtown buildings and spared business owners not only physical damage but steep insurance losses.

But in Sumas, the scene was starkly different.

At the Sumas Advent Christian Church, the Whatcom Long Term Recovery Group coordinated hundreds of volunteers in a space that resembled a command center more than a sanctuary. Residents signed release forms, met with caseworkers, and were sent out with gloves, boots, and hazmat suits. English and Spanish flowed freely. Volunteers mucked out homes, cleaned crawl spaces to prevent mold, and distributed supplies. Over two days, an estimated 400 to 500 residents from Sumas and nearby Everson sought help.

For many, it was their second time gutting a flooded home.

The difference between Mount Vernon and Sumas was not geography, weather, or effort. It was investment. Mount Vernon’s flood wall reflects decades of planning, engineering expertise, and administrative capacity to secure federal mitigation funding. Sumas, like many small rural towns, lacks the financial base and staffing capacity to pursue comparable infrastructure, leaving it exposed when the river rises.

Together, the two cities offer a clear case study of how communities in the same region, facing the same storm, can emerge with dramatically different futures depending on access to long-term disaster investment.

Recovery by Hand

The growing burden of emergency preparedness and response falling on local communities, rather than federal agencies, is not accidental. It reflects a broader shift in federal disaster policy. As President Trump said in June, “We want to wean off of FEMA, and we want to bring it down to a state level.”

In recent years, FEMA’s capacity has tightened amid staffing shortages, leadership turnover, and workforce attrition. At the same time, federal policy has increasingly emphasized state and local responsibility for disaster preparedness, response, and resilience. Today, the federal role in emergency preparedness and response is framed as supplemental.

In theory, greater local control allows communities to tailor disaster response to local risks. In practice, it favors places with dense populations, strong tax bases, technical expertise, and political leverage. Rural communities, which often lack all three, are left more exposed.

Most states maintain disaster-specific reserves or rainy day funds, but these accounts are frequently insufficient, volatile, or already drawn down by recent disasters. As a result, reductions in federal support are likely to slow recovery, widen budget shortfalls, and deepen harm, especially in rural and disaster-prone regions.

The December floods in Washington illustrated how this shift plays out on the ground. With federal resources constrained, state and local governments naturally prioritize higher-population areas and critical economic centers, increasing pressure on small rural communities that already operate with limited staff and funding.

FEMA Under Attack

A 2025 Government Accountability Office report placed the delivery of federal disaster assistance on the federal government’s High-Risk List, citing the growing frequency and cost of disasters alongside long-standing staffing and coordination challenges at FEMA.

Earlier this year, Elon Musk’s Department of Government Efficiency publicly attacked FEMA over its funding of migrant housing, triggering a chain of political actions that froze billions of dollars in disaster recovery grants and disrupted aid to storm-battered communities nationwide.

After Musk falsely claimed FEMA had diverted disaster funds to house undocumented immigrants, the Trump administration issued orders restricting migrant-related spending. Those directives left FEMA staff without clear guidance, effectively halting payments to states, local governments, utilities, colleges, and nonprofits.

The funding freeze has produced tangible consequences for communities recovering from hurricanes, floods, tornadoes, and wildfires. Nonprofits assisting survivors in Florida, North Carolina, Hawaii, and elsewhere reported delayed reimbursements that threaten layoffs and service cuts just as new disaster seasons approach. Utilities and local governments, left waiting on FEMA payments, have been forced to borrow money to cover emergency repairs, shifting long-term costs onto residents.

These delays are compounded by a disaster landscape in which emergencies no longer arrive one at a time. FEMA increasingly enters peak disaster seasons with much of its workforce already deployed, while attrition and workforce reductions have further thinned the pool of experienced responders. The result is not the absence of federal aid, but slower and more limited delivery. Damage assessments take longer. Approvals stall. The agency relies more heavily on surge workers with limited disaster experience.

Large cities with well-funded emergency management departments can sometimes absorb these gaps. Rural communities like Sumas, operating with smaller staffs and fewer financial buffers, cannot.

Survivors Push Back

As policy debates unfold in Congress and the White House, disaster survivors have grown increasingly vocal.

Survivors from more than 10 states and Puerto Rico gathered on Capitol Hill in December to demand accountability from DHS leadership. They described months-long delays in assistance after deadly floods, wildfires, and storms and called for congressional hearings and direct engagement from federal officials.

“When FEMA cannot fully function, real people pay the price,” said Brandy Gerstner, a flood survivor from Texas whose family lost multiple homes and a business. Months after disaster struck, she said only a fraction of FEMA claims in her area had been approved.

Current and former FEMA employees have also spoken out, warning that staffing cuts and leadership instability put disaster victims at risk. Some whistleblowers say they faced retaliation after raising concerns.

Farms on the Front Line

The December floods were not an anomaly. Climate-driven extreme weather is becoming more frequent, leaving less time for recovery between disasters.

Nowhere is that clearer than on rural Washington’s farms.

Agriculture depends on floodplains for fertile soil, placing farms directly in harm’s way when rivers rise. Berry growers faced submerged fields and clogged irrigation systems. Repairs can cost thousands of dollars per acre before any revenue returns.

In the Snoqualmie Valley, farmer Gary Remlinger watched nearly five feet of water submerge his family’s strawberry fields, the worst flood he had seen in six decades.

On other farms, Farmworker advocates say they witnessed workers laboring in hazardous conditions. Lucy Madrigal of Community to Community reported seeing workers in muddy brussels sprout fields at one farm, while her colleague Isaac Cavazos said workers at another site continued operating near flooded areas to protect crops. Advocates said the incidents echoed painful memories from the 2021 floods, when a farmworker drowned while traveling to work, underscoring concerns that worker safety is again being put at risk during disasters.

Dairy farmers faced immediate logistical crises. Lactating cows must be milked every eight hours. Moving them requires power, equipment, clean water, and feed. Temporary milking operations are difficult to establish in the middle of a flood.

For many farmers, recovery depends on insurance, personal savings, and federal aid. When assistance is delayed, losses compound.

Who Carries the Weight

As waters recede across western Washington, recovery will take months or years. Fields must dry. Infrastructure must be repaired. Families and farms will navigate slow and complex assistance systems.

The larger question is already pressing. If FEMA continues shifting responsibility toward local governments without restoring capacity and investment, vulnerable rural communities will continue to carry disproportionate risk.

The December floods tested more than rivers and levees. They tested a disaster response system in transition.

For rural Washington, the message was clear: disasters are becoming more severe, while responsibility is becoming more local. Without renewed federal commitment, the weight of disaster response will continue to fall heaviest on the communities least equipped to carry it.

The post Recent FEMA Shifts Leave Rural Communities Carrying the Weight of Disaster Response appeared first on Yonlander.

Watch “A Certain Someone” by Lukas Nelson

Nelson describes the new songs as an extension of the album’s sonic landscape. “‘Certain Someone’ is a hopeful song that came assisted by Anderson East and Foy Vance, recorded at Anderson’s studio. The concept was born as I was walking along the river in Boston, MA,” Nelson shares. “’The Last Wild River’ I wrote along the Yampa River in Colorado with a good friend, who explained to me that the Yampa was one of the last rivers in America that wasn’t dammed up. We recorded it at Shooter Jennings’ studio in LA. I’m grateful to have these other songs to complement what was an incredibly inspiring moment musically. I hope you enjoy.”

Watch “The Last Wild River” by Lukas Nelson

The release caps off a year of significant momentum for Nelson, who has recently appeared on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon, The Howard Stern Show, The Joe Rogan Experience, and Rolling Stone’s Nashville Now podcast. Listen and share the new tracks here, and stream or purchase the full album here.

Lukas Nelson’s artistic range is shaped in part by his background. Born in 1988, he is the son of legendary country musician Willie Nelson and Annie D’Angelo. Raised between Texas and Hawaii, Nelson spent his childhood surfing and skateboarding before turning more seriously toward music. He wrote his first song at age 11, which later appeared on Willie Nelson’s 2004 album It Always Will Be, signaling an early start to what would become a formidable career.

After a brief stint at Loyola Marymount University, Nelson turned fully toward music, forming Lukas Nelson & Promise of the Real in 2008 after meeting drummer Anthony LoGerfo at a Neil Young concert. The band quickly became known for its high-energy performances and served as Neil Young’s touring and studio band for several years. In June 2024, Promise of the Real announced an indefinite hiatus, opening the door for Nelson to deepen his solo work—a path that culminated in American Romance.

Nelson’s national profile expanded dramatically following his work on the 2018 film A Star Is Born. After Bradley Cooper saw Nelson perform at the Desert Trip Festival, he approached him to help craft the film’s musical authenticity. Nelson co-wrote eight songs for the project with Cooper and Lady Gaga, contributed significantly to the arrangements, and appeared in the film alongside his band.

His contributions earned him both a BAFTA Award for Best Original Music and a Grammy Award for Best Compilation Soundtrack for Visual Media, solidifying him not only as a performer but as a respected creative force across media.

Produced by Grammy Award-winner Shooter Jennings, American Romance marks Nelson’s debut solo album following the hiatus of Promise of the Real. Released on June 20, 2025, the twelve-track record blends elements of country, folk, and Americana, featuring collaborations with Sierra Ferrell and Stephen Wilson Jr.

The album also includes contributions from an accomplished roster of musicians such as Anderson East (producer, “Disappearing Light”), SistaStrings (cello/viola), Matt Chamberlain, Corey McCormick, Marty Muse, Russ Pahl, Chris Powell, Brian Whelan, and Eleanor Whitmore. Across the project, Nelson explores themes born from years on the road—love, loss, beauty, and the humbling wanderlust that defines much of his storytelling.

Over more than a decade, Nelson has released eight studio albums, including the widely acclaimed Sticks and Stones (2023), which spent 18 weeks in the Top 10 of the Americana Albums chart and reached #1 on the Alt Country chart. A sought-after collaborator, he has worked with artists such as Lainey Wilson, Ernest, Miranda Lambert, and The Pistol Annies.

In early 2025, Nelson honored the Grateful Dead at the MusiCares Person of the Year Gala, performing “It Must Have Been the Roses” with Sierra Ferrell. He has also sold out headline tours and appeared at major festivals including Stagecoach, Ohana Festival, Bourbon & Beyond, and Farm Aid, while making multiple late-night TV appearances on Jimmy Kimmel Live! and The Late Show with Stephen Colbert.

With the release of American Romance, too, Lukas Nelson continues building on a defining moment in his career—drawing from his roots, his travels, his collaborations, and a lifelong connection to music. The new songs offer a deeper look into the creative wellspring behind American Romance, reaffirming Nelson’s place as one of the most compelling voices in modern country and Americana.

Watch The King Is Back by Luke Bell

The project was lovingly assembled by Luke’s mother Carol Bell and manager Brian Buchanan, with support from his sister Jane Bell and Tiffany Buchanan. Production credits include Andrija Tokic, Stephen Daly, Justin Frances, and Bell himself. Every song on the collection was written by Luke.

Available today on digital platforms, CD, and a double LP pressed on cloud-colored vinyl, the deluxe edition also includes a 24-page lyric booklet featuring rare photos and liner notes penned by Carol Bell.

Watch The River by Luke Bell

To celebrate the release, Grimey’s New & Preloved Music will host a special in-store performance today at 5:00 p.m., featuring interpretations of Bell’s songs by Aaron Lee Tasjan, Jaime Wyatt, Joshua Hedley, Riley Downing, Gowa Gibbs, and Rachel Baiman, along with a special appearance and remarks from Carol Bell.

“This album captures Luke’s soul at its purest,” said Carol Bell. “He poured himself into these songs, and we’re honored to share them with the world.”

A Legacy Remembered

The King Is Back has already earned critical attention from major outlets. Rolling Stone published an extensive feature on Bell’s life and music, with writer Marissa R. Moss noting that the record “shows an incredibly gifted songwriter and vocalist with an empathetic touch, who often recognized the unease in his brain and used music to articulate it.”

In The Nashville Scene, Bobby Jean Sawyer praised the record’s range, calling it “a showcase of Bell’s spirit, featuring blue-collar anthems (‘Roofer’s Blues,’ ‘Irrigator’s Blues’), witty, Roger Miller-esque ditties like ‘Orangutang,’ and haunting tunes like ‘Black Crows.’”

Additional features have appeared in Holler, No Depression, Americana Highways, and Bell’s hometown paper, The Cody Enterprise.

Honoring Luke’s Spirit

Proceeds from The King Is Back will benefit The Luke Bell Memorial Affordable Counseling Program, a non-profit founded by Carol and Jane Bell to provide mental health support for residents of Wyoming’s Big Horn Basin. The program offers vouchers covering up to ten therapy sessions with a counselor of the participant’s choice.

When the Country Music Hall of Fame inducted Ray Charles in 2021, it wasn’t simply to honor his hits; it was to acknowledge his seismic impact on country music’s evolution.

Born Ray Charles Robinson on September 23, 1930, in Albany, Georgia, and raised in rural Florida, Charles grew up surrounded by gospel, blues, and country.

“I felt [country] was the closest music, really, to the blues,” he once said. “They’d make them steel guitars cry and whine, and it really attracted me.”

That deep connection blossomed in 1962 with Modern Sounds in Country and Western Music, a record that the Hall of Fame calls “a powerful place in country music history.”

Its soulful interpretations of “I Can’t Stop Loving You,” “You Don’t Know Me,” and “Born to Lose” not only became pop and R&B chart-toppers but also transformed how millions of listeners heard country music.

When Love Country Style first appeared in 1970, it was already clear that Ray Charles was more than the “Genius of Soul.” He was a bridge builder between blues and gospel, between Black and white America, and between the spirit of the South and the sophistication of modern pop.

Now, more than fifty years later, the Ray Charles Foundation and Tangerine Records have reissued the long-out-of-print album as part of the Tangerine Master Series, a lovingly restored collection that reveals the full depth of Charles’s musical daring.

Initially released in June 1970, Love Country Style stands among the most heartfelt of Charles’s country explorations, an album that merges Nashville storytelling with his R&B and gospel roots.

Featuring lush, gospel-tinged arrangements and songs by Mickey Newbury and Jimmy Webb, the record showcases Charles’s rare ability to make familiar material feel brand new. His takes on “Ring of Fire” and “Don’t Change On Me” shimmer with emotional immediacy. The latter even broke into the Top 20 on the R&B chart and reached the pop Top 40, affirming his reach far beyond genre borders.

Cultural critic Ayana Contreras writes in the new liner essay:

“Love Country Style drinks deeply from the country music well of genius, but is as rhythm-and-blues-rooted as it is in the countrypolitan idiom. In his hands, ‘Ring of Fire’ becomes a chorus of half-breathless seduction, well-suited for an isolated mid-century modern motel somewhere in the high desert of the American Southwest.”

Charles continued to return to country music throughout his career, from Country & Western Meets Rhythm & Blues (1965) to Friendship (1984), his Nashville duet album with Johnny Cash, George Jones, and Willie Nelson, which produced the No. 1 country hit “Seven Spanish Angels.”

The new reissue of Love Country Style has been restored and remastered under the direct supervision of The Ray Charles Foundation, ensuring every note retains the warmth and vitality of Charles’s original sessions.

It follows other Tangerine Master Series releases such as Ingredients in a Recipe for Soul (1963), featuring the Grammy-winning “Busted,” and Come Live With Me (1974). Each project reaffirms Charles’s independence as a label owner and creative visionary.

Charles died in 2004, just months before the release of Genius Loves Company, his Grammy-sweeping duets album featuring Willie Nelson and Norah Jones. But his vision endures through the songs, the sound, and the freedom he fought for.

This year’s festival menu, curated by Caren Halvorsen, celebrates the farms, foragers, and small producers that nourish the Key Peninsula and the greater South Sound. Built around ingredients at their peak in mid-October, the menu offers a fresh take on comfort food, rooted in local ingredients available at our concessions stand at an affordable price.

For Halvorsen, every bite from the festival menu tells a story of connection. It reflects what makes this community special: the small farms and local businesses that call the Key Peninsula home.

“I wanted our offerings to capture the essence of autumn on the key peninsula – earthy, bright, and full of warmth,” Halvorsen said. “ I’m so grateful to our local growers and makers whose care and creativity brought this menu to life. Madrona Fest invites us to pause, connect, and savor the beauty of simple, shared moments.”

The standout dish is the Mushroom Bisque, made with mushrooms from Adam’s Mushrooms, a homegrown operation right on the Key Peninsula. Founded in 2013, Adam’s Mushrooms has grown into a thriving, sustainable “forever farm,” expanding its ability to cultivate and forage an impressive range of specialty mushrooms and wild foods.

Another highlight on Halvorsen’s menu is the in-house pesto, crafted from herbs and greens grown at Honey Wood Farm, an ecologically minded small farm surrounded by forest and sea in Longbranch. 

Honey Wood grows nearly 100 varieties of vegetables and stewards its soil with minimal tilling, hand tools, and a deep respect for the land’s natural rhythms. Their bright, herb-rich pesto captures the flavor and vitality of the peninsula’s fall harvest.

Even the bread served with the meal comes from just across the bridge in Tacoma, where Balloon Roof Baking Company keeps the old-world craft of baking alive. Using only flour, water, salt, and time, the bakers hand-form and slow-ferment their high-moisture sourdoughs, baking them dark and hot for a rich, complex flavor. Each loaf is baked the same day it’s delivered—without preservatives, commercial yeast, or shortcuts. 

Other offerings on the menu include Sweater Weather Soup, a cozy blend of pumpkin and butternut squash; a vibrant Beet Salad with arugula, goat cheese, shallots, and pistachios; and easygoing snacks like “Spread the Love” (hummus, pita, and veggies) and “Graze a Bit” (salami, cheese, fruit, and nuts). 

For dessert, festival-goers can indulge in brownies and cookies, washed down with Pioneer Coffee Co. brews or an Altitude Cold Brew—black or white chocolate—served cold and crisp.

The spirit of the menu mirrors the spirit of the festival itself: community, creativity, and a deep love of the land. 

Madrona Fest 2025 takes place at the Key Peninsula Civic Center, bringing together music, art, food, and friends in celebration of the good life in the great outdoors. This all-ages event features nationally touring musicians and those with local roots, playing an eclectic mix of alternative, blues, old-time country, and independent country music.

Throughout the day, guests can join in roots music workshops, where guitar, fiddle, and banjo players learn together in a communal circle—followed by an old-time jam where anyone can pull up a chair and play along. 

A contra dance with live music from the Flamin’ Fingers String Band and a community photography contest add even more ways to take part in the fun, with winning photos capturing life on the Key Peninsula and displayed during the festival. The evening concert features acclaimed artists Black Belt Eagle Scout, Nathan Evans Fox, Buffalo Kin, and Simon Lynge, whose performances promise to fill the Civic Center with the heartfelt, boundary-crossing sound that defines the festival’s spirit.

Whether you come for the music, the food, or the company, Madrona Fest is an invitation to slow down, step outside, and savor the simple joys of rural life. Get your tickets now, make friends, and support live music on the Key Peninsula—because at Madrona Fest, the good life is meant to be shared.

The post Key Peninsula Farmers and Growers Featured at Madrona Fest appeared first on Yonlander.

Following music workshops at noon and an Old Time Jam at 1:00 PM, this midafternoon highlight invites everyone, from seasoned dancers to first-timers, to join in the fun.

Contra dancing is an American folk tradition that’s all about community. Danced to live music and guided by a “caller,” it’s designed so anyone can jump right in, even if they’ve never danced before. The caller teaches each sequence before the music begins, walking everyone through the steps at an easy pace.

Once the band starts playing, the caller keeps things flowing until the crowd gets the hang of it—then lets the dancers take over. The moves are simple, usually just walking to the beat, and the focus is on connecting with others, not perfecting fancy footwork.

New to Contra Dancing? Check Out This Video

Adding to the excitement, the live music will be provided by the Flamin’ Fingers String Band, an old-time ensemble based out of Home, Washington, on the Key Peninsula. Their lively fiddles and rhythmic drive make them a local favorite, and their music will fill the festival grounds with the unmistakable sound of tradition and joy.

The afternoon continues with a Local Photography Contest at 3:30 PM and the Evening Concert at 4:00 PM, but for many, the Contra Dance may be the highlight—a moment where strangers become friends, children dance alongside elders, and Madrona Fest celebrates what community truly means: coming together in rhythm, laughter, and shared joy.

Tickets to this year’s Madrona Music Festival can be purchased at the event’s website.

The post Contra Dancing Brings All Ages Community Spirit to Madrona Fest appeared first on Yonlander.

Country star Zach Bryan is no stranger to stirring the pot, but his latest song, “Bad News,” may be his most politically charged release yet. The Oklahoma-born singer-songwriter, a U.S. Navy veteran whose raw storytelling has made him one of America’s most powerful musical voices, is once again turning his lens toward injustice and national identity.

In a one-minute teaser posted to Instagram with the caption “the fading of the red white and blue,” Bryan sings, “And ICE is gonna come bust down your door, try to build a house no one builds no more, but I got a telephone, kids are all scared and all alone.”

The lyrics reference immigration raids by U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE), and they immediately sparked a political firestorm fueled by federal officials in Washington, D.C.

Within just a few days, Tricia McLaughlin, the Department of Homeland Security’s Assistant Secretary of Public Affairs, fired back publicly, telling TMZ, “Stick to ‘Pink Skies’,” referring to Bryan’s 2024 chart-topping single.

Bryan often writes songs based on his own personal experiences. His brand of Americana draws from both blue-collar realism and a rebellious streak that puts him squarely in the lineage of country’s great outlaw storytellers.

Topics of patriotism, grit, and self-reflection are explored in his eight years of service in the U.S. Navy, where he served as an Aviation Ordnanceman before his honorable discharge in 2021.

Bryan’s perspective on authority isn’t theoretical either. In September 2023, he was arrested in Craig County, Oklahoma, for obstruction of a law enforcement officer after refusing to comply with an officer’s orders during a traffic stop. The arrest and his defiant quote, “These f------ cops are out of control,” went viral.

Bryan’s latest controversy puts him in familiar company. Country music has always had a complicated relationship with authority, along with a fascination with crime, jail, and redemption. Many of its most legendary figures have lived the very lives they sang about.

Merle Haggard spent time in San Quentin Prison for attempted robbery before turning his experiences into songs that redefined outlaw country. Johnny Paycheck shot a man in a bar in 1985 after an argument and served two years in prison. He later wrote some of his grittiest material while behind bars.

And Johnny Cash, though never sentenced to prison, immortalized the experience of incarceration with Folsom Prison Blues and At San Quentin, in” inspired by his own overnight jail stays.

Country music has long been a reflection of the American working class experience, and the best music in the genre has never shied away from topics of crime, punishment, and the abuse of power.

Zach Bryan’s “Bad News” doesn’t glamorize rebellion, but it does confront the discomfort of modern America. His lyrics, painting children “scared and all alone” while federal agents “bust down your door,” echo his deep empathy for ordinary people caught between politics and survival.

In doing so, Bryan joins a lineage of artists who’ve used country music to question authority rather than serve it. Like The Chicks challenging President George W. Bush in 2003 or Taylor Swift endorsing progressive candidates in Tennessee, Bryan represents a generational shift, one where artists no longer separate patriotism from conscience.

The DHS’s public rebuke only amplified his message, turning “Bad News” into more than a protest song; it’s a snapshot of what happens when a genre rooted in rebellion finds itself once again at odds with power and artists have the courage to speak out.

As Zach Bryan’s voice cracks over the line “kids are all scared and all alone,” it’s hard not to hear echoes of Haggard’s penitentiary blues, Cash’s weary compassion, and Nelson’s outlaw laughter.

Country music, it seems, still sings best from the margins, and Zach Bryan’s “Bad News” is proof that the outlaw spirit is alive and well in 2025 among the genre's biggest artists.

Released September 26, the song marks another emotional high point in the band’s decade-long career, blending intimate confession with the trio’s trademark harmonies and sweeping instrumentation.

Written collaboratively by Pipkin, Zach Williams, Brian Elmquist, Julian Dorio, Tyler Geertsma, and Peter Barbee, the track captures the restless ache of love that refuses to fade. Lyrics like “I thought I did the work, I thought I made it through” convey the futility of trying to move on, while the band’s layered arrangement lifts the sorrow into something anthemic.

“This song came from that place we’ve all been, where love and loss get tangled up in ways you can’t reason through,” Williams explained. “Sometimes the only way through is to sit with the heartbreak and let the music carry it.”

The new release follows “Common Folk,” the band’s first original song in more than three years, which paid tribute to unsung heroes such as nurses, restaurant workers, and others who embody quiet strength. Together, the two singles point toward a new chapter for the Nashville-based trio—one that both honors their roots and ventures into fresh sonic terrain.

The Lone Bellow are currently on the road for a headline tour that began earlier this month with their official debut at the Grand Ole Opry. The schedule includes stops at San Francisco’s Fillmore (Sept. 26), Los Angeles’ Troubadour (Sept. 27), Boston’s Sinclair (Nov. 6–7), and culminates with a hometown show at Nashville’s storied Ryman Auditorium on November 22.

Since their breakout in 2013 with the debut single “Green Eyes and a Heart of Gold,” The Lone Bellow—Williams, Pipkin, and Elmquist—have earned acclaim for their heartfelt songwriting and electrifying live shows. Over five albums, they’ve collaborated with producers like Dave Cobb and Aaron Dessner, while carving out a reputation as one of modern Americana’s most powerful voices.

With “No Getting Over You,” the band continues to do what it has always done best: transform personal struggle into communal catharsis. For fans across the country, the new single is not just a song but an invitation to gather, grieve, and find solace in harmony.

The story of The Lone Bellow begins with Zach Williams, who turned to songwriting after his wife suffered temporary paralysis in a horseback riding accident. During her recovery, Williams poured his emotions into journal entries, which later became songs when he learned guitar at the urging of friends. After her recovery, the couple moved to New York City, where Williams began performing as a solo act around Brooklyn.

It was at Dizzy’s Diner in Park Slope that the idea for the band first took shape. Williams reconnected with his old friend, guitarist Brian Elmquist, and invited singer Kanene Pipkin to join them.

Initially called Zach Williams and the Bellow, the group soon shortened its name to The Lone Bellow. In 2012 they signed with Descendant Records, an imprint of Sony Music, and released their self-titled debut in January 2013. Recorded over three days at Rockwood Music Hall, the album reached No. 64 on the Billboard 200 and was widely praised, landing on multiple year-end “Best of” lists.

Building on that early success, the band collaborated with Aaron Dessner of The National for their 2015 album Then Came the Morning, which earned them an Americana Music Award nomination and a tour with Kacey Musgraves. After relocating to Nashville in 2016, they released Walk Into a Storm in 2017, produced by Dave Cobb, followed by Half Moon Light in 2020.

This year’s event will feature hands-on workshops designed to bring guitar, fiddle, and banjo players together in one circle to learn how to make music as a group.

The workshops begin at 12 p.m. and will be led by a team of experienced instructors. Unlike many music classes that separate students by instrument, the Madrona Fest workshops will gather guitarists, fiddlers, and banjo players in the same session.

Organizers say this approach reflects the roots of old-time music, where tunes were traditionally learned and shared in communal settings such as barns, kitchens, and dance circles.

Although the workshop is grounded in the old-time tradition, participants will find that the lessons are just as valuable for bluegrass musicians. Timing, rhythm, and ear training are essential to both genres, and the crossover between them means players will leave with skills they can use in a wide variety of jam settings.

At 1 p.m., the workshops will flow into a slow-paced old-time jam. Instructors will guide the circle through familiar tunes, offering a welcoming space for players of all levels to try out what they’ve learned.

Festival organizers encourage attendees to bring their instruments, join the circle, and experience the joy of shared music-making.

Madrona Fest is a celebration of roots music, community, and country life on the Key Peninsula. Hosted at the Key Peninsula Civic Center, the festival brings neighbors and visitors together for a full day of music, food, and fellowship. From live performances on the main stage to hands-on workshops and family-friendly activities, Madrona Fest offers something for everyone who loves the good life in the great outdoors.

At the heart of Madrona Fest is the music itself. The festival features a lineup of artists rooted in folk, bluegrass, and old-time traditions, creating a soundtrack that is both timeless and deeply connected to the land and people of rural Washington. Beyond the stage, festivalgoers are invited to join instrument workshops, take part in a community jam, and experience the traditions of shared music-making that have shaped gatherings for generations.

Organized by Yonlander and Rural Progress, with support from local partners, the festival highlights local culture through food, art, and storytelling. Whether you’re a lifelong resident or a first-time visitor, Madrona Fest is an invitation to slow down, gather together, and celebrate the spirit of the Key Peninsula.

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The event will run from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, September 27, and Sunday, September 28, 2025.

First held in 2006, the farm tour has grown into a centerpiece of the peninsula’s cultural calendar. What began with Trillium Creek Winery’s participation in Pierce County’s HarvestFest has evolved into a community-led event, organized by the Key Peninsula Farm Council, which promotes local farms and agricultural education.

Over the years, the tour has expanded to include the Longbranch Improvement Club Fiber Arts Show, the Key Peninsula Fire Department Pancake Breakfast, and the Gateway Park Apple Squeeze.

Saturday offers the broadest lineup of farms and activities, with visitors encouraged to start at either the north or south end of the peninsula to maximize their day. Stops will showcase everything from lavender fields to homestead collectives, alongside demonstrations, vendors, and children’s activities.

Sunday will feature a smaller but more focused schedule, highlighting Moon Mountain Farm, Astrid’s Lavender Farm, and Sound View Camp.

Food will be a highlight across the weekend. Saturday’s options include hot dogs at the Key Center Fire Station, Tin Hut BBQ at the Longbranch Homestead Collective, and a soup, bread, and dessert fundraiser at Key Peninsula Community Services. 

At Grand Farm, visitors will find Belfair Pop with kettle corn and Ice Cream and Go with frozen treats. Gnosh will serve hot sandwiches at the Longbranch Improvement Club. On Sunday, Gnosh will move to Moon Mountain Farm, where the Minter Creek PTA will also be selling ice cream and popsicles to raise money for fifth-grade camp.

Gateway Park will once again host the Apple Squeeze, where fresh cider will be pressed on site and sold by the glass, quart, half-gallon, or gallon, along with hot apple fritters. Proceeds support the Key Peninsula Farm Council.

Music and art are woven into the weekend as well. The Longbranch Improvement Club will host the Fiber Arts and Antique Car Show with craft vendors and live performances. On Sunday, singer-songwriter Lakin will perform in the gardens of Moon Mountain Farm, accompanied by food from Gnosh.

Visitors can take advantage of a free shuttle service running from the Red Barn Youth Center, with continuous loops connecting farms and community stops. Overnight accommodations are also available at Sound View Camp and in two nearby state parks for those who want to extend their stay.

Organizers describe the farm tour as a celebration of both history and community. Farming on the Key Peninsula dates back to the late 1800s, when families relied on subsistence agriculture. Today, the tour highlights that enduring legacy while supporting the farmers and producers who carry it forward.

The post Key Peninsula Farm Tour and Harvest Festival Returns with Food, Music, and Community Spirit appeared first on Yonlander.

Today, for many fans, the industry has drifted from those roots. Corporate priorities on Nashville’s Music Row often overshadow the voices of the communities that birthed the genres. The bars and honky tonks that once defined country music culture in Nashville have given way to office parks and corporate buildings, while the neon glow of Lower Broadway feels more like a tourist strip than an authentic gathering place.

But for one night last Friday in Nashville, the flame of true country and roots music burned bright at the Yallidarity Social.

Created in response to the pressures facing working musicians, the grueling tours, sleepless nights, low pay, and the widening gap between industry profits and artist realities, the Yallidarity Social sought to reclaim country’s community-driven heart and provide a space for Nashville-based artists to rest and organize.

The event was organized by Lizzie No, a New York–born songwriter and harpist known for her bold blend of folk and activism, and Nathan Evans Fox, a Nashville-based songwriter whose work explores rural Southern life. The inaugural gathering took place Friday, Sept. 12 at Edgehill United Methodist Church.

The venue was perfect for the event. The Rev. Bill Barnes and 12 charter members founded Edgehill United Methodist Church in 1966 in the historically black Edgehill neighborhood. It was the first intentionally integrated church in Nashville. Whether it was civil rights, housing, homelessness, incarceration, LGBTQ inclusion, or serving victims of AIDS and their families in the early days of the epidemic, Edgehill has worked for justice and the inclusion in the Nashville area.

Born and raised in western North Carolina, Nathan Evans Fox writes songs that sound the way gas stations feel—familiar yet restless, humming with the quiet poetry of everyday life. His music carries the weight of working-class realities: late nights, long roads, and the rhythms of small-town existence. With a resonant voice and unflinching lyrics, Fox creates landscapes both personal and universal—songs of family, faith, memory, and the unseen economies that shape our days.

Onstage, he balances understatement with command, inviting audiences to reflect, grieve, and celebrate. Whether solo or with a full band, Nathan Evans Fox offers not just music but a testament to resilience, rooted in the places and people that shaped him.

Lizzie No writes songs that cut with clarity and compassion, weaving sharp storytelling with the raw beauty of folk and indie rock traditions. Her music explores themes of power, vulnerability, and survival, carried by a voice that is at once tender and defiant. With harp, guitar, and fearless lyricism, she creates soundscapes that move between intimacy and grandeur—songs about identity, longing, resilience, and the search for freedom.

Unlike industry showcases, this was a grassroots affair: musicians set up the PA, brought the snacks, and stacked the chairs. In spirit, it was closer to a front-porch jam than a corporate showcase.

The night featured a traditional Nashville Songwriters’ Round, with multiple artists sharing the stage, trading songs, harmonies, and stories. The lineup spanned Americana, folk, and country:

Riley Downing (The Deslondes) – laid-back baritone and conversational songwriting, blending country, soul, and blues.

Nick Shoulders – Arkansas songwriter and multi-instrumentalist known for his whistling, yodeling, and sharp social commentary.

Olivia Ellen Lloyd – West Virginia folk artist whose sharp lyrics explore Appalachian identity and resilience.

Kapali Long – Hawaii-born, Nashville-based performer delivering high-energy sets rooted in rock, blues, and soul.

Rebecca Porter – Virginia country singer channeling honky-tonk traditions with powerhouse vocals.

Nate Bergman – folk-rock artist whose gritty, soulful voice carries echoes of his punk roots.

Each brought raw intensity and vulnerable storytelling, embodying the event’s spirit of solidarity.

The evening kicked off with stand-up from Drew Morgan—a Tennessee native and co-host of the WellRED comedy tour—whose humor kept the crowd laughing while grounding the night in defiant joy.

The gathering also marked the launch of the Yallidarity Social Club podcast, hosted by No and Fox. The show blends roots music with political analysis, and its debut season digs into Liz Pelly’s Mood Machine: The Rise of Spotify and the Cost of the Perfect Playlist, which critiques the cultural and economic toll of streaming platforms on working musicians.

Organizers hope this is just the beginning. They envision an ongoing series of gatherings that bring country and roots music back to what it has always been about—not trucks, beer, or blue jeans, but solidarity, resilience, and taking care of one another.For updates, episodes, and show notes, visit Yallidarity Social Club on Substack.

The post Yallidarity Social Debuts in Nashville with Songwriters’ Round appeared first on Yonlander.

Organizers say the event is more than a one-day music festival — it is a celebration of rural life on the Key Peninsula, community spirit, and “the good life in the great outdoors.” This year’s program brings together nationally acclaimed performers and regional favorites.

The festival will feature Nathan Evans Fox, known for his roots-inspired storytelling, as well as Greenlandic-Danish   Simon Lynge and his band. Buffalo Kin, a rising folk-rock group, and Flaming Fingers String Band, a local mainstay of bluegrass and old-time traditions, will also perform.

The headliner is Black Belt Eagle Scout, the project of Swinomish artist Katherine Paul, whose music has gained national recognition for its blend of indie-rock power and deeply personal storytelling.

Watch Black Belt Eagle Scout’s full KEXP performance

Paul’s latest record, The Land, The Water, The Sky, was born out of her 2020 return to her ancestral homelands in Skagit Valley. After years in Portland, she returned to the Swinomish Reservation during the pandemic — a move she had long intended.

“It’s something I always wanted to do,” Paul said in a 2023 interview with music journalist Rob Hakimian. “There’s a lot more space, I’m connected to my community and to my culture, and to my family here.”

Her album reflects that connection. “These riffs, these lyrics, these moments of documentation — they could come together as a story,” Paul said. “That through line was reconnecting to my homelands, and with that intention of trying to be grounded.”

The rest of the lineup adds its own texture to the day. Flaming Fingers String Band brings rollicking bluegrass energy to the contra dance. Buffalo Kin offers folk-rock harmonies. Nathan Evans Fox blends traditional roots with modern narratives that resonate across generations. And Simon Lynge, performing with his band, brings an international dimension with his Greenlandic-Danish folk.

Listen to the Madrona Fest 2025 Playlist

The Key Peninsula Civic Center, a community hub for more than 65 years, will again open its doors and grounds to the festival. Attendees can enjoy food from local farms, browse the arts and makers market, and dance into the fall evening.

Festival Schedule Highlights

• 12:00 PM – Music Workshops (Old Time/Basic Bluegrass Guitar, Fiddle, and Banjo)

• 1:00 PM – Old Time Jam

• 2:00 PM – Contra Dance

• 3:30 PM – Local Photography Contest

• 4:00 PM – Evening Concert

As the evening begins, the festival culminates in a showcase of the full lineup. And while the weather may be unpredictable in October on the Key Peninsula, all performances are scheduled indoors.

The post Music Returns to the Key Peninsula on October 18 for Madrona Fest 2025 appeared first on Yonlander.

In July, smoke drifted across the Olympic Peninsula and turned the skies over Puget Sound a hazy orange. The Bear Gulch Fire near Lake Cushman forced families to evacuate and has already burned more than 9,000 acres. It is the largest fire on the Olympic Peninsula since the 1950s, made worse by the fact that it was human-caused.

For years, many people in Western Washington considered wildfire an “East side” problem, something that occurred in Yakima or Spokane, rather than in Mason, Kitsap, or Thurston counties. But our summers are hotter, our forests are drier, and the risks are growing. The lesson from Bear Gulch is clear: wildfire is part of life here now, and every community needs to be ready.

Just a few years ago, Washington made significant strides in wildfire management. After the devastating 2020 season—when 842,000 acres burned and smoke choked the state for weeks—lawmakers passed House Bill 1168, the Wildfire Response, Forest Restoration and Community Resilience Act.

That bipartisan plan promised $125 million every two years for wildfire response and prevention. The money strengthened Department of Natural Resources fire crews, kept state aircraft on standby for rapid response, introduced new technology like infrared cameras to spot fires at night, and supported forest thinning and prescribed burns to reduce dangerous fuels. It also provided grants to landowners to help them clear brush and improve the management of their forests.

The results were dramatic. By 2024, the number of acres burned dropped to 311,000. For four years in a row, Washington managed to keep 95 percent of wildfires to ten acres or less in size. This was prevention in action.

Now, that progress is in jeopardy. In this year’s budget, lawmakers slashed wildfire funding from $125 million to just $60 million for the next two years—$40 million for fiscal year 2026 and $20 million for fiscal year 2027.

DNR says the cuts will eliminate 120 firefighter positions and reduce the state’s ability to thin forests, carry out prescribed burns, and maintain readiness.

State Lands Commissioner Dave Upthegrove has been blunt:

“If next year’s supplemental budget does not restore some of that funding, we’re going to see more fires like this. They’re going to be larger, and they’re going to cost the taxpayers a lot more money in the back end.”

Everyone in rural Washington knows fire is part of summer. Heat dries the land, lightning strikes, and small mistakes spark blazes. But when prevention programs are strong, flames are caught early. When they’re weak, small fires grow into disasters. And disasters always cost more—both in money and in lives.

In July, Upthegrove toured Okanogan County, one of the regions hardest hit by wildfire, and saw firsthand how prevention makes a difference. Forests that had been thinned and cleared with prescribed burns survived recent fires, while untreated stands burned hot and fast as flames raced through dry fuel. Later, at a roundtable with farmers, utilities, and conservation districts, one message stood out: prevention pays, but it only works with steady, reliable funding.

It Takes a Village to Prevent Wildfire

Wildfire doesn’t stop at property lines. Your neighbor’s brush pile or wooden fence can threaten your house—and your brush pile can threaten theirs. That’s why community work matters.

Some neighborhoods are joining the Firewise USA® program, which helps residents organize brush-clearing days, chip yard debris, and plan for emergencies. Even small efforts—like mowing a roadside ditch—can slow a fire and give firefighters valuable time.

Homeowners can take practical steps to make their properties more resistant to embers. The most important area is the first five feet around the house, often referred to as the defensible space. Think of this zone as a fire moat: replace bark mulch with gravel or stone, keep shrubs, tall grass, and wood piles away from siding, and clear out dead leaves, pine needles, and other debris regularly.

Hardening the home itself also makes a difference. Old wood shake roofs should be upgraded to safer materials such as metal, tile, or asphalt shingles. Gutters need to be cleaned regularly, and open eaves can be enclosed with soffits, while vents should be covered with fine metal mesh to block sparks. Windows and skylights are another weak point; therefore, double-pane tempered glass and glass skylights are much safer than single-pane windows or plastic alternatives.

The landscaping surrounding a home can either fuel a fire or slow it down. Highly flammable plants, such as juniper, arborvitae, and eucalyptus, should be avoided. Safer choices include Oregon grape, kinnikinnick, salal, sedum, or lavender. Trees should be trimmed so branches don’t touch the roof, and lower limbs should be raised six to ten feet from the ground.

Finally, homeowners should look for common ember traps around their property. Flower boxes under windows, lattice beneath decks, stacks of firewood leaning against walls, gutters packed with leaves, and even open car windows in the driveway can all give embers a place to land and ignite. Cleaning, moving, or covering these hazards closes the gaps before sparks find them.

When it comes to wildfires, there’s no substitute for public investments

Private action is critical, but no amount of yard work replaces the need for public investment. Washington’s wildfire program has been one of the state’s best success stories in the last decade. Letting it falter now is shortsighted.

That’s why rural residents must raise their voices. Call or email your state representatives. Show up at town halls. Tell them to restore wildfire funding in next year’s supplemental budget. The more lawmakers hear from rural communities, the harder it is to ignore.

The Greenacres Fire in Okanogan County burned more than 1,000 acres and destroyed seven homes just a week after Upthegrove toured local prevention projects. It was a painful reminder that fire doesn’t wait for politics to catch up.

The Bear Gulch Fire, Greenacres Fire, and dozens of smaller blazes prove the stakes.

Wildfire will always be part of Washington. The choice is whether we face it prepared or unprepared.

Readiness doesn’t mean living in fear. It means being thoughtful, steady, and willing to act—at home, with your neighbors, and at the state level.

Start small: clear the first five feet, clean the gutters, and talk with your neighbors. Then go bigger: show up, speak out, and make sure Olympia keeps prevention a priority.

Because in the end, protecting homes, families, and communities isn’t just about what happens when flames arrive. It’s about what we, as a community,  choose to do before they come.

The post The Bear Gulch Fire Is a Wake-Up Call for Rural Western Washington appeared first on Yonlander.

From the moment you step onto the fairgrounds in Bremerton, the air will be thick with the scent of sizzling burgers, sweet funnel cakes, smoky barbecue, and kettle corn drifting on the late-summer breeze. 

This year’s fair, running August 20–24, has assembled a mix of hometown classics and adventurous eats that promise to satisfy both comfort seekers and culinary explorers.

Of course, the fair has its staples—the foods people come back for every summer. Carlson Catering Fry Shop is bringing the classics, with its menu of burgers, Philly cheesesteaks, and elephant ears, while Crazy Eric’s keeps the nostalgia alive with corn dogs and fries. 

Funnel of Love, true to its name, serves up piping-hot funnel cakes and elephant ears, dusted in powdered sugar that clings to every smile. And for those who swear no fair is complete without mini donuts, Sugar & Spice delivers them by the bag, along with cheese curds, pretzels, and even pineapple soft-serve. 

But there’s also plenty of global flavor making its way to Kitsap this year. At Fast & Fresh Foods, fairgoers can sample Korean corn dogs alongside gyros and chicken fritters, a mash-up of East and West street food culture. Island Lumpia and Pinoy Kitchen add Filipino flair with crispy lumpia and homestyle dishes. 

And don’t miss the tacos, tamales, and elotes from Taqueria El Campesino, which round out a menu that could easily rival a weekend food festival in Seattle. 

Together, these vendors highlight how the fair isn’t just about celebrating local tradition, but also about showcasing the broader flavors that make up the region’s culinary landscape.

For those chasing something colder, the fair has no shortage of options. Kona Ice and Carlson Catering Snowie are keeping things frosty with shaved ice in a rainbow of flavors, while Bean Water doubles as a pit stop for espresso, hot chocolate, and lemonade. Fridley’s Ice Cream and Viking Feast Ice Cream deliver classic cones and creamy treats, and Creativitin has become a must-stop thanks to its playful—and indulgent—cheesecake on a stick. And if the summer heat really starts to press down, Iced Up is serving Asian-inspired gourmet ice creations that turn dessert into an art form.

And then, of course, there’s the barbecue. Smokin’ Robinson’s arena-side stand pulls in rodeo fans with its St. Louis–style ribs and brisket, a smoky counterpoint to the sweetness of fairground desserts. 

For those of age, Western Red Brewery’s beer garden is the perfect place to pause, sip a local pint, and watch the crowd drift by before diving back into the action.

It’s all almost too much to keep track of so we put together this quick cheat sheet to help you navigate all the options this week.

Fair Food Roll Call: What’s on the Menu

Here’s a full lineup of concessionaires and what they’re serving, straight from the official fair food roster:

Classic & Comfort Favorites

• Carlson Catering Fry Shop — Burgers, hot dogs, Philly cheese, cheese sandwiches, chicken strips, fries, elephant ears, lemonade, and water

• Crazy Eric’s — Burgers, corn dogs, fries, soda, and snacks 

• Ramblin’ Gourmet — Burgers, corn dogs, fries, coffee, and soda

• Southern Oregon Concessions — Burgers, fries, corn dogs, soda, and water

Signature Sweets & Treats

• Funnel of Love — Funnel cakes, elephant ears, and an assortment of deep‑fried treats

• Creativitin — Cheesecake on a stick

• Sugar & Spice Mini Donuts — Mini donuts, cheese curds, tater tots, pineapple soft‑serve, hand‑dipped corn dogs, pretzels, coffee, lemonade, and water

• Belfair Pop — Kettle corn, cotton candy, assorted treats, and lemonade

• Character Cotton Candy — Fun character-shaped cotton candy and fruit‑kiss drinks

Baked & Savory Bites

• Fisher Fair Scones — Scones

• Big Joe’s Sandwich Shop — Sandwiches, fries, and soda 

• Domino’s Pizza — Pizza and soda 

Global & Island Flavors

• Fast & Fresh Foods — Korean corn dogs, gyros, chicken fritters, fries, water, and soda

• Island Lumpia — A variety of lumpia flavors 

• Pinoy Kitchen — Filipino cuisine

• Kama’aina Grill — Hawaiian fare 

• Taqueria el Campesino — Tacos, tortas, tamales, fruit, elotes, and beverages

Cool-Down Stations & Beverages

• Carlson Catering Snowie — Shaved ice and lemonade

• Kona Ice — Shaved ice treats (located at arena side; note: requires an event ticket only if an arena event is in progress)

• G&M Lemon Shake Ups — Lemonade, lotus lemonade, and iced tea 

• Iced Up — Asian gourmet ice treats 

• Bean Water — Espresso, lemonade, and hot chocolate 

• Fridley’s Ice Cream — Flavor‑burst ice cream 

• Viking Feast Ice Cream — Ice cream treats 

BBQ & Beer Garden

• Smokin’ Robinson — St. Louis‑style BBQ (arena side; ticket required if an arena event is underway) 

• Western Red Brewery — A beer garden serving up local brews 

The post What’s Cooking at the 2025 Kitsap County Fair & Stampede This Week? appeared first on Yonlander.

Presented by Yonlander, Madrona Fest embraces “the good life in the great outdoors,” bringing together nationally touring regional musicians, local artisans, civic organizations, and neighbors from across the Key Peninsula.

Early bird tickets are on sale now for $15 per person. Children 12 and younger are free.

Singer-songwriter Nathan Evans Fox was the first artist announced for Madrona Fest 2025, setting the tone for a lineup that blends nationally touring talent with the Key Peninsula’s own musical traditions.

Watch Nathan Evans Fox Perform Cigarettes and Moon Pies, Jesus & the Buck, Texas Blues No. 7

Full Schedule – Saturday, October 18, 2025

• 12:30 PM – 1:30 PM – Art and Music Workshops

• 1:00 PM – 2:00 PM Public Oldtime Jam

• 2:00 PM – 3:00 PM – Contra Dance

• 3:00 PM – 8:00 PM – Mom’s for P.E.A.C.E Bounce House & Children’s Activities

• 4:00 PM – 9:00 PM – Concert Featuring Nathan Evans Fox

A Community-Rooted Festival

The Madrona Music Festival began in 2024 as a free, all-ages country folk festival designed to unite the Key Peninsula’s diverse communities through music, food, and shared celebration. 

The Key Peninsula Civic Center — a historic community hub originally part of Vaughn Union High School — will host the event across both indoor and outdoor spaces, rain or shine. The Whitmore Room will feature sponsor tables and community booths, while the Gymnasium serves as the main stage for music.

Tickets & Admission

• Early bird tickets: $15 before September 18, 2025

• $20 at the door (children 12 and under are free)

• Limited to 500 attendees; max two tickets per person

• Patron tickets: $100, including two entries and a meal voucher for two

Food & Atmosphere

Locally sourced food will be available for purchase, and the festival’s October timing means attendees can expect crisp autumn weather and stunning fall foliage. According to the Farmers’ Almanac, the peak for Washington’s fall colors is expected between October 12–28 — perfect for a day of music and community connection.

The post Madrona Fest 2025 Brings Music, Art, and Community to the Key Peninsula Civic Center This October appeared first on Yonlander.

Few artists walk the line between the old and the new like Brent Cobb. The Ellaville, Georgia native—and longtime keeper of the country music flame—has delivered another defining album this year.

Earlier this week, Cobb released Ain’t Rocked in a While, a fuzzed-out, Southern rock-inspired record with his band The Fixin’s. It’s a live-wired departure from the acoustic leanings of his earlier work, but still driven by the same narrative strength and grounded values that made fans fall in love with albums like Shine on Rainy Day and Southern Star.

Watch “Ain't Rocked in a While” by Brent Cobb & the Fixin's

Recorded live to tape at The Black Palace in Springfield, Missouri, and co-produced with Oran Thornton, the new record captures Cobb’s rowdy live show energy while keeping one boot firmly planted in country soil. “I want people to have an album of reference,” Cobb explains. “Our live show kinda rocks. Sometimes people are taken aback.”

Songs like the single “Bad Feelin’” embrace that heavier sound, while never abandoning the lyrical roots that define Cobb’s songwriting. Critical reception has been swift and enthusiastic: Whiskey Riff calls the album “heavier in the sonic sense than ever before,” while Country Central dubs it “a perfect synopsis of Cobb’s artistic go-tos.” Glide notes the album’s “psychedelic tendencies” and “fuzzy garage rock” vibe—something that feels fresh, but still deeply Southern.

Watch “Bad Feelin’’’ by Brent Cobb

The Fixin’s—Len Clark (drums), Matt McDaniel (guitar), and Josh Williams (bass)—bring swagger and groove to the album, which Cobb and crew are taking on the road this summer and fall. Their national headline tour includes a July 15 pop-up release show at The Blue Room in Nashville, plus stops at venues like New York’s Bowery Ballroom, L.A.’s Troubadour, and Portland’s Aladdin Theater.

A Career Rooted in Tradition

Brent Cobb’s work has always been rooted in family, storytelling, and Southern heritage. Whether he’s exploring his thoughts (Keep 'Em on They Toes), the people who shaped him (Providence Canyon), or his beliefs (And Now, Let’s Turn to Page…), his albums feel like open letters—to his kids, to his fans, and to the South itself.

In addition to his solo work, Cobb has penned songs for Luke Combs, Miranda Lambert, Kenny Chesney, Keith Urban, and numerous other artists. His song “Snakebite” was featured in Paramount’s Landman, and 2021, he authored the children’s book Little Stuff, inspired by the music of the same name.

And Now, Let’s Turn to Page…: A Gospel Milestone

Before he plugged in and turned up the amps, Cobb released what many fans consider his most personal project: And Now, Let’s Turn to Page…, a 2022 gospel album that channels his roots in faith, family, and small-town Southern life.

Produced by cousin Dave Cobb at RCA Studio A in Nashville, the record includes eight traditional hymns and one original track, “When It’s My Time,” written with his wife Layne Cobb and Mike Harmeier of Mike and the Moonpies.

The inspiration came in 2020, after a life-threatening car accident with his young son in the vehicle. “You just start piecing together how everything is sort of intentional,” Cobb says. “That moment of clarity made me think, I should just make the gospel album now.”

Watch “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” by Brent Cobb

From church standards like “Just a Closer Walk with Thee” and “Old Rugged Cross” to full-circle family harmonies, the album is steeped in reverence. Cobb’s parents and sister join him for the first time in the studio, while his father’s gospel group, Antioch, lends its voice to “Old Country Church.” Rising country star Caylee Hammack, another Ellaville native, adds harmony vocals across the record.

“It used to be a rite of passage for country singers to make a gospel record,” Cobb explains. “I’m just trying to carry that torch.”

Born in Opelousas in 1925, Chenier created zydeco by fusing Creole French accordion music with blues, R&B, and Southern soul. His signature sound—fueled by accordion, rubboard, and a whole lot of swing—helped transform house-party rhythms into a global genre.

To celebrate this milestone, The Rolling Stones have released a new version of Chenier’s breakout song, “Zydeco Sont Pas Salés.” The track was produced by Louisiana swamp rocker CC Adcock and features legendary accordionist Steve Riley.

Mick Jagger sings entirely in Creole French while Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood put their signature guitar stamp on the track. It's swampy and defiant—exactly the kind of tribute you’d want for a genre born out Louisiana.

Listen to “Zydeco Sont Pas Salés” by The Rolling Stones and Steve Riley

This new version is part of the upcoming tribute album A Tribute to the King of Zydeco, arriving June 27 from Valcour Records. The record features a star-studded lineup of artists influenced by Chenier’s legacy, including Lucinda Williams, Taj Mahal, Charley Crockett, Steve Earle, Molly Tuttle, and CJ Chenier, Clifton’s son and a zydeco star in his own right. From its danceable grooves to heartfelt performances, the album celebrates not only the music but the movement Clifton started.

Zydeco music is Creole roots music built for dancing. It blends French folk melodies with blues backbeats and Afro-Caribbean energy. It’s house-party music, and Chenier’s band was the blueprint for nearly every zydeco act that followed.

With its infectious accordion riffs, syncopated rhythms, and Creole storytelling, Zydeco music played a subtle yet influential role in shaping traditional country music, particularly through its shared Southern roots and deep connections with Cajun, blues, and R&B traditions.

In Texas and Louisiana dancehalls, zydeco and country music often shared the same stage, influencing each other in terms of phrasing, rhythm, and instrumentation. The washboard (or rubboard) rhythms and two-step backbeats of zydeco laid a foundation that aligned perfectly with honky-tonk swing.

At the same time, the genre’s emphasis on live danceability helped push country toward its own twangy, hard-grooving edge. Artists like Clifton Chenier brought Creole energy to the same circuits where George Jones and Buck Owens played, and in doing so, zydeco helped make the American roots music map more rhythmic, diverse, and deeply danceable.

Later this year, Smithsonian Folkways and Arhoolie Records will release Clifton Chenier: King of Louisiana Blues and Zydeco, a career-spanning box set featuring 67 tracks (19 of them previously unreleased), plus a 160-page book filled with essays, photos, and liner notes chronicling his life and work.

Even on what would be his 100th birthday, Chenier’s music still pulses through roadside bars, festival stages, and backyard parties. His rhythms remain contagious, his influence undeniable. Whether you’re dancing to a Creole accordion in Lafayette or a country shuffle in Luckenbach, you’re feeling a beat that Clifton helped build.

Start listening now:

Whether you're two-stepping under string lights, moving furniture in the living room, or just needing a little rhythm for your ride, this playlist is built to move you.

This Week’s Dancefloor Bangers Include:

• Josh Turner puts the hammer down with a smooth and thunderous take on outlaw classics.

• Miranda Lambert swings with sass on Famous in a Small Town and turns up the burn on Fastest Girl in Town.

• Dwight Yoakam shows up three times because when it comes to dancehall-ready Bakersfield grooves, no one does it better.

• Alan Jackson, Toby Keith, and Brooks & Dunn bring that ‘90s energy that gets people out of their seats.

• The Chicks, Midland, Montgomery Gentry, and Morgan Wade round it out with a mix of grit, charm, and modern honky-tonk fire.

Why This List Hits

We didn’t just pick songs we like—we picked songs you can dance to. These tracks are high in tempo, energy, and danceability, representing the perfect intersection of traditional country swagger and the Americana underground. This is for fans who love fiddle riffs and fast feet, Telecasters and tip jars.