Sad Daddy - "Arkansas Bound"

Photo by Melissa Brawner

Sad Daddy are the kind of country band that can record in a cabin in Arkansas and sound like they did without it being cutesy at all. Their latest single is the Melissa Carper written and sung "Arkansas Bound." This song is just pure down home country and folk. It's the kind of song that could very easily have been a throwback or referred to as old timey, but Sad Daddy make it sound modern despite the fact that it is timeless. Although it could have been recorded any time over the last seventy or so years, something about "Arkansas Bound" feels modern.

Melissa Carper says of the new song:

“‘Arkansas Bound’ was inspired by living in the big city and longing to go back to a slower pace of life in the country, surrounded by nature. I was making a lot of trips from Austin, Texas, back to Arkansas at the time and once I would hit those winding country roads in the Ozark Mountains, a sense of relief would come over me. I’ve been drawn to cities to find the inspiration of various music communities but I really have never loved living in a city. I have spent a good deal of time in and around Eureka Springs, Arkansas, which is a tiny town in Northwest Arkansas, in the Ozarks. There is something about the country there that keeps drawing me back in.”

You can listen to "Arkansas Bound" below. Way Up in the Hills is due out January 28 and can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here. For more on Sad Daddy, check out the band's website.

Sad Daddy - "Charlie Pickle"

Photo by Annemarie Sundell

We first discovered Sad Daddy because one of their members is Melissa Carper, but turns out they've been a band since 2010. All four members (which also include Brian Martin, Joe Sundell, and Rebecca Patek) met up in Martin's cabin in Greers Ferry, Arkansas during the 2020 lockdown and started working on a new album. Eventually they brought in recording equipment and recorded in the cabin live in a circle. The first single from the forthcoming album, "Charlie Pickle," sounds exactly like it was recorded this way. This is pure downhome country. It's a sound that predates what we think of as classic country. It just sounds like a group of friends hanging out and playing music. Despite being as rootsy as it could possibly be, there isn't a shred of that hokey or winking you get sometimes with this type of music. "Charlie Pickle" is classic American roots music that you're simply going to love.

You can watch the video for "Charlie Pickle" below. Way Up in the Hills is due out January 28. The album can be pre-ordered/pre-saved here. For more on Sad Daddy, check out the band's website.