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"Downtown Blues" was originally recorded by Frank Stokes in 1928, and now it's Justin Golden's turn to record a version. Golden's version sees the Richmond, VA blues artist enlisting bluegrass band Devil's Coattails. It's a song that blends traditional blues with bluegrass for one of the more unique roots based sounds. Golden's voice shines in any style, but it was just made for blues. If you are into any of the genres under the Americana label, there's going to be a lot to love with "Downtown Blues."  You can listen to Justin Golden's version of "Downtown Blues" below. The song is available with a B-side of "One Scotch, One Bourbon, One Beer," which is a more jazzy version of the blues standard dating back to the 1950's. Golden Country Vol. 1 is due out in January. For more on Justin Golden, check out the artist's website .

Photo by Joey Wharton Richmond, VA's Justin Golden is one of our favorite modern blues artists. He recently released a cover of Blind Lemon Jefferson's "Bad Luck Blues" that will show you exactly why. Golden has this insanely smooth voice that perfectly captures emotion, particularly in blues. He can take a song that is nearly a century old and make it sound completely modern while staying true to the roots of the song. Golden's version of "Bad Luck Blues" is completely modern but still timeless. He just exudes talent and charisma with every release. It's been a while since we've had new music from Justin Golden, so we're crossing our fingers this is the first release of many! You can listen to Justin Golden's take on "Bad Luck Blues" below. For more on Justin Golden, check out the artist's website .

We've been pretty strong supporters of Justin Golden for a few years now, extolling his blend of laid back blues and Americana which is all held together by his nearly magical voice. His latest song goes in a completely new direction. "The Gator" may still be a blues song, but it's a noisy blues garage rocker. It's complete with a chugging beat and some of the most killer feedback soaked blues guitar you've heard in years. After following an artist for a while, it's great to hear them expand on their sound while still sounding like themselves. "The Gator" may be the best we've heard from Golden so far. Expect huge things from him in the future. Justin Golden explains the story behind his new song: “... while driving down south on a writer’s retreat, I saw gators in Florida. I thought about how somewhere under the water there was a gator just waiting for its chance to pull me under. Then, I realized, that’s the same way I feel every day as a B...

I like to think that we were fairly early supporters of Richmond, VA's Justin Golden, and in about a year he's going to outgrow us. His latest single, "Can't Get Right," continues his expansion on his blues/folk sound. The song gets a little more bluesy than we've heard from him before, and adds some perfect grit into his sweet as honey voice. "Can't Get Right" also rocks more than we're used to from Golden and adds a lot more groove than we've heard before. Right now we're watching a great young artist just starting to come into his own sound. On this song, Golden sounds both familiar and completely fresh. If he ends up playing some festivals this summer, by this time next year he'll have blown up with songs like this. You can listen to "Can't Get Right" below. Hard Times and a Woman is due out April 15, and can be pre-ordered through Bandcamp . For more on Justin Golden, check out the artist's Facebook .

Photo via Facebook We've been following Justin Golden for a number of years now. The Richmond, VA based artist has released a handful of singles and an EP over the past six or so years, but never a full album. That changes this year with the release of his debut album. The first single, "Ain't Just Luck," is that perfect pairing of folk and blues we love from Golden, but his sound gets tweaked just a little on the single. You still get Golden's honey smooth vocals that are truly the joy of listening to his music, but "Ain't Just Luck" brings a little more grit than we've heard from him before. This isn't quite dirty blues, but it's pretty close. Justin Golden has been kind of our little secret for too long, and if there is any justice 2022 is going to be a breakthrough year for him. You can listen to "Ain't Just Luck" below. Hard Times and a Woman is due out April 15 and can be pre-ordered through Bandcamp . For more on Just...

We've been fans of Justin Golden's ever since we discovered his music way back in 2016. The Richmond, VA artist has just had this compelling mix of throwback blues and smooth vocals we can't resist. He recently surprise released a new EP, Idle Hands EP. While the new release does have what we have come to want and expect from Golden, it does show off a newer sound for the artist. The EP opens with "Lullaby for Elle," an instrumental track that clocks in at just under a minute and a half. It starts off with some folk/blues guitar, but slowly an orchestral sound of feedback (?) slowly enters the song, letting you know that this will be a bit different. "Guiding Light" is a folk song that is as gorgeous as it is powerful. The EP closes out with two songs we've previously covered, "Arm's Length" and "It Ain't Much," but are still well worth a listen. You can listen to "Guiding Light" below. For more on Justin Golden,...

Photo via Facebook We've been huge fans of Justin Golden ever since stumbling across his music a few years back. The Richmond, VA artist just has this unique way of melding folk and blues into a sound all his own. Golden's voice has this impossible to resist warmness that has fit his relatively mainstream sound perfectly. With his latest single, "It Ain't Much," Golden branches out his sound quite a bit. The song is still a folk/blues song, and Golden's voice is still as rich as ever, but the guitar is just a little extra distorted and the drums pound just a little extra hard. Plus, a harmonica is used sparingly like it's a noise rock instrument, going along with Golden's vocals at times and almost opposing them at others. If you've enjoyed Justin Golden's music as much as we have, it's going to be great hearing him expand on his sound for this one! You can listen to "It Ain't Much" below. For more on Justin Golden, check out ...

Photo via Facebook We haven't heard any new music from Justin Golden since 2019, but luckily we finally have something new. "Arm's Length" is exactly what we want from a Justin Golden song. It's a laid back folk song with a little blues thrown in to help keep things interesting. While Golden's music has always had some crossover or mainstream appeal, this new song is the type that can appeal to everybody. Golden just has this warmth in his voice that is welcoming and compelling. You can't not listen to him, and it's impossible not to enjoy it.  You can listen to "Arm's Length" below. For more on Justin Golden, check out the artist's Facebook .

Two things I've been dying to experience live for quite some time has been seeing Justin Golden live and checking out a Sofar Sounds show. Once I saw that Justin Golden was playing a Sofar Sounds show, I knew the time was right. For those unfamiliar with Sofar Sounds, it's a series of shows in four hundred cities. The appeal is that you get three surprise artists in non-traditional venues. It's usually a home, but sometimes it's another location, such as the PRX Podcast Garage lobby, where this particular event was held. Seeing that I knew Justin Golden was playing, it was a bit of a cheat for me. But considering he lives in Richmond, VA and has never played in Boston before, cheating a little is allowed. We've been adoring fans of his bluesy folk for a while now, and his live show has strengthened that even more. It was just Golden and a guitar for his performance, but I don't know what else could have been needed. He completely captivated the audience wi...

It's been a while since we've heard from Richmond, VA's Justin Golden, but luckily he's back with a new single. "Damage" doesn't change the world. It's just Golden with his guitar playing blues/folk. There's nothing earth shatteringly unique here. Except that Golden is just so amazingly good at this. "Damage" is an absolutely perfect song. Golden delivers with an ease that goes far beyond his years. It's both smooth and has just enough of the rough edge that you need in blues. Golden is one of those artists that should be a huge star at this point, if there was any justice in the world. You can listen to "Damage" below. For more on Justin Golden, check him out on Facebook .

It's been three long years without new music from Richmond, VA's Justin Golden, but our long drought is finally over with "Talking." His newest single is everything we want from Golden: It's smoother than silk blues that still has a tiny bit of an edge to it. "Talking" sounds and feels like a classic song, but still modern. It's a deceptively simple song with sparse use of guitar and drums. The song is propelled forward by Golden's voice and the harmonica he's almost dueting with throughout. You can listen to "Talking" below. The song is available as a download via Justin Golden's Bandcamp . For more on Justin Golden, check him out on Facebook . And let's all hope we don't have to wait three years for another release. Talking by Justin Golden

The question isn't where Justin Golden came from (Answer: Richmond, Virginia) but when. There's just something about his newest song "I Hate When She Calls" that just isn't of this time. From the opening picks of his guitar to his voice, this song can't possibly be of this century, and is probably from sometime in the mid-1900s. Since that's obviously not true, you'd probably think that he's this great undiscovered blues/folk artist, maybe this year's Rodriguez. I'm not positive of his age, but based on pictures he's probably no older than 25. Instead of following a traditional verse/chorus/verse song structure, the song just meanders around his guitar, with vocals just coming in when Golden feels the need. "I Hate When She Calls" is perfectly timeless. You can listen to "I Hate When She Calls" below. For more information on Justin Golden, check out his Bandcamp (where you can download the song for free) and Face...