The Americana Heartbeat - March 2026
A new selection of Americana, country, folk, and roots songs worth hearing this month.
Featuring Zachary Baker, Hillside Outlaws, Travis Dolter, Thomm Jutz, CJ Hooper, Ryan Dart, Staci Gruber, Marshall Dane, West Coast Country Superstars, Sanford:, Ben Reel, Allen Dobb, The Imaginary Band, Andy Hedges, Magoo, and Kye Alfred Hillig.
Every month, Americana Heartbeat gathers songs that feel rooted in the land. Stories carried by fiddles, steel strings, dusty boots, and late-night barroom pianos. March's selections move from bluegrass hills to honky-tonk floors, from quiet folk reflections to the rumble of country-rock.
The Americana Heartbeat - Honky Tonk • Country • Bluegrass
Zachary Baker - Lighthouse
Photo Credit: Silken Weinberg
(From the upcoming album Dark Horse, out April 3, 2026)
Zachary Baker steps into a new chapter with Lighthouse, trading his hard-rock background for a more stripped-back alt-country approach. The song leans into storytelling and atmosphere, letting Baker explore a quieter side of songwriting as he moves into the Americana landscape.
It's a notable shift for the Avenged Sevenfold guitarist, pointing toward the reflective tone he explores across his debut solo album Dark Horse.
Connect with Zachary Baker
Instagram / X / Spotify
Hillside Outlaws - Hanging By A Moment
The Hillside Outlaws revisit the early-2000s hit Hanging By A Moment, reshaping it as a country-leaning duet. With Courtney Hunt joining the pair, the song settles into a softer, reflective tone while staying faithful to Jason Wade's lyrics "I'm falling even more in love with you / Letting go of all I've held on to."
The familiar melody finds a new setting here, trading the original rock edge for harmonies and a more open, Americana-styled feel.
Connect with Hillside Outlaws
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify
Connect with Courtney Hunt
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify
Travis Dolter - Forever With You
Travis Dolter leans fully into the charm of romantic comedy storytelling on Forever With You. Written with Cayd Greiner, the song embraces the sweetness of imperfect love, weaving in playful nods to films like Dirty Dancing and 50 First Dates. Lighthearted and sincere, it celebrates the kind of relationship where the clichés are part of the magic.
Connect with Travis Dolter
X / Facebook / Instagram / Spotify
Thomm Jutz - Ramblin’ Gamblin’ Blues
(From the upcoming album Ring-A-Bellin', out April 3, 2026)
Thomm Jutz taps into the spirit of old-time American music on Ramblin' Gamblin' Blues. Recorded with acoustic instruments played live together in the room, the track moves with a steady, rolling rhythm led by fiddle, mandolin, bass, and piano. Inspired by Jutz's early years on the road, the song reflects on the restless life of traveling musicians; the late nights, the card tables, and the people always ready for another round.
Connect with Thomm Jutz
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CJ Hooper - Hard Times
(From the album Over Yonder)
CJ Hooper leans into a darker corner of his sound on Hard Times, a track that stands apart from the more traditional shuffle and honky-tonk tones elsewhere on Over Yonder. Built on a heavy, slightly off-kilter rhythm and rough-edged guitar work, the song carries the weight of the title in every step forward. Hooper's worn, gravel-lined vocal delivery gives the story a sense of lived experience, as if the narrator is pushing through the mud rather than simply passing through it.
Connect with CJ Hooper
Instagram / Spotify / Website
Ryan Dart - Dirt Road Woman
(From the upcoming album If Love Don't Break You, out May 1, 2026)
Ryan Dart brings warmth and quiet confidence to Dirt Road Woman, a mid-tempo Americana track built on earthy acoustic textures and soulful vocals. Inspired by the kind of love that arrives after difficult chapters, the song celebrates resilience and the steady strength of the woman at its center. Dart's voice carries both weathered experience and genuine admiration, giving the song the easy sway of a long drive down an open road.
Connect with Ryan Dart
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Staci Gruber - This Time Around
Boston singer-songwriter Staci Gruber blends country twang with bluesy guitar energy on This Time Around, a breakup anthem that moves forward with confidence rather than regret. Recorded in Nashville, the track rides a driving rhythm and honky-tonk guitar lines while Gruber sings about the moment clarity finally arrives. As she describes it, the song tells the story of "love that pulled too hard" and a heart that finally listened when the truth came too late.
Connect with Staci Gruber
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Marshall Dane - Somebody Somewhere
Marshall Dane reflects on memory and enduring love in Somebody Somewhere. The song centers on the power of moments that never quite fade, captured in the line "Somebody somewhere is holding a picture of somebody they used to know." As the lyrics linger on old photographs and the love still living inside them, Dane delivers a thoughtful country ballad about the way certain connections stay with us long after time moves on.
Connect with Marshall Dane
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West Coast Country Superstars - Nashville, Tennessee
Portland's West Coast Country Superstars bring a gritty, garage-leaning edge to Nashville, Tennessee. Punchy guitars and a driving rhythm give the track the feel of a band playing loud in a crowded bar, leaning more toward rock-and-roll attitude than polished country radio. Despite the title, the song feels less like a postcard to Music City and more like a sideways glance at the industry from the perspective of a fiercely independent band.
Connect with West Coast Country Superstars
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Sanford: - We'll Leave The Light On For Ya
Photo credit: Rich Wade
(From the album Big Tent Revival)
On We'll Leave The Light On For Ya, Sanford: delivers a wry and conversational take on modern country culture, mixing humor with pointed observations. The lyrics take aim at surface-level trends: "You look real cute in your hat and boots / The honky-tonk hipsters is on the loose", while returning to the refrain that gives the song its welcoming center: "We’ll leave the light on for you, cause the party, it never ends."
The result carries a laid-back, front-porch spirit, balancing playful criticism with the idea that the door is always open.
Connect with Sanford:
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify
Ben Reel - Come What June
(From the album Spirit's Not Broken)
Irish songwriter Ben Reel turns reflective on Come What June, a mid-tempo Americana track that looks at life from the long view. The lyrics move through memories, uncertainty, and the passing of time: "My future is shorter than my past / How long more am I gonna last", before arriving at the song's steady refrain: "Come what May, come what June."
With its grounded rhythm and soulful vocal tone, the song carries the album's message of resilience and the importance of holding on to the people who matter most.
Connect with Ben Reel
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Allen Dobb - At the Bridge
Photo Credit: Peter D. Faris
(From the upcoming album The Afterlife Sessions, out April 24, 2026)
Recorded live with a circle of acoustic instruments, At the Bridge carries the quiet gravity of folk songs passed down through generations. Dobb sings of rivers, mountains, and shared history, "Where the rivers come together the water is one / I will meet you down there at the bridge".
Rooted in folk and roots traditions, the song unfolds like a reflection on the land and the people who crossed it before us. A sense of shared memory running through the lines, as if the meeting place in the title sits somewhere between history and the present day.
Connect with Allen Dobb
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The Imaginary Band - Polka Hands
Photo Credit: Sam Clarke Photography
A loose, joyful groove runs through Polka Hands, the debut single from Andrew Christopher's new project, The Imaginary Band. Warm indie-roots energy carries the song forward while the lyrics lean into instinct over hesitation: "If there's a shot in the dark to take, take it / You'll never hit if you never play."
Built around the spirit of taking chances and not overthinking the moment, the track moves with an easy, upbeat stride that reflects the band's collaborative spark.
Connect with The Imaginary Band
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify
Andy Hedges - The Maiden and Her Fiddle
Photo credit: Gabrielle Watson
(From the album The Westerner, out March 27, 2026)
Andy Hedges digs deep into cowboy song tradition with The Maiden and Her Fiddle. The performance is stripped back and story-driven, carried by acoustic guitar and Hedges' clear narrative delivery.
Like much of his work as a "cowboy songster," the piece draws from the long tradition of Western songs and poems, bringing an old story forward for a modern audience while keeping its original spirit intact.
Connect with Andy Hedges
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Magoo - Ohio Blues
Photo credit: Jeff Fasano
(From the album What A Life)
Magoo open their debut album with Ohio Blues, and it wastes no time showing what this Denver quartet can do. The song begins with tight three-part harmonies before the instruments rush in, led by lively mandolin lines and soulful dobro work.
Despite the title, the music carries a bright, forward-moving energy. Beneath it all sits a traveler's story, caught between the grey skies of Ohio and the wide-open promise of the Rocky Mountains.
Connect with Magoo
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify / Website
Kye Alfred Hillig - Don't Cancel The Fair
(From the album The All-Night Costume Company)
Kye Alfred Hillig draws on vivid everyday imagery in Don't Cancel The Fair, a song that centers on the rituals and gathering places that hold a community together. The lyrics move through fairgrounds details - giant pumpkins, carnival games, and crowded summer nights, before arriving at the plea that gives the song its heart: "I hope there's a thousand people there / Please don't cancel the fair."
Behind those scenes sits a deeper question about what people hold onto when the world starts to feel uncertain.
Connect with Kye Alfred Hillig
Facebook / Instagram / Spotify
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About Eugenia Roditis
Eugenia's passion for music was ignited from an early age as she grew up in a family of musicians. She loves attending concerts and festivals, while constantly seeking fresh and exciting new artists across diverse genres. Eugenia joined the MusicnGear team in 2012.
Contact Eugenia Roditis at eugenia.roditis@kinkl.com
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