Trent Dabbs - Southerner

Trent Dabbs' sixth full album, Southerner, was released a few weeks ago and it's been a wonderful listen thus far. You might not recognize his name but you've surely heard this Nashville singer/songwriter's efforts if you've ever watched TV. He's had songs on just about every major TV show from One Tree Hill to Grey's Anatomy and countless others. And those are just his songs, he's collaborated and written with many other Nashville musicians, who have also had similar success. 

Southerner is a departure from his poppier albums, as the spends this album looking at how his youth in Missisipi and life in Tennessee has shaped him and his music. One of the major influences of this album gets his own song "Neil Young" where he sings "I want to be somebody's Neil Young" which features some solid electric guitar, something we're not used to hearing on a Trent Dabbs album. His usual sweet self is ever present in "Can I Cross Your Mind", my favorite on the album, as well as "Catch Me Up to Speed" and "Keep Me Young". His songs always seem to possess that magical quality that make you go "awww". If you need some sweetness in your life, skip the sugar and pick up one of Trent Dabbs' albums. 

 Keep Me Young by Trent Dabbs 

On top of all that he started Ten out of Tennessee, an artists touring and recording group which has a really tremendous roster in the singer/songwriter world and has helped launch the careers of many young musicians like Matthew Perryman Jones, Butterfly Boucher, Erin McCarley, just to name a few. I've been really surprised by following these people on twitter because they support the hell out of each other unlike any other group of musicians. They all work pretty hard at letting people know when new songs are available, when and with whom they've been collaborating, and when new albums are released. It's been a really impressive thing to watch, they have a really strong community and Trent Dabbs has played a big part in that. 

The reason why I let loose on this Monday post is not just because I really like Trent Dabbs' music, but I think singer/songwriters get unfairly ignored in the blogging community. Ex: This is Dabb's 6th album, yet this is the first post about him on the Hype Machine. Whether you like the music or not, you should be aware that he's still getting albums sold and building platforms for other musicians to do the same. How can you not respect that? Buy his album here.

 Don't Blame Love by Trent Dabbs