Country Willie Edwards, Summer Dean, Tiger Alley

An East Texas farmer, Country Willie rarely wanders out on extended tours, but with the release of last year’s Midnight Cowboy, the prolific throwback songwriter’s been scuffing up his stage boots a little more. Edwards’ songs tromp through bars, boxcars, ramblin’, and heartbreak aplenty, with his smooth, twanging tenor cutting between Merle Haggard and James Hand. Summer Dean launches behind last year’s long-awaited debut LP, Bad Romantic, slinging classic Telecaster country that entices and bites in equal measure. Tiger Alley strings up first with the intoxicating jazz-licked roots of Katy Rose Cox’s fiddle and Sophia Johnson’s guitar. – Doug Freeman