My 10 Favorite Kentucky Albums Of 2025 (So Far)

Jason Carter, Kelsey Waldon, Justin Wells, S.G. Goodman, and more

We’re only six months into the year but already Kentucky musicians have come out of the gates swinging with Ashland’s fiddle maestro Jason Carter, Western Kentucky’s Kelsey Waldon and S.G. Goodman, Lexington’s Justin Wells and others all sharing new material. And that’s not even mentioning fresh one-off singles like Low Gap’s “One Mississippi,” Candi Jenkins’ “God Don’t Care,” "Magnolia Boulevard’s “Spellbound” or Ole 60’s “Nancy Avenue.”

With so much good music already released and even more on the way in the months ahead courtesy of Tyler Childers, Nicholas Jamerson, Miles Miller, Brit Taylor and others us Kentuckians truly are spoiled when it comes to great music. To celebrate making it halfway through another year and all the new tunes that have come with it, here’s a look at my favorite Kentucky albums of 2025 (so far).

Jason Carter & Michael Cleveland - Carter & Cleveland

Kentuckian Jason Carter and Southern Indiana’s Michael Cleveland — two of the hottest fiddlers around — teamed up in March teamed up for the absolutely epic Carter & Cleveland, an 11-song project comprised of bluegrass standards and other choice cuts from top shelf songwriters like Del McCoury, Darrell Scott, John Hartford and Tim O’Brien. The record was Carter’s first since splitting from The Travelin’ McCourys earlier this year to pursue his solo career after 30 years together.

Adam Chaffins - Trailer Trash EP

From singing about his childhood growing up poor on “Trailer Trash” to looking back on his 20’s and how he plans to walk through life moving forward on “Living Till My Dying Day,” Louisa born and Nashville based singer Adam Chaffins brings a light-hearted approach to his narrative driven Trailer Trash EP. Songs like “Dive Bar Moses” and “Little Bit At A Time” — the latter about working to be a better version of yourself with each passing moment — help to further that narrative, cementing Chaffins as a modern day neo-traditional trailblazer who’s just starting to hit his stride.

S.G. Goodman - Planting By The Signs

Murray’s S.G. Goodman grounds herself in the ancient Appalachian practice of planting by the signs on her new album of the same name that was delivered in June. Through the lens of trance-like rock and cosmic country she examines love, loss, reconciliation and grief in relation to those signs and what kind of seeds each are planting for our futures. A standout from the project in that regard is “Satellite,” which connects the dots between the ritualistic nature of planting by the signs and our modern, tech and social media driven world that are slowly stripping us of our capability for human connection.

Tony Logue - Dark Horse

Although substantially more country leaning than other Western Kentucky rockers like Cage The Elephant and Black Stone Cherry, Tony Logue does his home state proud all the same with his plainspoken lyrics and high flying riffs across Dark Horse. Throughout the record that mix strikes a balance between influences Chris Knight and the Drive-By Truckers on cuts like “Cinnamon Blonde” and “Yellow Rose.” A touch of Bruce Springsteen even creeps in on bangers like “Savanna” as Logue flexes his versatility and knack for crafting relatable songs that feel timeless in the process.

Shelby Means - Shelby Means

Born in Kentucky and raised in Wyoming before relocating to Nashville in recent years to tour as a bassist with GRAMMY award winning group Molly Tuttle & Golden Highway, Shelby Means has broken out as a solo act in recent months following the unveiling of her debut and self-titled record in May. The transformative project takes after new age bluegrass trailblazers Tuttle and Strings with it’s combination of insatiable picking and harmonies across a variety of tasty original songs, covers and traditional ballads. Highlights include the upbeat farm girl fantasy “Farm Girl” featuring Rachel Baiman and Kelsey Waldon as well as a cover of Lady Gaga’s “Million Reasons” that she puts a pop-grass spin on to make uniquely her own.

Moonlight Mile - Sad Songs From Sandy Hook

Born just a stone’s throw from country legend Keith Whitley, Moonlight Mile’s Jonathan Pennington spins gut wrenching and nostalgic stories with an Appalachian grunge flavor on Sad Songs From Sandy Hook. While songs like “Appalachia” and “Kessler” reflect on the region with reverence, others like “Up In These Hills” and “Heroine” touch on the complexities that have taken hold over the area that’s long been blessed with natural beauty but burdened by a lack of economic opportunity and hope. Although not a Kentucky musician, American Aquarium’s BJ Barham on”Starts With You” sings “sad songs, they make me happy,” which is exactly what I feel when I hear these songs from Moonlight Mile.

Don Rogers - From That Mystic Order

One of the most appreciated and (still somehow) underrated musicians on this list courtesy of his work with The Local Honeys, Nicholas Jamerson, Cole Chaney, Charles Wesley Godwin and countless others, Don Rogers dropped the Kentucky-focused From That Mystic Order in April. Planted firmly in the state’s hills, hollers and coalfields on songs like “Townsend Cave,” “Big South Fork” and “We Don’t Grow Tobacco Here Nomore” (but not “Silicon Valley”), the “Bluegrass Man”’s love for his home state and the music traditions born from it are evident in every lyric, note and fiber of his being.

Luke Trimble - Headed Out The Holler

Calling Paintsville and the Country Music Highway home, Luke Trimble conjures up a sound equal parts Tyler Childers and Cole Chaney (someone we expect new music from this fall) on his album Headed Out The Holler. Released in January, the album captures the young singer ruminating on everything from the highs and lows of Appalachian living on “Black Gold” and “Fall Song” to professing his love on “My Sweet Renee” and appreciating life’s little joys on “Finer Things,” all with a gritty and raw sound that perfectly mirrors the region’s blue collar, rough around the edges demeanor.

Kelsey Waldon - Every Ghost

Monkey’s Eyebrow native Kelsey Waldon raised eyebrows a couple weeks ago with the release of her seventh album Every Ghost. The hauntingly beautiful collection sees the singer reflecting on her upbringing with “My Kin,” confronting addiction and sobriety on “Falling Down,” and memorializing her grandmother with “Tiger Lillies,” all to a bluesy backwater country beat that she and her band The Muleskinners honed in on in Memphis with her co-producer/husband Justin Francis.

Justin Wells - Cynthiana

An elongated love letter to his wife named after the town they first met and released on her birthday in February, Justin Wells’ Cynthiana sees the gentle giant’s tender voice rambling about the trials and tribulations of life and the importance of holding tight to the people you care about. Whether it’s the opening track “Little Buildings’” message of struggling with sobriety and the role his wife played in him getting off the bottle to “Sad, Tomorrow” — a story about grief and mourning those you love that was inspired by a story told by Nicole Kidman on Marc Maron’s podcast — Wells always knows how to pull the right levers to raise spirits AND get the tear ducts flowing.

Stay tuned for my top 10 non-Kentucky albums of 2025 (so far) to drop later this week!