Rugged Revival Artist Directory

The Rugged Revival Artist Directory shines a light on Independent Country, Americana and Roots artists from around the world. These musicians represent the spirit of authentic songwriting, honest storytelling and powerful live performance. Some of the artists featured here have appeared on the Rugged Revival podcast or taken part in our Grit Sessions, while others are simply artists we admire and believe deserve to be heard.
Justin Trawick

Justin Trawick

Justin Trawick has been performing in the Washington DC area and along the East Coast since 2006, citing musical influences like Bob Schneider, Greensky Bluegrass, The Tallest Man on Earth, G. Love, Old Crow Medicine Show, and David Gray. In February of 2014, Trawick won “Song of the Year” at the …

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Kenny Feidler

Kenny Feidler

From the plains of western South Dakota, Kenny Feidler has carved out a place in the alt-country landscape with raw songwriting, a fierce rock ‘n’roll band, and a commitment to authenticity. What started with songs born in rodeo arenas and on the open highway has grown into a relentless independent…

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Kindred Valley

Kindred Valley

Indie folk band Kindred Valley started when three friends with a passion for music met at Marshall University in 2020. Initially under the name Back Row Baptists, Blake Lacy, Noah Freeman and Brett McCoy met in Huntington, West Virginia, and began writing and recording music together. The band rele…

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Lance Rogers

Lance Rogers

"When Lance Rogers sipped from that teeming fountain of creative mystic, he drank the whole damn thing dry. Bone dry. Desolate dust left swirling at the bottom of the well kind of dry. Thankfully, with the release of his debut, self-titled album, Rogers has given us all a taste of his gift, and it’…

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Leon Majcen

Leon Majcen

Leon Majcen is a modern-day folksinger carrying on the tradition of Townes Van Zandt and John Prine. His breakout came as a teenager when Love and Misery became a hit on SiriusXM’s Coffee House channel, introducing his heartfelt take on American roots music. Since then, he’s spent the better part o…

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Nathan Bess

Nathan Bess

Hailing from the hills of Charleston, West Virginia, Nathan Bess writes songs that cut to the bone of Appalachian life. A full-time firefighter, his music explores the struggles, stories, and resilience of his home state, capturing the tension between hardship and hope that defines the region, foll…

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Nicholas Jamerson

Nicholas Jamerson

Nicholas Jamerson is a Kentucky-born singer-songwriter whose music blends Appalachian storytelling with spiritual grit. His new album, The Narrow Way , is the final installment of a trilogy exploring the winding path of faith, family and self-discovery. With a voice rooted in tradition and a pen sh…

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Olivia Ellen Lloyd

Olivia Ellen Lloyd

From flight attendant school in Dallas to producing theater in New York and teaching in Guatemala, Lloyd sought adventure but struggled to find a greater sense of purpose - until she found her way back to music. Channeling that restless spirit, she writes songs that dig deep for hope in the face of…

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Presley Haile

Presley Haile

Hamilton, Texas native Presley Haile writes songs the old way: honest, unguarded, and built on story. A Columbia recording artist who began performing in church before picking up guitar at sixteen, she blends folk, country, and Americana into something both nostalgic and new.Influenced by the s…

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Race Ricketts

Race Ricketts

Quick with a smile, a story, and an Allsup's burrito in hand, Texas Music artist Race Ricketts is the mouth piece of the North Texas 940 area code he proudly calls home. a quite literal “hillbilly Shakespeare”, Race is an alumni of the University of Oklahoma where he studied acting, bringing his ef…

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Randy Hoyet

Randy Hoyet

Randy Hoyet is an independent singer/songwriter who has cut his teeth in the Texas scene while finding his path to a ruckus bluesy sound. Hoyet released his debut EP “Acoustic” in October of 2021, solidifying himself as a voice to be heard in Texas music. With tracks like “Lonely and Scared” to “Sh…

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Ricky Forbes

Ricky Forbes

Ricky Forbes is a man who stops at nothing to chase his passions. From documenting the wildest storms on the planet, to spending time with loved ones at home, Ricky's pursuits are all in the quest of a life well lived.For over a decade, Ricky has immersed himself in the heart of tempests, chasi…

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Ritch Henderson

Ritch Henderson

Ritch Henderson hails from the poverty-stricken hills of Northern Alabama. As a child, he struggled to learn his place in a world with very limited social mobility. Torn in the discordance of the world views of his Detroit, Michigan native parents; and those in charge of his education, Henderson fo…

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Scott Low

Scott Low

Appalachian Blues Steeped In Sweet TeaScott Low is a Southern songwriter with a bluesman's heart, a folk singer’s storytelling, and a river guide’s patience. His most recent albums—Struttin’ Round Town (2025) and The Appalachian Blues (2024)—dig deep into the soul of the rural South, blending gri…

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Steel Saddle

Steel Saddle

Imagine if 1960s country-rock visionaries The Flying Burrito Brothers traveled to Muscle Shoals, Alabama’s fabled Fame Studios, home to recording artists like Aretha Franklin, Wilson Pickett, Etta James, and Joe Tex, to record an album and let the studio’s characteristic R ‘n’ B sound shape the res…

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Summer Dean

Summer Dean

Summer Dean puts on a hell-of-a show. Armed with three albums, constant tours, and a hot five-piece band behind her, Summer struts onto every stage with the confidence and vulnerability of a songstress that has cemented her place among the top rank Texas tunesmiths. Her live show takes the concert…

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The Jesse Williams Band

The Jesse Williams Band

Singer/songwriter/guitarist, Jesse Williams, is a mountain mama with roots grounded in Blues & Soul. Hailing from North Georgia with the deep belief that it’s best savored when simmered.Her melody medicine is an invitation of sultry vocals and earthy lyrics that explore Life's many winding path…

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The Truthful Sessions

The Truthful Sessions

The Truthful Sessions produces quality live music recordings accompanied with cinematic footage. They aim to blur the lines between music video and your typical live session.

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The Waymores

The Waymores

Straight out of Atlanta, GA, The Waymores are the real-deal honky-tonk duo keeping country music raw, road-worn, and rooted in truth. Fronted by husband-and-wife team Kira Annalise and Willie Heath Neal, the pair mix unique vocal stylings, unvarnished storytelling, and a wry sense of humor into a s…

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Tori Forsyth

Tori Forsyth

Tori Forsyth is one of Australia’s most compelling and emotionally fearless singer-songwriters, known for crafting songs that sit in the space between vulnerability and defiance. With a voice that cuts straight to the core and writing that balances raw confession with poetic restraint, Tori has car…

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Zach Welch

Zach Welch

Zach Welch’s music is toe-tapping country music infused with punk rock attitude. With albums packed with songs about real-world struggles, Welch has a bright future ahead of him. You won’t hear him on the radio, but his tunes should be in your playlists.

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Zac Wilkerson

Zac Wilkerson

Zac Wilkerson is a SOUL ROCKER from the COUNTRY.Powerful, soulful vocals and a driving guitar style combine with poignant songwriting to deliver a new take on Americana, Soul, Country, and Rock.Wilkerson stumbled into a career in music after being tricked into entering, and eventually winni…

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