Spectra Music recording artist and co-founder of the long-lasting venue ‘The Station’ in East Tennessee is making a rustic mile-sized splash along with his self-titled debut album launched in October of 2023.

Following within the footsteps of his late mom, Arlene, whose band, the “Tennessee Pardners,” toured the southland all through the Forties and ’50s, Billy Hubbard’s love for music started at an early age. After choosing up the guitar in his early teenagers, Hubbard took on lead guitar duties for an all-female vocal group known as “The Sunshine Singers” in 1970, who had been featured on native tv. Since then, Billy Hubbard has written and carried out numerous songs within the Americana custom for over forty years, endorsed by Godin’s Simon & Patrick Guitars for over thirty. To these within the music enterprise, Hubbard’s proficiency on guitar isn’t any secret, neither is his uncanny skill to craft a memorable tune.

 In 2013, Hubbard wrote, composed, and performed guitar on the basic Christmas favourite, “No Higher Love,” that includes the proficient Lauren Joseph on vocals. After famed creator and film producer Angus Buchan (Bizarre Individuals) took to Fb to reward the efficiency, the tune went viral worldwide on social media. Later, in 2013, Hubbard launched two extra singles, “Johnny Regulation” and “Sittin’ on a Rock,” adopted by the one and music video for “All of the World’s Gone Loopy” in 2014. In 2017, Hubbard launched one more single, “Waitin’ on the Wind,” a breezy ode to tranquility Billy wrote about his cousin (together with Neil Younger’s cousin) crusing from the Dominican Republic to Key West. After releasing a number of singles, it turned clear to Hubbard that the time had lastly come to launch his first full-length studio album.

Recorded, blended, and mastered at Welcome to 1979 Studio in Nashville, Hubbard’s ten-song debut album options an all-star lineup together with nation music Corridor of Fame inductee and Grammy-winning artist Charlie McCoy on harmonica, Grammy-winning artist Shawn Camp on fiddle and mandolin, Mountain Coronary heart bassist Travis Anderson on upright bass and electrical bass, Ryan Sise on lead guitar, Casey Inexperienced on drums, Bethany Jean Smith on vocal duets, with Scarlett Egan and Richard Hill on backup vocals. As if Hubbard didn’t have already got sufficient trade heavy hitters in his nook, the primary music video from the album might be produced and directed by nation music legend Pam Tillis. It’s clear that a number of the greatest names in Nashville are behind Billy Hubbard, and it’s straightforward to see why.

A mid-tempo strummer, “Castin’ Away My Blues,” opens the album with a laid-back, sun-soaked vibe, excellent for floating down a lazy river with a chilly drink in your hand. The undeniably catchy refrain recollects a few of Jimmy Buffet’s most iconic songs and can absolutely have followers and newcomers elevating a glass and singing alongside wherever they might be listening.

“Lonesome after I’m with you, miss you whenever you’re gone,” laments Hubbard within the melancholy ballad “Lonesome After I’m With You.” Showcasing Hubbard’s tough and raspy vocals paying homage to a seasoned Mark Knopfler (Dire Straits), this heartbreak duet additionally options Bethany Jean Smith’s alluring voice on feminine lead. The 2 singers complement one another fairly properly, significantly when joined within the refrain. Additionally featured on this monitor is a blazing, reverb-drenched guitar solo performed by Ryan Sise, who additionally co-produced the album together with Hubbard. The sensation of lonesome isolation conveyed all through this tune is palatable and one to which most listeners will relate.

The follow-up monitor, “Acquired to be Actual,” is an up-tempo burner that kicks into gear with an electrical guitar riff that sounds one thing like a countrified model of The Beatles’ “I Really feel Advantageous.” That includes some tasty harmonica taking part in courtesy of Charlie McCoy, “Acquired to be Actual” is a fierce shout-out to those that keep true to themselves and a monitor that may resonate with nation, blues, and rock followers all over the place.

A number of tracks on Hubbard’s spectacular debut recommend a powerful Willie Nelson affect, a welcomed trait in any artist’s repertoire. Particularly, the heartfelt nation ballad, “After I Look into Your Eyes,” with Bethany Jean Smith becoming a member of in as soon as once more on the skillfully crafted refrain, and the album’s closing monitor, “Goodbye Waltz,” a farewell ode Hubbard penned concerning the final telephone name he and his mom shared earlier than her sudden passing. In her honor, Shawn Camp performed her classic Gibson mandolin on this monitor together with Billy on acoustic guitar. Hubbard’s real, heartfelt lyrics on this timeless ballad are delivered with an expressive phrasing and a candy sincerity that recollects a few of Nelson’s most beloved classics corresponding to “Humorous How Time Slips Away” and “All the time on My Thoughts.” 

With considerate lyrics, soulful vocals, and a mode that blends components of nation, rock, and blues, Hubbard and his stellar band of musicians have assembled a group of memorable songs that warrant repeated listens. The end result of a life dedicated to music and a becoming tribute to a lady whose love and fervour for tune lives on by means of her son, Billy Hubbard’s lengthy overdue debut is fully definitely worth the wait, and one in every of which Ms. Hubbard would undoubtedly be proud.

Written by Michael Scanlon