The Boot’s Weekly Picks: Sunny Sweeney, Steve Moakler + More

ACM nominee Sunny Sweeney has a heavy load to bear — and release — on her upcoming album Married Alone, which is due out Sept. 23 via Thirty Tigers. "As Easy as Hello," co-written with Lori McKenna and Heather Morgan, envisions a world in which it was as easy to wish someone farewell as it is to start a conversation. The song has a driving beat that will send you — mentally, at least — down a long golden highway. But the nagging steel guitar reminds us that there is something tying us down, even if we want to ignore it. -- Rachel Cholst

Steve Moakler's latest track, "You Being You," will tug at your heartstrings in the best way possible. Solely penned by Moakler, this beautiful, heartfelt song timestamps both the excitement and nervousness he felt just two weeks into being a first-time father. Still, the tune isn't so much about him but rather, the hopes he has for his newborn infant.

"Life's a wild ride / Won't always go the way you like / But just remember who you are son / And you're gonna be alright." he sings in the bridge over a reflective, downtempo melody. "I feel like becoming a parent has opened rooms in my heart that I didn’t even know were there, so I guess this is the sound of one of the doors swinging open."  

"You Being You" is the last pre-release single from his upcoming album Make a Little Room, which drops on Friday (Aug. 12). -- Jeremy Chua

Mae Estes fuses romanticism with classic country balladry on her latest song, "Your Hands." The heart-rending tune finds the singer confessing and reflecting on how she lucky she is to be in love with her selfless and ever-thoughtful best friend.

"Holding a beer on a Friday night / Holding a match when I need a light / Holding the door and my old guitar / There on my knee in the crowd in a dive bar," she sings of his gentlemanly and affectionate ways in the chorus.

The track, penned by Autumn McEntire, Matthew Morrisey and Mari Dodson, also adopts a more stripped-back production as compared to Estes' earlier releases like the euphoric "I Quit Smokin'." -- Jeremy Chua

Veteran New Orleans singer-songwriter Lynn Drury has been crafting her special blend of country, rock, folk, and soul since before Americana was cool. On "Dancing in the Kitchen," the title track off her recent album, Drury throws some '80s-style synths into the mix.

With her gritty voice and sense of serenity, Drury celebrates the idiosyncracies of her unusual life and invites us all to join in on the house party. -- Rachel Cholst

New Orleans singer-songwriter Gregg Hill hits the dusty trail on his gothic tale "Sky of Gold." Hill is a former corporate drone (in his words) turn zen-inspired guitar slinger. His latest track has the rollicking groove and thundering bass of a spaghetti Western epic, but its hypnotic repetition gives a meditative tint to Hill's portrait of a man on the run. -- Rachel Cholst

Eliza Edens' cool confidence on "I Needed You" belies the song's heartbreaking nature. With an off-kilter pedal steel and slightly delayed drum beat, the Brooklyn folk singer illustrates the confusing but inevitable nature of that moment in a relationship when you decide it may be best to call it a day after all. Edens cooly recounts the ways a partner is needed — until they're not. The song is off her upcoming album, We'll Become the Flowers, which is set for release on Oct. 14. -- Rachel Cholst