Sunny Sweeney, a genre-bending, songwriting spitfire who has spent equal time in the rich musical traditions of Texas and Tennessee, returns with Married Alone, the celebrated singer-songwriter’s fifth studio album and the follow-up to 2017’s critically acclaimed Trophy. Co-produced by beloved Texas musician and larger-than-life personality Paul Cauthen and the Texas Gentlemen’s multi-hyphenate Beau Bedford, Married Alone is Sweeney’s finest work yet, bringing together confessional songwriting, image-rich narratives and no shortage of sonic surprises for a loosely conceptual album about loss and healing.

In everything she does, Enderlin sings like the heir to Patsy or Tammy, then writes like Eudora Welty decided to pick up country music. Over the last year and a half, more people––some with big microphones––have noticed.

First, the Country Music Hall of Fame & Museum included Enderlin in their annual American Currents exhibit.  She was featured in the Unbroken Circle section of the exhibit, which positions contemporary artists who have had breakthrough years with those who have influenced them. In that piece, the museum yoked Enderlin––the only independent artist selected for the exhibit––with one of her heroes, Reba McEntire. For Enderlin, the enormity of the honor was compounded by her past: Enderlin had once volunteered as a tour guide at the museum, where she moved anonymously through exhibits, telling stories and fielding questions from excited children. “To see my stuff in an exhibit there that I had walked by, morning after morning, showing the school kids…” Enderlin trails off, still a bit stunned. “It was really such a full circle moment there.”