We have completed yet another trip around the sun. While there were certainly some patches of optimism (remember how great the early summer felt, pre-Delta?), 2021, like 2020 before it, was a tough one. Thankfully, the music helped get us across the finish line. There seemed to be a ton of new releases this past year, likely a byproduct of artists being home-bound for so much of 2020. We asked our DJs to recommend some of their favorites. The list below not only provides an excellent time-capsule for year, but also illustrates the wide variety of musical styles and genres played on WXNA.
Presented for you in alphabetical order by DJ, our favorite records of 2021:
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DJ Cajun Mitch – Sounds of the Bayou, Mondays 7pm-8pmDumpstaphunk, Where Do We Go from Here? – The funkiest release of 2021! |
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Laurel Creech – All About Nashville, Fridays Noon-1pmLadyCouch, The Future Looks Fine – some of Nashville’s most talented musicians performing live like they’re throwing a party!! |
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DJubilee – Greetings From Nashville, Thursdays 6am-7am, Ear to the Ground, Tuesdays 6am-7amDarrin Bradbury, Artvertisement – Very original. At times punk, clever, poignant. Sometimes all at once. |
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DJ Ed – Eighties/Schmeighties, Fridays 10am-noonLate Night Tales, Version Excursion – Selected By Don Letts |
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DJ Erica – Soul of the City, Thursdays 4pm-6pmZo! & Tall Black Guy, Abstractions – Zo!, band leader for the group The Foreign Exchange, and producer Tall Black Guy put out an amazing album featuring an array of neo-soul singers such as Black Milk, Sy Smith, and Omar. Laid back and innovative, it’s a great album that explores ranges of neo-soul and r&b. |
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Leslie Hermsdorfer – Sound Decisions, Mondays 5pm-7pmJane Weaver, Flock – This record is a perfect reflection of a multi-instrumentalist expressing her entire artistic capabilities with influences at the prime of her life. |
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“Hound Dog” Hoover – Goin Down South, Mondays Noon-3pmJason Isbell, Georgia Blue – Cool covers, great guests, and a campaign promise kept! |
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DJ Juan – International Echo, Thursdays 3pm-4pmXenia Rubinos, Una Rosa – The New York-based singer returns with a bang with a poignant album about loss and doubt amidst the pandemic. |
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Dawn Kote – Yum Yum Eat Em Up, Wednesdays 1pm-1:30pmMaggie Rose, Have A Seat – Love the soulful sound of her voice & the songs she wrote reflect the year we have all had! |
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Nick Lindemanblack midi, Cavalcade |
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Mike Mannix – Psych Out!, Wednesdays 7pm-9pmJantar, Sempronia – This album offers nods in a variety of musical directions, most notably the UK’s Canterbury scene of the late 60s / early 70s. This is not to say that Jantar sounds like Gong or Soft Machine, for they don’t. Instead, they take the progressive sensibilities of folks like Daevid Allen and Robert Wyatt and set them in modern context and project them outwards and into the future. A unique approach to say the least. It’s a marvelous journey of mystical folk meanderings, heady forays, and astral inspired diversions. |
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Anne McCue Songs on the Wire, Tuesdays 10am-11:30am; Nashville Express, Tuesdays 11:30am-NoonChris Wilson, Live at the Continental – Australian legend Chris Wilson passed away in 2019. This recording is a re-release of a live concert in Melbourne in the 90s at The Continental. He was one of the most powerful performers I have ever seen. I just wish he would have played in America and Europe. He would have blown the socks off Americanafest etc. |
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Adam McDole – Body to Body, Fridays 7pm-9pmDeafheaven, Infinite Granite – A change in style for Deafheaven but still retains what makes them great. Beautiful, heartbreaking, and ultimately hopeful. |
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Leanne Merritt – X-Posure, Wednesdays 1:30pm-4pmYasmin Williams, Urban Driftwood – I enjoyed so many incredible records throughout 2021 that it’s tough to choose a favorite one. There were many releases that I loved, but Yasmin’s second album of unique and unusual instrumental guitar music really came to be a special one for me during such an intense year. She creates the perfect music to zone out to, and just a few weeks after losing my Dad to CoVid, I was lucky enough to be in tiny group of only about 15 people who showed up to see Yasmin perform a sublime set during Americanafest. It was exactly what I needed. I felt as if it there were rainbows and kittens coming out of her guitar. |
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Josh Mock – Sad Songs for Happy People, Sundays 10pm-11pmArooj Aftab, Vulture Prince |
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Nexus – Musical Mysticism, Wednesdays 4pm-5pmValerie June, The Moon And Stars: Prescriptions For Dreamers |
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Chris Nochowicz – Future of Jazz, Saturdays 8am-10am, The Indie Hangover, Wednesdays 6am-7amRichard Elliot, Authentic Life |
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Rick PecoraroCheekface, Emphatically No. – A record that sounds like the idle thoughts of 2021, but y’know, with hooks! |
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Laura Pochodylo – Runout Numbers, Sundays 8am-10amConnie Smith, The Cry of the Heart – Fantastic album of new material from a legacy artist who sounds as great as she ever has, not every day you get that! |
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DJ rhatfink – The Continental, Thursdays 7am-9am, Bedazzled Paradigm Jukebox, Sundays 7am-8amTommy Guerrero, Sunshine Radio – Mix equal parts reverb guitar, pulsing organ and exotica rhythms and pour into an all instrumental glass. Chill and serve. |
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Michael Scatter – Scattershot, Wednesdays 10am-NoonSgt. Papers, SGTP – It’s catchy, it’s psychedelic, it’s rockin’, and it bear repeat listening. |
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Drew Wilson – LOUD LOVE, Sunday Nights Midnight-1amTurnstyle, Glow On |
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Zach Worm – t a p e w o r m s, Wednesday Mornings Midnight-2amHome Is Where, I Became Birds |
