Chicken or the egg scenario this week. I was drawn to a nostalgic vibe, but I can’t tell if its because that’s how I’m feeling and I found music to fit my vibe, or if it was because I started my weekend by listening to Midland’s new EP (“The Last Resort”) and allowed it to set my mood. Either way, I wound up with a FIRST5 list that feels like it could have been rounded up in 1975…but it is actually comprised of brand new songs that just dropped this week. And these are the FIRST5 new releases you should start with - from there, spinoff, go down rabbit holes, or listen to more from the artists I’ve included below.

Within 15 minutes you’ll have a great start to new music. I’ve combed through everything that’s been sent my way and tracked down even more to make sure I’m turning you on to the best, out of the gate.

As always: All the stuff I’m listening to is on my official playlist TY BENTLI’S DAILY SOUNDTRACK

First things first..
These are the FIRST 5 new releases you need to hear:

“First Goodbye” - Georgia Webster

I guess if they were your first love, they were technically your first goodbye as well? That’s the premise of Georgia Webster’s new song…but I actually don’t remember those two experiences happening with the same person. I don’t know that I can even pinpoint the end of any of my first few relationships. So lets focus on the sweeter part of the story - the first ‘love’

If you can be in love in middle school, then I know who it was. I was actually talking about the story earlier today, because I was listening to a song called “Born With a Boyfriend” & it reminded me of a girl who rode my bus in 7th grade and was my crush starting the moment I moved from Edison Middle School to Patrick Henry Middle School. I did everything I could to sit next to her on the bus, and it often worked out.. but it would take 4 years (11th grade) before we actually dated. And the main reason is that once we got to high school and I was at a point where maybe I’d have had the courage to ask her out…she was perpetually in a relationship. I believe there were only 2 boys she dated in that timeframe, but they were longterm…with maybe a couple other guys vying for her attention in between (but it was like she was never available!

I vividly remember the week that my family was spending in Okaboji IA where I had learned Alece was single…and I would restlessly, painfully toss and turn all night, thinking about how this was my ONE chance - the ONE RARE CHANCE - to see if she’d give me a shot. (Later in life, this same impatience and belief that if you didn’t shoot your shot, you’d miss it would cause me to quit a badass job prematurely & move across the country into a job that ended up being no where near what I’d built it up to be in my mind). Long story short, somewhere along the line in HS, we dated for three months, and I think we both were like “ehh.” It was ok. I don’t remember it ending, just that I was definitely feeling puppy love beforehand.

The first heartbreak probably wasn’t until years later in Little Rock.

That said, get ready to hear what Georgia Webster is about. Its readily apparent that we are into a generation of music fans that grew up watching artists like Taylor Swift bare their souls, and express their innermost and un-jaded truths. Georgia takes young love, and makes it Romeo and Juliet powerful, with the astute acceptance that it was nearing the end…and knowing what tragedy would follow the joy.

LISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC: “First Goodbye”

“I Believe” - Leah Blevins

When I was younger I am pretty sure I believed that there was a point where I’d suddenly go “Ok, this is what life is.” I’d have some level of comfort or security. I’d be a grown up that knew how to handle shit for sure, and felt confident in all things as the world turned.

Well…its definitely not something you reach in the first forty. Although I still feel like I look at certain friends and acquaintances and they seem to have it figured out (do you?)

The upside is that as life evolves and throws more hurdles, questions, and experiences at me, I feel like I get a grip on some of the things. I’m confident that I know what kind of husband I want to be. I know what kind of dad I want to be. I work my butt off and I know how to navigate business stuff. I’m better at allowing for time to appreciate the people around me (rather than hurrying through each day thinking it would help me get ‘caught up’ or ‘ahead’ so that I could take a vacation or have some ‘me time’ some day). I feel comfortable giving advice to those who ask for my opinion. I recognize my priorities lie in family first, taking care of others if I have the means, and finding a way to make the world a little happier each day - both without and within.

Meanwhile, I struggle with a ton of anxiety about the future. I feel basically zero security and a massive amount of personal responsibility. This is why I started therapy pre-pandemic and should probably revisit that. For instance, my radio agent sent a text last night that said “hey, wanted to catch up soon. No rush, just saying hi” and my brain is immediately like “what’s really going on here…” and off to the races.

The end result is that I want to clean and organize everything in the house - hitting a “last-straw” in my mind that sends me into the attic and playroom to find every single thing we don’t need so that I can donate it, recycle it, or toss it. Simplify, and stay in control..

So I easily become enveloped by songs that profess confusion and chaos.

Leah Blevins comes in with a super retro-sonic sound. At first I almost passed this song by (slap on the wrist)…but I circled back and moved it from #7 on my list this week into the FIRST5.

”Believe” seems perfectly timed for a throwback summer. A simple 8th note groove to drive it forward while Leah’s vocals call to mind Tammy Wynette. Although Tammy’s songs would literally ‘spell-it-out-for us’ (“D-I-V-O-R-C-E”) Leah sings lyrics that are transient and mysterious; leaving up to us as listeners to decide if we fully understand what is being conveyed. If not for the opening line reference of “East Nashville” id have spent the entirety of the song wondering who had originally cut the track back in the 70s. Even the artwork makes you question if you’ve just forgotten about an Opry legend named Miss Leah Blevins…but a quick TikTok search will leave you assured she’s new-nostalgia and you should tell your friends.

LISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC: “I Believe”

“Take Her Off Your Hands” - Midland

One of my favorite shows on Apple Music Country is a show hosted by Midland. They host something called “Six Degrees Radio” and each song that they play is somehow connected the one before it. No real rules - ‘fast and loose’ as Cam would say - but with the idea being that whatever one song reminds them of, they play…and in between each track, they tell us the context that led them there. It is usually because of a killer bit of country music knowledge/trivia or experiences.

It gives you a better understanding of why they seem to connect with a very specific era of country music in a way that allows them to create music of that era that feels both new and classic in this era. The authenticity of Jess, Cam and Mark is inevitable. They are built on music. They bleed red dirt, cry steel guitar. So when you go to check out their new EP “The Last Resort” this week, also scroll down on their Apple Music page and check out Six Degrees Radio (one of my favorites is an episode called “Troy Gets Ghostbusted”)

Much like songwriter Justin Ebach’s friends reminding him that they’d swoop in if he screwed up and let his girlfriend get back on the market (the story inspired them to write “Singles You Up”), there is often a girl that’s so great she’s perpetually unavailable. And yet for every perfect woman, there’s a guy who is too dumb to see what he’s got.

Midland are further fuel for my nostalgic soul, this week. The story behind “Take Her Off Your Hands” stood on its own merits before layering in Mark’s unique talent for adding a forlorn and weary depth to any song his voice graces. A Midland song is about the scene as it is sitting in front of us. Uncomplicated. Not about the whole world, just the cut and dry story and the internal dialogue of the narrator. Not the promises of tomorrow, not the newspaper headline or the weather that waits outside. This simplicity is folded into a much more dynamic and brilliant piece of art.

The secret weapon of many Midland songs is not just their key signature or melodic choices - it specifically boils down to the last word in a line, and the last note of that measure…the composition of vocal and instrumental harmonies. And on top of that, this is a relatable message of knowing that you deserve a chance you will probably never get.

LISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC: “Take Her Off Your Hands”

“Not Every Cowboy” - Dustin Lynch

Corri and I knew we were not just enamored with each other, but sincerely and clearly meant-to-be. Not in a cheesy way, not in a desperate Romeo & Juliet way. In a comforting, and simple way. We knew it consciously within a few months, and probably had an inkling before that (if we’d looked hard enough). We still had a clunky conversation as we figured out how to admit to ourselves and each other that we were in love, but we also knew it was different.

A lot of other people seemed to see it, too, so we sort of took it for granted how obvious it was that we were in it for the long haul. In hindsight, I can see how the news we shared during my first visit to meet Corri’s family in Atlanta might shake her dad’s confidence in that truth.

Just six months into our relationship (and after I’d moved literally all the way across the country - Corri was still in LA while I now lived in New York), we found out she was pregnant. Actually, I found out the first night of that same trip to Atlanta, and requested that we share the news with her family while we were there in-person.

I was the only one who knew I’d already started recording a video that I planned to use in my proposal to Corri, and that my initial plan for this trip had been to ask her parents’ blessing. But with this new twist, I decided it wasn’t the right time to start that conversation. Frankly, I wanted them to understand that the reason I wanted to marry their daughter was 100% because I am in love with her. I wanted everyone to know that beyond the shadow of a doubt, and I didn’t want it to seem like a pregnancy had played any role in my decision. So rather than invoke images of shotgun wedding, when her dad’s first words post-pregnancy reveal were: “Are you going to make a life of this?” …we must have failed him on the answer. Because it took Jack (one of the kindest, most gracious people on the planet) a couple of years to fully trust me.

Sitting here with my daughter, Teddi, beside me, I know exactly what Jack must have felt when we told him we’d take it as it comes. We explained that we were confident in our feelings about each other, but didn’t feel that this should have any affect on the trajectory of our relationship (inside, I obviously knew where I stood and that it was coming in the short future). I didn’t really have a full understanding of how hard it was for others to see what Corri and I knew as an absolute.
*BTW - six months later, I couldn’t take it anymore and during our Christmas break, on a strategic run to Best Buy for an HDMI cable, I told Jack that I had been wanting to propose to his daughter for months…but that now I’d like to get his blessing. That was a big milestone in boosting his confidence in the guy that would be his future son-in-law. It took a little more time (years, probably) to show him that I wasn’t just putting on a good show.

To be fair, Jack and Shirlyn - Corri’s mom - had separated just a few months before she and I met, and I’m sure he was more aware than ever that love isn’t a given. That far too often, heartbreak awaits. But over the resultant years, I have seen the shift that shows me he recognizes what Corri and I knew from the start. I think its a comfort to him. Shirlyn had seen it, and was willing to believe in it with less skepticism - but there’s something about Dads and Daughters, right.

Dustin Lynch is home where I want him with this new song. Its full on Western and quite literally his sweet spot. Broken down and simple, you’ll hear why Dustin broke through a very very very crowded table in his country music class a few years back. His voice has a perfect home just in front of the strings. Much like George Strait, when DL is in his element, its all about the song. He can race across a stage like Garth when he wants to, but this is a planted-foot, steady hand cowboy tune. (And yup - my nostalgic mood this week is once again fulfilled)

LISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC: “Not Every Cowboy”

“Paying For It” - Levi Hummon w. Walker Hayes

Anyone else remember back when Netflix was a service that would mail you up to 3 DVDs at a time. You picked the movies you wanted, put them in your “Q” & then borrowed them like library books…3 at a time. Send one back in the postage-paid envelope and then Netflix would send the next movie in queue to your mailbox. Somehow 3 movies wasn’t enough.

Some weekends, my girlfriend and I would rip through three movies between Friday and Saturday night. And then…Sunday (no mail on Sundays people). Now I had to wait until freakin Monday just send the movies BACK! Not to mention the time to get to Netflix, scan-in, and then for Netflix to drop my next movies into the mail…and the time it takes to get to my house. It was f’n Friday again before I got movies.

So, I wanted to double up and I decided to add a subscription for my girlfriend. I signed her up, sent the new subscription to her apartment and put it on my credit card. Now for the price of one movie ticket each month, we got double the movies each week! And then we broke up…

Actually, I broke up with her.

I didn’t really think about the Netflix account until two weeks later. It randomly struck me and I froze. I’d dumped her. My classic heartbreak move had been to stop going out, and just sit at home watching movies by myself until I was past it a couple months later.. So canceling the account seemed not only trite, but also extremely insensitive. So, I didn’t. I figured I’d pay a couple more months worth and mentally allotted the $25 or whatever it would cost.

The two months passed and she got around to dropping off a bunch of stuff I’d left at her place. She was a very good person, and was kind enough to bring over the Netflix rentals she still had (new titles - movies we’d never seen together…she’d been using the service). I dropped them in the mailbox and made a mental note to cancel the account that night. But I forgot until a few days later when the movies had not only been returned but the next movies in line had be shipped out…to her place! So now I decided to give her an extra month of the service…

This story is longer and basically doesn’t end until the credit card I’d set the account up with finally expired several years later! Yes. I was living in a completely different timezone. Had a new relationship. Had converted to the digital version of Netflix. And yet when it came to my ex’s Netflix subscription…I was STILL PAYING FOR IT!

Let’s cut to the chase here: Levi Hummon and Walker Hayes are ear worm geniuses. Levi has music in his blood (literally - his dad wrote hits like "Cowboy Take Me Away" and "Bless the Broken Road"... Walker has topped charts with "You Broke Up With Me" and what you'll find when you dig into their catalogues on Apple Music is that BOTH of these artists have it in their DNA to create inceptive, catchy songs that you’ll wake up singing in the morning & catch yourself lip syncing in the mirror while you brush your teeth. And here’s this day...when Levi Hummon and Walker Hayes are together on a tune that is wrapped not only around magnetic phrasing but also around a concept that pays for itself. Its like the sequel to Destiny Child’s “Bills Bills Bills”

LISTEN ON APPLE MUSIC: “Paying For It”

Its Not Over

There is more 🔥 new music to share. New releases alongside my favorite tunes to play on The Ty Bentli Show. A playlist built to showcase every avenue and you’ll love it start to finish:

TY BENTLI’S DAILY SOUNDTRACK is on my homepage on Apple Music.

FIRST 5 - Start With These New Releases (July 16th)