Demun Jones
April 22, 2023 · Doors open at 19:00
Demun Jones
DEMUN JONES has always had a way of keeping it real when it comes to the music he has written, recorded and performed throughout his career, but, that said, JONES COUNTY might well be the most genuine collection of songs that represents who the Georgia native is and certainly illustrates the place where he’s lived his entire life.
Asked how the songs for his forthcoming solo project came about, Demun said, “I went out in my front yard and imagined what are they doing? What are they thinking? What are they going to do? What do I see?”
Life in Jones County, which is just north of Macon, is southern and some, including the Jones family, will say they’re rednecks. They drive trucks. They fish and hunt. They like keeping things simple—sort of a what-you-see is what-you-get type of place. All the same, Jones County is what you hear and Demun is hoping people who are from there will respect and love his latest collection of 12 songs, while people who aren’t from around those parts will be “captivated by it and want to listen to it.”
Sam Grow
After the breakout success of his first studio album, 2019’s Love and Whiskey, a lot has changed for Average Joes Entertainment star Sam Grow. That milestone project followed years of grinding work, writing his own tunes, booking his own shows and recording his own EPs … but it was all rewarded.
Love and Whiskey hit Number One on iTunes’ Country Albums chart – doing so with zero radio airplay – and since then he’s only poured more gas on the fire. Grow’s 2020 single “Song About You” burned red hot, pulling in more than 50 million streams and getting named one of Spotify’s “Best Country Songs” in the process. Grow’s been featured on Billboard’s coveted “7 Country Acts To Watch” list, and touted by Music Row as a sure-bet for future superstardom, among other accolades, as the temperature continues to spike.
But with his new sophomore album, This Town, Grow goes back to where it all started. Painting a sonic picture of the small-town world he was raised in – rocked by changing times but still holding strong – he’s building on success … and letting fans know they’re never alone.
“I feel like right now I’m making some of the best music I’ve ever made,” he says – and honestly, that’s saying a lot, since the Maryland native is the definition of a “prolific creator.” Since his 2014 arrival in Nashville, he’s dropped three EPs and his milestone debut album, never letting more than a few years pass between releases. But things are different now.
“2020 was a big revelation to me, of how important music is to people’s lives – even in the worst times,” he says. “To be able to put on a song and not feel alone, even when the world seems like it’s crashing around you, that’s such an intimate thing.”
Calling his new music the “most-personal” of his career, Grow takes that realization and runs with it for This Town, embracing his journey as proof of what’s possible. Emboldened by success but still inspired by his roots, he was joined by producers Colt Ford and Noah Gordon for 12 fresh tunes, choosing soulful honesty over mainstream conformity. That go-your-own-way, DIY mindset has always been part of Grow’s blue-collar ethos, but This Town takes it to new levels.