BIRMINGHAM: Kitchen Garden Cafe

Thursday 14th November, 2024

7:30pm

Event information

Currently part of the American Currents: State of the Music exhibition at The Country Music Hall of Fame alongside Luke Combs, Charley Crockett, Miranda Lambert and many more…

ACM-nominated recording artist Sunny Sweeney has long been known for her uncanny ability to straddle the line of demarcation between Texas Country and Nashville Americana, but her latest album, Married Alone— out everywhere now via Thirty Tigers—sets a whole new bar for the blurring of these invisible boundaries. Produced by Paul Cauthen and 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.

Recorded at Dallas’s Modern Electric Sound Recorders and mixed by the whole team with the help of Jeff Saenz, Married Alone finds Sweeney running through an entire spectrum of emotions without a single lull. Even the most heartbreaking moments of the album—never cease in keeping listeners engaged with such powerful imagery and earnest delivery.

Sweeney debuted in 2006 with the acclaimed Heartbreaker’s Hall of Fame, which announced her as an important new voice in songwriting. 2011’s Concrete led to a Top Female Artist nomination at the 2013 ACM Awards. Sweeney continued to expand upon the traditional-leaning, forward-thinking sound of her earlier work with 2014’s Provoked and 2017’s Trophy, both of which earned Sweeney rave reviews across roots communities.

In addition to releasing Married Alone, Sweeney is marking a new chapter in her professional life with a brand-new team by her side, most of whom are women. While it wasn’t a conscious choice, Sweeney says, she feels like she’s surrounded by the right group of people, who just happen to be “badass women.”

“Texas powerhouse” (Rolling Stone).
“one of Sweeney’s greatest strengths as an artist; her songs feel familiar and lived-in without feeling clichéd.” (American Songwriter).
“Sunny Sweeney’s Married Alone rolls from pistoning honky tonk to chest-swelling balladry, turning at intervals toward twangy, dreamy pop… a cultivated and welcome approach that sure-footedly blends accessibility with attitude.” (Sound and Soul).
“Sweeney’s mix of roots rock, country, and singer/songwriter concepts resonates throughout…Sweeney’s voice conveys a combination of sensitivity and brashness.” (American Songwriter).
“her most honest-to-self and coherent work to date… a substantial body of work.” (The Tennessean).
“A country music fireball who mixes up a Tennessee songwriting suss with a Texas taste for trouble, she’s equally capable of mixing it up with music city’s mainstream as she is the outsiders and misfits from alt-country’s fringes.” (Holler).