With the heartland rock slowly being elbowed out of the mainstream country music, during the course of the millennium, such straight ahead roots rockers like Jonathan Singleton & the Grove are pushed towards Country music. Twenty five years earlier their simple sturdy debut EP would have be vying for air time between John Mellancamp and Tom Petty but in 2010 the group finds themselves on Top by Toby Keith’s imprint Showdog records
This American Roots Effort Will Fit on Country Music Radio
Accentuating Singletons's Tennessee accent ever so slightly the band mutes it’s rhythms and basks in the clean sheen of their Nashville production. Fortunately these are the only commercial concessions Singleton and the Grove show on this appealing self titled five songs EP. The country songs are certainly bright enough to fit on country music radio, but underneath the veneer, this is good solid American Roots music. The new country music is as appealing in its sweetly lazy ballads as it is in its pumping anthems.
The band is The Groove a six piece group that’s been rocking houses in one form or another since 2000. It’s a brotherhood and Singleton thinks of himself as one of the equals.* ”No matter what kind of music were making we are always a band, and we still think of it that way.” It’s weird for me to say Jonathan Singleton and the Grove, so I for the most part just call us The Grove.” They even share a common tattoo which is a tribal fire symbol that looks like a gear which represents what the band stands for, like a gear they roll on and work hard.
The group has released two Independent CD’s in early 2008 so they have felt the rush of watching their music travel from ear to ear and the excitement that comes from building a fan base. Now it has taken a new scale as the band has been embraced by country music fans. With blazing guitar in hand and his band behind him Singleton has opened for country music stars Carrie Underwood, Blake Shelton and Eric Church.
The Track Listing for The Self Titled Album:
- Look Who’s Back in Love
- I’m Afraid of Storms
- Probably Just In Time
- The Good Guys, When
- Will My Lover Come
Genres: Country, Rock, Rock Roots, Americana
Released May 11 2010 on Showdog- Universal Music
Jonathan Singleton is a Known Guitarist & Country Music Writer
Jackson TN native, Jonathan Singleton co-penned number one hits for Gary Allen (Watching Airplanes) and Billy Currington (Don’t) before striking out on his own in 2009. This raspy singer-songwriter/guitarist’s band called The Grove specializes in the kind of rootsy outsider contemporary music favored by Alt-Country contemporaries like Steve Earle and Cross Canadian Ragweed. Singleton was nominated by Music Row magazine as Breakout Songwriter of the Year for 2008. Jonathan Singleton & the Grove’s eponymous; debut album was released in May 2010 on Toby Keith’s Show Dog- Universal records.
References
- Country Throwdown- * About Jonathan Singleton & the Grove
- ITunes Pre-View Jonathan Singleton & The Grove EP
Jim Galloway - Professional Musician/Published Songwriter for 30 yrs. With over 200 Articles in Recording/Music Buisness/ Resources/Vintage Instruments
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