Jewly Hight

"We check in with each other all the time," says Michael Trotter Jr. of The War and Treaty. "I believe that what you hear with the record is a deeper understanding of who we are becoming to each other." Austin Hargrave hide caption

Charley Crockett performs a Tiny Desk concert on Monday, Jan. 23, 2023, at NPR's headquarters in Washington, D.C. Michael Zamora/NPR/Michael Zamora/NPR hide caption

Adeem the Artist's new album, White Trash Revelry, captures fresh awareness of the scrutiny they receive for the array of identities they embody in life and in song. Madison Miles/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

On CAZIMI, Caitlin Rose's first new album in nine years, the songwriter has found new ways to add to her music's depth and dimension. Laura E. Partain/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Lavender Country, led by singer and songwriter Patrick Haggerty, released what it widely considered the first openly gay country album in 1973. Haggerty died this week at age 78. Marie Tamanova/Courtesy of Don Giovanni Records hide caption

Ashley McBryde Presents: Lindeville is a concept album about a fictional hamlet and its working-class residents, named after beloved country songwriter Dennis Linde. Katie Kauss/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Jake Blount's new album, The New Faith, takes spirituals and sacred blues numbers as the source material for an uneasy Afrofuturist story. Tadin Brown/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Madison Cunningham performs a Tiny Desk concert. NPR hide caption

Sophie Allison's third album as Soccer Mommy, Sometimes, Forever, is a study in contrasts: focused, intimate writing paired with wild production that whips her songs into squalls of distortion and delay. Sophie Hur/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

S.G. Goodman composed parts of her new album, Teeth Marks, to evoke the feeling of traumatic experiences building up in the body. Ryan Hartley/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

The New Respects Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Naomi Judd (right) and Wynonna Judd perform during the 2008 Stagecoach Country Music Festival in Indio, Calif. Kevin Winter/Getty Images hide caption

Since the start of her career, Bonnie Raitt's performance of roadhouse rockers, pop ballads, funky sophistication and plenty else has evidenced a deep understanding of mutuality and its absence. Her new album, Just Like That..., is out April 22. Ken Friedman/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

On their new albums, Morris and Tuttle are both sharpening their artistic identities while reinventing what staying invested in their genres of origin can look and sound like. Samantha Muljat/Harper Smith/Courtesy of the artist hide caption

Mickey Guyton, Adia Victoria and Chapel Hart's Devynn Hart have made the industry a more welcoming place for others who look like them. Photo Illustration by Renee Klahr/NPR; Getty Images hide caption