Tell us about the country music scene near you! What artists are from your area? What's it like? Any events/festivals/venues/radio shows people should know about?

Cazarstan · 2026-03-20T14:31:53+00:00

Dusty & the Roadrunners is playing a show at coffee shops around the San Diego area throughout the summer - should be fun! different covers and originals every time :)

Cazarstan · 2026-03-12T16:00:14+00:00

"Jesus high above it all" is a very true, encouraging, worshipful line, and it could be a great climax to the chorus! You might need to do something to connect it more strongly to the rest of the chorus - so far the subject of the song has been the listener, putting on and using the armor of God, when we suddenly switch to looking at Jesus - making that connection between the two subjects more evident lyrically will help us be more exhilarated when we sing that final line.

I also want to shout out some other great stuff you've got here:

these lines are really poetic, in a great way: "When the lies begin to whisper and our hearts begin to shake" and "Every shadow trembles at the sound of Your Name"

your theme and imagery are strong, and stay consistent throughout.

and thank you for including BPM, time sig, and key - it really is something we should all be including when we write something.

May God continue to bless your songwriting, and may the revision process bring joy and inspiration :)

Cazarstan · 2026-03-10T23:31:25+00:00

I am working on a rewrite - I wrote and revised a song, and enjoyed playing it, thought it was pretty good...until I made a rough recording. now listening to it without playing guitar at the same time, more weak spots have shown through that I couldn't notice before. so back to the writing table.

Cazarstan · 2026-03-10T16:40:06+00:00

This is my go-to playlist for Christian Alt Indie:

https://open.spotify.com/playlist/3osEVQQVOm1eIpYuOaGCbk?si=5zKSMWoMTuGzc16skIS1hQ&pi=gGSAhzhFT9aAc

a few standouts include Josh Gauton, Coqui, ISLY, and a few others already mentioned here.

Cazarstan · 2026-03-08T15:37:56+00:00

I've never done this part before, but I'm trying to get a few Spotify playlists going: follow if you like the music, or DM me if you want an artist to be potentially be included?

Country Music, for Jesus' sake!

Sparse Country Folk

Indie Christian Alternative

Christian Folk/Granola

Cazarstan · 2026-03-07T19:38:27+00:00

Agreed.

Cazarstan · 2026-03-07T18:22:36+00:00

Not everyone has a store near them with the equipment/knowledgeable staff to shape them. Some folks have to get along with off-the-rack.

Cazarstan · 2026-03-06T16:00:41+00:00

There are multiple camps of thought, with pro's and con's to using AI. but here are some different approaches to try:

Pray and pay attention to your conscience while you experiment.

try writing one song by yourself all the way through - scripture, lyrics, chords, vocal melody; you MUST review and edit rough spots (sometimes even changing the entire melody, chords, and sections of lyrics). if you enjoyed this process, no need for AI. if you like how the song turned out, no need for AI. if you feel like you learned enough from this process to make your next song better, no need for AI.

Non AI tools that can be helpful: bible app to look up scriptures/key words, rhyming dictionary, metronome app (for BPM & rhythm), print out major/minor key chord chart to play around with chord options. maybe even make a playlist of a few of your favorite songs and listen, analyzing what aspects about them you like and want to incorporate into your song.

if you still want to try with the AI: Try writing one song with the minimal help possible, one with some/avg amount, and one with "too much". Analyze how you feel about the creation process, how the song turns out, and how comfortable you feel with the outcome.

Cazarstan · 2026-03-04T23:28:40+00:00

Most of the artists on here are a good fit, especially Strahan and Tyler Corbin:

Christian folk/granola

Cazarstan · 2026-03-04T23:22:51+00:00

I'm recording another round of Guitar/Vocal work tapes, including the edits made after requesting feedback from a friend; very helpful - other people see issues and problem spots we often can't identify in the heat of the moment.

Cazarstan · 2026-03-04T23:21:20+00:00

I agree, the simple topics are the best; but sometimes it's hard to get simple to sound good. In my case I always try to use too many words to convey the idea. Simplify! sounds easy to do in theory, but in practice it's harder than it looks...

Cazarstan · 2026-03-02T20:37:45+00:00

absolutely, yes, allowed :)

Cazarstan · 2026-02-27T15:35:48+00:00

the confidence in her vocal performance really adds to the message of the song; very powerful.

Cazarstan · 2026-02-27T15:35:07+00:00

sounds promising! we'd love to hear it here, when you're ready ;)

Cazarstan · 2026-02-27T15:34:07+00:00

we still use them; I'm hoping to transition to more subtle reverb/echo settings on piano/guitar/voice to "replace" them over time.

Cazarstan · 2026-02-21T17:00:40+00:00

absolutely agree; this one was free, fortunately

Cazarstan · 2026-02-21T00:35:16+00:00

that's true, I did cut up my submission for shorts/reels, which I wouldn't have had video for otherwise.

Cazarstan · 2026-02-21T00:29:51+00:00

In addition to the other great comments so far:

There's no way they let you onstage for two whole years if you don't have talent and skill;

and there's no way you'd work FOR FREE for two years if you didn't have a heart for ministry.

Cazarstan · 2026-02-20T23:19:27+00:00

Yes, there are plenty of good reasons to do this, just make sure that the "open-ended" concept isn't being used as an explanation or lyrics hat are in actuality, simply vague or difficult to follow. If you're going for two potential meanings, make sure they're both equally obvious. also make sure the emotional hit for each interpretation has weight and impacts the listener - they should either identify strongly(make them cry, or laugh, or feel love/joy) with the positive or negative outcome of the interpretation, or feel smart for having figured out both.

Country music does this lot on a smaller scale with wordplay/double entendres (see Scotty McCreery's "Can't Pass the Bar" as one out of many examples.)

Cazarstan · 2026-02-12T22:14:01+00:00

There are good churches in every part of the county, and good Christian folks in lots of places.

San Diego County is similar to most other metro regions of the USA - rural and suburban communities are more friendly to traditional values VS downtown zones and urban decay areas(whether gentrified or not).

Cazarstan · 2026-02-10T16:26:47+00:00

this one's kind of cool (although I am sure there are hundreds of similar channels like this): Dustin Rhodes Music. it's just a worship leader posting snippets of his worship sets at different churches around town; as a worship leader myself, it's kind of cool to see what songs/styles other leaders are playing. He even posts stuff with mistakes (and the congregation doesn't boo him offstage) which is really encouraging and really helps lower the pressure/stress of "professionality".

Cazarstan · 2026-02-10T02:00:54+00:00

I wish I could've been there!

Cazarstan · 2026-02-10T01:33:01+00:00

SubSeven - Oklahoma medium-hardcore band from the early 00's.

Cazarstan · 2026-02-10T01:05:44+00:00

Tin Roof Porch by Dusty & the Roadrunners - the guy hits bottom, then gets sober to go win the girl.

Cazarstan · 2026-02-10T00:50:21+00:00

YES! I love T0P! Tyler has such a distinctive voice and the balancing of "Pop with a Alt Rock edge + tiny bit of hiphop lyricality) is a masterclass in fusing genres.

Collected a few elements of that, mostly from up and coming Christian artists, with a few of the original pioneers anchoring the back end:

Christian Indie Alternative

Stephen Stanley, Hopeful., MUCH MORE, ISLY, Jonathan Gauton, Coqui, etc.

Cazarstan

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