A couple of weeks ago, up-and-comer J.R. Carroll announced his next single “Red Fern,” a full band rendition of his fan-favorite acoustic “Where the Red Fern Grows.”
“Red Fern” hit streaming platforms today, and it is a must listen for anyone that likes good music.
Carroll’s spectacular voice seems to sound even better with a full band backing him, and while the intimate effect of an acoustic song may illuminate how great the lyrics are, the full band just adds a whole other layer to the song and Carrol’s music.
If you aren’t familiar with the first version of the song, it was released back in December 2020 as part of his debut EP Long Story Short. The song follows a poor girl in Oklahoma who has dreams of becoming a famous singer, and she has the talent to do it. She achieves her dreams and is eventually a star playing stadium shows, never really returning home and getting back to her roots.
There are tons of great young artists out there on the verge of taking the next step in their careers to a bigger spotlight, but I would say Carroll is at the top of that list.
With only five songs on Spotify, Carroll has already proved himself as one of the best young songwriters and storytellers in the game, and now that he is adding a backing band on his recordings, I think it will take him to that next step in his career.
It definitely doesn’t hurt, either, that he has surrounded himself with great musicians in the process, including country music’s latest superstar, Zach Bryan.
The new single doesn’t seem to be posted to YouTube yet, but check it out on Spotify or any other streaming platform and you’ll be glad you did.
Hopefully there is more full band music on the way from J.R. Carroll. But in the meantime, go check out his new single “Red Fern,” and give the EP Long Story Short a listen, too.
And if you missed it, here’s the acoustic version of “Where the Red Fern Grows.”
