Kendell Marvel Drops Third Studio Album, ‘Come On Sunshine’

Kendell Marvel country music
Laura E. Partain

If you’ve been in search of an authentic, tell it like it is storyteller in country music and you haven’t listened to Kendell Marvel, it’s about time to go ahead and get on that train, because Marvel is about as real as it gets.

Every song the Southern Illinois native has released touches a different emotion, and it’s pure country music and southern rock to its core, and his latest single with Chris Stapleton, “Don’t Tell Me How to Drink,” is a prime example and a great life lesson about never challenging an old pro to drinking at a bar.

With that being said, the man has officially released his third studio album, Come On Sunshine, today.

Produced by Beau Bedford and executive produced by Marvel himself at Dallas’ Modern Electronic Sound Recorders, the record exemplifies every inspiration and life lesson he’s accumulated in his 51-years of living.

Marvel shared his excitement for the new release, and everything that went into putting this album together:

“I’m 51 years old, which means I’m long past the point of catering to anybody. I’m just telling the stories I want to tell. I like to work with people who are different than me. Working with Beau Bedford in Dallas meant that I was playing with guys I’d never met before.

Guys who had different ideas, different tones, and different ways of playing than my friends back home. We recorded the album live, finishing the whole thing in four days. That’s how you capture magic. The same thing can be said for the people I write with.

I prefer left-field people—people who come from different backgrounds and different genres. Devon Gilfillian comes from the R&B world; he hears different melodies than I do. Waylon is a gay man, so he has some experiences that are different than mine.

I love to surround myself with people like that, and sit in the writing room with someone who isn’t just like me. Because that’s how you capture magic, too.” 

The album also has songwriting features from some impressive names as well, like Stapleton, Dean Alexander, Al Anderson, Dan Auerbach, Nick Bockrath, Kolby Cooper, Josh Morningstar, Waylon Payne, Mickey Raphael, and Dee White.

Here’s a few of my favorites:

“Don’t Tell Me How To Drink”

“Hell Bent on Hard Times”

“Come on Sunshine”

“Off My Mind”

“Habits”

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