Sam B

Rowdy Alternative’s Top Singles of 2023

December 22, 2023
, 11:30 am
, Country Music, Featured Articles, Recent Posts, Rock

I hate making lists, especially year-end ones after we just had a killer twelve months of solid, A+ music. However, since I like to put myself through stress and indecisiveness, I went ahead and compiled a short group of singles that really left an impression on me throughout 2023. Keep in mind that if I could add another twenty-five tunes to this list, I would. I just have a bad habit of leaving things out. So, I’m going to stick to a top five list with some honorable mentions to leave a lot of worthy contenders out instead of only a few.

Without further ado, here’s Rowdy Alternative’s top singles of 2023:

BLACKOUT – Austin Meade

Austin Meade has been on fire for longer than this year, but 2023 was definitely his year. Meade played in a number of huge rock festivals, toured nationwide with Dirty Honey and put out his very successful single, BLACKOUT. The song gained a ton of traction when it landed on the Top 40 Billboard chart for rock radio and was even added into rotation on SiriusXM Octane. BLACKOUT shows Meade’s willingness to experiment and evolve throughout his career and he shows no sign of slowing down.

Lose My Mind – Revelry

A group that should pop any moment now is Revelry, a Southern Rock band out of Murfreesboro, Tennessee. Their sound is pure gritty, soulful rock ‘n’ roll, and this couldn’t be spotlighted any better than their most recent single, Lose My Mind. You can compare the Revelry boys to Skynyrd all day long, but their talent is evident in their own way and this tune shows off each element to their group to the highest possible degree. If you love head-bobbin’, toe tappin’ music, you need to give this one a listen.

White Girl – Gannon Fremin & CCREV

The beauty of Red Dirt music is that it can quite literally sound like any style you want. Rock, country, punk, blues… you name it. White Girl happens to include characteristics to all of those, and Fremin painted the picture flawlessly. The bluesy riffs with that southern twang gels perfectly and has one of the catchiest hooks you’ve heard in a long time. This is a group that is taking over the Red Dirt scene out west and will definitely be next up.

Automatic – Austin Upchurch

If you’re familiar with Austin Upchurch, you’ll know that he doesn’t constantly drop new music, but when he does, it’s going to be some of the best stuff on your playlist. Automatic was not only produced masterfully, but the punk style incorporated in it is something that Upchurch and his band have captured very well throughout the past few years. The melody is A-1, the lyrics are fun to sing along to and it really gets you moving. Upchurch is another artist people need to keep an eye on.

Wasted – Diplo (feat. Kodak Black & Koe Wetzel)

Yeah, I know – one of these things aren’t quite like the other. Truth is, Wasted is just a fun ass song. I can admit I was a little worried about how this would turn out before it dropped, but after the first listen I was hooked. Diplo is gon’ Diplo of course, Kodak’s bars kill, and Koe ties it all up in a bow with his contributions. I first listened to this just because of Koe, and I love to see him just not give a crap about boundaries and go for some unique, fun projects like this. I can get this not being someone’s cup of tea, but it’s my list, so…