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The 16 Songs Project - August 2026
Published about 1 month ago • 8 min read
The 16 Songs Project
August 2026
As we approach Labor Day weekend, it is a beautiful time for The 16 Songs Project.
Not only does this month's playlist clock in just under a tidy, crisp hour, but it is chock full of new songs and recommendations for new and upcoming albums from artists worth your attention.
Sit down, grab a drink, and let's listen to some jams.
If you have attempted to subscribe to receive this monthly update as an email, you should have gotten an email to verify/confirm, but that email almost certainly ended up in your spam folder. Would love for you to either find it or simply re-subscribe and keep an eye out for the confirmation.
I included two Willi Carlisle songs last month after he announced his forthcoming album would be produced by Tyler Childers, one of my favorite artists. One of those songs was my favorite from Carlisle's previous catalog and the other was the lead single from this new album (releasing in November).
Then he put out the second single, which is this absolute beauty. I saw someone compare it to The Band and I think that's spot on. There's just not a lot of people putting out jangly southern rock like this, without veering into cheesy stomp-clap territory.
Speaking of exciting albums that I previously highlighted, The Killers frontman Brandon Flowers had been teasing and previewing his western-inspired solo effort THRASER this summer but it finally arrived and I'm nearly shamed to admit how many times I've listened to it.
There's something extremely comforting about this record. Flowers' velvety vocals are a big part of that, but the music is also a wonderful mash of so many of my favorites from prior eras. There's plenty of Springsteen to be found here, a mix of Nebraska, The River, or even more accurately, a bunch of the songs that Bruce never committed to an album in the 80s but released on Tracks. There's some Mellencamp and Country Comfort Elton John. Some Tom Petty and some Linda Ronstadt and plenty of old-time country. all rolled up in Flowers' typical easy-to-digest way.
Ultimately, I'm a little confused by the amount this album simply reminds me of something I love versus being something I simply love on its own merits. These aren't covers. They are new creations, yet no mold is being broken here. This song I've chosen in particular feels a little corny...but I've listened to it a hundred times already. Waiter, another ear of corn, please.
I'm not sure what it was about this month, but I have another song I'm a little guilty to admit I've been listening to on repeat. I mean, just on face value, this one is a tougher sell. It's a rock-bluegrass banger by a bunch of 20-somethings. I found it scrolling TikTok where the band was doing a cheesy promotional post trying to find listeners. The band is called "Cigarettes @ Sunset" with a damn at-sign. Sheesh.
On top of that, the song is scream-sung at a register that initially bothered me, but I now find incredibly fun after listening many, many times.
I got into Gang of Youths last year, despite their last album dropping all the way back in 2022. That turned out to be a smart investment in a few ways. First, they have returned with this new song after that long gap without releasing or even performing music together.
More importantly, the previous output from Gang of Youths was not fully my bag. It was all two degrees too sad, too indie, and too complex for my funky little ears. But this song? Easily already my favorite song they've ever released. I'm very hopeful a similar sounding album is to follow this single.
After last month's list came out, reader Sharkey asked if John Craigie was on my radar. He was, but barely made a blip. I liked the album he put out in 2024 with the always fun TK & the Holy Know-Nothings as the backing band, but never dug into his older stuff or his recent 2026 release.
Of the two, this song and its album are worth your time and a spot on this month's playlist.
Billy Strings occupies an interesting space in my music listening landscape. When I'm looking to go full country-bumpkin, his mostly instrumental (or at least instrumental forward) bluegrass jamming hits a spot. That's not always the right register for me, nor most people, so I've never fully engaged with Billy's music and find most of it so jammy it's interchangeable. One Billy Strings song is not elevating above the others for me. I'm just putting a bunch of them on in a row if that's a vibe I'm looking to create.
But on his new album, Billy takes a few opportunities to de-emphasize the superpower displayed in his stage name and let the guitar picking take a backseat to the lyrics and songwriting. In this case, it works really nicely and I welcome plenty more of that in the future.
Sam and Louise Sullivan are siblings who have been making music together for years, mostly for fun. They both work full-time as teachers in Philadelphia.
That might not be the case for long, given how much attention the album they released in late July has garnered. Local and national media outlets have highlighted how catchy and comfy this album is.
I chose my favorite track to feature here, a sub two-minute ditty that feels like something from a lost era of Fleetwood Mac, but the rest of the album touches a lot of other genres. It's funky, soulful, and poppy at times. I really like the album's title track, plus "Ms. Mercedes" and "Down on Love".
Let's run with another Philly-based musician, this time highlighting the debut solo album from Mallory Hawk. The album was produced by friend of the 16 Songs Project and Alex G guitarist Sam Acchione. That's right, the 16 Songs Project has friends. Cool ones, too.
This is Lorelei is the solo project of singer-songwriter Nate Amos. He'll release a third album in three years later this fall, with the first single catching my ear.
Amos is riding in the MJ Lenderman led-lane of Music Written By and For Cool Guys in the 2020s that Sounds Like a Mix of 70s Soft Rock and 90s College Radio Hits. You know, that lane.
I have to credit the always excellent Josh Terry and his No Expectations newsletter for this recommendation, a band with under 600 monthly listeners on Spotify.
They sound like Elvis Costello singing modern indie rock, which warrants a solid "hell yes" from me.
The guitar in this song sounds so Beatlesy, especially in the solo about halfway through and the solo about 2/3 of the way through and really the entire second half of the song. It rules.
I hit you with two of Majcen's songs last month as I slowly fell in love with his back catalog of soft alt-country jams. Well, he's got a new album out Friday and this early single caught my ear.
Pretty solid bet something from the new record will find its way onto my September playlist and give Leon an unprecedented* three straight months with a song featured here. Wow. History in the making.
*Note: This happened plenty of times when I was just doing this for myself, but Leon's the first to do it this year when I've been writing up my playlists. Congrats to him, his family, and his team!
Look, a lot of the songs this month are new. Many of them are singles from forthcoming albums or picks from excellent recently released albums. That's fun!
It also gives me the leeway to pick this song, which is nearly a decade old, from a band I don't really know anything about and I have no idea how I came across this track.
Back to backstories! This song is from an album that came out mere days ago. It's good and so is the entire album.
If these 16 Songsweren't enough for you, you have tons of homework to dive into now! Full albums from Dogwood Tales, Sam and Louise Sullivan, Hovvdy, Bullseye, Mallory Hawk, Brandon Flowers, and Billy Strings, with Leon Majcen, Willi Carlisle, and This is Lorelei all set to release in the next few weeks.
All for the low, low price of a simple click or tap on the newsletter. Life is beautiful!
On the other hand, life has its downsides. Like when great people head off to the afterlife. I'm certainly not breaking news when I say Dolly Parton is an absolute legend, beloved by so many. Her charitable endeavors were remarkable, giving away more than 300 million books and helping fund the research that led to the COVID-19 vaccine. She starred in several iconic movie roles. As a singer, songwriter, performer, and musician, her work was worthy of so, so much praise.
With my last song last month, let's flashback to one of the highlights of her early solo career: the ability to write absolutely badass songs from a woman's perspective. Her first ever solo album kicks off with the song "Dumb Blonde" about how, despite her hair color and public persona, you weren't going to get one over on her. Other classics like "I Don't Want to Throw Rice" and "I Wasted My Tears" and "You're Gonna Be Sorry", plus this song I'm including, are biting and sharp in a way that was way ahead of its time.
They don't make many like Dolly anymore.
That's all for this playlist. I hope you found a few songs you like. Let me know if there's an artist or song you think I'd like.
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