Firing twin barrels of classic southern rock and modern country, Kyle Daniel makes blue collar music for rock clubs, honky-tonks and everywhere in between. At the center of that southern sound is a guitar hero, storyteller and songwriter who has built up his audience the old-school way: by hitting the highways year after year, playing everywhere from dive bars in Tennessee to the Shepherd's Bush Empire in London, taking in key UK festivals along the way. Hundreds of shows and thousands of miles later, Kyle Daniel reaches a new destination with Kentucky Gold – an anthemic debut album, filled to the brim with Gibson grit, Telecaster twang, plus the hard-won resilience of a road warrior who's spent years paying his dues. Produced by The Cadillac Three's Jaren Johnston, The Lone Bellow's Brian Elmquist, and songwriter / multi-instrumentalist, Mike Krompass, a Canadian who has written and played on a host of Billboard hits, Kentucky Gold shines as brightly as its title, weaving its own path through the worlds of Muscle Shoals soul, Nashville twang, bluesy boogie-woogie and the slash-and-burn of Daniel's electric guitar. "Southern sounds make me feel at home, take me back even when I'm gone," he sings in ‘Southern Sounds’. Like the album itself, the song pays tribute to the iconic bands who've inspired Daniel's own music, from The Allman Brothers Band to Lynyrd Skynyrd. Kentucky Gold follows in that proud tradition, breathing new life into timeless influences and resurrecting the glory days of '70s country rock for a new generation. It's a modern record with an old-school soul – and for Daniel, it's been a long time coming… "I've been chasing this thing for 20 years," says the songwriter, who began playing bars in his hometown of Bowling Green, Kentucky, before he could legally drink. Music was in his blood; his father played banjo in a local bluegrass group, and his mother played bass and piano. Daniel followed in his parents' footsteps by becoming a hotshot guitarist, winning the Kentucky Blues Challenge at 17 years old and placing in the finals at the International Blues Challenge one year later. What followed was a blur of high-profile milestones – a tour opening for Bob Seger as Clare Dunn's lead guitarist; gigs at bucket-list Nashville venues like the Ryman Auditorium and Nissan Stadium; a spot in the Kentucky-based country band Jericho Woods… but Daniel couldn't help seeking something more. He wanted to launch his own project, front his own band, deliver his own stories. Relocating to Nashville, he began writing songs that showcased not only his fiery fretwork, but his songwriting chops and vocals, too. His debut EP, Kyle Daniel, was recorded in a single day and released independently in 2018. Even without a label's help, the self-titled record found critical acclaim, with Rolling Stone praising it for mixing "the gravely twang of Steve Earle with Chris Stapleton’s range, plus bigger hooks". Later that year, after Daniel played a scorching set at the Americana Music Festival in Nashville, Rolling Stone championed his performance as one of the fest's highlights. After spending several years as a sideman for other artists, Daniel had finally claimed his share of the spotlight, brewing up his own melting pot of hard-hitting American roots music. "I call it Kentucky-fried rock 'n' country," he says of his genre-bending sound. "I don't go for pedal-steel country, and I don't go for the Led Zeppelin thing, either. I live somewhere in between those styles, and whatever I'm doing, I'm always emphasizing that southern feeling." Several years after that AmericanaFest gig, Daniel hit the road as The Cadillac Three's opening act. He found a kindred spirit in the band's front-man, Jaren Johnston, a fellow southerner whose music splits the difference between country and rock. When the tour ended, the two headed to the studio to record songs like ‘Summer Down South’ (a raucous, radio-ready salute to warm weather) and ‘Fire Me Up’ (a barrage of blistering riffs and harmonized vocals, featuring soul singer Maggie Rose). Daniel also relocated to Muscle Shoals, Alabama, to record several songs with Brian Elmquist, co-founder of The Lone Bellow. These songs explored their own territory: the Tom Petty-worthy heartland hooks of ‘Me and My Old Man’, the string-band stomp of ‘Runnin' From Me’, the slow-burning Americana of ‘Following the Rain’ and the cinematic country rock of ‘Wild, Free and Easy’. Kentucky Gold makes room for all of the above, balancing the timeless songs Daniel recorded in Muscle Shoals with the modern, muscled anthems he tracked with Johnston and Krompass. The guest list is every bit as diverse as the music itself, with appearances by The Cadillac Three, Kendell Marvel, Sara Zimmerman (of Nashville duo Striking Matches) and the aforementioned Maggie Rose; there’s also co-writes with fellow genre-benders like Will Hoge and Clay Mills, who co-penned the unrepentant, hard rockin’ ‘Can’t Hold Me Back’ – produced by Krompass, also a co-writer on the track. On a body of work that demonstrates just how wide his musical reach can be, Daniel brings things to a poignant close with ‘Divided We Are’, a soulful piano ballad about the differences that distinguish Americans and the commonalities that bring them together. It's a stirring moment – proof that even without his guitar, Daniel knows how to deliver a knockout blow. "I'm just making my own music, trying to honor the sounds that shaped me as a kid," he explains. "It all comes from a real place. Once you try to force a certain sound, that's when you no longer sound like yourself. I just let the songs do what they want to do." With Kentucky Gold, Kyle Daniel's songs shine on.
