On April 10, Atlanta-based folk artist Jefferson Ross released his latest album, Low Country Wedding. The album’s press release summed him up perfectly, describing him as a “songwriter, singer, guitar slinger, and painter weaving stories for the ears and the eyes.” That’s right up our alley, sharing some verbiage with our motto.
For his entry for our Water Tower Sessions series, Ross performed riveting versions of the album’s title track as well as “Red State Blues” live from his home studio. You can watch the session here.
In the great folk tradition, Ross frequently travels throughout the U.S. and Europe performing his original music and displaying his art at festivals and galleries across the southern U.S.
Before moving to Atlanta in 2010 with his wife and daughter, he lived in Nashville. He recorded with a number of recording artists, including “Canada’s Entertainer of the Decade” Terri Clark, and shared the stage with Country Music legends such as George Strait, Toby Keith, Reba, and Vince Gill. In addition, he worked as a staff writer for a number of publications on Music Row, including Curb Music, one of the top music publishers in the world.
Lately, music has been his main focus more so than his artwork. Low Country Wedding continues Ross’ prolific run of releases, which also includes Backstage Balladeer (2025), Southern Currency (2022), Live at Hillbilly Haiku (2017), Stable Suite (2015), Dogwood Cats (2015), Isle of Hope (2013), and Hymns To the Here and Now (2011).
Jefferson shared the following note on the album via press release, which explains his goals for Low Country Wedding:
“Howdy, friends and neighbors!
My new record, “Low Country Wedding”, leans into southern flavor like ham hocks lean into black-eyed peas. Hearty, humbly, and hopefully tasty.
I’ve attempted in this collection to strike a balance from weight to whimsy, truth to yarn, mountain to marsh. I pretty much spent all of last summer riding around thinking about some of the characters I’ve known and loved, then came home and tried to capture them with rhythm and rhyme.
I’m not talented enough to truly do those folks justice, but I gave it a pretty good whirl.
I played all the instruments, sang and wrote all the songs, and recorded every single note here in my little barn studio. Snapped the photographs. Altogether a homemade DIY endeavor. A solo project in the strictest term. My wife helped me lay out the album jacket. Other than that, you can just blame me.
So, thanks for riding down this little two-lane country road with me one more time. Hope you enjoy!”
You can connect with and listen to Jefferson Ross at the links below:
Website: JeffersonRoss.com
Facebook: Facebook.com/JeffersonRossMusicPage
Instagram: Instagram.com/jeffersonross
Threads: Threads.com/@jeffersonross
Spotify: Jefferson Ross on Spotify
YouTube: Youtube.com/@jeffersonross8682
Apple Music: Jefferson Ross on Apple Music
Joshua is co-founder of Scummy Water Tower. He’s freelanced for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and websites, including: Rolling Stone, The Boston Globe, Chicago Sun-Times, Guitar World, MTV News, Grammy.com, Chicago Magazine, Milwaukee Magazine, MKE Lifestyle, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, A.V. Club, SPIN, Alternative Press, Under the Radar, Paste, PopMatters, American Songwriter, and Relix. You can email him at josh@scummywatertower.com.
