20 YEARS. 0 LABELS. 1 PLATINUM RECORD.

💿🔥 Most bands don’t make it past year five.

They call it the “Valley of Death” because 95% of indie artists don’t make it out alive.

But The Band of Heathens just crossed 20 years, went Platinum, and they never signed the lease to a major label.

How did they do it?

1️⃣ Surviving the Crossroads: At year six, the band almost folded. They had to ask: “Is the soul of the band intact enough to keep going?”. They chose the music over the exit ramp.

2️⃣ The "Lifer" Mentality: Success wasn't a pot of gold at the end of a rainbow—it was the ability to make one record, tour it, and pay for the next one.

3️⃣ Organic Growth: Their platinum hit didn't come from a million-dollar marketing budget. It took 14 years of organic, slow-burn growth where the music took on a life of its own in bars and cover sets across the world.

They aren’t chasing fame. They’re chasing the TRUTH!

🎧 Listen to the full story of how Ed and Gordy built their own ecosystem and why they’re still “high on their own supply.”

Ben and Zach pull back the curtain on the albums that defined the last year and the artists poised to explode in 2026.

From hard-working storytellers out of North Carolina to "super groups" creating interplanetary harmonies, this conversation isn't about a random "best of" list...

...it’s about the JEWELS and POWERHOUSE ALBUMS records that stayed on repeat.

Why You Need to Listen:

- The "Sonic Bloom": Discover why one artist’s live show was nicknamed a "sonic boom" and which sister-duo is currently "melting faces" with electric slide guitar.

- Breaking New Ground: Ben and Zach dive into the "chaotic and erratic" sounds of a band pushing the genre's boundaries, proving that Americana is far from stuck in the past.

- The Legacy & The Future: Hear the moving tribute to a legend who recently passed, and get the first look at a debut album from a former child soldier whose story and voice are described as "interplanetary."

- The "Bite List": Find out which icon is pushing balances further than ever after a life-changing trip to India.

Americana music is grounded in storytelling, and as the hosts remind us, "thoughts become things."

Whether it's the strategic touring of rising stars or the prolific writing of veteran road warriors, these are the voices keeping the genre's heart beating.

"We are here to spread the wealth, spread the word, and make Americana really sing high... and make it your favorite genre."

Listen now to find your next favorite artist and LEAD YOUR COMMUNITY BY SHARING THESE ARTISTS WITH THEM!

The industry wanted virality. She wanted honesty.

Guess who won?

She walked away from the band, the marriage, the map — and somehow walked straight into her true voice.

Nikki Bluhm didn’t plan the reinvention.

She didn’t chase the algorithm.

She didn’t engineer a “moment.”

She just told the truth.

This is a woman whose band once went viral… in a van.

Millions and millions of people watched something recorded on an iPhone, mixed by flipping mics and shuffling bandmates between seats.

But her rebirth didn’t happen in front of millions.

It happened in a quiet little studio called Rancho Deluxe, built on a piece of land where artists walk in, breathe out, and finally relax enough to create something real.

Nikki left everything familiar behind — the band, the tour life, the relationship, the identity she’d built for a decade.

She moved 2,000 miles for a fresh start.

Recorded with people who didn’t know her pain.

And rebuilt her artistic compass from the inside out.

Because here’s the truth she discovered:

👉 You don’t need chaos to make great art.

👉 You don’t need drama to write something that matters.

👉 You don’t need to go viral to be real.

You need presence.

You need honesty.

You need soul.

And Rancho Deluxe became the ground where she reclaimed all three.

If you’ve ever felt crushed by the pressure to “perform” online…

If the noise, the speed, the expectations have ever made you forget why you started…

If you’re longing for something more grounded, more human, more you…

Nikki’s story will feel like fresh air.

🎙️ Subscribe now to Americana Curious.

Real art. Real stories. Real soul.

Let’s get Americana Curious.