Croy & the Boys, Ellis Bullard (album release), Nick Garza's Get Along

Like a longneck passed between Waylon Jennings and Dale Watson, Ellis Bullard’s vintage honky-tonk chugs to keep a dance floor spinning ’til the boot heels wear off. The local’s low-barreled twang tore up aptly titled 2022 debut Piss-Hot Freightlining Country Music, and new album Honky Tonk Ain’t Noise Pollution keeps pace behind the ripping title track, even as Bullard’s croon cuts more mellow across 10 tracks. The release show recruits Croy & the Boys’ sharp social wit and Nick Garza’s Get Along’s easy-kicking Tex-Mex mix. – Doug Freeman