Soulful, dramatic and emotionally serious: this week’s rock bops run from blues-soaked swagger to symphonic crescendos to a Pride Month courtroom Americana single, all of them built to last.
Sarah Brunner – Miss Kentucky
Sarah Brunner’s “Miss Kentucky” is a brilliant queer Americana single: a voiceover from Justice Kennedy’s Obergefell ruling, Bear Creek Studio production, and a songwriter who has been performing for fifteen years and knows exactly how to land this.
“Miss Kentucky” exists because Kim Davis filed a 2025 petition to the Supreme Court to overturn Obergefell v. Hodges, the ruling that legalised same-sex marriage in the United States. It’s an impressive and important backdrop, to a song that’s delivers that message fantastically. There’s a quiver in the vocal which I love, and it’s a rolls along in real style. “Loving her is my freedom” is the line that gets me every time. Fantastic.
Brunner is a Michigan native based in Seattle who has been performing solo and with The Hipocrats for over fifteen years. Her songwriting moves between acoustic Americana, folk and country through a queer lens, and the depth of her live experience gives “Miss Kentucky” the authority of a performer who knows what a room feels when a song is doing something real. A brilliant, important single.
Midnight Miles – Call on Me
Midnight Miles’ “Call on Me” is a gorgeous Montréal blues-rock anthem: gritty guitars, soulful vocals and a chorus that sticks on first listen, from a band built for the open road and sounding exactly like it.
“Call on Me” was recorded with live-band energy and the sonic vocabulary of The Black Crowes and The Faces clearly in mind: blues-soaked guitars, a vocal performance that earns the classic rock comparison rather than simply invoking it, and a chorus constructed for maximum memorability. The balance between vintage influence and modern edge is handled without strain, and the track has the particular quality of a song that sounds like it has always existed. Released 29 May 2026.
Midnight Miles are a Montréal-based rock band who have built a growing following across Québec through festivals, clubs and independent releases, developing the live-band tightness that gives “Call on Me” its authority. Their sound draws from The Black Crowes, The Faces and The Damn Truth, and the result is a project committed to authenticity and real musicianship rather than production gloss. “Call on Me” is their current single.