Hunter Kelly

23/09/2025

New on Untethered Southerner: My Q&A with Maia Sharp, whose new album Tomboy offers a powerful reminder of what it means to live authentically.

We talk identity, resilience, and uncovering the vulnerability in a U2 anthem.

https://untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/maia-sharps-new-album-tomboy-celebrates

18/09/2025

Here’s an arena full of thousands that still believe Black Lives Matter, Trans Lives Matter, and that we still have the voice to speak up against the forces working to permanently silence us.

13/09/2025

This smacks of 80s televangelist grifting.

24/06/2025

Before Garth Brooks there was Randy Travis. Diane Diekman’s new biography, Randy Travis: Storms of Life, traces the country icon’s multi-platinum rise and legacy. We dig in on Untethered Southerner—read our chat now.

Diane Diekman

Biographer Diane Diekman on documenting Travis’s still-unfolding legacy

18/06/2025

The Kentucky Gentlemen deliver the summer’s sexiest country song — “Denim on Denim.” The duo tell me all about creating the track in a new interview on Untethered Southerner!

https://untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/thekentuckygentlemenfeature

13/06/2025

The Kentucky Gentlemen just hosted a sold-out and fabulous event in Nashville to celebrate their new album, Rhinestone Revolution. We’re talking about it all on my Substack, Untethered Southerner.

https://untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/thekentuckygentlemenfeature

11/06/2025

It’s such a thrill to see my writing in print alongside icons like Rachel Cholst and Kay West! Thank you, Nashville Scene, for the opportunity, and thank you, Adam Horin, for bringing me two copies back from BNA!

Read the article here: https://www.nashvillescene.com/music/coverstory/cma-fest-plays-it-safe/article_b0c6d56a-2a73-4a1a-b117-fe1ed6a00895.html

09/05/2025

“It’s not an easy watch, but it’s an honest one.” Shared my thoughts on The Judd Family documentary, airing this weekend on Lifetime, on my Substack, Untethered Southerner.

New Documentary Offers New Insight into The Judds' Musical Origins

02/05/2025

BOB BAILEY was fired from Jim and Tammy Faye Bakker’s PTL Club after being outed in the early ‘80s. He tells me how his parents’ support helped him get through that faith-shaking experience as he went on to record more music and become Wynonna and Garth Brooks' go-to background vocalist. Full conversation on my Substack, Untethered Southerner.

https://open.substack.com/pub/untetheredsoutherner/p/bob-baileys-voice-takes-center-stage?r=1slzhf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

25/04/2025

BOB BAILEY released three solo albums in the ‘80s before becoming Nashville’s top background vocalist — working with Wynonna, Garth Brooks , Dolly Parton, Trisha Yearwood, Billy Joel, Mark Knopfler, Reba McEntire and more! Those solo albums have just been re-released, and Bob joins me on my Substack, Untethered Southerner, to share his story of recovery and perseverance as a Black, gay man navigating the choppy waters of the music industry.

https://open.substack.com/pub/untetheredsoutherner/p/bob-baileys-voice-takes-center-stage?r=1slzhf&utm_campaign=post&utm_medium=web&showWelcomeOnShare=true

17/04/2025

Fancy Hagood reimagines Chris Stapleton’s “Where Rainbows Never Die” as a q***r anthem with an assist from Mindy Smith and Maia Sharp . Check out our full conversation on my Substack, Untethered Southerner.

https://untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/fancy-hagoods-independent-spirit

14/04/2025

Fancy Hagood has found success as an independent, q***r, country artist! 🌈✊ He's building a career based on truth, not permission—and proving that q***r artists don’t need the industry’s approval to thrive. Full conversation on my Substack, Untethered Southerner.

https://untetheredsoutherner.substack.com/p/fancy-hagoods-independent-spirit