plunket’s favorite southern tunes

Joey Plunket has made his mark on some great southern music towns, including Athens, Atlanta, and, for the past several years, Nashville. 

Nowadays, you may know him best for Country Westerns, a three-piece that sounds more like a five-piece. It’s soaring, guttural guitar rock with some unmistakable drumming from Brian Kotzur (someone who deserves his own separate write-up) and a little production support from the all-knowing Matt Sweeney.

Plunket is also co-owner of the DJ-friendly Duke’s bar in Nashville (which will celebrate its 10th anniversary on April 19 with some excellent bands) and is now performing in a supergroup, of sorts, called Pull Chains with the incomparable Greg Cartwright of Reigning Sound. Busy guy.

Over the past few years, Country Westerns have come through Birmingham three times, making a big impression with each show. Live, the band is fierce, quick, and dialed-in. Like most great live acts, they also throw in a few notable covers (Dead Moon’s “A Miss of You” being one example). 

We’ve gotten to know Plunket over the years—and have enjoyed a drink or two at his bar—so we invited him to put together a playlist of some of his favorite southern songs. He came up with some well-known classics, as well as a few deep cuts that might prompt some new discoveries for listeners.

Check out the track list below (designed by our pal Hannah Adamson) and cue up the YouTube playlist while you close out your weekend.