JESSIE WILLIAMS

The last time I saw this Prescott, Ariz., artist perform, I said to her something I'd never say to Tay Swift, even if I had the chance.

"You're a bad motherfucker," I told her. She took it for the compliment it was meant to be.

Nashville could use a new Johnny Cash, and Williams is my choice. For one, she frequently dresses in black. But, she also performs with a no-nonsense confidence that belies some noticeable shyness. Her guitar playing is solid, good enough to throw down for her crust-metal-sludge band, Windmill of Corpses. Her voice sounds like grandma's cold remedy - part lemony bitterness, a whole lot of whiskey and a few drips of carefully measured honey.

Her songs are poetic and catchy, vulnerable and assured. She sings in a grownup way about lost love on songs like "My Ever Changing Mind," something so superior to telling an ex that you'll never ever get back together it hurts in its unfairness that it doesn't have a broader audience.

RADIO FLYER I refuse to believe the world wouldn't benefit from knowing Houston's own Radio Flyer better. Andrew Hoskins performs by that stage name and writes songs that are so honest and hopeful they can't really be popular. Not in a country-music world that focuses so much on repeated heartbreak, who's "more country" or what the next C&W dance craze will be .

Hoskins spent years on the road with the likes of Black Death All-Stars, perfecting a sound he could take to the Grand Ole Opry today for all the, ahem, "old farts" who appreciate traditional country music. The twang in his voice, his ability to stand alone and entertain and his eager demeanor are everything that once was honored in Nashville.

What I love best about his work is how self-assured it is, no small feat for someone who has been performing for years and still doesn't have a deservedly larger audience. "You won't see me backing down, my whole world counts on me..." and "everything I know I know like someone told to me," he sings in "Growing Up So Fast," sentiments that can really only be known by someone who hasn't had the world laid at his or her feet.

Jesse's short-fiction piece, "You, at the Beach," is featured in the 2013 issue of Huizache. If you've ever wondered whether your life's as interesting as an average 50-year-old's, follow him on Twitter.

ROCKS OFF'S GREATEST HITS

The Ask Willie D Archives Top 10 Bars, Clubs & Ice Houses In Upper Kirby Top 10 Downtown Bars, Clubs & Ice HousesThe 10 Worst Rock Singers of the '90s