Hannah Wicklund and the Steppin Stones

Born in Hilton Head, S.C., blues-rock guitarist and singer Hannah Wicklund is a total pro who began hitting the boards in earnest when she was 9 years old. Now in her early 20s, Wicklund moved to Nashville in 2016, and I think the city’s ethic of co-writing has suited her aims. Her new full-length, Hannah Wicklund & the Steppin Stones, benefits from the careful production of guitarist Sadler Vaden, who contributed his axmanship to Jason Isbell’s 2017 record The Nashville Sound. Wicklund makes her Nashville-sounding move on the new album — Vaden wisely allows the tracks to remain uncluttered, though Wicklund gets room to shred on guitar. She and Vaden collaborated on the new record’s brisk workout “Bomb Through the Breeze,” a fine bit of commercial blues. Meanwhile, the track “Ghost” manages to combine the styles of Tom Petty and Albert King — it’s perhaps her best effort to date. If you’re gonna Nashville-ize the blues, this is a classy way to do it. EDD HURT