Description
In the years since his first album, 2004's Last Call, Nashville singer-songwriter Stephen Simmons has wandered the wide landscape of American roots music, from contemplative country and finger-picked folk to rugged and ragged blues-rock.
On his 12th album, Hunch, released October 24, 2025, he hints at the thread that ties 20 years of ideas together.
"It makes me feel better when I tap into the truth" he sings in the closing track on Hunch, "Someone Like You," a ballad brimming with Rhodes chimes and gentle longing.
Tapping into the truth doesn't only mean one thing, and the 10 tracks on Hunch show the breadth of what it means to mine what feels real, from connection and disconnection to wonder, sorrow, reflection and confusion.
"It's not therapy, but it's therapeutic," Simmons says. "People talk about when you first start writing, sometimes it's almost like clearing your throat. You're not really at the thing yet, and sometimes you write for a while before you get in some kind of flow. And then something starts coming together. And when you feel it, you know it's true -- and you didn't know yet how you were gonna say it 'til it comes out. It's gratifying."