Marissa R. Moss
@marissarmoss.bsky.social
Journalist, mom, Nashvillian, etc. Wrote a book called HER COUNTRY for Holt. Writing one now for Hachette called I'VE BEEN A BAD, BAD GIRL. Don’t Rock The Inbox newsletter: https://www.dontrocktheinbox.com
Pinned
Marissa R. Moss
@marissarmoss.bsky.social
· Jul 24
How Tyler Childers Made the Most Visionary Country Album of the Year
He’s an arena-filling Nashville outsider who wrote a Black Lives Matter anthem and put a gay love story in a music video. Now, fresh off a pilgrimage to India, he's releasing his spiritual and artisti...
www.gq.com
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
all this can be yours for 8 measly bucks a month (or less with an annual sub!). 100% substack free! bsky.app/profile/mari...
I can't write while listening to songs with lyrics so today's Don't Rock the Inbox subscriber playlist is instrumental country and roots tunes!
www.dontrocktheinbox.com/put-a-record...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com/put-a-record...
Put a Record On: An Instrumental Country Playlist for Writing (or whatever else you do)
As someone who listens to music all the time, and writes about music and musicians for a living, there is one curious time when I am extremely picky about what I listen to: when I am actually writing....
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
November 14, 2025 at 4:03 PM
all this can be yours for 8 measly bucks a month (or less with an annual sub!). 100% substack free! bsky.app/profile/mari...
I can't write while listening to songs with lyrics so today's Don't Rock the Inbox subscriber playlist is instrumental country and roots tunes!
www.dontrocktheinbox.com/put-a-record...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com/put-a-record...
Put a Record On: An Instrumental Country Playlist for Writing (or whatever else you do)
As someone who listens to music all the time, and writes about music and musicians for a living, there is one curious time when I am extremely picky about what I listen to: when I am actually writing....
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
November 14, 2025 at 3:27 PM
I can't write while listening to songs with lyrics so today's Don't Rock the Inbox subscriber playlist is instrumental country and roots tunes!
www.dontrocktheinbox.com/put-a-record...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com/put-a-record...
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
When country singer Luke Bell was found dead in 2022, his story became tabloid fodder. But Bell's complex life couldn't be distilled into a headline: He wrote beautiful country songs informed by the American west, while struggling with deep mental illness.
Country Music Casualty: The Tortured Life and Untimely Death of Luke Bell
bit.ly
November 10, 2025 at 2:00 AM
When country singer Luke Bell was found dead in 2022, his story became tabloid fodder. But Bell's complex life couldn't be distilled into a headline: He wrote beautiful country songs informed by the American west, while struggling with deep mental illness.
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
NOT covering unredacted bodycam footage of a non-mega famous musician writhing in agony, sickness and pain is a decision we, as journalists, can make.
November 7, 2025 at 10:38 PM
NOT covering unredacted bodycam footage of a non-mega famous musician writhing in agony, sickness and pain is a decision we, as journalists, can make.
do I have thoughts about how there are no country nominations in any of the all genre categories? in the "year of country music" or whatever? I sure do!
November 7, 2025 at 5:40 PM
do I have thoughts about how there are no country nominations in any of the all genre categories? in the "year of country music" or whatever? I sure do!
An honor to get to tell this story. Listen to some Luke Bell today.
When country singer Luke Bell was found dead in 2022, his story became tabloid fodder. But Bell's complex life couldn't be distilled into a headline: He wrote beautiful country songs informed by the American west, while struggling with deep mental illness.
Country Music Casualty: The Tortured Life and Untimely Death of Luke Bell
bit.ly
November 7, 2025 at 2:39 PM
An honor to get to tell this story. Listen to some Luke Bell today.
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
I'm happy that Mamdani won. But I won't let that get in the way of my celebrating Cuomo losing.
November 5, 2025 at 2:37 AM
I'm happy that Mamdani won. But I won't let that get in the way of my celebrating Cuomo losing.
Real heads remember the Lockeland Springsteen days and browsing through our best songs of 2014....Sturgill, Adia Victoria, Margo, Luke Bell, Kelsey Waldon, a pre-Hero Maren Morris song that the Highwomen eventually recorded...sorry we were kind of king shit
thenashup.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/f...
thenashup.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/f...
Feature /// Lockeland Springsteen’s Favorite Local Songs of 2014
For the first time, Team L/S is proud to have formulated our Top Local Songs of the Year. Voted on by our team, our list follows the songs that impacted us the most, that stirred us, made us cry, m…
thenashup.wordpress.com
October 30, 2025 at 4:13 PM
Real heads remember the Lockeland Springsteen days and browsing through our best songs of 2014....Sturgill, Adia Victoria, Margo, Luke Bell, Kelsey Waldon, a pre-Hero Maren Morris song that the Highwomen eventually recorded...sorry we were kind of king shit
thenashup.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/f...
thenashup.wordpress.com/2014/12/16/f...
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
Unsurprisingly, I loved reading this interview while listening to the album. Two people whose work I always enjoy.
October 28, 2025 at 11:59 PM
Unsurprisingly, I loved reading this interview while listening to the album. Two people whose work I always enjoy.
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
it was so lovely to talk with @heyjackson.bsky.social about her wonderful book Soul-Folk for Don't Rock The Inbox. highly recommend it! www.dontrocktheinbox.com/on-soul-folk...
On 'Soul-Folk', with author Ashawnta Jackson
These days, the too-often ignored history of Black artists making country music looks like positively well-trodden territory compared to the story of Black artists and folk. Enter Ashawnta Jackson's S...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
October 28, 2025 at 1:35 PM
it was so lovely to talk with @heyjackson.bsky.social about her wonderful book Soul-Folk for Don't Rock The Inbox. highly recommend it! www.dontrocktheinbox.com/on-soul-folk...
chatted with Brandi Carlile about her really beautiful new record
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
'I Hate Being Alone': Brandi Carlile Tries to Find Herself
Brandi Carlile says she hates being alone and talks new album 'Returning to Myself.'
www.rollingstone.com
October 23, 2025 at 1:49 PM
chatted with Brandi Carlile about her really beautiful new record
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
www.rollingstone.com/music/music-...
Sorry about the bait and switch headline but I had to get your attention….
Goal for 2026: See Carter Faith live in concert. Great review of her latest album by @marissarmoss.bsky.social www.dontrocktheinbox.com/about-that-b...
About that blonde woman’s album that came out October 3rd…
Forgive me for the subject line of this newsletter, a tacky bait-and-switch. But in a world of fifteen-second TikTok clips, sometimes you must resort to the low road. Because no, I’m not talking about...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
October 21, 2025 at 10:37 PM
Sorry about the bait and switch headline but I had to get your attention….
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
we've lost a fair number of subscribers since moving to ghost (but are obviously still happy we did!) - as a reminder most of our content is free, and even being a free subscriber means a lot to us if you'd consider it www.dontrocktheinbox.com
Don't Rock The Inbox
A country music newsletter.
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
October 21, 2025 at 8:04 PM
we've lost a fair number of subscribers since moving to ghost (but are obviously still happy we did!) - as a reminder most of our content is free, and even being a free subscriber means a lot to us if you'd consider it www.dontrocktheinbox.com
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
Saw Kelsey's show in Phoenix earlier this week and she (and her band) were unbelievable!
Great interview
Great interview
asked Kelsey Waldon to answer our DRTI questionnaire and she did not dissapoint!
Kelsey Waldon Answers the DRTI Proust-ish Questionnaire
For as long as I have been living in Nashville, Kelsey Waldon has been making her own kind of country music. I remember the first time I heard that voice, the voice John Prine said he’d listen to sing...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
October 10, 2025 at 6:13 PM
Saw Kelsey's show in Phoenix earlier this week and she (and her band) were unbelievable!
Great interview
Great interview
2 things can be true:
1. In general, folks should wait for a whole song before getting riled up about a snippet
however
2. If you are one of the biggest-selling artists today & that snippet contains a mention of ICE, you CANNOT be surprised people ran w/it & then cower behind "it's the media!"
1. In general, folks should wait for a whole song before getting riled up about a snippet
however
2. If you are one of the biggest-selling artists today & that snippet contains a mention of ICE, you CANNOT be surprised people ran w/it & then cower behind "it's the media!"
October 10, 2025 at 3:07 PM
2 things can be true:
1. In general, folks should wait for a whole song before getting riled up about a snippet
however
2. If you are one of the biggest-selling artists today & that snippet contains a mention of ICE, you CANNOT be surprised people ran w/it & then cower behind "it's the media!"
1. In general, folks should wait for a whole song before getting riled up about a snippet
however
2. If you are one of the biggest-selling artists today & that snippet contains a mention of ICE, you CANNOT be surprised people ran w/it & then cower behind "it's the media!"
And now the man posts something about how he’s shocked his short clip mentioning ICE was so divisive. 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
everyone getting all riled up for this Zach Bryan snippet but for all we know the second verse could be like "but I still think women shouldn't have the right to vote" might just wanna hear the whole thing
October 7, 2025 at 11:30 PM
And now the man posts something about how he’s shocked his short clip mentioning ICE was so divisive. 🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃🙃
everyone getting all riled up for this Zach Bryan snippet but for all we know the second verse could be like "but I still think women shouldn't have the right to vote" might just wanna hear the whole thing
October 7, 2025 at 9:19 PM
everyone getting all riled up for this Zach Bryan snippet but for all we know the second verse could be like "but I still think women shouldn't have the right to vote" might just wanna hear the whole thing
asked Kelsey Waldon to answer our DRTI questionnaire and she did not dissapoint!
Kelsey Waldon Answers the DRTI Proust-ish Questionnaire
For as long as I have been living in Nashville, Kelsey Waldon has been making her own kind of country music. I remember the first time I heard that voice, the voice John Prine said he’d listen to sing...
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
October 7, 2025 at 4:50 PM
asked Kelsey Waldon to answer our DRTI questionnaire and she did not dissapoint!
Zack Bryan does anti-ICE song **calls emergency don't rock the inbox meeting**
October 6, 2025 at 4:06 PM
Zack Bryan does anti-ICE song **calls emergency don't rock the inbox meeting**
Spent the afternoon w/Madi Diaz on a picnic bench in her front yard to talk about her new album, Fatal Optimist, for the New York Times. The album is an absolute stunner, bare and brave and completely vulnerable - it’s artists like Madi who truly make this town special.
Madi Diaz: A Little Bit Country, a Little Bit Pop, and Beloved by Both
www.nytimes.com
October 6, 2025 at 1:35 PM
Spent the afternoon w/Madi Diaz on a picnic bench in her front yard to talk about her new album, Fatal Optimist, for the New York Times. The album is an absolute stunner, bare and brave and completely vulnerable - it’s artists like Madi who truly make this town special.
I know I am not really the best source on this as its what I do for a living, but I really do think the TS record would have benefitted from being contextualized by some really in depth print profiles. even just one smart one!
October 6, 2025 at 1:20 PM
I know I am not really the best source on this as its what I do for a living, but I really do think the TS record would have benefitted from being contextualized by some really in depth print profiles. even just one smart one!
file under: music journalism, in general
you couldn’t pay me to have an opinion about t-swift’s new record. or i mean, you could, but you won’t, and no one has enough money anymore to make the opinion worth having, so here i stand, opinionless
October 3, 2025 at 1:55 PM
file under: music journalism, in general
I thought this was the Onion. I mean, truly.
Bari Weiss is set to be named the editor in chief of CBS News, the New York Post reports
October 2, 2025 at 8:32 PM
I thought this was the Onion. I mean, truly.
I used to keep this photo at my desk. It reminded me that every mother, even Beyoncé, is still a…mother
September 30, 2025 at 10:28 PM
I used to keep this photo at my desk. It reminded me that every mother, even Beyoncé, is still a…mother
Reposted by Marissa R. Moss
wrote about seeing two guys for whom writing and singing good country songs is a way of life, even for rooms of a few dozen people www.dontrocktheinbox.com/issue-118-a-...
Issue #118: A Weekend With Iconic Songsmiths
Small rooms, acoustic guitars, and country tradition without pretension
www.dontrocktheinbox.com
September 30, 2025 at 1:46 PM
wrote about seeing two guys for whom writing and singing good country songs is a way of life, even for rooms of a few dozen people www.dontrocktheinbox.com/issue-118-a-...