J.R. Carroll has little desire to be dubbed the next savior of country music. Despite the release of his debut album Dark Cloud last Friday — an album that comes after years of releasing singles and EPs — he may find himself in that position against his will.
“I’m just focused on doing the things that truly matter to me,” Carroll says in an interview with Rolling Stone. “I’m not out here trying to push myself to a wider audience. I’m content with where I’m at. I’ve earned the respect of the people I wanted to impress when I first began this journey. If the audience grows, that’s fantastic, and I’ll handle whatever comes with that in the best way I can, but I already have a job that keeps me occupied year-round.”
That “job” he speaks of involves playing keyboard for his longtime friend, Zach Bryan, in the band fronted by the fellow Oologah, Oklahoma native. While not on tour with Bryan, Carroll spent the past 18 months working on Dark Cloud at Teegarden Studios in Tulsa, where he recorded nine original tracks, plus a gospel hymn titled “In the Garden” — a tribute to his roots as the son of a Pentecostal preacher.
The result of those months in the studio is a stripped-back country album that explores deeply personal themes, written by Carroll over six years. These songs span from his early days of performing in bars to the much bigger arenas he now fills, reflecting the transition from a religious upbringing to a career filled with heartbreak and the search for self.
“I spent the last year and a half recording this album during breaks from touring, whenever my mental health was stable enough to actually leave the couch,” Carroll explains. “The first song on the album was written when I was 21, fresh out of my religious background, playing bars and experiencing my first heartaches. The last song I wrote the day before I proposed to my wife.”
The album, he continues, is a way to reflect on the journey of his life. “It’s my way of debriefing to the world about how I’ve felt since hitting the road, and how I’ve been processing what I’ve experienced along the way. It’s about my personal shift from seeing home as a place to thinking of it as a person — the journey I’ve had to go through to understand that.”
One of the tracks that perfectly encapsulates this perspective is “Hometown Hero,” which was released as a single. The song blends steel guitar and a honky-tonk rhythm to tell the story of a lonely night spent at home, encapsulated in the poignant chorus: “I don’t need any sympathy, I don’t want anything but wine. She may be gone, but she won’t forget me, because heroes don’t die. Lord knows I’ve tried, but love just won’t let me.”
Married to his wife, Felicia, for just over a year, Carroll shares a home in Tulsa with her and their Pug, Bella. These two offer him a refuge from his otherwise solitary life on the road. “I wrote ‘Hometown Hero’ when Felicia had to travel for work,” Carroll recalls. “I was the one left alone at home for a change. I considered going out to a bar in Oologah, but then I realized how sad it would be to leave a stadium tour to sit in an empty bar, missing my wife. So I made up a story that captured that feeling.”
The entirety of Dark Cloud is an exploration of self, evident in songs like “Shame” and “How to Be Okay.” These tracks pull listeners into a whirlwind of emotions, not just the pain of life on the road, but the underlying anxiety and stress that always lingers for someone who is constantly on the move.
Carroll’s roots trace back to Oklahoma’s Red Dirt music scene, where he got his start playing small bar gigs with Wyatt Flores, another artist still making his name. Before Bryan’s rise to fame, Carroll was on a similar path to Flores, focusing on writing and performing songs that expressed his own struggles with emotional turmoil and insecurity. He still writes for the same reasons, but nowadays, his solo performances are rare. While he has played at some major festivals — including the 2023 Windy City Smokeout and the recent Two-Step Inn — and headlined a New Year’s Eve show at Cain’s Ballroom in Tulsa with fellow Oklahomans Kaitlin Butts and Nolan Taylor, Carroll prefers his quiet life. In fact, he stepped in as Bryan’s opening act for two nights in Sacramento last month when Bryan’s regular opener, Levi Turner, had to take time off for the birth of his child, where Carroll went viral for covering Taylor Swift’s “Mean.”
But these moments are exceptions to his normal homebody routine. Carroll doesn’t see that changing much. He plans to tour in support of Dark Cloud in the spring, once Bryan’s tour wraps up, and he’s set to return to Cain’s Ballroom on December 30 to open for Wyatt Flores. But aside from these planned appearances, Carroll doesn’t actively seek out gigs for himself.
“I’m not really looking for more shows,” Carroll admits. “I know that sounds kind of crazy, considering it’s my job, but I’m just not a fan of touring. I’m a homebody, and now that I’m married, I love being home with my wife. It’s even harder to leave the house now.”
For Carroll, the balance between his love for music and his desire for a quiet, meaningful life with his family remains central to who he is. And while Dark Cloud may bring him new attention and recognition, he’s content knowing that he’s living life on his own terms.
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