Joshua Hedley, known as a "singing professor of country & western", has spent his life studying the genre. His debut album from 2018, Mr. Jukebox , honoring country music from the 1950s and 60s with the influence of artists such as George Jones and Glen Campbell. On his newest album, Neon Blue , he turns his attention to the early 1990s, a time he believes was the last golden age for real country music before the genre shifted to more pop-influenced expressions.

Neon Blue is a tribute to the 90s period and asks: "What if country music had continued to sound like country?" The album mixes big choruses, painful ballads and lively productions, all anchored in modern sounds that are still distinctly country. Songs like "Broke Again" and "River in the Rain" show this balance between nostalgic inspiration and innovative expression.

To realize the project, Hedley collaborated with legendary songwriters and skilled session musicians in Nashville, something that raised both the songs and his own skills. The production of the album was a learning journey for Hedley, who discovered the value of having a clear vision for an album and working purposefully to achieve it. He himself believes that this process has opened new creative doors for the future.

Despite success outside of Nashville, Hedley sticks to his roots in the honkytonk club Robert's Western World, where he has played for nearly twenty years. This loyalty to tradition and to the audience has been part of what has made him one of the most exciting artists in Nashville today.