Jess Jocoy Returns with Third Studio Album 'Cul-de-Sac Kid' – Out October 24
ACCLAIMED SINGER-SONGWRITER
JESS JOCOY
ANNOUNCES THIRD STUDIO ALBUM
CUL-DE-SAC KID
DUE OUT FRIDAY, OCTOBER 24
TITLE TRACK & LEAD SINGLE
DUE OUT WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3
Above: ‘Cul-de-Sac Kid’ Album Artwork; Credit: Sam Wiseman
NASHVILLE, TN (July 29, 2025) — Acclaimed Nashville-based singer-songwriter Jess Jocoy creates music for those navigating life’s in-between spaces. American Songwriter has praised her “mournful effervescence,” while No Depression recognized her “smooth blend of traditional country and folk sounds.” Weaving cinematic storytelling with folk-rooted introspection shaped by over a decade of loss, heartache, and self-doubt, Jocoy will deliver her third studio album, Cul-de-Sac Kid on Friday, October 25. Across 11 tracks, Jocoy dubs her one-of-a-kind sound “cul-de-sac country,” tying together northwestern and southeastern influences into something uniquely her own.
On Wednesday, September 3, Jocoy will release the first sneak peek at her upcoming album with the title track, “Cul-de-Sac Kid.” The song encapsulates her personal journey, with Jocoy’s signature sultry vocals delivering a question that has long lingered at the heart of her identity as an artist: “Does country even need a country song from a cul-de-sac kid like me?” After a lifetime of pouring herself into country music, Jocoy is finding her own place within Nashville’s storied traditions — proving that these songs are meant for anyone, no matter their background. More than just another single, “Cul-de-Sac Kid” is Jocoy’s story to the core: honest, introspective, and deeply resonant in a genre that hasn’t always made room for voices like hers.
Jocoy moved to Nashville in 2014 to study songwriting at Belmont University, still carrying the grief of losing her father the year before. That weight entangled itself within her music. Cul-de-Sac Kid offered her a moment to breathe. “This album is about coming to terms with who you are, where you’re from, and the taking of longer roads,” she shares. “I’m finally making peace with not quite fitting in — and leaning into that.”
Jocoy’s lyrics are deliberate and observant, whether she’s telling her own story or capturing life’s small moments. With over 3,000 voice memos on her phone, she’s always writing. “I Could Live On That Alone” came during a season of personal loss in college, while “You Sure Showed Me” is a biting breakup anthem. “Every Good Cowboy” nods to traditional cowboy imagery, and “Echo in the Canyon,” written post-pandemic, explores the disorienting feeling of losing oneself in the noise.
”’Cul-de-Sac Kid’ feels like a door opening,” she says. “On one side, I see what came before as memories rather than ghosts, and I carry them with me with a smile. And I look ahead and see what is to come as a hopeful light ready to break through.”
CUL-DE-SAC KID TRACKLISTING:
“I Could Live On That Alone”
“Above Ground”
“Cul-de-Sac Kid”
“Tearing Up Heaven”
“Neon Moon”
“Runaround”
“Every Good Cowboy”
“A Lifetime Only Lasts So Long”
“You Sure Showed Me”
“Echo In The Canyon”
“Gumweed”
Above: Jess Jocoy; Credit: Sam Wiseman
Raised outside of Seattle with the Pacific Northwest as her backdrop, Jocoy’s introduction to country music came through her dad, who filled the car with the sounds of Alan Jackson and Shania Twain on the way to school. That early influence guided her own mission: to prove that twangy guitars and honest, heartfelt lyrics belong on suburban streets just as much as they do on southern backroads.
Jocoy’s acclaimed debut album Such a Long Way (2020) and follow-up EP Brighter Eyes (2021) established her as a distinctive songwriter, blending a broad range of influences into a voice all her own. National TV appearances on NBC’s Songland and airplay on WSM Radio, home of the Grand Ole Opry, brought her wider attention. But it was 2022’s Let There Be No Despair that fully showcased her range: an elegiac collection mixing autobiography with empathetic character portraits, laced with violin, acoustic guitar, and bowed bass.
Throughout it all, Jocoy finds comfort in the narratives of country and Americana music. “At the heart of this style of music, there’s always a storyline,” she shares. “There’s a keen sense of observation in these kinds of songs that encourages me to be a better witness to the world turning around me.”
She concludes, “I hope listeners hear the sincerity in someone trying to bridge experience with imagination. Maybe they’ll find their own truth in these songs — whether they’re a cowboy, a stripper, a hopeless romantic, or someone watching their hometown get replaced by track housing and fast food chains. Maybe they’ve felt like an outsider in a place they wanted so badly to fit in. Maybe they grew up in a cul-de-sac like me.”
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