'Speaking of Music': JJ and the Hustlers

JJ Garrison is a singer-songwriter and guitarist living in Atlanta. His band, JJ and the Hustlers, makes what Garrison calls “alternative Americana.” In today’s edition of “Speaking of Music,” we feature JJ and the Hustlers’ song “30 Miles,” a woeful folk-rock ballad echoing Western country.

As Garrison describes it, the song is “a tale about a soldier that has been at war for 16 long years, and is desperately trying to make it back home. He is so shot up and ravaged from the war that he dies before he can complete the 30-mile journey back to his home.” The idea for another gritty, driving track, “Cold Steel,” came to Garrison as he was sleeping on an ice-cold bench in a jail.

JJ and the Hustlers’ new album “Burned on the Grill” is out now on Spotify. They hit the EARL stage in East Atlanta on Feb. 19, along with local rock mainstays The Pinx. Garrison and his band can be followed for updates on Facebook here.