Down by the River

Veteran singer and songwriter Mac McAnally recently enjoyed an unexpected return to country radio for the first time in more than a decade and a half when he and Kenny Chesney went to No. 1 with a duet version of his oldie “Down the Road.” The renewed attention earned Mac a deal with Toby Keith’s Show Dog Nashville label, but the steady-rolling Down by the River doesn’t make any concessions to modern radio in a bid for airplay. This is Mac being Mac, serving up a batch of unpretentious and instantly likeable originals about big life lessons and small pleasures.