04/24/2026
Rusty Shipp lands in the #6 spot on the charts with Sinners in the Hands. Martin Rusty Shipp.
True to their name, Nashville’s Rusty Shipp have created a sound known as Nautical Rock ‘n’ Roll. Characterized by its dark, underwater sound, haunting vocals, and unconventional heavy riffs, the music is a perfect fusion of grunge and surf rock, sounding appropriately like a “rusty ship”! On the surface, the band may appear as a mere gimmick. However, there is actually great depth (pun intended) under the stories of salty sailors and sea angels.
The band has created a multi-dimensional, artistic experience that integrates music, narrative story-telling, illustration, and video to take the listener on a voyage into their underwater world with its undercurrent of provocative philosophies. Artistry and depth aside though, their music is most memorable for the Beatlesque chord progressions and hooky vocal melodies at the core of every song.
Named after singer-songwriter Russ T. Shipp, the band was started in 2014 in Nashville, TN and grew to include AJ Newton on drums, Doug Webster on bass, and Rex Shredman (Ryan Starkman) on lead guitar. Russ T. has his own signature sound, weaving his raspy voice in and out of falsetto and vibrato; at times sounding like a “higher-pitched Kurt Cobain,” as one music critic put it, and other times like a ghost.
Tirelessly thinking and working like it’s a divine mission, the band’s goal is to “inspire people’s imagination, fill them with hope, and do our part to increase harmony in the world using the medicine of music.” (Rustyshipp.com)
“Sinners in the Hands” continues Rusty Shipp’s signature sound: gritty riffs, otherworldly melodies, and unafraid to wrestle with big questions. The song ref...
