Cooper Greenberg & Favorite Son - Juniper (2025) Hi-Res

The band Favorite Son hails from San Antonio Texas. They’re a four piece band at their core, although there are a few guests on sax, pedal steel and harmonies for the album. Guitarists Cooper Greenberg and Ramon Botello have played together since high school which is evident in the close complex and interlaced riffs and themes running all throughout the songs.

The extended, entwining guitar melodies come rolling out of the gate from the very first number, “Flamingo,” and there’s plenty of space for them to follow their muse within the mix as they reflect: “Days when I can’t feel, maybe I’m just getting cold / At night when I can’t see, maybe I’m just getting old /Well now, I don’t know.”

On “New Mexico, Texas” the atmosphere changes up to an acoustic guitar foundation and a song of relationship endings: “I wish I knew the first time I saw you / I can’t compete with your jealousy /
I don’t believe you intended this for me / But I just can’t see over your conspiracy.”

“Boogie Nights” hearkens to a 70s extended jam from the beginning – something from Yes or the Allman brothers – and it’s easy to see why the comparison is often made between the Allman brothers and Favorite Son. There are punctuations of sax early and then full blown solos in the mix too, which are a delight, and the song is about needing that time to yourself: “It’s not a big surprise that I prefer to be alone /Two miles and two more hours ’til I can get back home.” On the title track, “Juniper,” the electric and acoustic guitars are hypnotic as the reflection on coming home from the road unfolds.

“Take Me With You” springs from a soft jazz basis and speaks of a give and take between wanting to be with someone even though their directions may be diverging.

There are jazz influences evident in the rhythm and the grooves will have your toes tapping in different directions from where your head is bobbing, creating a beautiful dance. If your jam is complex guitar melodies that stretch out in southern rock style, here’s something fresh for your playlist. Topically the songs occupy the space between needing to be alone and wanting some companionship and processing all of the complexity that exists there.

After Greenberg’s string of solo releases between 2018-2021, the band took the songs they’ve honed in over years of playing throughout Texas and recorded “Favorite Son Live,” at one of their home venues— in late 2024, the band began recording their debut studio record, Juniper, which was released on November 7th, 2025.