6 Must-Hear New Country Songs: Billy Strings, Margo Price, Parker McCollum & More
Written by djfrosty on September 16, 2024
This week, Billy Strings and Margo Price link up for a stoned-cold country sound, while Koe Wetzel offers a party-worthy romantic rebuff and Mae Estes sings a gut-punch of a song about the guys who give “good ‘ol boys” a bad name. This week’s crop of new tunes also features songs from Anne Wilson, Parker McCollum and more.
Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of the best country songs of the week below.
Billy Strings/Margo Price, “Too Stoned to Cry”
Americana mainstay Price welcomes prolific bluegrass artist Strings on guitar and vocals on this lilting heap of honky-tonk heartbreak, produced by Beau Bedford and written by Andrew Combs (and previously released on his 2014 album Worried Man). They sing of coping with touring life’s pressures and long hours through various vices — or as they put it, “Walking the line between hellbent and high.” The two singers’ world-weary voices bring a heft of believability to this sad country track.
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Anne Wilson, “Stand”
Earlier this year, Wilson made a genre-melding project with the country/contemporary Christian album Rebel, spearheaded by songs such as “Rain in the Rearview” and “Strong.” She continues in that vein with her latest, as she sings of summoning strength to “stand for love when all you see is hate.” Bright production and a balanced country-pop instinct are a shining foil for her powerful, twangy vocal and a message of holding fast to one’s convictions.
Mae Estes, “Good Ol’ Boys”
Estes lends her bluegrass-tinted lilt to this tale of small-town deception. She boldly sings of a “good ol’ boy” who seems unfailingly polite and picture perfect to the rest of the community. Thus, Estes sings, the members of that tight-knit town likely would never believe how his personality changes in private quarters. But to those his monstrous side has impacted, the concept of a “good ol’ boy” instills more wariness than trust. The writers here are Autumn McEntire, Marti Dodson and SJ McDonald.
Parker McCollum, “What Kinda Man”
Grungy guitar gives way to a ferocious mashup of harmonica, blazing rock and honky tonk twang on McCollum’s latest. “It’s harder than it looks to walk that line,” he sings, reminiscing about living life on the edge, until he meets the one who has him rethinking his ways. As always, McCollum offers up an exemplary, gritty and undoubtedly country vocal styling.
Angie K, “Stay”
El Salvador-born Angie K, known for songs including “Happily Ever After,” employs a grainy, soulful rasp that’s enticing on this romantic, bilingual track. Lush background vocals and velvety instrumentation, accented with flashes of Latin guitar, heighten the sultry flavor here. Angie K, David Borys, Tom Pino and Jason Haag are the writers behind the song. “Stay” is featured on Angie K’s self-titled EP, which will be released Oct. 25.
Koe Wetzel, “Casamigos”
Following the release of his ninth studio album 9 Lives in July, Wetzel finally releases this fan favorite. This laid-back rocker with an ample sing-along-chorus is an anthem of defiance. “Mary Jane took my license/ And Casamigos took my friend,” he sings, before making it clear that while a cascade of less-than-stellar decisions may have cost a few things dear to him, there is one romantic relationship in particular he’s just fine with losing. Wetzel brings a jam-band vibe and a display of bravura to this stinging romantic rebuff.