State Champ Radio Song Reviews
In this week’s batch of new country music fare, we have country/Americana maestro Charley Crockett’s sterling new album, as well as new songs from Darius Rucker with Jennifer Nettles, as well as Ole 60, Karley Scott Collins, MacKenzie Porter and Karli June. Additionally, bluegrassers The Del McCoury Band offer up new music as well as a collab from Tony Trischka and Vince Gill.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Charley Crockett, $10 Cowboy
[embedded content]
Over the course of more than a dozen studio albums, Crockett has painstakingly built his reputation as an electrifying live performer, and a kingpin of crafting traditional country tunes, while adroitly enmeshing layers of various styles into his work, including soul, blues, funk, gospel and more. On his latest, there are moments of converging country and R&B, while his penchant for capturing a live performance feel is apparent on $10 Cowboy, which he recorded live to tape in Austin, Texas, with his steady collaborator Billy Horton. Songs such as the horn-driven “America,” the jangly acoustic country of “Hard Luck and Circumstances,” the blues-rock of “Solitary Road” as well as songs such as the title track and “Midnight Cowboy” all pay homage to his skill with keen observations and to his journey from street busker to his current status as acclaimed headliner.
Darius Rucker and Jennifer Nettles, “Never Been Over”
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
Two of country music’s strongest, most identifiable voices collide here, as Rucker welcomes Nettles in a reimagined version of this song, which he first recorded for his Carolyn’s Boy album. Nettles joins on the song’s second verse, adding another rich layer of nuance to the tale of a couple unwinding the ties that have bonded them for years. As the song reaches its apex, Nettles sends up some soaring vocals as Rucker holds down the melody. Rucker has one of music’s most commanding voices, but Nettles matches his steady, slightly raspy vocal wondrously with her charismatic soprano. In recent years, Rucker has shifted a bit from some of the uptempo, radio-ready fare he’s become known for and issues some of his strongest performances of late, such as another stellar collaboration, with Dax on “To Be a Man.”
Karli June, “Still Make Cowgirls”
[embedded content]
She’s not afraid to be a fearless, independent-minded cowgirl in a world of followers and she’s fierce enough to dare a potential suitor to ride along. Canada native June is presently celebrated with four CMA Ontario Awards nominations, and follows them with this song she co-wrote with Deric Ruttan. Her twangy vocal also carries a slight edge as it floats over the Western-tinged yet modern sonics.
The Del McCoury Band, “Just Because”
[embedded content]
Since the 1960s, when Del McCoury performed as part of Bill Monroe’s Blue Grass Boys, he has been a torchbearer, both aiding in laying down the prototype for the genre–and pushing beyond its traditional boundaries. The two-time Grammy-winning The Del McCoury Band, led by the Bluegrass Music Hall of Famer, has blended its distinctive sound with a range of musical styles over the years, leading to collaborations and/or performances with artists including Dierks Bentley, Steve Earle and Phish. That genre-spanning intention continues on the band’s latest, as they cover the blues-driven “Just Because,” originally recorded by The California Honeydrops on their 2013 album Like You Mean It. Here, The Del McCoury Band transforms it into an expertly rendered, galloping bluegrass tune, with fleet-fingered picking, winding fiddle and McCoury’s commanding tenor.
Ole 60, “Next to You”
[embedded content]
This Kentucky quintet broke through earlier this year with viral hits “A Smoke & a Light” and the bluesy ballad “Brother Joe.” They follow with “Next to You,” a harmonica and banjo-inflected song starts out with an unhurried, moody ethos, before picking up the pace in the last half of the song, ascending into a plucky, bluegrass-tinged jamband vibe. This indie group, which recently signed with The Neal Agency for booking, keeps its engaging music rolling with this one, which embeds stark details revolving around an on-and-off again relationship. “Fools in love ain’t fools at all/ That’s why I pick up ever time that you call,” frontman Jacob Young sings, continuing, “Pack of Marlboro Lights and some Adderall/ I’ll be on my way.”
Tony Trischka and Vince Gill, “Bury Me Beneath the Willow”
[embedded content]
From Trischka’s upcoming project Earl Jam: A Tribute to Earl Scruggs (out June 7), this track features a top-shelf assortment of premier bluegrassers, including Trischka, Vince Gill, Michael Cleveland, Brittany Haas, Dominick Leslie and Mike Bub. Together, they offer an exemplary latticework mandolin, guitar, banjo and fiddle on this classic from the country music canon, popularized by The Carter Family and recorded by the familial group during country music’s “Big Bang,” the Bristol Sessions, in 1927. The fiddle lines from Cleveland and Haas are superb, bolstered by Trischka’s banjo picking and topped off by Gill’s high-caliber vocal.
Karley Scott Collins (feat. Charles Kelley), “How Do You Do That”
[embedded content]
Collins teams with Lady A’s Charles Kelley on this pulsating collaboration, which puts their tight-knit harmonies in focus and delves into the moments of a fissured relationship that leave one questioning everything they knew about an ex-lover. Kelley’s soulful country voice is in top form, while Collins’ rangy, grit-meets-silk vocal offers a remarkable, dynamic foil. Collins wrote this track with Kelley, Jordan Reynolds and Tom Jordan.
MacKenzie Porter, “Foreclosure”
[embedded content]
MacKenzie Porter made her American country radio breakthrough with her Dustin Lynch collaboration, the multi-week No. 1 “Thinkin’ Bout You.” But she’s out to showcase her own singer-songwriter talents and perspective on her newly-issued debut Big Loud album Nobody’s Born With a Broken Heart. Porter’s warm, soft-focus voice is bolstered by a pop-aimed, sleek production on this standout track, which she wrote with Luke Niccoli, Lydia Vaughan, Parker Welling.
“I wasted all my good faith,” Porter sings, the slightly husky tremor in her voice acutely embodying both the hope and heartbreak on a song that chronicles a couple’s journey from buying a home together to later watching the relationship falter — so they put up the foreclosure sign, moving out and moving on.
This week’s stack of new country songs includes fresh entries from two artists featured on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter: Shaboozey and Tanner Adell. In addition, Riley Green offers up songs from his new EP Way Out Here, while Trisha Yearwood releases a song she performed during the CMT Music Awards, the Luke Combs-celebrated group The Wilder Blue issues a ’90s country-influenced track and Kimmi Bitter offers a 1960s vintage vibe.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
Shaboozey has been in the headlines and gaining traction thanks to his work on songs on Beyonce’s Cowboy Carter project. He follows with this mesh of perfect singalong melodies, acoustic guitar, horns and handclaps on this tip of the hat to boozy bar escapades. From his viral hit “Let It Burn” earlier this year, to his latest outing, this artist-writer knows how to craft a memorable song. This single, lifting from J-Kwon’s 2004 smash “Tipsy,” previews his album Where I’ve Been, Isn’t Where I’m Going, out May 31.
Trisha Yearwood, “Put It in a Song”
[embedded content]
Yearwood debuted this ballad on the recent CMT Music Awards, by performing it with its co-writers, Erin Enderlin and Jim “Moose” Brown. Yearwood’s vocal is pristine as always, never overpowering a lyric but collecting every nuance on this gorgeous song. Not unlike one of Yearwood’s signature hits, 1993’s “The Song Remembers When,” this song nods to the power of music to serve as a keeper and vessel for any number of emotion-stirring memories, from heartbreak to love.
Morgan Wade, “Time to Love, Time To Kill”
[embedded content]
From Wade’s upcoming Aug. 16 album Obsessed comes this stellar preview. Like all of the songs on Obsessed, Wade is the sole writer here, depicting the hazy moments of a relationship’s conclusion in visceral detail. Though they’ve each vocalized their intent to move on, as she sings in the song, “The truth is I’m at the starting line/ Just waiting on you.” As on previous songs, including her breakthrough hit “Wilder Days,” Wade’s voice crackles with unfiltered honesty, managing to be simultaneously sweet and bitingly truthful.
Connie Smith, Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches
[embedded content]
On Friday (April 12), Smith surprise-released her new album Love, Prison, Wisdom and Heartaches, which pays homage to songs from country artists including Dottie West, George Jones and Loretta Lynn. She also includes a rendering of the 1970 Dolly Parton and Porter Wagoner song “Once More,” her crystal-clear voice bolstered by steel guitars, fiddle and superb harmonies. Her take on “One of These Days,” originally recorded by the Glaser Brothers, highlights her soaring vocal, while elsewhere, she offers versions of Merle Haggard’s “The Fugitive” and Lynn’s “World of Forgotten People.” The album also marks the late pianist Hargus “Pig” Robbins’ final recording with Smith prior to his passing in 2022. Smith’s voice is still an instrument of formidable power and style, while this gorgeous record is an essential listen for fans of old-school country.
Riley Green, “Jesus Saves”
[embedded content]
From his new seven-song EP Way Out Here, Green delves here into the life story of a homeless man and Army veteran who regularly sits by the side of a road, holding up sign emblazoned with “Jesus Saves.” A solo write from Green, this story also puts some of his most poignant songwriting on display. He chronicles the series of life twists that led the man to the side of the road: by the time he was eight, his father had left and his mother had died. The young boy grew up to join the military and headed off to war but upon returning, as the lyrics portray, “my whole world didn’t love me anymore.” From there, “Jesus Saves” traces a downward spiral of lost jobs, tragedies and broken relationships, all the while calling for compassion. This is undoubtedly one of Green’s new set’s strongest tracks.
Kimmi Bitter, “I Can’t Unlove You”
[embedded content]
Like the bulk of Bitter’s new album Old School, “I Can’t Unlove You” is immersed in a detailed study of 1960s countrypolitan sounds, from the Jordannaires-esque harmonies to the hushed percussion. Meanwhile, Bitter possesses a smooth, polished vocal that unmistakably draws comparisons to the late Patsy Cline (or even, to a much lesser extent, “Blue”-era LeAnn Rimes). Bitter and her musical cohorts on the album, most notably writer-producer Michael Gurley, fashion a superb vintage sound, but smartly meld it with original songs.
Tanner Adell, “Whiskey Blues”
[embedded content]
Adell surged to mainstream attention with her album Buckle Bunny and, like Shaboozey, is currently enjoying a rush of attention thanks to her inclusion on Beyoncé’s Cowboy Carter. In her newly released song, she’s hellbent on (but not quite succeeding at) getting an ex-lover off her mind. The pop-country hybrid is catchy and polished, led by Adell’s airy, sparkling vocal, and a swirl of radio-ready production.
The Wilder Blue, “I’m Your Man”
[embedded content]
This versatile Texas quintet lays deep into ’90s honky-tonk on this toe-tappin’, flirty barn burner that makes the most of their tight-knit harmonies and top-notch lead vocals from frontman Zane Williams. They are part of Luke Combs’s current Growin’ Up and Gettin’ Old Tour, having previously featured Combs on a cover version of the Eagles’ “Seven Bridges Road.”
This week’s batch of new music features Oliver Anthony’s full-length project, a tribute to the late Joe Diffie which features vocals from Diffie, Luke Combs and the late Toby Keith, as well as another viral hit from Tucker Wetmore and the sterling soul-country of Angel White.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Oliver Anthony, Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind
[embedded content]
Oliver Anthony follows last year’s “Rich Men North of Richmond” breakthrough success with this full-length, 10-song project, Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind, which released on Easter Sunday (March 31). The Dave Cobb-produced project incorporates new recordings of previously-released tracks such as “I’ve Got to Get Sober” and “VCR Kid,” as well as a new song, “Mama’s Been Hurting.” Oliver Anthony caught people’s attention thanks to his homespun sound, and his new project hews close that, bolstering his grainy, soulful vocal with acoustic guitars, bass and fiddle.
Noticeably absent from the set is “Rich Men,” though he adds in several spoken-word moments of himself reading Bible verses, similar to what he does in concert. Keeping with the biblical-tinged moments on the album, the project was recorded in a church in Savannah, Georgia. “Mama’s Been Hurting” continues with Anthony’s penchant for singing about the hard-scrabble lives of rural people, offering up a musical plea heavenward to not “let the land I love die so young.” Oliver seems to know his audience, and continues offering up the kind of rustic laments here they’ve come to know him for.
Trending on Billboard
Joe Diffie, Toby Keith and Luke Combs, “Ships That Don’t Come In”
[embedded content]
HARDY’s latest Hixtape project offers a tribute to the late country singer Joe Diffie, but fashions a unique take on a tribute project, drawing in a plethora of artists to sing on many of Diffie’s biggest hits, alongside Diffie vocal tracks taken from a 2006 re-recordings session. “Ships That Don’t Come In,” a tip of the hat to the struggles military members face after making it home — if they do make it home — was a top five hit on Billboard‘s Hot Country Singles & Tracks chart (now Hot Country Songs) for Diffie in 1992.
This track is particularly poignant, as it also features the final recorded vocal from another late country star, Toby Keith, who passed away earlier this year. Keith’s voice is the first you hear on this track, and his voice still rings with strength and weathered warmth, like a fine, time-tested leather. Diffie’s sturdy twang and Combs’s muscular, gruff vocal further extend the storyline, heightening this timeless ’90s country classic.
Tucker Wetmore, “Wind Up Missin’ You”
[embedded content]
Wetmore has earned a viral hit with the heartbreak-fueled “Wine Into Whiskey,” (which earned Wetmore his first Billboard Hot 100 chart entry) and follows with what is fast becoming another early signature hit, “Wind Up Missin’ You.” Sonically, Wetmore’s hip-hop-laced grooves have drawn comparisons to Morgan Wallen, while his twangy vocal phrasing at times sounds like a carbon copy of Wallen. Still, he weaves his own distinct personality through the song’s poetic moments — particularly on this song, where his vocals are underpinned by subtle, guitar-driven percussion.
Wetmore wrote “Wind Up Missin’ You” with Thomas Archer and Chris La Corte. Though the song’s title here points to forlorn heartbreak, the story arc finds him on the cusp of a potential long-term romance, as he tries to convince a woman at the bar that despite his ballcap-wearing, barfly exterior, his sights are set on committed love, rather than a quick-fix heartbreak salvo. “I’ve turned the page on the old me,” he sings. Wetmore seems to have another surefire hit on his hands.
Angel White, “Outlaw”
[embedded content]
“I’m an outlaw and you can’t catch me now,” this fifth-generation Texan boasts over stacked harmonies, as he sings of packing up his things and moving on after a breakup. Bluesy guitar work seems to answer his calls, while largely pared back instrumentation and a slow-paced groove puts his smooth, soulful vocal at the fore. He’s released a handful of tracks, including the sentimental “Red Blanket,” and here delves deeper into his unique fusion of musical styles and sentiments. “Outlaw” was written by Dwight A. Baker and Khalil Hall, and is from White’s upcoming album Ghost of the West.
The Lone Bellow, “Victory Garden”
[embedded content]
In recognizing the one-year anniversary of the school shooting that took place at Nashville’s Covenant School, resulting in the loss of six lives, The Lone Bellow released this gorgeous, folky, and pristine harmony-filled ballad that champions doing the work of healing and putting good into the world as a means of shifting communities toward a brighter place and preserving oneself. Elsewhere, they sing, “So we sow the seeds in our victory garden/ Hands in the earth/ So the heart doesn’t harden.”
The Lone Bellow has partnered with the nonprofit Voices for a Safer Tennessee, with all money generated from the song going to charity. The song was written by the band’s Zach Williams, Kanene Donehey Pipkin, and Brian Elmquist along with Mikky Ekko.
Lola Kirke and Kaitlin Butts, “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?”
[embedded content]
Americana stalwarts Kirke and Butts put their own defiant spin on Paula Cole’s 1997 hit “Where Have All the Cowboys Gone?” here. Kirke takes the lead, while the duo’s voices mesh superbly, infusing the lyrics with both extra layers of sweetness and bite. The song will be available on 12” vinyl at select stores during Record Store Day on April 20.
This week’s platter of new country music includes Brothers Osborne‘s return with a new four-song project and Kane Brown‘s high-octane, fiddle-washed release, while CCM/country artist Anne Wilson teams up with country hitmaker Jordan Davis. See all this and more Billboard favorites from the past week below.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Brothers Osborne, “Break Mine”
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
A non-committal night of passion could prove just the elixir two lovers are seeking. TJ Osborne lends his earthy, sultry drawl to lines such as “If you’re looking for a heart to break/ Get here in a straight line,” while John Osborne’s blues-dipped guitar shredding gets layered with piano and percussion. The title track to the multiple CMA- and ACM-winning sibling duo’s new four-song EP, “Break Mine” was written by the Brothers along with Shane McAnally and Pete Good.
Kane Brown, “Fiddle in the Band”
[embedded content]
Crashing guitars, relentless pounding percussion, hand claps and the requisite blazing fiddle are on a tear in Brown’s latest release. Here, a tale of a night out on the town, hopping from bar to bar, gets a slight twist; it’s not the general party scene or some lover he’s chasing, but rather the varied strains of music, from country to pop to hip-hop. The chorus delves deeper into his passionate connection with a far-flung array of sounds, drawing inspiration from everything from Memphis blues to the country sounds emanating from Nashville “I’m like a burnt CD from ‘03 in a Mustang/ You never knew what was coming,” he sings. This song is a hold-on-tight, rocket ride of high-octane music. Brown wrote the song with Gabe Foust, Jordan Walker and Russell Sutton.
Wyatt Flores, “Wish I Could Stay”
[embedded content]
This Oklahoma native with the precociously wise songwriting style has seen his nascent career surge on the power of his songs, including the pleading “Please Don’t Go” and “Break My Bones.” Flores’ latest is a mingling of slide guitars and piano with his unfiltered, conversational vocal style, which can deftly and spontaneously run from rock-tinged angst to old-school country twang. The contemplative “Wish I Could Stay,” written by Flores with David DeVaul, centers on wanting to remain in a meaningful moment indefinitely, “’cause love gets the best of us all.” “Wish I Could Stay” is from his upcoming new EP, Half Life, which is due in April and follows his previous release, last year’s Life Lessons.
Anne Wilson with Jordan Davis, “Country Gold”
[embedded content]
Jordan Davis and CCM/country artist Anne Wilson team up for this ode to the sometimes overlooked simple pleasures of rural living, where the concept of wealth takes on a different configuration — true friendships, building a home from the ground up and miles of fields and gravel roads. Wilson wrote the song with her longtime collaborators, Jeff Pardo and CCM singer-songwriter Matthew West.
“The richest people that I’ve ever known/ found country gold,” they sing. Their harmonies mesh well, with Davis’ pristine country vocal a solid foil for Wilson’s sky-reaching, vocal charisma.
Dylan Gossett, “If I Had a Lover”
[embedded content]
“Coal” hitmaker and Texas native Gossett offers up a new batch of songs on his new EP Songs in the Gravel — including “If I Had a Lover,” for which he teams with Ian Fitchuk (Kacey Musgraves, James Bay). The song launches with simply Gossett’s burnished vocal and an accompanying harmony on the engaging chorus, before warm guitar and percussion fall into place. He’s broke and single, but sings wistfully of his plans if he had a lover and a dollar. “If I had a dollar I’d sell the whole holler and buy that girl a ring,” he sings. Gossett’s career has surged since his viral hit “Coal,” but with “If I Had a Lover,” “Somewhere Between” and more songs from his upcoming project, he’s proven he has plenty of top-shelf musical gems in his arsenal.
Ashlie Amber, “Keep You Around”
[embedded content]
She was hellbent on staying single, until an unexpected encounter brings a change of heart. A swirl of harmonies and R&B/country/pop grooves collide admirably with Amber’s sultry, airy vocal on this dancefloor-ready track. “Keep You Around” is from Amber’s upcoming EP MO.
This week, Kacey Musgraves offers up a superb, folky ballad from her album Deeper Well, while ERNEST teams with the ubiquitous Jelly Roll for a new track, and Cyndi Thomson returns with “The Georgia in Me.” See all these and more Billboard picks for the week’s best new country below.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Kacey Musgraves, “The Architect”
[embedded content]
A sublime track from her new album Deeper Well, “The Architect” marks one of the project’s high-water marks. Softly hypnotic and well-written, this song questions whether life’s zeniths, nadirs and turns along the way are orchestrated or happen randomly. “I don’t understand, are there blueprints or plans?Can I speak to the architect?” she sings. Written by Musgraves with longtime collaborators Shane McAnally and Josh Osborne, this deeply-felt track marks another musical triumph.
ERNEST feat. Jelly Roll, “I Went to College/ I Went to Jail”
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
Country music has a storied tradition of artists nodding to their own less-than-shining moments that become central parts of their legend and legacies, from Haggard’s “Mama Tried” to George Jones’ “No Show Jones.” ERNEST and Jelly Roll are both Nashville natives and on this collaboration, they detail their unconventional journeys to stardom, from ERNEST dropping out after a year of college and Jelly Roll’s evolution from jail cell to CMA Award-winning artist. Along the way, they both paid their music industry dues, too.
“Who came out on top/ Hell, it’s hard to tell,” they sing triumphantly, bolstered by a flourishing of steel guitars, fiddle and piano. Jelly even shouts out the location of the criminal justice center that is central to so much of his story. ERNEST wrote the song with Chandler Paul Walters, Luke Bryan and Rivers Rutherford., and “I Went to College/ I Went to Jail” will be found onERNEST’s upcoming April 12 album Nashville, Tennessee.
Cyndi Thomson, “The Georgia in Me”
[embedded content]
In the two decades after releasing her debut album My World, earning the Country Airplay-topping hit with “What I Really Meant to Say” and then opting to leave her role as a recording artist behind, this Georgia native has released music sporadically. Her soft-edged, dusky vocal drawl is still as potent as a Southern magnolia, and front and center on her first new music since 2016, with this song she wrote with Paul Sikes (“Wildflowers and Wild Horses,” “Make Me Want To”). She reminisces about teenage summers spent on red dirt roads, filled with fun-loving Saturday nights and glory-giving Sunday mornings, with the song also nodding to another Georgia-born country singer, Trisha Yearwood. This sweet-yet-sutry sounding track is a solid addition to Thomson’s too-brief musical canon.
Matt Koziol, “I Was”
[embedded content]
The age-weathered rasp in Koziol’s voice lends a veritable air to this blues-country track, as he reminisces about his former days of flying too fast down an unhealthy road and all the times he was “at the top of the prayer list” and the “reason for the last call.” The understated piano and percussion lend an oak-wood warmth to Koziol’s crackling fire of a voice. This track, which Koziol wrote with Kenton Bryant, is from Koziol’s upcoming April 5 album Last of the Old Dogs, which follows his 2022 project Wildhorse and 2023’s deluxe version Wildhorse (Barrel Aged).
Ben Rector and Hailey Whitters, “Color Up My World”
[embedded content]
This quirky, feel-good love song manages to nod to Pat Green, Bob Ross and turquoise nudie suits in the span of just over two minutes. On this banjo-flecked track, Rector’s vocal balances both quick-wit and charisma, while Whitters’ smooth twang is the sweetener.
Madison Hughes, “Hate that You Love Me”
[embedded content]
The Voice alum Hughes broke through last year with the country tune “I Need a Drink.” Her latest dips further into the blues realm than straight-forward country, and becomes a towering testament to both Hughes’ adroit guitar skills and the purring vocal. Her voice is world-weary, her guitar tones threaded with angst, as she offers up a relatable tale of falling headlong for a charismatic heart-breaker. The immensely talented Hughes is on a star-making trajectory.
Riley Green, “Way Out Here”
[embedded content]
Before Keith Urban offered a nod to three “Johns” in “John Cougar, John Deere and John 3:16,” singer-songwriter Josh Thompson paid homage to his own trio of icons named John — Johnny Cash, John Wayne and John Deere — in his top 20 Hot Country Songs hit from 2010. Now, Riley Green offers up his own rendering of Thompson’s hit. “We don’t take a dime if we ain’t earned it/ When it comes to weight, brother we pull our own,” Riley sings. His take is more subdued, with slightly moodier production, on this 15-year-old song about defending rural living, but he delivers this track with plenty of heart.
This week’s collection of new country music features two songs about the sacrifices made in the name of musical ambitions: Koe Wetzel’s “Damn Near Normal” and Sawyer Brown’s “Desperado Troubadours.” Meanwhile, Mickey Guyton turns in a towering vocal performance on a female empowerment anthem and Country Music Hall of Famer Dolly Parton reunites with CCM artist Zach Williams for another shot of soul-dipped inspiration.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Also, newcomer indie group Ole 60 continues their promising career start with a bluesy, rock-fueled murder ballad, while bluegrass family trio Indigo Roots Band takes on a Bob Dylan classic. Read about (and listen to) all of these below.
Koe Wetzel, “Damn Near Normal”
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
Texan Wetzel, known for his spin of outlaw country, grunge-rock and blues, follows up his 2022 album Hell Paso with this nod to road-weary musicians navigating the challenges of being a touring musician — weeks away from home, odd hours — through a mixture of alcohol, weed and various pills. His voice here is raw and jagged, giving song a definitively lived-in feel, while the churning percussion intimates the relentless cycle of the the road. “High highs, rock bottom blows, been six feet deeper than most,” Wetzel deadpans, excavating feelings of frustration and loneliness. Wetzel is known for music that’s unvarnished and unfiltered — sonically and lyrically — and his latest continues living up to that promise.
Mickey Guyton, “Woman”
[embedded content]
One of country music’s most powerful female vocalists, Guyton shines on this pop-bending track, one that honors women’s strength, adaptability, resourcefulness, courage and vulnerability. Appropriately released on International Women’s Day (March 8), the song features gospel-flavored background vocals and lithe, bright production that make the song sleek, inspirational and right in this versatile vocalist’s wheelhouse.
Ole 60, “Brother Joe”
[embedded content]
This Kentucky six-man band, which has only four tracks available on Spotify, is one of the latest indie country-rock acts to rise swiftly from obscurity to earning a viral hit — with “Smoke & a Light,” from their 2023 EP Three Twenty Four, earning more than three million streams on Spotify. They follow with this grungy, blues-dipped tale, written by the group’s Jacob Young and featuring his burly vocal. Nearly five minutes in length, the song details the devastating aftermath that follows when a small-town pastor’s family is murdered. The group, recently signed with UTA, offers solid musicianship, a willingness to experiment with sounds from psychedelic-tinged rock to more stripped-down fare, and a penchant for detailed storytelling, on both their EP and “Brother Joe.” A promising start for this talented group.
Avery Anna, “Make It Look Easy”
[embedded content]
On her latest, Anna goes from her signature “sad girl” country to rage-fueled rock, and proves she can make both look easy in her own right. She notices all the little details that signal her lover is plotting his exit — clothes missing from the closet, the distant look in his eyes. “Your truck’s in the driveway/ Your mind’s on the highway,” she sings. The ragged edge in her voice tops thrashing drums and a sonic thicket of electric guitars that mirror the lyric’s emotional angst. Anna wrote the song with Ben Williams, David Fanning and Andy Sheridan.
Zach Williams with Dolly Parton, “Lookin’ For You”
[embedded content]
Country Music Hall of Famer Parton and Southern rock-infused CCM vocalist Williams have already proven their blend of passionate vocals is superb, previously earning a Grammy-winning hit when they teamed up for their 2020 collab “There Was Jesus.” They reunite on this stately piano ballad, his soulful, gruff voice matching the power of her smooth, angelic soprano note for note. “Lookin’ for You” was written by Williams, Tony Wood and Jonathan Smith (Williams and Smith were also writers on “There Was Jesus”).
Sawyer Brown, “Desperado Troubadours”
[embedded content]
The title track from the group’s new album (which released March 8) is scaled-back, acoustic-driven tale of guitar-slingers, singers and dreamers and the sacrifices made in the name of chasing musical ambition. Sawyer Brown, having been making music for the past four decades and notching three Billboard Hot Country Songs No. 1s along the way, this group knows more about this sentiment of the rigors, lofty highs and monotonous lows of life on the road than most — as well as the risks and rewards of choosing the life of a musician. “We’ll pass up a sure thing just to gamble on a song,” they sing, later adding, “We’re cowboys and hippies and gypsies at our core.”
Austin Williams, “Can’t Right Now”
[embedded content]
In late 2023, Williams’ broke through the social media noise to earn a viral hit with “Wanna Be Saved,” and followed it with songs including “’90s Rap Mashup,” a tribute to rap titans including Dr. Dre, Master P and more. His latest leans back into the style of foreboding, hip-hop-meshed country that has proliferated over the past couple of years. Williams’ voice is strong and taut on “Can’t Right Now” as he sings of betrayal from a relationship that has suddenly and sharply splintered, leaving him feeling the sting. He continually repeats the title phrase, the frustration and hurt in his voice growing with each iteration, and letting the track’s storm build around him as he falls just short of his resolve to forgive.
Indigo Roots Band, “Maggie’s Farm”
[embedded content]
This sibling trio, which includes Bethany, Victoria and Daniel Kelley, hail from Southern Georgia. Here, after having performed the song live for a few years, they offer up a bluegrass-revved rendition of Bob Dylan’s 1965 classic tale of working-class defiance. Bethany commandeers some air-slicing fiddle work, with Victoria helming the mandolin and offering a spitfire, slightly dusky lead vocal, supported by Daniel’s solid bass playing, and joined by Seth Taylor (guitar), Ron Ickes (banjo) and Rob Ickes (resonator guitar). The group’s sound is tightly-plaited and fresh, with a dash of polished, commercial country.
First Country is a compilation of the best new country songs, videos and albums that dropped this week.
Keith Urban and Carly Pearce each key up new albums with their latest releases. Meanwhile, newcomer Willow Avalon earns forward-facing career surge with a throwback sound, while bluegrasser Tray Wellington offers up a soulful rendering of a John Hiatt classic. Read on all these and more Billboard country favorites from the week below.
Keith Urban, “Messed Up as Me”
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
[embedded content]
Urban knows his relationship is toxic but he can’t outrun the late-night longings to return to the same comforting mistake here. As always, his voice exudes charisma and warmth as the tumble of verses mimics the frantic thoughts of the song’s protagonist, while churning guitar accompanies the buildup from the sparse verses to a hooky, pop-oriented chorus. Writers on the song include Shane McAnally and Jessie Jo Dillon (who were both up for the songwriter of the year, non-classical Grammy last month), as well as Rodney Clawson and Michael Lotten.
Trending on Billboard
Carly Pearce, “Hummingbird”
[embedded content]
Heading into her upcoming album Hummingbird, Pearce leans deeper into her Kentucky roots on the title track, to haunting effect. The lush, soft-lit, bluegrass-tinged feel is bolstered by sinewy fiddle and superb dobro, as she sings of finding emotional clarity and far-flung refuge in less-than-ideal circumstances. With Pearce’s sage voice and elegant twang front and center, this track manages to feel simultaneously classic and contemporary. Pearce wrote this track with Jordan Reynolds, Nicolle Galyon and (again) Shane McAnally.
Jon Wolfe, “Start Over Somewhere”
[embedded content]
Wolfe is no stranger to the Texas country scene, and his latest puts forth another solid bid for success with his latest, which is among the songs that have followed his 2019 EP Feels Like Country Music. The memories of an ex-love suspend too thick in the air, so he makes a break for unpolluted areas — places her memory won’t follow, whether that be wide-open spaces of Oklahoma or city life in California. Guitar and piano lines elevate both the sense of restlessness and vastness opportunity ahead of him, while his earthy rumble of a voice grounds the song (written by Brett Jones and Tony Lane) in heartbreak.
Kassi Ashton, “Called Crazy”
[embedded content]
Ashton flirted with Billboard‘s Country Airplay top 40 last year with “Drive You Out of My Mind.” Here, her simmering, pop-rooted vocals float over a snarling, grungy track, bringing potent swagger to a tale of a woman whose been accused by an ex-lover of some crazy stunts — pouring sugar in a gas tank, painting up his driveway. She’s dismissive of his claims because she knows, “I’ve never been called crazy by a man who didn’t come back for more.”
Willow Avalon, “Gettin’ Rich, Goin’ Broke”
[embedded content]
A breakthrough track from newcomer Avalon’s album Stranger, “Gettin’ Rich, Goin’ Broke” succinctly lays out the story of a musician working hard to climb the ranks. As more money flows in for the rising star, it flows out just as swiftly, as she feels obligated to meet the wants and needs of family members — whether an aunt needing a new roof, or a cousin who wants some new party shoes. Avalon’s unique vibrato might be a bit of an acquired taste for some listeners, but the traditional-minded mesh of guitars, fiddle and steel guitar is refreshingly old-school.
Tray Wellington, “Lift Up Every Stone” (bluegrass)
[embedded content]
North Carolina banjo player Wellington reimagines this rocking John Hiatt classic with an entwinement of banjo, mandolin and pedal steel with sterling vocal accompaniment from Wendy Hickman. Wellington’s vocal is warmer and leans more hopeful than Hiatt’s defiant original, while the thicket of bluegrass instrumentation lends this version added depth and resonance. The song follows Wellington’s 2022 album Black Banjo.
MacKenzie Porter, “Coming Home to You”
[embedded content]
Porter previously picked up a Country Airplay chart-topper with the Dustin Lynch collab “Thinkin’ ‘Bout You.” On her latest solo outing, Written by Tofer Brown, Lauren Hungate, Caroline Watkins and Emily Weisband, Porter revels in gratitude. She might not have the fanciest house or a gleaming vehicle, and it would be easy to play the comparison game and come up empty-handed and jealousy-filled. But instead, on this pop-laced track, she’s grateful more for what her modest fixer-upper home contains — her loved ones. The song is from Porter’s upcoming debut album, Nobody’s Born With a Broken Heart, out April 26 on Big Loud Records.
This week’s batch of new country tunes features Dierks Bentley’s take on a Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers classic, plus Bailey Zimmerman’s nostalgic new ballad, Jordan Davis’ thoughtful new track and stellar, pop-fueled work from Camille Parker and Tenille Arts.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
Bailey Zimmerman, “Holy Smokes”
[embedded content]
This moody, reminiscing ballad mixes romance and religious overtones, depicting nights of rebellion and young love in a church parking lot. Zimmerman excels at these kind of lost-love vignettes, as evidenced by “Rock and a Hard Place” and some of Zimmerman’s other hits. Between stately piano, driving percussion and a cathartic, country-rock chorus, it’s clear that this short-lived romance had a lasting impact. Zimmerman co-wrote the track with frequent collaborator Austin Shawn, as well as Ben Stennis, Michael Tyler and Lauren Hungate.
Dierks Bentley, “American Girl”
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
Following his previous album Gravel and Gold, Bentley takes on this classic rock track from Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers’ 1976 debut album. Spright Banjo, mandolin and guitar fusions lead this jaunty number, which melds perfectly with Bentley’s own grainy, rock-leaning vocal. The song is included on the upcoming album Petty Country: A Country Music Celebration of Tom Petty, which will be released via Big Machine and the Tom Petty Estate.
Camille Parker, “Spinning Out”
[embedded content]
Parker, a member of this year’s CMT Next Women of Country class, also recently made her debut performance on the Grand Ole Opry and was a contestant on the musical competition My Kind of Country. Here, she issues a superb, dancefloor-ready, pop-leaning track, one that makes the most of her delicate-yet-earthy vocals. This new song finds Parker offering an uplifting, musical respite for those who need a self-care moment away from the stressors that come with the daily grind.
Jordan Davis, “Good News Sold”
[embedded content]
Davis has notched a slew of previous hits with warmly-produced songs rooted in slightly nostalgic, commonplace-yet-momentous life milestones, such as “Next Thing You Know” and his Luke Bryan collab “Buy Dirt.” He continues in that overall vein with his latest, which muses that the world would be happier and less divided if “Good News Sold” and spread across communication avenues in the same speed that bad news seems to proliferate. Written by Jacob Davis, Cole Taylor and Jordan Rowe, this track amounts to another solid contender for radio success.
Tenille Arts, “Next Best Thing”
[embedded content]
“You already had a queen in your California king,” she sings on this well-written song, adding “I’d wish you the best/ But you already had me.” Swiftian, swirling pop and razor-sharp wit guides Arts’ newest release, which she wrote with Ross Copperman and Emily Weisband. She draws the listener in with her charismatic vocal and keeps them with a track as danceable as it is relatable.
This week’s roundup of the best new country songs stars Lainey Wilson, who over the past year has been crowned the CMAs’ entertainer of the year and picked up her first Grammy, in addition to notching multiple No. 1 Country Airplay hits. With her latest, she offers an assessment of country music’s current boom. Meanwhile, Dasha earns a viral hit with her new song “Austin,” and newcomer Graham Barham brings some Louisiana swamp-rock feel to his new track.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
See all these and more of Billboard‘s selections for the finest new country music of the past week below.
Lainey Wilson, “Country’s Cool Again”
Trending on Billboard
[embedded content]
“Blue collar must’ve caught a new wind,” sings reigning CMA entertainer of the year Wilson on her latest release. In the process, she channels the surge in popularity that has carried country music and Western aesthetics to its current lofty heights. But Louisiana native Wilson also makes it clear that for so many artists like herself, “country” is far from a trend, but rather her birthright — from her unmistakable twang to her working-class roots. Lyrically, the song at times relies too heavily on expected country tropes such as beer and front porches, but sonically, this track is richly layered with sinewy guitar, funky percussion and piled high with soulful backing vocals, all led by Wilson’s charismatic lead vocal. Wilson wrote this track with Aslan Freeman, as well as her frequent co-writers Dallas Wilson and Trannie Anderson, with production from Jay Joyce.
Dasha, “Austin”
[embedded content]
This California native has a huge viral hit on her hands with “Austin,” which is currently in the upper ranks of Spotify’s U.S. Viral 50 chart. Not to be confused with the 2001 Blake Shelton hit, Dasha employs handclaps, folksy fiddle and boot-stomping, made-for-line-dancing rhythms to propel this tale of calling out an ex-lover who ghosted her. “Did your boots stop working? Did your truck break down?” her voice drips with sarcasm, before she delivers a caustic blow, making her way back to Los Angeles and telling him, “In 40 years you’ll still be here drunk/ Washed up in Austin.” Dasha wrote the track with Kenneth Travis Heidelman, Adam Wendler and Cheyenne Rose Arnspiger. “Austin” is included on Dasha’s recent album What Happens Now?
Graham Barham, “Bayou Boy”
[embedded content]
This is a delightfully churning, swamp-rock stomper praises Louisiana life, from catching beads at Mardi Gras to navigating a fan boat through thick swamp waters and turning up to Sunday morning church in your best Mossy Oak. Meanwhile, Barham’s vocal pulses with urgency and exhilaration. Barham wrote the track with Beau Bailey and Will Bundy, with production by Bundy.
Drake Milligan, Jukebox Songs EP
[embedded content]
Across this succinct quartet of songs, Milligan offers a jolt of down-home country flavor, roping listeners in with his honeyed, smooth vocal and an adoration for “that so cool, old-school country sound,” as he puts it on the EP’s “Jukebox Songs and Barstool Beers.” “What I Couldn’t Forget” and “I Got a Problem (Full Length)” sound like classic dancehall staples, while the up-tempo set is tempered by the gently rolling track “Don’t Leave Me Loving You.” Milligan previously proved he’s got plenty of onstage charisma and is adept at a multitude of styles through his time portraying Elvis on the CMT series Sun Records and through his time on American Idol and America’s Got Talent. But here, as with his breakthrough hit “Sounds Like Something I’d Do,” his unabashed love for country and his stone-cold country inspiration is in heavy rotation.
Josh Ross, “Matching Tattoos”
[embedded content]
Ross is known for the perky-tempoed “First Taste of Gone” and the soulful “Trouble,” but on his latest, he muses that the ink on his arm remains a permanent reminder of a short-lived romance. Stately, somber piano underscores his vocal shift from fond reminiscing on starry-eyed, youthful promises to wishful hoping that his ex-lover still somehow holds on to a love that mirrors his own. Ross’ voice has an appealing raspy quality, while the ballad’s melody offers ample space to showcase his upper range in the final chorus.
Breland, “Heartbreak & Alcohol”
[embedded content]
Over the past couple of years, country music has more heavily embraced pop music’s interpolations trend, with the bulk of country music’s interpolations bringing new life to some country classics. With his latest, the always genre-melding writer-singer-producer Breland interpolates the melody and groove of Lil Wayne’s 2013 trap hit “Love Me” (which featured Drake and Future). There’s little twang to be heard here, as he keeps the song’s smooth R&B-pop melody and groove, but trades the original’s braggadocio-fueled lyrics for words of classic country heartbreak, led by Breland’s honeyed vocal. The combination feels even more organic to the production’s moody atmosphere.
The Steel Wheels, “Sideways”
[embedded content]
The title track to the group’s recently-released project, “Sideways” blends superb musicianship, with a latticework of mandolin, guitars, percussion, bass and keyboards. This group has been melding bluegrass, Americana and folk for more than two decades. Here, they offer up shades of soft-focused, jam band rock and polished, ‘70s Laurel Canyon-reminiscent harmonies. Written by The Steel Wheels vocalist/guitarist/banjo player Trent Wagler, he maintains an urge to seek love and connection without facades and fear, while acknowledging that growth and love rarely evolve in a linear fashion. A superb look into the Virginia-based band’s stellar album.
Tyler Hubbard, “Wish You Would”
[embedded content]
Hubbard previously offered an early look at his upcoming second solo album, Strong (out April 12) with his current top 20 Country Airplay hit, the nostalgia-driven “Back Then Right Now.” With “Wish You Would,” he delves deeper into a mesh of hook-filled rock elements. “We been dancin’ around it/ We been walkin’ that edge,” he sings, crafting a narrative of hoping to take a relationship to the next level. From there he catalogs his wishes that she would “wreck my plans, rock my world, be my brown-eyed, blue-jean girl.” While the lyrics feel slightly paint-by-numbers at moments, Hubbard’s warm, laid-back vocals and the hopeful fervor in his delivery make this track feel fresh and conversational. Hubbard wrote the track with frequent collaborators Corey Crowder and Chris LaCorte.
Cover songs lead the way in this week’s collection of newly-released songs, with Parker McCollum, Dalton Dover, Sam Williams and Carter Faith all releasing new versions of classics. Elsewhere, Nate Smith issues his latest music while his hit “World on Fire” is firmly entrenched atop Billboard’s Country Airplay chart.
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
See our roundup of the week’s best new country releases below.
Sam Williams and Carter Faith, “’Til I Can Make It On My Own”
[embedded content]
Wynette was honored with a Grammy lifetime achievement award as part of the Special Merit Awards ceremony, so this tribute to the late singer is timely. Newcomer Faith teams with Williams’ (whose own familial forebears, country music architects Hank Williams Sr. and Hank Williams Jr., had previously lived in the Nashville home on Franklin Pike which Wynette later purchased in 1992) as they evolve Wynette’s 1976 heartbreak classic for a new generation, while simultaneously highlighting the timelessness of its message. These two artists’ voices are like twin flames, refashioning the song as a duet — Faith’s airy, ethereal voice blending and warring with Williams’ dusky tones. The accompanying video for the Williams/Faith version pays homage with moments of gorgeous ‘70s aesthetic.
Nate Smith, “Bulletproof”
[embedded content]
While his smash hit “World on Fire” is burning a hole for the ninth week at the pinnacle of the Country Airplay for a ninth week, Nate releases this brimming heartache tale of a guy who’s tried every libation available to kill the memory of an ex-lover, but as he sings, her “memory is bulletproof.” His vocals tower above a thicket of rocking production that feels tailor-made for radio. Smith knows how to pour emotion into a song, confident without over-throttling a melody, putting his signature spin on this Ashley Gorley/Ben Johnson/Hunter Phelps-written track. “Bulletproof” is included on his upcoming Through the Smoke EP, out April 5.
Bri Bagwell, “The Rescue”
[embedded content]
A moody, tender ode of two lost souls that save each other, Bagwell wrote this song as a tribute to her rescue dog Whiskey, whom Bagwell found on the side of the road in Austin, Texas in 2019. Subtle acoustics here place Bagwell’s crystalline voice and the song’s message of unconditional love at the fore, highlighting the irreplaceable bond between rescue dogs and their owners.
Dalton Dover, Take Me Home: Covers
[embedded content]
Dover follows his recent cover of John Denver’s 1970s classic “Take Me Home, Country Roads” with a decades-spanning, three-pack project that also includes renditions of Alabama’s 1982 hit “Mountain Music” and a particularly stunning vocal display on Vince Gill’s 1995 hit “Go Rest High on That Mountain,” featuring vocals from Gill himself. He remains largely faithful to the original recordings, while even his scaled-back take on “Mountain Music” infuses the song with youthful energy and verve. Kudos to Dover for offering up this well-curated, fresh take on a collection of classics.
The Castellows, A Little Goes a Long Way
[embedded content]
This Georgia familial trio follows their breakthrough hits “No. 7 Road” and “Hurricane,” their inaugural major label EP, a collection of seven songs that highlight their superb harmonies and attention to lyrical detail throughout each of the tracks. The stellar, dreamy “Cowboy Kind of Love” is a standout on this collection, as is the plucky, up-tempo revenge track “Heartline Hill.” Elsewhere, the wisened acoustic-based track “The Part Where You Break My Heart” recalls early Swift song construction. Shimmery fiddle laces many of the tracks, providing an effective counterpoint to the group’s smooth harmonies. Throughout, the rhythm mostly stays in a mid-tempo lane that highlights the voices — though a few more up-tempo moments would be a nice addition to the mix. Overall, this set is an extremely promising outing.
Scoot Teasley, “This Truck Still Misses You”
[embedded content]
This Georgia native possesses a distinct, warm vocal quality, with a power particularly potent in his upper register. He previously broke through with “Nothing on Me.” In his latest song, Teasley sings of being in denial of missing an ex-lover, slyly placing the blame on his truck for the urge to retrace all the couple’s old haunts. Teasley wrote the song with Jon Stark and Mason Thornley, with production from Chris Utley. The track comes courtesy of Hollow Point Records.
Grace Leer, “Best Friend for Life”
[embedded content]
Leer releases the official video for this sweetly-sung tale tale of friendship (which Leer wrote for her friend’s wedding day), which earned millions of views via TikTok earlier this year. The song finds her chronicling a lifelong friendship, reminiscing about supporting each other through years of childhood crushes, first loves, heartbreaks and all the while, holding on to romantic hopes. Now, years later, she’s a proud champion as she watches her friend get married. This tenderhearted anthem is aleady becoming a bridesmaid favorite.
Parker McCollum, “Perfectly Lonely”
[embedded content]
Texan McCollum has long named John Mayer as an influence, and previously performed his cover of this Mayer classic (which was included on Mayer’s 2009 album Battle Studies) as an Amazon Music Original. Now, McCollum’s version has an even wider release. He hews pretty close to Mayer’s original here, but McCollum’s rendering has a brighter feel and of course, his signature relaxed vocal.
