Song Reviews

This week’s batch of new country tunes includes George Strait offering a tender, focused aim at life’s important moments, while Luke Combs brings songs from her familial-focused album Fathers & Sons.

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Meanwhile, Carter Faith teams with Alison Krauss for a heartbreak anthem, while Don Louis offers a dance-worthy earworm, and Jenna Paulette delves into her country roots.

George Strait, “The Little Things”

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Strait’s warm, conversational, and compelling voice expertly renders an introspective musing at the myriad moments — sunsets, a gentle rain, spending time with loved ones, or “an old Merle Haggard song” — that infuse life with joy. Heightened by tender string work, this ballad is included on Strait’s upcoming album, Cowboys & Dreamers, set for Sept. 6. Strait has always had an ear for a great song, and his latest, which he wrote with Bubba Strait and Monty Criswell, proves The King never misses.

Luke Combs, “Remember Him That Way”

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This two-time CMA entertainer of the year winner celebrated Father’s Day by dropping the dozen-song ode to the lifelong arc of familial bonds between dads and their sons with the album Fathers & Sons.

In one song from the album, “Remember Him That Way,” he vividly recalls all the ways he thought of his father as strong and dependable throughout his life and muses as his father grows older and more frail, “That ‘S’ on his chest is starting to fade/ But I’ll always remember him that way.” Combs wrote the song with Jonathan Singleton, Erik Dylan and Jessi Alexander.

Combs has notched 17 Billboard Country Airplay No. 1s, with a slate of songs ranging from heartbreak anthems to beer-soaked barn burners. But with his new album, he recalibrates the depths of his music, bringing fans deeper into his current perspective as a father to two young boys, while also encapsulating universal themes of the generational relationships between parents and their children.

Don Louis, “Liquor Talkin’”

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Given the success of a line of massive hits songs stacking up this summer that fuse pop and hip-hop rhythms with country twang and rural, barroom-inspired lyrics, Don Louis’ latest feels like a natural candidate for the next global country-tinged smash.

“Not a doctor, I’m not a lawyer/ Feels like right now I can do anything,” sings Louis, who possesses an attention-commanding, gravelly drawl. Against a thumping, hip-hop groove tailor-made for dancing, “Liquor Talkin’” captures the confidence-heightening results stemming from a night of imbibing. Louis wrote the song with Cale Dodds and Thomas Kipp Williams, while the song is the title track to his upcoming album, out Aug. 23 via EMPIRE / Money Myers Entertainment LLC.

Jenna Paulette, “Wild Is Her Favorite Color”

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Paulette sketches a musical portrait of an independent-minded woman who knows what she loves, from her favorite country song (The Chicks’ “Ready to Run”) and her favorite drink (tequila sunrise) to her favorite, passionate hue–and no, it’s not fire-engine red, but rather, as Paulette puts it, “A little deeper shade of dangerous.” Paulette’s lilting voice adds a perfect blend of spice and sugar, adding a mysterious tint to this bright, breezy production. “Wild Is Her Favorite Color” is from her upcoming album Horseback, out Sept. 6.

Carter Faith and Alison Krauss, “Blue Bird”

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Carter Faith, who recently inked a label deal with UMG Nashville, teams with one of the most luminous voices in country and bluegrass, Alison Krauss, for the new song “Blue Bird.” Faith more than holds her own with an ethereal soprano that pairs exquisitely with Krauss’ backing vocals. This dazzling meditation on the crackling ache of youthful heartbreak finds Faith asking, “Is he why you’re blue? Is he why you sing like you do?” Faith wrote the song with Tofer Brown and Lauren Hungate.

This week’s crop of new country tunes includes the latest album from Kentucky native Carly Pearce — who stunned with her performance at Sunday’s (June 9) Nissan Stadium show during CMA Fest — as well as new songs from Matt Stell, Andrea Vasquez, Angie K, Muscadine Bloodline and a collaboration from Kaitlin Butts and Country Music Hall of Famer Vince Gill.

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Carly Pearce, Hummingbird

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On her new album, Pearce and her team of top-flight musicians showcase her further evolution of confessional, old-school (yet immediate) songcraft. The 13-song project is filled with revenge anthems and meticulously constructed kiss-offs (the raging “Truck on Fire,” “Heels Over Head”), as well as songs that depict the stages of a decaying relationship on tracks — including the Chris Stapleton collab “We Don’t Fight Anymore,” “Fault Line” and the cleverly written, fiddle-driven barn burner “Rock Paper Scissors,” which will hopefully be a single at some point. The singer-songwriter also once again lays out her unmistakable musical allegiances with “Country Music Made Me Do It.”

Elsewhere, Pearce reemerges from betrayal with a new, heart-healing relationship on the bluegrass-tinged “Trust Issues.” As with previous albums, Pearce pulls from the pages of her own story, and is a writer on all but one song on the album — offering a continuation from her post-divorce project 29: Written in Stone and a cataloguing of the emotional and relational progress and setbacks she’s navigated along the way. Leading all of these songs is Pearce’s bluegrass-informed, supple soprano, which brings a down-home elegance to even the most heartbroken and seething numbers.

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Kaitlin Butts with Vince Gill, “Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow)”

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Americana darling Kaitlin Butts teams with her fellow Oklahoman Vince Gill here, with Gill adding earthy harmonies and background vocals on this gorgeous, fiddle-drenched song. “I know in the morning you gotta go,” she sings, offering her affections and a soft place to land to a hard-working, traveling cowboy. This song — a solo write from Butts — is essential for anyone seeking a love song delivered through old-school country sounds. “Come Rest Your Head (On My Pillow)” is from her upcoming, musical theatre-inspired album Roadrunner!, out June 28 via Soundly Music.

Angie K, “Red Dirt on Mars”

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Lilting guitar elevates this brokenhearted ballad, as she searches for a place where she can sever the emotional strings that tie her to the pain of losing a loved one. “Where’s a cowgirl to go to burn a brand off her heart?” Angie K wonders, as her warm vocal crackles with disarming vulnerability. Angie K wrote the song with Hayden Cain, Joey Ebach and Mary Kutter, with production by writer-producer Stephony Smith.

Matt Stell, “Smooth”

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Stell turns to tender balladry on his new song, as he offers a forlorn look at the deep-seated, generational impact of a family’s decision to sell off family farmland to a smooth-talking businessman. The song plays as the opposite side of the coin to Cody Johnson’s song “Dirt Cheap.” “They cut the trees down and dug up my roots,” Stell sings, adding that now, “I got an empty soul and a full inbox.” Stell wrote the song with Chris DeStefano, and the track is featured on his new album Born Lonely, from RECORDS Nashville.

Andrea Vasquez, “Moving Target”

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“That girl is a cowboy,” Vasquez sings in this ode to a woman who has her defenses up, a strong sense of wanderlust, and a vision for her own life squarely in front of her. Production with a pop sheen elevates Vasquez’s emotionally nuanced, assured voice here. Vasquez, a California native with Latin American roots, wrote “Moving Target” with Bailey Morgan and Eitan Snyder.

Muscadine Bloodline “10-90″

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This independent duo, made of Gary Stanton and Charlie Muncaster, has been steadily building its audience for nearly a decade, and continues evolving and accelerating its craft. This soulful ode to committed love is one of Muscadine Bloodline’s best releases yet. “Gimme you on your worst day and I’ll give you my best,” they sing, while the production is polished but not overdone, superbly highlighting the harmonies. “10-90” is from the duo’s album The Coastal Plain, out Aug. 16.

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.

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Shaboozey, “A Bar Song (Tipsy)”

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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”

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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”

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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

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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.

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Oliver Anthony, Hymnal of a Troubled Man’s Mind

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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.

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Joe Diffie, Toby Keith and Luke Combs, “Ships That Don’t Come In”

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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”

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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”

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“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”

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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?”

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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.

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Brothers Osborne, “Break Mine”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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“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”

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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.

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Kacey Musgraves, “The Architect”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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.

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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.

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Carly Pearce, “Hummingbird”

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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”

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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”

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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”

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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)

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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”

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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.