The Country Albums to Look Forward to in 2025

Morgan Wallen - I'm The Problem

Release Date: May 16

Since the release of his widely celebrated third studio album, One Thing At A Time, in March 2023, Morgan Wallen has officially graduated from country hitmaker to global megastar. The Sneedville native has transcended genre boundaries, with each new single virtually a shoo-in for a Top 5 finish on the Billboard Hot 100.

With the world now paying attention, there’s an added sense of pressure on Wallen’s next record, and it’ll be fascinating to see whether he doubles-down on the experimentation and genre-blending of One Thing At A Time, or returns to his more countrified aesthetic of If I Know Me. Judging by the singles we’ve heard so far and his newly international sphere of influence, you’d have to assume the former.

Named after his brooding, introspective anthem of the same name, I'm the Problem arrives on May 16, with Wallen's inaugural Sand in My Boots Festival 2025 doubling up as the unofficial album release show. The latest two tracks we've heard – ‘Just in Case’ and ‘I'm a Little Crazy’ – consolidate the sense that I'm the Problem will find the star crafting his most personal and stripped-back music to date.

But don't fret, there'll be plenty of the rowdy, raucous Wallen smashes we've come to know and love, too, with ’Come Back As A Redneck’ following in a similar vein to early fan-favourites such as ‘He Went to Jared’ and ‘Somethin’ Country’.

With a dizzying 37 songs to play with and confirmation that there will be a host of mystery guests appearing on the project, I'm the Problem promises to be one of the biggest – if not the biggest – releases on the country music calendar this year.

- Maxim Mower

Eric Church - Evangeline vs. The Machine

Release Date: May 2

Four years since serving up a veritable banquet for fans in the shape of his triple album Heart & Soul, Eric Church is putting listeners on a diet.

At only 8 tracks long, the Chief is bucking the modern country music trend of monster tracklists and bulging double sides with his new project, Evangeline vs. the Machine, in a move that we can only hope will reinforce the narrative that bigger isn't always better.

A shorter tracklist has also meant less room for advance releases, with only two tracks available with just over a month to go until the album’s release. Both have been emotional hitters, 'Hands of Time' in its nostalgia and 'Darkest Hour' in its belief in our ability to make it through the hard times.

Whether the ever reliable Church offers some levity in the other 75% of the album remains to be seen, but what is clear is that his reunion with producer Jay Joyce should leave us expecting extravagant production and flourishes.

- Holly Smith

Elton John & Brandi Carlile - Who Believes In Angels?

Release Date: April 4

Two trailblazing queer artists pushing themselves to record an entire album in 20 days is an intriguing enough premise, especially given their notable chemistry on 2021’s ‘Simple Things’ from John’s pandemic collaboration, The Lockdown Sessions.

Though, what’s truly fascinating about this project is Carlile’s communal approach to her already storied career. Her winning track record of working with other legendary artists, like Tanya Tucker and Joni Mitchell, has racked up not only awards along the way but has pushed those artists deservingly back in the spotlight where they belong.

If the stirring title track for Who Believes in Angels? is any indication of what’s to come, it’s clear that Carlile has ignited the fire within our beloved Rocket Man.

- Soda Canter

Blake Shelton - For Recreational Use Only

Release Date: May 9

Set to release his latest album, For Recreational Use Only, on May 9, it’s been four years since we’ve had a studio album from Blake Shelton, and this is the first one he’s putting out on his new label, BBR Music Group/BMG Nashville.

For Recreational Use Only is shaping up to be another standout album for Shelton, with its lead single, ‘Texas,' racking up eight non-consecutive weeks atop the UK Country Music Radio Airplay Chart at the time of writing.

Meanwhile, the second single, ‘Let Him In Anyway,’ juxtaposes ‘Texas’ with beautiful ballad style melodies and delicate lyrics. Co-written with HARDY, Shelton said in a statement that he’d “never heard a song like this before” and that it was “an honor to bring to life.” HARDY also co-wrote track 4 on the record, ‘Strangers.’

The 12-track album, of course, features his wife, Gwen Stefani, on ‘Hangin’ On’ and, if ‘Purple Irises’ is anything to go by, it’ll be an absolute corker. Shelton also has feature tracks with the likes of Craig Morgan – longtime friend and tour mate – and country legend, John Anderson.

With his distinct style, an elite selection of writers and some big-name features, For Recreational Use Only is set to re-establish Shelton as one of country music’s modern living legends.

- Georgette Brookes

Ken Pomeroy - Cruel Joke

Release Date: May 16

Ken Pomeroy is a poet. Her sweet soprano is as comforting as a familiar novel, a favourite outfit, a cup of coffee with the sunrise and the John Denver song you play on repeat (it was a burned CD of ‘Leaving On a Jet Plane’ that awakened her to the world of songwriting).

The Oklahoman’s album Cruel Joke is lined up for a May 16 release, and it might just be the sound of a sentimental, sensitive spring–but not one without a serious bite.

Although it was the songs of the ‘70s that sparked her musical journey, Pomeroy’s Cherokee heritage has kept the tradition of storytelling at the front of her mind.“Storytelling is such a huge part of Indigenous culture,” she told Teen Vogue late last year. “It’s probably not a coincidence that storytelling is also my favorite part of songwriting.

Our first glimpse of Cruel Joke came in October with ‘Coyote,’ a dreamy, ethereal duet with fellow Oklahoman wordsmith John Moreland, that calls back to the native tradition of recognising omens in animals.Followed up by the deeply personal ‘Stranger’ and the lilting melodies of ‘Days Getting Darker,’ Cruel Joke is guaranteed to showcase the empathetic pain that Pomeroy captures so maturely and so mystically.

- Daisy Innes

Parker McCollum - Parker McCollum

Release Date: June 27

After teasing that a new record was in the works for the better part of the past year, Parker McCollum's newest project will be arriving at the end of June, and based on his plethora of teasers so far, he'll be going back to his roots on this one.

The follow-up to 2023's Never Enough, the Texas tunesmith has been hard at work on the project for two years and, all the while, been plotting his return to the sparser, more rugged sound of his breakout debut album, The Limestone Kid.

In February of 2024, McCollum spoke to Holler about how, at that point, he’d “already written 20 songs that [he] want[ed] to cut for this new album," underlining that the project would explore a more stripped-back feel.

Over the last several months, the ACM award-winner has continued to hint at new music to come, only having released the record's lead single, 'What Kinda Man,' and the lonesome 'Perfectly Lonely.' While little has been confirmed regarding the self-titled album, previously teased fan-favorites like ‘Big Ol’ Fancy House,’ ‘I Don’t Want to Be a Cowboy Tonight’ and 'Hope I'm Enough,' among others, are expected to appear on the forthcoming full-length.

- Lydia Farthing

Tucker Wetmore - What Not To

Release Date: April 25

How many artists can boast that the first two songs they ever released were viral hits?

Well, Tucker Wetmore can, and both ‘Wine Into Whiskey’ and ‘Wind Up Missin‘ You’ appear on the country prodigy's debut studio album, What Not To, at the end of April.

Throughout the singles we've heard so far, Wetmore combines the rose-tinted country lyricism and hip hop-friendly instrumentation he has become synonymous with.

While he has a penchant for trap-infused 808s, epitomised on ‘What Would You Do?’, the Washington native also showcases his classic country roots on the irresistibly playful ‘3,2,1’ and ‘Break First’.

The hidden gem of What Not To is ‘Silverado Blue’, a sweet, charming ode to blossoming love that reminds listeners why Wetmore is quickly establishing himself as one of the genre's next big stars.

- MM

Ian Munsick - Eagle Feather

Release Date: April 18

As he did on 2023’s White Buffalo, Ian Munsick is once again leaning into his makings on the plains of Wyoming, singing of wild horses, howling wolves, sunsets and mountain streams in the west on his upcoming third album, Eagle Feather.

Speaking of the project, Munsick has said that “every one of these 20 songs is rooted in true, personal experiences that have helped create the man I am today.”

With features from Lainey Wilson and Flatland Cavalry’s Cleto Cordero, it's another step for Munsick in establishing himself amongst some of the genre’s biggest voices.

- HS

Kat Hasty - The Time Of Your Life

Release Date: May 16

Previously known for her stripped back, intimate homestyle recordings, you always got the feeling that Kat Hasty's records could easily have been captured around a mic sitting at a kitchen table covered in empty wine bottles and overspilling ashtrays in a scene straight out of Heartworn Highways, but her forthcoming album is about to change all that.

Released in May, The Time of Your Life marks her first full-band project and a significant departure from the acoustic style that introduced her to the world on her Drowning in Dreams EP and continued with songs like 'Burn It Down' and her Midland EP from a couple of years ago.

The first taste of her newly fleshed out sound comes with 'The Family Business,' a full band recording of a song previously released in its acoustic form on the Treehouse Sessions last year that's more akin to the energy of her live shows and will appeal to any fans of Kelsey Waldon and Margo Price's '70s inspired classic country.

"I wrote this song about experiencing Nashville for the first time," Hasty says. "West Texas is so disconnected from the rest of the world. I realized that I was unfamiliar with the people and business I was getting into."

It's a business she might need to get used to being in, because The Time of Your Life is going to be adding a lot of weight to her name before the year's end.

- Jof Owen

Lukas Nelson - American Romance

Release Date: June 20

For years, Lukas Nelson and his staple band, Promise of the Real, have been inseparable, the pairing as obvious as peanut butter and jelly.

However, in 2025, that looks to be changing.

Nelson is embarking on a new musical journey without his longtime accompaniment. He has been faithfully plotting his debut solo project and what will be his first in partnership with Sony Music Nashville.

Titled American Romance, the project, produced by Shooter Jennings, will arrive on June 20, bearing a dozen travel-worn and time-shaped tracks that loosely chronicle his life on the road and the lessons he’s learned along the way.

“This album is the first chapter in a whole new era of my life as an artist," Nelson shared of the project in a statement. "It's a love story to the country that raised me. Diners and highways that carried me through the joy and pain that led to the music you hear now.”

American Romance will feature the newly released single 'Ain't Done’, as well as collaborations with fellow stars Stephen Wilson Jr. and Sierra Ferrell.

- Alli Patton

Lanie Gardner - TBA

Release Date: TBA

Lanie Gardner ushered in her debut album at the tail end of 2024 with the 10-track A Songwriter's Diary, written entirely by herself and featuring vulnerable and revealing songs like 'Lord Knows,' 'Mountains and Miller,' 'Somewhere, Nowhere in Carolina' and more.

However, when the calendar turned over to 2025, Gardner unveils a bold new chapter in her artistry with the upbeat, instant earworm, 'Buzzkill.' Since then, the North Carolina native has been leaving a trail of breadcrumbs for what we can expect from her sophomore project, and during C2C Berlin 2025, she let slip to Holler that we may not be waiting all that long.

The singer-songwriter revealed that a new project will be arriving sometime this summer and hinted that it will come fitted with a spectrum of emotions, promising that fans will want to "dance and cry and laugh and everything."

"We're really excited about this one," she added, "so keeps your eyes peeled, keep your ears open and, hopefully, you guys like it."

Though no official confirmation has been shared just yet, with unreleased snippets like the Fleetwood Mac-coded 'Don't Fall In Love' and the country-pop bop of 'Little Bit of Lovin',' the new record is already showing some formidable bones and the beginnings of one of the next generation's country hitmakers.

- LF

Muscadine Bloodline - ...And What Was Left Behind

Release Date: April 11

If you couldn’t get enough of The Coastal Plain, you’re in luck as Muscadine Bloodline have been readying a companion collection to their acclaimed 2024 release.

The upcoming album, dubbed …And What Was Left Behind, is set to feature 11 fresh tracks, including newly dropped numbers like the smoldering Josh Meloy-backed ‘Ain’t For Sale,’ the nostalgia-dripping ’Way Too High (2010)’ and the rapturing ‘Chickasaw Church of Christ.’

While the duo – comprising Mobile, Alabama-bred singer-songwriters Charlie Muncaster and Gary Stanton – haven’t mentioned many specifics about the upcoming release, they have noted how they “consider it an evolution of The Coastal Plain and what was left behind of the place we spent 18 years of our lives. One record wasn't intended to live without the other and honestly, we both like chapter 2 a little bit more.”

Across the project, the pair will gift fans even more of the Gulf Coast-influenced narratives and characters that have peppered their catalogue over the last decade.

- AP

Jon Pardi - Honkytonk Hollywood

Release Date: April 11

Slated for release on April 11, Jon Pardi’s latest album, Honkytonk Hollywood is his “most grown up record.” Marking his fifth studio album, the new project arrives three years after the well-loved, Mr. Saturday Night.

In an interview with Bobby Bones, Pardi shared that they were leaning into a varied sound on the new record. “There’s a song called Gambling Man – very soulful. There’s a father daughter song called ‘She Drives Away’ that’s beautiful.”

Pardi is renowned for his rockier side of country music and the already released singles, like ‘Love The Lights Out’,' Friday Night Heartbreaker’ and the title track, do not disappoint. He added, “It’s personal but you still want to go dance at Billy Bob’s or Downtown Nashville.” 

With 17 tracks of Jon Pardi’s heady guitars and impactful vocals, this will not be an album to miss.

- GB

Julien Baker & TORRES - Send A Prayer My Way

Release Date: April 18

Send A Prayer My Way has been in the works since Julien Baker and TORRES played their first show together in 2016 and at the end of the night one singer turned to the other and said, “You know, we should make a country album.”

Nearly 10 years later and that distant dream is finally realised and sees the light of day in April.

Having already released four singles from Send a Prayer My Way in 'Sylvia,' 'Tuesday,' Dirt' and album standout 'Sugar in the Tank,' as well as premiering 'Bottom of a Bottle' during their appearance on The Daily Show, fans will already be familiar with their indie-fied take on classic country, and their live shows as a duo have been nothing short of magical.

- JO

Jesse Daniel - Son of the San Lorenzo

Release Date: June 6

Less than a year after the release of Countin’ The Miles, Jesse Daniel is conjuring up a whole lot more Californian sunshine as he strikes back as the Son of the San Lorenzo. On his fifth studio album, being released on June 6, we can rely on Daniel to bring us along to all the coolest honky tonks in the sunshine state this summer.

Releasing the album’s first single, ‘My Time Is Gonna Come,’ alongside the announcement of the forthcoming album, Daniel gave us that Californian summer sunshine a little early, taking us for a ride to Bakersfield. Having grown up on the sounds of the Eagles and the Flying Burrito Brothers, the singer-songwriter is throwing in some of his beloved southern rock for good measure and giving us the sonic story of his life so far.

“I ain’t done runnin’ yet, truth told I just begun,” Daniel tells us on the lead single, suggesting that life is about the journey as much as the destination. Ultimately, wherever he ends up, we’ll be heading west, following the Son of the San Lorenzo down that dirt road.

- DI

Rascal Flatts - Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets

Release Date: June 6

While their initial farewell efforts were marred by the pandemic, Rascal Flatts is finally getting the celebratory send off they so richly deserve in 2025.

Apart from their 21-date Life Is a Highway Tour to commemorate their 25th anniversary, the band adds Life Is a Highway: Refueled Duets, with nine reimagined recordings of past hits with artists like Kelly Clarkson, Blake Shelton and Carly Pearce to name a few.

Though, what’s truly special about the release is the surprise new material with the Jonas Brothers. While the band has been hesitant to engage thoughts about reuniting in the future, ‘I Dare You’ proves their effortless abilities to create fresh, sonic landscapes that not only fall in line with their known 20-year brand but easily add to the current hits on radio.

Come on guys, can we get more? We dare you.

- SC

S.G. Goodman - Planting by the Signs

Release Date: June 20

After two albums for Verve Recordings, S.G. Goodman follows up the critically acclaimed Teeth Marks from 2022 with a move to her own Slough Water Records through Thirty Tigers and a record that people are already whispering very loudly and indiscreetly about in certain circles.

Her forthcoming full-length album, Planting by the Signs, comes out on June 20, composed of songs inspired by love, loss, reconciliation and the ancient practice of "planting by the signs" – the idea of planting a garden, or weaning a baby or getting a haircut being best timed in accordance with the cycle of the moon.

Having already made a name for herself in the US, performing with My Morning Jacket, Jason Isbell and the 400 Unit, Margo Price, M.J. Lenderman and Tyler Childers – who covered her song ‘Space And Time' – she's already won Best Emerging Act at 2023’s Americana Awards, made her Opry and Ryman debuts and performed at NPR’s Tiny Desk, and Planting by the Signs will only send her flying further up into the stratosphere.

Her first album in three years, it is a much needed reminder of the singularity and subtle, life-affirming power of one of Americana's most well-loved contemporary singer-songwriters.

- JO