“A New Wave”: Chandler Walters on ‘Worth the Trouble’, Working with Post Malone and More

It feels strange, in a way, to talk about Chandler Walters’ new song, ‘Worth the Trouble’ as his ‘debut single’, with Walters establishing himself as one of Nashville's most exciting new voices over the past year or so courtesy of some blockbuster co-writes.

The Georgia native was a pivotal contributor to Post Malone's debut country album, F-1Trillion, with Chandler Walters helping to pen a plethora of stand-outs from that titanic record - including the six-week Billboard Hot 100 No. 1, ‘I Had Some Help’ with Morgan Wallen, and Post's much-loved Jelly Roll collaboration, ‘Losers’. Very few artists can claim the honour of being name-checked in a Post Malone song, but Walters can, with Post shouting him out at the start of the latter.

Off the back of his work on that groundbreaking album, Post Malone took Walters out on the road for his F-1Trillion run as part of his country-leaning The Fools For You backing band.

Now, Post Malone has gone a step further, with Chandler Walters not only playing in his band, but also serving as an opener in his own right on The Big Ass Stadium Tour.

Not bad for your first major tour, right? While his ascent has been meteoric, Walters has worked for years to position himself at the forefront of Nashville's next era of trailblazers.

It was Chandler Walters’ steel guitar masterclasses on TikTok that first piqued the interest of ERNEST, the founder of DeVille Records and the orchestrator of the label's forthcoming country mixtape, The Cadillac Sessions, which will feature a smorgasbord of introductory offerings from Walters, Cody Lohden and Rhys Rutherford.

Out of the DeVille crew, given his high-profile work with Post Malone and his popular Walters Western Wednesdays, which serve as jubilant celebrations of old-school country music, the anticipation was highest ahead of Chandler Walters’ first release.

As a result, it's a refreshingly bold but unsurprising move for Chandler Walters to drop an all-out Western Swing anthem, ‘Worth the Trouble’, as the song to announce himself to the world. It's a strong mission statement that makes it abundantly clear what fans will be getting from Walters’ as he readies his debut solo album.

“It was me, Jordan Schmidt and Rhys Rutherford who wrote the song while on the bus during a Brooks & Dunn tour”, he explains, “I knew “Worth The Trouble” was the song I wanted to release first because sonically traditional swing style music is what I want to make”.

He goes on to touch on what sets his Walters Western Wednesday series apart from what's already on offer in Music City, “There are a bunch of places in Nashville for people to enjoy country music live but I do feel like the organic, word-of-mouth foundation of Walters Western Wednesdays was something missing in town”.

Towards the end of 2024, Chandler Walters sat down with Holler to discuss his friendship with ERNEST, with Walters describing him as, “my best friend. Ever since we started touring together, we clicked. I feel like, if we both lived different lives, we would somehow still end up finding each other”. When considering the main lesson he's learned from ERN, Walters warmly reflects, “To treat people well”.

Out of the other songs on The Cadillac Sessions, Chandler Walters cites ERNEST's highly anticipated collaboration with Miranda Lambert, ‘Another Thing To Love’, as his favourite. As for what's next after this project, which drops on Wednesday, May 7th, Walters tantalisingly teases, “More music, more touring, more shows”.

In the meantime, the fast-emerging artist emphasises how much he's looking forward to joining back up with Post Malone for The Big Ass Stadium Tour, “It feels organic, like it’s supposed to happen. And we’re both having a bunch of fun!”. Walters has also confirmed he's working with Post on the ‘Chemical’ hitmaker's F-1Trillion follow-up, “Yes, we’ve been writing together. A new wave. Feels like volume II”.

As we rub our hands with glee at the prospect of hearing Chandler Walters’ other cuts on The Cadillac Sessions, his debut solo album and his contributions to Post Malone's new project, you can't help but feel 2025 will be a break-out year for the up-and-comer.

In his brief career so far, his versatility has been striking, with Chandler Walters able to flit between contemporary country, writing hits for the likes of Bailey Zimmerman, and retro, honky-tonk earworms. One thing is for sure, though, when it comes to his own material, we should expect more of the latter, with Walters wholeheartedly committed to the DeVille Records mantra of bringing classic country back.

For more on DeVille Records and The Cadillac Sessions, see below: