“A Bucket-List Moment”: HARDY on Finally Getting Tim McGraw to Say ‘Yes’ to One of His Songs with ‘McArthur’

As far as country songwriters go, it's hard to think of someone who has as many high-profile cuts as HARDY.

The Mississippi phenom's credits reads like a who's who of modern country, with HARDY penning tracks for Morgan Wallen, Blake Shelton, Kenny Chesney, Post Malone, Ella Langley, Jelly Roll, Cody Johnson, Florida Georgia Line, and many, many more.

The ‘One Beer’ singer-songwriter is only really rivalled by his close friend ERNEST as the Nashville lynchpin, with HARDY's penmanship permeating today's country landscape.

However, there's one artist HARDY has had on his bucket-list for a long time - Tim McGraw. Back in 2023, HARDY playfully called out both Chesney and McGraw, revealing he'd been pitching songs to the two country titans, without much luck.

In 2024, HARDY got his Chesney cut with the chart-topping single, ‘Take Her Home’, and now, he's starting off 2026 with his long-awaited McGraw song. He's gone a step further with the latter, though, because HARDY has recruited McGraw, Wallen and Eric Church as guests on his stellar new Yellowstone-esque anthem, ‘McArthur’. It follows four generations of farmers, before reaching the youngest - Hunter, played by Wallen - who is considering selling the family land.

Speaking to Billboard, HARDY explains how much the McGraw feature means, “Tim, I just could not get him to bite on anything. And that’s what makes Tim Tim. He’s always had such amazing songs. He’s very picky, because he’s just got a career of phenomenal songs, and so I took that as like a challenge for me to get him to bite on something - and finally he did. So, it’s definitely a bucket-list moment for me”.

Elsewhere in the discussion, HARDY recalls how Church and Wallen got involved early on in the process, “A few days after we wrote the song, I was listening to [the demo] over and over and I just on a whim sent it to Eric Church. I’ve gotten to know him pretty good and we’ll send each other song ideas. I just said, “Man, you and I and a couple other people should do this song together.””

HARDY goes on, “[Church] immediately hit me back and was like, “Dude, I love this. Let’s get Morgan on it. And then we need, like an OG, like a heavy, heavy hitter, to play John.”

He reflects, “And so, we threw some names around. Tim was the main guy the whole time and so sent it to Tim, and Tim immediately said, “I’m in” and it worked out like a dream. We really got lucky with everything. Then we were off to the races...I sent [Wallen] the song, and I just said, “Hey, Eric is in. I’m obviously in. We need one more, but do you want to do this with us?” And it was an instant yes”.

What makes ‘McArthur’ all the more special is, despite the calibre of the four artists on the track, they all made the time to come together in the studio, rather than phoning it in, “It was super cool. I’ve never worked with Jay [Joyce] before. He cut it live. He was very different than the way that I’ve cut sessions with Joey [Moi]”.

HARDY explains, “There were very minimal musicians in the room, and then we had microphones set up and we all just stood up there and sang. It was very, very cool and a very bucket-list, pinch-me moment for me. Just thinking about the room I was in with the influence that the people in that room have had on the world and country music”.

When HARDY and his guests started teasing ‘McArthur’, fans speculated that they could be forming a modern-day revival of The Highwaymen, the legendary country supergroup comprising Johnny Cash, Willie Nelson, Waylon Jennings and Kris Kristofferson. HARDY has been hinting via Instagram comments that there is more to come.

During his Billboard conversation, the ‘wait in the truck’ hitmaker confirms there have been discussions about expanding out the world of ‘McArthur’, and potentially recording more in this vein with the same artists, “We have definitely thrown out the idea. It will take a lot of work, and it’s obviously four people that are heavy hitters and very busy. But, for the record, I would love to expand on this concept, truly”.

He qualifies this, “The discussion has been had. There is no confirmation that it will happen, but we talked about it and if we could all somehow get together and have some time to write a storyline or the rest of a record than I would love for that to happen”.

HARDY also reveals he's been toying with the idea of filming a short film bringing the four ‘McArthur’ generations to life, with the possibilities for this seemingly endless. This is the latest example of HARDY's intricate, innovative songwriting and his ability to construct vibrant, unashamedly country worlds through his music - epitomised by his beloved HIXTAPE series. ‘McArthur’ ensures the anticipation is sky-high ahead of the trailblazer's Country! Country! follow-up album.

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