“One of My Very Best Friends”: Margo Price Pays Tribute to Tyler Childers Ahead of New Collaboration, ‘Love Me Like You Used To’

During an exclusive listening party in London, UK, ahead of her Scala show this evening (Wednesday, June 18th), Margo Price delved into the creative process behind her eagerly anticipated new album, Hard Headed Woman, which drops on August 29th.

As she discussed her next musical chapter with Will Hodgkinson, Price shed some light on how Tyler Childers ended up on one of the most keenly awaited songs from the forthcoming project, the sumptuous, traditional-leaning ‘Love Me Like You Used To’.

The Illinois native began by reflecting on the extent to which she draws on real-life experiences for her music, “You know, ‘Losing Streak’, ‘Nowhere is Where’ and even ‘Red Eye Flight’ - that was another one that I wrote with Jeremy [Ivey] and Rodney Crowell - and that is a little bit of what was going on in my life. I mean, maybe it wasn't just aimed at one person...[then] ‘Don't Wake Me Up’...is more just the dreamy, surreal, kind of could be about anybody. I do like to put myself in other people's shoes, and definitely not everything is autobiographical”.

The ‘Hurtin’ (On the Bottle)’ hitmaker then outlined how the fact that certain songs, such as her link-up with Tyler Childers, were not grounded in reality gave them a greater sense of freedom, “‘Love Me Like You Used To’, a duet with Tyler Childers, one of my very best friends, he really enjoyed putting that song on, trying that song on because it's not autobiographical - it's hypothetical”.

As for the concept behind Hard Headed Woman as a whole, Margo Price muses, “Well, I've always been defiant. I've always been confident and stubborn as hell. I think it just feels timely, with the way that women's rights...and everything that's going on in our country, especially in the South, especially living in Tennessee. I have a daughter of my own. It's really heartbreaking to see us go backwards in history and trying to strip away women's rights and...everybody's rights. But yeah...Midwest Farmer's Daughter, Hard Headed Woman. I'm grown up now. It's also a nod to Red Headed Stranger”.

With this marking the alt-country trailblazer's first full-length studio album since 2023's Strays II, it's safe to say the excitement levels are sky-high ahead of August 29th.

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