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After National Morgan Wallen Week took over all our lives last week with the release of his brand new album and the inaugural Sand In My Boots festival, it's back to business as usual this Friday in our round up of all the biggest and best new songs from the world of Americana with new songs from Chris Stapleton, Kelsea Ballerini, Max McNown and Midland among others.
Listen along to our Holler Best New Country playlist on Spotify, YouTube, Amazon and Apple Music.
This week's Best New Country cover star is Lainey Wilson. Fresh from picking up four awards at the 60th Annual ACM Awards last week, including the awards for Entertainer of the Year, Album of the Year, Female Artist of the Year and Artist-Songwriter of the Year, she's back at it with a brand new single, 'Somewhere Over Laredo,' this Friday.
Written by Wilson, Trannie Anderson, Dallas Wilson and Andy Albert, the perky ballad honours the Judy Garland classic 'Somewhere Over The Rainbow' and the Texas city as she looks down from an airplane and reflects on a past love and pays tribute to small towns across the country.
Wilson will perform the song live for the first time at the 2025 American Music Awards this Monday, 26thMay, where she is nominated for the Favorite Female Country Artist award.
'Somewhere Over Laredo' is taken from a deluxe version of Whirlwind which adds five new songs to the 14 track album including 'Bell Bottoms Up' due out on 22 August 2025.
Elsewhere in this week's round up, Kelsea Ballerini celebrates the 10th anniversary of The First Time by adding four new songs to her debut album, including the previously unreleased 'Boy Meets Girl,' Zach John King releases his new Slow Down EP and Jon Bellion and Luke Combs duet on 'WHY.'
We've got the long-awaited release of 'Bloodline' by Alex Warren and Jelly Roll, while Chris Stapleton is the latest artist to tease a track from the upcoming film F1 THE MOVIE, starring Brad Pitt and directed by Joseph Kosinski. The 11x Grammy Award-winning country singer songwriter officially enters the race with 'Bad I Used To Be.' Plus we've got big new songs from Tiera Kennedy, Sam Williams and Adam Doleac.
With Father’s Day just around the corner, Nate Smith delivers the hopefully titled 'Dads Don’t Die,' an unforgettably moving ballad celebrating the immortal power of love between father and child.
Written by Marc Beeson, Allen Shamblin, and Emily Weisband, the piano-led power ballad hits you in the heart with a gut punching powerhouse vocal from Nate Smith. After performing the song live, he received overwhelming support from fans, who soon clamored for an official release.
Driven by the striking piano work of Alex Wright, the song opens as Smith observes the painful aftermath of losing a loved one, ultimately bringing a little much needed hope and comfort to one of life’s most heartbreaking moments.
“You can cover him in flowers / Carve his name into a stone / Let your brother have his toolbox / And keep his number in your phone," Smith sings before delivering a few words of reassurance that “Dads don’t die / They still make you laugh / Still make you cry / Still make you mad the day it dawns / That you were wrong and he was right."
Country music just keeps on surprising us this year and if you're looking for things that probably aren't on your bingo card for 2025 then Dasha's 'Not At This Party' gets the remix treatment from David Guetta and Joe Jonas and Sierra Ferrell team up for 'Sip Your Wine,' taken from the middle Jonas brother's new album. Plus Jessie Murph collabs with Sexyy Red on a freshened up version of recent viral smash 'Blue Strips.'
Ryan Bingham releases a full band studio recording of 'Song for the Stone,' which appeared in the last season of Yellowstone and came out as an acoustic version last December and Max McNown is calculating 'The Cost of Growing Up,' announcing an additional 11 tracks for his latest album as it's given the deluxe treatment and rereleased as Night Driving (The Cost of Growing Up) in July.
His new single, 'The Cost of Growing Up,' which gives the expanded version it's title is a clear-eyed, melancholy meditation on the inevitability of pain.
“To me, the cost of growing up is an acceptance that difficult things are going to happen—from minor inconveniences to devastating loss, it’s all a part of life” says McNown. “But there’s also beauty in that because, without those hard moments, you wouldn’t be able to truly love.”
The new single is one of the 11 never-before-heard tracks featured in Night Diving (The Cost of Growing Up), the drastically expanded edition of his sophomore LP.
“Even though Night Diving was the length of a full album, in my heart it never felt complete to me” reveals McNown. “All of these songs were written in the same time period, and my intention was always to have them be one body of work.”
Vincent Mason continues to build the anticipation for his debut album, set to drop later this year, with his latest track, 'Painkiller, co-written with hit makers Jessie Jo Dillon, Luke Laird, and Chase McDaniel, and Karley Scott Collins announces her debut album, Flight Risk, for September with the uproariously brilliant 'Cowboy Sh!t.'
“I’ve experienced so much over the past few years, in relationships and just in growing up and coming into my own as an artist,” Collins shares about the 15-track album. “There was a time where I was running just to feel safe, but now, if I’m running, it’s only from things that I know aren’t meant for me. If I run from something now, I’m doing it because I know who I am and what I want, and I know where the exits are when I need to leave a place - or a person - that isn’t right for me.”
We'll be rolling on through til Saturday morning as Midland provide us with the perfect soundtrack for both ends of a night out on the town with their new song 'Glass Half Empty.' Written by band members Jess Carson and Cameron Duddy alongside Jeff Hyde and Ryan Tyndell, it's a song that will immediately transport you to the dancefloor of a raucous honky tonk for an all night rager with the Gator Boys.
Shaylen's got 'Daddy Issues' and Mae Estes is looking for her 'Mr. Fix It,' while Ana Cristina Cash is lining up 'Cheap Margaritas' to get over her ex.
Micah Fletcher releases 'More Like Jesus.' Nathan Applegate is going Over the Western Ridgeon his new EP and Evan Bartels is in the mood To Make You Cry with his stunning new six-song set featuring the previously released title track and the seminal 'Lula.'
If Waxahatchee and MJ Lenderman's 'Right Back to It' was one of your songs of the year last year then you'll love Wednesday's 'Elderberry Wine,' plus one of this month's 10 Artists You Need To Know, Kaylee Rose releases the brilliant 'Your Problem' and Alexandra Kay is hoping her latest love is her last on her new single.
All that and more with new songs from Treaty Oak Revival, David Morris, The Wood Brothers, Zach Russell, Blake Whiten and lots more. Including Elizabeth Nichols, who goes all Goldilocks and the Three Bears and wonders who's been sitting in her chair on the intriguingly titled 'Somebody Cooked Here.'
Watch the video for the song below.
It's a quieter week for albums this week, but we've still got new songs from fresh projects from Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo', Garrett Bradford, The Steeldrivers, Katy Hurt, Nathan Applegate and Florry this week, along with the debut full length from another one of this month's Holler 10 New Artists You Need To Know.
Sam Stoane's Tales from the Dark West is already an early contender for album of the year with 13 songs that channel the spirit of the American West shaped by her California roots. We've got the lively 'Calico Coal' in our playlist today, but this is an album you'll want to go in deep on and fall completely in love with.
“Every song tells a part of who I am," Stoane says. "Not just as a musician, but as a woman shaped by the West.”
Every week we turn the Holler spotlight on a song that we worry might be getting overlooked elsewhere and that we think deserves having a little extra light shining on it. This week's Holler Spotlight Song of the Week comes from critically acclaimed indie folk trio Lone Bellow.
The song was written by ACM and GRAMMY Award-winning writer and musician Aaron Raitiere and Will Guidara, the bestselling author and co-produce of the hit show, The Bear, during the first season of Aaron's new podcast You Wrote a Song with Aaron Raitiere, which is set to debut this summer.
It was produced by The Lone Bellow’s own Brian Elmquist and also marks the first time the band has ever cut an outside song.
“We’ve never cut somebody else’s song like this before," Zach Williams from the band shared. "But when we heard all the love and friendship in the track, we just knew we had to record it.”
The song itself is a tender reflection on the sacredness of everyday things like a kitchen table where stories are shared and memories are made.
“In my upcoming podcast I sit down with people who aren’t songwriters and we write a song…with audio and video rolling and a crew watching,” stated Raitiere. “Out of all the people in the world qualified to write a song about a table, I’d argue Will Guidara is one of the most. And that day we rid ourselves of any inner critics and wrote a song about that table specific to Will’s story. It was a pleasure and honor to help him craft this song and a privilege to watch it come to life through The Lone Bellow. I’m so thankful for bands like The Lone Bellow that are willing to take a risk on songwriters. Especially songwriters like Will, who until now had never written a song.”
“‘That Table’ is a celebration of what happens at the intersection of creativity, collaboration, and connection,” said Guidara. “Writing my first song with my favorite songwriter - and having it cut by my favorite band - is surreal. But what means the most is that it honors something I care deeply about. My hope is that this song inspires people to put down their phones, set aside their differences, and rediscover the kind of connection and community that only happens around the table.”
The Lone Bellow also just announced fall tour dates, which will culminate in a hometown show in Nashville at Ryman Auditorium in November.
Check out this week's new country and americana song releases and listen to the full playlist below:
Lainey Wilson
Chris Stapleton
Kelsea Ballerini
Nate Smith
Jon Bellion
Sam Stoane
The Lone Bellow
Elizabeth Nichols
Max McNown
Alex Warren
Midland
Vincent Mason
Evan Bartels
Joe Jonas
Ryan Bingham
Wednesday
Zach John King
James McMurtry
Kaylee Rose
Treaty Oak Revival
Karley Scott Collins
Chris Janson
Tiera Kennedy
David Morris
Dasha
Jessie Murph
Alexandra Kay
The Wood Brothers
Zach Russell
Afton Prater
Ink
Rebecca Porter
Pat Green and Corey Kent
Colbie Caillat
Blake Whiten
Faith Schueler and Eric Paslay
Mae Estes
Sam Williams
Sheryl Crow
Cory Asbury
Shaylen
Adam Doleac
Micah Fletcher
Cyndi Thomson
Demps
Taj Mahal and Keb' Mo'
Rodney Atkins and Elijah Atkins
The Reklaws
Lil Man J
The Steeldrivers
Kyle Clark
James Johnston
Austin Tolliver
Bottomland
Sammy Arriaga
Sam Grow
Aaron Goodvin
ROTUNDO
Annika Catharina
2 Lane Summer
Ashley Wells
Logan Crosby
Dixie Darling
Danielle Ryan
Jonathan Peyton and Abigail Peyton
Maddye Trew
Garret Bradford
Florry
Katy Hurt
Nathan Applegate
Ryan Charles and Struggle Jennings
Young Foolie
Hillary Reynolds
Tori Martin
Grant-Lee Phillips
Blake Smeltz
Joe Stamm Band
Kai Crowe-Getty
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For more of the finest country playlists from Holler, see below: