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It's time for another of our weekly roundups of all the biggest and best new releases from the world of country and Americana. In this week's playlist we've got new ones from Charley Crockett, Carly Pearce, Brett Eldredge and much more.
Listen along to our Holler Best New Country playlist on Spotify, YouTube, Amazon and Apple Music.
Best New Country Cover Star of The Week
This week's Best New Country cover star sees the return of a bona fide country legend. Blake Shelton has announced his first new album in four years for May!
"It’s been a long time since I’ve had a new album out so I’m thrilled to share that “For Recreational Use Only” will be out May 9th!!!!" Shelton wrote on his socials. "PLUS, listen to my new song “Let Him In Anyway” off the record now. I have been working on this music for years, and I’m beyond excited to finally share it with y’all!!"
If the first single from it is anything to go by then it's going to be classic Blake. 'Let Him In Anyway' is a powerful, emotional heavyweight of a ballad about the loss of loved one who didn't always colour inside the lines while he was on earth as Blake pleads with the man upstairs to let his best friend in.
We can imagine it forevermore being sung to bouncers at the doors of nightclubs by drunken lads whose friend has accidentally turned up in trainers.
New Country and Americana Singles
Our playlist doesn't hold back on the heavy hitting emotions this week as Jon Pardi gives us another taste of his forthcoming new album, Honkytonk Hollywood, with a song that will have you reaching for the Kleenex. 'She Drives Away" poignantly captures the emotional journey of a father watching his daughter grow up and letting her go out into the world.
"‘She Drives Away’ is a song that I knew I was going to record immediately,” says Pardi. “I think most dads of daughters will relate to it, but it reminded me so much of Summer and my journey. From when we started dating, to asking her dad for her hand in marriage, and then having our daughters. Now, I’ll go through it from the other side with my daughters. It’s a special song, and I’m really excited for people to hear it."
You might want to hold onto that box of Kleenex for a little while longer. Country sister trio The Castellows release their new single, 'You Don't Even Know Who I Am,' and it doesn't pull any emotional punches as a husband and wife come to the same sad conclusion about the state of their marriage at the same time.
"She left the car in the driveway / She left the key in the door / She left the kids at her mama's and the laundry piled up on the floor," they sing, before seeing the same sad story from the husband's perspective.
Chappell Roan finally releases her country single, 'The Giver,' and you can read all about it in our Holler lyrics and meaning piece.
We've got big new songs from Morgan Wade, Restless Road and Grace Tyler, while Rascal Flatts get together with Kelly Clarkson on 'I'm Movin' On.' Plus, Jordana Bryant releases her new Right Key, Wrong Porch EP and we've got 'Turns Out' on our playlist today.
"Turns Out" was inspired by the idea that no matter what happens, life goes on and even when it doesn’t feel like it, everything turns out all right," she says. "One of the most powerful lessons I've learned in the last few years is that life’s detours often lead us to the most beautiful destinations, and to exactly where we’re meant to be. This track is all about finding faith in the unexpected, all while embracing challenges and heartbreaks. Writing and recording “Turns Out" was truly such a fun experience, and I feel like the song really encapsulates the message I want to share with this project."
Kat Hasty releases a full band version of one of our favourite songs, 'The Family Business,' previously released as a stripped back version on Treehouse Sessions as she announces her new album, The Time of Your Life, for May.
Elsewhere we've got new ones from Alli Walker, Dylan Gossett, Gabrielle Hope, Dylan Marlowe, Thelma & James, Mitchell Tenpenny, Jake Worthington and Kayley Green. Plus, Dierks Bentley teams up with our old buddy Stephen Wilson Jr. for some clever wordplay on 'Cold Beer Can.'
Watch the video for 'Cold Beer Can' below
New Country and Americana Albums
A couple of last year's big country albums get the deluxe treatment this week. Carly Pearce adds three never-before-heard songs, as well as two new live versions of 'Oklahoma' and 'Things I Don't Chase' for hummingbird: no rain, no flowers, and Warren Zeiders doubles the length of his album from last year with Relapse, Lies, & Betryal. The two-part, 20-track album is an introspection of heartbreak, personal growth and emotional healing through Zeiders’ signature gritty vocals and storytelling that strikes like a musical gut-punch. We've got 'Love In Letting Go' featuring our Holler bestie Lanie Gardner in the playlist today.
Elsewhere we've got new songs from new albums by Jason Boland & The Stragglers, The Wilder Blue, Grace Tyler and Brett Eldredge, while Charley Crockett releases his Island Records debut, Lonesome Drifter.
Spotlight Song of the Week
Every week we try to spotlight a song that we feel especially deserves having a little extra bright light shining on it and this week we've turning it onto 'Scratching Out a Living,' the brilliant new single from Emily Ann Roberts. Her second single release since her debut album Can't Hide Country.
Every day is International Women's Day here at Holler, and after being out on the road with this week's Best New Country cover star Blake Shelton’s Friends and Heroes Tour, Emily Ann Roberts shares her playful honky tonk anthem that celebrates the hardworking women who hustle every day to make a living.
"Boss keeps a screaming /The phone won’t stop a ringing / Working like a farm truck / But nothings ever good enough," she sings as she ponders the "double burden" that a lot of women are expected to take on, going out to work as well as doing more than an equal amount of unpaid domestic labour and childcare.
Produced by the legendary Mac McAnally, 'Scratching Out a Living' puts a modern pop twist on bluegrass as she reflects on her own journey, inspired by the lessons she learned from her parents about the value of hard work.
“My mom and dad used to always say they were scratching out a living when we were growing up," she says. "They worked so hard to provide for me and my sister and taught me that if you want something you have to work for it. I’ve learned that lesson in a big way the past 10 years pursuing my dreams in country music. When I wrote this song with Shane Minor I wanted it to feel like the to-do list of all the things you have to check off throughout a work day. I later wrote the chorus with two of my band members, Torey Harding and Jordan Larsen, while we were on the road. Mac McAnally produced the fire out of this track and brought the song to life in such a cool way. I know the hard working folks will relate to it!”
Watch the official visualizer for 'Scratching Out a Living' below.
Check out this week's new country and americana song releases and listen to the full playlist below:
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1.
Let Him In Anyway
Blake Shelton
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2.
You Don't Even Know Who I Am
The Castellows
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3.
She Drives Away
Jon Pardi
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4.
Night Rider
Charley Crockett
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5.
if looks could kill
Carly Pearce
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6.
Cold Beer Can (feat. Stephen Wilson Jr.)
Dierks Bentley
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7.
The Giver
Chappell Roan
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8.
Love In Letting Go
Warren Zeiders and Lanie Gardner
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9.
Like I Do
Dylan Gossett
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10.
Ride It Out
Alli Walker
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11.
Picture Perfect
Dylan Marlowe
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12.
Family Business
Kat Hasty
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13.
Scratching Out a Living
Emily Ann Roberts
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14.
First Love
Thelma & James
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15.
East Coast
Morgan Wade
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16.
Lonestar Lovers
Brett Eldredge
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17.
I Don't Love Here Anymore
Miranda Lambert
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18.
Bar Named Jesus (feat. Thomas Rhett)
Adam Doleac
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19.
Turns Out
Jordana Bryant
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20.
I Don't Wanna Know
Grace Tyler
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21.
I'm Movin' On
Rascal Flatts and Kelly Clarkson
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22.
Goin' Out Like That
Restless Road
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23.
Numbers On A Mailbox
Preston Cooper
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24.
Buffalo Return to the Plains
Jason Boland and The Stragglers
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25.
Put the Whiskey Down
Cody Jinks and Edward Spear
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26.
the hummingbird's nest
gabrielle hope
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27.
Burn It All Down
CHASE WRIGHT
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28.
Whiskey River
Jay Webb
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29.
Hot Chicken
Drew Green
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30.
Bad Guy
Blake Whiten
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31.
Broken Heart
Kayley Green
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32.
Look What You Made Me Do
Don Louis
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33.
Cowboy Shit
Country Night and Julia DiGrazia
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34.
Love And A Heartbreak
Hayden Coffman
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35.
My Mind is a Radio
Drayton Farley
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36.
Dancin' With Him
Hayden Blount
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37.
How Do You Miss Me (feat. Alexandra Kay)
Dallas Smith
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38.
17
Logan Crosby
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39.
Tease
Kelsey Lamb
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40.
Modern Man (Mountain Heart)
The Wilder Blue
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41.
I'm the One (feat. Marty Stuart)
Jake Worthington
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42.
Video Games
Ashley Cone
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43.
Under My Skin
Kolby Cooper
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44.
Oh What A Beautiful World (with Rodney Crowell)
Willie Nelson
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45.
On a Budget
Jenna Davis
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46.
The Light
Moonshine Bandits
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47.
TUNED OUT
Nick Nash
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48.
Doin' What She Does
Tyler Joe Miller
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49.
Learning Lonely (feat. Cole Goodwin)
Erin Kirby
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50.
Shenandoah
Bryce Leatherwood
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51.
I'm a Boxer
Brad Cox
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52.
James Alley Blues
Jack Browning
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53.
It Won't Be Long
Leon Majcen
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54.
Last Damn Thing
George Pippen
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55.
Honky Tonk Blue
William Beckmann
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56.
Wine and Whiskey
Grace Lear
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57.
Beer Drinkin' Night
Colby Lee Swift
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58.
First Rodeo
Onoleigh
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59.
If Only I Could Wait
Bon Iver and Danielle Haim
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60.
Who Wants
Jade Bird
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61.
Same Moon
Mitchell Tenpenny
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62.
BETTER PLACES
Emma Grace Glover
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63.
Over and Over
Trousdale
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64.
Just One Night
Micah Fletcher
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65.
Hey Baby
Florry
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66.
Back Together
Brandon Wisham
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67.
Sip Sip Hooray
Danny Kensy and Barefoot Joe
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68.
Left My Heart In Texas
Sammy Arriaga
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69.
Rent Free
Nate Good
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70.
Elegy
Anna May
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