This week’s crop of new tunes features Lainey Wilson offering up an encouraging life anthem and plea for more uplifting things in life, while a Steve Martin and Alison Brown duet, plus a viral track from The Creekers, offers up a double-shot of bluegrass. Adam Mac, Ava Hall and Joshua Ray Walker all turn in powerful new songs as well.
Check out all of these and more in Billboard‘s roundup of some of the best country, bluegrass and/or Americana songs of the week below.
Lainey Wilson, “Peace, Love, and Cowboys”
This fiddle-drenched ballad from Wilson’s Whirlwind deluxe album, finds her earnestly and soulfully issuing a straightforward, hopeful anthem, built around an idyllic list of the people, things and mindsets that would make the world a more positive place, ranging from horses and hippies to cowboys. “Riding together/ Life would be better,” she sings, as tender fiddle, piano and later, a chorus of vocals, bolster her message of unity and community.
The Creekers, “Tennessee”
This viral hit has brought Kentucky bluegrass band The Creekers’ music to a wider audience. The group’s sound feels at moments akin to the early, Chris Stapleton-fronted iteration of the SteelDrivers, though with a bit less of a bluesy vibe. The Creekers features burly-voiced Allen Hacker, joined by Tanner Horton, Jagger Bowling, Ashton Bowling, Scott Sutton, and Anna Blanton. Together, they infuse soul, and at times shades of pop into their hard-driving sound. But their viral hit is a sturdy blend of bluegrass and country, on this tale of a road-weary musician who is missing his lover back in The Volunteer State.
Ava Hall, “What About Yours”
This Michigan native with a dusky, aching twang in her voice declares a determined devotion to her lover, while questioning whether said lover shares the same commitment of the heart. “Mine would go to hell and back again and never ask you why,” she sings over tender acoustic guitar, her voice crescendoing into a passionate plea. Written by Hall, Johnny Clawson and Clara Park, this new song is an immense outing from this promising newcomer.
Alison Brown & Steve Martin, “Dear Time” (feat. Jackson Browne & Jeff Hanna)
Written by Martin, “Dear Time” is an elegantly crafted and deeply grateful meditation—an ode to time itself, honoring its gift of memory and the quiet privilege of reflection. It also embraces both the joyful and painful memories with equal grace. “Thank you for the extra heartbeats/ I’m not so sure I earned them,” Browne sings tenderly, delivering the lead vocals with charm. Hanna’s tender harmonies, Stuart Duncan’s delicate fiddle, and the shimmering stringwork from Martin and Brown enrich the track with texture, and emotional depth. “Dear Time” offers a heartfelt preview of Martin and Brown’s forthcoming collaborative debut, Safe, Sensible and Sane, out Oct. 17.
Joshua Ray Walker, “Stuff”
Walker just released the country- and beach-inspired Tropicana in June, but his latest project takes a different turn. The title track, “Stuff,” embraces an acoustic indie-folk style, veering slightly from his established honky-tonk sound. The track leads his upcoming concept album, out October 17, which explores each song from the perspective of a different object at an estate sale. Co-written with John Pedigo, “Stuff” sets the tone with Walker’s vulnerable, stirring vocals, conveying a message that worn and dusty doesn’t mean worthless. “We’re all more than where we’ve been/ It just takes some adjusting,” he sings. Previously, Walker released a trilogy of albums chronicling the lives of patrons in a fictional honky-tonk. With Stuff, the second installment in a new trilogy, he pushes toward an even more creatively ambitious vision.
Adam Mac, “All Dollars, No Sense”
Queer country artist Adam Mac delivers a bold, dancefloor-ready fusion of country and pop on his latest single, “All Dollars, No Sense.” Co-written with Jessica Cayne and Chris Rafetto, the track takes aim at materialism and the pressure to maintain appearances, even at the cost of one’s financial and mental well-being. “You’re so cool cashin’ in on your fancy fake friends/ Keeping up with Joneses ‘stead of payin’ your rent,” Mac sings, using sharp wit to call out the emptiness of social climbing. With its infectious groove, sizzling guitar, timely message, and Mac’s effortlessly smooth vocals, the song becomes a memorable anthem.
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