{"id":2441531,"date":"2026-06-02T12:14:48","date_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:14:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/?p=2441531"},"modified":"2026-06-02T12:14:48","modified_gmt":"2026-06-02T12:14:48","slug":"parker-mccollum-revels-in-latest-self-titled-album","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/celebrity.land\/en\/parker-mccollum-revels-in-latest-self-titled-album\/","title":{"rendered":"Parker McCollum revels in latest self-titled album"},"content":{"rendered":"

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Parker McCollum: Aiming to bring the energy to Grand Rapids on Saturday. (Photo\/Tim O\u2019Keef)<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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In June 2025, Parker McCollum <\/a>released his fifth album, a self-titled effort that\u2019s raw and real, leaning into personal songs and a straightforward delivery that moves him into the realm of his songwriting heroes.<\/p>\n

\u201cParker McCollum\u201d is also, in his opinion and that of many critics, the best record he\u2019s made in a fast-moving career that\u2019s taken him further from country pop and bro-country into the realm of his songwriting heroes.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s so much better than anything I\u2019ve ever done by 100 miles,\u201d McCollum said in a recent interview. \u201cI\u2019d send it to Steve Earle tomorrow. I haven\u2019t always felt that way about my records. I\u2019m very, very hard on myself. I don\u2019t think anything I\u2019ve ever done is very good.<\/p>\n

\u201cEvery record I\u2019ve ever cut I\u2019ve said, \u2018Man, I\u2019m better than that. I can do better than that.\u2019 This is the first album I\u2019ve ever recorded that I said, \u2018Man, this is probably as good as I\u2019m ever going to get.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

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Proud of His Latest Record: McCollum (Photo\/Anthony Norkus)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

The 14 songs on \u201cParker McCollum\u201d (and 18 on a deluxe version that followed in March) work together to merge singer-songwriter Americana with traditional Texas country and just enough Nashville pop. (Scroll down to watch the music video for \u201cWhat Kinda Man.\u201d)<\/p>\n

McCollum, 33, plays Grand Rapids\u2019 new Acrisure Amphitheater at 7:30 p.m. Saturday (June 6), part of his 2026 tour that also features special guests Max McNown and Kassi Ashton. Tickets, $34.15-$115.0, are available online here<\/a>.<\/p>\n

McCollum, who grew up in Conroe, Texas (near Houston), comes by his sound naturally. While growing up, he soaked in classic country, got introduced to \u201cred dirt\u201d country and then songwriters such as Bob Dylan and Townes Van Zandt.<\/p>\n

He started writing songs as a teenager, working his way, in a sense, through his musical heroes.<\/p>\n

\u201cI just went through so many phases when I was much younger,\u201d McCollum said from his Southeast Texas home. \u201cYou know, I wanted to be Steve Earle. I wanted to be Shooter Jennings. I wanted to be Todd Snider. I wanted to be James McMurtry. I wanted to be Robert Earl Keen. I wanted to be John Mayer. I wanted to be George Strait. I wanted to be Randy Travis. I wanted to be Chris Knight, on and on and on.\u201d<\/p>\n

Eventually, McCollum realized how those artists achieved their own singularity. <\/p>\n

\u201cI just was like, I\u2019m one of them. I know I am,\u201d he said. \u201cAnd it was probably my mid-20s, and I said, \u2018Man, I think I\u2019m better off just being me.\u2019 And that was about the time that it all took off, and I\u2019ve never looked back.\u201d<\/p>\n

WINNING \u2018ALBUM OF THE YEAR\u2019 HONORS<\/strong><\/p>\n

McCollum arrived on the national scene with his 2015 debut album, \u201cThe Limestone Kid,\u201d and had a Texas regional radio hit with \u201cMeet You in The Middle,\u201d which helped him build a strong following in the Lone Star State.<\/p>\n

He landed his deal with Universal Music Group Nashville in 2019, and in 2020, released \u201cHollywood Gold,\u201d which became the best-selling debut country EP of that year.<\/p>\n

His 2021 major-label debut album, \u201cGold Chain Cowboy,\u201d hit No. 1 on the country charts with his platinum single \u201cPretty Heart\u201d and he won the ACM Best New Male Artist award for 2021. He took his second ACM Award in 2024 for Visual Media of the Year for the music video for \u201cBurn It Down,\u201d a song from his fourth album, \u201cNever Enough.\u201d Now the self-titled album has given him the 2026 award for Album of the Year.<\/p>\n

Despite all of the success, McCallum wasn\u2019t satisfied with either \u201cGold Chain Cowboy\u201d or 2023\u2019s \u201cNever Enough.\u201d<\/p>\n

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Bringing the Energy on Stage: McCollum in Grand Rapids in 2021. (Photo\/Anthony Norkus)<\/p>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cI got a little too comfortable on the last two albums and was touring just non stop, relentlessly,\u201d he said. \u201cI was about halfway through last year I just, and I said, I gotta go get uncomfortable again and I gotta go into a studio with a band and me and my guitar and just record songs.\u2019 <\/p>\n

\u201cI thought \u2018I really need to get focused, I really want to be intentional with this next record.\u2019 That\u2019s what we did. And, man, it\u2019s pretty wild.\u201d<\/p>\n

McCollum has moved up from honky-tonks and opening slots to headlining theaters, amphitheaters and arenas, transitions that have gone smoothly for him.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt\u2019s the same,\u2019 he said. \u201cNo matter whether you\u2019re playing in the bars or you\u2019re playing a stadium, you\u2019ve got to go out there and sing the songs. I always say \u2026 if there\u2019s 1,000 people or 20,000 people, if they\u2019re rocking and that crowd\u2019s into it, and I\u2019m singing and feeling good and the energy\u2019s there, man, it doesn\u2019t matter how many people are out there.\u201d<\/p>\n

And after those shows, McCollum is certain of one thing: He\u2019ll be boogying back to Texas as quickly as possible.<\/p>\n

\u201cThat\u2019s why I moved to Texas and bought an airplane,\u201d he said. \u201cI said \u2018To hell with this. I gotta get home. I gotta be a dad, too, but still I gotta go out and rock every night. Luckily, it\u2019s going pretty well right now.\u201d \u2013 By L. Kent Wolgamott, Last Word Features<\/em><\/p>\n

VIDEO: Parker McCollum, \u201cWhat Kinda Man\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n