Each week the Wide Open Country staff rounds up our favorite newly released country and Americana songs. Here are five new songs we can't stop listening to this week.
"Caught It From The Rye," Tre Burt
Sacramento, Cal.'s worst-kept secret among folk and singer-songwriter fans, Tre Burt, recently joined Kelsey Waldon on the roster of John Prine's Oh Boy Records. Burt and his new label home celebrated the big news by unveiling his next album's title track, "Caught It From The Rye." Picturesque lyrics and impassioned vocals leave no question as to why a taste-maker like Prine sees promise in Burt's career.
— Bobby Moore
"Why Start Now," George Ducas
After 25 years of standing his ground as a recording artist and songwriter, Nashville trends and fan interests finally caught up with one of country music's best-kept secrets, George Ducas. This new cut and other songs off forthcoming album Yellow Rose Hotel, out this Friday (Dec. 6), should appeal to everyone from red dirt purists to fans of Jon Pardi and Luke Combs' arena-packing hits.
—Bobby Moore
"Wanna Wear a Dress," Harper Grae
Harper Grae imagines a society where anyone can be the belle of the ball in the song "Wanna Wear a Dress" and its music video.
Grae, an Alabama native and Auburn University graduate, is coming off quite the experience. She became the first-ever halftime performer for Alabama and Auburn's annual college football game, the Iron Bowl, back on Nov. 30.
"When I was little, I told my granddaddy I would sing at the Iron Bowl one day," says Grae in a press release. "He passed away in August, but I wore his watch tonight while singing at the Iron Bowl. He would have been proud, I think."
—Bobby Moore
"Sugar Coat," Little Big Town
Written by Lori McKenna, Josh Kerr and Jordyn Shellhart, Little Big Town's "Sugar Coat" centers on a woman stuck in an unhappy relationship and hiding behind a smile. "Passed down from my mom/ She wore it so well," the group sings of the proverbial "sugar coat." "Would I recognize myself? Would anybody else? If I took the damn thing off and burned it up." Like Little Big Town's previous single, the stunning "The Daughters," the song gives a voice to those who've all too often felt voiceless.
— Bobbie Sawyer
"Nice to Be Back Home," Nora Jane Struthers
Nashville-based singer-songwriter Nora Jane Struthers celebrates the simple joys of home life, from eating breakfast with your own spoon to looking out your own window at the grass that needs cutting, on the joyous honky-tonker "Nice to Be Back Home." But, like most musicians, Struthers' second home is on the road — a fact that's celebrated on the second verse. The latest release from Struthers' forthcoming album Bright Lights, Long Drives, First Words, "Nice to Be Back Home" serves as an anthem for road warriors and a reminder that home is with the ones we love.
— Bobbie Jean Sawyer
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