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:
"Stone Me," Margo Price
"I used to feel loved but now I feel used/ Almost went broke just from paying dues," Margo Price sings on "Stone Me," the first new music she's released in over two years.
"After what feels like an eternity, I'm releasing a new song into the wild today," Price said in a statement. "It's been hard to keep everything I've been working on for the last year to myself and I'm so excited to share it."
The defiant song, penned by price and her husband, singer-songwriter Jeremy Ivey, is a fiery takedown of detractors and a welcome return for one of country music's most fearless singer-songwriters.
— Bobbie Jean Sawyer
"Years," John Anderson
Country legend John Anderson looks back on his life on the gorgeous "Years," the title track from his forthcoming album (out April 10). The album, produced by David "Fergie" Ferguson and the Black Keys' Dan Auerbach, was recorded while Anderson was going through a serious health crisis.
"We went in the studio, and I remember saying, 'I'm going to do this like it might be my last.' It still could be, but now the chances of that are getting slimmer and slimmer every day. I'm doing better so I'm not hardly thinking that way anymore." Anderson said in a statement. "There's a few things that I came out of this whole deal better with. Part of it is my love for music and part of it is my appreciation for my family. But the biggest part is knowing that I might die here any minute, for who knows what reason, but I know that the good Lord already came down and touched me. There's not a doubt in my mind."
Anderson's outlook, along with his iconic voice, shines on "Years," a testament of a life well lived from one of the genre's most treasured living legends.
— Bobbie Jean Sawyer
"Memphis," Lullanas
Twin sisters Atisha and Nishita Lulla shine as lyricists and vocal talents on "Memphis," a song off the Before Everything Got Real EP. It sounds like the best possible result of being raised by fans of The Eagles and Johnny Cash, embracing the undeniable magic of blood harmonies and landing a hard-earned spot on the current folk-rock map. Everything Got Real arrives April 24 via the duo's new label home, Nettwerk.
—Bobby Moore
"'72 Winnebago," Steve Moakler
Steve Moakler doesn't get nearly enough credit for his ability to cross nuanced storytelling with modern, pop-accessible production. For an example of how effortlessly he crosses the best elements of both worlds, turn up the volume for this rocking song about simpler times spent living out of a "'72 Winnebago." It's off the 2020 album Blue Jeans.
—Bobby Moore
"Two-Headed Boy," Chelsea Williams
Gorgeous covers of Willie Nelson ("Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground"), Bob Dylan ("Don't Think Twice, It's All Right"), Jackson Browne ("These Days") and Tom Waits ("Tango Till They're Sore") are cool and all, but who else but Chelsea Williams could make Neutral Milk Hotel's "Two-Headed Boy" sound like a West Coast folk-rock standard? All five tracks appear on 2019's Mockingbird Mixtape.
—Bobby Moore
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