Best New Country Songs

If you've quite finished stuffing your faces with Halloween candy, it's time for another of our weekly round ups of all the biggest and best new songs from the world of country and americana, and after a quiet week last week while you were all busy trick or treating, we're back with another of our usual bumper Best New Country playlists this Friday with new songs from Jackson Dean, Ian Munsick, Kelsea Ballerini and lots more.

Listen along with the playlist on Spotify, Apple Music, YouTube and Amazon.

This week's Best New Country cover star is Jake Owen. Best known for party hits like 'Barefoot Blue Jean Night' and 'Down to the Honky Tonk,' the singer marks his first independent release with the Shooter Jennings co-produced Dreams to Dream, his most honest and intimate album yet.

“I've just become a guy that wants to sing songs for people that have also matured with me in my life," Owen says about the project. "Sometimes you need to get outside what's comfortable, what people think you are, or think you should be, and take a risk. I'm always going to chase the passions that keep me moving forward."

"It really feels cathartic to be honest about a lot of stuff in my life, how I feel, where I see myself going, and how I see myself going there," he says about the album that shines a light on real-life, relatable experiences like heartbreak, struggle, and defiance.

'Wouldn’t Be Gone' kicks off our Best New Country playlist today, as Owen poetically ponders a life he could have led if he hadn't followed the path he did and he worked in a hardware store instead of being out on the road.

"I'd be making keys instead of C chords / Selling paint and two-by-four boards / Wouldn't have to live these restless songs / I could start my week on Monday / Nine to five and off on Sunday / Sleep in my bed every night at home," he sings, before concluding contemplatively that "It would keep me going, but I wouldn't be gone."

Dreams to Dream was co-produced with Shooter Jennings and recorded at Snake Mountain (Sunset Sound Studio 3) in Los Angeles, CA, and also features Jamey Johnson on 'The Jukebox Knows,' and Savannah Conley on 'Them Old Love Songs.' with writing credits that include Owen’s longtime friends and acclaimed songwriters Ben Chapman and Kendell Marvel.

Make time this weekend to spend a while with Dreams to Dream if you can. It's one of the most genuinely thoughtful and evocative country records released this year.

Watch the Official Music Video for 'Wouldn't Be Gone' below

Elsewhere in this week's Best New Country we've got new songs from Jason Aldean, Graham Barham and the Jack Wharff Band, plus a brilliant new single from Abbie Callahan, fresh off the back of opening up for Maggie Antone at her Basement East show in Nashville this week and following up her Grossly Aware EP from earlier in the year.

She releases her empowering new song 'Simon Says' this week as she turns a note in her phone from a painful situationship into a story of reclaiming personal power and one of her most meaningful songs yet.

“‘Simon Says’ started as a really sad diary entry in my notes app,” Callahan shares. “With time, I was able to look at it more objectively and realized that almost every woman I know has a version of this story. To bring some lightness to it, I framed the situationship as a long game of Simon Says. I knew the song was special the day we wrote it last December. Even though it sat on the shelf while I promoted my last EP, I never stopped believing it would have its moment and I’m so grateful that it’s now resonating with so many women.”

Kelsea Ballerini returns with her first new music since last year's PATTERNS album as she teases her upcoming Mount Pleasant EP with the reflective 'I Sit In Parks,' which finds the singer considering choices, sacrifices and real-life costs as she sits on a swing in a park.

“I have always made records – whether songs, EPs or albums – to capture a moment in time,” Ballerini says. “Mount Pleasant is a collection of six songs I’ve written throughout the summer, marking a chapter of heavy self-examination, longing and stepping further into who I am as a 32-year old woman.”

“By now is it a lucid dream/ is it my fault for chasing things / A body clock doesn’t wait for/ I did the damn tour / It’s what I wanted, what I got / I spun around and then I stopped / and wondered if I missed the mark?” she sings as she explores as she poignantly explores the reality of the lives her friends are now living, watching a young family spending a Saturday afternoon, playing and sharing a picnic and unpacking the idea of a woman "having it all."

It's another beautiful and bold moment from a singer who has elevated her raw, unfiltered and open-ended diaristic country songwriting into a truly transcendent art form over recent years.

Cody Johnson has finally released his version of The Chicks' 'Travelin Soldier.' Originally written by Bruce Robison, the song tells the poignant story of two young lovers separated by war during the Vietnam War. Fans have been campaigning for a full release of the song from Johnson after an acoustic performance of the song went viral in March 2022.

Jackson Dean is going 'Over and Over' the little things that make a relationship so special on his new single, while Jason Scott & The High Heat are getting funky on the brilliant 'Cowboy Cold Beer,' their groovy, twang-filled ode to the timeless cure-all of an ice-cold brew.

Elsewhere we've got a beautiful new song from Low Gap and Julia DiGrazia, while Bobby Dove, Graham Barham, Adrien Nunez, Paul Cauthen, Bella White and Max Alan are all on fine form and 49 Winchester celebrate signing to MCA's Lucille Records imprint by teaming up with Grammy-winning producer and MCA Chief Creative Officer Dave Cobb for a powerful cover of Black Sabbath’s 'Changes.'

The band is currently in the studio with nine-time GRAMMY Award winner Cobb working on a full-length album, scheduled for release in 2026. The project marks a new chapter for the band, with Cobb’s signature production amplifying their raw, Southern rock-meets-country sound.

Watch the video for 'Changes' below.

It's a big week for albums this week as we get towards the end of the year. Drake Milligan releases his new album, Tumbleweed, Vincent Mason drops his debut, There I Go, and Cooper Alan takes us to Winston-Salem, while Brendan Walter releases Disappearing Days.

We've got songs from all of them, plus 'River' from the incredible new posthumous album from Luke Bell, The King is Back.

You can read more about the new record in Alli Patton's long read feature as Luke Bell’s family and friends remember the late singer-songwriter as he truly was.

We've got new songs from new EPs from Dustin de La Garza, McCoy Moore, Spencer Hatcher and Jon Wolfe with his new Barstool Therapy (Session One) 8-track album

"'Barstool Therapy: Session One' is my fifth studio record, and I feel like it's my best yet," Wolfe says. "This album leans into my earliest influences: Merle Haggard, Waylon Jennings, Hank Jr, and George Strait. This collection of country songs costs a lot less than going to see your therapist - and it's best enjoyed with a frosty mug!"

It sounds like Jon Wolfe would enjoy the new Willie Nelson album where the country legend pays tribute to an old friend and another country legend, Merle Haggard, in fine style.

We've got a bonus track from Emmylou Harris' new expanded edition of her Spyboy (Live) album and Erin Kirby is In and Out of Love on her new EP.

“In and Out of Love is my debut EP and it tells the story of a relationship," Kirby explains. "The lyrics on this project are very important as each song tells a detailed portion of the story. We decided to keep the production stripped back to ensure there would be no distraction from the vocal and the lyrics. I am so excited for the world to hear this project!”

Every week we like to turn our Holler spotlight onto a song that we think deserves a little extra light shining on it and this week we're shining it on 21-year-old singer-songwriter-actress Dylan Conrique.

If you like Kelsea Ballerini, you're gonna love Dylan Conrique! She releases her heart-wrenching new single 'How To Lose The Girl' this week as she puts a highly original twist on the timeless breakup ballad, presenting a step-by-step guide to wrecking a relationship beyond repair.

Conrique has achieved major success in both acting and music, including starring as a series regular on ABC’s The Rookie and turning out hits like her GOLD-certified 2022 viral smash 'birthday cake.' In a bold new step for the longtime Los Angeles resident, she recently relocated to Nashville in order to foster her craft as a songwriter and pursue her lifelong love of Country music – a passion closely tied to her experience in growing up on a farm in Northern California.

If the songs are as good as this then we fully encourage the move into country music.

Check out this week's new country and americana song releases and listen to the full playlist below:

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