New Country Music You Need To Hear This Week From Mack Gieger, SJ McDonald, Thomas Rhett, Hudson Westbrook More
Mack Geiger - Dying In This House
With producers Keith Stegall and Jared Adlam helping bring the 12 tracks onto the same canvas, the album sounds focused without feeling overworked. Its ballads leave room for the stories to breathe, while its more traditional moments remind you that country music can feel timeless without feeling stuck. The real test of viral fame is what comes after the numbers. Geiger answers with an album full of songs that don’t depend on the algorithm to matter. Dying In This House has the hooks to bring new listeners in, the writing to keep them there and the kind of voice that makes you reach for the replay button. “String By” may have opened the door. This debut makes clear Mack Geiger is ready to walk through it.
SJ McDonald - Two Dozen Roses
You’ve heard “Two Dozen Roses” before, but never quite like this. Rising country artist SJ McDonald gives the familiar favorite a lively bluegrass makeover, turning it into an uptempo cover that feels fresh from the first note. McDonald first teased the track a while ago, giving fans a glimpse of her take on the song. Now, they can finally hear the full version for themselves: “Two Dozen Roses” is featured on her new EP, Grocery Store, out now. The cover leans into bluegrass energy, with bright, twangy vocals that suit the song’s spirited new pace. McDonald brings a buoyant feel to the familiar melody, giving the track plenty of personality while keeping its heart recognizable. It’s the kind of reinterpretation that honors a song fans know and love, then gives them a reason to hear it in a new way. With Grocery Store, McDonald lets listeners spend more time with the sound she first previewed in that teaser. “Two Dozen Roses” is an easy repeat listend, and a strong reminder that a well-loved song can still surprise you when the right voice puts its own spin on it.
Thomas Rhett - Be There In A Minute
The best part of a drive is sometimes knowing who’s waiting at the end of it. Thomas Rhett builds “Be There In A Minute” around that familiar thrill: the road ahead, the windows down and the growing impatience to get back to the person who still makes your heart race. Groovy guitars give the track a sunlit glow, while its easy groove keeps the wheels turning. Rhett’s warm vocals sit right in the middle of it, relaxed enough to feel effortless, eager enough to sell the song’s central promise. He isn’t chasing a dramatic declaration. He’s already on his way. That restraint is the song’s appeal. “Be There In A Minute” lets anticipation do the romantic heavy lifting. Its narrator’s longing feels playful rather than aching, turning an ordinary trip into a love song about the pull of being somewhere else, with someone else. The result is breezy without feeling weightless: a little rush of devotion wrapped in a melody built for open roads. For a DIAMOND-certified superstar stepping into a new era, the single makes a warm, confident introduction. “Be There In A Minute” is Rhett’s first release since announcing his label partnership with Fifty-One/Forty-Nine Records and Blue Highway Records. It doesn’t strain to announce a reinvention. Instead, it puts romance in the passenger seat and lets the drive unfold. Out now, “Be There In A Minute” is a soundtrack for the ride back, and the person you can’t wait to see.
Marynn Taylor - Dropout EP
MaRynn Taylor’s five-song EP Dropout is a coming-of-age story told by an artist who refused to give up. Across the project, Taylor makes room for uncertainty, hard-earned confidence and the humor it can take to keep moving forward. The result feels personal without losing its sense of fun. The title track introduces that journey with a soft, subtle touch. “Dropout” looks back on the kind of growing pains that can make you question whether you’re on the right path. Taylor gives the song space to breathe, letting its reflective spirit set the tone for an EP about finding your footing and believing there’s still somewhere to go. That perspective gets a lively, knowing spin on “Get On 11.” Toe-tapping and quick-witted, the song showcases Taylor’s sharp pen and knack for turning an idea into a memorable line. It feels like a girl-to-girl conversation with a friend who knows you’ve hit the ground, but also knows you’re capable of getting back up. The message is simple and spirited: you can fall 10 times, then get on 11. That resilience is the thread tying Dropout together. Taylor doesn’t present growth as a straight path or pretend every setback feels small. Instead, she finds strength in carrying on, and a little humor in the process. The five-song format keeps the project focused, giving its central story a clear arc without overstaying its welcome. Closer “John Denver” ties the EP up with a pretty bow, leaving listeners with a warm final moment after the self-discovery and determination that came before it. Dropout is a compact portrait of an artist who has taken her knocks, kept her wit and chosen to keep going. For MaRynn Taylor, the title doesn’t read like an ending. It sounds like a chapter in the story of someone still finding her way.
Hudson Westbrook - Made You Look
Westbrook understands that the strongest identity doesn’t come from staying in one lane; it comes from knowing what makes your music yours, then finding new ways to use it. With Made You Look, he turns the pressure of a sophomore album into an opportunity. The result is a confident, 16-song portrait of an artist still moving fast, but already thinking beyond the moment that made people notice him. Hudson Westbrook is no one-trick pony. Made You Look is country music for 2026, and a strong indication that his rise is only getting started.
Walker Montgomery - Right In The Middle
Walker Montgomery may be newly married, but on his latest single, “Right In The Middle,” he’s haunted by the one who got away. The song centers on a familiar regret: letting someone slip through your hands because you didn’t give them the time and attention they deserved. Now, that lost love is still with him, in the middle of his dreams, where the past has a way of showing up uninvited. It’s a classic country setup, and Montgomery leans into the ache without losing the song’s broad, singalong appeal.
The family legacy is there, too. Montgomery carries the classic country torch of his father, but he isn’t simply tracing old footsteps. “Right In The Middle” gives him a chance to keep that traditional spirit alive while putting his own stamp on a story built around regret, memory and the cost of taking love for granted. At the heart of the track is a chorus that feels made for listeners to grab onto. The central image is clear and memorable: even after the relationship is over, she remains right where he can’t escape her in his thoughts and dreams. That kind of direct, relatable hook gives “Right In The Middle” the makings of a country radio favorite. There’s an appealing tension in hearing a newly married artist inhabit a song about lost love. Montgomery’s real-life happiness doesn’t undercut the heartbreak; it lets him step into the story and deliver it as a classic country tale. The result is a timely reminder that regret can make for a powerful song, and a chorus that sounds ready for No. 1 status.
Liam St. John - Unearth
Liam St. John doesn’t ease into “Unearth.” The song hits hard from the jump, announcing itself with the force of a rocker that has no interest in warming up before it lets loose. It’s a bold opening move, and a fitting one for a song that sounds like St. John is ready to dig deeper, push harder and leave a bigger mark. “Unearth” lives in the tension between vulnerability and volume. There’s a pleading quality at its center, the kind of emotional openness that feels almost like a confession. But St. John doesn’t deliver it quietly. He wraps that honesty in Americana grit and rock-and-roll fire, giving the song a barroom-sized release without sanding down its rough edges. The result is a sound that’s difficult to pin to one lane. Imagine The Killers colliding with grungy swamp country, then catching a flash of Maroon 5’s pop-rock sheen on the way through. Those influences could pull in different directions, but “Unearth” makes the collision part of its appeal. The track feels restless and muscular, with a broad, immediate energy that keeps its emotional core from becoming too polished or too contained. As a continuation of St. John’s new chapter, “Unearth” makes a strong statement. It stretches the boundaries of his Americana-rock blend while staying grounded in the rawness that gives his music its pull. More than a change of pace, it feels like an artist trusting his instincts and turning every part of his sound up a notch. “Unearth” may be St. John’s strongest and most confident work yet: a banger from the first note, built on grit, confession and rock-and-roll release. It grabs hold immediately, and leaves the impression that Liam St. John is only getting started.
Matt Stell - Gone Fishing
Matt Stell opens a fresh chapter with “Gone Fishing,” his first release since joining Black River Entertainment, and it introduces a side of the singer that feels both new and rooted in country tradition. At its heart, the song takes a familiar country story: someone left behind, trying to make sense of a love that’s gone. But instead of facing the goodbye head-on, the woman in the song reaches for a softer explanation. Maybe he isn’t gone for good. Maybe he’s just gone fishing. That small act of denial gives “Gone Fishing” its ache. The title sounds easygoing, almost like an excuse you might hear on an ordinary afternoon. But underneath it is someone struggling with the possibility that the person she loves may not come back. Holding onto the fishing story lets her avoid the harder truth for a little longer, and makes the song’s heartbreak all the more relatable. Stell leans into the tension between that casual phrase and the pain behind it. The song takes a timeless theme, missing someone who has walked away, and gives it a distinctly country frame. It’s the kind of story that leaves room for listeners to recognize their own version of it: the explanation they once accepted, the goodbye they weren’t ready to believe, or the hope they kept alive after a relationship had changed.
As Stell’s first release from his new label home, “Gone Fishing” marks a compelling start to this next chapter. It brings a fresh perspective to familiar country storytelling and shows Stell exploring a different emotional shade. Sometimes the hardest part of losing someone is admitting they’re really gone. In this song, she isn’t ready to do that yet.
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