New Country Music You Need To Hear This Week From Parker McCollum, Wyatt McCubbin, Mae Estes, Brandon Lake And More
Updated: Oct 18
Caylee Hammack With Trisha Yearwood - Coldest Shoulder
Hammack’s quick wit and Yearwood’s enduring authority give the collaboration a compelling foundation. The generational connection matters, but the shared attitude matters more: both belong in a song that knows heartbreak deserves a little fire. Produced by Hammack and Kurt Ozan, “Coldest Shoulder” makes a strong case for the lasting appeal of country music with something to say, and the nerve to say it. Heartbreak has rarely sounded like such good company. Hammack and Yearwood may be singing about a chill, but the pairing brings the heat.
Mae Estes - The 90s Called
Ring, ring. Mae Estes is calling, and you’d better answer. On The 90s Called, the three-time Arkansas CMA Female Vocalist of the Year revisits the artists who shaped her, bringing a wink, a smile, and the right amount of attitude. Out now, the EP makes a compelling case for how much life these country classics still have left in them. Estes takes on some formidable women here. Her feisty spin on Patty Loveless’ “You Can Feel Bad” delivers the raised-eyebrow sass, while Lee Ann Womack’s “The Fool” provides the ache. Together, they capture two sides of country heartbreak: finding your backbone and admitting where it still hurts. K.T. Oslin’s “Do Ya” brings grown-up questions about love into the mix, while Brooks & Dunn’s “She’s Not the Cheatin’ Kind” lets Estes inhabit the story’s woman finding her way toward letting go. Shenandoah joins her on “Moon Over Georgia,” turning an influence into a collaborator and giving this collection a meaningful connection across generations. Anchored by the original title track, written by Benjy Davis and Aaron Raitiere, The 90s Called offers a sharp sense of who Estes is ahead of her Blue Highway Records debut. Her song choices have humor, vulnerability, and women with something to say. Estes brings the affection these songs deserve and enough personality to leave her own mark. Mae Estes is a rare gem. Country fans, pick up the phone.
Parker McCollum - Live From Sound City
McCollum does things on his own timeline, and Live From Sound City makes that instinct look awfully good. There’s no need to wait decades to revisit songs when they already carry this much emotional weight. These performances offer longtime listeners a renewed connection and a reminder of why they became fans in the first place.
One of the year’s best albums might also be one of its most intimate. Parker McCollum pulls up a chair, opens the songbook, and gives the music room to mean a little more.
Kylie Frey - Laundry & the Dishes
Kylie Frey has been hiding in plain sight. With “Laundry & the Dishes,” country fans have every reason to stop overlooking her. Signaling a new chapter for the singer-songwriter, the song explores motherhood, marriage, and the quiet longing to reconnect with the person you used to be. It gives voice to a complicated feeling: loving the life you’ve built while missing parts of yourself within it. The power of “Laundry & the Dishes” lives in that emotional honesty. Gratitude and longing share space here. You can cherish your family, love your partner, and still wonder where your own wants ended up on the list.
Even the title carries weight. Laundry and dishes are ordinary, necessary, and seemingly endless, the kind of work that can fill a day while leaving the person doing it feeling unseen. Frey uses that familiar world to open a deeply personal conversation about identity. For anyone who has finally found a quiet moment and barely recognized the exhausted woman looking back, this one hits close. This is compelling territory for Frey: vulnerable, introspective, and rooted in the details of everyday life. Giving these feelings a song allows listeners to recognize something they may have struggled to say aloud.
“Laundry & the Dishes” offers an affecting reminder that the woman caring for everyone else still needs care, ambition, and room to be herself. Kylie Frey deserves your attention. Country fans, get on this train.
Brandon Lake - Changing
Brandon Lake is stepping into country, and honestly? It fits. His latest song, “Changing,” explores the distance between growing as a person and forgetting what made you one. From Sunday mornings to a shout-out to Stephen Wilson Jr., Lake connects faith, home, and musical influences in a portrait of someone moving forward with his roots firmly planted. The heart of “Changing” is a feeling country music understands well: life can take you somewhere new while your values keep you grounded. There’s meaning in the familiar things, the place you come from, the beliefs you carry, the routines that remind you who you are. Lake makes those touchstones central to the song, giving its message a personal foundation. That distinction matters. Holding on to your roots can be an act of gratitude, an acknowledgment of the people and places that gave you something worth carrying. The Stephen Wilson Jr. nod adds personality, placing a contemporary country reference alongside the Sunday-morning imagery. Together, those details help bring Lake’s world into focus. Faith and country storytelling have plenty to say to each other, especially when the subject is identity. “Changing” gives Lake a comfortable place in that conversation. His affection for where he comes from supplies the emotional pull, and the message is easy to recognize: you can welcome the next chapter while keeping your word to yourself. Brandon Lake’s country turn feels like a natural fit. On “Changing,” he makes a strong introduction by remembering where he started.
Yellow Brick Home - Stephen Wilson Jr.
Wilson is becoming one of country music’s most compelling artists because his imagination has a signature. The imagery, the grit, the way tenderness surfaces through something jagged: it all belongs to him. “yellow brick home” deepens that identity. It’s strange, thoughtful, and willing to take its time, with a songwriter at its center who trusts listeners to follow him into the weather. Country music’s mad scientist has another storm brewing. This one hits close to home.
Randy Travis - I Know Where I’d Be Without You
That voice. That tenderness. That unmistakable Randy Travis. “I Know Where I’d Be Without You," a treasured recording from the vault ahead of his upcoming album Same Old Way, gives country fans something worth celebrating: an unheard performance from an icon. This is Randy himself, preserved on a recording that offers another chance to connect with one of country music’s most beloved voices. And a classic love ballad is a beautiful place to meet him again. At its heart, “I Know Where I’d Be” is about recognizing the love holding your life together, and having the humility to say so.
“I can’t see the future but given that view / I know where I’d be without you.” That admission gives the song its emotional weight. The narrator understands how easily pride can cost a person everything. He recognizes the good in his life and decides it deserves more protection than his ego. This is territory Travis makes his own: plainspoken feeling with real stakes. His unmistakable voice is a natural home for a song about laying down pride and choosing the person who matters. There’s particular joy in receiving another piece of his musical story. A vault recording can bring the past close, but the sentiment here belongs just as easily in 2026, and in the years beyond it.
““I Know Where I’d Be Without You” has the makings of a lasting dedication to the person who changed everything. Our wish for more Randy Travis music has come true. This one goes straight to the heart.
Wyatt McCubbin - 650
The question hanging over 650 is obvious: why didn’t McCubbin step forward sooner?
Whatever the answer, he’s here now with a debut that makes a lasting impression. Ten songs, a lifetime of country-radio memories, and a voice that deserves its own place in the conversation. Wyatt McCubbin has spent years helping tell other artists’ stories. 650 makes a compelling case for listening to his.
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